Classic Hits

It’s been over three years in the making, but touring life is almost over for members of KISS. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers roll into New York’s Madison Square Garden on December 1 to wrap their End of the Road tour, which they insist will be their last one ever. 

KISS initially announced their intention to launch one final tour back in September 2018. It kicked off January 31, 2019, in Vancouver, hitting the U.S., Canada, Europe, Mexico, Japan, Latin America, Australia and more.

When it came to where they wanted to end things, KISS picked New York for purely sentimental reasons. 

“KISS was born in New York City. On 23rd Street. Half a century ago,” the band explained. “It will be a privilege and honor to finish touring at Madison Square Garden, 10 blocks and 50 years from where we first started.”

Of course, many fans are skeptical that this really is the final KISS tour, considering they previously went on their Farewell Tour in 2001, only to change their minds by 2002.

One person who does believe KISS isn’t lying about the end is songwriter Desmond Child, who helped pen their hit “I Was Made For Lovin’ You.” 

“I do believe them. They’re not going to come back with, you know, the 20th farewell tour because they have other interests,” he says, noting he could see KISS living on with a possible biopic or hologram show like ABBA’s Voyage.

“I hope they do that in the future,” he says. “This way KISS can be everywhere.” 

While the New York shows are certainly a hot ticket, fans who weren’t able to snag a seat will still be able to enjoy the final night on December 2. KISS is offering it as a pay-per-view event on PPV.com.

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The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are up for a second Grammy Award this year.

The band is already nominated for Best Rock Song for the Hackney Diamonds track “Angry,” but Billboard reports Mick and Keith have now been added to a nomination for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella, for the arrangement of their hit “Paint it Black,” which was part of the Netflix series Wednesday.

When the nominations were initially announced in early November, only Esin Aydingoz, Chris Bacon and Alana Da Fonseca were listed as arrangers for the song.

“Paint it Black,” a #1 song for The Stones in 1966, was used in the premiere episode of the Netflix series, with the title character Wednesday Addams, played by Jenna Ortega, playing it on the cello.

It marks Jagger and Richards’ first nomination as arrangers. The Rolling Stones have been nominated for 12 Grammys, winning three. Including The Stones nods, Jagger has had 18 nominations, while Richards has had 16.

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Elton John ended his touring career in 2023 and did so with one of the top-grossing tours of the year.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour wrapped in July. Sir Elton’s 65 shows this year landed him at #7 on the Billboard Boxscore Top Tours of 2023 list, bringing in $210 million.

Dead & Company’s final tour also brought in the big bucks: $114.7 million, landing them at #15. The Eagles are at #25 with $76.4 million, Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks land at #39 with $56 million and Sting is at #40 with $55.7 mil. 

Other artists making the year-end Top 40 include Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

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Score one for Daryl Hall in his legal battle with John Oates.

Following a hearing Thursday morning in Nashville, a judge agreed with Hall’s request and issued a temporary injunction against Oates selling his shares of their joint venture, Whole Oates Enterprises LLP. Hall accused Oates of going “behind [his] back” to sell his shares to Primary Wave Music without obtaining Hall’s permission.

The sale is blocked until a private arbitrator resolves the dispute, or until February 17, 2024, whichever comes first. The judge said the injunction is provisional, meaning it will not allow any further movement on the matter until the arbitrator is able to rule.

Ahead of the judge’s ruling, Oates filed a document, obtained by ABC News, in which he stated he was “tremendously disappointed” that Hall made “inflammatory, outlandish and inaccurate statements” about him.

Oates also claimed that Hall as been “unwilling to work with me to try to protect the … intellectual property that we spent decades building.” Saying that he has “no idea who or what” is motivating Hall’s actions, Oates says he’s “deeply hurt.”

Oates adds that he can’t publicly discuss the details, but says Hall’s accusations that he breached their agreement and “acted in bad faith” are not true.

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Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson is helping fellow guitarists sound better. The rocker has just launched a new line of amplifiers handcrafted by Mojotone. 

The line, LERXST, features hand-built guitar amps and cabinets inspired by Lifeson’s five-decade career, offering players “a versatile tonal platform upon which to build their own sonic identity.”

Lifeson says he’s excited about the new line, noting, “It sounds incredible and it’s very handsome. … you’ll want to get one even if you don’t play guitar.”

The line is being launched with Lifeson’s signature amplifier, OMEGA, designed to the rocker’s specifications. It features power scaling and serial effects loops, footswitchable clean and lead channels, a switchable 50/25 watt power section and more. There’s also the CHI, a more compact 30-watt amplifier.  

