Classic Hits

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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Foreigner doesn’t seem ready to say farewell to their Farewell tour. The band just announced a new set of fall dates featuring special guests Lita Ford and Loverboy.

The latest leg of the tour kicks off September 23 in Charleston, West Virginia, with dates confirmed through October 9 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

A Foreigner presale kicks off Wednesday, April 3, at 10 a.m. CT, and tickets go on sale to the general public starting Friday, April 5, at 10 a.m. CT.

Foreigner is currently in Las Vegas for residency at The Venetian Theatre, with three more shows left this month, April 3, 5 and 6. They will then resume their Farewell tour on April 11 in Ivins, Utah, and will team with Styx and special guest John Waite for the Renegades & Juke Box Heroes Tour, starting June 11 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

A complete list of Foreigner tour dates can be found at foreignerlive.com.

Foreigner is also currently nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Inductees will be announced in late April, with the ceremony taking place this fall in Cleveland.

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Dead & Company are spending some more time in Las Vegas. The band just added some new dates to their upcoming Dead Forever residency at Sphere Las Vegas.

The band — Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti — have extended the residency through July, with six new shows taking place July 4, 5 and 6, and 11, 12 and 13. Tickets for all shows on sale now. 

According to the initial press release, the shows will have a different set list each weekend and include “never-before-seen visual storytelling.” The residency kicks off Thursday, May 16, with Dead & Company playing each weekend on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

A complete list of dates can be found at deadandcompany.com.

The concerts will be the first Dead & Company shows since wrapping what they said would be their final tour July in San Francisco.

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Artists including Jon Bon Jovi, R.E.M. and Peter Frampton have signed an open letter protesting the “predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem.”

The letter, which was put out by the organization Artist Rights Alliance, is also signed by Elvis Costello, the estate of Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, as well as Sheryl Crow, Billie Eilish and FINNEAS, Pearl Jam, The Cure’s Robert Smith, Mumford & Sons and more.

“We, the undersigned members of the artist and songwriting communities, call on AI developers, technology companies, platforms and digital music services to cease the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists,” the letter begins.

The signees believe that “when used responsibly, AI has enormous potential to advance human creativity,” but, “When used irresponsibly, AI poses enormous threats to our ability to protect our privacy, our identities and our livelihoods.” 

“Unchecked, AI will set in motion a race to the bottom that will degrade the value of our work and prevent us from being fairly compensated for it,” the letter continues. “This assault of human creativity must be stopped.”

It concludes, “We call on all AI developers, technology companies, platforms and digital music services to pledge that they will not develop or deploy AI music-generation technology, content or tools that undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deny us fair compensation for our work.”

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Heart is extending their time on the road. Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson have just added some more dates to their upcoming Royal Flush tour, which is their first tour together in five years.

The new dates kick off September 26 in San Francisco, with added stops in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Nashville, New York, San Diego and more, before wrapping December 15 at the BleauLive Theater inside Fontainebleau Las Vegas. 

The new shows feature Cheap Trick, Bachman Turner Overdrive featuring Randy Bachman and Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening as special guests on select dates.

Presales for the new shows begin Wednesday, April 3, at 10 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday, April 5, at 10 a.m.

The first leg of the Royal Flush tour, featuring special guest Cheap Trick, is set to kick off April 20 in Greenville, South Carolina. Heart will also bring the tour overseas, where they’ll be playing festivals and some headlining shows with special guest Squeeze.

In addition to their Royal Flush tour, Heart is scheduled to open three dates on the Def Leppard and Journey stadium tour this summer. A complete list of Heart dates can be found at heart-music.com.

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Jeff Lynne’s ELO has added more dates to their Over and Out Tour, which is being billed as the band’s final tour. 

The new dates include a second show in four big cities: New York’s Madison Square Garden on September 17, Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center on September 21, Chicago’s United Center on September 28 and Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on October 26.

The tour will kick off August 24 in Palm Desert, California, with the October 26 Kia Forum date the final show of the trek. A complete schedule can be found at jefflynneselo.com.

An artist presale for the new shows will begin Wednesday, April 3, at 10 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public on Friday, April 5, at 10 a.m.

