Classic Hits

Aerosmith is still together and about to set out on their Peace Out farewell tour, but things weren’t always so happy in the band. In fact, back in 2009, Aerosmith had a falling out with frontman Steven Tyler when he left to do American Idol, and the other members almost went on without him.

To do so, they needed someone to replace Tyler; rocker and former American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry says Aerosmith’s Joe Perry offered him the gig.

“I get this random call from Joe Perry,” Daughtry said on The Dave Rickards Podcast. “I thought it was a joke at first, but he didn’t even take time to, like, ‘How you doing?’ He just went into his reason for calling me.” Perry told him the band “wanted to work” despite Tyler not being interested, and then he asked, “How would you feel about hitting the road with us?”

Daughtry said the offer left him “speechless,” but he ultimately passed for many reasons. “First of all, I don’t consider myself any caliber of singer that Steven Tyler …He is irreplaceable, in my mind,” he said. “Furthermore, Steven Tyler’s alive. This whole fear of p****** off one of my heroes was just looming.”

While the idea of fronting Aerosmith was “a terrifying concept” to Daughtry, he’s still happy he was asked, sharing, “it is a story that I will hold near and dear for the rest of my life, for sure.”

As for Aerosmith, they eventually reunited with Tyler. Their Peace Out tour, with openers The Black Crowes, kicks off September 2 in Philadelphia. A complete list of dates can be found at aerosmith.com.

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On This Day, August 15, 1969…

The Woodstock Music & Arts festival kicked off on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethel, New York.

Billed as “three days of peace and music,” more than 400,000 music fans crowded the farm to see performances by such artists as Richie Havens, Santana, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, The Who, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jimi Hendrix and more.

So many people turned up for the three-day festival that it caused massive traffic jams on the New York State Thruway, with some folks abandoning their cars to walk to the festival.

A documentary about the festival was released in 1970, and two soundtrack albums were also released, with other albums coming out to coincide with anniversaries of the fest.

The original site of the festival is now part of the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, with a theater constructed about 500 yards from where the festival took place.

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As a guy who’s taken the stage in some pretty elaborate outfits over the years, it’s no wonder Elton John has been tapped by The Masked Singer to help create an episode dedicated to his music.

The show’s landmark 10th season kicks off September 10 on Fox, with a new lineup of costumes, including “Donut,” “Anteater,” “Hawk” and “S’More.” One episode will not only feature the contestants performing Elton’s hits, but Elton himself will be making the song selections. Other themes this season include “One Hit Wonders,” “Harry Potter Night,” “Disco” and “NFL Night.”

Among the alumni who’ll be returning this season to perform all-new unmasked duets are Joey Fatone and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child.

Last season, the competitors included Michael Bolton, Debbie Gibson, Twisted Sister‘s Dee Snider, David Archuleta and Pentatonix.

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Dolly Parton was able to reunite Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr for her upcoming Rockstar album, and we’re finally going to get to hear it. 

Dolly announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she’s releasing her cover of The Beatles “Let It Be” on Friday, August 18. Not only does the song feature Paul and Ringo, but it also has Mick Fleetwood and Peter Frampton.

Dolly shares, “This song is really special to me.”

Dolly will release Rockstar on November 17. In addition to the stars on “Let It Be,” it features Dolly collaborating with such artists as Steven Tyler, Steve Perry, Sting, Stevie Nicks, Richie Sambora, Elton John, John Fogerty, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and more.

It is available for preorder now.

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Mick Fleetwood’s restaurant in Maui, Fleetwoods on Front Street, was destroyed last week by the recent wildfires on the island, as previously reported. The Fleetwood Mac star, who has been living on the island for nearly 30 years, calls the devastation unbelievable.

“I think it’s almost, this is not real what has happened, complete and utter destruction of a whole town,” he tells ABC News. He calledthe devastation “a massive blow to the Hawaiian culture of this island,” noting that “the islands of Hawaii are mourning as we speak.”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer was in Los Angeles when the fires began August 8 and was eventually able to return to the island with a plane full of supplies. But that’s only the beginning of how Mick is hoping to help the folks on the island.  

“The raising of funds, the raising of help, all of these things are dynamically, hugely important,” he says. “To draw down and keep the attention of what has happened, I think that’s a huge part of what I intend to be doing.”

