Classic Hits

John Mellencamp is giving folks a little insight into what went wrong in his relationship with Meg Ryan.

In an interview with Esquire, Mellencamp admits, “I love Meg Ryan. I went with her for ten years.” But, he says, “She doesn’t love me so much. She’s a great girl. I’m just a s***** boyfriend.” 

He also recalls a time when they first started dating and tried to step outside their celebrity life, where things are often done for you.

“We were so f****** lost. We didn’t know how to do anything. I’ve never checked out of a hotel by myself,” he shares. “Her and I went to a grocery store, and they wanted our credit card, and we looked at each other and said, ‘Here it is,’ and they said, ‘No, you’ve got to put it in this thing,’ and we went, ‘Then what happens?’”

He adds, “We laughed at how stupid we are, so hard we cried. I think she’s learned how to do everything, and I’ve learned how to do nothing.”

Mellencamp and Ryan began dating in late 2010. They broke up and got back together several times before confirming their engagement in November 2018. They reportedly broke up for good in October 2019.

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The late Tina Turner will be honored on Broadway.

Deadline reports the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is set to dim its marquee lights for one minute in honor of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame legend on Wednesday, June 21, at 7 p.m. ET. The theater is where the musical of her life, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical, ran on Broadway.

The show originally debuted in London’s West End before coming to Broadway. It ran from 2019 to 2022, closing August 14, 2022, after 27 previews and 482 productions. It was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, with Tina portrayer Adrienne Warren winning Best Lead Actress/Musical. 

Turner passed away May 24 at the age of 83.

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On This Day, June 14, 1980…

Billy Joel landed at #1 with his seventh studio release, Glass Houses.

Influenced in part by new wave music, it featured, in Billy’s words, “bigger, louder, faster, shorter and punchier” material.

Four tunes off the album became Top 40 hits, including “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” which was Joel’s first #1 single. Other hits included “You May Be Right,” “Sometimes a Fantasy,” and Don’t Ask Me Why.”

Glass Houses remained on top of the charts for six weeks and went on to be certified seven-times Platinum by the RIAA.

It also earned Joel his fifth Grammy, winning Best Rock Male Vocal Performance.

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Fans of The Rolling Stones will now be able to show their love of the iconic rockers on their feet.

Skechers just announced a new collaboration with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band. The Skechers x The Rolling Stones collection will feature eight collectible styles all “emblazoned with unmistakable attributes from both Skechers and The Rolling Stones.” 

Skechers and The Stones have been previewing the collection online, which features the iconic Rolling Stones tongue and lip logo on high-tops, slip-on sneakers, white sneakers and more.

The shoes will be available for men, women and kids starting Thursday, June 15, although details on price are not yet available.

And Stones fans already seem excited by the collaboration. “at last ! Something fashionable for the over 50’s,” one person commented, while another added, “When you need to go to the gym but can’t stop being a rock chick.”

The Skechers news comes not long after the band announced a new collaboration with Keurig, the limited edition “Start Me Up” iced coffee kit. It went on sale June 6 and is already sold out.

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Def Leppard is giving fans even more ways to have fun with their Def Leppard – Let’s Rock It! match 3 game app. The band just announced they’ve added new levels to the game so fans can “rock out harder than ever before.”

And to promote the new updates, Def Leppard has launched a new giveaway with plenty of prizes, including the big prize of an exclusive Jackson guitar, as well as band merch and gift cards.

Def Leppard – Let’s Rock It! is currently available on the app store or Google Play. 

As for Def Leppard, they are currently in Europe on their tour with Mötley Crüe. The tour hits Copenhagen, Denmark, on Wednesday, June 14. A complete list of dates can be found at DefLeppard.com.

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The Alarm’s new album, Forwards, drops Friday, June 16, and frontman Mike Peters has just dropped another track from the record, the song “Another Way.”

Peters worked on Forwards as he was dealing with a relapse of his leukemia, and the video for the song features a performance clip cut with footage of him curled up in a hospital bed. 

Peters previously shared how his cancer helped influence the record, noting, “I’ve been to places only deep suffering can take the human spirit and, in the darkness, I clung onto every piece of light I could find to work my way back to life.” He added, “This was the energy that drove me to write and record Forwards.”

“Another Way” is the fourth single released from Forwards, following “Whatever,” “Next” and the title track.

Forwards is available for preorder now.

