Classic Hits

The Kinks’ Dave Davies is taking issue with Guitar World magazine after they posted an article claiming rock producer Eddie Kramer confirmed the long-held rumor that Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page played guitar on the band’s hit “You Really Got Me.”

“I met Jimmy while he was working with the Kinks in the early ’60s when they were doing ‘You Really Got Me,’” he reportedly said. “I know the Davies brothers will say otherwise, but I recall seeing Jimmy coming in and doing an overdub on that song. There’s some contention about that, but that’s how I remember it.” 

Davies later took to social media to shoot down the suggestion, noting Kramer insists he never made those comments.

“I demand an immediate retraction from @GuitarWorld and @guitar I spoke to @EdKramerTweets yesterday and he denies ever saying that @JimmyPage played on @theKinks YRGM,” he wrote. “I played all the guitar parts on YRGM Ed Kramer told me yesterday he was misquoted.”

He added, “I’m so tired of reporters getting it wrong.” 

Rumors that Page appeared on the song have been circulating for years, but both Davies and Page himself have denied them.

“You Really Got Me,” the third single The Kinks ever released, hit #1 in the U.K. It was the band’s breakthrough hit in the U.S., peaking at #7 on the chart. It was covered by Van Halen on their 1978 self-titled debut.

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Kate Bush will be the ambassador for the U.K. edition of Record Store Day 2024.

In a statement, the “Running Up That Hill” artist calls the title a “huge honor.”

“It really is a great privilege,” Bush says. “Isn’t it great to see how the resurgence in vinyl has taken the music industry by complete surprise? It had decided to leave vinyl far behind, but it would seem that not everyone agrees! I love that!”

In addition to being the RSD U.K. ambassador, Bush is also contributing an exclusive release: a 10-inch “Eat the Music” single. “Eat the Music” was released as the lead single off Bush’s 1993 album, The Red Shoes, in the U.S., but her record label decided to go with “Rubberband Girl” for the rest of the world.

Record Store Day U.K. will take place on April 20, the same day as the U.S. version. For the full list of releases and participating store, visit RecordStoreDay.co.uk.

As previously reported, Paramore will be the 2024 U.S. RSD ambassador.

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R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe has donated some handwritten lyrics to help raise money for a good cause.

The rocker has contributed a signed lyric sheet for the track “Nightswimming” to the Art for Gaza auction. The money raised is going to Doctors Without Borders.

The auction is set to run until March 2 at 12 p.m. ET. The initial estimate for the sale was between $1,000 and $1,200, but the current bid has already surpassed that. Bids can be placed at bid.whytes.ie.

“Nightswimming” was the fifth single off R.E.M.’s eighth studio album, 1992’s Automatic for the People. It featured a string arrangement by Led Zeppelin‘s John Paul Jones.

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John Fogerty wants his fans in Australia to know that he did not cancel a planned appearance at Country Fest Queensland.

The festival is scheduled to happen March 30-31, with the promoter announcing Fogerty’s cancellation on Tuesday, February 27, due to “unforeseen circumstances” and offering refunds to fans who didn’t want to attend due to the lineup change.

But in a post on Instagram, Fogerty says his cancellation was news to him. 

“I was ready to celebrate with you all for my one and only show this year in Australia when the Country Fest Queensland blindsided me yesterday by canceling my appearance,” he shared. “It was posted that I would not be appearing due to unforeseen circumstances. Well, I can tell you, my friends, I was not the reason for the ‘unforeseen circumstances.’”

Fogerty insists, “I was ready to come down there and excited to celebrate getting my songs back with all of you.”

Country Fest Queensland was the only show Fogerty had scheduled for March. He still has a handful of European festival dates scheduled during the month of July. A complete list of shows can be found at johnfogerty.com.

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Legendary rocker Ozzy Osbourne has already made it known that he didn’t approve of Ye — the rapper formerly known as Kanye West — sampling a song by his band Black Sabbath without permission. But now the estate of another Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has gone a step further and sued West for using a song without permission.

The estate of the late Donna Summer has sued both West and his collaborator, rapper Ty Dolla $ign, for copyright infringement for interpolating her iconic song “I Feel Love” on their song “Good (Don’t Die).” The suit, obtained by ABC Audio, claims that the two rappers initially asked for permission to use the song, but were denied.

On the song, a female voice sings different lyrics to the melody of “I Feel Love.”

After the album on which the song appears was released earlier this month, Summer’s widower, Bruce Sudano, announced on social media that West had been denied permission to use the song. The song is currently unavailable to stream on Spotify. Sudano is the main plaintiff in the suit.

The suit claims that the reason permission wasn’t granted was because of West’s “controversial history” and seeks $150,000 for each act of infringement, plus legal fees and the “impoundment” of “all copies” of the song and “all masters, tapes, film negatives, or other articles by means of which such copies may be reproduced.”

The case states that the suit has been brought in order to protect “Summer’s own musical legacy and one of popular music’s most influential and ground-breaking songs.”

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Model Pattie Boyd is giving fans some direct insight into her love triangle with rockers George Harrison and Eric Clapton, thanks to a new auction happening at Christie’s.

