Classic Hits

Gloria Estefan sings a new song written by Lin-Manuel Miranda in the new Netflix animated film Vivo, which starts streaming on Friday. You can watch a video of the sequence where Gloria’s character performs the song, called “Inside Your Heart,” on YouTube now.

Vivo stars Miranda as the voice of Vivo, a kinkajou who entertains people on the street by playing music with his owner, Andrés.  Andrés’ former musical partner, a now-famous Cuban singer named Marta Sandoval, played by Gloria, invites him to her farewell concert.  However, it eventually falls to Vivo to deliver to Marta a song that Andrés wrote for her many years ago.

Miranda wrote all the songs for the film, and Gloria tells Variety it was hearing the sad romantic ballad “Inside Your Heart” that convinced her to accept a role in Vivo.

“It was a moment when I was so incredibly busy, I thought it was going to be impossible,” she says. “But he sent me the demo of him singing it, and it tore my heart apart.”

She adds of Vivo, “It’s a story after my own heart because I’m Cuban American, and that story of love, loss and separation is near and dear to my heart.”

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Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, a rock music journalist, author and one-time romantic partner of Doors frontman Jim Morrison, died on July 23 at the age of 75.

Kennealy-Morrison’s passing was reported on the Facebook page of Lizard Queen Press, a publishing brand she founded.

“To say we are all reeling from the news is an understatement,” the message about Kennealy-Morrison reads. “We will miss our friend very very much. She was a beautiful soul, a talented writer, and a loving and wonderful friend.” No cause of death was mentioned.

According to The New York Times, Kennealy-Morrison met Jim Morrison in 1969 when she interviewed him for Jazz & Pop magazine, for which she was editor-in-chief. She and the singer soon began a romantic relationship. In 1970, Patricia, who practiced Celtic paganism, took part in a matrimonial “hand-fasting ceremony” with Morrison that involved drops of their blood.

Their relationship remained a long-distance one until Jim’s death in 1971.

In 1979, Patricia added “Morrison” to her last name, and she served as a technical adviser on the 1991 Oliver Stone-directed biopic The Doors. She was portrayed by Kathleen Quinlan in the film, in which she also had a cameo, appearing as the priestess who performed the hand-fasting ceremony.

Kennealy-Morrison later criticized the movie, according to The New York Times, feeling it didn’t feature her prominently enough and that it trivialized the ceremony.  In 1992, she published a memoir titled Strange Days: My Life With and Without Jim Morrison, which she said was a response to The Doors movie.

Kennealy-Morrison later wrote fantasy novels and rock-music-themed mystery books.

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Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts may have to sit out the band’s rescheduled U.S. leg of their No Filter Tour this fall.

A spokesman for Watts, 80, confirmed that it is “unlikely” the drummer will be able to join the 13-date tour. Watts, who joined the Stones in 1963, is recovering from an unspecified medical procedure.

“Charlie has had a procedure which was completely successful, but I gather his doctors this week concluded that he now needs proper rest and recuperation,” his rep said in a statement. “With rehearsals starting in a couple of weeks it’s very disappointing to say the least, but it’s also fair to say no one saw this coming.”

Watts wasn’t thrilled by the decision, but explained that this is what’s best for his health and the band.

“For once my timing has been a little off. I am working hard to get fully fit but I have today accepted on the advice of the experts that this will take a while,” he explained in a statement. “After all the fans’ suffering caused by Covid I really do not want the many RS fans who have been holding tickets for this Tour to be disappointed by another postponement or cancellation.”

Watts said his “great friend” Steve Jordan will be his No Filter Tour understudy. Jordan says that, while he’s looking forward to rehearsing with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood — he is more excited about the possibility of Watts recovering in time to join the trek.

“No one will be happier than me to give up my seat on the drum-riser as soon as Charlie tells me he is good to go,” he said.

The No Filter Tour starts September 26 in St. Louis, Missouri.

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A remastered edition of Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe‘s acclaimed 2000 film inspired by his experiences as a teenage Rolling Stone journalist during the 1970s, was released last month on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD.

In addition, expanded box-set versions of the film’s classic-rock-packed soundtrack are due out on August 20. Heart‘s Nancy Wilson, who was married to Crowe during the making of Almost Famous, composed the film’s score, co-wrote the original songs for Stillwater — the fictional band at the center of the movie — and served as a technical consultant and mentor to the actors.

Wilson tells ABC Audio that the movie “was a really, really great project to be part of.”

One of her interesting tasks was coaching Billy Crudup, who portrayed Stillwater guitarist Russell Hammond, on how to fake like he knew how to play the instrument.

