Classic Hits

The 25th anniversary of David Bowie’s album ‘hours…’ is being celebrated with two special digital EPs, featuring four previously unreleased tracks.

The first, Live From Manhattan Center ’99, is out now. It features three live performances recorded for the U.K. TV show Top of the Pops that were never broadcast. That will be followed on Oct. 11 by the six-track ‘hours…’ REMIX EP, which includes a previously unheard hip-hop mix of the song “Thursday’s Child,” along with two remixes of the song “Seven,” done by rocker Beck.

But that’s not all. Four performances from a Dec. 4, 1999, appearance by Bowie on Later…With Jools Holland will be released to the late rocker’s official YouTube channel on Sept. 23 and Sept. 30. Among those tracks are performances of “Ashes to Ashes” and “Cracked Actor.” Footage will also be released from the Live From Manhattan Center ’99 performance.

Released Sept. 21, 1999, ‘hours…’ was Bowie’s 22nd studio album and the first album by a major artist to be made available for download. The album was a top five hit in the U.K, but failed to hit the top 40 in the U.S.

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John Fogerty is heading back to Vegas.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will headline three nights at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas, Jan. 22, Jan. 24 and Jan. 25. 

Fogerty previously headlined the venue back in 2022. The new shows are an extension of his Celebration tour, which he launched back in April 2023, marking his first tour since regaining the worldwide rights to the songs he wrote for Creedence Clearwater Revival. 

Tickets for the new shows go on sale Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. PT.

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The Beach Boys‘ classic holiday album is getting a special reissue for its 60th anniversary.

The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album will be released Nov. 8 as a special limited-edition numbered LP on zoetrope vinyl, which comes with a special 7-inch translucent ruby red vinyl of the holiday tracks “Little Saint Nick” and “Auld Lang Syne.” The 7-inch will also be available separately on ice blue vinyl. 

Released in 1964, The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album features a combination of originals and holiday classics. Originals on the album include “Merry Christmas, Baby,” “The Man With All The Toys,” “Santa’s Beard” and “Christmas Day.” The band also takes on holiday classics like “Santa Claus is Coming To Town,” “White Christmas,” “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” and “Frosty the Snowman.”

Both the zoetrope vinyl and the separate 7-inch single are available for preorder now.

Here is the track list for The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album:

Side 1

“Little Saint Nick”
“The Man With All The Toys”
“Santa’s Beard”
“Merry Christmas, Baby”
“Christmas Day”
“Frosty The Snowman” 

Side 2

“We Three Kings Of Orient Are”
“Blue Christmas”
“Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town”
“White Christmas”
“I’ll Be Home For Christmas”
“Auld Lang Syne”

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On This Day, Sept. 20, 1969 …

John Lennon privately informed Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr that he was leaving The Beatles, although the news was initially kept quiet, as the band was about to sign a new recording contract. 

McCartney then publicly announced his own departure in April 1970 as he released his debut solo album, angering Lennon, who later shared, “I started the band. I disbanded it. It’s as simple as that.”

The Beatles officially disbanded following McCartney’s announcement. They released their final album, Let It Be, one month after their breakup, although it was recorded before their previous album, Abbey Road, which came out in September 1969.

Although Lennon died in 1980 and George Harrison passed in 2001, The Beatles released a new song, “Now and Then,” in 2023, which used vocals Lennon recorded on a demo in the late ’70s, along with guitar Harrison recorded in the mid-’90s, and new recordings from McCartney and Starr.

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Eric Clapton is ready to share some new music with fans.

The three-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just announced he’ll be releasing a new studio album, Meanwhile, digitally on Oct. 4 and on CD and vinyl Jan. 24.

The album is made up of six new songs and eight previously released tunes, and features guest appearances by the late Jeff Beck, Van Morrison, Bradley Walker, Judith Hill, Daniel Santiago and Simon Climie.

With the announcement comes the release of the new song “One Woman,” which is available now via digital outlets.

Meanwhile is Clapton’s first album since his 2018 Christmas release, Happy Xmas. His last album featuring new material was 2016’s I Still Do.

Clapton kicks off a series of South American dates on Friday, starting in Buenos Aires, and returns to the States on Oct. 8 for a series of California solo shows, as well as an appearance at the Oct. 17 all-star Life Is A Carnival – A Tribute to Robbie Robertson concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California 

Here is the track list for Meanwhile. It is available for preorder now.

“Pompous Fool”
“Heart of a Child”
“Moon River” with Jeff Beck
“Sam Hall”
“Smile”
“Always On My Mind” with Bradley Walker
“One Woman”
“The Rebels” with Van Morrison
“Call”
“How Could We Know” with Judith Hill, Simon Climie, Daniel Santiago
“This Has Gotta Stop” with Van Morrison
“Stand and Deliver” with Van Morrison
“You’ve Changed”
“Misfortune”

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AXS TV has planned an October filled with concerts from some of the biggest names in rock music, including Bruce Springsteen, Def Leppard, Fleetwood Mac and Aerosmith. 

The Springsteen concert, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Darkness on the Edge of Town at the Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, will air Oct. 7 at 9 p.m. and has the band performing The Boss’ 1978 album in its entirety in the beachside town where they got their start.

