Classic Hits

Sinéad O’Connor has died. She was 56.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad,” a statement from the Irish singer-songwriter’s family reads. “Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”

Born December 8, 1966, in Dublin, O’Connor began her music career in the ’80s. In 1990, she released her sophomore album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, featuring a rendition of the Prince-written song “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

O’Connor’s version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” became a worldwide hit and was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammys. I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance, though O’Connor refused to accept the award.

O’Connor garnered further controversy during her performance on Saturday Night Live in 1992, when she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II while declaring “Fight the real enemy,” which effectively ended her general popularity in the U.S.

Still, O’Connor continued to release new music, putting out a total of 10 studio albums, the most recent of which being 2014’s I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss. In a July Facebook post, O’Connor shared that she was finishing a new record set to be released in 2024. She also released a cover of the theme song to the show Outlander earlier in 2023.

O’Connor long shared her experience with mental health struggles, and she recounted her life in the 2021 memoir Rememberings. A documentary about her titled Nothing Compares was released in 2022.

O’Connor changed her name to Magda Davitt in 2017, and then Shuhada’ Sadaqat in 2018. She was married four times and had four children. Her son Shane died in 2022.

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Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin has a new label and a new record. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has just signed with InsideOutMusic, which will release his new album, Rio, on October 6.

Rio is Rabin’s first solo album of vocal material in 34 years, his last being 1989’s Can’t Look Away. He hasn’t been completely away from music, however. He’s spent much of his time writing movie soundtracks and working on such films as Con Air, Remember the Titans, Enemy of the State, National Treasure and more.

“Over the past ten years I was having ideas, concepts that I couldn’t implement due to my busy schedule,” Rabin says of the delay since his last record. “To be honest, those years flew by in a flurry. I knew that this was the time, and once I found my momentum I worked on the album 24/7.”

Rio, named after Rabin’s granddaughter, will be available for preorder starting August 4.

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Mick Jagger officially became an octogenarian on July 26, and he received lots of birthday wishes from his famous friends.

The day started with The Rolling Stones‘ social media accounts sharing a tribute video to Mick, set to the Stones track “You Got Me Rocking.” “It’s a special day today! Join us in wishing @mickjagger a very happy 80th birthday!!” they captioned the post. “Keep on rockin’ Mick!”

The now 80-year-old also received lots of well wishes from his bandmates.

Keith Richards shared a video of him sitting behind a piano with the message, “Happy Birthday, Mick. Long may we keep saying this to each other, Happy 80th!”

Ronnie Wood shared a collage of pics with him and Mick, simply writing “Happy 80th birthday to @mickjagger!”

Even the late Charlie Watts‘ social media account sent birthday wishes to Mick, sharing photos of Mick and Charlie over the years, with the caption, “Wishing @mickjagger a very happy birthday!” 

Mick also took to social media to acknowledge his big day, sharing a photo of himself in a shiny maroon suit. “Thanks so much for all your lovely comments and birthday wishes!!” he wrote. That birthday post garnered comments from the likes of Christie Brinkley, Sean Ono Lennon, Lenny Kravitz, Bebe Buell and more.

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On This Day, July 26, 1980…

The Rolling Stones hit #1 on the Billboard 200 with Emotional Rescue, which went on to spend seven weeks on top of the chart.

The album’s title track was the first single released from the record, and it went on to peak at #3 on the Hot 100. Another single titled “She’s So Cold” hit the Top 40.

Emotional Rescue, the follow-up to 1978’s Some Girls, topped the charts in at least six countries; it became the Stones’ first U.K. #1 since 1973’s Goats Head Soup.

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Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are set to headline Soaring Eagle’s Arts, Beats & Eats festival, taking place September 1-4 in Royal Oak, Michigan, just outside of Detroit.

The lineup will also include Halestorm, Russell Dickerson and Bell Biv DeVoe, along with American Authors, Collective Soul, the Tom Petty tribute band The Wildflowers, the Fleetwood Mac tribute band Rumours and more. 

A complete lineup and ticket information can be found at artsbeatseats.com.

There may also be another reason folks will clamor for tickets. USA Today reports the festival will feature a cannabis zone, where festival goers can use and sell the product. The area will be fully enclosed with ventilation, and concertgoers will need to verify their age to enter. Detroit metro retailer House of Dank will be providing the product. 

While this is Michigan’s first festival to provide a cannabis zone, it’s not the first time this has happened at a music fest. San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival has had a cannabis area since 2018.

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It’s hard to believe after seeing him rock out onstage, but Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger is celebrating his 80th birthday on July 26.

Now considered one of the world’s best rock ‘n’ roll frontmen, Jagger was studying at the London School of Economics when a chance meeting with childhood friend Keith Richards at a train station changed the course of his future: the two formed a musical partnership that eventually became The Rolling Stones. 

In their 60-year career, The Stones have become one of the bestselling artists of all time. They’ve had nine Billboard #1 albums and eight #1 singles, selling over 200 million records. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

The Rolling Stones have often been compared to The Beatles, as both bands found fame in the ’60s, but in a 2020 interview with Apple Music Mick described how they’re different.

