Classic Hits – Page 406

Watch Lenny Kravitz’s new video for “Fly,” an update of his 1998 hit “Fly Away” featuring Quavo

August 9, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Lenny Kravitz‘s 1998 Grammy-winning hit “Fly Away” has been reimagined by Lenny, producer Andrew Watt and rapper Quavo, best known as a member of the hip-hop trio Migos.

The new version, “Fly,” has its origins at a Grammy event earlier this year called the Black Music Collective’s Recording Academy Honors. An all-star band made up of Quavo, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Earth, Wind & Fire bassist Verdine White, P-Funk‘s George Clinton and super-producer Andrew Watt performed “Fly Away” as a tribute to Kravitz.

The song went over so well that Watt and Quavo decided to record an updated version with rapped verses by Quavo and a newly recorded vocal from Lenny. The song’s frenetic black-and-white video shows Lenny playing guitar and trading verses with Quavo, whose dreadlocks are nearly as impressive as Lenny’s.

“Put some feathers on my drip ’cause I’m fly,” they sing. “Diamonds twinkle every time I’m outside/ They almost brighter than the stars and the ice.”

The single is just the latest project for Watt, who most recently produced The Rolling Stones‘ Hackney Diamonds and Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter.

New York street officially named after Jimi Hendrix

August 9, 2024 by WDNY Radio

When the “Crosstown Traffic” gets too heavy in New York City, drivers can now turn onto Jimi Hendrix Way.

A block in Greenwich Village that includes 52 West 8th St. — the address of Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios — was temporarily renamed after the iconic guitarist on Aug. 8. Attendees at the unveiling ceremony included E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt; Hendrix’s sister Janie; and Hendrix’s recording engineer Eddie Kramer, who helped conceptualize the studio and who worked with everyone from The Beatles to the Stones to Bowie to Zeppelin.

The renaming was done in conjunction with the new documentary Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision, which tells the story of the legendary studio — the first recording studio ever owned by an artist. The film officially opens Aug. 9 in New York and will then hit theaters worldwide.

As previously reported, the doc includes previously unseen footage and photos, and includes interviews from recording engineer Eddie Kramer, Experience bassist Billy Cox, original Electric Lady staff members and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Steve Winwood, who took part in Hendrix’s first session at the studio.

The countdown is now on to see if someone steals the sign before it’s officially removed.

Dead Heads for Kamala fundraiser scheduled for Aug. 13

August 9, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Following virtual fundraisers with names like Comics for Kamala and White Dudes for Harris, another one is scheduled featuring yet another specific group: Dead Heads.

Dead Heads for Kamala: Get on the Bus with Us! will take place Aug. 13 at 8 p.m. ET. You can register at events.democrats.org. According to a press release, the event will “encourage all attendees to embrace unity under the guiding question, ‘Are you kind?’”

“Are you kind?” is, of course, a lyric from the Grateful Dead‘s “Uncle John’s Band.”

According to organizers, there will be performances by “notable bands and artists” — none of whom have been revealed yet — in between “notable Grateful Dead enthusiasts” talking about the political issues at stake in the election. According to organizers, those enthusiasts include “musicians, entertainers, educators, politicians and athletes.”

It’s not clear if the members of the Grateful Dead or Dead & Company have any connection to this event; they are not among the organizers.

Live Gregg Allman album from late rocker’s personal archives coming in September

August 9, 2024 by WDNY Radio

A Gregg Allman live album recorded in 1983 is the first release from the late rocker’s personal archives. Gregg Allman Band — Uncle Sam’s is due out Sept. 20.

Recorded at a small club called Uncle Sam’s in Hull, Massachusetts, on July 1, 1983, the album features Allman and his band performing Allman’s solo songs, as well as Allman Brothers Band classics like “Midnight Rider,” “Dreams” and “Melissa,” and renditions of favorites like “Trouble No More” and “Statesboro Blues.”

You can listen to “Midnight Rider” from the album now.

Here’s the album track list:
“Midnight Rider”
“Dreams”
“Sweet Feelin’”
“Hot ’Lanta”
“Queen Of Hearts”
“Trouble No More”
“Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’”
“Melissa”
“Statesboro Blues”

In related news, Allman’s son Devon has just released a new song called “You,” from his upcoming album, Miami Moon, due out Aug. 16.

David Gilmour releases new ‘Luck and Strange’ single, “Dark and Velvet Nights”

August 9, 2024 by WDNY Radio

David Gilmour has released another track from his upcoming album, Luck and Strange, due out Sept. 6.

The song, “Dark and Velvet Nights,” was co-written by Gilmour and his wife, Polly Samson. He says in a statement, “The music sprang out one day. It was so exciting to have come across this groove. Polly had given me a beautiful poem for our wedding anniversary, which was sitting on the desk right next to me, so I picked it up and sang it on the track, to hear what it would sound like with words.”

“Dark and Velvet Nights” is the third song that Gilmour has shared from the album, following “The Piper’s Call” and “Between Two Points,” the latter of which features Gilmour’s daughter on vocals and harp. The title track, recorded in 2007, features late Pink Floyd keyboard player Richard Wright, who died in 2008.

As previously reported, Gilmour has scheduled a series of live dates for this fall in Rome, London, LA and New York. Visit davidgilmour.com for a full list of tour dates.

On This Day, Aug. 9, 1986: Queen plays what would be their final show with frontman Freddie Mercury

August 9, 2024 by WDNY Radio

On This Day, Aug. 9, 1986 …

Queen headlined the final show of their Magic tour in Knebworth Park, England, which would turn out to be their last live show ever with frontman Freddie Mercury.

