Classic Hits

The upcoming Linda Ronstadt biopic has found a director. Variety has confirmed a report in Showbiz 411 that Oscar-nominated director David O. Russell, best known for such films as Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle and The Fighter, will direct the film, which will star Selena Gomez as the legendary singer. 

The movie, currently in preproduction, is being produced by Ronstadt’s manager, John Boylan, and James Keach, who produced a 2019 documentary about Ronstadt called The Sound of My Voice.

Gomez’s casting was revealed earlier this month; the Only Murders in the Building star initially teased the news by posting a photo of Ronstadt’s memoir Simple Dreams to her Instagram Story.

An 11-time Grammy winner, with 10 top 10 hits, Ronstadt was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and awarded the National Medal of the Arts and Humanities in 2014. She also received the Kennedy Center Honors award in 2019.

Ronstadt announced her retirement in 2011. In 2013, she revealed she had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which prevented her from singing. She later shared that her diagnosis had been changed to progressive supranuclear palsy.

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Back in December, a three-day auction of items owned by the late ZZ Top legend Dusty Hill brought in over $3 million at Julien’s Auctions. Now, fans are getting another chance to get their hands on some of his personal memorabilia.

Julien’s just announced the online auction, The Collection Of Dusty Hill Of ZZ Top (Part II), is happening Wednesday, January 31, featuring vintage concert T-shirts, custom performance jackets, personalized sports jerseys, awards, backstage passes and more. 

The auction will also feature several Hill bass guitars, including the last of his two Bolin Gretsch style Bo Diddley fur bass guitars, covered in full white New Zealand sheepskin, which is estimated to sell for between $10,000 and $15,000, and a 2012 stage-used Fender Custom Shop Dusty Hill Signature Precision bass, estimated to sell for between $10,000 and $12,000.

Other items up for auction include: a group of 104 custom guitar picks, 26 of which were custom designed by Hill; Dusty’s cream American Hat Co. maxi-felt wool hat; a custom black velvet cropped jacket with a geometric silver sparkle design; and a vintage concert poster from 1973, promoting a show with Lynyrd Skynyrd. 

A complete list of items and more details on the auction can be found at juliensauctions.com.

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On This Day, January 15, 1977…

The Eagles landed their third #1 with their fifth studio album, Hotel California.

The album spent eight nonconsecutive weeks in the top spot and went on to become one of the bestselling albums of all time, selling over 32 million records and being certified 26-times Platinum by the RIAA.

Hotel California was the Eagles first album with guitarist Joe Walsh. Songs like the title track, “Life in the Fast Lane” and “New Kid in Town” went on to become iconic songs for the band.

A hit with critics, the title track of Hotel California won the Grammy for Record of the Year; the album was nominated for Album of the Year but lost to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours.

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The Black Crowes just announced they’ll be releasing their first album of new music in 15 years, Happiness Bastards, on March 15. Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson called it quits on The Crowes in 2015 before reuniting in 2019. While you’d think their past relationship problems may have been an issue when they went to write music again, Rich says that wasn’t really the case.

“I wouldn’t say we had to repair our writing relationship, because that was never an issue,” Rich tells Rolling Stone magazine. “That was always the one natural thing, with very little volatility — when we would sit down to write, for whatever reason.”

Of course they still had work to do so they didn’t run into the problems they’ve had in the past.

“Everything else was just making the decision to be adults, and not fall back into those sort of old patterns,” Rich adds. “But us getting back together and being cool and just getting it to that place lifts everything up.”

It’s been almost 34 years since The Black Crowes released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, but Rich says fans shouldn’t expect a drastically different sound on the new album.

“I write how I write, like it or hate it. I think Chris is the same way,” he says. “We have always followed our heart, followed our ears where we choose to. Sometimes to our commercial detriment.” 

And Rich assures fans they will like what they hear on the record, noting, “Chris sounds f****** better than ever, in my opinion.”

Happiness Bastards is available for preorder now.

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Bruce Springsteen has released the latest edition to his Live Archives Series: his July 23, 2013, concert at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

The show was part of the European leg of his Wrecking Ball tour, with Springsteen archivist Erik Flannigan calling it “a rambunctious romp loaded with rarities.”

In addition to performances of classics like “Hungry Heart,” “Born to Run,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” and an acoustic “Thunder Road,” the show featured the one and only performance of “TV Movie,” from the Tracks box set, along with “Cynthia,” “Summertime Blues” and “Tougher Than The Rest.” There’s also a cover of The Animals‘ “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place,” featuring a guest appearance by The Animals’ Eric Burdon.

The show is currently streaming exclusively on nugs.net, and is also available on CD and hi-res downloads.

And Bruce fans will soon get to see him back onstage where he belongs. He and The E Street Band are set to kick off their 2024 tour on Tuesday, March 19, in Phoenix, Arizona.

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Huey Lewis is featured in a newly released cover of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” from jam band Umphrey’s McGee.

The performance comes from Lewis’ final recording session before he suffered hearing loss from Ménière’s disease, which prevents him from hearing well enough to sing. He revealed his condition in 2018 and subsequently canceled all remaining tour dates.

“It was a real thrill to sing this with the Umphrey’s guys,” Lewis shares. “I have been a fan from the first time I heard them, and was keen to join them for this tune.”

“Let’s Dance,” which also features saxophonist Jeff Coffin, is available now via digital outlets and on YouTube.

