Classic Hits

Eagles frontman Don Henley took the stand on Monday, February 26, to testify in the trial over stolen handwritten notes and lyrics to the band’s classic album Hotel California.

Glen Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinki are accused of trying to sell the handwritten notes, despite knowing they were stolen. Ed Sanders, an author who’d been hired to write an Eagles biography, originally stole them in the late 1970s.

According to Rolling Stone, during his testimony, Henley said he didn’t remember sending Sanders the lyric pads to use for the biography. He then added, “You know what? It does not matter if I had driven them across the country in a U-Haul truck and dumped them at his front door. He had no right to keep or sell them.”

Henley also testified about an arrest in 1980, which he called a “poor decision.” His lawyer brought up the incident, which appeared to be a preemptive move after the defense had indicated that they planned to bring it up.

Henley was arrested after a woman he had hired through a madam had a seizure in his home, and cops found drugs at his place. He pled no contest to contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Henley said he thought she was 20 or 21 but later found out she was 16 or 17. He wound up being sentenced to two year’s probation and paid a fine of $2,500. 

“I made a poor decision, which I regret to this day,” he said. “I have had to live with it for 44 years. I am living with it today in this courtroom. Poor decision.”

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The Outlaw Music Festival is set to return this summer with an all-star lineup that features Willie Nelson & Family, Bob Dylan, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, John Mellencamp and more.

The tour is set to kick off June 21 in Alpharetta, Georgia, and wrap September 17 in Buffalo, New York. Nelson and Dylan are confirmed for the entire run, with Plant and Krauss on the bill for 10 shows through July 7 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Mellencamp joining the tour for 15 shows, starting July 29 in Chula Vista, California.

The lineup also includes Celisse, Brittney Spencer and Southern Avenue, with Billy Strings booked as a special guest for the August 10 show at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Gorge, Washington.

“This year’s Outlaw Music Festival Tour promises to be the biggest and best yet with this lineup of legendary artists,” Willie shares. “I am thrilled to get back on the road again with my family and friends playing the music we love for the fans we love.”

Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday, March 1, at 10 a.m. A complete list of dates and lineups can be found at outlawmusicfestival.com.

Nelson launched the Outlaw Music Festival in 2016; previous lineups featured such artists as Neil Young, Van Morrison, ZZ Top, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Chris Stapleton and others.

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On This Day, February 27, 1974…

Queen released their 11th studio album The Works, which featured such tracks as “Radio Ga Ga,” “Hammer to Fall” and “I Want to Break Free.”

“Radio Ga Ga,” written by drummer Roger Taylor, was the first single released from the album. It went on to hit #1 in 19 countries but only went to #2 in the U.K. and #16 in the U.S.

The video for the track “I Want to Break Free” caused some controversy because the band dressed in drag. Backlash in the U.S. led to the band’s decision to not tour the album in North America. 

The Works, which peaked at #23 in the U.S., went on to sell over 6 million copies worldwide.

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One of the moving moments of Madonna‘s Celebration Tour comes when, while singing “Live to Tell,” she displays various photos of creatives who died of AIDS, including artist Keith Haring, photographer Herb Ritts and Queen‘s Freddie Mercury. According to Page Six, one star’s photo was mistakenly included during her show in Sacramento, California, and has now been removed.

A photo of the late Luther Vandross was part of the montage during the show on February 24, reports Page Six. A rep for his estate told Page Six, “Luther Vandross passed away in 2005 due to complications from a stroke suffered two years earlier. While we appreciate Madonna’s recognition of those lives lost to AIDS, Luther was NEVER diagnosed with AIDS or the HIV Virus.”

“We’re not sure where she or her production team received false medical information claiming otherwise. We’re currently in contact with her management to remove Luther Vandross from the tribute,” the statement continued. 

Page Six reports that reps for Madonna now say the photo’s been removed. 

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An exhibit of previously unseen photos of The Rolling Stones is set to open in London on Wednesday.

The Elegantly Waisted exhibit features photos taken by the band’s friend, photographer Tony Sanchez, nicknamed “Spanish Tony.” Tony worked and lived with The Stones during the period in the late ’60s when they were recording Beggars Banquet and the concert film The Rock & Roll Circus. He was also with them when they went into exile in the South of France.

The photos, which were thought to have been lost, were discovered in a loft in South London. They are described as “the most idiosyncratic shots of the band a collector could hope for.”

“I couldn’t be happier to be involved in this project,” Oliver Bayliss, owner & founder of Bayliss Rare Books, shares. “I spent months trawling through Tony’s archive – thousands of negatives and contact sheets – and am blown away by Tony’s unique eye and the quality of these images. Fans and collectors alike are in for a real treat.” 

