Classic Hits

Bon Jovi‘s been around for 40 years and frontman Jon Bon Jovi is still amazed at how successful some of their songs have become.

One of those tunes, the band’s #1 hit “Livin’ On A Prayer,” has over a 1.5 billion streams on Spotify. In a new interview with Music Week, Jon lets fans know he has “love, nothing but love” for the track.

“It evolves. But ‘Livin’ On a Prayer,’ ‘It’s My Life’ and ‘Always’ have more than a billion YouTube [views]. It’s crazy what the catalog has done to touch people,” he shares.

Jon calls “Livin’ On A Prayer” “an anomaly beyond young, old, left, right, Republican, Democrat, black, white … It’s bigger than all of us could have ever imagined in our wildest dreams.”

He also believes “Legendary,” the first single off their new album, FOREVER, could be just as big.

“It’s just something about those big ballads that are fascinating, so there’s nothing but love for all of them,” he says.

FOREVER drops on June 7, and Jon is offering some insight into how he wrote one of the tracks, the ballad “I Wrote You A Song.”

“If you ever wonder where the inspiration comes from, let me ruin it for you,” Jon jokes in a new video. “I rolled out of bed, in the middle of the night, a notebook by the side of the bed, I’m laying on the floor with a pen, piece of paper and I write verbatim the entire first verse.” 

He relayed what he wrote to his wife and his friend Billy Falconer, and Falconer immediately suggested the title “I Wrote You A Song.”

He noted, “So, a man in his underwear can write a great verse in the middle of the night.”

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Bruce Springsteen’s iconic album Born in the U.S.A. was released 40 years ago June 4, and a new live playlist has just been released to mark the milestone anniversary.

The official Born in the U.S.A. Tour ’84 – ’85 compilation is now live on nugs.net, featuring live performances of 15 tracks, taken from shows in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Los Angeles.

In addition to performances of the album’s songs like “Dancing in the Dark,” “Glory Days,” “Cover Me,” “My Hometown,” the title track and more, it also includes live performances of “Seeds,” which was recorded during the sessions for Born in the U.S.A., as well as “Stand on It” and “Pink Cadillac,” which were B-sides for Born in the U.S.A. singles.

Released June 4, 1984, Born in the U.S.A. was one of Springsteen’s most successful albums, selling over 30 million copies worldwide. It spent seven weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart and produced seven top-10 singles: the title track, “Dancing in the Dark,” “Cover Me,” “Glory Days,” “I’m On Fire,” “I’m Goin’ Down” and “My Hometown.”  

And speaking of Springsteen, if fans want to read about his old stomping grounds, a new book about the legendary club The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, has just been released. I Don’t Want to Go Home: The Oral History of the Stone Pony, from New York Times journalist Nick Corasaniti, features a foreword by The Boss, along with interviews from Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt and more, with never-before-seen photos from Danny Clinch.

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Not long ago, Rod Stewart launched his own brand of whisky, Wolfie’s, and he’s enlisted one of his sons to help him show you why it’d make a great Father’s Day gift.

In an Instagram video, Rod and his son Liam, who recently got married in Croatia, are standing in a bar in front of a bottle of Wolfie’s, two martini glasses and a cocktail shaker. 

“Welcome, everybody, to our Father’s Day celebrations,” says Rod. “My son Liam here is going to teach you how to make a rockstar martini. And I’m the rock star.”

Liam proceeds to mix 2 ounces of Wolfie’s whisky with 1 ounce of vanilla syrup, 1 ounce of passionfruit liqueur and lime juice. He shakes it up, pours it into the glasses and then Rod tops it off with some champagne. “Have a lovely Father’s Day,” says Rod.

The two drink their concoction, which seems like it’d be very sweet — but then again, Rod’s previously owned up to preferring sweet drinks. “Mmm,” says Rod. “Mother’s milk.”

Rod, of course, knows a thing or two about Father’s Day: He has eight children, ranging in age from 59 to 13, and all of them managed to get together in Croatia to celebrate Liam’s wedding.

