Classic Hits

Elvis Costello fans got a bit of a surprise at his show in Philadelphia Wednesday night.

Earlier in the day, the rocker revealed in an Instagram Story that two members of his band The Imposters were “indisposed,” so he was going to “initially take the stage alone,” adding “surprises and hilarity will ensue.” 

According to setlist.fm, Costello opened the show at the The Mann Center for the Performing Arts with just his longtime collaborator Steve Nieve, explaining that Imposters band member Davey Faragher and guitarist Charlie Sexton had “fallen afoul of a bad piece of fish.” 

He then treated the crowd to a set that included classics like “Pump It Up,” “Accidents Will Happen,” “A Face in the Crowd” and more, before being joined by Imposters drummer Pete Thomas, who remained for the rest of the set.

He went on to play hits like “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes,” which was dedicated to Willie Nelson, “Alison,” “Everyday I Write The Book,” “Peace Love and Understanding” and more.

Costello is currently on a co-headlining tour with Daryl Hall. They play Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Friday. A complete list of dates can be found at elviscostello.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, July 11, 1959…

Former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

Sambora joined Bon Jovi in 1983, replacing the band’s original guitarist Dave Sabo, after he left the band to form Skid Row. Sambora was responsible for co-writing such Bon Jovi hits as “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and more.

Sambora appeared on 12 Bon Jovi albums, his last being 2013’s What About Now. He left the band in 2013 prior to a concert in Calgary, Canada. 

He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Bon Jovi in 2018 and reunited with the band for the induction. It was his last time performing with the members of Bon Jovi.

Outside of Bon Jovi, Sambora has released three solo albums, the last being 2012’s Aftermath of the Lowdown.

Sambora recently participated in Hulu’s Bon Jovi documentary, Thank You Good Night: The Bon Jovi Story, although in an interview he described the doc as Jon’s project and perspective.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

After ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill passed away in July 2021, Elwood Francis, the band’s guitar tech, took over the job permanently, but he says he’s still not completely comfortable in the role. 

While it was Hill’s wish for Elwood take over for him, Elwood tells Guitar World it still feels “weird” having the gig, which he originally thought would just be temporary.

“When I first started doing it, Dusty was just sick and going home for a few weeks. It was entirely different; I was just helping out,” he says. “I didn’t have to worry about the weight of the crown because I was just helping.”

He adds, “They pulled me aside and said, ‘Can you honestly say you can’t play his parts?’ I said, ‘I can do it, but I don’t think people would enjoy me doing it.’ They said, ‘You can cover him for a few weeks.’” 

Elwood’s now been ZZ Top’s bassist for three years, but he still has mixed feelings about it.  

“We’d done some gigs when Dusty passed, and by that time, I wouldn’t say I was comfortable because I’m still not f***** comfortable,” he shares. “It’s just weird. Dusty is their bass player. I’m not the bass player.”

He adds, “I’m not in the band. I’ll never be in the band. I shouldn’t be in the band. It’s Dusty’s thing. Sure, I’ll still play with them, but it’s a weird thing, man.”

Elwood and ZZ Top are currently on tour overseas and will play London’s OVO Arena Wembley on Thursday. A complete list of dates can be found at zztop.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Elton John‘s new musical The Devil Wears Prada is currently in out-of-town previews before it moves to London’s West End this fall. Vanessa Williams plays the role that Meryl Streep had in the movie, the fearsome fashion editor Miranda Priestly, and she gave Kelly Clarkson a bit of a preview of one of Elton’s songs for the show while appearing on Kelly’s talk show Wednesday.

“I am honored because I grew up listening to Elton John on my little transistor radio on my windowsill with my two antennae, listening to ‘Bennie and the Jets’ and [Goodbye] Yellow Brick Road — that was my childhood,” she told Kelly. “So, to be able to work with him and have him write new songs that I get the chance to sing for him is pretty epic.”

“The script is very much based on the movie, so you see all the aspects of that, but it’s amplified by the music,” Vanessa continued, before singing an a cappella rendition of a song that she says Miranda sings at a Paris fashion show, when everyone thinks she’s about to lose her job at Runway magazine.

Vanessa says the songs that Elton wrote for the show are musical theater, but are “pop, too,” adding, “There’s going to be remixes on the radio from The Devil Wears Prada, because he know what works in both genres.”

The Devil Wears Prada opens in London’s West End in October. Also in October, Elton’s other musical, Tammy Faye, will open on Broadway.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Peter Frampton and Scandal frontwoman Patti Smyth are set to perform at the New York City Parks Foundation Dinner & Concert gala, which will honor tennis brothers John and Patrick McEnroe with the City Parks Foundation Icon Award.

The event will take place at SummerStage in New York’s Central Park on Sept. 26, with Smyth, who is John McEnroe’s wife, performing with Steve Jordan, the current drummer for The Rolling Stones.

The City Parks Foundation’s annual fundraising gala raises money to support SummerStage concerts, as well as free environmental education, sports and community volunteer programs for New York’s underserved communities. 

