Classic Hits

oey Ramone’s brother Mitchel Hyman, better known by his stage name, Mickey Leigh, has responded to a lawsuit filed earlier this year by Linda Ramone, widow of guitarist Johnny Ramone.

The suit was over a variety of issues, including a planned Ramones movie based on Mickey’s memoir, I Slept With Joey Ramone. Although Linda’s suit didn’t mention Netflix, the streaming service has been developing a film based on the book, starring Pete Davidson as Joey.

In her suit, Linda accused Mickey of “unilaterally and covertly” developing the film without her sign-off. But in his response Mickey says that’s not the case. Lawyers for Mickey say Linda’s claims are “baseless,” since she agreed to the movie as far back as March 2006.

The docs also argue the film “is not a ‘Ramones biopic’ but rather one based on a family memoir” and that Mickey never intended for his film to stop the making of any future Ramones biopic.

Finally, Mickey’s lawyers argue that Linda’s suit is part of plan to “install herself as the Queen of the Ramones,” adding her “main purpose is to embarrass, harass, and destroy the integrity of Mr. Hyman, create an utterly false narrative about him, rewrite her role in the history of the Ramones, and win a popularity contest in which, in her mind, she takes over … the legacy of a band of which she never was a member and had nothing to do with creatively.”

ABC Audio has reached out to Linda Ramone’s attorney for comment.

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A new film about Buddy Holly is in the works, and it’s now snagged a director.

Variety reports that Mario Van Peebles is set to direct That’ll Be the Day, which will focus on Holly and his fellow musicians of the 1950s, detailing how their music influenced society and culture.

“America’s tumultuous cultural melting pot has produced transcendent musical talent, including Buddy Holly, who was our first bad a** rock ’n’ roll nerd,” Van Peebles, who previously directed New Jack City and the recently released Outlaw Posse, shares about the project. 

The film’s screenplay was written by Patrick Shanahan and Matthew Benjamin. Benjamin produced the 1987 biopic La Bamba, about singer Richie Valens, who died alongside Holly and J.P. Richardson, aka The Big Bopper, in the 1959 plane crash.

That’ll Be the Day appears to have backing by the Buddy Holly estate. BMG, the company that manages the estate and controls the rights to the singer’s music catalog, is providing early funding for the film.

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KISS rocker Gene Simmons is defending JoJo Siwa after folks on social media criticized her recent look, which was vastly different from her usual bright colors, sparkles and bows.

The former Nickelodeon star recently walked the red carpet at an event in Los Angeles in what many considered a KISS-inspired look, complete with face paint, a sheer catsuit with glitter patches and big black boots. At one point, she even posed with her tongue out just like Simmons, who appears to be all for it. 

In a comment to TMZ, Simmons praised Siwa for her outfit. “JoJo is cool. Anybody who doesn’t get it is just jealous, period,” he shared, adding, “Never be ordinary. Always be extraordinary. JoJo is extraordinary and she looks cool.”

He then noted, “Of course she looks like me, but that’s another story.”

Simmons said goodbye to all that KISS makeup back in December when the band played their final two shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden. He’ll take the stage again with the Gene Simmons Band at the Summer Breeze Open Air festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on April 26. A complete list of dates can be found at genesimmons.com.

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Back in 2022, Sheryl Crow, Lionel Richie and Billy Joel teamed up for a one-off show in Atlanta. But Sheryl says when she broached the subject of the three of them doing an entire tour together, Billy wasn’t interested.

While performing at a benefit show in Nashville on April 2, People reports that Sheryl told the crowd she suggested to Billy and Lionel that they do a world tour as a triple bill last year. While it’s not clear what Lionel’s response was, Sheryl says Billy wasn’t interested — because, as he told her, “I only do two shows a month.”

Sheryl and Lionel performed together in late 2023 at Lionel’s vacation destination event, Dancing in the Sand, in the Bahamas.

Billy, meanwhile, will wrap up his long-running Madison Square Garden residency this July. But while he’ll also be performing a series of stadium shows with artists like Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks and Sting this year, his tour schedule reveals that he is, indeed, limiting his activity to two shows a month.

Meanwhile, Sheryl is limiting her touring this summer because she wants to spend time with her kids before the oldest one goes off to college. She’ll be in Europe starting in June, do one date in July with Chris Stapleton‘s All American Road Show tour and then open for Pink from August to November.

Sheryl’s next gig, though, is performing at the upcoming Jimmy Buffet Tribute Concert April 11 at the Hollywood Bowl with Paul McCartney, The Eagles, Jon Bon Jovi and more.

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Joan Baez is ready to share her poetry with the public for the first time ever.

The folk singer is set to release her first book of poetry, When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance: Poems, on April 30.

The book is described as an “intimate, autobiographical poetry collection” containing poems for or about such artists as Bob Dylan, Judy Collins and Jimi Hendrix, as well as poems about her childhood, family, personal reflections and more.  

“Speaking to the people, places, and moments that have had the greatest impact on her art, this collection is an inspiring personal diary in the form of poetry,” the description reads. “Like a late-night chat with someone you love, this collection connects fans to the real heart of who Joan Baez is as a person, as a daughter and sister, and as an artist who has inspired millions.” 

The book already has at least one celebrity fan: Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Bernie Taupin, who has shared his thoughts on the release.

“Joan’s ideas and musings ricochet from the profound and humanly factual to the observant and slyly humorous,” he writes. “Her words can be both poignantly executed and captivating in a colorful closeness that pin-points the chinks in our armor that mirror all facets of the world we inhabit,” he continues, adding that she’s “a national treasure.” 