“The Stones went on, we started doing stadium gigs in the ’70s, and [we’re] still doing them now,” he said. “So, you know, that’s the real big difference between these two bands. That one band is unbelievably, luckily still playing in stadiums, and the other band doesn’t exist.” 

Jagger’s personal life has also kept him in the headlines over the years, although he’s technically only been married once — to Bianca Jagger, from 1971 to 1978. He’s had several high-profile relationships, including a four-year relationship with Marianne Faithfull and an unofficial marriage to model Jerry Hall.

He has eight children with five different women – daughter Karis with Marsha Hunt, who he dated between 1969 and 1970; daughter Jade with Bianca; daughters Elizabeth and Georgia and sons James and Gabriel with Hall; son Lucas from his affair with model Luciana Gimenez; and son Deveraux, with current girlfriend Melanie Hamrick.

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August 1 would have been Jerry Garcia’s 81st birthday, and the New York Yankees will be celebrating the late Grateful Dead frontman for an entire week. 

For the games running August 1 to August 6, the first 3,000 fans who purchase tickets will receive an exclusive New York Yankees Jerry Garcia bobblehead.

And it’s all for a good cause. A portion of the proceeds from each ticket will go to The Dead’s nonprofit, the Rex Foundation, which “provides extensive community support to small organizations making an impact in the arts, sciences, education, the environment, and social justice.”

And the Yankees aren’t the only ones celebrating Jerry. The Oakland A’s are holding Jerry Garcia Night on August 18, with special tickets that include a tie-dye Athletics T-shirt with Garcia’s face. The A’s take on the Baltimore Orioles that night, and the game will feature a pregame concert by Moonalice, as well as a special guest for the first pitch. A portion of the proceeds from each ticket will also be donated to the Rex Foundation.

Garcia died August 9, 1995, at the age of 53.

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Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason has been made an honorary citizen of the Italian city of Pompeii, Planet Rock Radio reports. Mason received the honor on July 24 ahead of his Pompeii concert with his current band, Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets.

Mason and Pink Floyd have a long history with Pompeii; in October 1971 they shot their concert film Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii at the Pompeii Amphitheater, and Mason acknowledged that history in accepting the new citizenship. 

“I am overwhelmed by being here and having such a great honor given to me. What I really need to say initially is thank you, not only from myself, but the other people who made this happen. Of course, that’s Roger Waters, David Gilmour and Richard Wright,” Mason said. “I’m sorry that I can’t bring the rest of the band with me. I can’t even bring my mustache.”

He added, “We have been linked to Pompeii for 50 years now. If you told me 50 years ago that I’d be back here I would have thought that was impossible. I should have returned 30 years ago.”

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Downes Braide Association, made up of Yes’ Geoff Downes and songwriter Chris Braide, is ready to release new music. The duo will drop their fifth studio album, Celestial Songs, on September 8 and have shared the first single from the record, “Clear Light.”

“As we were writing the songs for the album, they started to become thematic in emotion and feeling,” Braide shares, “more classic rock than the predecessor Halcyon Hymns. The songs were about life and death, time, love, nostalgia, spirituality. Very DBA in fact.”

Downes adds, “There’s a lot of variety on the album, too…I hope people will appreciate it and get behind it, not just the songwriting and vocals but the overall instrumentation and musicianship is very high on this album.”

The album features a cameo by Soft Cell’s Marc Almond on the track “Darker Side of Fame,” with Downes noting, “Marc and Chris’ voices blend really well.”

Celestial Songs will be released as a CD, two-LP and box set, the last of which includes a 12-inch purple vinyl, 12×12 special edition print and more. All are available for preorder now.

Here is the track list for Celestial Songs:

“Look What You Do”
“Clear Light”
“Keep On Moving”
“Darker Side Of Fame”
“Hey Kid”
“Will To Power”
“Heart Shaped Hole”
“Dear Petra”
“On The Run”
“Goodbye To You (Sister Shame)”
“Beyond The Stars”

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Blondie guitarist and co-founder Chris Stein is mourning the loss of his daughter Akira, who he just revealed passed away in May from a drug overdose.

“There are a lot of you I care for that didn’t know and even though it’s not like me to post personal events publicy (sic) Akira was important to many,” he shared on Instagram. “She was wonderful and a bright place in the world. She had been struggling for years and addiction took her.”

He adds that his wife, Barbara, and other daughter, Vali, “are moving ahead but there’s a huge piece missing from our lives. Just remember her and be kind to each other and you young people please avoid this trap.” 

Stein’s Blondie bandmate Debbie Harry also wrote about Akira on Instagram, in a post in which she first expressed how unbelievable it is to her to still be performing in Blondie at the age of 78.

“The flip side of this positivity is the loss of my god daughter Akira. She was just turning 20 and we lost her to fentynal,” she writes. “So my joys and sorrows are all the more extreme.” 

Harry adds, “I will grieve for the rest of my life along with Barbara Sicuranza and Chris Stein, her mom and dad, and her sister Vali, at our terrible loss. Fentynal is too dangerous, seductive and easy to get.”

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