Classic Hits

Paul Simon will release a new audiobook titled Miracle and Wonder on November 16 that features conversations he had with bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell and Gladwell’s Broken Record podcast co-host, Bruce Headlam.

Woven throughout the biographical presentation are previously unheard live studio performances of some of Simon’s classic compositions, as well as archival music tracks.

The audiobook, which according to Variety is five hours long, was created from 30 hours’ worth of conversations recorded at Simon’s home in Connecticut and while he was on vacation in Hawaii.

Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon features Simon reflecting on his childhood, his collaboration with Art Garfunkel and many other aspects of his life, while also offering commentary about some of his most famous songs, including “The Boxer,” “The Sound of Silence,” and “Graceland.”

Variety reports that the 80-year-old singer-songwriter also reveals in the audiobook that he’s working on a new project that’s tentatively titled Seven Psalms, and plays snippets of some of his new music.

Miracle and Wonder also features reflections on Simon’s work by such other artists as Sting, Herbie Hancock, Renée Fleming, Roseanne Cash and Wilco‘s Jeff Tweedy.

The audiobook can be pre-ordered now at Pushkin.fm. The website also features three preview clips from the release that include Simon discussing “The Boxer” and “Bridge over Troubled Water,” as well as talking about some of the interesting instruments he’s collected and likes to incorporate into his recordings.

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Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have debuted a lyric video for their new rendition of “Can’t Let Go,” a song written by Randy Weeks that acclaimed alt-country artist Lucinda Williams previously covered for her 1998 albumm Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.

“Can’t Let Go” will appear on Plant and Krauss’ upcoming duets album, Raise the Roof, which will be released on November 19. The track was issued as an advance digital single in August. The video, which you can check out on YouTube, features kitschy vintage-style graphics and images that include a vinyl disc spinning on a turntable.

The Led Zeppelin frontman and the lauded folk/bluegrass artist also released a second advance track from Raise the Roof earlier this month, “High and Lonesome,” an original tune that Plant co-wrote with producer T Bone Burnett.

Raise the Roof is a follow-up to Plant and Krauss’ Grammy-winning 2007 duets collection, Raising Sand. Like its predecessor, the new album was produced by Burnett and is made up mostly of covers of songs by various artists.

Los Lobos guitarist David Hidalgo and Plant’s Band of Joy collaborator Buddy Miller contributed to the album, as did a few musicians who also appeared on Raising Sand, including drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarist Marc Ribot and bassist Dennis Crouch.

You can pre-order Raise the Roof now.

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Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney were among the stars who took part in the 2021 edition of the Robin Hood Foundation‘s annual charity gala, which was held Wednesday night at New York City’s Jacob Javits Center.

According to Rolling Stone, Springsteen was introduced by the event’s host, Saturday Night Live‘s Cecily Strong, and proceeded to deliver a short acoustic set that featured renditions of “Working on the Highway,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “Thunder Road.”

“For over 30 years, Robin Hood has been finding, fueling, creating, impactful solutions to lift families out of poverty here in New York City,” the Boss told the crowd of an estimated 3,000. “The funds raised tonight translate into real results for New Yorkers living in poverty. We appreciate your support.”

The Robin Hood Foundation has been supporting poverty-fighting programs in the New York area for over 30 years, and also helped organize the star-studded post-9/11 event The Concert for New York City, which McCartney famously headlined.

The gala took place on the 20th anniversary of the concert, and to mark the occasion, McCartney — who also helped put together the 2001 show — was honored with a special award.

Alicia Keys performed the classic Beatles ballad “Let It Be” before McCartney took the stage.

“I love New York,” he told the audience. “Many years ago, when I was a little kid in Liverpool, we saw New York in the movies. I never dreamed that I would be here getting an award like this from you fantastic people. But then years later, we did show up at JFK with my buddies, the Beatles. We went on The Ed Sullivan Show and, boy, that was something.”

The event, which raised $77.5 million, also featured a performance by the Jonas Brothers.

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Steve Cropper, guitarist with legendary Stax Records house bands The Mar-Keys and Booker T. & the MG’s, and later The Blues Brothers, celebrates his 80th birthday today.