The book isn’t the only way Joan has given fans some insight into her personal life. A documentary about her life, I Am a Noise, was released last year and is now streaming on Hulu.

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When you think of successful pop acts of the ’70s and ’80s, the Australian soft rockers Air Supply may not come to mind. But the chart-topping duo will be the subject of an upcoming biopic called All Out of Love: The Air Supply Story, Variety reports.

Due out in the summer of 2025 to coincide with the act’s 50th anniversary, the movie will start filming in Australia and the U.K. in late 2024. Variety quotes the producers as saying that the film will focus on “the highs and lows of the band’s career and their rise to international fame.” 

Australian Russell Hitchcock and British-born Graham Russell first met in 1975 when they were in the chorus of an Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar. They formed the band that same year and had success in Australia, but they broke out in the U.S. in 1980 when they scored three top-five hits: “Lost In Love,” “Every Woman in the World” and “All Out of Love.” 

The duo’s other hits include “The One That You Love,” “Here I Am, “Even the Nights Are Better” and “Making Love Out of Nothing at All.” They went on to sell over 100 million albums worldwide and continue to perform today. Their last album, Mumbo Jumbo, came out in 2010, while their last single dropped in 2015.

“What a great occasion to celebrate our 50th Anniversary! And a personal thrill for me to see Graham’s songs be the basis for the biopic,” Hitchcock said in a statement, per Variety.

Russell added, “We are absolutely thrilled that the Air Supply story will now be made into a biopic and set for release in 2025, the year of our 50th anniversary. The timing is so perfect.”

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The Black Crowes launched their Happiness Bastards tour at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House on Tuesday, April 2, treating fans to a mix of new songs, hits and deep tracks. 

According to setlist.fm, the band kicked things off with the track “Bedside Manners” from Happiness Bastards, their first album in 15 years. In fact, the set featured several songs from the record, including their latest single, “Wanting and Waiting,” as well as “Cross Your Fingers,” “Flesh Wound” and “Rats and Clowns.”

Country star Lainey Wilson was a surprise guest at the show; she was introduced by Chris Robinson, who said, “I guess if you’re gonna play the Grand Ole Opry you have to have a bonafide country superstar.” She then joined the band for their Happiness Bastards collaboration, “Wilted Rose,” as well as the classic Shake Your Money Maker tune “She Talks to Angels.” 

The Crowes treated fans to a 17-song set list that also featured plenty of hits, including “Hard to Handle,” “Remedy,” “Sting Me” and “Jealous Again,” as well as “Twice as Hard” and the Southern Harmony and Musical Companion favorites “Thorn in My Pride” and “My Morning Song.” 

The band then wrapped the show with a cover of The Velvet Underground track “White Light/White Heat.”

The Black Crowes bring their Happiness Bastards tour to Atlanta’s Fox Theatre on Wednesday, April 3. A complete list of dates can be found at theblackcrowes.com.

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Bob Burns, the original drummer for Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, died in a car crash near his home in Cartersville, Georgia.

Burns helped to form Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1964 with Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins and Larry Junstrom, but left the group in 1974.

He is credited on recordings from the group’s first two albums: 1973’s (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) and 1974’s Second Helping. Those include such Lynyrd Skynyrd classics as “Free Bird,” “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Simple Man.”

In 1996, after years out of the public eye, Burns joined the band for a performance in conjunction with the film Freebird: The Movie. Then, in March of 2006, he returned to perform alongside the band at their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.

Lynyrd Skynyrd continues to tour to this day, although no members of the original band remain. The last original member, Gary Rossington, died in March of 2023. Skynyrd is currently on their Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour with ZZ Top, which hits Biloxi, Mississippi, on April 4. A complete list of dates can be found at lynyrdskynyrd.com. 

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Classic songs by Queen and Fleetwood Mac are among the most-streamed songs in the U.K.

A new list compiled by the Official Charts Company has revealed the 300 most-streamed songs released in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, and while Oasis’ “Wonderwall” is #1, the top 10 is dominated by classic tracks. 

Queen’s iconic “Bohemian Rhapsody” is the second-most streamed song on the list, with Fleetwood Mac at #3 and #4 with “Everywhere” and “Dreams,” respectively. Another Queen track, “Don’t Stop Me Now,” is at #5.

Also in the top 10 are Toto’s “Africa” at #6, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” at #9 and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” at #10, making her the only solo female artist in the top 10.

Fleetwood Mac also has two other songs in the top 20: “The Chain” at #11 and “Go Your Own Way” at #18. 

Other classics landing high on the list include Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69” at #12, ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky” at #17, Tears For Fears‘ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” at #19, Michael Jackson‘s “Billie Jean” at #20 and Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer” at #21.

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Beyoncé’s latest album, Cowboy Carter, features her interpretation of The Beatles classic “Blackbird,” and it turns out she took more than just inspiration from the band.

Variety has confirmed that the song, retitled “Blackbiird” for Bey’s album, includes acoustic guitar and foot tapping by Paul McCartney, taken from the song’s original backing track.

Credits for the Cowboy Carter were not shared until after the album’s official release on Friday, March 29, and it did list McCartney as playing guitar, but a rep for the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has now confirmed that guitar contribution isn’t new.

Many reviewers have noted that it’s especially fitting that Bey recorded a cover of “Blackbird” given that McCartney has said the song was inspired by the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and in particular, the struggle of Black women.

So far, McCartney has not commented on Beyoncé’s cover, which also features backing vocals by four Black country artists: Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts and Brittney Spencer.

“Blackbird” originally appeared on The Beatles’ self-titled 1968 double album, which is commonly known as The White Album.

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