Classic Hits

Sinead O’Connor‘s death in July at age 56 has caused fans to revisit her catalog, or to check it out for the first time.

Billboard reports that in the days after her death on July 26, streams of O’Connor’s songs increased by nearly 2,900%, while downloads of her songs increased by more than 5,000%. Meanwhile, sales of her albums were up more than 1,300%.

As a result of all that activity, O’Connor’s biggest hit, the 1990 #1 single “Nothing Compares 2 U,” has topped Billboard‘s Rock Digital Song Sales and Alternative Digital Song Sales charts. It’s also entered the top 10 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.

Two of O’Connor’s well-known songs, “Mandinka” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” also reached #16 and #17, respectively, on the Alternative Digital Song Sales chart; the songs are #24 and #25 on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart.

Two days after her death, O’Connor’s producer told Rolling Stone that her new album, No Veteran Dies Alone, was one track away from completion. As for when, or if, it’ll be released, he said, “This is up to her family and estate, and I will gladly do as I’m told.”

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Guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, best known for his work with Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, has announced a West Coast tour.

Baxter, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 as a member of the Doobies, will perform August 6 through August 23 in various California cities, including Oakland, West Hollywood and Mill Valley. You can find details on JeffSkunkBaxter.com.

The tour is in support of Baxter’s first solo album, 2022’s Speed of Heat, which features contributions by his old Steely Dan/Doobie Brothers pal Michael McDonald, plus country star Clint Black and blues guitarist Jonny Lang.

In addition to his own songs, Baxter’s set lists include some of the songs he played on while with Steely Dan and the Doobies, including “Do It Again,” “Rikki Don’t Lose that Number” and “China Grove.”

In addition to recording and touring, Baxter has one of the most interesting side jobs in rock ‘n’ roll: He’s built a successful consulting career, advising the government and the Defense Department on missile defense and counterterrorism.

In an interview in Stars and Stripes, Baxter, who has top-secret clearances, said he also teaches jazz improvisation to intelligence analysts, which apparently helps with their problem-solving abilities.

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Tired of biopics about legendary rock stars? Well, soon you’ll have a chance to watch a biopic about the man behind some of rock’s most legendary recordings.

Variety reports that an authorized biopic about legendary producer Tom Wilson, called Like a Rolling Stone, is in the works from Pfonetic, a movie and TV production company. The title comes from the fact that Wilson produced Bob Dylan‘s iconic single of the same name.

Wilson also produced early Dylan albums like Bringing It All Back Home, Another Side of Bob Dylan and The Times They Are a-Changin’. In 1969, Dylan credited Wilson with helping him move from a folk to a rock sound.

In addition to Dylan, Wilson produced Simon & Garfunkel‘s hit “The Sound of Silence”; its success inspired the duo, who’d broken up by that point, to reunite. His other credits include two albums by The Velvet Underground — including the seminal release The Velvet Underground & Nico — plus LPs by The Animals, Frank Zappa and more.

Pfonetic also plans to make a documentary about the late Roger Nichols, a former nuclear scientist and inventor who became Steely Dan‘s recording engineer, winning six Grammys for his work with the notoriously perfectionist group.

Nichols’ name has been in the news lately: His daughters recently discovered a tape among their late father’s things, which turned out to be a legendary “lost” Steely Dan tune called “The Second Arrangement.” The daughters plan to sell the tape at auction to help finance the documentary.

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Brian Setzer has released a new single from his upcoming solo album The Devil Always Collects, which is due out September 15.

The song is called “Black Leather Jacket,” and in a video discussing how he wrote it, he explains that it’s about a journey taken by the ultimate rock ‘n roll accessory.

“It followed the guy through his whole life. He wore a black leather jacket when he met his girl and then got into a crash,” says the Stray Cats frontman. “Til the very end he had a black leather jacket. I like the idea of it. Black leather jackets are very personal things. They’re something you keep. You don’t get rid of those.”

Speaking about his own lineup of leather jackets, Setzer adds, “I still have one from England from the ’80s.” He laughs, “Surprisingly it’s a little small. It must have shrunk! But I still take it out for a ride.”

As previously reported, Brian will kick off his first tour in four years, the Rockabilly Riot tour, on September 27 in Red Bank, New Jersey. A complete list of dates can be found at briansetzer.com.  He says the set list might features a few covers, including the Ray Charles classic “George On My Mind.”

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The music of the late Dan Fogelberg, who died in 2007 from cancer, will be introduced to a new generation, thanks to his old college buddy.

Fogelberg and his pal Irving Azoff dropped out of the University of Illinois together in the early ’70s and headed to LA, where Azoff became one of rock music’s most powerful managers, guiding the careers of Fogelberg, The Eagles, Steely Dan and many other artists.

Now, Billboard reports that Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group has now purchased a controlling interest in Fogelberg’s catalog, name, image, likeness and publishing. Fogelberg’s many hits include “Run for the Roses,” “Longer,” “Same Old Lang Syne,” “Leader of the Band,” “Hard to Say” and “Part of the Plan.” Fogelberg’s widow, Jean, couldn’t be happier about the deal.

“I remember the main thing he told me about Irving was, ‘When I’m gone, if you need anything, ask Irving. He’ll be there for you,'” Jean tells Billboard about her late husband, adding that the purchase has taken “a huge weight off my shoulders.”

In the works is a documentary about Fogelberg’s career; there’s also unreleased material, including live recordings and demos, to sort through.

