Classic Hits

America co-founder Gerry Beckley is getting a bit political in the latest preview of his upcoming self-titled solo album, which will be released June 28.

The artist has shared the new single “Red And Blue,” which takes on the political divide in our country.

“It’s something any of us who are politically aware can’t really avoid, to be honest,” Beckley, who has toured all 50 states with America, shares. “We were in red states as much as we were in blue states, and I like to think it was an opportunity for everyone to come together and put everything else aside and let’s let the music be the message this evening.”

He adds, “It was a lovely way to stay out of the line of fire, so to speak.”

You can listen to “Red And Blue” via digital outlets.

This is the third single Beckley has released from the album, following “Crazy” and “Well Worn Shoes.”

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Bruce Springsteen is lending his voice to a new song from singer, songwriter and guitarist Joe Ely. The tune, “Odds of the Blues,” will be featured on Ely’s new album, Driven To Drive, due out August 2.

“I got the idea for the song from hanging out at an all night after hours joint on the edge of east Lubbock called TV’s… there was always a dice game in the back room, the pool table had a bad lean, and the jukebox mainly played old blues songs,” Ely shares. “I asked Bruce recently if he would like to sing with me on this song and he said he’d love to.” He noted they’ve been “long lost friends for a long time.”

You can listen to “Odds of the Blues” now via digital outlets.

This isn’t the first time Springsteen and Ely have worked together. Bruce previously appeared on songs on Ely’s 1995 album, Letter To Laredo, including the tune “All Just to Get to You.” They’ve also performed together over the years, with Ely recalling one memorable performance.

“One of my memories of us singing together was in Dublin, Ireland when we both got on stage with Jerry Lee Lewis and Shane MacGowan and sang ‘Great Balls of Fire,'” he shared.

Driven to Drive is available for preorder now.

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Back in March, The Who’s Roger Daltrey curated his final set of Teenage Cancer Trust benefit shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall, and it was certainly a successful run.

In a new interview with Music Week, Daltrey reveals that the shows, which featured performances by The Who, Eddie Vedder, Paul Weller, Robert Plant, Noel Gallagher and more, raised over $2.5 million, the highest amount ever for the charity. 

Daltrey says raising that much money in just one week is remarkable.

“It’s only when you go out there and rattle a box that you find out how hard it is to raise money for a charity!” he says. “This year’s lineup was brilliant, because it’s great to be around my old mates.” 

Referring to Led Zeppelin rocker Plant, Daltrey offers, “I’ve been friends with Robert for 50 years and to have him on stage with me – two old farts having a good time – it was heaven!” 

After 24 years of curating Teenage Cancer Trust shows, Daltrey retired from the position after this year’s event, although he does say if the organization can’t find someone to take his place next year he’d be willing to do it one more time.

“I just don’t want the responsibility of a five-year contract because I am aware I’m 80 years old, and [that’s around] the average lifespan,” he says. “If it was 85, maybe I’d think I could accept it! I don’t want to be responsible for not delivering for the charity.”

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The Beach Boys members Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, David Marks and Bruce Johnston were in attendance Tuesday for the world premiere of their new Disney+ documentary, The Beach Boys in Hollywood.

The event was part of The Beach Boys: IMAX Live Experience, which livestreamed the film plus a Q&A to 12 IMAX theaters nationwide.

The event was the first public appearance by Wilson since he was put under a conservatorship due to his declining mental health; his daughters Carnie and Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips talked to Entertainment Tonight about how their father is doing.

“He is doing great! He is doing great. Every day he is in physical therapy. I’m cooking for him, he’s spending a lot of time with his children now, his family,” Carnie shared. “I’m so happy he’s here tonight.”

“I think he’s doing really good under the circumstances that he’s going through right now,” Wendy adds. “But, you know, he’s a survivor. That’s my dad. He’s very tough, a very strong person.”

The Beach Boys, directed by Frank Marshall and Thom Zimny, takes fans back to the beginning of the California band and includes never-before-seen footage, as well as all-new interviews from current and former band members and fellow musicians like Lindsey Buckingham, Don Was, Janelle Monáe and Ryan Tedder.

The Beach Boys debuts May 24 on Disney+.

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Ringo Starr is about to launch the latest tour with his All Starr Band – Toto’s Steve Lukather, Edgar Winter, Men At Work’s Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart and Gregg Bissonette – and there’s a simple reason why he keeps assembling all these well-known rock stars to join him onstage.

“Well, I have a passion for playing and, you know, I am the drummer, so I need a band in front of me,” he explains. “I get to play with a lot of good players, and I play all their songs, they play mine, but I also then get a spot in the front, you know, which is great, too.”

The tour gives each artist a chance to shine with their own material, and Ringo says he offers one piece of advice to everyone as each tour begins: “Let’s just support each other.”

He notes, “That’s what it’s about.”

And while Ringo just released a new EP, Crooked Boy, he assures fans that he won’t be playing any new songs on the tour, joking, “If you want to sell T-shirts, you do the new record.”

Instead, fans can expect an evening filled with some of their favorite tunes.

“We, like, do the hits from the bands. That’s what it’s all about,” he says. “So it’s a great day out cause you hear a lot of songs you really love. It’d be funny, wouldn’t it, to go on then not do ‘Little Help From My Friends.’ So I do it cause I know they love it and I love it.”

Ringo Starr and his All-Star band kick off their tour Wednesday at The Venetian in Las Vegas. A complete list of dates can be found at ringostarr.com.

