Classic Hits

Elton John’s songwriting partner Bernie Taupin will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year in the Musical Excellence category, and he’s honored to be chosen.

“I’m just happy that it’s happened, and at my age,” the 73-year-old tells Rolling Stone. “’Excited’ is not a word I tend to use too much, but I’m very appreciative of the whole thing. It’s nice to be in a club with so many legends and so much history.” 

The honor comes almost 30 years after Elton’s induction ceremony, during which he gave Taupin his trophy. Asked whether he would return the favor and give his to Elton, Bernie replied, “I never thought about that! Um … no!”

Next up for Taupin, he’ll release his memoir, Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton & Me, on September 12. Then it’s back to work with Elton. He says they have plans to make another album once Elton’s wrapped his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, although nothing’s solidified yet. He suspects they’ll be in the studio “by the end of the year.”

And while Taupin insists Elton is really saying goodbye to the road to spend more time with his family, he says he’s not done with performing altogether.

“The idea of sitting down and doing a residency, but letting people know you’re not going to hear ‘Crocodile Rock’ or ‘Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.’ You’re going to hear ‘I Feel Like a Bullet (in the Gun of Robert Ford)’ or ‘Amoreena.’ I think it would be incredibly liberating for him,” Taupin says. “He’s a born showman, but as long as it appeals to his family life, it’s possibly predictable.”

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Gov’t Mule is giving fans another taste of their upcoming record, Peace…Like A River, which drops June 16. The band just shared the new single “Same As It Ever Was,” the opening track of the album.  

“‘Same As It Ever Was’ is such an opus, an expansive piece,” Warren Haynes shares. “Life throws challenges at you when you least expect it. We’ve all dealt with what in some cases seem like insurmountable hardships, but in my lifetime, the pandemic is the first time that the entire planet went through it together.” 

He adds, “The whole message of the tune is we’ve come a long way, but now we’re on the other side and life is normal, life is good. Same as it ever was.”

Gov’t Mule launches their spring tour on Friday, May 5, at Jazz Fest in New Orleans, with special guests George Porter Jr. and Runnin’ Pardners. They are also set to play a special show Friday, May 12, at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, which will feature surprise guests. The show will be livestreamed for free to subscribers on nugs.net.

And later this summer they’ll launch their Dark Side of the Mule tour, featuring a tribute to Pink Floyd‘s classic album The Dark Side of the Moon. It kicks off July 29 in Bethel, New York. A complete list of Gov’t Mule tour dates can be found at mule.net.

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Drivers in Minnesota will soon be able to ride down a highway named after the legendary Prince.

According to The Associated Press, Minnesota lawmakers voted Thursday to rename a portion State Highway 5 after the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, who passed away in 2016. The purple-sign-lined Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway, near the late singer’s Paisley Park museum and studios, will run for 7 miles through Chanhassen and Eden Prairie.

Last month the Minnesota House passed the bill unanimously, while the Senate just voted 55-5 in favor of the change. The next step is for Gov. Tim Walz to sign the bill.

“Prince was a true genius, a visionary artist who pushed the boundaries of music and cultures in ways that will never be forgotten,” Republican Sen. Julia Coleman, the lead sponsor of the bill, said. “His influence can be heard in the work of countless musicians who came after him, and his legacy continues to inspire new generations of artists to this day.” 

Prince’s Paisley Park is now open for fans to tour. It recently announced it will hold its four-day Celebration 2023 from June 8-11, during which fans will get to hear new, unreleased recordings by the late music icon. Tickets to the celebration are on sale now.

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A posthumous album compiling the late, legendary Olivia Newton-John‘s all-star duets is out now.

Just the Two of Us — The Duets Collection Volume One, features some new and never-before-released duets, alongside previously released tracks and songs that have been available digitally, but never before on CD or vinyl. Olivia’s duet partners on the collection include Dolly Parton, Mariah Carey, Richard Marx, Michael McDonald, Barry Gibb, John Travolta, Jon Secada and Olivia’s daughter, Chloe Lattanzi.