Boyd, who was married to Harrison from 1966 to 1977 and had an affair with Clapton, who she was later married to from 1979 to 1989, is auctioning off a host of personal items: handwritten lyrics, photos and jewelry, including two letters written by Clapton while she was still married to Harrison.

“I am writing this letter to you, with the main purpose of ascertaining your feelings towards a subject well known to both of us,” he writes in one letter. “What I wish to ask you is if you still love your husband? All these questions are very impertinent, I know, but if there is still a feeling in your heart for me… you must let me know!” 

Another letter is addressed to “Layla,” Clapton’s nickname for Boyd and the inspiration for his 1971 hit song.

“Why do you hesitate, am I a poor lover, am I ugly, am I too weak, too strong, do you know why?” he writes. “If you want me, take me, I am yours … if you don’t want me, please break the spell that binds me. To cage a wild animal is a sin, to tame him is divine. My love is yours.”  

“I’m happy to let go of these things which I have treasured and loved for so many years,” Boyd shares. “These items represent special moments in my life but now I think it’s time to move on and share what I have with others.”

The auction runs from March 8 to March 22 at Christie’s online. More info can be found at Christies.com.

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Eagles frontman Don Henley took the stand on Monday, February 26, to testify in the trial over stolen handwritten notes and lyrics to the band’s classic album Hotel California.

Glen Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinki are accused of trying to sell the handwritten notes, despite knowing they were stolen. Ed Sanders, an author who’d been hired to write an Eagles biography, originally stole them in the late 1970s.

According to Rolling Stone, during his testimony, Henley said he didn’t remember sending Sanders the lyric pads to use for the biography. He then added, “You know what? It does not matter if I had driven them across the country in a U-Haul truck and dumped them at his front door. He had no right to keep or sell them.”

Henley also testified about an arrest in 1980, which he called a “poor decision.” His lawyer brought up the incident, which appeared to be a preemptive move after the defense had indicated that they planned to bring it up.

Henley was arrested after a woman he had hired through a madam had a seizure in his home, and cops found drugs at his place. He pled no contest to contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Henley said he thought she was 20 or 21 but later found out she was 16 or 17. He wound up being sentenced to two year’s probation and paid a fine of $2,500. 

“I made a poor decision, which I regret to this day,” he said. “I have had to live with it for 44 years. I am living with it today in this courtroom. Poor decision.”

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The Outlaw Music Festival is set to return this summer with an all-star lineup that features Willie Nelson & Family, Bob Dylan, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, John Mellencamp and more.

The tour is set to kick off June 21 in Alpharetta, Georgia, and wrap September 17 in Buffalo, New York. Nelson and Dylan are confirmed for the entire run, with Plant and Krauss on the bill for 10 shows through July 7 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Mellencamp joining the tour for 15 shows, starting July 29 in Chula Vista, California.

The lineup also includes Celisse, Brittney Spencer and Southern Avenue, with Billy Strings booked as a special guest for the August 10 show at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Gorge, Washington.

“This year’s Outlaw Music Festival Tour promises to be the biggest and best yet with this lineup of legendary artists,” Willie shares. “I am thrilled to get back on the road again with my family and friends playing the music we love for the fans we love.”

Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday, March 1, at 10 a.m. A complete list of dates and lineups can be found at outlawmusicfestival.com.

Nelson launched the Outlaw Music Festival in 2016; previous lineups featured such artists as Neil Young, Van Morrison, ZZ Top, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Chris Stapleton and others.

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On This Day, February 27, 1974…

Queen released their 11th studio album The Works, which featured such tracks as “Radio Ga Ga,” “Hammer to Fall” and “I Want to Break Free.”

“Radio Ga Ga,” written by drummer Roger Taylor, was the first single released from the album. It went on to hit #1 in 19 countries but only went to #2 in the U.K. and #16 in the U.S.

The video for the track “I Want to Break Free” caused some controversy because the band dressed in drag. Backlash in the U.S. led to the band’s decision to not tour the album in North America. 

The Works, which peaked at #23 in the U.S., went on to sell over 6 million copies worldwide.

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One of the moving moments of Madonna‘s Celebration Tour comes when, while singing “Live to Tell,” she displays various photos of creatives who died of AIDS, including artist Keith Haring, photographer Herb Ritts and Queen‘s Freddie Mercury. According to Page Six, one star’s photo was mistakenly included during her show in Sacramento, California, and has now been removed.

A photo of the late Luther Vandross was part of the montage during the show on February 24, reports Page Six. A rep for his estate told Page Six, “Luther Vandross passed away in 2005 due to complications from a stroke suffered two years earlier. While we appreciate Madonna’s recognition of those lives lost to AIDS, Luther was NEVER diagnosed with AIDS or the HIV Virus.”

“We’re not sure where she or her production team received false medical information claiming otherwise. We’re currently in contact with her management to remove Luther Vandross from the tribute,” the statement continued. 

Page Six reports that reps for Madonna now say the photo’s been removed. 

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