Classic Hits

Fans of the late Jimmy Buffett are getting another preview of his upcoming posthumous album, Equal Strain On All Parts, which drops November 3.

Two new songs from the album have just been released, including a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Mozambique” featuring special guest Emmylou Harris. “Mozambique” originally appeared on Dylan’s 1976 album, Desire.

The second is an original autobiographical track, “University of Bourbon Street,” featuring New Orleans’ own Preservation Hall Jazz Band. It has Jimmy singing about the life lessons he learned while experiencing the city’s famed party street.

Equal Strain on All Parts, which also features guest appearances by Paul McCartney and Angélique Kidjo, was recorded while Buffett was battling Merkel cell skin cancer. He passed away from the disease on September 1.

The album is available for preorder now.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart has shared the first song from his new creative collective, The Time Experience Project, which consists of writers, actors, filmmakers, composers and performers.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer dropped the single “Brings Me Home” from the group’s upcoming album Who to Love, a 10-song modern rock opera dropping October 20.

“It’s a song about the power of real love; about how something as simple as holding someone’s hand or seeing their face can make us feel at home, even amid chaos,” Stewart says of “Brings Me Home.” “In a world that is constantly changing and moving at a rapid pace, it is important to slow down and connect with others in a meaningful way. This song reminds us that we all need a place to call home, both physically and emotionally.”

You can listen to “Brings Me Home” now via digital outlets and on YouTube. 

Who to Love is not only an album but also a movie, which is set to make its premiere October 19 at the Rome Film Fest. The project features Italian actress Greta Scarano, with Stewart backed by the Italian band Mokadelic. 

Who to Love is available for preorder now. 

Here is the track list for Who to Love:

“Time Is A Masterpiece”
“Electrified”
“Not The Sweetest Taboo”
“Brings Me Home”
“Diamond Eyes”
“Who To Love”
“Time Flies”
“Talk To Me”
“Human”
“Surrender”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band have rescheduled the Canadian leg of their 2023 tour.

The Boss will now head north of the border starting October 31, 2024, in Montreal, hitting Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton before wrapping November 22 in Vancouver.

Tickets for the originally scheduled Canadian dates will be valid for the new shows. Refunds are available to those who can’t make the new dates.

In late September, Springsteen pushed all of his remaining 2023 dates to 2024 in order to give himself more time to recover from peptic ulcer disease. The tour is now set to resume March 19 in Phoenix, Arizona. A complete list of dates can be found at springsteen.net.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Heart’s Ann Wilson has given fans an update on a planned biopic on the group.

While appearing on the Totally 80s podcast, Wilson confirmed that the film, first announced in 2020, is still happening; she didn’t give a timeline as to when production may start.

“The pandemic kind of slowed them down a little bit, but it’s in the works still. Carrie Brownstein‘s writing it,” she said.

“I’ve seen a couple of drafts of the script. It’s good. She’s a great writer. If anybody can capture the story of a couple of women in rock, it’s probably Carrie, ’cause she’s been there herself,” Wilson added of the Sleater-Kinney rocker.

As for whether anyone has been cast to play her or her sister and bandmate Nancy Wilson, Ann noted, “There’ve been a few things bandied about, but nothing solid yet.” 

“I’d like somebody who could sing, and then they could sing some, I could sing some,” she continued. “I think that my preference would be somebody young and brand new and fresh, somebody who’s really got their s*** together in terms of being into the script.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ringo Starr is out with a brand-new EP, Rewind Forward, and it includes the new song “Feeling The Sunlight,” which was written by his friend and former Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney.  

“We were Facetiming each other — we do that quite a bit — and I say, ‘I’m doing an EP. Write me a song,’” Starr tells Billboard in a new interview. “And he said, ‘OK.’ And he not only wrote it, he’s on bass, he’s singing on it. He’s all over it. He actually put his drums on it.” 

However, being that Starr’s a drummer, that contribution from McCartney didn’t stay on the tune.

“I wiped him off completely and did it myself. It would be like me sending him a track and I’m on bass,” Starr says. 

He adds he wasn’t worried that McCartney’s contribution to the EP would be a bad one, noting, “Well, he’d written me a couple of good songs, you know, like ‘Yellow Submarine.’ I thought, ‘He can do this.'”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, October 13, 2016…

Bob Dylan was announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first songwriter to ever win the award.

Dylan was the 12th Nobel laureate from the United States and the first American to win since Toni Morrison was chosen in 1993.

Dylan’s win was not without controversy, as some in the literature community felt his contributions were not up to par with traditional authors.

