Classic Hits

Paul McCartney is opening up about the inspiration behind one of the iconic lyrics to his classic tune “Yesterday.”

During the latest episode of his McCartney: A Life in Lyrics podcast, the former Beatle explains that the line “I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday” was inspired by a time he corrected how his mother pronounced a word, something he deeply regretted.

“Sometimes, it’s only in retrospect you can appreciate it,” he says. “I remember very clearly one day feeling very embarrassed cause I embarrassed my mum.”

“She would talk what we thought was a little bit posh,” he explains, noting, “I know that she said something like, ‘Paul, will you ask him if he’s going?’ and I went, ‘Arsk?! Arsk! It’s ask, mum!’ And she got a little bit embarrassed.”

He adds, “I remember later thinking, ‘God, I wish I’d never said that.’ And it stuck with me … after she died.”

While the song seems to be about a heartbreak over a failed relationship, McCartney later realized it’s also about the loss of his mother.

“So I don’t know. Does this happen? Do you find yourself unconsciously putting songs into girl lyrics that are really your dead mother?” he says. “I suspect it might be true. It sort of fits, if you look at the lyrics.”

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Blondie, Nile Rodgers & Chic, and Todd Rundgren are among the acts set to play Evolution Festival, happening September 28 and 29 at Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri.

The festival, now in its second year, will be headlined by The Killers and Beck, with Jane’s Addiction, Killer Mike, Elle King and Pete Yorn also on the bill.

Two-day passes for the festival go on sale Wednesday, February 28, at 10 a.m. CST. Info on tickets and the complete lineup can be found at evolutionfestival.com.

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Former Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm is speaking out regarding the band’s recent nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

“I wanted to share my gratitude to the Rock Hall of Fame for this nomination, Mick Jones and I have waited a long time for this,” he writes on Instagram. “Thank you to my friends in the entertainment industry and fans alike for their generous support in voting for us, keeping Foreigner in the Top 3 since voting commenced.”

He adds, “You have been the reason #Foreigner has had so many multi-platinum albums, Billboard Hot 100 hits and is the most played classic rock band on radio.” 

In an attached video, Gramm also acknowledged Jones’ “courage” following the recent announcement of his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis and thanked those in the industry who worked to get them the nomination. 

Gramm then gave a shoutout to Mark Ronson, Jones’ stepson, who posted a video featuring Slash, Jack Black, Josh Homme, Chad Smith and Dave Grohl, making the case for why Foreigner should be in the Hall of Fame.

“Now I’ve seen a lot of the videos and I’ve definitely been feeling the buzz,” he says. “It’s really exciting and it means a lot. It means a lot to me and all the guys in the band.” 

The Hall of Fame fan vote is open until April 26; fans can vote for up to seven artists daily. Inductees will be announced in April, and the 2024 induction ceremony will take place in Cleveland in the fall.

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On This Day, February 26, 1985…

At the 27th annual Grammy Awards, Bruce Springsteen took home his first ever Grammy, winning Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male for the “Dancing in the Dark.” The track was also nominated for Record of the Year but lost to Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do With it.”

The Boss also received a nomination for Album of the Year for Born in the U.S.A., but lost to Lionel Richie’s Can’t Slow Down.

Throughout his career, Springsteen has won 20 Grammy Awards, with 51 nominations. His last win was in 2010 for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for “Working on a Dream.” He was nominated in 2023 for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Only the Strong Survive.

After being forced to postpone his 2023 tour due to peptic ulcer disease, Springsteen is set to kick off a new leg with the E Street Band on March 19 in Phoenix, Arizona. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.com.

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While KISS retired from touring back in December, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons‘ former bandmate Ace Frehley doesn’t believe they’re actually calling it quits from the road.

“I’m the only game in town because KISS is supposedly retired — which I don’t believe is gonna happen,” Frehley tells Billboard. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they reformed.”

But until that happens, Frehley is embracing his KISS past on the road.

“We added ‘Shout It Out Loud’ and ‘Rock and Roll All Nite’ because talking to people, they go … you gotta do those songs live — and I did and it went over fantastic,” he said. “We ended the night with three KISS songs … and everybody was singing along and it was great.” 

And while it’s often felt like Frehley and his former bandmates aren’t on good terms, he insists that’s not really the case.

“We’re still friends,” he says. “I know a lot of people think we hate each other, but that’s not true. We’re just like a family, but sometimes brothers and sisters have arguments and so on. But when the s*** hits the fan, we’re there for each other. I just wish them the best.”

Frehley just released his new solo album, 10,000 Volts. Fans can catch him performing songs from that album, as well as those KISS classics, on tour this year. His next show is happening March 28 in New York City. A complete list of dates can be found at acefrehley.com.

