Classic Hits

The estate of late singer Whitney Houston has expressed disappointment over a joke made by comedian Jerrod Carmichael at the Golden Globe Awards.

During the ceremony, which Carmichael hosted on Tuesday, he made a reference to Houston’s fatal overdose in 2012. 

“So, we are here, live, from the hotel that killed Whitney Houston, the Beverly Hilton,” he said. 

The Whitney Houston estate, which is run by the late icon’s longtime manager and sister-in-law Pat Houston, told TMZ via a rep that the estate is “disappointed in the joke and felt it was in poor taste.”

The incident has sparked a backlash on social media, with many people expressing support for the Houston estate and condemning Carmichael’s joke.

“It is always too soon for a joke about Whitney Houston’s death,” one user wrote. 

Another tweeted, “I didn’t like that Whitney Houston joke at all. That was so tasteless and disrespectful to her.”

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Judy Collins has been announced as one of the honorees at the 2023 She Rocks Awards, along with songwriter Shelly Peiken (“What A Girl Wants”) and Fitz and the Tantrums’ Noelle Scaggs, with more honorees to be announced soon. 

Presented by the Women’s International Music Network, this will be the 11th annual She Rocks Awards. It’s set to take place April 13 at the Ranch in Anaheim, California, during the National Association of Music Merchants Show. It will feature live music, awards, a silent auction and more.

“I am always astounded by the passionate and meaningful accomplishments of the ground-breaking women in music that we honor,” Laura B. Whitmore, founder of the WiMN and co-producer of the She Rocks Awards, shares. “This year we’ll turn it up to 11 for our 11th anniversary! I am excited to shine a spotlight on these fantastic role models…with more to come!”

Previous She Rock Award winners include the Go-Go’s, Pat Benatar, Melissa Etheridge, Nancy Wilson and Dionne Warwick. 

The 2023 She Rocks Awards is open to the public. Tickets can be purchased here.

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Bob Dylan is set to drop Bob Dylan Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series Vol. 17 later this month, and he’s giving fans another taste of the set.

The rocker just dropped “Not Dark Yet (Version 1),” which is featured on the second disc of outtakes and alternate versions of tracks. He previously shared a version of “Love Sick” recorded January 14, 1997, at Criteria Studios.

Bob Dylan Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series Vol. 17 is set to drop January 27 and will be the final installment in Dylan’s Bootleg Series. The set will be released in a variety of formats, including a deluxe five-disc or 10-LP, 12-inch vinyl edition. There will also be a two-disc/four-LP highlights edition.

Dylan released Time Out of Mind, his 30th album, in September 1997. The album went on to win the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1998, along with Grammys for Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for “Cold Irons Bounds.”

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The Velvet Underground’s John Cale is out with a new song. “Noise Of You” is the latest track off Cale’s upcoming album, Mercy, which drops January 20.

“Yup, it’s a love song,” Cale shares in the video for the track. “When I started sketching this song, it was all about the atmosphere. It made me recall wintertime in Prague.” He noted, “As the instrumentation came together it felt like something I wanted to hear on 1960s AM radio … about a guy trying to get the love of his life back.”

Mercy is Cale’s first album of original songs in a decade. It features Cale working with such artists as Animal Collective, Sylvan Esso and Laurel Halo. According to a press release, the album “moves through true dark-night-of-the-soul electronics toward vulnerable love songs and hopeful considerations for the future.”

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As previously reported, U2 will release the new album Songs Of Surrender on March 17, featuring 40 rerecorded and reimagined U2 classics. They’ve shared the track list for the release, along with their new take on “Pride (In The Name of Love).”

Curated and produced by The Edge, each of the set’s four albums are named after one of the band members. Each song on the album is a completely new recording, with new arrangements and in some cases new lyrics.

Stories of Surrender will be released in several formats, including digitally; a limited-edition 40-track two-CD Hardback Deluxe edition; and a limited-edition 40-track four-LP vinyl edition. Fans can preorder here. Check out the track list below:

Side 1 – The Edge
1. “One”
2. “Where The Streets Have No Name”
3. “Stories For Boys”
4. “11 O’Clock Tick Tock”
5. “Out Of Control”
6. “Beautiful Day”
7. “Bad”
8. “Every Breaking Wave”
9. “Walk On (Ukraine)”
10. “Pride (In The Name Of Love)”

Side 2 – Larry
1. “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses”
2. “Get Out Of Your Own Way”
3. “Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of”
4. “Red Hill Mining Town”
5. “Ordinary Love”
6. “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own”
7. “Invisible”
8. “Dirty Day”
9. “The Miracle Of Joey Ramone”
10. “City Of Blinding Lights”

