The Who’s support of their one young artist has now brought in a hefty donation for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity.
A post on their website details how paintings created on an iPad by bass player Jon Button’s 9-year-old son, Kezlowe Button, became a big hit with fans after they were posted onlinelast Christmas. When the band brought their The Who Hits Back U.K. tour to Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle in early July, Kezlowe sent them a new painting of Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey surrounded by bagpipes. One fan loved the new painting so much that he wanted it for himself.
John Chamley reached out to The Who to see if he could purchase the painting in exchange for a $650 donation to the charity, which is near and dear to the band, and they agreed. They mounted a digital print of the painting on a canvas, and Pete and Roger even autographed it for Chamley.
Teenage Cancer Trust, founded in 1990, seeks to improve the cancer experience for young people. Daltrey is as patron of the charity.
Should today be a national “Holiday?” Forty years ago — July 27, 1983 — Madonna‘s debut album was released and the world — or at least, the world of pop music — would never be the same.
Following the success of her 1982 debut single “Everybody,” Madonna got the green light to record a full album. The producers she worked with brought a few tracks to the project, but out of eight final tracks, Madonna was the sole writer on five of them, including “Lucky Star,” “Burnin’ Up” and “Everybody.”
The album entered the Billboard 200 album chart at #190, but by October of 1984, it had climbed into the top 10, thanks to the hits “Holiday,” “Lucky Star” and “Borderline,” not to mention Madonna’s videos, which inspired girls everywhere — nicknamed “Madonnawannabes” — to start wearing fingerless lace gloves, rubber bracelets, “Boy Toy” belts and crucifix earrings.
Within a year, Madonna had sold nearly three million copies and it’s since been RIAA-certified for sales of five million copies, though it’s likely sold many more than that.
The album helped take dance music to a mainstream audience, with some critics stating that, with it, Madonna single-handedly launched the dance-pop genre. In 2011, Rolling Stone ranked it #50 on its list of the Top 100 Albums of the ’80s, and quoted Madonna herself as saying, “It influenced a lot of people. I think it stands up well. It just took a long time for people to pay attention to me —and I thank God they did!”
In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked Madonna among the 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time, writing that it introduced “the most important female voice in the history of modern music.”
Tributes to Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor flooded the internet following the news of the “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer’s passing at the age of 56.
Ireland’s prime minister, Leo Varadka, shared that he was “really sorry to hear” of the singer’s death, adding, “Her music was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare.”
A post on band Garbage‘s Instagram said, “I’m heartbroken. This disgusting world broke her and kept on breaking her. Godspeed dear fragile dove. Thank you for all the beauty and all the wise teachings you offered up to us. I wish you nothing but peace and I will love you for all of time.”
Melissa Etheridge – “This is such a tragedy. What a loss. She was haunted all her life. What a talent. I remember my first Grammy show meeting this small shy Irish girl. #Sinead #RIPSinead.”
Bryan Adams – “RIP Sinéad O’Connor, I loved working with you making photos, doing gigs in Ireland together and chats, all my love to your family.”
Questlove – “Heartbreaking man. One of the nicest humans. Damn man. This is devastating.”
Ice T – “Respect to Sinead….. She stood for something… Unlike most people…. Rest Easy.”
Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan – “Fiercely honest and sweet and funny, she was talented in ways I’m not sure she completely understood. But Sinead stands alone as a figure from our generation who was always true to the piercing voice within and without. And for that I will always admire and respect her. And never forget that she was cancelled for an act of simple resistance. Her crime? Tearing up a photo.”
Alison Moyet – “Heavy hearted at the loss of Sinead O’Connor. Wanted to reach out to her often but didn’t. I remember her launch. Astounding presence. Voice that cracked stone with force & by increment. As beautiful as any girl around & never traded on that card. I Loved that about her. Iconoclast.”
Shinedown – “Nothing compares to you… Sinéad Marie Bernadette O’Conner Godspeed, and safe journey.”
Mayim Bialik – “Remembering the Iconic Sinead O’Connor Her music changed the industry and her fierce fearlessness made a tremendous impression on my teenage years. She was ahead of her time in so many ways and gone far too soon. Rest in power, Sinead O’Connor.”
If Van Halen fans were hoping there’s some previously unreleased music that may at some point see the light of day, they’re likely going to be disappointed.
In an interview with AllMusic to promote the new Mammoth WVH record Mammoth II, dropping August 4, Eddie Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, doesn’t sound too optimistic about there being anything worth releasing from his dad’s musical vault.
“As far as that, Al is certainly the decision maker in that process,” he says, referring to Van Halen drummer AlexVan Halen, Eddie’s older brother. “I’m just kind of there to help him decide and help what he wants to go through – as sort of being the person in place of my father, in his absence.”
“But when it comes to that, I know my dad was vocal of that in the past, he released everything he wanted to release,” Wolfgang continues. “So, when it comes to stuff that hit the cutting room floor, that would certainly have to be a serious conversation to have – if anything is actually worth releasing.”
Finally he offers, “So, we’ll just have to see. I certainly wouldn’t hold your breath.”
Eddie Van Halen passed away in October 2020. The band’s last studio album, A Different Kind of Truth, which featured original frontman David Lee Roth, was released in February 2012.
Rick Astley is “Rickrolling” his fans again, although he’s insisting that’s really not what he’s doing.
The “Never Gonna Give You Up” singer took to social media to help promote his friend RickyMontgomery‘s new album, Rick,which drops September 29.
“Hi guys, this is not a ‘Rickroll,'” Astley says in the video posted to Instagram. “Yes it is me, Rick, Astley that is, but this is not a ‘Rickroll’ … this is about an album called Rick by a lovely man, a friend of mine, called Ricky Montgomery.”
He then insisted, “This is not a ‘Rickroll’ … or is it?”
And Montgomery was certainly excited by Astley sharing the news, posting, “It is now music history that Mr. Rickroll himself – Rick Astley – personally did the album announcement for my second album.”
Dolly Parton has just released the video for her cover of the Queen classic “We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You,” and sports fans will likely be seeing a lot of it in the coming year.
The video is a celebration of athletes and will be used to help NBCUniversal promote the Paris Olympic Games, which kick off July 26, 2024.
The clip features footage Olympic superstars like Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, NoahLyles, Katie Ledecky,the U.S. women’s soccer team and more. It starts with Dolly performing in an empty stadium and in front of the Eiffel Tower as a nod to next year’s games. In the end, the stadium gets filled by people who help her with Queen’s legendary “We Will Rock You” chant.
For Dolly, teaming to help promote the Olympics makes sense because she’s a big fan of the games.
“I love the Olympics! I do my best to plan my schedule to watch as much of it as I possibly can,” Dolly shares. “I laugh, I cry, I scream, there are no losers in the Olympics as they have all spent a lifetime preparing but I celebrate with the ones that go away with the gold, silver, and bronze medals.”
“We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You” is the latest single off Dolly’s upcoming album Rockstar, which drops November 17. It features Dolly collaborating with a whole host of A-list artists, including The Beatles‘ PaulMcCartney and Ringo Starr, Steven Tyler, Steve Perry, Sting, Stevie Nicks, Elton John and more.
“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.
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.
Mick Jagger officially became an octogenarian on July 26, and he received lots of birthday wishes from his famous friends.
The day started with TheRolling 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 Richardsshared 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!”
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.
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.