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Yes released their most recent album, Mirror To The Sky, in May 2023, and now they’re sharing a new video of an edited version of the album’s title track.

The video comes as the band — currently made up of Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison, Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen — is set to release a new limited two-CD+Blu-ray Digipak edition of the album on April 5. The set includes the original album, along with a Blu-ray featuring Dolby Atmos, 5.1 surround sound and instrumental mixes of the record.

The new edition of Mirror To The Sky is available for preorder now.

After touring the U.S. in 2023, Yes is set to embark on the U.K. and European leg of their The Classic Tales of Yes Tour, which has them performing songs from the band’s more than 50-year career, including tracks from Mirror to the Sky. It also includes a celebration of the 50th anniversary of their sixth studio album, Tales from Topographic Oceans.

The tour kicks off April 30 in Lisbon, Portugal. A complete list of dates can be found at yesworld.com.

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Kansas has announced that original drummer Phil Ehart recently suffered a major heart attack, which is forcing the 73-year-old to take time away from touring with the band in order to recover.

A message on the band’s Facebook page says there’s currently “no timetable for his recovery.” It adds, “While not on the road, Phil is remaining in a prominent role with Kansas during his recovery, serving as band manager, as he has done for 40 years.”

Kansas is currently on their 50th anniversary tour, and drummer Eric Holmquist is set to fill in for Ehart. The post notes that Holmquist has been Ehart’s protégé for the past 20 years and filled in for him in 2016 when Phil was sick, and again from 2022 to 2023 as Phil was in rehabilitation for his arm.

Kansas’ next show is happening Friday, March 1, in Richmond, Virginia. A complete list of dates can be found at kansasband.com.

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E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Vandt is letting everyone know how much he appreciates the Kinks.

It all started when Kinks guitarist Dave Davies shared a post on X, formerly Twitter, about the band’s classic tune “You Really Got Me,” which was written by his brother and bandmate Ray Davies. 

“You Really Got Me really was a landmark record and everyone wanted to be a part of it,” Davies shared. “Next month is 60 years of YRGM anniversary. It was Ray’s song and my guitar sound that made the record.”

That prompted Van Zandt to comment, “Everything Dave is saying is historical fact. That record was the beginning of the modern Hard Rock world as we know it. Absolutely incredible that it was a top ten hit single! Unimaginable in today’s boring f****** world.

And Davies was honored by the compliment, replying to Van Zandt, “That means a lot Steve. Thank you.”

“You Really Got Me” was the third single the Kinks ever released and hit #1 in the U.K. It was the band’s breakthrough hit in the U.S., peaking at #7 on the chart. It was covered by Van Halen on their 1978 self-titled debut.

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Tom Petty’s music will be celebrated with an upcoming tribute album, and we’re getting our first taste of what to expect.  

Country star Dierks Bentley has shared his take on Petty’s classic “American Girl,” the first track released from the upcoming album Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty. The album will include some of today’s top country and Americana artists covering Petty’s tunes.

“Petty’s southern roots shined through across his songwriting and storytelling,” Bently shares. “He might not have ever been considered as Country but you can’t go into a bar in Nashville without hearing this song.”

Bentley calls “American Girl” “one of the greatest songs in a life’s work of great American songs.” He notes, “The spirit of this woman, the idea of such relentless hope – and disappointment – ignites such a spark. (Producer) Jon Randall and I were driven to make that feeling of American roots stand tall.”

You can listen to Bentley’s cover of “American Girl” via digital outlets and on YouTube.

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The documentary Kiss the Future features Irish rockers U2, but it’s not about the band — and that’s just the way they wanted it.

The film follows a group of underground musicians and creatives during the siege of Sarajevo, which lasted from April 1992 to February 1996. Aid worker Bill Carter reached out to U2 to connect them with the locals, which eventually led to them playing a concert at Koševo Stadium in 1997 to celebrate the country’s liberation.

While having U2 be part of the film was important, Matt Damon, one of the film’s producers, tells Variety the rockers were concerned about taking the focus away from the story.

“They didn’t want it to be yet another U2 concert film. They didn’t want to be the primary focus,” Damon says, noting the film’s director, Nenad Cicin-Sain, was fine with that because he wanted the film to tell the story of Carter and the Sarajevans.

“He wanted to present their stories of what happened as a sort of collective memory of the time,” he says. “Once the band heard that, they came on board as quickly as we did.”

But while U2 wasn’t the focus of the film, Damon knew their contribution to it was important.

“To do this properly, we not only needed their sign off, but also their footage from the concerts where they did the satellite interviews with Bill Carter as well as footage from the concert they performed in Sarajevo — this had never been seen before, by anyone,” he says. “Without that, we simply couldn’t tell the story.”

Kiss the Future is set to open exclusively in AMC theaters in the U.S. starting February 23 and will stream on Paramount + later this year.

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