Classic Hits

A biopic on Michael Jackson is in the works, and it just nabbed an A-list director. Variety reports Antoine Fuqua, known for such flicks as Training Day, starring Denzel Washington, and 2013’s Olympus Has Fallen, has been tapped to direct the flick, Michael, which is expected to begin filming this year. 

“The first films of my career were music videos, and I still feel that combining film and music are a deep part of who I am,” Fuqua shares. “For me, there is no artist with the power, the charisma, and the sheer musical genius of Michael Jackson. I was influenced to make music videos by watching his work – the first Black artist to play in heavy rotation on MTV.”

He notes, “His music and those images are part of my worldview, and the chance to tell his story on the screen alongside his music was irresistible.”

The film, which promises to delve into all aspects of the King of Pop’s life and career, will be produced by Graham King, who was responsible for the 2000 Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, as well as the 2006 Oscar winner The Departed. It will be written by John Logan, who penned the script for the James Bond flick Skyfall. 

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Bret Michaels is getting nostalgic for the past with his new single. The Poison frontman just dropped the tune “Back in the Day,” described as a “feel good, road trip anthem song that will help you beat the winter blues.” 

He also dropped a video for the song, which is described as “a modern day MTV throwback video to the early days of the music TV network,” featuring never-before-seen images and photos. 

The new track comes as Bret is set to launch his limited engagement summer Parti-Gras tour. The tour features Jefferson Starship and Night Ranger, along with special appearances by ex-Journey singer Steve Augeri and Sugar Ray‘s Mark McGrath. It’s set to kick off July 13 in Clarkston, Michigan.

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A new biography on legendary artist Leon Russell is about to hit store shelves. Leon Russell: The Master of Space and Time’s Journey Through Rock & Roll History, written by author and founding member of Buffalo Tom, Bill Janovitz, will be released March 14 by Hachette Books.

The book, which has the support of the Russell estate, is described as “the definitive, never-before-told chronicle of one of the most important music makers of the 20th century,” calling Russell a “truly mythical figure in American music.” 

Russell, who passed away in 2016, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011. He wrote such songs as “Delta Lady” and the Grammy Hall of Fame tune “A Song for You.” He had his own hits with songs like “Lady Blue” and “Tight Rope.” Over the years he collaborated with a huge list of artists, including Eric Clapton, Elton John, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Bob Dylan.

The book can be preordered here.

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ELO’s Jeff Lynne, Gloria Estefan and Sade are among the artists chosen for the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year.

Other artists making up the 2023 class include Teddy Riley; Snoop Dogg; Glen Ballard, who is best known for writing such hits as Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” and Alanis Morissette’s ”You Oughta Know”; and Liz Rose, whose work includes Taylor Swift tunes “You Belong With Me” and “All Too Well.” 

“The music industry does not exist without songwriters delivering great songs first. Without them there is no recorded music, no concert business, no merch … nothing, it all starts with the song and the songwriter,” SHOF Chairman Nile Rodgers shares. “We are therefore very proud that we are continually recognizing some of the culturally most important songwriters of all time and that the 2023 slate represents not just iconic songs but also diversity and unity across genres, ethnicity and gender, songwriters who have enriched our lives and, in their time, literally transformed music and the lives of billions of listeners all over the world.”

Artists who were nominated, but not chosen this year, include Bryan Adams, the members of R.E.M., Patti Smith, Steve Winwood, Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson, Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons of The Doobie Brothers and Blondie’s Debbie Harry, Clem Burke and Chris Stein.

The 2023 class will be celebrated at the 52nd annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala, taking place June 15 in New York City.

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Former music exec Tony King is opening up about the crazy experiences he had working as head of A&R for The Beatles’ label, Apple Records, back in the day.

“It was so mad, Apple. The poor office boy had to do Ringo (Starr‘s) shopping every Friday,” King shares in a new interview with The Guardian. “There would be all these toilet rolls stacked in the lobby while they counted them out, making sure they’d got the right number for Ringo.”

Noting that the “mad side of it was lovely,” King went on to reveal, “We had an Apple darts team and we’d challenge different record companies. Keith Moon showed up wanting to play, but he was so drunk, the office boys had to hold him up so he could throw a dart.” 

King, whose new memoir, The Tastemaker, comes out January 31, was friends with plenty of artists over the years, including Elton John, John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and Charlie Watts. He feels there was a simple reason they liked him. “I suppose I was always very straightforward, a straight speaker,” King says. “I wasn’t an artist but I understood the artists, I was in their camp. I think I had an innate understanding of what artists needed, and I didn’t put up with bullsh**.”

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A new book dedicated to the late ELP keyboardist Keith Emerson has just been released. The book, Emerson: The Official Illustrated Story, features never-before-seen photos of the rocker from the private Emerson family archives, along with live performance photographs and more. 

The book also features new interviews with Keith’s friends and family sharing their favorite memories of him. There are also interviews with fellow artists, such as ex-ELP member Carl Palmer, Rick Wakeman, ex-Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter and many others.