“[M]ost of [what] I tried to show him…was all about the body language,” Nancy notes. “It was all about slouching…You gotta, like, lean on one foot, and you’ve got to have your guitar super low-slung.”

Wilson also remembers doing “a rock school thing,” where the actors were shown “video after video of The Who and [Led] Zeppelin and everybody from that era.”

As for creating Stillwater’s songs, Wilson says she and Crowe envisioned “a [meat-and-potatoes] band that would be a conglomerate of Bad Company and The Allman Brothers and maybe a little bit of R.E.M.,” whose tunes had “basic, bluesy chords [and] simple changes.”

To record the original tunes, Nancy enlisted such notable musicians as Peter Frampton, Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready and ex-Heart drummer Ben Smith.

Wilson’s complete score and various versions of the songs she co-wrote for the film will be featured on the Almost Famous box sets.

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Carole King is an admitted recluse who rarely leaves her home in Idaho, but she says she’s making an exception this October.

Asked by Variety how she feels about getting into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame a second time this year — having previously been inducted as a songwriter — King tells the publication, “It’s a great honor. In fact, I’ll tell you what a great honor it is: I’m actually going!…I’m leaving Idaho.”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is scheduled for October 30 in Cleveland at Rocket Mortgage Field House. Tickets are on sale now.  King will be inducted along with Foo Fighters, Todd Rundgren, The Go-Go’s, Tina Turner, Carole King and JAY-Z.

“I’ve always been reclusive and kind of an introvert and a hermit,” King explains. “I’m not an introvert in the sense that, once I’m around people, especially if they’re really nice people and I like them, I can get all excited. But I don’t go many places.”

She adds, “If I go out on tour, once I’m out, I enjoy being onstage, working with the audience. But the rest of it is ‘Really? Do I really need to be doing this?'”

Because she doesn’t leave her house, King recently teamed up with Jennifer Hudson via Zoom to write “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home),” the end title theme for the upcoming Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect, in which Hudson stars. It’s out August 13.

The two chatted with Variety together via Zoom, during which King, who’ll be 80 next year, told Hudson, “I feel…so blessed…to have somebody like you that is carrying this light and this love and this positive energy forward.”

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Besides being the godmother of punk, Patti Smith also is an acclaimed poet and an award-winning author. So it’s no surprise Smith is the singer with the biggest vocabulary, according to a new study that ranks 200 different music artists based on their song lyrics.

Word.Tips, which conducted the study, found that Smith uses 217 unique words per 1,000 words appearing in her songs.

At #2 is legendary singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell, with 199. Other veteran artists ranked in the top 10 include late Doors frontman Jim Morrison at #4, with 177; late country singer Hank Williams at #6, with 167; The Everly Brothers‘ Don Everly at #7, with 163; Bonnie Raitt at #8, with 159; and the late Johnny Cash at #10, with 158.

Perhaps surprisingly, Bob Dylan, the singer/songwriter considered by many to be one of the music world’s greatest wordsmiths, was at #44 on the list with 130 unique words per 1,000 — tied with David Bowie.

However, Dylan does top a separate list ranking the artists who have used the most unique words over the course of their entire career.  According to the study, he has 12,285 different words in his songs. Prince is second on the tally, with 11,430; Elton John is third, with 9,467; Lou Reed‘s fourth, with 8,979; and Bruce Springsteen is fifth, with 8,862.

The artists that are part of the study came from Rolling Stone‘s list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time,” and a list of Spotify’s 100 most-listened-to modern stars as determined by Kworb.net.

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John Mellencamp‘s recently announced documentary The Good Samaritan Tour 2000 will premiere August 27 on Turner Classic Movies’ YouTube channel, and a companion live album will be released the same day.

As previously reported, the film focuses on Mellencamp’s 2000 trek of the same name, which featured a series of free, unannounced concerts held at parks, on street corners and in other public spaces in select major cities in the Midwest and on the East Coast. John played acoustic guitar at the shows, backed by only a viola player and an accordion player.

The doc is narrated by Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey.

Mellencamp co-produced the film, which was directed by Shan Dan Horan. The movie also includes special contributions from Nora Guthrie, daughter of late folk legend Woody Guthrie.

You can check out a trailer for The Good Samaritan Tour 2000 at John’s official YouTube channel.  Following the movie’s debut, Mellencamp will appear as a guest programmer on the Turner Classic Movies network in September.

