Classic Hits

Tributes to the late Sinéad O’Connor continue to pour in following her death at the age of 56. 

Few details about her death are known at this point, but a statement from London’s Metro Police said that on July 26, they received “reports of an unresponsive woman at a residential address,” and “a 56-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene.” They note, “The death is not being treated as suspicious.”

The London Inner South Coroner reports that “no medical cause of death was given,” adding autopsy results “may not available for several weeks.”

Among the latest artists paying tribute to Sinéad is Eurythmics’ singer Annie Lennox, who shared a poem in which she called her “Fierce and fragile,” “Wounded,” “Fearless,” “unafraid” and more. Finally, she writes, “May the angels hold you/In their tender arms/And give you rest/In peace.” 

Sinéad recorded the theme for the recent season of Starz’s Outlander, whose star Caitriona Balfe wrote a message to the late singer. “Hope you are at peace … and with your baby boy,” she said, referring to Sinead’s son Shane, who died in 2022. “Thank you for sharing your soul with us and soothing us with your incredible voice beautiful Sinéad.”

Also paying tribute to Sinéad:

Yusuf/Cat Stevens – “Sad to hear of the passing of sister Shuhada Sadaqat, also known as Sinéad O’Connor. She was a tender soul, may God, Most Merciful, grant her everlasting peace.”

Cyndi Lauper – “Remembering Sinead O’Connor. A unique talent who made an indelible mark on pop culture. Outspoken and brave. A lot of trials and tribulations. A great artist with an incredible voice. She will be missed.”

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea – “For all us street kids, for all us wildlings, when sinead got huge, it felt like one of us made it. It was incredible…she was like billie holiday to me. All her pain, all her beauty, those incredible songs. she deserves sainthood.”

Queen’s Brian May – “Can it be ? So so sad to hear this. Bless you Sinéad.”

Irish singer/The Frames frontman Glen Hansard shared video of Sinéad singing “Nothing Compares 2 U” during the annual Christmas Eve busk for charity in Dublin. “Ireland has always preferred its heroes on the wall. Too scared and afraid to deal with them in the room,” he writes. “now we can finally hang her picture on the wall and revere her for the giant she was.”

Belinda Carlisle – “May she find peace now. Forever loved”

Jamie Lee Curtis – “She was a warrior. She was a rebel…Brilliant. Heartbreaking.
Rest well. Rest in power. Rest in peace.”

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Stevie Nicks has shared a new rarity from her upcoming box set, Complete Studio Albums & Rarities, which drops July 28.

The latest release is a remastered version of “My Heart,” which was originally a bonus track on international editions of 2011’s In Your Dreams as well as the Barnes and Noble edition in the U.S. 

You can listen to “My Heart” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.

Complete Studio Albums & Rarities will feature all eight of Nicks’ solo records, with many of them remastered from the original analog masters. There will also be a Rarities album with 23 non-album tracks.

The box set is being released in a variety of formats, including a 16-LP limited-edition set, which will consist of 3,000 numbered copies, pressed on crystal clear vinyl. 

Complete Studio Albums & Rarities is available for preorder now.

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The Cure has announced a vinyl reissue of their 1993 live album, show, in honor of its 30th anniversary.

The two-LP collection, which features remastered audio, will be released September 8.

Show was originally recorded in 1992 during a concert in Auburn Hills, Michigan, as part of The Cure’s tour supporting their then-new album, Wish. It features live renditions of classics including “Just Like Heaven,” “Friday I’m in Love” and “Lullaby.”

Meanwhile, current-day Cure just wrapped a U.S. tour earlier in July, which, according to Billboard, is the highest-grossing live outing of their career.

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On This Day, July 27, 1976…

After a four-year legal battle, John Lennon received his Green Card, granting him permanent residency status in the United States.

The Beatles icon faced deportation due to his political activism and 1968 marijuana conviction, but in 1975, the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the deportation order.

Lennon and wife Yoko Ono had been living in New York since 1971. He would have been eligible for U.S. citizenship in 1981, but was murdered outside his Manhattan apartment in 1980.

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The Who’s support of their one young artist has now brought in a hefty donation for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity. 

A post on their website details how paintings created on an iPad by bass player Jon Button’s 9-year-old son, Kezlowe Button, became a big hit with fans after they were posted online last Christmas. When the band brought their The Who Hits Back U.K. tour to Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle in early July, Kezlowe sent them a new painting of Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey surrounded by bagpipes. One fan loved the new painting so much that he wanted it for himself.

John Chamley reached out to The Who to see if he could purchase the painting in exchange for a $650 donation to the charity, which is near and dear to the band, and they agreed. They mounted a digital print of the painting on a canvas, and Pete and Roger even autographed it for Chamley.

Teenage Cancer Trust, founded in 1990, seeks to improve the cancer experience for young people. Daltrey is as patron of the charity.

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Should today be a national “Holiday?” Forty years ago — July 27, 1983 — Madonna‘s debut album was released and the world — or at least, the world of pop music — would never be the same.

Following the success of her 1982 debut single “Everybody,” Madonna got the green light to record a full album. The producers she worked with brought a few tracks to the project, but out of eight final tracks, Madonna was the sole writer on five of them, including “Lucky Star,” “Burnin’ Up” and “Everybody.”

The album entered the Billboard 200 album chart at #190, but by October of 1984, it had climbed into the top 10, thanks to the hits “Holiday,” “Lucky Star” and “Borderline,” not to mention Madonna’s videos, which inspired girls everywhere — nicknamed “Madonnawannabes” — to start wearing fingerless lace gloves, rubber bracelets, “Boy Toy” belts and crucifix earrings.