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Former Procol Harum guitarist Robin Trower has been forced to cancel his upcoming fall tour of the U.S.

Trower announced the news on Facebook, revealing that he is in need of an operation to help him with some ongoing health issues. 

“I have struggled with health issues for some time now. Following my latest stay in hospital a few weeks ago, my doctor advised me that the only possible way for an effective long-term solution is to undertake a major operation as soon as possible,” he writes. “I have also been advised that the recovery time to 100% full fitness could take a while. This makes committing to a fixed touring period in the near future impossible.”

Trower’s tour was supposed to kick off Sept. 14 in Des Moines, Iowa, and wrap Oct. 28 in Atlanta.

“I know that you will be as disappointed as I am, but I am very hopeful that this procedure will give me a new lease of life and I can return to doing what I love the most – playing live ASAP,” Trower concludes his post. “I look forward to catching up with you all as soon as I am able.”

Trower is also booked to play the Rock Legends Cruise XII, happening Feb. 13-15. So far there’s no word on whether he’ll still be participating.

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Yusuf/Cat Stevens is set to release a remastered edition of his 1973 album, Foreigner.  

The album will be released July 26 to streaming services in both standard and high resolution audio. It will also be released on vinyl for the first time since its original release, with two options: standard 180-gram black and limited-edition 180-gram blue, which comes with a 12-inch lyric card insert. It will also be released on CD for the first time since 2000 and will include a 16-page booklet.

“We’re all foreigners. Say to an American or a European, that he’s a foreigner and he’ll say, ‘No, you’re the foreigner!’” Stevens shares. “But we’re all foreigners here, in a wider sense. We’re all looking for freedom and accommodation within humanity.”

Foreigner, Stevens’ seventh studio album, was the first album he wrote and produced himself. It peaked at #3 on the U.S. chart.  

The reissue of Foreigner is available for preorder now.

Foreigner is just the latest in a series of reissues from Yusuf/Cat Stevens that began in 2020. He previously reissued 1970’s Mona Bone Jakon and Tea for the Tillerman and 1971’s Teaser and the Firecat. All three of those albums will now be released on limited-edition colored vinyl on July 5 — Mona Bone Jakon in sky blue, Tea for the Tillerman in mint green and Teaser and the Firecat in neon orange.

They are available for preorder now.

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Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein are set to executive produce a new documentary about producer/songwriter Mike Chapman, Deadline reports.

Simply The Best: The Mike Chapman Story will feature previously unseen photos and video footage from Chapman’s career, with Harry and Stein also set to appear in the picture. 

Chapman co-wrote the Tina Turner classic “The Best” and produced several Blondie albums, including Parallel Lines, Eat to the Beat, Autoamerican and The Hunter. He also worked with such artist as The Knack and Suzi Quatro, and co-wrote such hits as Toni Basil’s “Mickey,” Huey Lewis and the News‘ “Heart and Soul” and Pat Benatar‘s “Love is a Battlefield.”

“After several years of putting this together I am looking forward to getting it out there,” Chapman said. “It’s a story of how music changed and shaped me as I fought my way through decades of ups and downs. The directors and producers share that vision, and I am thrilled to be working with them.” 

As for Blondie, they have a handful of dates booked for this summer. They kick things off Friday in England. A complete list of dates can be found at blondie.net.

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The Rolling Stones brought their Hackney Diamonds tour to Orlando’s Camping World Stadium on Monday, and fans attending the show were treated to two tour debuts. 

According to setlist.fm, the band performed “She’s a Rainbow” from Their Satanic Majesties Request for the first time on the trek, which was the fan-voted song of the night, beating out “Bite My Head Off,” “Out of Control” and “Rocks Off.” 

The night’s other tour debut was the Sticky Fingers track “Dead Flowers,” which featured special guest Tyler Childers, the night’s show opener.

