Classic Hits

Madonna doesn’t want to mess with success: She’s apparently working on new music with Stuart Price, with whom she co-produced her Grammy-winning 2005 album, Confessions on a Dance Floor. 

Madonna posted a carousel of photos on Instagram Monday and wrote, “London Calling……………Back in the Stu with Stuart Price.” The photos show Madonna working with Price in the studio and alone, and attending a soccer game with her boyfriend, Akeem Morris.

Confessions on a Dance Floor was a big success for Madonna, spinning off the singles “Hung Up” and “Sorry” and selling over 10 million copies.

Madonna and Price have a long history: He most recently served as musical director on her Celebration tour, which concluded earlier this year. He’d also filled that role on her 2001, 2004 and 2006 tours. In addition, he co-produced her live albums I’m Going to Tell You a Secret and The Confessions Tour. Price has also worked with artists like Dua Lipa, Gwen Stefani, The Killers, Seal, The Fray and Kylie Minogue.

In other Madonna news, Morris’ ex-girlfriend Reagan Rice told People that Morris was initially hired to be a caregiver for one of Madonna’s kids. Rice and Morris dated from 2021 to September 2023, then Morris and Madonna hard-launched their romance in July of this year.

“It’s insane. I still can’t wrap my brain around it. It’s still so shocking,” she tells People. “It makes me laugh at this point. I’m past the point of crying about it, which is a great feeling.”

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A previously unreleased video from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers has just been released. 

The clip, “Between Two Worlds (French TV),” is a newly rediscovered video that was shot at the Record Plant in 1982 for French TV and features never-before-seen footage from the Petty Archive. 

The track is one of 12 rediscovered tunes included in the upcoming deluxe edition of Petty’s 1982 album, Long After Dark. Also included are Petty’s versions of his songs “Never Be You” and “Ways to Be Wicked,” which were previously recorded by Rosanne Cash and Lone Justice, respectively.

The Long After Dark reissue will released Oct. 18 in various configurations, including digital; a two-LP vinyl set pressed on red with black splatter vinyl; a three-disc CD and Blu-ray set; and various other color vinyl versions.

It is available for preorder now.

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Artists like U2, John Mellencamp, Sammy Hagar and more have taken to social media to pay tribute to actor/singer/songwriter Kris Kristofferson, who passed away Sept. 28 at the age of 88.

U2 shared a picture of frontman Bono and Kristofferson, along with a clip of Bono singing an a cappella version of the Kristofferson-penned tune “Help Me Make It Through The Night.” They captioned the clip, “Kris, may you rest in the peace you offered so many.” 

Mellencamp also shared a photo of him and Kristofferson, writing, “Thank you for the time you gave us and the beautiful music you made. Your name is written in the stars.”

And Sammy posted a picture of himself and Kristofferson on a boat showing off their catch of the day, captioning it, “heynow old friend. I hope the fishin’s good where you’re going. we’re all gonna miss you. RIP.”

Other stars paying tribute to Kristofferson on social media include Metallica, Green Day‘s Billie Joe Armstrong, Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow and Russell Crowe.

Kristofferson’s death was announced Sunday with a post on his official Facebook account, revealing he “passed away peacefully,” although a cause of death was not revealed. Some of Kristofferson’s most famous songs include “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night.”

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Imagine playing with The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who and The Kinks, and then going on to play with all four Beatles separately — not to mention Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart, Peter Frampton, Jerry Garcia, The Jefferson Airplane and more. Such was the life of piano player Nicky Hopkins, one of the most prolific and gifted session men in rock history. His story will now be told in a new documentary called The Session Man: Nicky Hopkins, which hits Amazon Prime and other platforms on Nov. 5.

The documentary features commentary and interviews by the Stones’ Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Bill Wyman, plus The Who‘s Pete Townshend, Peter Frampton, The Kinks‘ Dave Davies, E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren, Benmont Tench of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Spinal Tap‘s Harry Shearer and many more, as well as interviews with Hopkins recorded before his death in 1994 at age 50.

Hopkins, who inspired The Kinks’ song “Session Man,” was a founding member of the Jeff Beck Group and played onstage with Jefferson Airplane at Woodstock. But overall, his ill health — caused by Crohn’s disease — kept him from being able to tour regularly as a group member.

Hopkins can be heard on Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful” and The Beatles’ “Revolution.” He played on more than 250 albums in all, including such classics as The Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet, Exile on Main St. and Let It Bleed; The Who’s Who’s Next and The Who By Numbers; Jeff Beck‘s Truth; The Kinks’ Face to Face and Something Else; John Lennon‘s Imagine; Ringo Starr‘s Ringo; Rod Stewart‘s Blondes Have More Fun; Carly Simon‘s No Secrets; and Paul McCartney’s Flowers in the Dirt.

