Classic Hits

There’s no doubt Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison had huge success as The Beatles, but their careers certainly didn’t end once the band broke up in 1970.

All four members went on to have successful solo careers, and now Rolling Stone is taking a deep dive into their solo material with its just-released list of the 100 best Beatles solo songs.

The list is compiled by music journalist Rob Sheffield, who knows a thing or two about The Beatles, having written the 2017 book Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World. In a post on social media he said compiling the list was a “true labor of love.”

Topping the list is McCartney’s 1970 classic “Maybe I’m Amazed,” which he wrote for wife Linda McCartney. Sheffield writes that McCartney “wrote his most soulful, passionate, unforgettable love song for Linda, in the aftermath of The Beatles break-up,” adding the tune “captures the moment when their romance was just beginning.”

The couple married in 1969 and were together for 29 years until Linda’s death in 1998.

Coming in at #2 is Lennon’s 1970 track “God,” which is described as the “most ferocious performance of his lifetime, or practically anyone’s.”

Harrison’s “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)” comes in at #3, followed by Ringo’s “It Don’t Come Easy” at #4 and Lennon’s “Mind Games” at #5. 

Rounding out the top 10 are: McCartney & Wings’ “Band on the Run” at #6, Harrison’s “Isn’t It a Pity” at #7, McCartney’s “Too Many People” at #8, Lennon’s “Imagine” at #9 and Harrison’s “Pure Smokey” at #10.

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Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown will soon have Jon Bon Jovi as a father-in-law, as she’s been engaged to his son Jake Bongiovi since April 2023. So, does she have a favorite Bon Jovi tune?

“I would say ‘Runaway,’” Brown tells The Mary Sue, referring to Bon Jovi’s debut single, which was released in 1984, 20 years before she was born. 

But it’s not her favorite simply because it’s a catchy tune. The track actually appeared in Stranger Things and she sees that as some sort of sign.

“Because in Stranger Things, ‘Runaway’ plays over one of my scenes. So it was foreshadowing my engagement,” the 20-year-old explains. “I was like, ‘They knew, Stranger Things knew. Like Netflix always knows.’”

She adds, “If you’re ever in doubt, Netflix will solve it. Don’t worry. But yeah, I think ‘Runaway’ is such a good song.”

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Annie Lennox, Graham Nash and Jackson Browne are among the artists who’ve signed an open letter published in the Los Angeles Times that uses the Oscar-nominated film Oppenheimer to remind the public that nuclear weapons are not a thing of the past.

“Oppenheimer depicts the origin story of nuclear weapons, the history of the Manhattan Project, and Robert Oppenheimer’s subsequent warnings against an arms race and the development of even more powerful weapons,” reads the letter, which is also posted to the website makenukeshistory.org. “Oppenheimer was right to warn us.” 

They add, “As artists and advocates, we want to raise our voices to remind people that while Oppenheimer is history, nuclear weapons are not.” 

The letter was published as Oppenheimer is in the running for 13 Oscars on Sunday, March 10. It’s part of a campaign started by the nonprofit Nuclear Threat Initiative, which is “focused on reducing nuclear and biological threats imperiling humanity.” 

Other artists signing the letter include Jane Fonda, Emma Thompson, Lily Tomlin, Michael Douglas, Julianne Moore and Viggo Mortensen, as well as Oppenheimer’s own grandson, Charles Oppenheimer.

The letter concludes, “To protect our families, our communities, and our world, we must demand that global leaders work to make nuclear weapons history—and build a brighter future. Please join us—before our luck runs out.”

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America co-founder Gerry Beckley is back with new music.

The artist will release his self-titled 10th studio album on June 28 and has just dropped the album’s debut single “Crazy,” a tune he wrote over 10 years ago. 

Beckley says the track, which he finished with producer and collaborator Jeff Larson Beckley, was one he had forgotten about. 

“Jeff and I found it on a hard drive, and I thought, ‘That’s pretty good. Gimme some time,’” he says, “So, I went in and just did a bunch of extra stuff, layered it up, and it came out great.”

Comparing the tune to America’s “Sister Golden Hair” he notes, “it’s not about anybody in particular. There’s not a relationship I’m dancing around. But it’s just themes that I’ve had in my head.”

Beckley says he really likes his new album, sharing, “I think the sum of all the parts is really great. And I can’t wait to do more.”

Here is the track list for Gerry Beckley:

“My Life”
“Amnesia”
“Well Worn Shoes”
“Crazy”
“Everybody’s Talkin”
“Simone”
“Arrow”
“Folly”
“Where There’s A Will”
“Even If Tomorrow”
“Red And Blue”
“One Lit Window”

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Fans of The Doobie Brothers can look forward to some new music soon.

In an interview with Billboard, co-founders Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston reveal they’re finishing up a new album that will feature Michael McDonald.

The album will be their first with McDonald since 1980’s One Step Closer and the first to feature Simmons, Johnston and McDonald since 1975’s Takin’ It To the Streets, the band’s first record with McDonald.

“It’s very exciting,” Simmons shares about the album. “At one point I said, ‘Hey, we’re doing all these dates… As long as we’re doing this it would make sense to do a record. I think people would really get a kick out of that.’” 

He adds, “We have yet to find out whether they’ll get a kick out of it or whether we’ll get kicked for it.”