The rest of the set was filled with usual fan favorites, including “Start Me Up,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Honky Tonk Woman,” “Gimme Shelter,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”

“Amazing night in Florida! Thank you Orlando,” The Stones shared on Instagram after the show. “Special thanks to @timmytychilders for joining on Dead Flowers!”

Next up, The Stones bring the tour to Atlanta on Friday. A complete list of dates can be found at rollingstones.com.

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On This Day, June 4, 1986…

The six-show A Conspiracy of Hope tour, benefiting Amnesty International, kicked off at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California. 

The tour’s lineup included U2, Sting, Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Joan Baez and the Neville Brothers.

The final three shows, in Atlanta, Chicago and East Rutherford, New Jersey, featured a reunion of The Police, who had been on hiatus since 1984. The final show, on June 15 at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, was their last performance before their breakup. 

Unlike the first five shows, the Giants Stadium concert was an all-day outdoor event, with additional artists including Jackson Browne, Little Steven, the Hooters, Darlene Love, Howard Jones, Bob Geldof and others. The full concert aired on MTV, with the final three hours airing on syndicated television.

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On June 4, 1984, Bruce Springsteen released what would become one of his most successful albums, Born in the U.S.A.

The album, recorded with The E Street Band, spent seven weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart and produced seven top-10 singles: the title track, “Dancing in the Dark,” “Cover Me,” “Glory Days,” “I’m On Fire,” “I’m Goin’ Down” and “My Hometown.”

Because it dropped during the era of MTV, Springsteen released his first music videos to promote the album, kicking things off with “Dancing in the Dark,” directed by Brian De Palma and featuring a then-unknown Courteney Cox, well before her Friends fame. 

Craig Marks, co-author of I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Revolution, tells ABC Audio Bruce wasn’t exactly comfortable with idea of the music video at first, but eventually allowed De Palma to film performances of the song in concert, planting Cox in the audience for Springsteen to pull onstage for a dance. 

The now-iconic video was a huge hit and introduced Springsteen to a whole new audience, with Marks noting the dance became “the signature music video moment” for The Boss.

“What it really did for Bruce Springsteen was took him from a singer/songwriter whose fan base was mainly men at that point and introduced him to a whole new audience through MTV. Not just men, but of teens and of women,” Marks shares.  

With Born in the U.S.A. Bruce became a global superstar, selling over 30 million copies of the album worldwide. The album was certified 17-times Platinum by the RIAA and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015.

Springsteen is celebrating the milestone anniversary with a special vinyl release of the album, dropping June 17. 

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In May, Van Halen co-founder and drummer Alex Van Halen announced he was auctioning off his personal collection of instruments and memorabilia, and the news was a surprise to his former bandmate Michael Anthony.

In a new interview with Ultimate Guitar, Anthony says he hasn’t talked to Alex in a while, although he tried to reach out via text on Alex’s birthday in May, but didn’t get a response.

As for the auction, he shared, “Somebody had sent me the link to it, and it appears like he’s selling everything right down to his last drumstick.” 

Anthony believes Alex’s grief over the October 2020 passing of his brother and bandmate Eddie Van Halen could be the reason behind the sale.  

“I never really knew Alex to be a person to go out and jam with other people or other bands. Unless Eddie was a part of it,” Anthony says. “Maybe he feels that … Since his brother’s gone, he doesn’t feel the desire to go out and play anymore. But I can only speculate.”

Anthony describes the auction as “pretty sad,” because he believes it rules out any chance of a future Van Halen tribute.

Alex is also set to release a new memoir, titled Brothers, and Anthony says he is interested in reading it.

“And knowing Alex, he’ll probably speak about the band and everything,” Anthony says. “But I think that he might be focusing more on just his and Eddie’s relationship growing up and moving here with their family to the States. And just the relationship that he had with his brother.”

Bidding on The Alex Van Halen Collection at Backstage Auctions runs through June 9. More info can be found at backstageauctions.com. Brothers is due out Oct. 22.

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