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Michael Anthony says he never got to reconnect with Eddie Van Halen before his passing in 2020. The two rock stars had a falling out after Eddie replaced Michael in Van Halen with his son, Wolfgang Van Halen, back in 2006. In a new interview on the Sally Steele Rocks Show Anthony says they never mended their relationship.

“No, unfortunately, Eddie and I never had a chance to really settle any differences that we had in the past or whatever,” he shares. But he says getting to see Wolfgang and his band Mammoth WVH when they played the House of Blues in Las Vegas in 2023 helped heal some issues.

“I went to the show as his guest. And we talked, we sat and talked, and there was a lot of closure for me there,” Anthony says, noting Wolf’s mom, Eddie’s ex Valerie Bertinelli, was also there. “So it was a great night.”

Anthony says he and Wolfgang have “always been friends,” even though Wolfgang replaced him in Van Halen, noting that he doesn’t think Wolf really wanted the job.

“Eddie, he wanted to play with his son. The way I kind of feel is that Wolfgang probably wasn’t excited, really, about being in Van Halen,” he says. “That’s why in his band, he doesn’t play any Van Halen, ’cause he wants to carve out his own niche. But just to be able to get up and play with his father, I can totally understand that.” 

He adds, “But no, I love Wolfie, man. I hadn’t seen him in, like, 20 years. I went to the show, it was great. We had a great time, great hangout.”

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Bon Jovi keyboardist Dave Bryan is launching a new podcast with his daughter Gabby Byran, described as a “comedic self-help series.” 

Let Me Ask My Dad will have the pair responding to listener questions and offering tips on a variety of subjects, including parenting, family, love and rock ‘n’ roll.

“When my daughter asked me to do an advice podcast with her I thought to myself… wow, what’s a podcast?” Bryan shares. “We both have a wicked sense of humor and are full of advice, so I of course agreed. And who better to give fatherly advice than me? A perfect dad!”

He adds, “It’s been so much fun recording this together and you all are going to love it! What’s better than a father and daughter duo?”

“I’m so excited to do this podcast, mostly because I owe my dad a lot of money and I don’t want to pay him back so I’ve decided to distract him with this instead!” Gabby jokes, calling her dad “the funniest person I know.”

“And even though he has no idea what a podcast is and asked me if he could ‘text it to his friends,’ he adds another notch to his belt as a great host,” she shares. “Let Me Ask My Dad is going to be a blast. You’re welcome in advance!” 

Let Me Ask My Dad is set to launch May 28 on most major podcast platforms.

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It seems as though Madonna has gotten herself into a she said/they said situation south of the border.

As previously reported, Madonna shared on Instagram Monday that she’d visited the family home of her favorite artist and “eternal muse,” Frida Kahlo, in Mexico City and that she’d tried on “her clothes and jewelry.” She posted photos of herself wearing what would appear to be said clothes and jewelry.  

The Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City aka La Casa Azul was, technically, Kahlo’s family home, but she later lived in it as an adult with her husband, Diego Rivera.

Early Tuesday morning the museum issued a statement regarding Madonna’s claim: “We would like to clarify that the clothes, photos and objects posted on social networks do not belong to or form part of La Casa Azul collection.”

“The collection of Frida’s clothing and jewelry that we safeguard is subject to strict conservation measures and is exhibited in the museum, not loaned for personal use,” the statement reads.

It goes on to say that Madonna, “due to scheduling constraints, was unable to visit La Casa Azul during her recent visit to Mexico,” but notes that her “family and staff” did.

It’s possible there’s a completely different “family home” that Madonna was referring to, or perhaps she visited the museum privately during a different visit to Mexico City.

ABC Audio has reached out to Madonna’s reps to clarify the post.

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Elvis Presley’s eldest granddaughter, actress Riley Keough, is fighting to keep Elvis’ legendary Memphis home, Graceland, from going on the auction block.

According to legal documents, a company called Naussany Investments & Private Lending has claimed that Elvis’ only child, Lisa Marie Presley, borrowed $3.8 million from them, putting up Graceland as collateral, and then didn’t pay them back.

Naussany then put a lien on the iconic home and its grounds, and scheduled an auction of the property for May 23 — but Riley went to court to put a stop to it.

Riley’s lawyers argue in her suit that Lisa Marie never borrowed money from Naussany and the company “appears to be a false entity created for the purpose of defrauding” Lisa Marie’s heirs, Promenade Trust, which is the company that owns Graceland, and anyone who may purchase Graceland in its auction. It also claims that any documents claiming Lisa Marie took out a loan are forgeries.

A judge has issued a temporary restraining order on the sale, with a hearing on the matter scheduled for Wednesday.

Elvis purchased Graceland in 1957. It was turned into a museum after his death, drawing visitors from all over the world. Each year on August 16, the anniversary of Elvis’ death, they hold a candlelit vigil in his honor.

ABC Audio has reached out to Riley’s rep for comment on the suit.

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The Beach Boys are ready to bring their California vibes to Las Vegas.

The band has announced dates for an exclusive engagement of their Endless Summer tour at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort. Shows are set to take place September 4, 6 and 7.

A Citi ticket presale will kick off Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time, followed by a fan presale on Wednesday at 10 a.m. Tickets go on sale to the general public starting Friday at 10 a.m.

The news comes just days ahead of a new Beach Boys documentary, The Beach Boys, debuting Friday on Disney+. The official soundtrack for the film will be available to stream on the same day.

The Beach Boys are also currently on a U.S. tour and are set to play Bridgeport, Connecticut, on Friday. A complete list of dates can be found at thebeachboys.com.

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