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Cyndi Lauper’s new documentary, Let The Canary Sing, will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival on Wednesday, June 14, and the singer is opening up about why she decided to let her story be told on screen.

“I just think a documentary sometimes helps show people how, because everybody starts out with somebody saying, ‘What are you going to do that for? Don’t do that. Get a real job,'” she tells The Hollywood Reporter. She added it’s “so amazing” when that starts to change and “they want to know what you’re doing and you try and explain, and they always say, ‘Well, good luck with your work.'”

She adds, “So instead of being disheartened, it’s good to learn about someone else and see how they made their good steps and bad steps.” 

Cyndi says she wasn’t very hands-on in the making of the doc, joking, “The only thing I got involved with, you know me, sitting in front of the camera,” although she did have to go and get photos and go through stuff from her past.

As for why she wasn’t more involved, she says, “And let me tell you — if you are really involved in your documentary, it’s no longer a documentary.”

As for what she thinks of it, Cyndi says she saw the film in its early stages and can’t really say if she enjoyed it or not, noting she felt like an editor. She explains, “I can only watch it for that, just make the facts straight. ‘This is what happened. This is the truth. That’s not.’ That’s all.”

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Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road continues to be a huge success, although there’s one artist currently doing a little better than him on the road. 

Elton’s tour lands at number two on Billboard Boxscore’s 2023 midyear charts, just behind Harry Styles’ Love On Tour. According to Billboard, Elton’s tour has brought in $138.2 million from 32 shows between November 1, 2022, and April 30, 2023, just .3% less than Harry’s $138.6 million from 38 shows.

Of course, number two is nothing to cry about, and Elton’s tour has been hugely successful. In fact, the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour topped the midyear charts in 2019 and 2020. It’s also held the top spot on the monthly chart seven times, the most of any other touring act.

When it comes to Top Ticket Sales, Elton lands at five, selling 798,152 tickets, with Styles once again at number one.

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A new album celebrating Pink Floyd‘s sixth studio release, Meddle, is on the way and we are now getting the first taste of it. 

Yes’ Rick Wakeman, Blue Öyster Cult’s Joe Bouchard, ex-Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo have teamed up with Rainbow vocalist Graham Bonnet for a new take on the track “San Tropez,” which is expected to appear on an album featuring revamped and reimagined takes on the 1971 Floyd album.

The album, Meddle Reimagined, will be similar to 2022’s Animals Reimagined and 2021’s Still Wish You Were Here, which featured such artists as Todd Rundgren, Joe Satriani, The Zombies’ Rod Argent and more sharing their takes on Floyd’s 1977 release, Animals, and 1975’s Wish You Were Here.

“When first invited to participate on Pink Floyd’s ‘San Tropez,’ I was flattered, yet a little nervous. I had sung on ‘Dogs’ (from Animals Reimagined) a year earlier and was initially concerned whether I could do justice to such an iconic song and thankfully, it turned out better than expected,” Bonnet shares. “‘San Tropez’ would prove to be trickier for me but ultimately I was happy that I was able to honor yet another gem from the cherished and enigmatic Pink Floyd.” 

So far there’s no word on when Meddle Reimagined will be released.

You can listen to “San Tropez” now via digital outlets.

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Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry have had a tumultuous relationship throughout their more than 50-year career together, but Perry insists rumors they don’t get along are untrue.

“This is no bulls***, man, he’s probably my best friend through all of it,” Perry tells Classic Rock. “We just know we’re different people. Even through the 70s, we were the ones that would go off on a scuba diving trip together.” 

Perry admits there was some friction when Tyler decided to judge American Idol in 2008, noting he thought, “Holy s***, we’re gonna have to plan the band’s career around that,” but that thought quickly changed. Perry shares, “But god bless him, not everybody gets the chance to do that, so it was, ‘Go for it, man.’”

Around that time, their bickering boiled over in public, and at one point Perry announced the band was “looking for a new singer.” Looking back, Perry seems to regret things happened that way.

“I’m not sure how I feel about that,” Perry says. “They say all press is good press, I’m not sure I agree with that. Maybe it felt like we had to something to our fans. F***, I couldn’t tell you. We were so spread apart, I don’t know. Maybe we were trying to set the record straight and be a little bit more honest and let people know what was going on. I don’t know.”

Aerosmith is set to kick off what they say is their final tour September 2 in Philadelphia. A complete list of dates can be found at aerosmith.com.

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