Tickets are available now on the City Parks Foundation website.

Frampton’s appearance will come just three days after he wraps his The Positively Thankful Tour, and ahead of his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That’s happening Oct. 19 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, with the ceremony to stream live on Disney+, followed by a special airing on ABC at a later date.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Mick Jagger has launched a new merch collection inspired by one of his iconic looks of the ’70s.

The Rolling Stones frontman just debuted the Palace Laundry collection, inspired by a “Palace Laundry” t-shirt he wore in a famous 1972 tour photo taken by music photographer Jim Marshall.

The collection includes a green and white replica of the t-shirt, that sells for $164, as well as a special Palace Laundry box set that includes the replica t-shirt and a limited edition Marshall autographed art print of the Jagger photo, housed in an embossed custom box. There are only 50 available box sets, which sell for over $1,300. 

The collection also includes a red satin Palace Laundry jacket with an “M” patch on the back, which is inspired by a jacket Jagger wore at an Yves Saint Laurent party at New York’s 21 Club in 1972, as well as a hat and keychain.

All items in the collection are available to order now and will ship August 12.

Mick and The Stones have only a handful of dates left on their Hackney Diamonds tour. They open a two-night stand at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on July 10. A complete list of dates can be found at rollingstones.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jon Bon Jovi has paid tribute to his late mother on social media.

Carol Bongiovi passed away on Tuesday, three days shy of her 84th birthday. On Wednesday, Jon posted a clip of the video for “Story of Love,” from Bon Jovi‘s album 2020, which features home movie footage of his mother. 

“Momma We carry you with us Always,” he captioned the post, along with two heart emojis.

After news of Carol’s death was released, Jon said in a statement, “Our mother was a force to be reckoned with, her spirit and can-do attitude shaped this family. She will be greatly missed.”

She’s survived by her husband, John Sr., three sons, daughters-in-law and eight grandchildren.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Cyndi Lauper is headed out on the road this fall on her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour, and she may have just given fans a tease of what to expect.

In a video shared by Live Nation, Cyndi reveals her five favorite songs to perform — one of which, of course, is her classic “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.”

“Because I never really know what’s going to happen,” she says. “Depends on the audience and it’s always fun.” 

Cyndi also loves to sing “All Through the Night,” noting she thinks of Edith Piaf when she sings it. “I know that’s really far-fetched but that’s me, pretty far-fetched,” she says. 

Her other favorite songs include “Sisters of Avalon,” which she says is an “underground thing”; “Shine,” with Cyndi noting “it makes people feel good”; and “She Bop,” “because let’s face it, sometimes we’re all just a bunch of w******.”

Cyndi’s Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour, which will be her first major tour in 10 years, will kick off Oct. 18 in Montreal and wrap in Chicago on Dec. 5. A complete list of dates can be found at cyndilauper.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sammy Hagar is set to kick off his The Best of All Worlds Tour on Saturday. The rocker and his band will be playing Van Halen songs during the show, and while he may have originally hoped that former Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen would stop by, he knows it isn’t about to happen.

Hagar tells Classic Rock that when he started planning the tour with Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony he “immediately reached out to Al” but heard nothing back.

“No response,” Hagar says. “I hit him again. No response. I called (manager) Irving Azoff; he goes, ‘Al doesn’t want to play with anybody. He’s still mourning his brother’s death… I don’t think he’s ready.’ And I said, ‘Well, get him to talk to me.’” 

Then in May, Alex announced he was selling off all his equipment at an auction that closed June 9. Hagar is taking that personally.

“I think that was his statement to me,” he says. “I think that was his way of saying, ‘I’m over. I’m done.’ It’s a shame.”

“There’s a time I was saying, ‘Oh, he’ll show up. You watch, he’ll f*****’ show up at the (Los Angeles) Forum or something,’” Sammy adds. “Mike and I had this running joke that we were gonna put him on the guest list every night of every show, just for fun. But, no, after selling his drums, he ain’t showing up nowhere, I can guarantee you that.” 

Hagar’s The Best of All Worlds tour kicks off July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at redrocker.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Actress Daisy Edgar-Jones reveals in a new interview that she’s no longer attached to star in a biopic about singer/songwriter Carole King. 

Daisy, who stars in the new movie Twisters, was first attached to the Carole film back in 2022. She told Variety that the biopic is “no longer happening,” although sources tell the trade it’s still in development.

“I love Carole and I love that story, but it was a year ago that they decided [to no longer pursue it],” she said. “I think it’s a gorgeous story, and the script probably needs a little more time in the oven.”

Daisy says she learned to play piano for the film, and even met Carole on Zoom.

“I was like, ‘This is the coolest thing ever,’” she says of connecting with King. “She really enjoyed Normal People, so she was a fan of that and I was a fan of hers.”

Daisy adds, “I get so starstruck by musicians, much more than actors, and Carole was one where it was quite hard to keep my cool.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.