Classic Hits

In our post-Kardashian world, quite a few celebrities have co-starred with their families in reality shows. For example, Sylvester Stallone just launched The Family Stallone, starring him, his wife and his three daughters. But Lionel Richie says he’d never consider doing something like that with daughters, Nicole and Sofia— because he thinks their entire lives have been a reality show.

Nicole has starred in two different reality shows, The Simple Life and Candidly Nicole, and has been a judge on several more. She’s also married to fellow celebrity Joel Madden of the band Good Charlotte. Sofia, meanwhile, is a model and fashion designer. And Lionel, of course, has judged American Idol for several seasons.

That’s why Lionel told E! News, “Let me say this to you: Living with my kids has been a reality series that I’ve been trying to forget for a long time. So, to bring it to the public right now would be something called post-traumatic syndrome.”

The “All Night Long” singer explained that his daughters have much more of a taste for stardom than he does.

“You know my kids, they have a journey. They’re used to this thing called ‘all your business, every day out in the street,'” he said. “I’m a little bit more reserved, so I’ll let them do their thing, and Papa Richie can kinda go home and enjoy the fireplace.”

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Over the weekend, one of Eddie Van Halen‘s Charvel Art Series guitars was auctioned off for $114,000. If you missed out on that, you can pick up seven of his Charvel Art Series guitars for just $525,000.

Six of the seven guitars were played by the late Van Halen guitar virtuoso onstage over three tours — in 2004, 2007 and 2012 — and are signed by him, as well. The seventh is a custom-built replica of Eddie’s legendary “Frankenstrat” guitar, nicknamed “Frank 2.” It was owned by Eddie, though he didn’t play it onstage.

All seven guitars are being sold as part of one lot at an auction run by Analogr.com, and they all come with certificates of authenticity. At press time, the guitars had not yet reached the reserve price of $525,000 — so far, bidding is only up to $455,800.

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Paul Simon just released a critically acclaimed new album, Seven Psalms, but he says even if he really wanted to tour to promote it, he can’t — because he’s lost most of the hearing in his left year.

Speaking to the U.K.’s Sunday Times, Simon, 81, says the loss was “quite sudden,” adding, “Nobody has an explanation for it. So everything became more difficult. My reaction to that was frustration and annoyance; not quite anger yet, because I thought it would pass, it would repair itself.”

That doesn’t seem to be happening, which means that Simon can’t perform live, but he says he isn’t particularly eager to return to the stage. 

“The songs of mine that I don’t want to sing live, I don’t sing them,” he says. “Sometimes there are songs that I like and then at a certain point in a tour, I’ll say, ‘What the f*** are you doing, Paul?’ Quite often that would come during ‘You Can Call Me Al.’ I’d think, ‘What are you doing? You’re like a Paul Simon cover band. You should get off the road, go home.’”

Simon, who now lives on a ranch in Texas with his wife, Edie Brickell, wrote Seven Psalms after he had a dream on January 19, 2019 — the anniversary of his father’s death.

“The dream was specific,” he says. “‘You are writing, or are meant to write, a piece called Seven Psalms.’ It was a very insistent statement, so much so that I wrote it down.” 

The paper he wrote it down on is now framed in his studio, as is a copy of his and Art Garfunkel‘s first single, “Hey Schoolgirl,” which they recorded in 1957 under the name Tom & Jerry.

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If Cher appears to be an ageless queen, well, you’re not the only one who thinks so. Over the weekend, the legendary diva turned 77 and took to Twitter to ask, “Ok, Will Someone PLEASE Tell me…..When Will I Feel OLD?”

“This is ridiculous,” she continued. “I keep hearing these numbers, but I Honestly can’t understand them. WHATS THE DEAL WITH #’s?  I’m dyslexic & #’s Are hard 4 me.”

She then addressed her fans, noting that she hasn’t tweeted since March. “Thank u for staying, I know it’s been hard,” she wrote.

Last year, Cher told Allure that she doesn’t feel as though she’s old enough to be labeled an icon.

“In my mind, an icon has always got to be old to be iconic. I can’t think [I’m] old yet,” she said. “It’s fun but I don’t take it seriously because … does it mean you’ve just lasted longer than everybody else?”

As for who she thinks is an icon, Cher mentioned her friend Tina Turner, who was 82 at the time, and her late mother, who died in December of last year at the age of 96.

“My mom gets up and she puts her lipstick on and does her hair … my mom is beautiful and even now, [she’s got] this amazing skin,” Cher said of her mom, Georgia Holt. “She’s a pain in the a** — and the hair, you cannot believe her hair. So my mom’s an icon to me, and nobody else knows it, but I know it.”

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Not long ago, Bruce Springsteen‘s YouTube channel posted an official lyric video for one of his classics, “Badlands.” As for what prompted a lyric video treatment for a song released in 1978, well, just look to your local movie theater.

“Badlands,” which first appeared on Darkness on the Edge of Town, just happens to play over the credits of the hit film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It’s not clear if the two things are connected, but in the comments, many fans indicate that’s why they’ve come to watch the lyric video.

“Found this song through Guardians of the Galaxy and I’m glad that I did,” one person wrote.

“Came here after seeing Guardians of the Galaxy and so glad to see this new lyric video released. Such a timeless song and hit the right notes for the film,” added another.