Of note, Olivia’s duet with Dolly Parton on “Jolene,” from September 2021, was Olivia’s final recording before her death in August 2022. It was released digitally in February, but is now available on CD and vinyl for the first time. 

Olivia’s duet with Mariah Carey on the Grease classic “Hopelessly Devoted to You” was taped at Mariah’s Live in Australia TV special years ago, but it’s never been released before this.

In a statement, Mariah says, “I dressed up as Bad Sandy for Halloween in 5th grade and thought I was everything. Years later, THE Olivia Newton-John walked out onto my stage in Melbourne, Australia and we sang our hearts out together to ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You.’ This is a moment I will never ever forget.”

Here’s the track listing for Just the Two of Us:

“Suddenly” (Featuring Cliff Richard)
“Jolene” (Featuring Dolly Parton) 
“Act Of Faith” (Featuring Michael McDonald)
“Window In The Wall” (Featuring Chloe Lattanzi) 
“Take A Chance” (Featuring John Travolta) 
“Put Your Head On My Shoulder” (Featuring Paul Anka) 
“Face To Face” (Featuring Barry Gibb)
“I Honestly Love You” (Featuring Jim Brickman)
“The Best Of Me” (Featuring David Foster)
“True To Yourself” (Featuring Vanessa Amorosi)
“Lost Inside Your Heart” (Featuring Jon Secada) 
“I’ll Come Runnin’” (Featuring Tina Arena)
“Never Far Away” (Featuring Richard Marx)
“How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” (Featuring Kelly Lang)
“Stone In My Pocket” (Featuring Amy Sky & Nielsen Chapman)
“Love Is A Gift” (Featuring Delta Goodrem)
“Hopelessly Devoted To You (Live)” (Featuring Mariah Carey)

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Paul Stanley and Dee Snider are both responding to the backlash they received over Stanley’s recent tweet about gender confirmation treatment for children, where he suggested it’s been “turned into a sad and dangerous fad.”

In a new post on social media, the KISS guitarist seems to regret his initial statement, saying, “While my thoughts were clear, my words clearly were not.” 

Stanley insists he supports those struggling with their sexual identity, especially considering the “constant hostility” they experience, noting, “It’s hard to fathom the kind of conviction that one must feel to take those steps.”

But Stanley didn’t actually clarify what he meant by his original statement. “A paragraph or two will remain far too short to fully convey my thoughts or point of view,” he explained, “so I will leave that for another time and place.” 

Meanwhile, Snider, who was dropped as a performer from SF Pride because he agreed with Stanley’s initial tweet, just released a statement regarding his position.

“I was not aware the transgender community expects fealty and total agreement with all their beliefs and any variation or derivation is considered transphobic,” he writes, insisting he has spent his lifetime supporting the transgender community’s right to “identify as they want.” 

He does say, however, he does not “believe young children are ready to decide their gender allocation.” While he believes their choices “should be supported and accepted by their parents,” he doesn’t think they’re “mentally developed enough” to make such drastic decisions that could affect the rest of their lives.

He adds that he will continue to support the transgender community no matter how they feel about him, and also shares, “I am open to educating myself so I can be a better ally.”

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Queen is once again highlighting their unique stage wear in the latest edition of their weekly YouTube series, Queen The Greatest Live.

In this week’s episode, the band highlights the looks from four performances of their ’80s hit “Under Pressure,” which was recorded as a duet with David Bowie.  

The live clips come from the band’s June 5, 1982, performance at the Milton Keynes Bowl in Buckinghamshire, England; a May 1985 concert in Japan; their historic June 27, 1986, concert in Budapest, Hungary; and finally, clips from their July 1986 homecoming shows at London’s Wembley Stadium.

The London shows, in which Mercury wore a yellow military-style jacket designed by Diana Moseley, wound up being their last-ever performances in London.

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Extreme has canceled the band’s set at the upcoming M3 Rock Festival in Columbia, Maryland, after guitarist Nuno Bettencourt injured his knee.

