Classic Hits

On This Day, Nov. 22, 1950 …

E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts. Born Steven Lento, he took the name Van Zandt after his mother remarried. The family then moved to New Jersey, where his musical career began.

While performing with his bands on the Jersey Shore he met Bruce Springsteen, which would lead to a musical partnership that continues to this day.

Prior to joining the E Street band, Van Zandt, who’s gone by the nicknames Little Steven and Miami Steve, co-founded Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. He also produced Southside Johnny’s first three records.

Although he’d worked with Springsteen for years, Van Zandt officially joined the E Street Band on guitar in 1975 and remained with the group until 1984, when he left to pursue a solo career. He rejoined the band in 1995, has been with them ever since and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the group in 2014. 

A solo artist and songwriter in his own right, Van Zandt wrote the all-star anti-apartheid song “Sun City.” He also penned the track “I Am A Patriot,” which has been covered by Jackson Brown, Pearl Jam and more. 

In 1999 Van Zandt launched an acting career, starring as Silvio Dante in HBO’s The Sopranos, and then in 2011 starred in Lilyhammer, Netflix’s first original series.

Van Zandt was recently the subject of an HBO documentary, Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple, which just earned a Grammy nomination.

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Believe it or not, Bob Dylan is now responding to comments on social platform X.

On Tuesday, Dylan shared a post about seeing Nick Cave perform the song “Joy” in Paris, which prompted a dancer to share her disappointing encounter with the rock legend.

“My Joy was taken away after rehearsing as one of the Backup dancers for your set on the Grammys in NYC 1991,” Cheryl Henry wrote, detailing how she walked by Dylan, who made a comment about her red hair.

“By the time I reached the exit door at Radio City I had been told not to return,” she added, sharing that the dancers had been told not to make eye contact with the him. “I guess I snuck a peek as I passed you !”

Well, apparently Dylan took issue with her comment.

“Saw your reply. Just want you to know I’ve never told anybody not to make eye contact with me,” he replied. “That is just ridiculous. And the next time you see me please look straight into my eyes.”

And Cheryl seemed to be happy with the response, replying, “I knew it wasn’t coming from you ! I look forward to it ! XXXX OOOO.”

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Yes’ Steve Howe has now responded to the copyright lawsuit filed by musician Riz Story.

Story, whose legal name is Rudolph Zahler, is claiming Howe and current Yes frontman Jon Davison stole the music from his song “Reunion” for the Yes song “Dare to Know,” which appeared on the band’s 2021 album, The Quest.

In a post on Yes’ Facebook page, Howe wrote, “Jon Davison did not write ‘Dare to Know.’ I did, and it was based on a theme I’ve been developing since 1973.”

“Early versions can easily be found in our demo and studio recordings from the time and on the internet – some were released on an expanded version of ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ in 2002,” he adds.

Yes’ account then shared a link to a Soundcloud recording, which they say “demonstrates how Steve Howe has a version of this exact same melody in a 1974 recording (‘The Ancient’).”

The post notes, “Here is proof of Steve exploring that very same idea in 1974 and it should be obvious that it’s much more likely the source of this melody.”

Davison previously responded to the suit by his former bandmate Story, calling it “utterly fictitious” and filled with “blatant lies.”

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Elton John could be in the running for another Oscar this year.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the movies that qualified for consideration in the Documentary Feature Film category, and the rocker’s upcoming doc, Elton John: Never Too Late, is one of 169 films to qualify. The film debuts Dec. 13 on Disney+.

Elton previously won two other Oscars, both for Best Original Song, in 1994 for The Lion King track “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” and in 2019 for the Rocketman song “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again.”

Other music docs eligible for consideration include Eno, about music producer Brian Eno; The Greatest Night in Pop, about the making of “We Are the World”; Luther: Never Too Much, about Luther Vandross; I Am Celine Dion and Indigo Girls: It’s Only Life After All.

Also eligible is Kiss the Future, the Matt Damon/Ben Affleck-produced documentary about the siege of Sarajevo, which features U2.

The 97th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 2, live from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC. It will be broadcast in over 200 territories worldwide.

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Pat Benatar and husband Neil Giraldo have announced a new non-musical collaboration. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers will release the new children’s picture book My Grandma and Grandpa Rock! next fall.

According to the book’s description, it’s “a lyrical read-aloud that celebrates all kinds of grandparents from all walks of life―from plumbers to yoga instructors to … rock stars!” 