“We’re going to take it all and make the big decisions, as if Dan were making the decisions,” Azoff tells Billboard.

IAG also hopes to get Fogelberg’s music placed in TV and films and renew the singer’s relationship with the Kentucky Derby: In 1980, ABC commissioned him to write “Run for the Roses” for its coverage of the race. “We really want to bring that song back to the forefront,” IAG President Jimmy Edwards says.

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Former Yes guitarist and vocalist Trevor Rabin has released “Big Mistakes,” the first single and video from his upcoming album Rio, due out October 6.

In a statement, he says the song is “essentially about surviving my late teens/twenties, hence the lyric: ‘We played in the fire/we danced in the rain/Up all night/we made big mistakes’.” He adds, “I should have called the song ‘I Can’t Believe I’m Alive.’”

Rio is Rabin’s first album in 34 years on which he sings; his last album with vocals was 1989’s Can’t Look Away. He released that in the middle of his run with Yes, which produced the albums 90125, Big Generator, Union and Talk. His most recent solo album prior to Rio was 2012’s all-instrumental release, Jacaranda.

Describing the sound of Rio, which is named after his granddaughter, Rabin says, “I wanted to get into many different areas. Of course there are ‘prog things’, but overall there are a lot of styles going on.”

The album is now available for preorder now and will be available in a number of formats, including a limited-edition CD/Blu-ray and two-LP vinyl sets, a digital album and a standard CD. The limited editions feature three bonus tracks.

Here’s the track listing for the album:

“Big Mistakes”
“Push”
“Oklahoma”
“Paradise”
“Thandi”
“Goodbye”
“Tumbleweed”
“These Tears”
“Egoli”
“Toxic”

Bonus tracks:
“Spek & Polly”
“Fragile” (Demo)
“Georgia”

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On This Day, August 4, 1964 …

The Kinks released their third single, “You Really Got Me,” in the U.K., where it became their first number one hit and stayed on top for two weeks. 

The tune was released in America that September and became a breakthrough hit for the band, peaking at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.

Guitarist Dave Davies created the distorted guitar sound in the tune by slicing up the speaker on his amp with a razor blade. The highly influential track has been described as proto-punk and early heavy metal.

The track hit the charts once again in 1978 after Van Halen covered it for their self-titled debut album and released it as their debut single. The Van Halen version peaked at number 36 on the Hot 100.

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Former teen idol Donny Osmond will be continuing his Las Vegas residency well into 2024.

He’s just announced that his show, DONNY, will continue at Harrah’s Las Vegas Showroom at Harrah’s Las Vegas through May of 2024. The new dates, which start January 23 and include shows in February, March, April and May, go on sale August 5 at 10 a.m. PT via ticketmaster.com/donny.

Donny’s show, which won him the Best Headliner title at the 2022 Best of Vegas Awards, features songs from throughout his six-decade career, including a segment where fans can request any song he’s ever recorded.

The dates going on sale are:

January 2024: 23-27, 30-31
February 2024: 1-3, 13-17, 20-24, 27-29
March 2024: 1-2, 12-16, 19-23, 26-30
April 2024: 2-6, 30
May 2024: 1-4, 7-11

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With Freddie Mercury, Queen’s live shows were just as much about entertainment and spectacle as they were about rock ‘n roll, which you can see in the latest episode of Queen The Greatest Live — “Big Spender.”

The episode showcases footage from two different Queen shows: 1975’s Christmas Eve show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon and a 1986 show at Wembley Stadium.  Both feature Freddie Mercury performing a rocking, yet campy version of “Big Spender,” a song from the 1966 musical Sweet Charity.

In 1975, Freddie removes his kimono to reveal a white top and teeny white shorts. In 1986, he takes off his already-shredded shirt to finish the song bare-chested.  He also changes the song’s pronouns, singing “everyone” or “every gal” rather than “every guy.”

In 1977, Freddie explained to Hit Parader that such a moment was only possible because Queen was already an established act.

“Sneaking my cabaret influences into our act was done slowly. Could you imagine me doing ‘Big Spender’ when we were first starting? As a rock band? They’d freak,” he said. “Now we do more a combination of rock ‘n roll and theater.”

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Back in June, The Police’s classic album Synchronicity celebrated its 40th anniversary, and guitarist Andy Summers recently reflected on the album’s popularity with ABC Audio. 

Summers says when they made the album, The Police were so popular it was “complete pandemonium.” He shares, “We were like The Beatles of the ’80s. I mean, it was insane.” 

Because of that, Summers says they felt they “could put anything out and it would be a hit.” But he insists, “We were trying to make the best possible record.”

But Andy says when they went into the studio there was “quite a lot of tension in the band,” mainly because Sting wanted to “do his own stuff.” While they had a few songs that felt right for the album, he notes, “The key moment came when we had ‘Every Breath You Take.'”

But even with a great song, Summers says it still wasn’t quite coming together until Sting told him to “go on, go in there and make it your own,” and in one take he put down the song’s “immortal guitar line.” 

Their manager instantly insisted it be the first single, although the band was hesitant because it was a ballad. Of course, they were wrong. “Went out and it stayed at number one for eight weeks, the album was number one for four months,” Summers says of the song’s impact. “Now ‘Every Breath You Take’ is the most played song of all time in American radio.”  

Released June 17, 1983, Synchronicity spent 17 weeks on top of the Billboard 200. In 2009 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and in 2023 it was chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

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