Classic Hits

Music fans are getting their first look at a new documentary about legendary folk singer and activist Joan Baez.

A trailer has just been released for Joan Baez: I Am Noise, which follows the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer on her final tour. It also gives fans an intimate portrait of her life and career with the use of her archives, which consists of newly discovered home movies, diaries, audio recordings, therapy tapes and more. 

In the clip, which is filled with archival photos and videos, Baez talks about her decision to do a final tour, what she thinks about being famous, suffering from panic attacks, her activism, her relationship with Bob Dylan and more.

The documentary, directed by Miri Navasky, Maeve O’Boyle and Karen O’Connor, opens in New York on October 6 and will expand to Los Angeles and other markets on October 13.

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Eagles kicked off their The Long Goodbye final tour at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Thursday, September 7, and they took a moment out of their show to pay tribute to the late Jimmy Buffett, who passed away September 1 at the age of 76.

As seen in fan-shot footage posted to YouTube, Don Henley told the crowd, “Last weekend we lost a deer friend and the world lost a musical icon. Our dear friend Jimmy Buffett is now sailing on that cosmic ocean having that cheeseburger with Glenn and Randy,” referring to the late Eagles members Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner.

He added, “We always laughed and said we survived the ’70s together and the ’80s were pretty rough too, come to think of it.” 

Henley called Buffett “one of the hardest working men I ever saw,” but noted, “he made work look like play and he brought joy to everything he did, including the work.”

Finally, he shared, “One of his final wishes was that we keep the party going … responsibly.”

The band then dedicated their next two songs to Buffett. The “Margaritaville” singer’s classic “Come Monday” was sung by Timothy B. Schmit, who was once a member of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, while Joe Walsh, who was wearing a parrot hat on his head, sung “Fins” and joked, “Jimmy and I got thrown out of some of the finest hotels in the world.” 

Eagles’ The Long Goodbye tour returns to Madison Square Garden on Friday, September 8. A complete list of dates can be found at eagles.com.

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Queen continues to highlight their connection to their fans in the latest episode of their weekly YouTube series, Queen The Greatest Live, titled “Vocal Games.”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are known for having loads of songs their audience can sing along to, and frontman Freddie Mercury was known for his ability to challenge the crowd to match his vocal prowess. Well, in this episode, we get to see a prime example of that.

It features a clip from the band’s 1982 show at the U.K. Milton Keynes Bowl in England, with Freddie getting the audience to join him for some vocal challenges.  

“I’m gonna make you sing like Aretha Franklin!” he tells the crowd as he sits at the end of the stage. They then aptly match him note for note before he finally lets them know, “Alright, you can join the band.”

Next week on Queen The Greatest Live: “Radio Ga Ga.”

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On This Day, September 8, 1990…

Bon Jovi frontman Jon Bon Jovi landed his first and only solo #1 single with “Blaze of Glory” from the soundtrack to the hit movie Young Guns II, starring Emilio Estevez.

Emilio originally wanted to use the Bon Jovi track “Wanted Dead or Alive” for the movie, but the rocker instead opted to write an original tune with lyrics he felt were more appropriate for a Western about famed outlaw Billy the Kid.

The track, which featured Jeff Beck on guitar, went on to win a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and was nominated for an Academy Award; it lost to “Sooner Or Later (I Always Get My Man)” from the movie Dick Tracy.

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Barbra Streisand fans have a lot to look forward to this fall: The legendary entertainer will be releasing not one but two special releases.

October 27 sees the release of Evergreens: Celebrating Six Decades on Columbia Records as well as Yentl: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. Both of the releases will be out a week before Barbs’ highly anticipated memoir, My Name Is Barbra, due November 7. 

A preview of Evergreens is available now: It’s a 2023 mix of “Evergreen (Love Theme from ‘A Star Is Born’),” featuring Barbra’s original vocals with a new arrangement. October 6 will bring an unreleased song from the Yentl soundtrack: an alternate version of the Oscar-nominated song “Papa, Can You Hear Me?”

Evergreens includes 22 songs personally selected by Barbra as some of her favorites. None of them have previously appeared on compilations before; they each “hold a special place in her heart and memory,” according to a press release.

The Yentl 40th anniversary album features a bonus disc of 15 previously unreleased songs as well as songs from the original album. The unreleased tracks include 10 demos that Barbra recorded in her living room on a cassette deck with only piano accompaniment. The package will be available on vinyl as a Barnes & Noble exclusive on two discs.

Here’s the track list for Evergreens:

“I’ll Tell The Man In The Street”
“Bewitched (Bothered And Bewildered)”
“Absent Minded Me”
“The Shadow Of Your Smile”
“Where Or When”
“Ma Première Chanson”
“I Don’t Know Where I Stand”
“I Never Meant To Hurt You”
“Letters That Cross In The Mail”
“Answer Me”
“Tomorrow”
“Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man”
“Two People”
“Some Enchanted Evening”
“I Believe”
“Isn’t It A Pity?”
“Moon River”
“Here’s To Life (Orchestra version)”
“The Windmills Of Your Mind”
“Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) with Anthony Newley”
“Lady Liberty”
“Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born) (2023)”

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Rod Stewart recently launched his own brand of Scotch whisky, Wolfie’s, in the U.K. and Europe, and he’s about to bring it to his American fans, as well. And while it’s not surprising Rod would have his own Scotch — he’s very proud of his Scottish heritage, after all — it is surprising Rod would have a product he doesn’t actually like.

