Classic Hits

The Isley Brothers are in a battle over their name. Billboard reports that Rudolph Isley has filed a lawsuit in Chicago Federal Court against his brother Ronald Isley over the trademark rights to their group’s name.

Rudolph is claiming that despite the name “The Isley Brothers” being jointly owned by both of them, Ronald alone filed for a federal trademark of the name in 2021 and it was approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

“Counsel for defendant Ronald Isley has asserted in correspondence that defendant alone has exclusive ownership of the [trade]mark,” the complaint reads. “These assertions … are false.” 

Rudolph’s suit seeks to have a judge declare the trademark rights to the name are “jointly owned” by both brothers “equally,” and he wants any revenue Ronald made from exploiting the trademark to be divided.

But in legal correspondence from before the suit was filed, lawyers for Ronald argue the trademark belongs to the person actually using the name, which is Ronald, noting Rudolph hasn’t performed with The Isley Brothers since 1986. They say for this reason, any profits Ronald made are his and shouldn’t need to be shared.

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Journey’s Neal Schon is giving fans a taste of his live show with a new album coming in May. 

Journey Through Time, dropping May 19, is a recording of a 2018 benefit concert at The Independent in San Francisco, California. Schon was joined for the performance by his Journey and Santana bandmate Gregg Rolie, along with Journey/Bad English rocker Deen Castronovo on vocals and drums, Marco Mendoza on bass and John Varn on keyboards and vocals.

The 21-song set features songs from the entire Journey catalog including such classics as “Separate Ways,” “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin,” “Wheel in the Sky” and “Lights,” along with early Journey tracks like “Journey,” “Look into the Future,” and “Next.” 

The live show, which took place February 9, 2018, raised money to help those affected by fires that hit the North Bay Area of San Francisco in October, 2017.

Journey Through Time is being released as a 3CD+DVD set and is available for preorder now.

Here’s the Journey Through Time track list:

“I’m Gonna Leave You”
“Look into the Future”
“Kohoutek
“Daydream”
“La Do La”
“Line of Fire”
“Walks Like a Lady”
“Feelin’ That Way”
“Anytime”
“Lights”
“Still They Ride”
“Separate Ways”
“Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’”
“Wheel in the Sky”
“Patiently (Medley)”
“Trial by Fire (Medley)”
“Stay Awhile (Medley)”
“Mystery Mountain”
“Of a Lifetime”
“Just the Same Way”
“Lovin’ You Is Easy”

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Melissa Etheridge is looking back at her start in the music industry and how she was asked to hide her sexuality.

The singer recalled to SPIN FIRE’s Free Speech + Other Dirty Words that when she was signed by Island Records in the mid-80s, there was a jarring moment that came shortly before she released her self-titled 1988 debut album. She said, “There was a meeting at an office with a conference table where everybody was sitting round, and someone said, ‘So, what are we going to do about the gay thing?'”

Melissa remembered advocating for herself at that meeting and responding with, “I am not going to pretend I am something else and find a guy to take pictures with — I am going to be me.”

“They said, ‘Well, as long as you don’t flag wave.’ This was before we had the rainbow flag,” Melissa added. “Four years later, I was flag waving!”

Melissa publicly came out alongside singer Janis Ian on January 20, 1993, during former President Bill Clinton‘s inaugural celebration.

Melissa also reflected on the difficulty of protecting everyone’s right to free speech, even if it upsets her, noting that. Recalling her disagreement with Eminem over the slurs he used in his 2000 song “Criminal,” she noted that freedom of speech “works both ways.”

“We want the freedom to say what we like even though it offends others; I gotta let him be even though it offends me. Because that’s freedom,” she said. “The American Experiment is about can we all live together inside those differences?”

Melissa also revealed the discomfort she felt when continuing her show on Sirius XM because the platform also hosted conservative firebrand Steve Bannon‘s Breitbart Daily News.  She admitted, “Free speech is hard.”

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Looks like Madonna is cooking up new music in the studio and she has acclaimed Swedish record producer Max Martin helping her.

The singer revealed on Twitter that she’s working with Martin and shared a snap of the two brainstorming in a music studio. “When in Doubt go to Work,” she captioned the update. 

She added, “Nothing shuts Down the Noise or the Naysayers More then being in the Creative Process !!”

Martin has previously worked with superstars like Adele, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga and more. So far, he’s written or co-written 25 songs that went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, including Katy Perry‘s “Roar,” Taylor Swift‘s “Blank Space” and The Weeknd‘s “Blinding Lights.”

So far, it’s unknown what Madonna’s cooking up with Martin but fans are antsy to get their hands on some new, original music from Madge, with some noting it’s been nearly four years since she released her most recent studio effort, Madame X, which dropped in June 2019. She did help tide fans over with her 2022 remix album, Finally Enough Love.

In addition, Madonna’s gearing up for her Celebration Tour, which kicks off July 15 and is slated to wrap December 6 of this year.

