Classic Hits

Grateful Dead has released two hours of never-before-heard music. The band just shared the third edition of The Angel’s Share series, this time featuring previously unreleased session tapes from their album Wake of the Flood, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

The new recordings feature outtakes and alternative versions of songs from the record as well as in-studio conversations about the album’s creation. Some of the songs featured include “Eyes of the World,” “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo,” “Let Me Sing Your Blues Away,” and Bobby Weir’s “Weather Report Suite.” 

You can listen to Wake The Flood: The Angel’s Share now via digital outlets. Previous Angel’s Share releases coincided with reissues of Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty.

And there’s even more in store for fans. On October 15, exactly 50 years after Wake of the Flood was released, over six hours of never-before-heard material from the album’s recording sessions will stream as a YouTube Live exclusive event.

There’s also the Wake of the Flood (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) dropping September 29, which will include the original album as well as previously unreleased demos of “Eyes Of the World” and “Here Comes Sunshine.” It will also come with a bonus disc featuring a live recording of a November 1, 1973, concert at Northwestern University’s McGaw Memorial Hall. It is available for preorder now.

Dropped in 1973, Wake of the Flood was the first album released on the band’s own record label, Grateful Dead Records. Featuring new members Keith and Donna Godchaux, it was also the first album released following the death of founding member Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and the temporary departure of drummer Mickey Hart.

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Steve Miller is sharing another taste of his upcoming box set celebrating the 50th anniversary of his classic album The Joker. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is giving fans some insight into the album’s opening track, “Sugar Babe,” with the release of Sugar Babe Suite, a collection of three songs that demonstrate how the tune evolved during the making of the album. The trio includes an early version recorded in a hotel in 1972, a live performance from December 1973 and the album cut.

“Sugar Babe turned into a powerful electric riff in the studio, but in this first recording it’s just a small seed of an idea,” Miller shares. “Eventually it got defined on the stage and in the studio and that’s what you hear.”

You can listen to “Sugar Babe Suite” now via digital outlets.

Miller’s box set, J50: The Evolution of The Joker, will be released September 15. It will feature not only the original album, but 27 previously unreleased recordings, some of which were taken from Miller’s personal songwriting tapes, along with studio outtakes and more. There will also be six audio commentary tracks, with Miller taking fans through the “evolution” of the album. 

J50: The Evolution of The Joker will be released digitally and as a two-CD or three-LP set with a seven-inch single. All formats are available for preorder now.

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Cher just sold her catalog and launched her own brand of gelato, but she’s busy with multiple other projects, including animal activism.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Cher explains that she and her charity’s initiative Free the Wild are working right now to get an elephant at the LA Zoo transferred to a sanctuary because he’s “in deep physical and emotional pain.” Rescuing animals from zoos is a passion project for Cher, who in 2020 rescued an elephant in Pakistan. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she rescued six lions, a panther and a tiger.

Cher is also working on her first holiday album, which she tells The Hollywood Reporter is “not your mother’s Christmas album.” She explains, “It’s a Cher Christmas album, whatever that brings along with the name. It’s definitely my idea of a Christmas album. I had to do what I felt. There’s no ‘Silent Night.’”

As for her long-in-the-works biopic, Cher says, “We are kind of starting again. It just wasn’t working out, and we needed to adjust some of the things.” However, the project will have to wait for the strikes to be over.

Another long-in-the-works project is Cher’s memoir, which she first announced in 2017. 

She laughs, “Well, we’re almost finished because [my publisher] goes, ‘Cher, how long are you going to work on this?’… we’re so close.”

The politically-aware singer also shares that she’s very concerned about the state of the country.

“It’s scary. If you have gay friends, if you have a trans child, you almost have to divide your mind a little bit so that you’re not fighting every battle at one time,” she says.

“I don’t know what’s going on in America right now,” she adds. “It’s not what I dreamt of.”

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August 19 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Howard Jones’ debut single, “New Song,” and even he can’t quite believe it’s been that long. 

“I guess, you know, some people say, ‘Well, where does all the time go?’ But I mean, I just filled those four decades full exciting things,” Jones tells ABC Audio. “So I feel really good that I’m still here fighting my corner, you know, after forty years”

Jones says when the song was first released, all he really thought about was getting to play “proper gigs” and being “on the telly” and “on the radio with my music.”

He absolutely remembers the first time he heard “New Song” on the radio, noting it was on BBC Radio One, on a program where guests shared their thoughts on whether a tune would be a hit. That week’s guest was Gary Numan, best known for the single “Cars.”

“He said, ‘Oh, I think I think this is going to be a huge hit,’’’ Howard shares. “And I was just absolutely over the moon. I’ll always be grateful to him because that was a wonderful boost for me.” 

Fans of Howard Jones can hear him play “New Song” and all his other hits on the road right now. He’s currently on the Letting It Go Show with Boy George & Culture Club. The tour hits Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday, August 18. A complete list of dates can be found at howardjones.com.

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On This Day, August 18, 1962…

Ringo Starr played his first live gig with The Beatles at the Horticultural Society dance in Birkenhead, England.