In a statement, M3 organizers say, “It breaks our heart to announce that due to Nuno’s severe knee injury, Extreme will be unable to perform,” adding, “Rest assured, Nuno is going to be OK.”

Extreme has also shared a statement, reading, “We are seriously bummed out that we are unable to perform for everyone at the M3 Rock Festival as we’ve been looking forward to the festival for several months. We apologize for the inconvenience to fans attending the festival.”

Bettencourt appeared to injure his knee while playing basketball during the Monsters of Rock cruise this week. According to Guitar World, Bettencourt performed while sitting down during Extreme’s performance on the cruise.

Extreme will release a new album called Six on June 9. They’ll launch a U.S. headlining tour in August.

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May 5 brought another full moon, which means music fans just got another single from Peter Gabriel. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just released the track “Four Kinds of Horses,” from upcoming album i/o. The track features Brian Eno on synthesizer.

“One of the inspirations is the Buddhist parable of the Four Kinds of Horses, which describes different ways a student can approach their spiritual practice, but also the interesting overlap of religion and peace on the one hand and violence and terrorism on the other,” Peter shares. “There was also a wonderful film by Hany Abu-Assad called ‘Paradise Now’ which shows two young men who end up being trained to become terrorists and it’s a real insight into where the head goes.”

As he has with his other full moon releases, Gabriel will be sharing different mixes of the song, the first being the Bright Side Mix from Mark “Spike” Stent. Later this month he’ll release a mix by Tchad Blake (Dark-Side Mix) and Hans-Martin Buff’s Atmos mix (In-Side Mix). 

Gabriel’s album i/o is due out sometime this year, although so far he hasn’t revealed a release date. He’ll launch i/o – The Tour in Europe and the U.K. on May 18 in Krakow, Poland, with the North American leg kicking off September 8 in Quebec City, Canada. A complete list of dates can be found at petergabriel.com.

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On This Day, May 5, 1981…

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers released their fourth studio album, Hard Promises.

The album featured the future Petty classic “The Waiting,” as well as “Insider,” a duet with Stevie Nicks, which was recorded around the same time Petty and Nicks recorded her hit “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” which Petty and Mike Campbell wrote. It eventually appeared on Nicks’ debut solo album Bella Donna and went to number three on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Hard Promises’ release was delayed when Petty and his label, MCA, went to war over the album’s list price. MCA wanted to sell it for $9.98, a dollar more than its other releases. After Petty threatened to call the album Eight Ninety-Eight, MCA backed down.

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The Baseball Club, the supergroup that includes R.E.M.’s Mike Mills and Peter Buck, is ready to drop some new music.

The band, which also features The Dream Syndicate’s Steve Wynn, Scott McCaughey of The Minus 5 and Young Fresh Fellows and Linda Pitmon of Filthy Friends, will release their fourth studio album, Grand Salami Time!, on June 30. The band has also shared the first single from the record, “Journeyman,” which was written by Wynn and Buck.

“I was in a hotel room just outside of Buffalo when I got an email from Peter with an instrumental version of this song,” Wynn shares. “The words came immediately, not surprising since a veteran musician stringing together a series of one-night stands has more than a little in common with a left-handed relief specialist who plays for a dozen teams in a workmanlike career.” 

Grand Salami Time! is The Baseball Project’s first album in nine years. It was produced by Mitch Easter, who worked with Mills and Buck in the ’80s on R.E.M.’s early albums, including their debut EP, Chronic Town, and their debut album, Murmur.

Grand Salami Time! is available for preorder now.

The Baseball Project is also set to hit the road in support of the album, with the tour kicking off August 8 in Birmingham, Alabama. A complete list of dates can be found at baseballproject.net.

Here is the Grand Salami Time! track list:

“Grand Salami Time”
“The Yips”
“Screwball”
“Uncle Charlie”
“Journeyman”
“Erasable Man”
“New Oh In Town”
“Disco Demolition”
“Stuff”
“The All or Nothings”
“That’s Living”
“64 and 64”
“Having Fun”
“Fantasy Baseball Widow”
“The Voice of Baseball”

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