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Steve Hackett is ready to celebrate his career with Genesis with a new North American tour. Genesis Revisited: Foxtrot and Fifty + Hackett Highlights Tour will have the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer performing Genesis’ 1972 album Foxtrot in its entirety, plus other songs from Hackett’s catalog. 

Hackett shares, “I’m thrilled to be bringing my Genesis Revisited: Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights tour to the USA and Canada in the autumn, and very much look forward to seeing you all then!”

The tour is set to kick off October 3 in Montreal, Canada. It hits the States October 5 in Ithaca, New York, with shows confirmed through November 18 in Los Angeles, California.

A complete list of tour dates and ticket information can be found at hackettsongs.com.

Released in October, 1972, Foxtrot was Genesis’ fourth studio album, and contained such classic songs as “Watcher of the Skies” and the epic 23-minute track “Supper’s Ready.” 

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Peter Gabriel is extending his North American i/o – The Tour, adding 13 new dates to the trek. Added cities on the tour include Washington, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Paul, Palm Springs, Denver, Austin, Dallas and Houston. 

The tour is set to kick off September 8 in Quebec, Canada and will now run through October 21 in Houston, Texas.

A special presale for the new shows starts Tuesday, March 21 for members of Gabriel’s fan club. The general on sale begins Friday, March 24 at 10 a.m. local time.

A complete list of Peter Gabriel tour dates can be found at petergabriel.com.

The tour is in support of Gabriel’s forthcoming new album, i/o, which is due out sometime this year. He’s been releasing a new song from the album each month to coincide with the full moon, with the latest release being “Playing for Time.”

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As previously reported, Roger Waters‘ concert in Frankfurt, Germany has been cancelled by the local government due to the rocker’s outspoken political beliefs, and now several of his fellow musicians are coming to his defense. 

A Change.org petition has been created to try and get the government to reverse its decision on Waters’ tour stop, and it already has close to 12,000 of the 15,000 signatures requested, with artists like Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel, Tom Morello and Waters’ Pink Floyd bandmate Nick Mason among those who’ve signed.

“We artists, musicians, writers, and other public figures and organizations are deeply disturbed by the recent efforts by German officials to discredit and silence musician Roger Waters,” reads the petition. “Officials in Germany, concert organizers, and music platforms must not succumb to the pressure of those individuals and groups who would rather see Waters’ music removed than engage with the issues his music highlights.”

Other artists who’ve signed the petition include actor Susan Sarandon, music producer Brian Eno, directors Ken Loach, Terry Gilliam and Julian Schnabel and more.

Waters is currently on his This Is Not a Drill tour, which is set to hit Barcelona, Spain on Wednesday. The concert in Frankfurt is scheduled for May 28.

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The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood is showing off his latest work of art. The guitarist and painter shared his newest creation on Instagram, an illustration of the band in Cuba, and he’s giving fans a chance to get a copy of their own.

“Ronnie’s latest portrait of the Rolling Stones shows the band on a Havana Street, with Charlie (Watts) playing a Cuban drum, Mick (Jagger) dancing with a flourish and Darryl (Jones) throwing his Fedora into the air!,” he writes. “The painting illustrates how the band were inspired and invigorated by the Havana musical scene and the people of Cuba, at the time of their spectacular free concert for over 500,000 people.”

The Stones’ free outdoor Havana concert took place March 25, 2016. A movie of the concert, The Rolling Stones Havana Moon, was released for one night only in theaters in September, 2016, and aired on cable in January, 2017. The soundtrack was released in November, 2016. 

In addition to the drawing of the band, there is also an illustration of the Havana set list, with individually signed, named and numbered copies of each available for pre-order now.

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On This Day March 21, 1994…

Bruce Springsteen added an Oscar to his trophy case, winning the Academy Award for “Streets of Philadelphia,” which he wrote for the Tom Hanks movie Philadelphia. The tune was one of two tracks from the movie to be nominated, the other being “Philadelphia,” by Neil Young.

Philadelphia was one of the earliest mainstream films to deal with the HIV/AIDS crisis, and won Hanks an Oscar for Best Actor.

“Streets of Philadelphia” also won five Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year. It peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking The Boss’ 12th and, to date, last top-10 single.

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Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band continue to add shows to their North American tour. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers added a second North American leg last month, and now they’ve added two more dates to the trek. The new shows include Springsteen’s return to San Diego, with a December 2 show at Pechanga Arena. 

Plus, due to overwhelming demand, they’ve added a second show at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on August 26.

The Gillette show is one of several multiple night stands on Springsteen’s 2023 schedule. Others include two nights at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena and San Francisco’s Chase Center, as well as three nights at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium over Labor Day Weekend.

Bruce and the E Street band bring their tour to Buffalo, New York on Thursday. A complete list of tour dates is posted at brucespringsteen.net.

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