“Got such a huge smile when this started playing at the end of Guardians 3. Listening to one of my favorite songs by my favorite musician on the big screen was amazing,” read another comment.

“Badlands” didn’t get an official video when it was released, but there are numerous live videos of the song posted on Springsteen’s YouTube channel. It’s also part of the set list on Bruce’s current tour.

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On This Day, May 22, 1976 …

Paul McCartney & Wings hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Silly Love Songs,” which spent five weeks on top of the chart.

The tune, from the 1976 album Wings at the Speed of Sound, was McCartney’s answer to critics who suggested he only wrote lightweight love songs.

“Silly Love Songs” was McCartney’s fifth number one as a solo artist and his 27th number one as a songwriter, which was a new record. McCartney still holds the record for the most number ones by a songwriter with 32.

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Tom Johnston will be able to listen — but not sing — to the music for a while: The Doobie Brothers‘ lead singer and guitarist is undergoing surgery to address his severe back pain.

This means Johnston will be sitting out the upcoming leg of the band’s 50th Anniversary Tour, which is set to kick off May 25 at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. The other band members — including Pat Simmons, Michael McDonald and John McFee — will continue the tour so as not to disappoint the fans. 

“I hope for a speedy recovery and can’t wait to get back on the road and continue doing what I love,” Johnston says in a statement. “I would like to thank Pat, Michael, John, and the entire Doobie Brothers band for covering for me while I recover from back surgery…I’m sure they will bring it every night as they always do.” 

The Doobie Brothers’ 50th anniversary tour is set to run through October. A complete list of dates can be found at thedoobiebrothers.com.

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Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen spoke to ABC’s Good Morning America about his recovery journey after he was assaulted after a show in Fort Lauderdale in March.

Allen, 59, told GMA that he was “totally blindsided” by the attack, explaining, “I heard a couple of steps and then I just saw this [flash] and the next thing I knew was I was on the ground. I landed on my backside… hit my head on the pavement.”

Allen, who lost his left arm in a car crash in 1984, added, “I don’t think he knew who I was, but he must have seen that I wasn’t a threat because, you know, I’ve only got one arm.”

Police arrested Max Hartley, a 19-year-old from Ohio, shortly after he allegedly attacked the drummer and a woman who tried to interfere in the incident, nearby the site of the attack at the Four Seasons in Fort Lauderdale, on March 13.  

Hartley was charged with two counts of battery and four counts of criminal mischief, according to a police report. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Allen’s wife, Lauren Monroe, to whom he’s been married since 2003, helped him recover. Allen told GMA, “I immediately just went to that place of just feeling grateful for the fact that I have an amazing wife and an incredible family and I just started thanking a higher power for the fact that I’m still here.”

Def Leppard kicks off the U.K./European leg of their Stadium tour on Monday, and Allen’s ready.

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Songwriter and poet Pete Brown, best known for co-writing “Sunshine of Your Love” and “White Room” for Cream in the 1960s, died of cancer on Friday, May 19 at the age of 82.

A post on Brown’s Facebook page read, “Pete was known to repeat the mantra ‘I come from a long line of worriers, not warriors.’ One of his other favorite expressions passed down from [British poet] Spike Hawkins was, ‘That’s life — up one minute, down the next twenty-five years.'”  

In continued, “Despite his tendency towards Jewish pessimism, he lived the life of a warrior poet. He was proudly anti-establishment, and dedicated his life to his creative endeavors, in an uncompromising way.”

Inspired by U.S. beat poets, Brown began writing poetry in 1955. He was approached by Cream drummer Ginger Baker to write lyrics for the supergroup, which also featured guitarist Eric Clapton and bassist Jack Bruce.

Brown also helped write the group’s song “I Feel Free,” and continued to write songs with Bruce more than four decades after Cream broke up.

He continued working until the end, collaborating with Joe Bonamassa on the album Royal Tea and, most recently, on the final mixes of a new album, Shadow Club, featuring guest performances from Clapton and Bonamassa.

Brown was featured in two documentary films: White Rooms and Imaginary Westerns, a loose adaptation of his autobiography, and The Cream Acoustic Sessions, a documentary on the re-working of many Cream songs. An accompanying album, Heavenly Cream, is due for release later this year.

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Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe kick off the U.K./European leg of their Stadium tour on Monday, May 22, in the band’s hometown of Sheffield, England, and while the tour has already played the U.S. and Latin America, guitarist Phil Collen is particularly excited about their upcoming shows.

“I’m a bit of a tourist,” he tells ABC Audio, noting that he’s looking forward to visiting cities like Prague and Milan. He’s also excited to play London’s Wembley Stadium, which he says is “a big deal.” And he’s even more stoked for opening night at Bramall Lane, home of frontman Joe Elliott‘s favorite football club, Sheffield United, which Collen says is “a huge deal for us.”

Collen also can’t wait to be back on tour with his buddies in Mötley Crüe. “It’s been like being at school with your best friends, only you’re on a 787 jumbo jet,” he says. “I mean, it’s ridiculous.” 

The new leg of the Stadium tour runs through July 6 in Glasgow, Scotland, and then returns to the U.S. on August 5 in Syracuse, New York. A complete list of Def Leppard/Mötley Crüe tour dates can be found at defleppard.com.

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