Classic Hits

The late Robbie Robertson and director Martin Scorsese, his good friend and collaborator, will be honored with the Society of Composers and Lyricists’ Spirit of Collaboration Award.

The award honors “a composer/director relationship which has created a prodigious body of work.” In addition to the Oscar-nominated score for Killers of the Flower Moon, Robertson and Scorsese have worked on 13 projects together, including movies like Gangs of New York, Raging Bull, Casino and The Color of Money.

Robertson’s Killers of the Flower Moon score has also been nominated by the SCL in the Original Score for a Studio Film category, where it will compete with the scores of Saltburn, The Boy and the Heron, Oppenheimer and American Fiction. 

Also earning an SCL nod is Lenny Kravitz, whose Rustin song “Road to Freedom” has been nominated in the Outstanding Original Song for a Drama or Documentary category. It is set to compete against songs from the movies The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, American Symphony, Carmen and Jacob the Baker.  

The fifth annual SCL Awards are set to take place Tuesday, Feb. 13, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California.

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On This Day, January 25, 1991…

Paul McCartney recorded an episode of MTV Unplugged at Limehouse Studios in Wembley, London.

The legendary Beatle took the name of the show literally, performing each song completely unplugged, unlike other artists who used acoustic instruments plugged into amplifiers.

The set list featured such songs as “Blackbird,” “We Can Work it Out,” “And I Love Her,” “Here, There and Everywhere” and more.

McCartney’s appearance on MTV Unplugged’s second season proved to be pivotal for the show. As one of the first A-list artists to do the show, he influenced other big name stars, including R.E.M., Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart, to follow suit.

The episode aired on April 3, 1991, and a live album of McCartney’s performance, Unplugged (The Official Bootleg), was released a month later, including three songs that were not featured on the program. He was the first artist to release a live album of the show.

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If you missed the chance to see Queen Rock Montreal in IMAX theaters last weekend, you now have a second chance.

The film’s IMAX release has been extended, with additional showings set to run from Friday, January 26, to Thursday, February 1.

The extension comes after the initial IMAX weekend brought in $4.1 million globally, to make it the biggest IMAX exclusive event opening ever. 

Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor caught a screening of the IMAX film, and in a new video they share what it was like to see the concert on such a big screen.

“I’ve never seen anything that makes you feel quite so involved with the performance,” Roger shares. “And the great surprise for me was how f****** good we were.” 

“The quality of the shots is amazing, really amazing, but the energy is there, my God there’s a lot of energy,” May adds. “As Roger said when we finished watching it, ‘Bloody hell, we weren’t bad were we?’” 

As for seeing the late Freddie Mercury onstage again, Brian notes, “It’s just something you really treasure these days. You want to see every breath he takes. … It makes us very emotional seeing that.”

“Fred was just the most inspiring frontman. I have no bad memories, just joy working with him,” Roger recalls. “I guess it’s a good snapshot of Freddie probably near the height of his powers.”

Tickets for Queen Rock Montreal are on sale now.

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Back to the Future fans probably couldn’t imagine the film without Christopher Lloyd playing Doc Brown, but it turns out he may not have been the first choice for the role.

While at the Sundance Film Festival, Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo told The Wrap he was originally offered the part by the film’s producer Steven Spielberg and director Robert Zemeckis.

Mothersbaugh says Spielberg and Zemeckis attended one of Devo’s shows, and at the end of the night they came up to him and said they wanted to talk to him about working on their film. He was convinced they were going to ask him to do the score, so he was totally surprised by their offer.

“I went into this meeting and they said, ‘Well, we love what you do on stage. We love the way your band looks. We want you to be sort of a crazy mad scientist in this film we’re doing,”’ he shared. When he asked them what they meant, they told him, “There’s a part in the film of a guy who runs around in a lab coat and he has a car that goes through time. We want you to play that part.” 

But Mothersbaugh had no interest, telling them, “I don’t want to act in a movie.” When they argued he already acts onstage, Mothersbaugh countered, “Well, we make that stuff up ourselves.”

And while Mothersbuagh didn’t do the film, a quick reference to Devo is featured in the movie: Marty, played by Michael J. Fox, comments, “What is this Devo?” when he sees Doc’s contamination suit. That clip now appears in the new documentary Devo, which had its debut at the Sundance Film Festival.

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Melanie Safka, best known for her breakthrough appearance at Woodstock and her #1 hit “Brand New Key,” has passed away at age 76. 

Safka was one of three solo female singers to perform at Woodstock. Her appearance inspired her to write the tune “Candles in the Rain,” which she released in 1970 and became her first U.S. hit, peaking at #6 on the Billboard charts. She released “Brand New Key” in 1971; it went on to be her biggest hit, reaching #1 in the U.S., Canada and Australia, and #4 in the U.K.  

Safka’s other known tracks include a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday,” “Peace Will Come,” “What Have They Done To My Song Ma” and “The Nickel Song.” She was also a well-known songwriter, writing tunes for such artists as Ray Charles, Cissy Houston, Mott The Hoople and others.

And there is apparently more music from Safka to come. Before her death she recorded a cover of Morrissey’s “Ouija Board Ouija Board” for a planned tribute album. She also started work on her 32nd studio album, a covers album tentatively titled Second Hand Smoke, recording a cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” for the album.