“Everything they said about having grandchildren is true,” Benatar and Giraldo, who have three grandchildren, Stevie, 6, Lola, 4, and Cash, 2, tell People. “When we met in 1979, having children was one of our dreams. We were blessed with two beautiful daughters and now have three darling grandchildren ― our dream on steroids!”

The rock star couple has been married since 1982 and have two daughters, Haley, 39, and Hana, 30.

As the description notes, the book, which features illustrations by Tiffany Everett, is about more than just rock star grandparents.

“We believe diversity is a superpower!” the couple says. “We love that My Grandma and Grandpa Rock! embodies that ideal.”

My Grandma and Grandpa Rock!, dropping Sept. 9, is available for preorder now.

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Former Journey frontman Steve Perry has shared a new video for the song “Call Me Irresponsible,” which features his late father, Ray Perry. 

“My father, Ray Perry, was a singer and when I was a child he would sing to me at bedtime,” Perry shares on Instagram. “I recently found a karaoke cassette of my dad singing that he sent me back in 1993 for Christmas.”

He adds, “The one song that touched me the most was, ‘Call Me Irresponsible’. His voice was lovely.”

“Call Me Irresponsible” appears on The Season 3, which dropped in early November. It’s an updated version of Perry’s 2021 Christmas album, originally titled The Season, and features a total of 16 holiday tunes.

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James Taylor is helping ring in the Christmas season in Washington, D.C.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is one of the performers on the National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony, to air Dec. 20 on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

Presented by the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation, the special will include the official national Christmas tree lighting ceremony, taking place Dec. 5 on the Ellipse at the White House and President’s Park in Washington, D.C.

Country star Mickey Guyton will host and perform on the special, with The War and Treaty, Trisha Yearwood, Trombone Shorty, Adam Blackstone, Muni Long and Stephen Sanchez also part of the holiday-themed entertainment.

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Paul Simon has revealed that in the wake of his hearing loss he’ll no longer be playing one of his biggest hits.

In an interview with CBS Mornings, Simon opens up about the hearing loss he experienced four years ago during the making of his 2023 album, Seven Psalms, sharing, “It was incredibly frustrating. I was very angry at first that this had happened.”

Not surprisingly, he says that when it happened he worried about not being able to make music anymore, saying he was concerned that “I can’t hear well enough to really enjoy the act of making music.”

But Simon has learned to adapt and has found a way to still perform, although he says he can’t play all the songs he used to play.

“I’m going through my repertoire and reducing a lot of the choices that I make to acoustic version,” he explains. “It’s all much quieter. It’s not ‘You Can Call Me Al.’ That’s gone. I can’t do that one,” referring to the 1986 Graceland track.

His hearing loss hasn’t stopped him from writing music either.

“You know Matisse, when he was suffering at the end of his life, when he was in bed, he envisioned all these cut-outs and had a great creative period,” Simon said. “So I don’t think creativity stops with disability. So far, I haven’t experienced that. And I hope not to.”

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Elton John was one of the winners at the 2024 Hollywood Music in Media Awards, which took place Wednesday in Hollywood.

The HMMAs recognize musical achievements in the movies in multiple categories, including documentaries, features, songs and on-screen performances.

Elton took home the award for Song – Documentary Film for “Never Too Late,” the song from his upcoming  documentary Elton John Never Too Late. He shared the award with his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, Brandie Carlile, who co-wrote and recorded the song with Elton, and producer Andrew Watt.

This is Elton’s first Hollywood Music in Media Awards win, although he was previously nominated in 2019 for Rocketman.

Meanwhile, Taupin took home two honors. In addition to winning for “Never Too Late,” the lyricist was honored with the Outstanding Career Achievement Award.

Elton John Never Too Late debuts Dec. 13 on Disney+. 

Other Hollywood Music in Media Award winners include Diane Warren, Nine Inch Nails’ Atticus Ross, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo and Maren Morris.

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On This Day, Nov. 21, 1991 …

Aerosmith made their debut on The Simpsons, becoming the first rock band to appear on the Fox animated series.

The episode, Flaming Moe’s, revolved around Homer creating a new drink, the Flaming Homer, which bar owner Moe then steals and renames the Flaming Moe. The drink is so popular that Moe’s Tavern becomes a hot spot, and a hangout for Aerosmith.

While Aerosmith was the first band to appear on The Simpsons, they weren’t the last. Other bands to turn up on the show include U2, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins and White Stripes.

Earlier this year, Aerosmith canceled their Peace Out farewell tour and retired from the road due to frontman Steven Tyler’s continued vocal problems. He fractured his larynx when the tour first launched in September 2023, forcing its postponement after only a few shows.

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