The Session Man: Nicky Hopkins will be available on DVD later this year.

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The Black Crowes have been forced to cancel an upcoming concert in Kentucky due to the devastation of Hurricane Helene.

“Due to travel complications caused by Hurricane Helene, The Black Crowes show scheduled for Oct. 1 in Pikeville, KY at Appalachian Wireless Arena has unfortunately been canceled,” reads a message on the band’s Instagram Story. 

All ticketholders will receive refunds for their purchase.

The Black Crowes kicked off the second leg of their Happiness Bastards tour on Sept. 27 in Northfield, Ohio. Their next show is scheduled for Oct. 3 in Simpsonville, South Carolina. A complete list of dates can be found at theblackcrowes.com.

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On This Day, Sept. 30, 1983 …

Bruce Springsteen released the solo album Nebraska.

The album featured 10 acoustic songs Springsteen originally recorded as demos on a four-track recorder. He’d planned to rerecord them with the E Street Band but instead released them as a solo acoustic record.

The album was a critical darling and peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart, with his biggest hit being “Atlantic City,” which reached #10. 

Some of the songs on the demo that didn’t make it on Nebraska were later rerecorded with the band and wound up on Springsteen’s multi-Platinum #1 record, Born in the U.S.A.

The film Deliver Me From Nowhere, an adaptation of Warren Zanes‘ 2023 book about the making of the album, is currently in the works with The Bear star Jeremy Allen White starring as The Boss.

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Elton John: Never Too Late, a documentary that details Elton John‘s extraordinary music career and complicated personal life, will premiere Dec. 13 on Disney+, and now you can watch the first official trailer.

The trailer begins by detailing just how big a star Elton was in the ’70s, with a string of #1 albums and dozens of hits. However, as he says in the trailer, “At that time, there was an emptiness within me. My soul had gone dark … I didn’t have anything, apart from my success and drugs.” It also shows him struggling to accept that he was gay.

The trailer goes on say that Elton realized family was the most important thing in the world and that he eventually found happiness with his husband, David — who co-directed the film — and their two sons, Zachary and Elijah. The story is told through archival footage and even some animation.

“The music you know. The story you don’t,” read the captions in the trailer. “He risked it all to find himself.”  

The movie is framed by Elton preparing for his final concert in North America at LA’s Dodger Stadium and features a new, original song by Elton called “Never Too Late.” Ahead of the premiere on Disney+, the film will have a limited theatrical run in the U.S. starting Nov. 15.

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Queen is no longer the most played British group of the 21st century.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers previously held the crown, but according to new data released by music licensors PPL, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have now fallen to second place behind Coldplay. 

The data from PPL, which licenses the use of recorded music to radio and TV and in public places, notes that tunes by Coldplay have been played on U.K. radio and TV 40,000 more times than those of Queen.

Artists like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Police also made it on PPL’s list of the top 20 most played British artists of the 21st century.

The Beatles land at five this year behind pop groups Take That and Little Mix, with The Stones at 10, The Police at 14 and ELO at 17.

Other artists landing in the top 20 include Bee Gees, Eurhythmics, Duran Duran, Oasis, Snow Patrol and Wham!.

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Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton has revealed the next chapter in his musical career. 

Now that Aerosmith is no longer touring, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has announced his next musical endeavor, a band called Close Enemies, and they already have their first show planned.

“Hey, I need to tell you something about a band I’m playing with called Close Enemies,” Hamilton shared on social media platform X. “We have a bunch of good songs recorded. We’re going to release one soon.” 

He added, “Meanwhile, we’re doing a show in Nashville on October 11 … at a place called Eastside Bowl. Please come!!”

Tickets for the show are on sale now.

Aerosmith canceled their Peace Out tour and retired from the road in early August, citing Steven Tyler’s continuing vocal problems. He fractured his larynx when the tour first launched in 2023.

In a recent interview with AARP: The Magazine, Hamilton said he “was surprised but not shocked” by the cancellation, noting “it was a real punch in the gut.”

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The Moody Blues’ John Lodge has announced a set of November tour dates for his Performs Days of Future Passed show.

The short run of five shows kicks off Nov. 12 in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and wraps Nov. 19 in Royal Oak, Michigan, with more shows expected in February of next year.

The concert has Lodge performing two sets, one featuring Moody Blues classics, followed by a set where he plays Days of Future Passed in its entirety. The second set also features Lodge’s son-in-law, current Yes frontman Jon Davison, who joins him for “Nights in White Satin,” “Tuesday Afternoon” and other classic tracks.

The concert also features a special recording of late Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge reciting his poems “Morning Glory” and “Late Lament.”

Tickets for all shows are on sale now.

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