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 First he took a shot at Sammy Hagar; now David Lee Roth is taking aim at Eddie Van Halen’s son, Mammoth WVH frontman Wolfgang Van Halen.

In a new Roth Show video, the rocker shares his displeasure at having had to work with Eddie’s son, who played bass in Van Halen from 2007 to 2015. Roth starts off the video with a mock interview, painting Wolfgang as Jesus Christ, who’s complaining about not getting any respect.

“I want people to know I got this job because of my talent,” says Roth. “I woulda had this job anyway even if my dad wasn’t God,” a reference to claims Wolfgang only got the Van Halen gig because of his dad. 

Referring to Wolfgang as “this f****** kid” throughout the video, Roth then starts discussing how Wolfgang would complain about his behavior onstage.

“He’s complaining the entire tour like I’m not paying enough attention to him onstage,” Roth says. “I’m giving him the best, everything I got in front of 20-30,000 people at a clip and he’s complaining to everybody around me, the business manager, the security guy, the clothing lady, ‘Dave’s not paying enough attention to me.’”

Roth then tells two stories about how Wolfgang had Roth’s female guests thrown out of shows in New York and Los Angeles to allegedly teach him a lesson. But unbeknownst to Wolfgang, the women were actually from the band’s accounting firm and were there to pay the crew. Roth gave them tickets only after Eddie and Alex Van Halen stiffed them.

The video comes just days after Roth went after Hagar in a clip, suggesting Hagar being probed by aliens was the reason for his bad behavior toward Roth.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

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He’s not currently nominated for a Grammy, but Billy Joel will take the stage at this year’s Grammy Awards, set for February 4 in Los Angeles.

Over the years, The Piano Man has won five Grammys, including Album of the Year for 52nd Street, and Record and Song of the Year for “Just the Way You Are.” He also received a Grammy Legend Award. So far, he’s the only announced performer who isn’t a current nominee: The other performers include Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo, as well as Luke Combs, Afrobeats star Burna Boy and rapper Travis Scott.

News of Billy’s appearance on the telecast comes just a few days after the release of his first pop single since 2007, “Turn the Lights Back On.”  

Billboard suggests that the Grammy folks may want to create some kind of “Grammy moment” with Billy and Olivia, because she mentioned him in the lyrics of her song “déjà vu.” Olivia did actually join Billy onstage at Madison Square Garden in 2022: they sang “déjà vu” and “Uptown Girl” together.

January 27 marks the 10-year anniversary of the start of Billy’s record-breaking residency at Madison Square Garden, which will come to an end in July.

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Elton John‘s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour may be in the rearview mirror, but the memories will last forever.

The Rocket Man has announced a new book, Farewell Yellow Brick Road: Memories of My Life On Tour, which  offers fans a behind-the-scenes look at the record-breaking tour, from its kickoff in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 2018 to its final show in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2023.

On Instagram, Elton writes, “It’s been a beautiful journey creating this book and remembering the people and places that shaped an incredible chapter in my life. As well as the stories and memories — not just from this tour but from throughout my career — I’ve included unreleased photography and memorabilia that I hope give you never-before-seen insights of my life on the road.”

The book, which costs $59, also includes a forward by Elton’s husband, David Furnish, and the tour’s creative director. It’s out September 24, but if you’re a member of Elton’s Rocket Club or buy it through his official store, you’ll get yours two weeks early. You can visit store.eltonjohn.com to preorder it now.

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Mark Knopfler is back with new music. The Dire Straits frontman announced that he’ll release his 10th studio album One Deep River on April 12, and he’s giving fans their first taste of the record with the release of lead single “Ahead of the Game.”

According to the album’s description, One Deep River “offers an unstoppable flow of future Knopfler classics, with their customarily learned lyrics and refined guitar textures.”

One Deep River is Knopfler’s first album since 2018’s Down The Road Wherever. It will be released digitally and on CD, cassette and as a two-LP set. There’s also a box set featuring the standard CD and two-LP release, along with a bonus CD and bonus vinyl, three guitar picks, a lithograph print and more.

Below is the track list for One Deep River. It is available for preorder now.

“Two Pairs Of Hands”
“Ahead Of The Game”
“Smart Money”
“Scavengers Yard”
“Black Tie Jobs”
“Tunnel 13”
“Janine”
“Watch Me Gone”
“Sweeter Than The Rain”
“Before My Train Comes”
“This One’s Not Going To End Well”
“One Deep River”

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Neil Young has been announced as one of the headliners for the 2024 Bourbon & Beyond Festival, taking place September 19-22 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Young will co-headline opening night with Beck, with Dave Matthews Band and Tedeschi Trucks Band booked for Friday, Zach Bryan and Cody Jinks on Saturday, and Tyler Childers and My Morning Jacket on Sunday.

Bourbon & Beyond is expanding this year to include two new stages and 40 more artists, with the bill also including The Beach Boys, Melissa Etheridge, Patty Smyth, Chris Isaak, Lyle Lovett, Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers, Soul Asylum, The National and Matchbox Twenty. 

Passes and single-day tickets are on sale now. More information, including a complete lineup, can be found at bourbonandbeyond.com.

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