Classic Hits

The Rolling Stones have officially launched a new era. During a press conference in London Wednesday, September 6, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers announced they’ll release their new studio album Hackney Diamonds on October 20.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood sat down with Jimmy Fallon to talk about the record and revealed that their late drummer, Charlie Watts, appears on two songs, which were recorded in 2019. They also confirmed that original Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman appears on the record, as does special guest Lady Gaga. 

“I don’t want to be big headed, but we wouldn’t have put this album out if we didn’t really like it,” Jagger shared. “I mean we didn’t want to make just any record and put it out,” adding, “before we went in, we said we’ll go and make a record that we really love ourselves.”

The first single from the record, “Angry,” is out now, with a video featuring Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney.

The album, produced by Andrew Watt, who also produced albums by Eddie Vedder, Iggy Pop and Ozzy Osbourne, is available for preorder now.

Hackney Diamonds will be The Rolling Stones’ first album of original songs since 2005’s A Bigger Bang. The last album they released was 2016’s Blue and Lonesome, which was an album of blues covers.

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Most music fans have albums they simply can’t live without, and Mike Reno is no exception. In an interview with AXS TV, the Loverboy frontman reveals the five albums he’d want with him if he was stranded on a deserted island.

Topping the list is 1969’s Led Zeppelin, with Reno saying the band’s debut album “changed everything” for him. He called it “the best thing I’d heard in many years.”

Next on his list is Chicago’s 1971 release, Chicago Live at Carnegie Hall, sharing that he loved the double album so much, “I played them until I had to buy a second copy.” That was followed by Styx’s 1976 release, Crystal Ball, with Reno noting he wasn’t into Styx until Tommy Shaw joined the band. “That took it over the edge for me.”

Coming in at four is Steely Dan’s 1972 album, Can’t Buy A Thrill, with Reno saying it’s an album he “always has to listen to, even to this day.” Elton John’s 1973 classic Goodbye Yellow Brick Road rounds out the top five.

“It was a time in my youth that was one of the happiest times in my life,” Reno says of listening to Elton’s album. “To this day, when I hear Yellow Brick Road, the song in particular, I just go right back to the place I grew up when I was a youngster, about 17, and it takes me right back to the beginning and I loved it.”

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Dionne Warwick is one of the artists being recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors this year, and she is certainly grateful to singled out — although it may have taken a little longer than she would have liked.

“It’s about time,” she joked to People when asked about the recognition. “I’m thrilled. I really am. I’m very excited about it. I feel so honored to be honored by the Kennedy Center.”

The 82-year-old Warwick has already won five Grammy Awards, and while being a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors is another great achievement for her, she would still love to have some other trophies on her shelf.

She notes, “There’s still the Oscar, the Emmy, the Tony, not necessarily that order.”

The 46th annual Kennedy Center Honors gala, hosted by Gloria Estefan, will take place December 3 in Washington, D.C., with the celebration airing later on CBS.

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“Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett passed away Friday, September 1, after a four-year battle with Merkel cell skin cancer, a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer, and his family says he stayed positive all the way until the end.  

His sister Laurie Buffett McGuane tells People she and Jimmy spent his final days reminiscing about their childhood,” noting, “We would repeat stories, and Jimmy would laugh and nod his head to let us know that he remembered.” 

She shares, “I have never seen Jimmy depressed ever. Not even at the end. We all like to joke and laugh and that was very much Jimmy,” adding, “he brought joy to so many.”

Laurie’s husband, Tom McGuane, a longtime friend of the singer, noted Jimmy “was always high-spirited, fun-loving, hard working and creative,” sharing, “It is remarkable to be able to say that he remained the same during the last month of his life. His sense of humor was fully intact. God bless him for keeping himself that way.”

Now with Jimmy gone, Laurie is having a hard time imagining what the future will be like without her brother. “When Jimmy was in the world, I felt safe,” she says. “Even though I have Tom, it will be a whole new thing for me to be without my brother Jimmy.”

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An autographed copy of Led Zeppelin’s classic album Houses of the Holy sold for big bucks at auction, and it didn’t even contain the actual album. 

According to the BBC, the cardboard sleeve of the 1973 release, featuring the signatures of all four members of the iconic band, sold for over $18,000, well above the estimated selling price of between $1,500 and $2,200.

The inclusion of drummer John Bonham’s signature made the item a rare find, which resulted in what is believed to be the highest sale price for an autographed copy of the album. This is despite the lack of the actual record and the sleeve being slightly worn out in the corners.