Simmons says they hope to have the album finished before they head out on the latest leg of their 50th anniversary tour this summer.

“I would put it half, maybe 60 percent where we’re at now as far as completion,” Simmons says. “The songs are done. The arrangements are pretty close.” 

The Doobie Brothers will hit the road on the latest leg of their 50th anniversary tour starting June 15 in Seattle, Washington. Special guests on the tour include Steve Winwood and The Robert Cray Band. A complete list of dates can be found at thedoobiebrothers.com.

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Billy Idol’s sophomore album, Rebel Yell, turned 40 in November, and now, he’s celebrating the milestone with a new deluxe expanded edition of the record. 

The reissue will be available digitally and as a two-LP and two-CD set on April 26. In addition to the original album, it will feature an album of previously unreleased songs and demos, including “Best Way Out Of Here,” a never-before-heard Idol/Steve Stevens track from the album’s original recording sessions and a Poolside remix of “Eyes Without A Face.”

The deluxe will also feature a cover of Rose Royce’s “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore,” which will be released on Friday, March 8, the same day the expanded edition is available for preorder.

Aside from “Eyes Without A Face,” which was a top five hit for Idol, Rebel Yell featured such classic tunes as the title track and “Flesh for Fantasy.” Videos for all three tracks got regular play on MTV. The album peaked at #6 in the U.S. and went on to be certified double Platinum by the RIAA.

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Drummer Bram van den Berg, who sat in for Larry Mullen Jr. during U2’s Las Vegas residency, U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere, is thanking U2 fans for the warm welcome he received throughout the residency run.

In a post on U2’s official forum, Zootopia, Bram calls the experience performing with the band an “adventure of a lifetime.”

“There was so much love going around during the shows and I felt incredibly supported by the U2 audience,” he adds. “You’ve all been so good to me.”

Bram shares that he felt “privileged” to be included in the shows and that Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Mullen trusted him “to represent their incredible legacy night after night.” 

“They say never meet your heroes. But I’m glad I did. Because they turned out to be the sweetest, genuine and hardest working people I’ve ever met,” he writes. “And I’m beyond humbled that I got to be part of all of your lives for those two hours and 10 minutes. What an honor!!!”

U2 wrapped up the residency on Saturday, March 2, after 40 shows at the state-of-the-art Vegas venue. As a thank you to fans, they shared a new video from the residency set to their classic “Beautiful Day,” focusing on the audience and all the fans that came to see them from around the world.

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On This Day, March 6, 2000…

Eric Clapton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, his third time being inducted into the prestigious institution. Clapton was the first and is still the only musician to be inducted into the Hall of Fame three times. 

Clapton was previously inducted into the Hall of Fame as a member of The Yardbirds in 1992, and then again in 1993 as a member of Cream.

While Clapton is the only artist to be inducted three times, several have been inducted twice, including all four members of The Beatles, all four members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Stevie Nicks, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Jeff Beck, and Dave Grohl.

The nominees for the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame were recently announced, with Peter Frampton, Foreigner and Lenny Kravitz among this year’s nominees. Inductees will be announced in April. 

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Billboards and projections appeared this week in different cities around the world with a message: “2024 is going to be LEGENDARY …,” followed by the URL BonJoviForever.com.

If you visit that website, you’ll find a countdown clock set to run out around Thursday of next week. You can also sign up for updates. 

So what is Bon Jovi teasing? Jon Bon Jovi has spoken about making a new album, so perhaps it’s a new song, an album announcement, a tour or both.

If it’s new music, it’ll be the band’s first release since the album 2020, which featured the hit “Do What You Can.” If it’s a tour, it’ll be the band’s first since 2022. Since then, Jon has had to have major reconstructive surgery on his vocal cords and has been doing rehab to get his voice back into shape.

2024 is a significant year for the band: It marks the 40th anniversary of their self-titled debut album. They also have a Hulu documentary, Thank You, Goodnight, streaming April 26. It will have its premiere at South by Southwest on March 14.

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Bruce Hornsby has had many highlights throughout his career, but in an interview with Music Radar he reveals one of his favorite things he’s ever done is join the Grateful Dead.

Discussing the artists he’s worked with in the past, he shared, “But the collaboration I had most fun with was joining the Grateful Dead.” 

“That whole scene … the fans, playing one song for a couple of hours, the people I met, the body of work that those guys created. OK, it might not be on a par with The Beatles, but it’s pretty darn close,” he said.

Hornsby initially performed with the Dead whenever he and The Range would open for them, but started filling in regularly when they were between keyboardists in the early ’90s.

“And the great thing was that they simply sat me down and said, ‘play whatever you want,’” he said. “There were no rules, no funny looks if you came in at the wrong place. There was no ‘wrong place!’ It was pure music and it was wonderful.” 

He added, “Man, I wouldn’t trade my time with the Dead for anything.” 

And while Hornsby had lots of fun touring with them, he didn’t have the kind of hallucinogenic fun some may associate with the band. 

“I knew the score. Bear Stanley [the Dead’s live sound engineer, who was known as The Acid King] was still with them and he was wandering around backstage, dropping a little of this and that into the Kool-Aid,” he said. “But I took Bear to one side and told him, ‘Look, this ain’t my thing. You dose me and I’m outta here.’”

He noted, “He was true to his word. Not that it stopped the rest of the guys having a ball up there!”

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