Classic Hits

The Who’s rock opera, Tommy, was turned into a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical in the early ’90s, and now it’s going to hit the stage yet again.

A new reimagining of Tommy, featuring a cast of 28, a nine-piece band and brand new staging, is set to open at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre in June. The new production is being reimagined by the creators of the original production, director Des McAnuff and The Who’s Pete Townshend. 

“It’s at once an honor and a joy to again collaborate with Pete to realize the power and pertinence of The Who’s Tommy today,” McAnuff shares. “While the music remains as glorious as ever, our world years later is unimaginably and irrevocably changed. As a result, there’s so much more we all can recognize—and celebrate—in our protagonist’s evolution, as a collective deeper understanding of mental health has sharpened our lens.” 

He adds, “Tommy Walker’s triumph over devastating childhood trauma, to enlightened leadership, to ultimately recognizing the folly in which he’s surrounded himself is an amazing journey to discover anew.”

Rehearsals for the new production have already started, with previews set to begin June 13 and opening night set for June 26. The production runs through July 23. Tickets are on sale now.

Based on The Who’s 1969 album and 1975 film, the original production of Tommy opened at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California, on July 1, 1992. It opened on Broadway on April 22, 1993, and closed on June 17, 1995. It won five Tony Awards, including Best Direction for McAnuff and Best Original Score for Townshend.

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Elton John’s songwriting partner Bernie Taupin is being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category this year, and he is feeling “blessed” by the inclusion.

“And they said, ‘Welcome to the club.’ 2023 is a time to shake a lot of hands and thank several sincere souls who had my back,” he writes on Instagram. “Being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame may include a modicum of cynicism on some people’s parts, but in the long run gratitude overrides questionability.”

Taupin says he’s happy to be inducted this year, especially since the 2023 class also includes Willie Nelson and Link Ray.  

He adds, “Who would of thought a country kid, corn fed on Little Richard, Willie Dixon, the Everly Brothers and Muddy Waters, would end up living in the same four walls. Blessed indeed.” 

And Elton, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, is happily welcoming his partner into the club, offering up his congratulations to Taupin on his Instagram Story.

The 38th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony returns to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center this year, with the event going down November 3.

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Prince will once again be celebrated this June with Paisley Park’s four-day Celebration 2023.

The event will include conversations with artists like Chaka Khan, Chuck D and D-Nice, and panel discussions about the legendary artist. Fans will be allowed entry into Prince’s infamous vault, where they’ll get to hear new, unreleased recordings by the late music icon.

Celebration 2023 goes down at Prince’s Minnesota compound June 8-11, and will include performances by Minnesota gospel groups Sounds of Blackness and The Steeles, Stokley of Mint Condition and more, along with a Prince Legacy Tribute to New Power Generation founding member Rosie Gaines.

Tickets to the celebration are on sale now.

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The late Tom Petty is getting a new title this week. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer can soon be referred to as doctor, now that he’s being awarded a posthumous doctorate by the University of Florida School of Music.

A member of Petty’s family will be on hand to accept the Gainesville native’s Doctor of Music degree during the UF spring doctoral ceremony on Thursday, May 4.

“We in the UF School of Music and College of the Arts are privileged to honor Tom Petty with an honorary doctorate degree in Music, celebrating not only his extraordinary achievements as an artist, but the ways in which his music has and continues to unite us as a community,” UF School of Music director Kevin Orr shares.

To celebrate the honor, the Petty family has established the Tom Petty Endowment for Guitars & Innovation at UF College of the Arts, pledging $100,000 to expand the school’s guitar program. It will also go toward the new Music Business & Entrepreneurship program. 

“It is so incredible for everyone in the family that UF is honoring our dad in his hometown this way,” Petty’s daughter Adria says. “He loved the Gators, and he loved Gainesville. He always talked about wanting a doctorate from UF and he would have been totally blown away by all this.”

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In the latest instance of artificial intelligence messing with music, People reports that a YouTube user has used artificial intelligence to transform solo songs by Paul McCartney and John Lennon into full blown Beatles songs. 

The videos were posted by a user named Dae Lims, who reimagined McCartney’s 2013 track “New” and the 1983 posthumous Lennon release “Grow Old with Me” as complete band songs. The McCartney song features an AI version of Lennon singing along in the chorus, while “Grow Old With Me” adds McCartney’s voice to the song.

And fans seem to be digging the reimagined tracks. “This is unbelievable, just like a new Beatles song,” one person commented about “New.” “Thank you so much for making this.” Another called “Grow Old With Me” a masterpiece, describing it as “truly stunning!”

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E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren is set to release a new solo album, Mountains, on July 21 and has shared the first single from the record, “Ain’t The Truth Enough,” featuring special guest Ringo Starr on drums.