“We were thrilled to achieve this astonishing result for this set of Led Zeppelin autographs 50 years on from the original release of Houses of the Holy,” Andrew Smith, music and memorabilia specialist at Gildings Auctioneers in Leicestershire, England, tells the BBC. “Thanks to the extreme rarity of full sets of the band’s signatures, this album cover represented a holy grail for collectors determined to own a very special piece of music memorabilia.”

Houses of the Holy was Led Zeppelin’s fifth studio album. It featured such Zeppelin classics as “The Song Remains the Same,” “The Rain Song” and “Dancing Days.”

(A previous version of this story published on 9/5/23 erroneously identified the winning bid as $15,000 in the headline. The headline has been updated to correct the error.) 

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Foreigner is currently on their Farewell Tour, but it looks like they aren’t saying goodbye to the road that quickly. In a new interview with Rock Show Critique, bassist Jeff Pilson confirmed the band will still be on the road next year.

Pilson told the show that the tour has been “going great,” adding, “the attendance has been really crazy. We’re freaking out at how many people are coming.” He then revealed that fans will have even more chances to see them.  

“I can’t give you all the details, but yes, we will be touring through 2024,” he said when pressed about their future plans. “And there is a major tour in mind, and we’ll be announcing it shortly so you’ll hear about it.” 

Foreigner’s Farewell tour hits Airway Heights, Washington, on September 22. A complete list of dates can be found at foreigneronline.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

An autographed copy of Led Zeppelin’s classic album Houses of the Holy sold for big bucks at auction, and it didn’t even contain the actual album. 

According to the BBC, the cardboard sleeve of the 1973 release, featuring the signatures of all four members of the iconic band, sold for over $18,000, well above the estimated selling price of between $1,500 and $2,200.

The inclusion of drummer John Bonham’s signature made the item a rare find, which resulted in what is believed to be the highest sale price for an autographed copy of the album. This is despite the lack of the actual record and the sleeve being slightly worn out in the corners.

“We were thrilled to achieve this astonishing result for this set of Led Zeppelin autographs 50 years on from the original release of Houses of the Holy,” Andrew Smith, music and memorabilia specialist at Gildings Auctioneers in Leicestershire, England, tells the BBC. “Thanks to the extreme rarity of full sets of the band’s signatures, this album cover represented a holy grail for collectors determined to own a very special piece of music memorabilia.”

Houses of the Holy was Led Zeppelin’s fifth studio album. It featured such Zeppelin classics as “The Song Remains the Same,” “The Rain Song” and “Dancing Days.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Madonna seems to have fully recovered from the illness that caused her to push back the start of her Celebration Tour.

A source tells People that the Queen of Pop “returned to rehearsals last Monday,” adding, “She’s so happy to be back onstage and is feeling strong.”

Noting that Madonna is working with longtime collaborators Jamie King and Stuart Price to create her “most ambitious tour ever,” the source adds, “This is where she thrives. She loves being back in a creative environment.”

The Celebration Tour will start in October with four shows in London followed by a run of European dates that are mapped out through December 6. Her first North American shows will start December 13 with three shows at Brooklyn, New York’s Barclays Center, followed by two shows in Washington, D.C. She’ll resume the tour January 8, 2024, in Boston.

In June, Madonna developed what her manager called “a serious bacterial infection” which sent her to the ICU for several days. While celebrating her birthday in Lisbon, Portugal, in August, she announced, “It’s great to be alive.”

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Former Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin is giving fans another preview of his upcoming solo album, Rio, dropping the new track “Push.” 

“For this song I was thinking of the horror of politics and politicians,” Rabin shares. “Once Vinnie Colaiuta played drums on this, it inspired me to redo some of the instrumentation. Vinnie‘s performance lifted this song beyond what I imagined.”

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

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. “Push” is the second song he’s released from the album following “Big Mistakes.”

Rio is due out October 6 and is available for preorder now.

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Bruce Springsteen has been getting a lot of flack for not changing up his set lists during his current tour with the E Street Band, but he still drops in some surprises for fans, and that certainly was the case for the final night of his three-night stand at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. 

According to setlist.fm, the Sunday, September 3, show featured the tour debut of The River track “Two Hearts,” the first time he performed the song with the E Street Band since 2017. Other set list additions included “Something In The Night,” “Spirit in the Night” and “Atlantic City.” “Spirit in the Night” was also performed during the MetLife show on September 1, marking the tour debut of the track.

The encore also had The Boss veering from the normal show, with the inclusion of “Jungleland” and “Detroit Medley,” ending the night with “Jersey Girl” instead of the usual “I’ll See You In My Dreams.” 

Next up, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band bring their tour to Syracuse, New York, on September 7. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.

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