Classic Hits

Taylor Swift is waxing poetic about Stevie Nicks.

The pop superstar, 34, praised the legendary Fleetwood Mac singer, 76, who was in attendance during the final night of Swift’s Eras Tour stop in Dublin on June 30.

During a speech cueing up her set of surprise songs unique to each tour stop, Swift called Nicks someone “who has really been one of the reasons why I — or any female artist — gets to do what we get to do.” 

“She’s paved the way for us, and she’s mentored so many artists that you don’t even know she’s doing it. She’s become friends with so many female artists just to be a guiding hand. I can’t tell you how rare that is,” Taylor said of Nicks’ impact and their friendship. “She’s a hero of mine and also someone that I can tell her any secret and she’d never tell anybody. She’s really helped me through so much over the years. I’m talking about Stevie Nicks.”

Swift then performed her song “Clara Bow” off her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department — a fitting choice as she name-checks Nicks in the lyrics.

“You look like Stevie Nicks/ In ’75, the hair and lips/ Crowd goes wild at her fingertips/ Half moonshine, a full eclipse,” she sings in the song.

Stevie showed her appreciation by writing a poem, “For T – and me …,” that’s included in The Tortured Poets Department.

And it looks like Taylor and Stevie got some bonding time in after the show. According to The New York Post, Stevie was with Taylor as she celebrated her concert at the Hacienda Bar in Dublin Sunday night. Also at the bar were Taylor’s beau, Travis Kelce, Paramour and members of Taylor’s crew.

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Ringo Starr is turning 84 soon and has announced plans for his annual Peace & Love birthday celebration.  

The annual event, happening July 7, will have Ringo and wife Barbara Starkey joined in Los Angeles by Joe and Marjorie Walsh, Stephen Stills, Diane Warren, Matt Sorum, Fred Armisen, Ed Begley Jr., Asa, Roy Orbison Jr. and more.

There will also be musical tributes from Ben Harper with Don Was, Gabe Witcher and Willie Watson, Greg Leisz, Ben Dickey, All Starr Band member Gregg Bissonette and Steve Dudas.

The group will gather together at noon on Ringo’s big day for the “Peace and Love” exclamation, with gatherings expected to happen in 34 countries worldwide.

“OK Peace & Love here we go again!” Ringo shares in a new video message. “Thanks for joining me on my birthday. I am so grateful to you all for helping me promote Peace & Love.”

He adds, “I want to give special thanks to all the Peace & Love Ambassadors – we are in 34 countries! thanks for doing it – and I gotta thank all the fans, peace & love – just join me in your mind, or on the bus or wherever you are on the 7th of the 7th just go Peace & Love at Noon your local time.”

Ringo has been using his birthday to spread peace and love to the world since 2008. 

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The Rolling Stones wrapped a two-night stand at Chicago’s Soldier Field on Sunday and treated fans to a new tour debut. 

According to setlist.fm, midway through the show the band added the Some Girls track “Before They Make Me Run” to the set for the first time this tour. The song features Keith Richards on vocals, one of three tunes Richards sang that night — the others were “Tell Me Straight” and “Little T&A.”

The night also featured a surprise appearance by the show’s opener, Lainey Wilson, who joined The Stones on “Dead Flowers,” a song they previously performed with Tyler Childers in Orlando.

The second Chicago show also featured “Shattered” as the fan-voted song of the night, with the rest of the set including such hits as “Start Me Up,” “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” “Gimme Shelter,” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction)” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”

The Rolling Stones bring their Hackney Diamonds tour to Vancouver, British Columbia, on July 5. The tour wraps July 21 in Ridgedale, Montana. A complete list of dates can be found at rollingstones.com.

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The Tom Petty estate has signed a new worldwide deal with Warner Chappell Music, which will now be in charge of the late Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s catalog.

“We’re looking forward to this new partnership with the team at Warner Chappell, as we expand the reach of Tom’s iconic song catalog. This partnership will open the door to new licensing opportunities and serve to introduce his music to a new generation across the globe,” the Petty estate shares. “We’re excited for this new chapter of growth, and the preservation of Tom’s legacy both at home and abroad.”

The deal encompasses Petty’s entire catalog, including songs with the Heartbreakers and his solo work. Those tunes include such classics as “American Girl,” “The Waiting,” “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” “Free Fallin’” “Learning to Fly” and “Wildflowers.” 

