Classic Hits

John Mellencamp is heading back out on the road next year. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer announced a 2024 leg of his Live and In Person Tour, playing 27 new cities.

Mellencamp has booked one night only in each city, starting March 8 in Rochester, New York. He’ll perform in Newark, Hartford, Birmingham, Washington, D.C., and more, before wrapping the tour April 22 in Savannah, Georgia. A complete list of dates can be found at mellencamp.com.

Presales are happening from October 31 to November 2, with the general onsale kicking off Friday, November 3, at 10 a.m.  

Mellencamp launched his Live and In Person tour in February, playing small theaters with multiple nights in some cities. He wrapped the tour in June, the same month he released his 25th solo album, Orpheus Descending.

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Bruce Springsteen was the surprise guest at a symposium this weekend celebrating the 50th anniversary of his sophomore album, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, the Asbury Park Press reports.

The event was held at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, on Saturday, October 28, with Springsteen interviewed by Robert Santelli, executive director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music. He also sat in on a panel that featured original E Street Band members Vini Lopez and David Sancious, and original and current member, Garry Tallent.

“The album is a lovely wild card — me finally getting a chance to express myself,” Springsteen told the audience. “Everything I’ve basically done for the rest of my career started on The Wild and the Innocent. It’s a lovely little record and I’m still very proud of it.” 

“The main thing for me on The Wild and the Innocent was that I wanted to introduce myself as a rock ‘n’ roll performer,” he continued, noting he wasn’t supposed to put any electric guitar on his debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., because he was originally signed as a singer/songwriter.

He added, “But the second record I knew I wanted to write basically a rock and soul music.” 

Released in 1973, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle received critical praise but wasn’t initially a commercial success. It features future Springsteen classic “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” and fan favorites like “4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy),” “Kitty’s Back” and more.

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While The Rolling Stones‘ new album, Hackney Diamonds, topped the chart in the U.K. and Australia, it settled for #3 on the Billboard 200 Album chart in the U.S., coming in just behind blink-182’s ONE MORE TIME… at #1 and Drake’s For All The Dogs at #2.

The Stones moved 101,000 equivalent album units of Hackney Diamonds to give them their 38th top-10 album, adding to their record for the most Top 10 albums in the history of the list.

Hackney Diamonds did particularly well with actual album sales, moving 94,000 units, thanks to over 30 different vinyl options, box sets, CDs and more.

Hackney Diamonds is The Stones’ first album of new material in 18 years. Their last was 2005’s A Bigger Bang, which also debuted at #3 on the album chart.

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On This Day, October 30, 1971…

John Lennon topped the Billboard album chart with his sophomore solo album, Imagine.

The album, co-produced by Lennon, Yoko Ono and Phil Spector, was Lennon’s first solo #1 record, and spent 47 weeks on the chart. It also went to #1 in the U.K.

Imagine is best known for its iconic title track. It also featured “How Do You Sleep?,” a song attacking his former writing partner Paul McCartney, “Gimme Some Truth” and more.

Lennon would go on to have two more solo number ones, Walls and Bridges, in 1974, and the posthumous release, Double Fantasy, which spent eight weeks on top of the chart in 1980.

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A new documentary about Michael Jackson’s Thriller is set to debut on Showtime in December and we’re getting our first look at it. A trailer for the doc, Thriller 40, has just been released, featuring snippets of interviews by such artists as Usher, Mary J. Blige, will.i.am, Mark Ronson and “Thriller” video director John Landis.

“It’s the ultimate blueprint to modern pop music,” Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am notes in the clip. “If Thriller came out today, it would still be the greatest album ever made.”

The documentary premieres December 2 at 8 p.m. on Showtime and Paramount+. In addition to the interviews, it will give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the iconic album using never-before-seen footage.

Thriller, released November 30, 1982, was Jackson’s sixth solo album and his first #1, spending 37 nonconsecutive weeks on top of the chart. It went on to be certified 34-times Platinum and is the bestselling album of all time, thanks to seven top 10 singles: “The Girl Is Mine,” “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” “Human Nature,” “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” and “Thriller.”

The album won eight Grammys, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.

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Sting is bringing his My Songs tour to England and Ireland next year. 

The rocker just announced five new shows for 2024, kicking off June 14 in Cheshire, England. He then hits two cities in Ireland – Cork on June 18 and Belfast on June 19 – with both shows featuring special guest Blondie.

The tour then returns to England for a concert in Suffolk on June 22, before wrapping June 23 in Nottinghamshire.

A presale for tickets begins Monday, October 30, at 9 a.m., followed by a general onsale on Friday, November 3, at 9 a.m.

Sting’s My Songs tour has him playing material from his entire catalog, both solo and The Police material. His next show is happening November 23 in Oberhausen, Germany. A complete list of dates can be found at sting.com.

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Barry Manilow is going to help folks get into the holiday spirit this year. 

Variety reports the legendary singer is set to headline a new holiday special for NBC, Barry Manilow’s A Very Barry Christmas, which will air December 11 at 10 p.m. ET.

“I love doing our Christmas show!” Manilow says. “We get to sing my pop hits and my favorite Christmas songs. It’s a feel-good hour full of music.” 

The special, which will also stream on Peacock starting December 12, was recorded at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, the same venue where Manilow performs his Vegas residency, Manilow: Las Vegas – The Hits Come Home! 

In addition to holiday classics, the special will include performances of some of Manlow’s biggest hits, like “Copacabana,” “Mandy” and “I Write the Songs.”

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The Rolling Stones have a new #1. The band’s latest release, Hackney Diamonds, debuted on top of the U.K. Official Album chart, making it their 14th U.K. number one.

The Stones moved 72,000 units of Hackney Diamonds, their first album of new material in 18 years,  putting them behind Lewis Capaldi and Ed Sheeran for the third-biggest sales week of the year.

With their 14 chart-toppers, The Stones tie Robbie Williams for the second-most #1 albums in the U.K., just behind The Beatles, who have 16. When you take out greatest hits compilations and collections, The Stones tie The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen and Williams for the most #1 studio albums, with 11.

And The Stones aren’t just topping the charts in the U.K.: Hackney Diamonds is also #1 on Australia’s ARIA chart, making it their eighth #1 down under.

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Barenaked Ladies are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their #1 hit “One Week” with a brand new, AI-generated music video. 

The clip features a live performance of the song recorded at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, on June 10, 2015. It takes fans on a journey from the debut of the song to now and beyond, and features pop up facts about the track and what was happening in the world when it was released. 

Among the “One Week” tidbits: The song has been heard over five billion times, which translates to over 14 billion minutes; the song has 590 words; it was written in three and a half minutes, and it was featured on the soundtracks to both American Pie and 10 Things I Hate About You.

Released on September 15, 1998, “One Week” spent, ironically, one week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. 

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Peter Frampton is set to perform at an upcoming concert put on by the Artist For Action To Prevent Gun Violence coalition.

The benefit concert, taking place December 7 at NYU Skirball in Manhattan, celebrates the launch of the documentary A Father’s Promise, which is about how musician Mark Barden co-founded Sandy Hook Promise after losing his son Daniel in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and how he rediscovered his passion for music.

Described as a “one-of-a-kind docu-concert,” the event, which is being filmed, will raise money for Sandy Hook Promise.

Other artists on the bill include Sheryl Crow, who produced A Father’s Promise, former New York Yankee Bernie Williams, Barden and Jimmy Vivino of The Promise Band, Rozzi, The Dumes, The Alternate Routes, Jen Chapin and Aztec Two-Step 2.0.

Tickets are on sale now.

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