“I was very ill on [whisky] it when I was 15 so I find it hard to drink,” Rod tells Forbes. “Although this one it has a special taste to it. It’s almost like ice cream and custard — it’s just gorgeous. But I still prefer to drink mine as a martini.”

In fact, Rod’s favorite is an appletini, but he’ll only drink after he gets offstage. “I can’t [drink] whisky martinis before [a show],” he says. “Alcohol is not great for the voice … Usually, I’ll drink the whisky on a night off. “

And Rod says that while some women might think they don’t like whisky, Wolfie’s will change their minds.

“Obviously, everything in moderation but this … is made for the gentle sex,” Rod says. “I like it, so they might like it! That ice cream, custard, apple pie [taste] … you don’t screw your face up when you swallow it.”

Asked to share his best drinking memory, Rod mentions his tenure with Faces, a band that was notorious for their drunken antics.

“When I was in the Faces we used to have a bar on stage and a barman and a couple of women dressed up as schoolgirls going around serving,” he recalls. “Wouldn’t get away with that anymore.”

But, “I’d like to have a bar on stage one day again.”

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Former Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor is ready to drop his new solo album, Man’s A Wolf To Man, on Friday. The album’s his first solo record in over 30 years — and even he’s not 100% sure why it took so long.

“I think when I was younger, maybe doing solo records was a little bit of a filler and the escape route, and I wasn’t fully prepared for it,” he tells ABC Audio. He noted the added bonus of the long wait is he didn’t worry about folks comparing it to previous records, sharing, “I haven’t really got a last one to compare it to, which is a great place to be.”

In making the album, Taylor decided to fill it with songs inspired by different types of music, comparing it to having different options at a restaurant. “I set the table for myself, I didn’t set it for everybody else,” he says. In the past, he says, “I’d been setting it for everyone else all my life, but I’d neglected myself.”

And Taylor isn’t afraid to speak his mind with his songs, with the album’s title track being inspired by the divisive political climate in the U.S.

“Basically, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’ve now divided ourselves into two packs of wolves,” he says. “I’m so unimpressed and disturbed by what’s happened that that song came about.”

While making the album, Taylor was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and he’s currently undergoing lifesaving targeted therapy. While he says he’s “not 100%,” he is staying positive. “Here I am … I’m well enough to do this. Well enough to enjoy it. Well enough to release the record,” he shares. 

Man’s A Wolf To Man is available for preorder now.

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Bonnie Raitt and Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo are among the artists booked to perform on the upcoming 49th season of Austin City Limits.

Benatar and Giraldo are set to tape their ACL debut on September 24. Raitt is booked for October 15, with Nashville-based singer/songwriter Sunny War joining her as special guest.

This will be Raitt’s first ACL performance in over a decade. She made her ACL debut in 1984 and last appeared on the program in 2012, although she did perform on the 2014 40th anniversary special. She was also inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame in 2016. 

Other artists booked for season 49 include Foo Fighters, Alanis Morissette and Brittney Spencer.

Austin City Limits airs on PBS. Episodes will also be available to stream via PBS.org.

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Elvis Presley’s iconic Memphis mansion Graceland will be the setting for a new NBC holiday special, Christmas at Graceland, airing November 29 and streaming on Peacock. 

It will be the first live musical holiday special televised from Elvis’ former home, and while performers have not yet been announced, the network promises a lineup of “music’s biggest stars celebrating the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, his music and his favorite time of year.” 

“My family and I are elated to open the doors to Graceland in this first-of-its-kind special,” said Elvis’ granddaughter and show executive producer, Riley Keough. “With intimate musical performances drawing inspiration from my grandfather Elvis’ cherished Christmases in Memphis, viewers will be invited to experience firsthand the magic that is Christmas at Graceland.”

Christmas at Graceland will air Wednesday, November 29, at 10 p.m. ET. 

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Lady Gaga is one of the many guest stars on The Rolling Stones‘ new album, Hackney Diamonds, but apparently her participation in the project was pretty much an accident.

Stones frontman Mick Jagger told The Associated Press at the band’s album launch event in London Wednesday that Gaga just happened to be recording in the studio next door to them and popped in to say hello. That led to her contributing to the song “Sweet Sounds of Heaven.”

“She walked in next to me and we started singing together,” Jagger said. “She sang it live and then we went in and tidied it up a bit.”

Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood told Sky News, “She was sitting on the floor in the studio and Mick said, ‘Don’t just sit there and hum! Get up, let’s record this!'” He added, “She’s lovely, very talented and lovely.”

As previously reported, in 2012 Gaga joined the Stones onstage for a performance of their classic “Gimme Shelter,” which is documented on the Stones’ 2023 concert album, Grrr Live!

The first single from Hackney Diamonds, “Angry,” is out now with a video starring Euphoria actress Sydney Sweeney. Hackney Diamonds is out October 20.

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