The Over and Out Tour will be the first tour for Jeff Lynne’s ELO since 2019, although they did play Joe Walsh’s VetsAid in Chula Vista, California, in 2023, treating the crowd to such classics as “Evil Woman,” “Don’t Bring Me Down” and “Mr. Blue Sky.”

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Bruce Springsteen came to the rescue of one of his young fans, who was skipping school to see Bruce’s concert at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday, March 31.

Fan-shot footage posted to Facebook shows the rocker kneeling down to sign an excuse note for a young girl who was holding up a sign that read “skipping school sign my note?” As he handed the note back he blew a kiss to the fan.

This isn’t the first time Springsteen has signed a child’s excuse note. Back in 2016, he signed 10-year-old Michael Fenerty’s absence note after he and his father went to the Free Library of Philadelphia to get The Boss’ memoir, Born To Run, signed. 

As for the Springsteen concert on Sunday, according to setlist.fm Springsteen opened with the tour debut of “Light of Day,” from the 1987 Michael J. Fox movie of the same name. It was the first time The Boss has performed the song with The E Street Band since 2016.

The show also featured Springsteen classics like “Hungry Heart,” “Badlands,” “Thunder Road,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “Born To Run.”
 

Next up, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band hit the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, for shows on April 4 and 7. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.

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On This Day, April 2, 1977 …

Fleetwood Mac topped the Billboard 200 album chart with their 11th studio album, Rumours. The album would go on to spend 31 nonconsecutive weeks at #1.

Rumours became Fleetwood Mac’s most successful release, thanks to four top-10 hits: “Dreams,” their only #1 song; “Go Your Own Way”; “Don’t Stop”; and “You Make Loving Fun.”

Rumours won Album of the Year at the Grammys in 1978 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003. It was also selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2017. 

As of February 2023, Rumours had sold over 40 million copies worldwide and had been been certified 21-times Platinum by the RIAA.

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ABBA Voyage, the virtual concert production starring computer-generated “avatars” of the members of ABBA, backed by a live orchestra, has been playing exclusively in London since May 2022. But the show is reportedly heading to the U.S. for a run in — where else? — Las Vegas.

Sources tell The Las Vegas Review-Journal the show will be staged in a custom-built facility on the Strip, with Resorts World the leading contender to host it. It’ll start as a limited engagement, then be extended if the demand is there.

ABBA Voyage used motion-capture technology to create digital “avatars” of group members Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad as they looked in 1979. In the London show, the avatars then “perform” the group’s biggest hits, while a live 10-piece orchestra accompanies them. The hit-packed set list includes “Mamma Mia,” “Does Your Mother Know,” “Waterloo,” “SOS,” “Fernando” and, of course, “Dancing Queen.”

The motion-capture technology is courtesy of Industrial Light and Magic, which also worked on U2‘s eye-popping, recently concluded residency at Sphere in Las Vegas.

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While Peter Frampton is a rock star in his own right, he’s had no problem stepping out of the spotlight and lending his guitar expertise to other artists, and in a new interview he reveals why he likes to do it.

“I’ve always enjoyed doing sessions for other people because everybody works differently,” he tells RockOn magazine. “Every artist has different material, and I enjoy bringing my creativity as a guitarist. I’m a guitar player first and foremost. Even if I’ve got a cold, I can still do a good solo.” 

But there are things that can slow him down. In 2019 Frampton was diagnosed with the progressive disease inclusion body myositis, which affects his hands, although for now he can still play. In fact, he’s currently on his Never Ever Say Never tour.

“I’ve got to have the wherewithal to be able to play, and I’m adapting, but I am losing strength in my hands,” he says. “But between the audience and the adrenaline and my love of playing music, especially guitar, somehow I pull it off every night.” 

Frampton is currently nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and he’s anticipating “a wonderful next couple of years” if he gets in. Those years will also include the 50th anniversary of his iconic live album Frampton Comes Alive in 2026, which is a milestone that won’t be forgotten.

“We’re going to have a big party,” he says. “I hope I’ll be able to do some playing then.” 

Frampton’s current tour hits Omaha, Nebraska, on April 3, with dates confirmed through April 14 in San Diego. A complete list of shows can be found at frampton.com.

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