Classic Hits

Timothée Chalamet is gearing up to play Bob Dylan in the upcoming James Mangold-directed film A Complete Unknown, and he wants to make sure he nails the role. 

In a new interview with GQ, he says in preparing for the part he’s been inspired by actor Austin Butler’s commitment to the role of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, so much so that he’s hired the same people to help turn him into Dylan.

“I’ve basically been working with his entire Elvis team for my Dylan prep,” he says. “There’s a wonderful dialect coach named Tim Monich. Vocal coach named Eric Vetro. Movement coach named Polly Bennett.”

He adds of Butler, “I just saw the way he committed to it all, and realized I needed to step it up.”

Chalamet will be doing his own singing for the flick, but fans shouldn’t expect him to sound exactly like Dylan.

“It’s taking on all the characteristics of Dylan’s voice and his mannerisms and his speech patterns, and bringing that into the music – so that when you hear Timothée do the music, what you’re really getting is the essence of Bob Dylan,” Vetro tells the mag. “You’re not getting an impersonation of him. It’s breathing new life into that voice that we know so well.” 

And while the project’s been in development for three years, Chalamet has yet to meet the iconic Rock & Roll Hall of Famer. “I didn’t want to three years ago, because I just didn’t want to for superstitious reasons,” he said. “Now I would love to.”

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Queen has been touring with Adam Lambert since 2011, but they are still working on perfecting their performance, as proven by a recent clip guitarist Brian May shared on Instagram.

The video was shot at the band’s Rhapsody Tour stop in Boston, Monday, October 16, and it shows May’s reaction to Lambert singing the final line in the Queen classic “Somebody To Love.” It seems this time Lambert’s delivery of the line was adjusted after a suggestion from May. 

“Adam sings our songs in his own unique way, bringing in lots of new ideas and adding sometimes amazing extensions of the vocal lines,” May explains. “Well, there’s one point in the song which all our fans know very well,” referring to the moment where fans finish the line, “somebody tooooooo.” 

May says Lambert usually extends it so it doesn’t sound like the original Freddie Mercury recording, and he believes that left the audience unsure how to sing along.

“So I suggested to Adam that, as an experiment, he might try singing the end of the line completely straight, to give a clear cue to the audience. He tried it for the first time tonight, and this is the result,” he says.

It all worked out, which is why you can see May telling Adam, “not bad” with a laugh. Lambert then goes on to improvise all he wants, much to May’s delight.

“So in my face you see my admiration and enjoyment of this moment – in which we’re all clearly finding a new joy !!!” he shares.

Queen + Adam Lambert’s Rhapsody Tour hits Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wednesday, October 18. A complete list of dates can be found at queenonline.com.

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Bonnie Raitt made a surprise appearance at a special concert at Antone’s in Austin, Texas, Monday, October 16.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer took the stage at a concert benefiting bassist Sarah Brown, who’s been a member of the venue’s house band for the past 40 years. The show also featured performances by Jimmie Vaughan, Larry Fulcher and others.

The concert aimed to raise awareness of the Living Liver Donor program in an effort to help Brown, a friend of Raitt’s for almost 50 years, find a liver donor match. It also raised money to help cover Sarah’s pre- and post-transplant expenses. Additionally, a portion of the money will be donated to University Health Transplant Institute.

More information on how to help Sarah can be found at caringbridge.org.

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Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale is considering getting the band back together.

The rocker revealed on the Totally 80s podcast that he’s thinking about recording a new album with some former bandmates, including Adrian Vandenberg, Doug Aldrich and Michael Devin. 

“I’m soon to be talking with my band about the idea of a farewell Whitesnake studio album and to invite some former members to participate to make it more complete,” he says. “But I think rather than just farewell to this current chapter, it’s farewell to, you know, a lot of guys that have been involved. It could be interesting.” 

He adds, “These guys are really inspiring to me. I’m not interested in trying to do it on my own. I see the big picture. It’s a collaborative band thing. I want the best for all of them.”

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Graham Nash is the latest rock star to sell his music catalog. Variety reports the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has made a deal with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artist Group, putting them in charge of his musical legacy.

There’s no word on how much his catalog sold for, but it is said to include his solo work and his music with The Hollies as well as his work with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and any variations of that group. 

“I’m looking forward to working with the Iconic team on various projects to further the legacy of CSN’s music and my own,” Nash shared. 

Azoff called the musician “an incredible talent and a true friend” and teased what may be in store for the future. “Without giving too much away, I will say there is a wealth of material in both Graham’s vault and the CSN archives that I’m incredibly excited about and fans will be too. Stay tuned,” he shared.

Two of Nash’s bandmates, the late David Crosby and Stephen Stills, also sold their catalog’s to Iconic: Crosby in March 2021 and Stills in June 2022. Neil Young sold 50% of his catalog rights to Hipgnosis in January 2021.

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On This Day, October 17, 1980…

Bruce Springsteen released his fifth studio album, The River – his only double album to date.

The project was originally intended as a single album called The Ties That Bind, but Springsteen canceled its release at the last minute and wrote more songs.  Retitled The River, the album’s 20 tracks featured a deliberate mix of fun, upbeat tunes and darker material.

