Classic Hits

Heart’s Nancy Wilson has posted a tribute to author Charles R. Cross, a prominent figure of the Seattle grunge scene who also co-authored the 2012 biography Kicking & Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock & Roll with Nancy and her sister and bandmate Ann Wilson.

“Whadda one of a kind guy. His passion and purpose was to make it his life’s work to celebrate and chronicle the beautiful global renaissance that started with our local Seattle music scene,” Nancy wrote on Instagram. “Charley was the coolest rock litterati bookworm to ever be lucky enough to know. And all us cool rock people got to feel even cooler to know him and call him a friend.”

Calling Cross “the cutest bespeckled nerd at the dance,” Nancy shared that he was “our trusty biographer and implicitly trusted friend. Never selatious never invasive always impeccably appropriate and always brought that sharp worldly humor with him.” 

Finally, she shared, “I truly loved Charley Cross. One of a kind class act. Rest in wit and wisdom dear fine feathered friend.”

Cross’ family shared news of his death in a statement, saying he “died peacefully of natural causes in his sleep on August 9th, 2024.” He was 67.

In addition to the Heart biography, Cross chronicled the rise of grunge in Seattle and wrote a biography of the late Kurt Cobain, Heavier than Heaven, in 2001. He also founded the Bruce Springsteen fanzine Backstreets, which shut down in 2023.

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Billy Joel has added a new show to his schedule.

The rocker, who in July wrapped his 10-year residency at New York’s Madison Square Garden, will be headlining Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, on Nov. 23. 

A Citi presale kicks off Wednesday at 10 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m.

Joel has only a handful of shows booked for the rest of 2024. His next concert is a co-headlining gig with Rod Stewart, happening Sept. 13 in Cleveland. A complete list of dates can be found at billyjoel.com.

In other Billy news, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer took to Instagram Monday to wish his daughter Della Rae a happy 9th birthday. He shared a carousel of photos of Della, along with the caption, “Watching you grow and shine, keeps us all in awe. We love you.” 

Della is the eldest child of Billy and wife Alexis Roderick. Their younger daughter, Remy Anne, turns 7 in October.

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Men at Work, best known for such ’80s hits as “Who Can It Be Now?” and “Down Under,” is headed back out on the road this fall.

The Aussie band, led by frontman Colin Hay, is set to kick off a fall U.S. tour on Oct. 10 in Dallas, Texas, with stops in New Orleans, Charleston, Ft. Lauderdale, Raleigh, Denver and more before wrapping Nov. 3 in Del Mar, California.

Hay has been touring as a member of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band since 2018, which he says inspired him to go back out on the road with Men at Work. 

“Night after night, audiences came out to see and hear the true icon that Ringo is and showed only love and appreciation for all the All Starrs and their respective songs,” he shares. “I was curious to find out if Men At Work still had an audience and how many of them there were.”

A complete list of dates can be found at colinhay.com.

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The Doobie Brothers have added some new dates to their 2024 tour.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have announced four additional East Coast shows: two nights at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York, as well as a show at the Borgata Event Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Tickets for all four shows go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. ET.

The Doobie Brothers — consisting of Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald, Pat Simmons and John McFee — kicked off their 2024 tour in June. The trek hits Boston on Monday. A complete list of dates can be found at thedoobiebrothers.com.

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Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh has announced the lineup for the 2024 edition of his benefit concert VetsAid, which is happening Nov. 11 at UBS Arena in Queens, New York, the first time it’s being held on the East Coast since it launched in Northern Virginia in 2017.

In addition to Walsh, the show will feature performances from Toto, country star Eric Church and Kool and The Gang.

The location is particularly close to Walsh, as his wife, VetsAid co-founder Marjorie Walsh, is from Rosedale, Queens. 

“VetsAid 2024 is all about family, friends and faith,” Walsh shares. “I honor my wife’s family and their legacy of service in her home borough of Queens. I honor our collective faith in the power of music to bring fans of diverse backgrounds together in celebration and our faith in the power of love to unite us all as Americans to support a population of veterans that has sacrificed so much and asked for so little in return.”

Finally, Walsh notes, “We’ve got something for everyone at VetsAid this year – country, pop, rock, funk and gospel – so all aboard!”

Tickets for VetsAid go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. ET. Proceeds from this year’s concert will benefit veterans services charities in the New York and New Jersey area.

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Journey’s Neal Schon appears to be responding to his bandmate Jonathan Cain’s recent lawsuit, in which he accused Schon of overspending.

In a post on social media, Schon shared a response to a fan who commented, “theres a lot of rumours about the band living its final days cus you and your wife can’t stop expending the bands money. Is this truth?” Schon called it “absolute rubbish.”

“I don’t know why people believe Media if anything [what] she’s done is make us a lot of money by attaining the Trade Mark,” which he said “cost quite a lot of money.”

He added that “both Jon Cain and Arnel Pineda are benefiting from that equally. It’s split in thirds.”

