Classic Hits

Chris Jasper, a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame R&B group The Isley Brothers, passed away Sunday, according to an announcement on his official Facebook page. He was 73.

According to the post he had been diagnosed with cancer in December.

A classically trained musician who studied at Juilliard, Jasper served as keyboardist, vocalist and more in The Isley Brothers. He also co-wrote and co-produced several of their songs, including “For the Love of You,” “Between the Sheets” and “Fight the Power.”

After the group broke up in 1984, Jasper teamed with Earnie and Marvin Isley to form the trio Isley-Jasper-Isley, which had a hit with the tune “Caravan of Love.”

Jasper was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Isley Brothers in 1992 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2022. The group also received a Grammy lifetime achievement award in 2014.

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Elton John, Paul McCartney and The Who‘s Pete Townshend are among the artists who’ve signed an open letter published in The Times calling out plans to change U.K. copyright laws to benefit AI companies.

The letter contends that the planned changes “represent a wholesale giveaway of rights and income from the U.K. creative sectors to big tech.” As The Times notes, the changes would allow these companies to “use copyrighted works to train their AI software without permission unless the owner opts out.”

Other artists who’ve signed the letter include Sting, Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon, Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa.

Along with the letter, a group of 1,000 musicians has released a silent album to Spotify, titled Is This What We Want?, in protest of the possible AI changes.

The album features 12 tracks with recordings of sound from empty studios and venues, representing what the artists believe could happen if the copyright changes go through. The song titles spell out a message that reads, “The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies.”

Artists lending their name to the album include Bush, The Clash, Blur‘s Damon Albarn, Kate Bush, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien, Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam, Tori Amos and Annie Lennox.

Proceeds from the album will be donated to the charity Help Musicians.

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On This Day, Feb. 25, 1984…

Van Halen hit #1 with the track “Jump” off their sixth studio album, 1984. The song was the rock band’s only #1 single.

The tune’s popularity was aided by its music video, which was a staple on MTV. The clip, directed by Pete Angelus and Roth, was a performance video, that wound up nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards, winning best stage performance.

The track was also nominated for best rock performance by a duo or group at the 27th annual Grammy Awards, but lost to “Purple Rain” by Prince & The Revolution.

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The success of A Complete Unknown continues to shine a spotlight on the career of Bob Dylan, and now a new auction is giving fans a chance to own a piece of memorabilia from the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.

RR Auction recently launched a new Dylan-themed auction featuring over 70 items, including a recording of one of his earliest demos, circa 1961. The demo, recorded live at New York’s Gaslight Café, was produced by Dylan’s first manager, Terri Thal. It is estimated to sell for $20,000.

“This tape is a revelation—a rare look into Bob Dylan before he was a household name,” says Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at RR Auction.

Other items in the auction include memorabilia associated with Dylan and his Rolling Thunder Revue collaborator Bob Neuwirth, including a 1975 Martin D-41 acoustic guitar, which was gifted to Dylan by Neuwirth; a stage-worn “Nudie” suit that Dylan purchased for Neuwirth; and a Rolling Thunder Revue backstage pass. Proceeds from these items will go toward a planned documentary about Neuwirth.

Also up for auction is a Hohner Marine Band harmonica, played during Dylan’s infamous 1966 world tour, where he was called “Judas” for playing electric guitar; a black Stetson hat worn by Dylan; and several original photographs of Dylan.

Bidding on the Dylan items closes on March 12. More information on the auction can be found at rrauction.com.

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Over the years, Jimmy Kimmel has hosted celebrity guests galore on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, but he says there’s still one star who’s eluded him.

Speaking to People, Kimmel said, “I wouldn’t say I’m desperate to get anybody, but we’ve never had Madonna on the show, and I’d love to have her on.”

Kimmel’s show has been on since 2003; during that time Madonna has appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, but has given Kimmel a miss. When asked why, Kimmel said he had no idea, but it’s not because she doesn’t know who he is. After all, he pointed out, when Madonna performed in Mexico City on her Celebration Tour last year, she invited his sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez to join her onstage.

“She had Guillermo onstage with her,” Kimmel said. “Not me. Nothing for me.”

Well, Madonna recently teased that she’s planning to release a sequel to her 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor. Perhaps she’ll find some time to visit Kimmel’s show to promote it?

Other than Madonna, Kimmel says he’d love for Banksy to appear on his show. That’s highly unlikely, though, considering the mysterious artist keeps his identity a secret.

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Elton John‘s concert at LA’s Dodger Stadium in 2022 was billed as his final North American show — except for the fact that he’ll be rocking a different stadium in California this spring.

Elton will do a one-night-only benefit concert at San Diego’s Petco Park on May 9; tickets for the show go on sale March 7. It’s the latest installment of an annual event called Concert for Cures, which since 2022 has raised more than $8.5 million to support adult and pediatric cancer research in Southern California.

