Classic Hits

Sammy Hagar is ready to launch his The Best of All Worlds tour, which will have him and his band – Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Jason Bonham – performing songs from his entire career.

So, what prompted Sammy to set out on such a career-spanning trek?

“Well, it’s about my age. It’s about how many tours can I do?” he tells ABC Audio. “How many more shows have I got left in me?”

While Sammy says he doesn’t intend for this to be his final tour, he says “it could be,” because he never knows when he won’t be able to hit the right notes anymore.

“I’m not going to go out like some of these guys and not be able to sing and charge money,” he says. “That would break my heart. It would stress me out.” 

Hagar is promising his sets will include plenty of Van Halen tunes, and while fans may question whether anyone can fill the guitar shoes of the late Eddie Van Halen, Sammy has no doubt Satriani can handle it.

“Joe Satriani is the only guitar player I know that really knows what Eddie was playing,” he says. “Technically, he’s going to be playing this stuff as right as it can possibly be played.”

And that’s important for Sammy because he’s doing this tour for the Van Halen fans, who he calls “the most loyal, dedicated people.”

“I’m kind of nicknaming the tour the Thank You tour,” he says. “And I mean it from the bottom of my heart. And when I say thank you, I’m going to prove it.” 

The Best of All Worlds tour kicks off Saturday in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at redrocker.com.

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Ringo Starr is giving fans a look at his Peace & Love birthday celebration, which took place Sunday.

The rocker, who turned 84, just shared a video featuring highlights from the big day at Beverly Hills Park, which includes footage of him arriving with family and friends, and posing in front of his stainless steel, 8-foot-tall, 800-pound peace sculpture. He’s then joined by fellow rocker and brother-in-law Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh for some more photos in front of the sculpture.

The video also shows Ringo walking the press line, and includes clips of performances from artists like Ben Harper, Ben Dickey and Willie Watson. It also has a snippet of a speech Walsh made wishing his “best friend” Ringo a happy 84th.

“The world loves Ringo Starr because how could they not,” Walsh says.

“I am getting overwhelmed there are so many of you now,” Ringo tells the gathered crowd. “We started doing this celebration with about 50 people in 2008. I am truly grateful you all turned up today otherwise I’d be lonely. … We are going round the world – we are in 34 countries and all I can do is say is peace and love.”

Other famous names who attended the festivities included Stephen Stills, Edgar Winter, Matt Sorum, Diane Warren and Linda Perry.

The video ends with the united “peace and love” declaration, as the band launches into The Beatles’ “Birthday.” A two-tiered cake is then brought out as Walsh leads the crowd in “Happy Birthday.”

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AC/DC has gone Diamond.

The Aussie rockers just received their first-ever RIAA Diamond certification for their classic track “Thunderstruck,” meaning it’s now moved at least 10 million equivalent units.

According to the RIAA site, “Thunderstruck,” from the band’s 1990 album, The Razor’s Edge, was actually awarded Gold, Platinum and Diamond certifications on the same day.

And that wasn’t the only recent certification awarded to AC/DC. They earned new multi-Platinum certifications for singles “Hells Bells,” “Back in Black,” “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Highway To Hell,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” “T.N.T.” and more.

In addition, several albums received new multi-Platinum certifications, including their classic Back in Black, which was just certified 26-times Platinum.

AC/DC is currently performing those hit singles overseas on their Power Up tour. They play Hockenheim, Germany, on July 13. A complete list of dates can be found at acdc.com.

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Stevie Nicks is ready to make things right with her fans in Manchester and Glasgow.

Over the weekend the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer had to postpone her shows in both cities due to a leg injury that required a surgical procedure. But now she’s announced the rescheduled dates for the shows, with Stevie set to play Manchester’s Co-Op Live on July 16 and Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on July 24. 

But before both those shows, Stevie is set to headline BST Hyde Park in London on Friday. The show features a variety of special guests, including Brandi Carlile.

After wrapping her European dates in Glasgow, Stevie has two more shows on her schedule, both in the U.S. She’ll play Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Sept. 24 and Hershey Park, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 28. Her complete schedule can be found at stevienicksofficial.com.

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Elvis Costello fans got a bit of a surprise at his show in Philadelphia Wednesday night.

Earlier in the day, the rocker revealed in an Instagram Story that two members of his band The Imposters were “indisposed,” so he was going to “initially take the stage alone,” adding “surprises and hilarity will ensue.” 

According to setlist.fm, Costello opened the show at the The Mann Center for the Performing Arts with just his longtime collaborator Steve Nieve, explaining that Imposters band member Davey Faragher and guitarist Charlie Sexton had “fallen afoul of a bad piece of fish.” 

He then treated the crowd to a set that included classics like “Pump It Up,” “Accidents Will Happen,” “A Face in the Crowd” and more, before being joined by Imposters drummer Pete Thomas, who remained for the rest of the set.

He went on to play hits like “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes,” which was dedicated to Willie Nelson, “Alison,” “Everyday I Write The Book,” “Peace Love and Understanding” and more.

Costello is currently on a co-headlining tour with Daryl Hall. They play Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Friday. A complete list of dates can be found at elviscostello.com.