Ringo had been invited to join the band just four days earlier, on August 14, by John Lennon, with manager Brian Epstein firing the band’s drummer, Pete Best, two days later.  

Starr went on to remain with The Beatles until their breakup in 1970. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the band in 1988, and as a solo artist in 2015.

Ringo will launch the fall leg of his latest tour with his All-Star Band in September.

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Fans are finally getting to hear Dolly Parton’s reunion of The Beatles. The singer just dropped her cover of The Beatles classic “Let It Be” featuring Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with special guests Peter Frampton and Mick Fleetwood.  

“Well, does it get any better than singing ‘Let It Be’ with Paul McCartney who wrote the song? Not only that, he played piano!” Dolly shares. “Well, it did get even better when Ringo Starr joined in on drums, Peter Frampton on guitar and Mick Fleetwood playing percussion. I mean, seriously, how much better does it get? Thanks guys!” 

“Let It Be” is one of many rock classics Dolly covers on her upcoming album Rockstar, which she decided to record after being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. Other artists on the album include Steven Tyler, Steve Perry, Sting, Stevie Nicks, Richie Sambora, Elton John, John Fogerty, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and more.

Rockstar will be released November 17. It is available for preorder now.

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Steve Hackett is set to release the new live audio/visual album Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton on September 15, and now he’s sharing another preview of the project. 

The album was recorded in Brighton, England, on Hackett’s 2022 tour, in which he and his band performed Genesis’ classic album Foxtrot in its entirety to celebrate the record’s 50th anniversary. Hackett also played songs from his solo material, and ahead of the album’s release he’s sharing a performance of “A Tower Struck Down” from his 1975 album, Voyage of the Acolyte.

Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton is available for preorder now as a limited two-CD/Blu-ray set and a limited two-CD/two-DVD set, both featuring behind-the-scenes interviews. There’s also a limited deluxe four-LP vinyl edition.  

Hackett is set to hit North America with his Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights tour this fall, with U.S. dates kicking off October 6 in Ithaca, New York. A complete list of dates can be found at hackettsongs.com.

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Madonna celebrated her 65th birthday in Lisbon, according to The Portugal News, but she welcomed the milestone with a sobering thought.

Fan-captured video shows Madonna in a restaurant, surrounded by family and friends, ready to blow out a candle stuck in some kind of dessert. After joking about making a wish, she simply says, “It’s great to be alive” — which earns her a round of applause. After all, less than two months ago Madonna was in the ICU with a serious bacterial infection.

According to The Portugal News, Madonna is in Portugal — where she was living until a few years ago — with “30 friends from all over the world,” who arrived on a commercial flight. Apparently, the Queen of Pop gave up her private plane a few years ago due to environmental concerns. She’s going to stay in the country through the weekend, according to the publication.

After postponing the North American leg of her Celebration tour, Madonna will now launch the trek in the U.K. in October. The North American leg will begin December 13 in Brooklyn, New York.

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Lenny Kravitz could potentially be competing for an Oscar next year. The rocker is contributing the new song “Road To Freedom” to the upcoming film Rustin, about gay activist Bayard Rustin.

The tune will feature musician Trombone Shorty, thanks to a request by director George C. Wolfe to include trombones in the song.

“Ever since Branford Marsalis introduced me to a recording of the holy trombone choir from the United House of Prayer, I’ve been mesmerized,” Wolfe says. “So when the brilliant, impassioned Lenny Kravitz agreed to write a song for Rustin, I begged him to include a chorus of trombones. … Lenny took my request to the next level and brought on board the legendary Trombone Shorty.”

He adds, “‘Road To Freedom’ captures both 1963 and 2023; a bold celebration, as Lenny’s voice sermonizes and soars.”

Rustin was an African American civil and gay rights leader, who helped organize the March on Washington. He passed away in 1987. In 2013 he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

Kravitz’s tune is expected to be released later this year. Rustin, which stars Colman Domingo in the title role and features Chris Rock, Jeffrey Wright, CCH Pounder, will open in select theaters November 3 and hits Netflix on November 17.

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Artists such as Sting, Andy Summers and Peter Frampton are paying tribute to legendary music executive Jerry Moss, who died Wednesday, August 16, at the age of 88. Moss’ wife, Tina, told the Associated Press he passed away of natural causes at his home in Bel Air, California.

Moss cofounded A&M Records with Herb Alpert, the label responsible for releasing such classic albums as Frampton’s Frampton Comes Alive!, The Police’s Synchronicity, Carole King’s Tapestry and more. He and Alpert were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

On Instagram, Sting called Moss “A gentleman, a mentor, a friend, and utterly irreplaceable,” noting his death is “a devastating loss.” Guitarist Summers described Moss as “a kind, clever, and thoughtful man who was fun to be around and be involved with,” adding, “It never felt like business but rather a fruitful and creative partnership. He will be missed.” 

Frampton also paid tribute to Moss on social media, writing, “I am so sorry to hear Jerry Moss has left us. Jerry was a true gentleman and if it weren’t for him, so many lives might have turned out very differently,” adding,  “He loved great music and went out of his way to make a place where artists could find themselves and create with his lovely encouragement and patience.”

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