Formed in 1958, The Mar-Keys were the Memphis-based Stax label’s first house band. Besides backing other artists, The Mar-Keys made their own records, and in 1961, they scored a #3 hit with the instrumental single “Last Night,” which, interestingly, featured Cropper on keyboards.

In 1962, Cropper co-founded Booker T. & the MG’s with keyboardist Booker T. Jones, drummer Al Jackson Jr. and bassist Lewie Steinberg, who was replaced in ’65 by Donald “Duck” Dunn.

Like The Mar-Keys, Booker T. & the MG’s backed Stax artists and also made their own records. The group’s debut single, the classic 1962 soul instrumental “Green Onions,” peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the R&B chart.

Cropper also wrote songs with various Stax artists, including all-time classic soul hits like Otis Redding‘s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” Wilson Pickett‘s “In the Midnight Hour” and Eddie Floyd‘s “Knock on Wood.”

Starting in the 1970s, Cropper began playing on and producing records for artists outside of Stax.

Among the many other artists Steve has worked with over the years are John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Neil Young, Peter Frampton, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Orbison and Etta James.

Cropper also played with The Blues Brothers, the blues/R&B tribute band led by Saturday Night Live stars John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, which released a chart-topping live album in 1978. Steve was featured in the hit 1980 comedy film focusing on the group as well.

Cropper was welcomed into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Booker T. & the MG’s in 1992, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.

Steve’s most recent solo album, Fire It Up, was released in April of this year.

Last month, Cropper’s 80th birthday was celebrated with a special concert at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium that featured performances by ZZ Top‘s Billy Gibbons, James Burton, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Eddie Floyd, R.E.M.‘s Mike Mills and more.

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Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock‘s recently announced photo book Made in Hollywood: All Access with the Go-Go’s will be released on Tuesday, October 26, and coinciding with its publication, the veteran rocker will launch a promotional tour that will include in-person and virtual events.

Schock will be joined at some of the events by celebrities, including all of her band mates. The Go-Go’s will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on October 30, four days after the book arrives.

The first event, on October 26, is hosted by Greenlight Books in Brooklyn, New York, and will feature a virtual conversation between Gina and The B-52s‘ Kate Pierson.

Next up is an in-person event in Cleveland at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame October 29, a day before the Induction Ceremony. All five Go-Go’s will take part in an interview outside at the Rock Hall’s Union Home Mortgage Plaza, and Gina will sign copies of the book following the Q&A.

Other in-person book events will take place on November 5 in Laguna Beach, California; November 6 in Los Angeles; November 13 in San Francisco; November 16 in New York City; and November 18 in Ridgewood, New Jersey.  Additional virtual events are scheduled for November 8 and November 17, and will be hosted, respectively, by the Book Soup store in West Hollywood, California, and LiveSigning.com.

Go-Go’s bassist Kathy Valentine also will be taking part in the November 6 event, while the band’s singer, Belinda Carlisle, will join Schock on November 8.

As previously reported, in Made in Hollywood, Schock takes fans on a photographic journey through her band’s history, using a treasure trove of personal pics and many other images.

Check out more details about the book tour at HachetteBookGroup.com.

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It’s nice to know that after more than 50 years in the music business, there are still some things that Elton John hasn’t done…until now.

The 74-year-old legend’s latest achievement is topping Billboard‘s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart with “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” his collaboration with U.K. pop star Dua Lipa.

As previously reported, “Cold Heart” is a mashup of four previously released Elton songs from the ’70s and ’80s: “Rocket Man” from 1972, “Sacrifice” from 1989, “Kiss the Bride” from 1983 and “Where’s the Shoorah?” from his 1976 album, Blue Moves.

“Cold Heart” has also been #1 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart for nine weeks, and has ascended to #25 on the Hot 100, which is the highest Elton has been on that chart since March of 1998. 

“Cold Heart” has already become Elton’s first #1 hit in the U.K. in 16 years.

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Madonna is giving fans an update on the progress of her upcoming biopic.

In an Instagram post, the pop legend says the film’s script is “almost finished.” She shares a series of photos of herself laying on a luxurious rug while looking through a binder containing pages of the script, marked with post-it notes.

“Grateful for the success of Madame X, that my script is almost finished, and for the support of my beautiful children! While laying on this gorgeous Rug by Alexander McQueen!” she captions the post.