Within a year, Madonna had sold nearly three million copies and it’s since been RIAA-certified for sales of five million copies, though it’s likely sold many more than that.

The album helped take dance music to a mainstream audience, with some critics stating that, with it, Madonna single-handedly launched the dance-pop genre. In 2011, Rolling Stone ranked it #50 on its list of the Top 100 Albums of the ’80s, and quoted Madonna herself as saying, “It influenced a lot of people. I think it stands up well. It just took a long time for people to pay attention to me —and I thank God they did!”

In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked Madonna among the 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time, writing that it introduced “the most important female voice in the history of modern music.” 

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Tributes to Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor flooded the internet following the news of the “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer’s passing at the age of 56.

Ireland’s prime minister, Leo Varadka, shared that he was “really sorry to hear” of the singer’s death, adding, “Her music was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare.”

A post on band Garbage‘s Instagram said, “I’m heartbroken. This disgusting world broke her and kept on breaking her. Godspeed dear fragile dove. Thank you for all the beauty and all the wise teachings you offered up to us. I wish you nothing but peace and I will love you for all of time.” 

Among the other tributes:

Boy George – “Devestated (sic). Love you Sinead!”

Melissa Etheridge – “This is such a tragedy. What a loss. She was haunted all her life. What a talent. I remember my first Grammy show meeting this small shy Irish girl. #Sinead #RIPSinead.”

Bryan Adams – “RIP Sinéad O’Connor, I loved working with you making photos, doing gigs in Ireland together and chats, all my love to your family.”

Questlove – “Heartbreaking man. One of the nicest humans. Damn man. This is devastating.”

Ice T – “Respect to Sinead….. She stood for something… Unlike most people…. Rest Easy.”

Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan – “Fiercely honest and sweet and funny, she was talented in ways I’m not sure she completely understood. But Sinead stands alone as a figure from our generation who was always true to the piercing voice within and without. And for that I will always admire and respect her. And never forget that she was cancelled for an act of simple resistance. Her crime? Tearing up a photo.”

Alison Moyet – “Heavy hearted at the loss of Sinead O’Connor. Wanted to reach out to her often but didn’t. I remember her launch. Astounding presence. Voice that cracked stone with force & by increment. As beautiful as any girl around & never traded on that card. I Loved that about her. Iconoclast.”

Susanna Hoffs – “Peace and love, Sinéad.”

Shinedown – “Nothing compares to you… Sinéad Marie Bernadette O’Conner Godspeed, and safe journey.”

Mayim Bialik – “Remembering the Iconic Sinead O’Connor Her music changed the industry and her fierce fearlessness made a tremendous impression on my teenage years. She was ahead of her time in so many ways and gone far too soon. Rest in power, Sinead O’Connor.”

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If Van Halen fans were hoping there’s some previously unreleased music that may at some point see the light of day, they’re likely going to be disappointed.

In an interview with AllMusic to promote the new Mammoth WVH record Mammoth II, dropping August 4, Eddie Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, doesn’t sound too optimistic about there being anything worth releasing from his dad’s musical vault.

“As far as that, Al is certainly the decision maker in that process,” he says, referring to Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen, Eddie’s older brother. “I’m just kind of there to help him decide and help what he wants to go through – as sort of being the person in place of my father, in his absence.”

“But when it comes to that, I know my dad was vocal of that in the past, he released everything he wanted to release,” Wolfgang continues. “So, when it comes to stuff that hit the cutting room floor, that would certainly have to be a serious conversation to have – if anything is actually worth releasing.”

Finally he offers, “So, we’ll just have to see. I certainly wouldn’t hold your breath.”

Eddie Van Halen passed away in October 2020. The band’s last studio album, A Different Kind of Truth, which featured original frontman David Lee Roth, was released in February 2012.

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Rick Astley is “Rickrolling” his fans again, although he’s insisting that’s really not what he’s doing. 

The “Never Gonna Give You Up” singer took to social media to help promote his friend Ricky Montgomery‘s new album, Rick, which drops September 29.

“Hi guys, this is not a ‘Rickroll,'” Astley says in the video posted to Instagram. “Yes it is me, Rick, Astley that is, but this is not a ‘Rickroll’ … this is about an album called Rick by a lovely man, a friend of mine, called Ricky Montgomery.”

He then insisted, “This is not a ‘Rickroll’ … or is it?”

And Montgomery was certainly excited by Astley sharing the news, posting, “It is now music history that Mr. Rickroll himself – Rick Astley – personally did the album announcement for my second album.”

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Dolly Parton has just released the video for her cover of the Queen classic “We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You,” and sports fans will likely be seeing a lot of it in the coming year.

The video is a celebration of athletes and will be used to help NBCUniversal promote the Paris Olympic Games, which kick off July 26, 2024.  

The clip features footage Olympic superstars like Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Noah Lyles, Katie Ledecky, the U.S. women’s soccer team and more. It starts with Dolly performing in an empty stadium and in front of the Eiffel Tower as a nod to next year’s games. In the end, the stadium gets filled by people who help her with Queen’s legendary “We Will Rock You” chant.

For Dolly, teaming to help promote the Olympics makes sense because she’s a big fan of the games.

“I love the Olympics! I do my best to plan my schedule to watch as much of it as I possibly can,” Dolly shares. “I laugh, I cry, I scream, there are no losers in the Olympics as they have all spent a lifetime preparing but I celebrate with the ones that go away with the gold, silver, and bronze medals.”

“We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You” is the latest single off Dolly’s upcoming album Rockstar, which drops November 17. It features Dolly collaborating with a whole host of A-list artists, including The Beatles‘ Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Steven Tyler, Steve Perry, Sting, Stevie Nicks, Elton John and more.

Rockstar is available for preorder now.

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