The book has been released in two versions, the Classic and the Signature, the latter of which is signed by author Chris Welch and Keith’s son Aaron Emerson. It features a CD of an unheard Emerson interview, an exclusive art print portrait of Keith and sheet music for a song called “Quatermass Boogie Woogie,” the first piece Emerson composed at just 12 years old.

Emerson died by suicide in March 2016. He was 71.

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The estate of George Michael is denying a report from earlier this week that claimed a biopic on the late singer is in the works with their approval.

The report, initially posted in the Daily Mail, claimed the film was “in the final stages of development” with the backing of the singer’s estate. Theo James was reportedly the top contender to play the singer, who passed away in 2016. But now Michael’s estate is denying any involvement in the alleged project. 

“To all of George’s Lovelies, fans and lovers of his music, a story has been published stating that George Michael’s family has endorsed a so called ‘biopic’ about his life,” read a statement from George Michael Entertainment. “On behalf of George’s family and GME we want to make it clear that there is no truth whatsoever in this story, we know nothing about this project and will not be endorsing it in any way.”

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Kenny Loggins is ready to say goodbye to the road. The artist just announced dates for his final tour, aptly titled the This Is it tour.

“It’s been an amazing journey since starting with Jimmy Messina in 1971, and I’m fortunate to have had such a long touring career,” Loggins says. “I don’t see this as the end of my professional career, but certainly a halt to the grind of major touring.” As for why he’s decided to retire, he notes, “after spending a lifetime on the road, I want to have more time at home.”

The trek is set to kick off March 10 in Sarasota, Florida, with dates confirmed through October 27 in Inglewood, California, and more dates to be announced soon.

As for what fans can expect on the tour, Loggins shares, “I’ll be playing songs that I feel sum up the emotional story of my music. This will include 90 percent of the hits and 10 or so percent of the deeper cuts.” He is also teasing possible special guests, sharing, “We’re hoping to have some of my longtime friends sit in whenever possible.”

For more information on Loggins’ tour, click here.

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Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell are among the artists who have contributed items to the new MusiCares Charity Relief Auction, set to coincide with this year’s Grammy Awards.

Items up for grabs include three guitars from MusiCares Person of the Year honorees. There’s a 2014 Gibson Les Paul electric guitar signed by the five members of Fleetwood Mac — Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and Christine and John McVie — who received the honor in 2018; a black Epiphone acoustic guitar from the 2015 celebration of honoree Bob Dylan, signed by the artists who paid tribute to him, including John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen; and a 2021 Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar signed by the 2022 MusiCares Person of the Year, Joni Mitchell, which is paired with an autographed four-LP vinyl box set of The Reprise Albums (1868-1971).

There is also a Joni Mitchell watercolor painting that was created live by artist Rob Prior ahead of the 2022 event, which Mitchell added a few strokes to, as well as a signed print of Joni’s original painting of Jimi Hendrix. 

And that’s just a little of what’s up for bid. The auction will also include items from such artists as Slash, David Lee Roth, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Ozzy Osbourne, Robert Plant, Sting and The Who. Check out the full list of items available here.

The auction is scheduled for February 5 at 11 a.m. PT; it will take place at Julien’s Auctions and online. Proceeds benefit MusiCares, the Recording Academy’s charity arm that provides health and human services to the music community.

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It’s official: Madonna‘s hitting the road.  The Celebration Tour, kicking off July 15 in Vancouver, was announced Tuesday morning with a video featuring a star-studded guest list.

The definitely NSFW video features Madonna playing Truth or Dare with an eclectic lineup of celebs, including Jack Black, Judd Apatow, Lil Wayne, Meg Stalter, Eric Andre, Bob The Drag Queen, Kate Berlant, Amy Schumer and more.  It ends with Schumer daring Madonna to go on a world tour and perform all her biggest hits. 

After singing a few bars of “La Isla Bonita” along with Schumer, Madonna says, “F**k yeah!” and announces, “80s, 90s, 2000s, four decades of music avec moi — MLVC — welcome to the party, b****es!”

That means, “with me, Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone,” in case you’re not familiar with French, or with the Queen of Pop’s birth name.

The 35-city world tour starts in North America before hitting Europe, wrapping up in Amsterdam on December 1.  In a statement, Madonna says, “I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for.”  A one-of-a-kind experience with special guest Bob the Drag Queen will be featured on each date.

Tickets go on sale January 20 and January 27 at 10 a.m. local time, depending on the city. Presales for Citi cardmembers start today, Tuesday, January 17 at 2 p.m. local time for the shows going on sale January 20, and January 24 for the shows going on sale January 27. Visit CitiEntertainment.com for details.

A presale for members of Madonna’s Official Fan Club starts Tuesday at noon ET for the North American shows, and 9 a.m. GMT on January 18 for the U.K. and European shows. Visit Madonna.com for all the info.

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