Classic Hits

Bob Dylan is currently on his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, but apparently, not all concertgoers are loving the experience. In fact, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer got heckled by a fan at his concert Friday, March 1, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 

In fan-shot footage posted to YouTube, you can hear a member of the audience share their two cents, shouting to Dylan, “Play something we know.”

But Dylan didn’t seem to care too much about the heckler’s opinion. He actually ignored the comment and continued on with his next song, “When I Paint My Masterpiece,” which he performed to the tune of “Putting on the Ritz.” 

The fan never got their wish; the set list was absent of any Dylan hits, as has been customary on his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour.

Dylan is set to kick off a two-night stand in Clearwater, Florida, March 5 and 6. He has Rough and Rowdy Ways tour dates confirmed through September 17 in Buffalo, New York. A complete list of dates can be found at bobdylan.com.

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Fender is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Stratocaster with an all-star performance of “Voodoo Child” by Jimi Hendrix, who was known for playing the Stratocaster and was often seen performing with his signature off-white Strat.

Guitarists performing in the tribute include Chic’s Nile Rodgers, Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, Jimmie Vaughan and Biffy Clyro’s Sam Neil.

“One of the fascinating nuances about Jimi was that his guitars weren’t just instruments to him, but extensions of him…part of his persona,” Janie Hendrix, Hendrix’s sister and Experience Hendrix CEO, shares. “He communicated a different vibe through each guitar and that’s what made him select certain instruments for certain songs.” 

She adds, “If you listen to songs from Are You Experienced you feel the electricity of his Strat that he played in live performances, bringing that unmistakable surge created by Jimi through that extension of himself. It’s a thrilling thing to see and hear.” 

The video is part of a new 70th anniversary celebration campaign launch for the Stratocaster dubbed “Forever Ahead of Its Time.” It will include Strat Sessions, featuring performances and conversations with guitarists; Icons of the Strat, a portrait series honoring legendary Strat players; and more. There will also be a new line of 70th anniversary Stratocaster models.

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Madonna was forced to postpone the start of her Celebration Tour last year due to a bacterial infection that landed her in the hospital and she claimed nearly killed her. At her March 4 show in Los Angeles, she gave the audience some details about how sick she was.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Madonna said, “I would call in every other day and ask [my doctor] why I didn’t have any energy, when was my energy going to come back, when was I going to feel myself again, when can I go on tour again?’ All he would say is, ‘Go outside, in the sun.’”

“It was so hard for me to walk from my house to the backyard and sit in the sun. I know that sounds insane, but it was difficult … ” she continued. “It’s a strange thing to finally not feel like I was in control, and that was my lesson: to let go.”

She then thanked everyone who “took care me and listened to all of my endless complaining,” adding, “You’re patient and you’re kind. You still are.”

Madonna also revealed that when she was in bed hooked up to machines, her manager, Guy Oseary, asked her when she thought she might be ready to tour again.

“I took the oxygen out of my nose, I looked at him, and I said, ‘in two f****** months!’” Madonna stated. “I just said it. Sometimes you just have to say s***, put it out in the universe, and it happens.”

“My children are what really helped me pull through because they worked so hard …I didn’t want to let them down, so I just set a date, and that date became a reality,” she explained, adding, “I didn’t want to disappoint my fans. I never do.”

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The Black Crowes have dropped a new music video for “Wanting and Waiting,” the first single from their upcoming album, Happiness Bastards.

The clip, directed by Christopher Acosta, is the band’s first music video in 16 years, their last being 2008’s “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution.”

The video features brothers Chris and Rich Robinson and the rest of the band performing in front of a large video screen that flashes various words and images, including skulls and crows. 

Happiness Bastards, The Black Crowes’ first album of new music in 15 years, drops March 15 and is available for preorder now. 

The band 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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On This Day, March 5, 2023… 

Gary Rossington, guitarist for Southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd, passed away at the age of 71. 

Rossington, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 2006, was the last remaining original member of Skynyrd’s lineup. He had been the last surviving original member of the band following the death of Larry Junstrom in 2019.

Rossington played guitar on many of the band’s biggest hits, including “Simple Man” and “Sweet Alabama,” both of which he co-wrote with Ronnie Van Zant, as well as “Tuesday’s Gone.” He also played slide guitar on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s signature tune “Free Bird.”

Rossington was one of the passengers who survived the October, 20, 1977, Mississippi plane crash that took the lives of Lynyrd Skynyrd members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve and Cassie Gaines and three others. He broke both his arms, legs, wrists, ankles and pelvis.

Lynyrd Skynyrd decided to continue as a band after Rossington’s death. They launch a new leg of the Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour with ZZ Top on Friday, March 8, in Savannah, Georgia. A complete list of dates can be found at lynyrdskynyrd.com.

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Bono has a new award to add to his trophy shelf.

The U2 frontman’s memoir, Surrender, won Audiobook of the Year at the 2024 Audie Awards, which took place Monday, March 4, at the Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles.