In the past, Alicia Keys and Ed Sheeran have played the Concert for Cures.

While Elton said that Farewell Yellow Brick Road was his final tour, he didn’t rule out playing the odd show here and there; since the tour wrapped up he’s done several one-offs, though not quite on this scale.

His next live performance takes place at the London Palladium on March 26, with one of the stars who joined him at this Dodger Stadium show: his pal Brandi Carlile. The exclusive show is to promote their new joint album, Who Believes In Angels?

By the way, if you want to hear more from Brandi, she’s contributed a song called “Wandering” to the new 10-part NBC series The Americas, narrated by Tom Hanks.

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Singer Dionne Warwick has paid tribute to her good friend, singer Roberta Flack, who passed away Monday at the age of 88.

“We now say Rest In Peace and receive the loving award the Heavenly Father has for her,” Warwick shared in a statement. “I’ll miss our conversation about the journey through music we would have, as well as the love of the music we have been able to share. You will be missed, dear friend.”

Also paying tribute to Flack is rocker Lenny Kravitz. “You have nourished me throughout my life,” he wrote on his Instagram Story. “I will continue to be killed softly by your songs,” a reference to her classic track “Killing Me Softly (With His Song).”

Jennifer Hudson remembered Flack on social platform X, calling her “One of the great soul singers of all time,” while Destiny’s Child’s Kelly Rowland wrote, “THANK YOU for your effortless, most beautiful gift! THANK YOU for being apart of the soundtrack to the most tender moments in my life! So Grateful for you!”

Queen Latifah paid tribute to Flack by listing her many accomplishments: “Rest in peace to Howard graduate, classically trained pianist, songwriter, singer, & the first artist to ever win a Grammy for Record of the Year in two consecutive years, Miss Roberta Flack.”

And John Lennon’s two sons, Julian Lennon and Sean Ono Lennon, also honored Flack, who was a neighbor of John’s and a close family friend.

“Roberta Flack was a neighbor of Dad’s in New York City, and a dear friend of our family. Very sad to hear of her passing,” Julian wrote. Sean added, “She was an incredibly kind woman. Uniquely talented. I am eternally grateful to have known her. I’m heart broken she had to leave this earth. Will always love you.”

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Bachman Turner-Overdrive has announced dates for their new Roll On Down The Highway 2025 tour.

The tour will consist of nine co-headlining shows with The Marshall Tucker Band, with Jefferson Starship as special guest, and another nine shows with the “Taking Care of Business” rockers as the sole headliner.

The tour kicks off July 18 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with their final show with The Marshall Tucker Band Aug. 3 in Amarillo, Texas. They will then continue the tour through Aug. 23 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Next up, BTO will headline a tour of Canada, which kicks off April 1 in Victoria, British Columbia. A complete list of dates and ticket on sale information can be found at btoband.com.

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The Beatles‘ Ringo Starr made his Grand Ole Opry debut over the weekend.

The rocker performed at the Nashville institution on Friday, coming onto the stage in a big white cowboy hat, like the one he wears on the cover of his recently released country album, Look Up.

“As you may have noticed I’m dressed up a bit tonight,” Ringo told the audience, as seen in fan-shot video posted to YouTube. “I’m a cowboy inside and this is a great honor and an incredible moment for me.” He talked about growing up loving country music, noting, “This would just be a dream to end up here.”

Ringo performed three songs at the Opry: the Look Up tune “Time on My Hands” and “Act Naturally,” both with Molly Tuttle, and his iconic Beatles hit “With a Little Help From My Friends.”

Friday’s show was the second time Ringo’s performed in Nashville this year. In January he played two nights at the Ryman Auditorium joined by special guests Sheryl Crow, Jack White, Brenda Lee, Mickey Guyton, Emmylou Harris and more. A CBS special recorded at the concerts, Ringo & Friends at the Ryman, is set to air March 10 at 8 p.m. ET.

Ringo is also set to kick off another tour with his All-Starr Band on June 12 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He has dates confirmed through June 25 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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U2 has marked the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with the release of a reading set to a piano piece.

In a post on Instagram, Bono shares that the song and reading of the poem, “My Friendly Epistle” by 19th century poet Taras Shevchenko, is one he and The Edge sent to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just after the invasion began. He notes that Shevchenko is a poet who “defined ‘Ukrainian-ness’ for so many.”

“All who believe in freedom and sense the jeopardy we Europeans now find ourselves in are not sleeping easily on this, the third anniversary of the invasion,” Bono writes. “More to say about this and other bewilderments later.”

The post includes the entire poem written out. It ends with the line, “Then in your own house you will see
True justice, strength, and liberty!”

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