“I’ve used more amps than Dr. Frankenstein did when breathing life into his creature, but the LERXST CHI is an awesome monster in its own right and one of the sweetest sounding amps I’ve ever heard,” Lifeson shares. “All the great character of the OMEGA in a cool, compact package that you don’t have to be a seven-foot monster to carry around.”

Both are available now, along with a range of guitar cabinets in multiple speaker configurations. More info can be found at lerxstamps.com.

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Richie Sambora and Chicago are among the artists taking part in the 2023 ASCAP Foundation Holiday Auction. 

Former Bon Jovi guitarist Sambora has donated a signed Fender guitar to the auction, while Chicago is offering up four VIP tickets to their 2024 tour, including a meet and greet with the band. 

Also up for auction is a guitar from the 2004 ASCAP Pop Music Awards signed by Jackson Browne, Metallica, Alice in Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell and others; posters signed by Tenacious D and Papa Roach; and a custom song written by Songwriter Hall of Fame members Desmond Child (“Livin’ on a Prayer”) and Paul Williams (“Rainbow Connection”).

The auction is open now through December 14. Proceeds will benefit the ASCAP Foundation, which is “dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education, talent development and humanitarian programs.” 

For more info, visit ASCAPFoundation.org/auction23.

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Music fans who didn’t snag tickets to Warren Haynes’ annual Christmas Jam will still be able to enjoy the show.  

The concert, with a lineup that features Haynes’ band Gov’t Mule, ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons, Slash & Myles Kennedy, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, Clutch and more, will be livestreamed on volume.com.

The 32nd annual Christmas Jam is happening Saturday, December 9, in Haynes’ hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. Proceeds from the concert will benefit Asheville Habitat for Humanity and BeLoved Asheville.

Haynes is also celebrating Christmas Jam this year with the December 8 release of The Benefit Concert Volume 20. Recorded live during 2018’s 30th annual Christmas Jam, it features performances by Foo Fighters’ frontman Dave Grohl, Gov’t Mule, Joe Bonamassa, Jim James, Grace Potter and others. It is available for preorder now.

And fans are about to get a preview of the album. Haynes is set to release a video of Grohl’s performance of “Play” on Friday, December 1, at 10 a.m. ET.

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Mick Fleetwood is paying tribute to his late Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie to mark the one-year anniversary of her passing.

Sharing a picture of him and Christine on Instagram, Mick writes, “Dear Chris, a year ago today you flew away, and memories come flooding back[.] Too many to mention! I miss you .. Fleetwood Mac misses you… along with so many that loved your music. Always love, Mick Fleetwood.”

Mick also shared a video of his Grammy tribute to Christine, where he performed with Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow, writing, “Honoring our beautiful Christine today and every day.” Plus he posted a photo of the cover of the instrumental version of Christine’s “Songbird,” which he recorded with ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro, commenting, “We miss our songbird[.] We miss you Christine.” 

McVie passed away November 30, 2022, following a short illness. She was 79.

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Cher has landed a new chart milestone thanks to her new holiday single.

“DJ Play a Christmas Song,” the first single off Cher’s holiday record, Christmas, tops the Billboard Dance/Electronic Song Sales chart this week, which means she’s now had at least one #1 song in seven straight decades, from the 1960s to the 2020s. 

Cher’s #1 run began in 1965 with the Sonny & Cher classic “I Got You Babe,” which topped the Hot 100. She then proceeded to land three chart toppers in the ’70s, a pair in the ’80s, and another three in the ’90s, including her smash “Believe.” In the 2000s she landed another three #1 hits on the Dance Club Songs chart, with another two coming in the 2010s. 

The only other artist to land a #1 song in seven straight decades is The Rolling Stones, starting in 1965 with the Hot 100 #1 “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and ending with “Living in a Ghost Town,” which topped the Rock Digital Songs Sales chart in 2020.

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On This Day, November 30, 2003… 

New York City officially renamed a street on the Lower East Side Joey Ramone Place after the late Ramones frontman Joey Ramone, who passed away April 15, 2001.

The street sign was unveiled on a portion of East 2nd Street, near the punk rock club CBGB, where the band played their early gigs. It was also near an apartment where Joey once lived with bandmate Dee Dee Ramone.

In 2010, New York reported that Joey Ramone Place was the most stolen street sign in the city, forcing the Department of Transportation to reinstall the sign 20 feet above street level.

Born Jeffrey Ross Hyman in Queens, New York, Ramone co-founded The Ramones in 1974 with friends John Cummings, a.k.a. Johnny Ramone, and Douglas Colvin, a.k.a. Dee Dee Ramone. Considered by many to be one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time, the band was known for such hits as “I Wanna Be Sedated,” “Rockaway Beach,” “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” and more.

The Ramones were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, and earned a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

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