Surrender, which was released in November 2022 and featured the subtitle 40 Songs, One Story, followed Bono, born Paul Hewson, from his childhood in Dublin to the formation of U2 and their journey to superstardom.

Bono narrated the audiobook. Printed copies of Surrender featured 40 of his original drawings. 

Following the release of Surrender, Bono went on a worldwide Stories of Surrender book tour, which hit 14 cities and included an 11-night residency at New York’s Beacon Theatre.

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The public may be getting some more insight into the early days of The Beatles, only this time from the point of view of former Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe.

The U.K. Mirror reports that the Sutcliffe Estate is looking to sell a collection of rare photos, letters, memorabilia and artwork that belonged to Sutcliffe, and auction houses are interested in paying millions to get their hands on it. 

The collection includes 37 slides and photos of the group from the period between from 1960 to 1962, including shots with Sutcliffe and good friend John Lennon. There are also pieces of Sutcliffe’s personal artwork.

“The dream was for some of the art collection to find a home where it would be available to all,” Diane Vitale, chief executive of the estate, tells the paper. “The mission was always for it to return to where it all began.”

She’s hoping some of the items could go on display at a university or museum so the public can enjoy them. 

“Finding a benefactor who could finance a university or museum acquisition would be ideal,” she says, “and while Liverpool is my first choice it could happen anywhere.” 

Sutcliffe, a college friend of Lennon’s, joined The Beatles in early 1960 and was their original bass player. He left the group the following year to pursue his artistic studies in Hamburg, Germany. He passed away in April 1962 at the age of 21 after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

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Earth, Wind & Fire has won a lawsuit they brought against a cover band that they claimed was infringing on their trademark. 

Back in March 2023, Earth, Wind & Fire LLP, the rights holders of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group’s trademark, sued Substantial Music Group and Stellar Communications over their Earth, Wind & Fire Legacy Reunion, a tribute band featuring unnamed “former members” of the R&B group.

The real Earth, Wind & Fire argued Legacy Reunion was using the real band’s logos, word mark and more to mislead consumers into paying more money for their shows. 

In a ruling handed down Monday, March 4, in Miami, a judge agreed with Earth, Wind & Fire, ruling Legacy Reunion did indeed infringe on their intellectual property rights, citing online posts by frustrated consumers as proof the public was misled by Legacy Reunion’s advertising.

According to the ruling, Legacy Reunion’s “advertisements draw a close, unmistakable association with Earth, Wind & Fire to a degree unwarranted by the historical record,” noting that even if some members of Legacy Reunion were in Earth Wind & Fire for a time, “the advertisement and marketing were still deceptive and misleading as to whether the main (or most prominently known) members of the band would be performing.”

The judge ruled Legacy Reunion must now stop doing anything that will infringe on the Earth, Wind & Fire trademarks. As for any monetary compensation, that will be decided during a bench trial in May.

In the meantime, the real Earth, Wind & Fire is set tour with Lionel Richie on the Sing A Song All Night Long tour, starting May 23 in Knoxville, Tennessee. They will also tour with Chicago starting July 10 in St. Louis, Missouri. A complete list of dates can be found at earthwindandfire.com.

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There was a reunion of The Beatles in Paris on Monday, March 4.

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were spotted sitting in the front row at Paris Fashion Week, taking in the fall/winter womenswear show being put on by designer Stella McCartney, Paul’s daughter.

McCartney’s wife, Nancy Shevell, and Ringo’s wife, Barbara Bach, were also in attendance, as was Stella’s sister Mary McCartney and celebrity guests like Paris Jackson, M.I.A., Anna Wintour, Naomie Harris, Ashley Graham and Jameela Jamil.

The Paris reunion comes just four months after The Beatles released what they say will be their final song, “Now and Then,” using vocals John Lennon recorded on a demo in the late ’70s, along with guitar the late George Harrison recorded in the mid-’90s, and new recordings from McCartney and Starr. The song debuted at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #1 in the U.K.

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Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Rickey Medlocke has some strong opinions about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, specifically the fact that he’s not in it.

Medlocke was Skynyrd’s drummer from 1971-72, rejoined the band as guitarist in 1996 and has been with them ever since. Despite the long tenure, there have been many who have questioned whether he should be considered an original member of the band, including the HOF, as he was not inducted with Skynryd in 2006.

“The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame stated that I have not had any link or that I wasn’t significant to the career, and it didn’t want me being inducted with them,” Medlocke shared in an interview with Iridium Rock and Metal Reviews, describing the decision as “kind of a blow to me.”

“Here’s what I say to them,” he added, giving the HOF the middle finger.

Medlocke got particularly peeved when he saw who has been getting inducted but noted, “It is what it is. My Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is the fans out there and the music that I play and the band that I play in, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and my own stuff.”

Next up for Medlocke and Lynyrd Skynyrd, they’re due to kick off a new leg of the Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour with ZZ Top on Friday, March 8, in Savannah, Georgia. A complete list of dates can be found at lynyrdskynyrd.com.

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