Classic Hits

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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One of George Harrison‘s early guitars sold for big bucks at Julien’s Auctions’ Played, Worn & Torn II auction, which took place Wednesday in Nashville.

The legendary Beatle’s Resonet Futurama, a Czechoslovakian-made electric guitar, sold for $1.27 million, a world record for a Harrison guitar sold at auction. The guitar was one he played during the early days of the band.

“George Harrison’s iconic Futurama guitar, one of the most important guitars in rock and roll history and formative to The Beatles’ sound, has made history at today’s auction,” said Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions. “We’re beyond thrilled to add this Harrison guitar to the Julien’s Auctions’ million-dollar club, which already includes guitars from John Lennon, Eric Clapton, and Kurt Cobain.”

This was the first day of the Played, Worn & Torn II auction, which also saw Clapton’s stage-played and signed Fender Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster sell for $65,000; Paul McCartney’s signed handwritten Q magazine letter to Lennon sell for nine times over the estimate at $28,575; and a 1962 Fender Jazzmaster “Jenny” and 1961 Bandmaster Piggyback amp played by Lennon and Jacky Spelter sell for $63,500.

In addition, an autographed Epiphone ’79 Flying V electric guitar that belonged to Metallica’s Kirk Hammett sold for $26,000, with the money benefiting Gibson Gives. Plus, Mark Knopfler’s signed Fender American Vintage II ’61 Stratocaster electric guitar sold for $16,250 and Keith Richards’ signed Fender American Vintage II 1951 telecaster sold for $7,800, with the proceeds from both guitars going to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.

Day two of Julien’s Auctions’ Played, Worn & Torn II auction is taking place Thursday.

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A new book dedicated to Dead & Company is out just in time for the holidays.

Dead & Company: Rainbow Full of Sound is a coffee-table book by famed rock photographer Jay Blakesberg, who also happens to be a lifelong Deadhead.

The book features hundreds of Blakesberg’s photos, chronicling the band – Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart, Bobby Weir and Bill Kreutzmann, along with John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane – and their touring years from 2015 to 2023.

“To be honest, I always thought the Grateful Dead was forever and I realize now that in many ways, it will be,” Hart writes in the forward to the book. “Through the dance of light within Jay’s lens, we are given the ability to return to those special and often highly meaningful moments. We are given the gift of preservation and the gift of connecting with ourselves and others through those memories.” 

He adds, “While a good photographer captures the moment, a great photographer captures the ethos.”

According to a press release, the book “is more than a tribute to the music; it’s a visual celebration of the connection between the band and their loyal fanbase.” It adds, “Each page captures the spirit of the Dead’s legendary improvisational style, evoking the raw emotion, joy, and spontaneity that made each concert a one-of-a-kind experience.”

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As usual, The Wonderful World of Disney: Holiday Spectacular has lined up some big-name guest stars for musical performances, and this year that includes Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Elton John.

Elton is set to perform his classic “Your Song,” and while it may be surprising that he isn’t singing his own holiday classic “Step Into Christmas,” his presence on the special isn’t: Disney+ will be streaming his documentary Never Too Late starting Dec. 13. 

The ABC special will be hosted by Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro, and feature musical performances from Florida’s Walt Disney World Resort, California’s Disneyland Resort and Hawai’i’s Aulani Disney Resort.

Other artists set to perform include John Legend, Pentatonix, Eva Max, Carly Pearce, Seth McFarlane and Liz Gillies, Leslie Odom Jr., Anika Noni Rose and Moana star Auli’i Cravalho.

Kristen Bell will narrate the special, which airs on ABC Dec. 1 and streams the next day on Hulu and Disney+.

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Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Joe Walsh turned 77 on Wednesday, and in a birthday post on social media, he looked back on the struggles he’s faced throughout his life and how he overcame them.

“This young man had trouble sitting still, expressing himself and relating to other people,” the Eagles guitarist wrote next to a black-and-white photo of his younger self. “He found various tricks (and pills and potions) through the years that seemed to make those things more manageable.”

He added, “[B]ut the things that really saved his a** were his guitar, his friends, the music they made together, the love he shares with his family and 30 years of blessed sobriety.”

“Today this young man turns 77 years old,” he concluded the post, “and he still sees this kid in the mirror. We did good, kid. We did it one day at a time.”

Walsh is still playing music today. He and his Eagles bandmates are in the midst of their Sphere Las Vegas residency, with their next show happening Dec. 6. A complete list of dates can be found at eagles.com.

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Howard Jones and ABC are returning to the U.S. for more shows next year.

The two artists teamed up for a tour last summer with Haircut 100, and now they’ll return for a co-headlining trek that kicks off Feb. 6 in San Francisco. The tour will hit such cities as Denver, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, Brooklyn and Washington, D.C., before wrapping Feb. 28 in Glenside, Pennsylvania. 

“So excited to be teaming up with the excellent ABC once again for another run of dates in the USA,” Jones shares. ABC frontman Martin Fry adds, “This tour’s gonna be unmissable.”

A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at howardjones.com.

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Jethro Tull is getting ready to reissue their 2003 holiday album, and they’ve just shared a track from the record.

The band has just released a new mix of “Jack Frost and Hooded Crow,” which will appear on the now-titled The Jethro Tull Christmas Album – Fresh Snow at Christmas. The album will be released Dec. 6, featuring the new mix, along with 40 minutes of previously unreleased recordings. 

It is being released as a limited-edition four-CD + Blu-ray set, which includes the new mix by The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord, as well as the original mix, along with live recordings from two charity concerts at London’s St. Bride’s church to benefit the homeless: Christmas Live at St. Bride’s 2008 and a previously unreleased recording, The Ian Anderson Band Live At St. Brides 2006.

The Blu-ray will feature Dolby Atmos 5.1 mixes of the album, as well as high resolution audio mixes of the two live albums.

The remixed version of the album will also be released as a two-LP vinyl set, the very first time it’s been available on vinyl.

All formats are available for preorder now.

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Dean Martin’s take on the classic holiday single “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas” has made its Billboard chart debut.

Billboard reports that 73 years after the song was recorded the track has debuted on the Adult Contemporary chart at #30. The song, from a 1952 episode of The Martin and Lewis Show, was released for the first time back in October, followed by an animated video on Nov. 14.

That new Adult Contemporary chart hit comes 60 years, four months and three weeks after Martin’s first time on the chart, with the #1 track “Everybody Loves Somebody” in 1964. Nat King Cole is the only artist with a longer span on the AC chart, at 60 years, five months and two weeks.

But “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas” isn’t Martin’s only popular holiday song. His take on “Let it Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” reached a new high of #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2023.

Martin died on Christmas Day in 1995. He was 78. 

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Bonnie Raitt has announced a new set of tour dates for 2025.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s newest tour will launch March 5 in Temecula, California, hitting such cities as Phoenix, Albuquerque, Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale, Memphis and more before wrapping May 10 in Louisville, Kentucky, although more dates are expected to be announced. 

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

But Bonnie still has some shows left in her 2024 schedule. On Wednesday she’ll bring her tour to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a benefit concert supporting communities impacted by Hurricane Helene. A complete list of dates can be found at bonnieraitt.com.

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