He then responded to claims he’s overspending by chartering private jets, saying they’re “approved in our budget.” Responding to claims he and his wife spend huge amounts on hotels, he insisted they pay for any upgrades they take.

“This is the second time JONATHAN CAIN has sued me for the same thing we’ve already been through in court – that case was dropped by both of us,” he said. “We both agreed to drop and move forward with prejudice. That means that you never open it again. Well here we are again.” 

He ends his post, “Don’t believe all you read in media it’s all manipulated and contrived as they wish it to be. I’m taking a higher road.” 

Cain filed his lawsuit against Schon on July 24, detailing what he claimed was Schon’s overspending, although in a statement he insisted the aim of the suit was to get the court to appoint a third, independent director to serve on the band’s Freedom 2020 board in order to deal with “growing issues” between him and Schon.

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On This Day, Aug. 12, 2012 … 

Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, The Who and The Kinks’ Ray Davies were among the artists who performed at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics, held at Olympic Stadium.

Queen’s May and Taylor were joined by Jessie J to perform “We Will Rock You” and Davies performed “Waterloo Sunset.” The Who closed the evening with a medley of three hits: “Baba O’Riley,” “See Me, Feel Me” and “My Generation.”

Dubbed A Symphony of British Music, the evening also featured Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason and Genesis’ Mike Rutherford, who performed Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” with Ed Sheeran. There were also  performances by Madness, One Direction, Spice Girls, George Michael, Pet Shop Boys, Annie Lennox and Muse.

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The estate and family of legendary R&B singer Isaac Hayes has announced they are suing former President Donald Trump for copyright infringement over his use of the classic tune “Hold On (I’m Coming),” which Hayes and David Porter wrote for Sam & Dave. 

A letter to Trump and his campaign, which was posted to Hayes’ official social media accounts, reveals that the estate is demanding that Trump stop playing the tune at his rallies. They are also seeking $3 million to cover the licensing fees for the times the song has already been used without permission between 2022 and 2024. 

In addition, the estate wants any videos featuring the song to be removed from websites or other outlets worldwide. They also want a statement from Trump announcing that neither the family nor the estate approved the use of the tune.

The caption to the post notes that “Hold On (I’m Coming)” has been used 134 times by the Trump campaign. It also states that the estate is demanding compensation by Aug. 16, noting, “Failure to comply will result in further legal action.”

Hayes’ son Isaac Hayes III commented on the suit on his Instagram account, blasting Trump’s use of the song: “This behavior will no longer be tolerated, and we will take swift action to put an end to it.”

“We stand in solidarity with all musicians whose work has been co-opted without consent by divisive political campaigns,” he writes. “A musical performers art is a reflection of their soul, not a tool for promoting hatred or bigotry. It’s time for all artists to unite and demand respect for their creative legacies.”

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Madonna took to Instagram on Aug. 11 to wish her son Rocco Ritchie a happy 24th birthday with a heartfelt post.

Alongside a carousel of videos and photos of Rocco through the years, Madonna wrote, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROCCO— the long and Winding Road through all your many moods and incarnations has been tumultuous and full of surprises. But through it all —your curiosity, and Artistic Soul has been the glue that has held us together.”

“Thank God for Art. Thank God for you. We have been together for many lifetimes,” she continued. “Thank you for choosing me again. I Love you -for Eternity.”

Rocco, who is a painter, is Madonna’s second oldest child. He was born four months before Madonna married his father, director Guy Ritchie, in Scotland on December 22, 2000.  Madonna and Ritchie divorced in 2008.

Rocco is one of Madonna’s two biological children: The other is daughter, Lourdes Leon, whose father, whom Madonna never married, is trainer Carlos Leon.  Madonna’s four other children — David, Mercy, Stella and Estere — were all adopted from Malawi.

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Eighties pop band Haircut 100, best known for songs like “Love Plus One” and “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl),” is getting ready to tour the U.S. with the original lineup for the first time in over 40 years, and frontman Nick Heyward and guitarist Graham Jones are looking forward to the trek.

“The best place for us is either on the stage or in the studio when we’re communicating with the audience, when we’ve got that interaction,” Jones tells ABC Audio. “What you get back from the audience is the reward for all the effort that we put in.”

The band first reunited in 2022. Nick says performing with his old bandmates has felt very organic, sharing, “I can’t remember it being this good.”

Jones adds that things are better now because there’s a new “level of maturity” in the band: “I think we’re kind of maybe paying more attention to each other, as opposed to getting caught up or swept up in the moment of being young pop stars.” 

Jones says he’s specifically looking forward to playing for U.S. audiences again, because their reaction to the music is much different than that of U.K. fans. 

“Americans seem to tend to listen to the music more than the other aspects. And when we come on stage, play our set and disappear, they go, ‘Christ, we didn’t realize they were that good,’” Jones notes. Heyward adds with a laugh, “No, that’s us, we don’t realize we were that good.” 

Haircut 100 will be the special guest on Howard Jones and ABC‘s summer tour, which kicks off Aug. 14 in Redmond, Washington. A complete list of dates can be found at haircut100.com.

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