Other concerts to air in October include: The Doobie Brothers: Let The Music Play, airing Oct. 8 at 9 p.m.; Aerosmith: Rock For The Rising, airing Oct. 9 at 9 p.m.; Fleetwood Mac – Live in Boston, airing Oct. 12 at 3 p.m.; Def Leppard Hits Vegas, airing Oct. 27 at 2:30 p.m.; and Queen: Live at Wembley, airing Oct. 29 at 9 p.m.

There will also be concerts by Nirvana, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Judas Priest, ZZ Top, Journey, Sammy Hagar, Mötley Crüe, KISS, Cyndi Lauper, Imagine Dragons, Alabama Shakes, Incubus and more.

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A photo exhibit featuring images taken by Blondie guitarist Chris Stein is set to open Friday at The Gallery at the Soho Grand Hotel in New York City.

As a photographer, Stein captured images of the early New York punk scene, and the exhibit, Chris Stein: Under a Rock, features photos of iconic artists like Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry, the Romanes, Patti Smith, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and more.

The exhibit, put on in collaboration with the Morrison Hotel Gallery, will be open to the public starting Friday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. After that it will be open every Thursday through Sunday.

Under a Rock is also the name of Stein’s recently released memoir, which was published in June.

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David Bowie and Mick Jagger wanted to star in a murder mystery film together, U.K. screenwriter Lynda La Plante shares in her new book, Getting Away with Murder.

The Mirror shared an excerpt from the book, in which La Plante says that after the success of her series Prime Suspect in the early ’90s, she was contacted about meeting the two rock stars to discuss their ideas for what was described as “a crime thriller.”

La Plante explains that when she finally met up with them, they were “clearly hungover” and quickly began disagreeing over the plot of the film.

She writes that Jagger said he wanted it to be a murder mystery on the road, but Bowie shot that down, noting, “We didn’t want that. We wanted a murder on the Orient Express.” 

The two then started to go back and forth over their ideas, to which La Plante says, “I sat and smiled politely, but the truth was I could barely believe that this was their big idea.”

La Plante says that after Jagger insisted they didn’t want to play rock stars in the film, “I sat for a good 15 minutes while Jagger and Bowie batted back and forth, trying to recall whatever plot they had discussed the previous evening under the influence of God knows what.” 

“In the end, I lost patience. It seemed pointless me even being there,” she writes, noting she told them, “’Look, you two. When you have an idea, call me. I’ll come back and talk then.’”

She adds, “Needless to say, I never heard from either Jagger or Bowie again.”

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It may be hard to believe that such an iconic video has taken this long to surpass 1 billion views on YouTube, but that’s what just happened with Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller.”

What’s even more surprising is that this is only the King of Pop’s fourth visual to reach the 1-billion-view mark, after “Beat It,” “Billie Jean” and “They Don’t Care About Us.”

“Thriller,” directed by John Landis and more than a little inspired by his 1981 comedy horror film An American Werewolf in London, is actually a short film. Running more than 13 minutes, it features an intro in which Michael and actress Ola Ray play a couple who are out on a date. Michael tells her, “I’m not like other guys.”

“Of course not,” she replies. “That’s why I love you!” “No, I mean, I’m different,” he says. And as the clouds part and reveal a full moon, she finds out just how different Michael is as he transforms into a terrifying werewolf. 

Then, cut to a movie theater, where Michael and Ola are revealed to be watching what we’ve just seen unfold. She leaves because she’s terrified, he follows her, the song starts — and then cue the dancing zombies and that legendary Vincent Price voice-over. There’s also a surprise ending.

The video is also the source of the famous “Michael Jackson eating popcorn” meme.

In May 2009, Ola Ray sued Michael Jackson for royalties connected to her appearance in the video, but he died in June of that year. His estate settled the lawsuit in 2012.

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On Sept. 10, while Jon Bon Jovi was on a bridge in Nashville filming a music video, he helped talk a distraught woman off the ledge of the bridge. Now we know what video it was.
 

On Aug. 30, Bon Jovi released a duet version of their song “The People’s House” with the Nashville duo The War & Treaty, comprised of married couple Tanya Trotter and Michael Trotter Jr.  The video was for that song, Michael tells People, and the incident occurred “20 minutes” after he and Tanya left the shoot.

“I guess they decided to let [Bon Jovi] walk the bridge, and good call because that’s how that took place,”  he said. “What a moment.”

Tanya said of the experience of working with Bon Jovi, “There are no words to how kind he is, how wonderful and giving he is. He supersedes anything that you can think about when you meet people. He’s bigger than life. You don’t feel the separation of him being this great icon and us doing the song together.”

There’s no word on when the video will be released.

Following the incident, the Metro Nashville Police Department account on social platform X wrote, “A shout out to @jonbonjovi & his team for helping a woman on the Seigenthaler Ped Bridge Tue night. Bon Jovi helped persuade her to come off the ledge over the Cumberland River to safety.”

If you are in crisis or know someone in crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or by visiting 988lifeline.org. You can also contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.

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