Classic Hits

Rod Stewart isn’t afraid of dying, but he thinks it’ll be a bit before he actually has to face the grim reaper.

Speaking to the U.S. Sun, Rod, who’ll turn 80 in January, says, “I’m aware my days are numbered but I’ve got no fear. We have all got to pass on at some point, so we are all in the same basket. I am going to be enjoying myself for these last few years as much as I can.”

He then corrects himself: “I say few — probably another 15. I can do that easy, mate, easy.”

The reason why, Rod says, is because he pays attention to his health. He says he’s not on any prescription drugs, he works out “three or four times a week” and is building a running track at his house so he can “try to beat the world record for a 79-year-old” in the 100-meter sprint.

“I think [it’s] about 17 seconds,” he says. “I’m f****** mad, ain’t I?”

On top of that, the “Maggie May” singer, who’s had both thyroid and prostate cancer, says, “When I come back to the U.K., I am going to have my blood cleaned … I’ve been told it is a real boost to the system.” 

Rod’s currently in the U.S. finishing up the final shows of his residency at the Colosseum in Las Vegas, which ends Aug. 7. He tells The Sun, “I don’t want to wear my welcome out in Vegas … I’ve not really made   my mind up in terms of what’s next.”

Rod also says his wife, Penny Lancaster, is planning a big birthday celebration for him with all his kids and grandkids, but, “I don’t even know what [the plans] are. They know and I don’t.”

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On This Day, July 29, 1967 …

The Doors had their first #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with “Light My Fire,” from their self-titled debut album. The song, written by guitarist Robby Krieger, spent three weeks on the top of the chart.

The album version of the song was over seven minutes in length, but an edited version, cut to about three minutes, was released to radio, taking away most of the tune’s long instrumental break.

The song caused a bit of controversy for The Doors after a performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. The band had been asked to change the line of “girl, we couldn’t get much higher” to take out the reference to drugs. While they originally agreed to do it, frontman Jim Morrison wound up singing the original lyrics live on the air.

“Light My Fire” was one of two #1 singles for the band, the other being “Hello, I Love You,” which went to #1 in August 1968.

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Sinéad O’Connor passed away a year ago, and now her family has revealed her official cause of death.

A coroner in London initially ruled O’Connor died from “natural causes,” but the Irish Independent reports that the singer’s family recently filed her death certificate, revealing the cause of death as “exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma together with low grade lower respiratory tract infection.” 

O’Connor passed away July 26, 2023, at the age of 56 after being found unresponsive at a home in London. She was laid to rest in Ireland on Aug. 8, 2023, following a private ceremony attended by such stars as U2’s Bono and The Edge and Bob Geldof, as well as Irish President Michael D. Higgins.

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In 1999, after an 11-year break, Bruce Springsteen reunited with The E Street Band for a yearlong tour, and now The Boss is looking back on the trek.

“It was not a reunion but a revival,” Springsteen said of the tour. Now fans are getting to experience that with the release of the new 20-song Amazon playlist Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band – The Reunion Tour ’99, featuring live performances from the tour.

The playlist includes several songs from a July 15, 1999, show at New Jersey’s Continental Airlines Arena, including “Born To Run,” “The Promised Land,” “Land of Hopes and Dreams,” “Backstreets” and “Murder Incorporated,” as well as “Thunder Road” and “I Wanna Be With You” from a July 18 show at the same venue. 

There’s also “Badlands,” “The Promise,” “The Ties That Bind” and “For You” live from Los Angeles’ Staples Center on Oct. 23, plus “Prove It All Night,” “Two Hearts,” “Streets of Philadelphia,” “Point Blank” and “Incident on 57th Street” from Philly’s First Union Center on Sept. 30 and “If I Should Fall Behind,” “Atlantic City” and “Take ‘Em As They Come” from Chicago’s United Center on Sept. 30.

The Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band reunion tour kicked off April 9, 1999, in Barcelona, Spain. The U.S. dates launched July 15 with a 15-night stand at Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey. The whole tour wrapped with a 10-night stand at New York’s Madison Square Garden, with the final show happening July 1, 2000.

Since 1999, Bruce has gone on several tours with The E Street Band and just wrapped the European leg of their most recent tour on Sunday in London. The next U.S. leg kicks off Aug. 15 in Pittsburgh.

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KISS’ 12th studio album, Animalize, is turning 40 this year, and to celebrate the band has launched a new 40th anniversary merch collection, complete with two limited-edition vinyl variant bundles.

One of the bundles includes an Animalize 40th anniversary picture disc, along with a T-shirt with the album’s track list. It was limited to only 500 and has already sold out.  

The second, limited to 2,500 units, includes a 40th anniversary black-and-white cornetto color vinyl, wrapped in a mirrored sleeve, that comes with a poster. It also includes an Animalize jersey that reads “if it’s too loud, you’re too old.” 

In addition to the packages, there’s plenty of other merch for the KISS Army, including an Animalize print button-up shirt, several T-shirts, jerseys and a sweatshirt, as well as a duffle bag, nail stickers, buttons and a bumper sticker.

All the merch is available at shopkissonline.com.

Released Sept. 17, 1985, Animalize was part of KISS’ commercial resurgence that also included 1983’s Lick It Up. The album was certified Platinum and featured the hit song “Heaven’s On Fire.” 

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A wax figure of the late Sinéad O’Connor has been pulled from Dublin’s National Wax Museum following uproar from the public, it was revealed on RTÉ Radio’s Liveline.

The figure was unveiled Thursday, the day before the one-year anniversary of Sinéad’s death, and drew tons of backlash on social media. Sinead’s brother John O’Connor also voiced his displeasure.