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On This Day, July 11, 1959…

Former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

Sambora joined Bon Jovi in 1983, replacing the band’s original guitarist Dave Sabo, after he left the band to form Skid Row. Sambora was responsible for co-writing such Bon Jovi hits as “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and more.

Sambora appeared on 12 Bon Jovi albums, his last being 2013’s What About Now. He left the band in 2013 prior to a concert in Calgary, Canada. 

He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Bon Jovi in 2018 and reunited with the band for the induction. It was his last time performing with the members of Bon Jovi.

Outside of Bon Jovi, Sambora has released three solo albums, the last being 2012’s Aftermath of the Lowdown.

Sambora recently participated in Hulu’s Bon Jovi documentary, Thank You Good Night: The Bon Jovi Story, although in an interview he described the doc as Jon’s project and perspective.

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After ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill passed away in July 2021, Elwood Francis, the band’s guitar tech, took over the job permanently, but he says he’s still not completely comfortable in the role. 

While it was Hill’s wish for Elwood take over for him, Elwood tells Guitar World it still feels “weird” having the gig, which he originally thought would just be temporary.

“When I first started doing it, Dusty was just sick and going home for a few weeks. It was entirely different; I was just helping out,” he says. “I didn’t have to worry about the weight of the crown because I was just helping.”

He adds, “They pulled me aside and said, ‘Can you honestly say you can’t play his parts?’ I said, ‘I can do it, but I don’t think people would enjoy me doing it.’ They said, ‘You can cover him for a few weeks.’” 

Elwood’s now been ZZ Top’s bassist for three years, but he still has mixed feelings about it.  

“We’d done some gigs when Dusty passed, and by that time, I wouldn’t say I was comfortable because I’m still not f***** comfortable,” he shares. “It’s just weird. Dusty is their bass player. I’m not the bass player.”

He adds, “I’m not in the band. I’ll never be in the band. I shouldn’t be in the band. It’s Dusty’s thing. Sure, I’ll still play with them, but it’s a weird thing, man.”

Elwood and ZZ Top are currently on tour overseas and will play London’s OVO Arena Wembley on Thursday. A complete list of dates can be found at zztop.com.

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Elton John‘s new musical The Devil Wears Prada is currently in out-of-town previews before it moves to London’s West End this fall. Vanessa Williams plays the role that Meryl Streep had in the movie, the fearsome fashion editor Miranda Priestly, and she gave Kelly Clarkson a bit of a preview of one of Elton’s songs for the show while appearing on Kelly’s talk show Wednesday.

“I am honored because I grew up listening to Elton John on my little transistor radio on my windowsill with my two antennae, listening to ‘Bennie and the Jets’ and [Goodbye] Yellow Brick Road — that was my childhood,” she told Kelly. “So, to be able to work with him and have him write new songs that I get the chance to sing for him is pretty epic.”

“The script is very much based on the movie, so you see all the aspects of that, but it’s amplified by the music,” Vanessa continued, before singing an a cappella rendition of a song that she says Miranda sings at a Paris fashion show, when everyone thinks she’s about to lose her job at Runway magazine.

Vanessa says the songs that Elton wrote for the show are musical theater, but are “pop, too,” adding, “There’s going to be remixes on the radio from The Devil Wears Prada, because he know what works in both genres.”

The Devil Wears Prada opens in London’s West End in October. Also in October, Elton’s other musical, Tammy Faye, will open on Broadway.

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Peter Frampton and Scandal frontwoman Patti Smyth are set to perform at the New York City Parks Foundation Dinner & Concert gala, which will honor tennis brothers John and Patrick McEnroe with the City Parks Foundation Icon Award.

The event will take place at SummerStage in New York’s Central Park on Sept. 26, with Smyth, who is John McEnroe’s wife, performing with Steve Jordan, the current drummer for The Rolling Stones.

The City Parks Foundation’s annual fundraising gala raises money to support SummerStage concerts, as well as free environmental education, sports and community volunteer programs for New York’s underserved communities. 

Tickets are available now on the City Parks Foundation website.

Frampton’s appearance will come just three days after he wraps his The Positively Thankful Tour, and ahead of his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That’s happening Oct. 19 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, with the ceremony to stream live on Disney+, followed by a special airing on ABC at a later date.

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Mick Jagger has launched a new merch collection inspired by one of his iconic looks of the ’70s.

The Rolling Stones frontman just debuted the Palace Laundry collection, inspired by a “Palace Laundry” t-shirt he wore in a famous 1972 tour photo taken by music photographer Jim Marshall.

The collection includes a green and white replica of the t-shirt, that sells for $164, as well as a special Palace Laundry box set that includes the replica t-shirt and a limited edition Marshall autographed art print of the Jagger photo, housed in an embossed custom box. There are only 50 available box sets, which sell for over $1,300. 

The collection also includes a red satin Palace Laundry jacket with an “M” patch on the back, which is inspired by a jacket Jagger wore at an Yves Saint Laurent party at New York’s 21 Club in 1972, as well as a hat and keychain.

All items in the collection are available to order now and will ship August 12.

Mick and The Stones have only a handful of dates left on their Hackney Diamonds tour. They open a two-night stand at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on July 10. A complete list of dates can be found at rollingstones.com.

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