In addition to Ringo, the 10-track album features guest appearances by several of Lofgren’s famous friends, including Neil Young and the late David Crosby.  

“These songs are all born of raw emotion,” Lofgren shares. “I gave myself permission to share my fear and my anger, my love and my hope, to be open about what I was experiencing without overanalyzing or editing my life out of it.”

He adds, “This album started as a form of therapy but it very quickly grew beyond that,” noting “it was so freeing to work without any restrictions, to just write whatever came out, and it turned into some of the most inspired work I think I’ve ever made.”

To coincide with the release, Lofgren will launch his Rockality video series, where he’ll share stories from his music career. The videos will be available for purchase starting July 21 at nilslofgren.com.

Here is the track list for Mountains. It’s available for preorder now. 

“Ain’t the Truth Enough” (feat. Ringo Starr)
“Only Ticket Out”
“Back In Your Arms” (feat. the Howard Gospel Choir)
“Won’t Cry No More”
“Nothing’s Easy” (feat. Neil Young)
“Dream Killer”
“Only Your Smile” (feat. Ron Carter)
“I Remember Her Name” (feat. David Crosby)
“We Better Find It”
“Angel Blues”

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Kool & The Gang is back with new music. The band, led by founding members Robert “Kool” Bell and George “Funky” Brown, will drop the brand new album, People Just Wanna Have Fun, on July 14. It features the already released first single, “Let’s Party,” featuring Sha Sha Jones. 

“You’ve got the funk, you’ve got the jazzier tracks, we have a few ballads on there. Then there are songs that cross over to a pop sort of thing. We go from the ‘70s, the ‘80s, right into now,” Bell says of the record. “It’s old school, it’s new school — we kinda captured it all here.”

He adds, “With all our music over the years, people have had fun. So I’d say this album just about sums it all up.”

And fans will be able to hear Kool & The Gang play some of their new music on the road this year. They play Las Vegas, Nevada, May 5 and 6, with dates confirmed through September. A complete list of tour dates can be found at koolandthegang.com.

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Def Leppard is treating their hometown fans to a very special show. The band just announced they’ll be playing an intimate club show at The Leadmill in Sheffield, England, on May 19.

The band promises fans the concert will feature “a unique set list,” with portions of the proceeds going to Music Venue Trust, a charity that aids grassroots music venues. 

The concert will happen on the same day Def Leppard releases their new album Drastic Symphonies with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Fans in the U.K. who preorder the album by May 10 at 5 p.m. BST will get exclusive presale access to tickets. 

And Def Leppard will be sticking around their hometown after the gig. The European leg of their tour with Mötley Crüe kicks off May 22 at Sheffield’s Bramall Lane. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.

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Now’s your chance to own a piece of rock history. Julien’s Auctions is holding a new Music Icons auction, featuring over 1,200 unique pieces of memorabilia from the likes of Queen, The Rolling Stones, U2, The Who and more. 

Among the items up for grabs is a New York Yankees bomber jacket worn by Queen’s Freddie Mercury at a 1977 concert at Madison Square Garden, with an estimated value of between $20,000 and $40,000. There’s also the drum kit The Who’s Keith Moon played in the 1974 film Stardust, which is estimated to go for between $100,000 and $200,000. Plus there are several pieces from The Rolling Stones archive of Bill Wyman, including Wyman’s silver fruit and leaves chain necklace worn on the cover of the 1976 album Black and Blue, as well as a Rolling Stones tongue logo telephone and more.

Other items in the auction include: an acoustic guitar signed by over 35 guests on BBC’s Top of the Pops, including The Beatles, Dusty Springfield, Marianne Faithfull and Neil Diamond; a Gretsch Irish Falcon electric guitar played by Bono and signed by all the members of U2; pieces from Julian Lennon’s private Beatles collection; David Bowie’s signed Man Who Fell To Earth fedora; Elvis Presley‘s Fire and Opal diamond ring and lots, lots more.

Music fans can check out the auction items at a free, public exhibit taking place at the Hard Rock Café in New York from May 15 to 19. The three-day auction happens May 19 to 21 live at the Hard Rock, as well as online at juliensauctions.com.

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On This Day, May 3, 1986…

English singer/songwriter Robert Palmer landed his first and only Billboard Hot 100 number one with “Addicted to Love,” which went on to become his signature song. 

The song was the second single released from Palmer’s eighth studio album Riptide, which also featured the number two hits “Simply Irresistible” and “I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On.” “Addicted to Love” was originally intended to be a duet with Chaka Khan, but her label wouldn’t give her permission to record it. 

The track’s success was aided by a stylish music video that got massive play on MTV, featuring Palmer being backed by a group of models all dressed in black, with pale faces and heavy makeup. The video went on to be parodied several times, including in the movie Love Actually, and in videos for Shania Twain‘s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman,” Tone Loc’s “Wild Thing” and more.

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