“When I saw it online yesterday I was shocked. I thought it looked something between a mannequin and something out of the Thunderbirds,” O’Connor said on Liveline. “I thought Sinéad would have been very fond of looking well, and she certainly did, and if it was supposed to be a representation of her in her early 20s when she did ‘Nothing Compares 2 U,’ it just looked nothing like her. I thought it was hideous.”

He added, “A friend of mine said to me last night that he’d seen better in Shaws [department store], in the window.”

John also suggested a statue of Sinéad in Dublin would be a better way to honor her.

The museum has since decided to remove the statue, with museum director Paddy Dunning apologizing to the family. He also blamed the blunder on the statue’s sculptor, PJ Joseph Hegarty, noting he delivered it the night before the unveiling. 

“When I had a look at the statue, I walked in to launch it, and when I saw it, I too didn’t get that feeling that I normally get from PJ’s fantastic work,” he said. “My heart sunk a bit.”

He later noted, “I had to take the decision to cancel the statue and we’ll go again and we’ll remodel and we have to do better on this occasion.”

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Back in June, The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White, who’ll star as Bruce Springsteen in the upcoming movie Deliver Me From Nowhere, told Variety he had yet to meet The Boss — but it looks like that may change soon.

Speaking again to Variety, this time on the red carpet at the Prelude to the Olympics event at Paris’ Fondation Louis Vuitton museum, Allen revealed that he’s now “texted and emailed” with Springsteen. He’s hoping to finally come face to face with the rocker at his Saturday show at London’s Wembley Stadium, the final stop on Springsteen’s current European tour. 

White added, “I’m really excited to see him perform.”

When asked how Bruce texts, a smiling White responded, “like a boss.”

Deliver Me From Nowhere, based on Warren Zanes‘ book Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, follows Springsteen’s efforts to make his solo album Nebraska.

Released on Sept. 30, 1982, Nebraska featured 10 acoustic songs Springsteen originally recorded as demos on a four-track recorder. Springsteen had planned to rerecord the songs with The E Street Band but instead opted to release it as a solo acoustic record. It featured such songs as “Atlantic City,” “Johnny 99” and “State Trooper.”

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B-52s founding member Kate Pierson is set to drop the new solo album Radios and Rainbows on Sept. 20. The album is Kate’s first solo album since her solo debut, 2015’s Guitars and Microphones.

“It’s an eclectic group of songs, anthems, dance things, a disco song,” Kate shares. “Overall, the album has an upbeat vibe because I wanted to put out something positive in these dark times. I wanted to make it fun!”

As a preview of what to expect, Kate has released the new single “Evil Love,” with a video descried as “think Lana Turner gone punk.”

Kate says the tune’s “a feel-good song about revenge. A film-noir style short story,” adding, “It’s atmospheric – and it’s danceable!” 

Radios and Rainbows also includes the tune “Every Day is Halloween,” which Kate co-wrote with Sia and released in October.

And it sounds like fans will soon get to hear Kate perform these songs live, as she says she plans to hit the road and play some intimate venues, which will allow her to “let the emotions and the feelings of the songs come through, showcasing my vocals.”

So far no tour dates have been announced.

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Paul McCartney is the latest musician to pay tribute to legendary British blues/rock guitarist John Mayall, who passed away Monday at the age of 90.

“In the 1960’s we would meet at one of the late-night music clubs and often go back to his house where he had a huge and glorious collection of records,” McCartney writes on Instagram. “During these moments he became a mentor and would educate me on a lot of the blues guitarists playing at the time.”

“I would lounge back in the armchair, and he would play tracks by people like BB King, Buddy Guy, Albert King and many other great players. He would then play me tracks by Eric Clapton who was later in his band The Bluesbreakers,” McCartney continued. “The more he played the more I could see the links between all these great guitarists. Besides being very entertaining, it was a great education noticing the similarities between these stunning players.”

He concludes the post by sharing, “John was a lovely, down to earth man from the North of England so we found it easy to relate to each other and I will always thank him for his love of music, the blues and his willingness to turn others on to what he knew.” He ended the post with a simple, “Thanks John, love you!”

Mayall’s band Bluesbreakers was a breeding ground for future well-known rock stars. Different incarnations of the band featured such artists as Clapton, Fleetwood Mac’s John McVie, Mick Fleetwood and Peter Green, The Rolling Stones’ Mick Taylor and Cream‘s Jack Bruce.

Mayall is due to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in October in the Music Influence category.

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Neil Young is ready to release the third installment in his Archives series. 

Young is set drop Archives Vol. III (1976-1987) on Sept. 6. As the title suggests, it focuses on Young’s career from 1976 to 1987, complete with music recordings and film, as well as lots of content that has never been heard or seen before.

The limited-edition deluxe edition of the set, described as “one of the most extensive anthologies in his recorded history,” will come with 22 discs, made up of 17 CDs and five Blu-rays. It includes 198 musical tracks, with 121 previously unreleased versions of songs, including live and studio recordings, and new mixes or edits. There are also 15 previously unreleased songs.

The Blu-rays will feature 11 films, four of which have never been released before. They contain 128 tracks and over 14 hours of film. 

But that’s not all. Young will also release a separate 17-CD limited-edition Archives Vol. III box set, as well as a double vinyl LP, Takes, which has 16 tracks, featuring one song from 16 of the 17 CDs.  

Archives Vol. III sets are available for preorder at the Greedy Hand Store at Neil Young Archives. Those who preorder the set will get a CD with the songs from the Takes vinyl included. The 17-CD set will also be available at music retailers.

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