This isn’t the first time Huey has joined Umphrey’s McGee. He appeared on two tracks on their 2006 album, Safety in Numbers, including “Women, Wine and Song,” which he performed with them on a 2006 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

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The Who infamously sang, “I hope I die before I get old” in their hit “My Generation,” which frontman Roger Daltrey seems to have some thoughts on now that he’s about to turn 80 in March.

Daltrey, who recently announced he was retiring as curator of the annual Teenage Cancer Trust charity shows, talked to the U.K. Times at a cancer ward, where he discussed the concept of getting older.

“Actually, being around these young people today I do ask myself, ‘What the f*** am I still doing here?’” he says. “I’m in the way. All us old farts, we really are just in the way of the young now, aren’t we?”

Daltrey blames his generation for the problems with the U.K.’s National Health Service, noting, “It’s partly because all these old farts like me are in the way, isn’t it? Let’s just die! Get me and my lot out the way.”

While some may fear dying, Daltrey seems to have come to terms with it.

“My dreams came true so, listen, I’m ready to go at any time,” he says. “My family are all great and all taken care of. You’ve got to be realistic.” He adds, “You can’t live your life forever. Like I said, people my age, we’re in the way. There are no guitar strings to be changed on this old instrument.” 

The Who is set to play two Teenage Cancer Trust shows on March 18 and 20 at London’s Royal Albert Hall, and that just may be it for the band. 

Asked about The Who’s future, Daltrey replies, “I can’t answer that…We [he and Townshend] need to sit down and have a meeting, but at the moment I’m happy saying that part of my life is over.”

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Queen‘s shows are known for including a set list filled with well known hits, but sometimes they get a chance to delve deeper into their catalog. That’s the subject of this week’s episode of their YouTube series, Queen the Greatest Live. 

In the latest clip, they take a look at a Queen + Adam Lambert appearance at Japan’s Summer Sonic Festival 2014, where they broke out the album track “I Was Born To Love You,” which is described as a “cult gem” for Japanese audiences.

The tune, which was first released on Freddie Mercury’s 1985 solo album, Mr. Bad Guy, and then reworked for Queen’s posthumous 1995 album, Made In Heaven, was particularly popular in Japan. In 1996, it was used in a commercial for Kirin beer, and in 2004, it was used as the opening theme song for a TV drama series Pride, about a successful ice hockey team.

“I had an obsession with the song, and had the idea to make a new version, simulating how it would have sounded if we had been able to play it live with Freddie on stage,” Brian May shares. “So the Queen version was put together as a ‘virtual’ live track, using Freddie’s spectacular vocal as the central thread.” 

He adds, “Little did we know that years later we’d have the opportunity with Adam to finally bring this arrangement to life on a real stage.”

Queen + Adam Lambert will have a chance to perform the song again for Japanese audiences. Their Rhapsody Tour will hit Japan starting February 4 in Nagoya. A complete list of dates can be found at queenonline.com.

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Heart’s Ann Wilson has collaborated with metal band Disturbed on the track “Don’t Tell Me,” and the video for the song is out now. 

The clip, streaming now on YouTube, features sepia-toned close-ups of Wilson and the Disturbed band members as they provide the soundtrack to a couple slowly fading apart.

“I was honored when I got the call from (Disturbed frontman) David Draiman,” Wilson shares. “Disturbed did a version of ‘The Sound of Silence’ that my husband and I both really dug. And so, when the opportunity came to sing a duet with him on a song that meant so much to David emotionally, I jumped at the chance. And then the video turned out great, which is yet another cherry on top.”

“Hopefully we’ll find a time to perform ‘Don’t Tell Me’ live together at some point,” Wilson adds. “If they call, I’m there.” 

Draiman shares that he has “tremendous respect” for Wilson, noting, “In my humble opinion, she’s the greatest female rock voice of all time. I think she’s untouchable. I feel like we were very gifted to have her be a part of this.” 

“Don’t Tell Me” is included on Disturbed’s latest album, 2022’s Divisive.

Last month, Heart returned to the stage for the first time since 2019 for a series of shows that included a New Year’s Eve headlining gig in their hometown of Seattle, Washington. They are currently booked to play three shows on the Journey and Def Leppard summer tour, including a show August 5 at Boston’s Fenway Park. A complete list of dates can be found at heart-music.com.

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Santana has teamed with Run DMC’s Darryl “DMC” McDaniels for a new song, “Let The Guitar Play,” which reimagines his 2021 release “Song for Cindy.”

The new take, produced by Lino Nicolosi, Nicolosi Team and Narada Michael Walden, features Carlos Santana’s signature guitar style mixed with an EDM-style drum beat and a poetic rap by DMC.

“Now, more than ever, it is essential that we heal life, people, and the planet,” Carlos shares. “This music is assigned and designed to touch your heart, take you out of your misery, and to remind you that you are significant, meaningful, and can make a difference in the world.”

He adds that it was a “joy to collaborate” with DMC and the producers, noting, “Our collective vision is to heal and to bring light and peace. Please join us!” 

You can listen to “Let The Guitar Play” now via digital outlets or watch the video on YouTube. 

The song release comes as Santana is getting ready to return to the stage in Las Vegas. His An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live residency returns to the House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay on Wednesday, January 24, with dates booked through May. A complete list of shows can be found at santana.com.

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