The River went on to become Bruce’s first #1 album and contained his first top 10 hit, “Hungry Heart.” It has since been certified quintuple platinum by the RIAA

Many songs on the album became fan favorites including “Out in the Street,” “Sherry Darling,” the title track and “You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch),” with many becoming staples of The Boss’ live shows.

In 2015, Springsteen released the box set The Ties That Bind: The River collection and celebrated the original album’s 35th anniversary with a tour in which he performed the double album in its entirety.

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Things have been pretty quiet in Bon Jovi land, at least as far as new music goes, but there may be an end to the drought soon: The band is apparently working on a new album.

While appearing on the latest episode of the NTTFG Podcast, Bon Jovi guitarist Phil X said, “We’re literally going to Nashville for a month to record.” When the hosts ask him to confirm that Bon Jovi is indeed recording a new album in Nashville, the guitarist plays coy, responding, “What? Did I say that? Maybe.”

However, Phi then confirmed, “Jon wrote a bunch of songs and we did some pre-production in Jersey.” He also shared that the band’s recording schedule would have caused him to miss his son’s 10th birthday on October 24, but Jon told him he could go home to New Jersey and celebrate with his family and then come back to Nashville.

The most recent Bon Jovi album, called 2020, came out in October of 2020. It was recorded at Ocean Way Recording studios in Nashville and featured the pandemic-inspired single “Do What You Can.” After COVID restrictions were lifted, the band was finally able to do a tour in support of the album in 2022.

Lately, Jon Bon Jovi’s son Jake Bongiovi has been in the news more than his dad, courtesy of his engagement to Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown.

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The Rolling Stones’ new album, Hackney Diamonds, drops October 20, and it sounds like Ronnie Wood is already looking forward to playing the songs live.

During an interview with NME, Woods said they’re currently trying to figure out which songs would work for their live show, sharing, “I have complete faith. We could play the whole album, you know what I mean?” 

But the chance of that happening isn’t likely, especially since The Stones have so many classic hits. “We’re not gonna forget the back catalog,” he says. “We’re only making room for, say, three or five songs.”

Wood says he’d love it if any upcoming tour included the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival. If it didn’t, however, he would still want to play it.

“If not the Stones, then the Faces,” Wood suggests. “It’ll be me, Rod [Stewart] and [drummer] Kenney [Jones]. That’s not out of the question, you know. I know they want to do it…” 

With the excitement of the new album, things seem to be going well in the band. Wood notes Mick Jagger and Keith Richards’ current relationship is “more friendly now than ever.” “They’re still bickering and stuff,” he says. “But it’s in a loving way, you know, a creative way.”

Will fans ever see that relationship play out on the big screen in a biopic? Well, Woods indicated it may happen one day, although that’s not up to him. “I let Keith and Mick talk about that,” he says.

As for whether Harry Styles could play Mick, Wood doesn’t necessarily see it.

“Oh I thought he’d play me! Harry’s my mate!” he shares. “I suppose he has that kind of fire but I don’t think anybody has the cheek that Mick used to have – and still has.”

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The Zombies are celebrating their career where it all began.

The rockers, best known for their classic hits “She’s Not There” and “Time of the Season,” just announced their first Begin Here Festival, happening in their hometown, St Albans, England, about 20 miles outside of London.

The event is taking place November 10-12 and will feature a whole host of Zombies-related events, including the grand opening of The Zombies Exhibit at St. Albans Museum, featuring a Q&A with the original members. 

There will also be a screening of their recent documentary, Hung Up On A Dream, a record signing, a chance for fans to take a photo with frontman Colin Blunstone and more.

More info on the weekend, including how to get tickets to the events, can be found at thezombiesmusic.com.

In the meantime, The Zombies are currently on a North American tour and are set to play Toronto, Canada, on Tuesday, October 17. The tour wraps October 29 in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

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Mick Jagger seems to be stoking the friendly rivalry between The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. 

During a 2021 interview with The New Yorker, Paul McCartney stirred things up when he suggested The Beatles were the better of the two bands because “the Stones were really just a blues cover band.” Well, apparently Jagger hasn’t forgotten that. 

During an interview with The Times of London, Jagger was discussing McCartney’s contribution to The Stones’ new album Hackney Diamonds, out October 20, when McCartney’s comments were brought up again. “Well, the Beatles were also really just a blues cover band when they started out,” Jagger responded. “Every band is a cover band at the beginning, because that’s how it goes.”

But Jagger doesn’t actually seem upset by McCartney’s comment. In fact, he’s had a lot of fun with it.

“When we’re on tour I like to say that someone is in the audience when they’re actually not, to create a big moment, so I said one time, ‘Paul McCartney is here tonight. He’s going to come up on stage and play some of our blues cover tunes,’” Jagger said. “I texted Paul to say thank you for his comment because it has given me a lot of comic material.” 

Mick also got in one more crack about The Beatles before the interview was over. When asked how he wants his band to remembered, Jagger said he only cared about The Stones being known as “a good rock band.” 

“There is going to be The Beatles and there is going to be The Stones and together they will represent the rock era,” he said. “The Stones are much longer lived, obviously.”

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