Madonna is co-writing the biopic, as well as directing and producing it. She explained her hands-on approach during a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

“The reason I’m doing it is a bunch of people have tried to write movies about me, but they’re always men…there’s nobody on this planet that can write or direct or make a movie about me better than me and that is just the truth!” she said.

 

 

 

 

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Former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman launched the 2021 U.S. leg of his Even Grumpier Old Rock Star Tour earlier this month, but many of the originally announced dates wound up being postponed because of issues regarding COVID-19 restrictions.

As he continues playing a portion of his 2021 stateside outing, Wakeman has now revealed new dates for most of the postponed concerts, which will take place in early 2022. The run of rescheduled shows begins with a February 22 performance in Seattle and is mapped out through a March 11 concert in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The 72-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s next show is scheduled for this Friday, October 22, in Huntington, New York, and his final 2021 U.S. date will take place on November 1 in Woodstock, New York.

A concert scheduled for November 6 in Wichita, Kansas, has been canceled, and refunds will be available at the point of purchase. Wakeman notes that news will be announced soon about postponed shows that haven’t been rescheduled yet in Albany, New York; Chicago; Kent, Ohio; and Buffalo, New York. You can check out Rick’s full schedule at RWCC.com.

As previously reported, Wakeman’s Even Grumpier Old Rock Star Tour shows feature him playing solo piano versions of Yes classics, material from his solo albums, and well-known songs by other artists to which he contributed, including hits by David Bowie and Cat Stevens. Rick also presents his arrangements of a few Beatles tunes at the concerts, as well as telling bawdy jokes and humorous anecdotes.

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Al Stewart‘s hit 1978 album Time Passages has been reissued as a limited-edition four-disc box set featuring three CDs and a DVD-Audio disc.

The expanded collection’s CDs feature a newly remastered version of the album created by original producer Alan Parsons, single edits, 1977 demos, an album outtake called “Tonton Macoute,” and a full previously unreleased concert that Stewart played in October 1978 at a Chicago radio station.

In addition, the DVD boasts a new 5.1 surround-sound version and an original remastered stereo mix of Time Passages by Parsons.

The box set also comes with an illustrated 68-page book that includes an essay featuring an exclusive interview with Stewart, plus a replica promo poster and four postcards.

Released in September 1978, Time Passages was British singer/songwriter Stewart’s eighth studio album, and followed his 1976 breakthrough record Year of the Cat. Time Passages‘ title track became Stewart’s highest-charting single in the U.S., reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard‘s Adult Contemporary chart. A second single, “Song on the Radio,” peaked at #29 on the Hot 100.

The album reached #10 on the Billboard 200 and went on to be RIAA-certified Platinum for sales of one million copies in the U.S.

The Time Passages box set follows a similar deluxe reissue of Year of the Cat that was released earlier this year.

To order the Time Passages box set and check out its full track list, visit CherryRed.co.uk. A two-CD version of the reissue also is available.

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In honor of late Rush drummer Neil Peart, Modern Drummer magazine has announced the launch of an annual scholarship in his name that’s geared toward inspiring a young drummer to pursue a career as a musician.

The “Neil Peart Spirit of Drumming Scholarship” will provide the chosen recipient with 52 weeks of free drum lessons from respected drum instructor Dom Famularo, as well as a one-year subscription to the Modern Drummer All Access service, and a selection of classic Rush albums.

Entrants must be between 14 and 21 years old, not a professional musician, and not under any entertainment contract or sponsorship that Modern Drummer would consider a conflict with scholarship’s spirit.

To be considered for the scholarship, potential recipients must submit a video displaying their drumming skills running two minutes or less, as well as a brief essay explaining why the scholarship will make a significant positive impact on their life and playing, and how they’ve been inspired by Peart and his legacy.

Submissions, which can be made at ModernDrummer.com, must be received before November 26 of this year.

The scholarship originally was announced during the 2020 Modern Drummer Festival by Neil’s widow, Carrie Nutall-Peart. The first recipient of the scholarship will be revealed at this year’s festival, and the honoree will be featured in an upcoming issue of Modern Drummer.

Peart, widely considered one of the greatest rock drummers of all time, died in January 2020 of brain cancer. He was 67.

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