Dylan was not present to accept his award in Sweden that December, as he had prior commitments. Instead it was accepted on his behalf by singer Patti Smith, who performed Dylan’s song “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Believe it or not, it’s been 40 years since Cyndi Lauper let the world know “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” on her debut album, She’s So Unusual. 

Released October 14, 1983, the album, featuring a cover shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, where it spent a whopping 97 weeks.

Lauper released six singles from the record, starting with her classic “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” which became her first Billboard Hot 100 hit, peaking at #2. That was followed by the iconic ballad “Time After Time,” which was Lauper’s first #1.

Two other singles, “She Bop” and “All Through the Night,” landed in the top five, making Cyndi the first female artist to have four top five singles from one album.

All four songs benefited from music videos that were in heavy rotation on MTV. In fact, at the first-ever MTV VMAs, Lauper was the most nominated artist with nine nominations, winning Best Female Video for “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.”

She’s So Unusual earned Cyndi six Grammy nominations; it won two, including Best New Artist for Cyndi and Best Recording Package.

The album has gone on to be certified seven-times Platinum by the RIAA, while “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” has gone six-times Platinum, “Time After Time” has gone five-times Platinum and “All Through The Night” has gone Gold.

In 2019, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”

And fans are getting something new for the anniversary. A special blue vinyl version of She’s So Unusual will be released for Record Store Day on November 24.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Rolling Stones have teamed with the creative collection KidSuper for a new merch line coinciding with the release of their new album, Hackney Diamonds.

The limited-edition Rolling Stones x KidSuper collection, produced in partnership with merch company Bravado, includes a CD and cassette of Hackney Diamonds with the Rolling Stones’ lips logo reimagined in two different ways. Other merch offerings include tees, hooded sweatshirts, hats and mugs.

“I’ve been a fan of The Rolling Stones since I was a kid, so when the opportunity came to support the release of their new studio album, I couldn’t turn it down,” says Colm Dillane, artist, designer and founder of KidSuper. “The iconic logo, which I designed using fingerprint artwork, represents the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll, and how many people have been touched by the band’s music over their incredible 60-year history.”

He adds, “I’m so proud with how the collection turned out and am excited for fans to get their hands on it!”

All items in the collection will be available exclusively at The Rolling Stones’ RS No. 9 stores, including their flagship store in London, pop-up stores in New York and Los Angeles and a soon-to-be-opened location in Tokyo. They will also be available online starting October 20, the same day Hackney Diamonds is released.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Cher and her ex-husband Sonny Bono didn’t have a great relationship after they divorced in 1975. But as Cher tells People in a new interview, they were able to make up before Sonny’s tragic death — because he finally apologized to her.

“He p***** me off royally and hurt me,” Cher tells People. But one day, she says, “He came into the kitchen at my house and said, ‘Cher, I want to apologize. I realized that I hurt you in so many ways, and I was wrong.’ That went a long way for me.”

“The fact that he came and said it meant something to me, that at least he acknowledged that he had been hurtful,” she explains.

Cher and Sonny married in 1964 and share son Chaz, 54. Sonny died in a skiing accident in 1998 at age 62; Cher dedicated her 1998 album, Believe, to him.

Despite their marital problems, Cher maintains that she and Sonny “had so much fun together,” both in their music career and on their variety show, which aired from 1971 to 1974.

“Working together was the easiest part of it, because we really made each other laugh,” she says. “You can’t fake that kind of stuff.”

Cher’s new holiday album, Christmas, will arrive October 20.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Rudolph Isley, a founding member of The Isley Brothers, passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 84.

Rudolph’s daughter Elaine confirmed the news to People, revealing he “died peacefully in his sleep” with his wife of 68 years, also named Elaine, by his side.

Rudolph’s brother and bandmate Ronald shared his feelings about the loss with the mag, saying, “There are no words to express my feelings and the love I have for my brother. Our family will miss him. But I know he’s in a better place.”

Rudolph founded The Isley Brothers in the ’50s with brothers O’Kelly, Ronald and Vernon, although Vernon passed away a few years after their formation. They had their first hit in 1959 with “Shout,” which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

Other songs made famous by The Isley Brothers include “Twist and Shout” and “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Week For You)” along with “It’s Your Thing,” which earned them a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. 

Rudolph, who was known for wearing hats and fur-attired clothing, retired from the group in 1989. He and his brothers were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. 

Earlier this year, Rudolph filed a lawsuit against Ronald over the trademark rights to the group’s name, claiming that despite the name being jointly owned by both of them, Ronald alone filed for a federal trademark of the name in 2021, and it was approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

He sought to have a judge declare that the trademark rights to the name were equally and jointly owned by both brothers, and he wanted any revenue Ronald made from exploiting the trademark to be divided.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.