“Tom Petty’s music is woven into the fabric of our lives, not just across America, but around the world. He captured the full range and resilience of the human spirit in songs about freedom and dreams, outcasts and rebels, relationships and heartbreak, the personal and the universal,” WCM co-chair and COO Carianne Marshall and co-chair and CEO Guy Moot shared in a statement. “Tom’s unmistakable sound and lyrics remain as timeless and vital today as ever, and all of us at Warner Chappell Music are honored to be joining with his estate to help amplify his extraordinary legacy on a global scale.”

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On This Day, July 1, 1968…

The Band – Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, and Levon Helm – released their debut album, Music from Big Pink.

The album was named after a house in Saugerties, New York, shared by Danko, Manuel and Hudson, where some of the songs on the album were composed. It was recorded after the group toured as Bob Dylan’s backing band, and features a Dylan painting as the cover art.

Music from Big Pink features The Band’s future classic “The Weight,” which was written by Robertson. While it only reached #63 on the Billboard Hot 100, the song became more popular following The Band’s performance at Woodstock, and the song’s inclusion in the movie Easy Rider.

The Band broke up in 1976 following their November 25, 1976, concert at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, which was filmed for what would become the critically acclaimed concert documentary The Last Waltz.

They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

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Fifty years ago, in July 1974, Eric Clapton released his second solo album, 461 Ocean Boulevard, which became a huge hit for the future three-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.

The album, named after the address of the Golden Beach, Florida, home he lived in while recording the record, featured Clapton’s classic cover of Bob Marley’s “I Shot The Sheriff,” which would become his only #1 single. The track was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003.  

Clapton recorded 461 Ocean Boulevard following his battle with heroin addiction, and its success marked a personal and professional comeback for the musician. In a 2007 Amazon interview to promote his memoir, Clapton: The Autobiography, he opened up about how fortunate he felt that he was able to find success again after kicking the habit.

“There’s no doubt that music, the things that I love in my life today and I’ve always loved, were there before any of the habits, the bad habits, anyway, came into my life. And the terrible thing is, those bad habits merely curtailed it,” he said. “And we know that the blessing is I was allowed, for whatever reason, to come back and have another go.”

The album, which featured two new songs along with a variety of covers, went on to become one of Clapton’s most successful releases, hitting #1 in the U.S. and spending four weeks on top. It also topped the chart in Canada, landed in the top 10 in eight other countries and went on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA.

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U2 has released the next installment in their digital series, U2 to Love and Only Love – Deep Dives and B-Sides. The latest is dubbed “Sweetest Thing,” after the fan favorite B-side that appeared on their compilation The Best of 1980–1990. 

The latest is the seventh installment in the collection, and includes a 2024 remastered version of the single, as well as live performances of “Out of Control” and “Stories for Boys,” from Boston in 1981, and of “Twilight” and “An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart” from Red Rocks in 1983. They also shared a video of the “An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart” performance.

And to coincide with the playlist, U2 has released a limited-edition 2024 reissue of a “Sweetest Thing” T-shirt. It is available for preorder now.

U2 to Love and Only Love – Deep Dives and B-Sides will consist of 12 newly remastered collections, released throughout the year, which are made up of songs that until now were only available on vinyl, CD or cassette. They launched the series in April and so far released collections dedicated to “Discothèque,” “Staring at the Sun,” “Last Night on Earth,” “If God Will Send His Angels,” “Please” and “Mofo,” all from their ninth studio album Pop.

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Taylor Swift has officially arrived in Dublin, Ireland, for her Eras Tour shows this weekend, and she got a warm welcome from a few of the city’s favorite sons: U2.

On her Instagram Story, Taylor posted a photo of a beautiful bouquet of flowers, along with a note. It reads, “Dear Taylor, Welcome back to our hometown … leave some of it standing?!!!!”

It’s signed “Your Irish fan club, Bono, Edge, Adam and Larry.”

She captioned the pic, “Already feeling that Irish hospitality!! @U2, thanks for always being the classiest and the coolest.”

Turns out this is a bit of a tradition: Back in 2018 when she toured Ireland, U2 sent her roses, signed, “from your Irish fan club.”  And in 2022, Bono proclaimed himself a Swiftie when he and Taylor both appeared on The Graham Norton Show.

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Patti Smith is on tour in Europe and she’s added a surprising cover to her set list.

Fan shot footage posted to social media shows Smith performing a cover of Lana Del Rey’s hit “Summertime Sadness.” According to one post, Smith told fans Lana’s tune made her think about times she shared with her husband Fred “Sonic” Smith, who passed away in November 1994. 

Smith’s tour continues Friday with her second show in Dublin, Ireland, and she has dates in Europe booked throughout July and then again in September. She also has three U.S. shows happening in October. A complete list of dates can be found at pattismith.net.

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