The soundtrack album, which is available for pre-order now, features 12 performances, including renditions the Mellencamp hits “Small Town” and “Pink Houses,” some deeper cuts from his catalog and covers of such tunes as Bob Dylan‘s “All Alng the Watchtower,” Donovan‘s “Hey Gyp” and The Rolling Stones‘ “Street Fighting Man.”

Here’s the full track list for The Good Samaritan Tour 2000 companion album:

“Small Town”
“Oklahoma Hills”
“In My Time of Dying”
“Captain Bobby Stout”
“Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)”
“All Along the Watchtower”
“The Spider and the Fly”
“Early Bird Café”
“Hey Gyp”
“Street Fighting Man”
“Cut Across Shorty”
“Pink Houses”

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Carlos Santana has announced plans to release the first single from his band’s forthcoming studio album, Blessings and Miracles, later this month.

Coinciding with the news, the legendary guitarist has announced that the star-studded project will be released as part of a new global deal he’s signed with the BMG label.

“I am honored to partner with BMG to release Blessings and Miracles,” Carlos says in a statement. “I would like to thank everyone at BMG for sharing our collective commonality-vision to touch people’s hearts with energy, conviction and integrity. Now more than ever, we need songs and melodies to remind us that we are significant, meaningful and that life is full of blessings and miracles.”

BMG executive Thomas Scherer adds, “Listening to and feeling this album is an embrace of the source from where we all come from. Blessings and Miracles is full of joy, and we are grateful to be his partner in spreading this musical treasure to his fans and new fans everywhere around the world.”

Santana recently revealed to ABC Audio that Blessings and Miracles will feature guest appearances by Steve Winwood, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, Living Colour frontman Corey Glover and Fifth Harmony‘s Ally Brooke, among others. In addition, Carlos reported that hit-making songwriter Diane Warren and country star Chris Stapleton have contributed tunes to the album.

Carlos’ next performance will be at the star-packed “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert” event taking place August 21 in New York City’s Central Park. The Santana band then is slated to kick off a new series of Las Vegas residency dates at the House of Blues on August 25. Check out the group’s full schedule at Santana.com.

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Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello is on a “Highway to Hell,” and he’s brought Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder along for the ride.

That’s right, The Boss and Vedder are featured on Morello’s just-released new cover of the classic AC/DC song “Highway to Hell” that’s available now via digital formats.

The track will appear on Morello’s upcoming second solo album, The Atlas Underground Fire, which will be released October 15.

“Our version of ‘Highway to Hell’ pays homage to AC/DC but with Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder, brings this legendary song into the future,” Morello says in a statement.

Explaining how the cover of “Highway to Hell” came about, Tom notes that he played the song live a few times with Springsteen – and Vedder on guest vocals — when he was touring as a temporary member of Bruce’s E Street Band in Australia in 2014.

“I began to wonder, what does the most ferocious version of this song sound like in 2021?” notes Tom. “I put together a pretty rocking demo and sent it over to Bruce and Eddie with my fingers crossed. This is what we got back: one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll songs of all time, sung by two of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll singers of all time, and then I play a shredding guitar solo. Thank you and good night.”

The Atlas Underground Fire, which you can pre-order now, will feature a variety of other guests, including country star Chris Stapleton, reggae artist Damian Marley and many more.

Here’s The Atlas Underground Fire‘s full track list:

“Harlem Hellfighter
“Highway to Hell” — featuring Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder
“Let’s Get the Party Started” — featuring Bring Me the Horizon
“Driving to Texas” — featuring Phantogram
“The War Inside” — featuring Chris Stapleton
“Hold The Line” — featuring grandson
“Naraka” — featuring Mike Posner
“The Achilles List” — featuring Damian Marley
“Night Witch” — featuring phem
“Charmed I’m Sure” — featuring Protohype
“Save Our Souls” — featuring Dennis Lyxzén of Refused
“On the Shore of Eternity” — featuring Sama’ Abdulhadi

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Guns N’ Roses debuted a new song live during their concert in Boston Tuesday. Well, sort of.

During their set, the “Welcome to the Jungle” rockers performed a track titled “Absurd.” While it now has a new title, the tune is actually a reworked version of the notably profane GN’R rarity, “Silkworms.”

“Silkworms” was one of the many songs written during the sessions for Chinese Democracy, the long-fabled Guns record that finally became reality in 2008 after a 10-year recording process. Though it was performed live in the early 2000s, “Silkworms” didn’t make the final Chinese Democracy track list.

You can watch fan-shot footage of the “Absurd” performance streaming now on YouTube.

Guns N’ Roses is currently in the middle of a U.S. tour, with support from Wolfgang Van Halen‘s Mammoth WVH. The outing was originally scheduled for 2020 before being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

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