Classic Hits

Van Halen‘s two frontmen, Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth, haven’t been holding back in the press about their feelings toward each other. And while they may not be friends, that hasn’t stopped Hagar from appreciating the music Roth made with Van Halen before he took over.

Van Halen’s sixth studio album, 1984, celebrated its 40th anniversary in January and Hagar has nothing but good things to say about it.

“I was a huge fan of that record,” Hagar tells ABC Audio, noting it made him realize Eddie Van Halen was a “genius.”

Sammy was particularly impressed by Eddie’s synthesizer work on “Jump,” Van Halen’s only #1 single, sharing, “You know, Eddie, I just I fell in love with Eddie with that.”

And Hagar says he was even a little jealous after the success of “Jump,” sharing that prior to its release he always felt he was on the same level as Van Halen.

“You know, I felt I was in competition until I heard ‘Jump’ and the song went, you know, it was such a big hit,” he says. “I just went, ‘Wow, they did it.’ I was mad, I was upset.” He does note that he got over it once Van Halen asked him to join the band. 

Roth left Van Halen after 1984 and was replaced by Hagar. They went on to have four #1 albums with him as frontman. 

And Hagar plans to celebrate his time with Van Halen and more during his upcoming The Best of All Worlds Tour, which kicks off July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at redrocker.com.

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Lenny Kravitz was honored Sunday night with the Music Icon Award at the 2024 People’s Choice Awards.

Kravitz talked about how when he first started out people offered him big deals but only if he changed his music, sharing he turned them down because he couldn’t do something “inauthentic.”  

“An icon, to me, is someone who inspires and teaches others to believe in themselves, and their direction, whatever that direction is,” he said. “It’s never been about how many records I sell, or how many awards I win. It’s not about trying to write hits, or being calculated or formulaic.”

He added, “It’s about enjoying and being grateful for the journey, and using the gifts that God gave you, and that journey goes how it goes. And it will continue, because I’m just doing me.”

After thanking his parents, Roxie Roker and Sy Kravitz, Lenny shared, “Music is about bringing us all together. And the whole reason I create and perform music is to amplify love … Love is the strongest power, and love will win. We are all one — one God, one people, one planet. Let love rule, y’all.”

Kravitz also performed a medley of tunes at the event, including “Fly Away,” “It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over,” “Let Love Rule,” “Are You Gonna Go My Way,” and “TK421” from his upcoming album, Blue Electric Light, dropping May 24.

Kravitz is a newly announced nominee for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2024. Inductees will be announced in late April, with the induction ceremony set to take place this fall in Cleveland. The ceremony is set to stream live on Disney+, followed by a highlights special airing later on ABC.

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Def Leppard has added another tour date to their already busy schedule.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are set to headline Spokane Arena on September 6, the first time they are playing Spokane, Washington, in seven years.

Tickets for Def Leppard Rock Brigade Concert Club members go on sale Tuesday, February 20, with the general sale happening Friday, February 23. 

The Spokane show is one of only a handful of solo Def Leppard dates on their schedule for 2024. They are due to hit the road with Journey starting July 6 in St. Louis, Missouri. The tour features special guests Steve Miller Band, Heart and Cheap Trick.

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

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Paul McCartney is back on the Billboard chart thanks to the 50th anniversary reissue of his Wings album, Band on the Run.

The reissue, which went to #1 on the Billboard 200 chart when it was released in 1974, returns to the same chart at #156 for the week ending February 17.

It has also landed in the top 10 on three other Billboard charts: the Top Album Sales chart, where it reenters at #5; the Vinyl Albums chart, where it debuts at #7; and the Tastemaker Albums chart, where it’s at #6. It also debuts at #37 on the Rock & Alternative Albums chart.

Overall, 8,000 copies of Band on the Run were sold in the U.S. in the first week of the anniversary edition’s release.

The 50th anniversary release of Band on the Run featured a half-speed remastered single LP vinyl of the original album, as well as a special two-LP vinyl set comprised of the half-speed remastered original album and an additional LP, Underdubbed Mixes Edition, featuring the album’s nine songs without any orchestral overdubs.

Band on the Run was the third album released by Paul McCartney & Wings and McCartney’s fifth post-The Beatles release. It featured such classic songs as the title track, “Jet” and “Bluebird.” 

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An in-the-works biopic about the Bee Gees may have found its director. Deadline reports that Oscar-nominated director Ridley Scott, best known for such films as Thelma & Louise and Gladiator, is in talks to helm the Paramount Pictures film about the ’70s disco legends.

Paramount has been working on the film for quite a while, obtaining the rights to the band’s story from the Gibb family in 2019. It also gained the rights to the group’s music, which means the songs will likely be featured in the film.

Barry Gibb, the only surviving member of the sibling trio, which also included his late brothers Robin and Maurice, is on board as executive producer.

Scott, who recently completed directing a sequel to Gladiator, actually has a history with the Bee Gees. In the ’70s, when he was trying to launch his directing career, the group’s manager Robert Stigwood was trying to get into the movie business. He hired Scott to direct a medieval film, Castle, which was supposed to star the brothers. The film was never made.