Side 3 – Adam
1. “Vertigo”
2. “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”
3. “Electrical Storm”
4. “The Fly”
5. “If God Will Send His Angels”
6. “Desire”
7. “Until The End Of The World”
8. “Song For Someone”
9. “All I Want Is You”
10. “Peace On Earth”

Side 4 – Bono
1. “With Or Without You”
2. “Stay”
3. “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
4. “Lights Of Home”
5. “Cedarwood Road”
6. “I Will Follow”
7. “Two Hearts Beat As One”
8. “Miracle Drug”
9. “The Little Things That Give You Away”
10. “40”

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Tuesday marked seven years since David Bowie passed away after a private battle with cancer, and both his wife, Iman, and their 22-year-old daughter, Alexandria ‘Lexi’ Zahra Jones, marked the day with tributes on social media. 

Lexi shared video of them playing keyboards together when she was young, along with a childhood photo, writing, “7 years ago today. I miss you ❤️ .”

Her mom, Iman, also marked the day with a post, sharing a beautiful black-and-white photo of them and writing, “January 10th. For a couple of moments in the immensity of time, we were one,” with #EternalLove#BowieForever.

Bowie died of liver cancer on January 10, 2016, 18 months after being diagnosed with the disease. He never publicly disclosed his illness. 

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Ronnie Wood likely makes a lot of money as the guitarist for The Rolling Stones, but apparently that isn’t his only good source of income. 

The Mirror reports that new documents filed by his art company show Wood’s paintings brought in over $1.7 million in profit last year. The site notes it’s the first time his artwork has brought in over $1 million.

Wood has been painting since the ’60s, when he was a student at Ealing Art College, and picked it up again in the ’80s. In addition to art exhibits in London last year, he earned some of that money selling artistic reproductions of concert set lists from the Stones’ recent Sixty tour, as well as oil paintings and prints of his  bandmates. 

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Sir Rod Stewart celebrated his 78th birthday on Tuesday and shared a hilarious video proving just how happy he was to blow out another birthday candle.

The legendary singer took to Instagram to show the moment his family turned out the lights and began singing to him. Instead of a cake, Stewart is handed a white plate with “Happy Birthday” written in chocolate in fancy cursive. As for the candle, it’s wedged between a few strawberry slices.

The hitmaker, who’s singing along, makes a few exaggerated expressions before blowing out his candle, which causes his family to laugh hysterically. The video ends with him taking a moment to consider his wish before blowing out the candle.

“Lovely day,” he captioned the sweet video and included a red heart emoji.

Stewart also shared a few birthday tributes to his Instagram Story, with several coming from his children. Ruby Stewart, who is expecting her first child, sent her love to “Grandpapa Stew.” Sean Stewart, Rod’s child with model Alana Stewart, also sent his father some birthday love.

Some of his pals paid tributes by sharing throwback photos of the legendary hitmaker, such as Rolling Stones member Ronnie Wood, who shared a black-and-white photo of his old band Small Faces hanging out with Stewart in 1970.

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Def Leppard’s Rick Allen is taking a short break from rocking with the band to help share his art.

The drummer is set to appear at the Wentworth Galleries inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on February 11 to support his latest collection. The appearance will take place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ahead of Def Leppard’s second of two shows with Mötley Crüe at the Hard Rock’s Arena that night.

Rick’s latest collection includes his painted drum series, mixed media originals and his first works on metal. It also features his “Legends Series,” which includes portraits of such late artists as Charlie Watts, Eddie Van Halen, Kurt Cobain and Johnny Cash, as well as his “Wings of Hope” series.

“Painting has been a passion of mine for quite a while and I was inspired to branch out and try some new techniques,” Allen shares. “One that I particularly enjoyed was working with metal as a medium. I’m really proud of how these new works turned out and I can’t wait to share them at the upcoming Wentworth Gallery Show.” 

The event is free and open to the public, and a portion of the sales proceeds will go to Allen’s Project Resiliency, which helps war veterans.

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DeBarge frontman El DeBarge, best known for the 1985 hit single “Rhythm of the Night,” was arrested Sunday morning in California on drug and weapon possession charges.

According to TMZ, while the 61-year-old was stopped at a gas station, cops noticed he had expired tags. When they got near his vehicle they saw he had an expandable metal baton, which is considered an illegal weapon in California. A further search of the vehicle uncovered pepper spray and narcotics, which cops say they believe was heroin. 

DeBarge was arrested around 3:40 a.m. on charges of possession of a leaded cane or baton, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released on $25,000 bond and has a court date in March.

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