Mick is convinced the community will come back, no matter how long it takes. He says that the beauty and  “romance of these islands” will be a “powerful reminder” to people so they don’t forget about the devastation.  

“That element can help heal the island and also keep this present with everyone with regards of what has happened here,” he says. “[It will be] a reminder that we’ll come out of this and come back like other communities have done.” 

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The Indianapolis Colts have lined up some big-name stars to help them launch their 2023 season.

The team has announced the lineup for their 2023 Kickoff Concert, which will take place September 8 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indiana’s own John Mellencamp is on board for the show, along with Stephen Stills, Heart’s Ann Wilson and J. Geils Band’s Peter Wolf, plus illusionist Criss Angel. The event will also feature The Jim Irsay Band and Irsay’s collection of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia.

The Kickoff Concert is free for fans, but they will need tickets to attend. They can be reserved at colts.com.

The Colts season kicks off Sunday, September 10, against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

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The 50th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen’s sophomore album, The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, will be celebrated with a symposium put on by the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music. 

According to the Asbury Park Press, the daylong event is happening October 28 at the Pollak Theatre at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, with speakers and ticket information coming next month.

A similar symposium was held back in January to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Boss’ debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. It featured a panel with former Springsteen manager Mike Appel, as well as an appearance by E Street Band members Garry Tallent, Vini Lopez and David Sancious, who performed songs from the album. 

Released November 5, 1973, The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle features such future Springsteen classics as “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” “Kitty’s Back” and “The E Street Shuffle.” 

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For the first time in more than 35 years, one of Linda Ronstadt‘s landmark albums will be available on vinyl.

Linda’s 1987 album, Canciones de mi Padre (My Father’s Songs), her first album of traditional Mexican music, returns to vinyl on September 8 and is now available for preorder.  A newly remastered CD version will also arrive that day.

“This music is like an old friend to me, and I hope the new generation of vinyl fans will enjoy it,” Ronstadt says in a statement.

The album, featuring Linda singing music she first experienced as a child, was an immediate hit and has gone on to sell more than 10 million copies worldwide. In fact, for more than 30 years, it was the biggest-selling non-English language album in the history of American music.

Canciones de mi Padre also won the 1987 Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Album, and was chosen for preservation by the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry in 2022. Ronstadt followed it with two additional albums of Mexican music: 1991’s Mas Canciones (More Songs) and 1992’s Frenesí (Frenzy).

In other Linda Ronstadt news, she’ll be honored next month at 2023 HOCO Fest, which is held every year in her hometown of Tucson, Arizona. Each day of the festival, which runs September 1 to 4, will celebrate a different era of her career, and two documentaries about the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will be screened. Visit hocofest.com for more information.

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Bob Dylan has paid tribute to his good friend The Band’s Robbie Robertson, who passed away Wednesday, August 9, at the age of 80.

“This is shocking news,” Dylan shared in a statement on his website. “Robbie was a lifelong friend. His passing leaves a vacancy in the world.”

Dylan and Robertson knew each other since the ’60s. In 1965, Robertson and his bandmates in the Hawks (the original name of The Band) — Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson — played in Dylan’s backing band for a series of concerts.

Robertson also played guitar on Dylan’s classic 1966 album, Blonde on Blonde, as well as 1974’s Planet Waves and more. Dylan was also one of several musicians who appeared at The Band’s final concert, which was filmed for the 1978 concert documentary The Last Waltz.

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Lionel Richie was forced to cancel his concert with Earth Wind & Fire at New York’s Madison Square Garden Saturday, August 12, and fans are not at all happy about it.

Richie took to social media to announce that the show couldn’t go on “due to severe weather and being unable to land in the NY and surrounding areas.” The problem was that the cancellation announcement came one hour after the show was about to start, when most fans with tickets were already at the venue. 

The concert has been rescheduled for Monday, August 14, and fans will get refunds if they can’t make it. Earth, Wind & Fire is supposed to headline a show in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on the same day, although they’re still on the bill for the NYC concert.

As you can imagine, fans, especially ones who traveled from out of town for the show, were not happy, and many were not buying Lionel’s excuse.

“When the ‘weather excuse’ feels cloudier than the actual sky,” one person commented. “Why no heads-up before we crammed the auditorium?” Another noted, “Nope. People spent money traveling g eating and drinking. I’m our seats!! No respect. Weather? The weather on the east coast is fine. Not acceptable.”

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