The Bee Gees have sold over 120 million records worldwide, thanks to hit albums like the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, which won five Grammys, including Album of the Year. Their hits include such songs as “Night Fever,” “Stayin’ Alive,” “Jive Talking” and “You Should Be Dancing.”

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Queen’s Roger Taylor is selling his Los Angeles home. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame drummer has put his Spanish-style villa in the Hollywood Hills on the market, according to the Robb Report. 

Taylor purchased the 4,300-square-foot home in the early 1980s for $352,000 and has now listed it for close to $6.2 million.

So, what do you get for that price tag? The two-story house sits on a third of an acre of land. The home, which the listing says has been “remarkably restored and lovingly maintained,” features four bedrooms and five baths, with a formal living room with vaulted ceilings and a black marble fireplace.

There’s also an all-white kitchen with high-end appliances, a wine closet, dining room and a den with a stone fireplace. The master bedroom has its own fireplace, a private balcony, walk-in closet and a spa-like bathroom.

The grounds include a lagoon-style pool and a hillside spa, and there’s also a motorcourt, plus a two-car garage out front.

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Sunday, February 18, marks the 50th anniversary of the release of KISS’ self-titled debut album, and the band has now launched a new line of 50th anniversary merchandise to mark the occasion. 

Items in the collection include a 50th anniversary limited-edition KISS picture disc with an anniversary jacket featuring the KISS logo in rhinestones, as well as a limited-edition gold nugget-colored KISS vinyl, with a 50th anniversary long-sleeve shirt.

There are also a variety of 50th anniversary T-shirts and a separate 50th anniversary jacket, along with a banner, woven blanket, wing-zipped hoodie, socks, gin tumbler set, pin set, sticker, belt buckle and more.

All items are on sale now at shopkissonline.com.

Released February 18, 1974, the band’s self-titled debut featured such future KISS classics as “Strutter,” “Black Diamond,” “Deuce” and “10,000 Years.” It only sold about 75,000 copies when it was first released, but after it was rereleased in 1997 it was certified Gold by the RIAA.

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The Black Crowes are giving fans another preview of their upcoming album, Happiness Bastards.

Following the release of the album’s debut track, “Wanting and Waiting,” brothers Chris and Rich Robinson have dropped the second single from the record, “Cross Your Fingers,” which is described as having a “rhythmic chorus infused with the funk and soul of the Robinson Brothers’ Georgia roots.”

You can listen to “Cross Your Fingers” now via digital outlets and on YouTube.

The Black Crowes will release Happiness Bastards on March 15. It is their 10th studio album and their first album of new music in 15 years. 

They will also be heading out on the Happiness Bastards tour this spring, hitting 35 cities starting April 2 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. A complete list of dates can be found at theblackcrowes.com.

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There’s no doubt that artificial intelligence is changing the music industry. For one example, watch the video for Billy Joel‘s new song, “Turn the Lights Back On.” It uses what’s described as “groundbreaking technology” from a company called Deep Voodoo to transform Billy from the 74-year-old man he is today to the man he was in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. 

The video starts with a shot of the sheet music of “Famous Last Words,” the last song on Billy’s last pop album, 1993’s River of Dreams. It then shows him performing the song in the present day on an empty stage in a theater.

As he continues to sing the song, he suddenly transforms into how he looked in the ’70s, and then he turns into ’80s-era Billy, around the time of “Uptown Girl.” Next, he’s wearing shades and looks like he did in the early ’90s. As the clip ends, Billy is back to the way he looks now, and we see real-life footage of him through the years.

The video for “Turn the Lights Back On” was co-directed by Freddy Wexler, who also produced the song and co-wrote it with Billy, Arthur Bacon and Wayne Hector.

“Turn the Lights Back On” has returned Billy to the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts — as an artist, not just a writer — for the first time since 1998.

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Carole King is one of the many artists featured on the upcoming reimagining of the late Glen Campbell’s farewell album, Ghosts on the Canvas, and now we get to hear her contribution to the record. 

King is featured on the just-released track “There’s No Me Without You,” a tune written by Campbell and producer Julian Raymond about Campbell’s bond with his wife, Kim.

“Words cannot express how much I enjoyed blending my voice with Glen’s on this incredibly touching love song,” King shares. “Hard to sing when you’re crying.” 

This isn’t the first time King has sung with Campbell. In the ’60s she was part of the Keestone Family Singers, which also featured Campbell and The Everly Brothers’ Phil Everly. They released one single, “Melodrama,” in 1962.

You can listen to “There’s No Me Without You (with Carole King)” via digital outlets and on YouTube.

Glen Campbell Duets – Ghost on the Canvas Sessions recreates all the songs on Campbell’s 2011 farewell album as duets, using Campbell’s original vocals. Guest artists on the record include Elton John, Eric Clapton, Sting, Brian Wilson, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hall, Eurythmics‘ Dave Stewart, Foo Fighters drummer Josh Freese and Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen.

Glen Campbell Duets – Ghost on the Canvas Sessions will be released April 19 and is available for preorder now.

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