The concert had been added to the schedule after Queen sold out two nights at Wembley Stadium in London the previous month. Added demand warranted a third show but they were unable to book the same venue. The Knebworth concert wound up selling out, with 120,000 fans coming to see the show.

Following the tour, Mercury went on to work on solo projects, and the band came back together to release 1989’s Miracle, but did not tour in support of it.

After the Magic tour, rumors about Mercury’s health began to circulate in the tabloids. He had been diagnosed HIV positive in 1987, although he did not reveal his diagnosis until 1991.

He died Nov. 24, 1991, one day after publicly announcing his condition. He was 45.

George Harrison’s ‘The Concert for Bangladesh’ finally arrives on streaming services

August 9, 2024 by WDNY Radio

More than 50 years after it was first released, George Harrison‘s all-star charity live album The Concert for Bangladesh has just arrived on streaming services.

The album documents the first major charity rock concerts in history: two shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden in August 1971. They were organized by Harrison in the wake of the humanitarian crisis caused by the Bangladesh Liberation War in what was then East Pakistan. The shows raised money for UNICEF in aid of the 10 million refugees who’d fled to India during the war.

In addition to George — who performed solo songs like “My Sweet Lord,” and The Beatles tracks “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun” — the concert featured Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, Billy Preston and Ravi Shankar. Notably, it marked the first time George and Ringo had played together in concert since 1966 and Dylan’s first major U.S. concert appearances in five years.

Released as a triple live album credited to George Harrison & Friends, The Concert for Bangladesh hit #1 and won the Grammy for Album of the Year. The new streaming version is based on the track list of the 2005 reissue of the album and also includes a bonus track, the original studio version of George’s song “Bangla Desh.”

Looking back on the event, Harrison, who died in 2001, once said, “The musicians were great. I mean, they completely put down their own egos to play together and to do something because the whole vibe of that concert was that it was something bigger than the lot of us.”

All net proceeds from the album will be donated to the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF, which helps children in need worldwide.

Peter Frampton is Positively Thankful as he gets ready for new tour

August 9, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Peter Frampton will launch his Positively Thankful tour in September, and he tells ABC Audio the inspiration for the tour’s name came from all the love he received after he was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year.

“After seeing the outpouring of support from the fans … I was just totally honored and thrilled that so many people voted and kept voting,” he shares. “We were talking and I said, ‘Well, it needs to be something positive and thankful.’” His manager suggested naming the tour just that.

But a little over four years ago it didn’t look like we’d ever be seeing Frampton onstage again. In 2019 he announced his farewell tour after being diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, which made it difficult for him to play guitar.

He says he decided to stop touring because he “didn’t feel that I was going to be at the top of my game much longer, and I didn’t want to go out there and not feel I’m doing well.”

But lucky for fans, he changed his mind.

“Yes, my hands are slightly affected, but I’m adapting and I’m enjoying playing still,” he says. “So there might be a few less notes, but there’s a hell of a lot of meaning behind each note now.”

Frampton’s Positively Thankful tour kicks off Sept. 8 in North Charleston, South Carolina. A complete list of dates can be found at frampton.com.

And all that fan support paid off, as Frampton will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Oct. 19 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. The ceremony will stream live on Disney+, followed by a special airing on ABC at a later date.

Melissa Etheridge headlining annual Women Who Rock benefit concert

August 8, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Melissa Etheridge is set to headline this year’s Women Who Rock benefit concert presented by Gibson Gives.

The concert will take place Aug. 28 in Pittsburgh. It will feature an all-female-fronted music lineup and proceeds will benefit women’s health research.

“The Women Who Rock benefit concert is all about raising funds for life-saving women’s health research which is underfunded and understudied,” Melissa says in a statement. “I went through my own health issue 20 years ago, I’m still cancer free now and I know how important it is for women’s health to be studied specifically and independently.”

All proceeds will go to support the Magee-Womens Research Institute, the country’s first and largest research institute focusing solely on women’s health research and reproductive biology.

If you can’t attend the concert in person, there’s still a chance to contribute. Starting Thursday and running through Aug. 28, you can bid on a Gibson 1968 Les Paul Custom guitar, autographed by Melissa, on CharityBuzz.com.

Studio where Elton John recorded ‘Caribou,’ house where Billy Joel wrote ‘Turnstiles’ for sale

August 8, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Two real estate properties that served as the site of a number of legendary musical moments over the years are on the market.

First up is Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado. It was purchased and turned into a high-end residential recording studio in 1972 by producer James Guerico. It’s most associated with Elton John‘s 1974 album, Caribou — named after it — but his albums Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy and Rock of the Westies were also recorded there.

Other artists whose albums were recorded at Caribou Ranch include Steely Dan, Chicago, Frank Zappa, The Beach Boys, Rick Derringer, Joe Walsh, Jeff Beck, Stephen Stills, Peter Frampton, Rod Stewart and Billy Joel. The studio burned down in 1985, but the ranch and outbuildings where artists stayed still exist.

The 1,700-acre property is currently for sale for the low, low price of $48,500,000. Visit HallHall.com for the full details.

Billy Joel recorded 1976’s Turnstiles album at Caribou. And the house where Billy lived when he wrote the songs for the record — including “New York State of Mind” and “Summer, Highland Falls” — is also up for sale.

Billy rented the historic home in Highland Falls, New York, in the winter of 1976, after he returned to his home state after three years in LA. He has said that he got the idea for “New York State of Mind” while “taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River Line” to the house.

According to the New York Post, when Billy moved in he had his piano hoisted up through a window into a bedroom on the second floor. The current owners, who turned the home into a bed & breakfast, have dubbed it “the Billy Joel Room.” It can be yours for just $1.995 million.

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