Classic Hits

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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Paul Rodgers, frontman of such classic bands as Free and Bad Company, has dropped a brand-new video for  “Photo Shooter,” a track from his most recent solo album, Midnight Rose.

The video has Rodgers singing the song as images of important moments in history flash behind him, like the sinking of the Titanic, the invention of the television, the first man walking on the moon, Woodstock and more.

Released in September 2023, Midnight Rose was Rodgers’ first solo album in almost 25 years. At the time of the release it was revealed that he had suffered several strokes four years prior that had left him unable to talk.

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Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Johnny Van Zant is opening up about the family emergency that led to the band canceling five shows on their Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour with ZZ Top.

The initial announcement revealed that Johnny’s daughter had to have emergency surgery. In a video posted to social media Thursday, Van Zant shares that it was his youngest daughter, Taylor Marion, and that doctors found a mass on her brain.

“A couple of days ago, Taylor started having [a] numbing feeling on her right side. She went to the emergency room,” he said. “They did a CAT scan and they found a, the only way to say it is a mass on her brain. And some of it was bleeding, that was causing the numbing part.”

Johnny says doctors don’t believe it’s cancer, but notes “they’re still doing a lot of testing and we’re not out of the woods yet, but we’re in a lot better position than we thought we were in, in the beginning.”

“And, so, keep saying the prayers for Taylor,” he added. “I can’t thank you enough. It means everything to me and my family.”

Lynyrd Skynyrd was forced to cancel shows in Anchorage, West Valley, Loveland, Colorado Springs and Albuquerque. Their next scheduled show is at the Field & Stream Festival in Winnsboro Mills, South Carolina, taking place Oct. 4-6.

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Mother Nature has forced Billy Joel and Sting to postpone their Friday show at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

“Due to inclement weather conditions, tonight’s Billy Joel and Sting concert at Busch Stadium has been rescheduled to this Sunday, September 29,” reads an announcement on social media. “The safety of the fans, artists, crew, and staff is paramount.” The announcement notes that tickets for the Friday show will be accepted Sunday night. 

“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding,” the post concludes.

The St. Louis show is one of several co-headlining dates for Billy and Sting, including one more this year, Oct. 9 at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. They also just announced four new shows for 2025 in Indianapolis, Syracuse, Charlotte and Salt Lake City.

Citi presales for all new shows begin Monday at 10 a.m. ET, with tickets going on sale to the general public starting Oct. 4 at 9 a.m. ET.

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