The exhibit, put on by Bayliss Rare Books and Spanish Tony Media, is happening at the J/M Gallery in Notting Hill from February 28 to March 5. Prints of the 27 photos on display will also be available for purchase starting February 28 on the Bayliss Rare Books website.

The exhibit is the latest exciting news for Rolling Stones fans. Next up, the band is set to release the live album The Rolling Stones Live at The Wiltern on March 8. They will then head out on their Hackney Diamonds tour starting April 28 in Houston, Texas. A complete list of dates can be found at rollingstones.com.

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Artists like The Who, Santana and Jimi Hendrix have fans all over the world, but their music is no longer limited to folks here on Earth.

Billboard reports that digitized recordings from a slew of musicians was included in a time capsule on the Odysseus space craft, which touched down on the moon on Thursday, February 22.

In total, the time capsule features music from 222 artists, including Elvis Presley, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, and Chuck Berry. Some previously unreleased material was also included, as well as photos from Woodstock and album art, including Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon.

Dallas Santana, of the company Space Blue, brought the idea of the music collection to Arch Mission Foundation and curated the music that appeared on it. He notes, “This is music that stands the test of time.”

Santana adds that much of the collection is made up of music from 1969 and artists who were at Woodstock, since the festival took place just weeks after the U.S. landed on the moon for the first time. He hopes the capsule can capture some of the feelings of peace and togetherness that were on display at Woodstock.

“We need peace on the earth right now,” he says. “We’ve brought to the moon the Summer of Love, the people and artists and messages that are needed on earth right now.”

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The Beatles have had one of their Billboard records broken, this time by Taylor Swift.

This week’s Billboard 200 features three Taylor albums in the top 10: 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Lover and Midnights. That brings her total weeks in the top 10 to 384, from 16 albums. That’s enough to surpass The Beatles, whose 32 albums have spent 382 weeks in the top 10.

Meet the Beatles was the Fab Four’s first entry into the Billboard 200 top 10, the week of February 8, 1964. The reissue of Revolver marked their last top 10 entry, during the week of November 12, 2022.

Overall, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is The Beatles album with the most weeks in the top 10 with 35, followed by Abbey Road and A Hard Day’s Night, both with 28.

Coming in behind The Beatles is The Rolling Stones, with 309 weeks in top 10, followed by Barbra Streisand with 277.

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Rod Stewart is headed for his first #1 album in nearly five years in his native U.K.

Rod’s new album Swing Fever, a collaboration with Squeeze keyboardist-turned-TV host and bandleader Jools Holland, is on track to top the charts across the pond, according to the U.K.’s Official Charts Company.

If it succeeds, this will be Rod’s 11th number one career album in the U.K. and Holland’s first. Rod’s last album to top the charts was 2019’s You’re In My Heart: Rod Stewart with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. That record consisted of Rod’s original vocal tracks for hits like “Maggie May” and “Forever Young” blended with new arrangements by the orchestra.

Swing Fever is a collection of upbeat, big band-style recordings of songs from the ’20s and ’30s, like “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “Pennies from Heaven” and “Lullaby of Broadway.”

Holland has released over a dozen albums, both solo and collaborations, since leaving Squeeze, but so far the highest he’s ever gotten on the U.K. charts has been #5.

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War’s classic album The World Is a Ghetto celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, and now that celebration continues on the road.

The band, featuring founding member Lonnie Jordan, just announced dates for The World Is a Ghetto 50th Anniversary Tour, which kicks off March 8 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The tour includes dates in Florida, Louisiana, Nevada and Los Angeles, wrapping with a set at the Fools In Love Festival in Inglewood, California, on August 31. War is also booked to play the Super Legends Cruise out of Sam Pedro, California, from September 13 to 16.

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

Released in November 1972, The World Is a Ghetto spent two weeks at #1 on the Billboard chart and became the biggest-selling album of 1973. In November, the band celebrated the 50th anniversary with a Record Store Day Black Friday vinyl release of a 50th anniversary collector’s edition of the album. A CD and digital release is expected later this year.

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Back in 1984, Sting appeared in the original Dune film, directed by David Lynch, and now, he’s showing his support for the new installment of the sci-fi epic.

The rocker attended the New York premiere of Dune: Part Two this past weekend, accompanied by his 40-year-old daughter, Mickey Sumner, who shared a photo on Instagram of them posing together on the red carpet, decked out all in black. 

“D U N E Part 2 (it’s incredible),” she wrote, “Escorting the OG FEYD.”

Mickey is referring to the character Feyd-Rautha, who Sting played in the original ‘80s movie. The role is being played by Austin Butler in Dune: Part Two, which opens March 1. The film, directed by Denis Villeneuve, also stars Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.

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