Classic Hits

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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Lots of folks seemed to be obsessed with vinyl these days, and that includes plenty of musicians who are about to share their love in a new AXS TV series launching next month. 

Vinyl Obsession, the latest addition to the network’s Sunday Night Rocks lineup, follows musicians to Grimey’s Record Shop in Nashville. They’ll talk about their career and influences, and pick out five vinyl albums that have had the most impact on them. 

The eight-episode series kicks off April 2 at 8:30 p.m. ET, with STYX’s Tommy Shaw and Headbanger’s Ball host Riki Rachtman. Future episodes feature John Oates, ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons, Joe Bonamassa, Billy Sheehan, The Go-Go’s bassist Kathy Valentine and others.

Also premiering April 2 at 8 p.m. ET is the sixth season of The Top Ten Revealed, with the latest season featuring such rock stars as Alice Cooper, Sebastian Bach, Dee Snider, Lita Ford and John Oates.

And at 9 p.m. ET Sunday Night Rocks will air a variety of classic concerts, kicking off with Nirvana: Live at the Paramount, followed by Journey: Live In Houston 1981 – The Escape Tour, Queen: Live At Wembley and AC/DC: Live At The River Plate Buenos Aires.

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Pink Floyd continues to celebrate this year’s 50th anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon, and has just shared a new video looking back at the groundbreaking tour in support of the album.

The clip looks at the first-ever use of their large circular screen at the back of the stage, and their surround sound system. It features commentary from Roger Waters, as well as Aubrey Powell of album cover design company Hipgnosis, and Ian Emes, who did the animation for the “Time” sequence for the Dark Side tour. 

There’s also an interview with Jill Furmanovsky, who shot the majority of the photos on the tour. Those photos are included in the new book Pink Floyd — The Dark Side of the Moon: 50th Anniversary, which is included in the 50th anniversary box set, available now.

“Floyd were unique at the time, they were breaking all these boundaries technically. It was a totally immersive experience,” she shares. “It was a really good time for the band. Everyone was in their prime. They seemed to be enjoying all of it.”

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As previously reported, Duran Duran’s John Taylor recently revealed at the Unforgettable Evening fundraiser for cancer research that original guitarist Andy Taylor is going to be on their next album, and now the band is sharing a few more details about the project.

In a post on Instagram, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers confirm that “a special new music project is in the works, set for release later this year.” They add, “The new recordings will feature extended Duran Duran family and friends, old and new, including our former band mate Andy Taylor, who will join us on guitar on a few tracks.”

In the meantime, Duran Duran is set to hit the road in April with dates in the U.K. and Ireland. They return to the United States on May 27 with an appearance at the BottleRock Festival in Napa Valley, California. A complete list of dates can be found at duranduran.com.

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Madonna revealed the five rules her family must follow when they’re home.

Taking to her Instagram Story on Sunday, the hitmaker shared a picture of her holding up a chalkboard-style sign that has the words “House Rules” written on top.

The #1 rule of Madonna’s house is to “Smile,” while the second-most important rule is to “Be Happy.” Going down the list, it becomes apparent the singer values communication because the next rule is “Listen to others.”

Rounding out the list are “Speak Kindness” and “Be Happy with what you have,” respectively.

Madonna is the mother of six children: 26-year-old Lourdes, 22-year-old Rocco, 17-year-old David Banda, 15-year-old Mercy, and 10-year-old twins Estere and Stella.

As previously reported, the singer revealed what brings her joy when talking to Vanity Fair. In her January interview, she said “the time I spend with my children” makes her happy, such as “seeing them happy, watching their development, discovering their passions.”

Madonna also described motherhood as “the most difficult, the hardest battle.” Despite that, she added, “Whoever you are, having children and raising them is a work of art.”

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The next Duran Duran album will see the return of guitarist Andy Taylor. According to Guitar.com, while speaking at the Unforgettable Evening fundraiser for cancer research in Los Angeles, Duran Duran bassist John Taylor revealed that Andy is recording music for the band’s next release.

Discussing Andy’s revelation last year that he’s battling prostate cancer, John said, “When he dropped the bomb two days before the (Rock & Roll) Hall of Fame, it was really shocking and terribly sad. We’re working on an album right now that is going to be coming out at the end of the year and he’s playing guitar.”

John says the record is expected to contain “a lot of cover songs,” noting they are “songs meaningful to us when we were kids. So having him be a part of that project is great.” 

While the album is being recorded in Los Angeles and London, John says frontman Simon LeBon is heading to Ibiza to record with Andy. 

“I kind of wish I was there,” he said. “I think it’ll be great. It’ll be really profound for them. They haven’t been in the studio together in maybe 10 to 20 years.”

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KISS’ Gene Simmons recently announced a chance for U.K. fans to record a song with him at Abbey Road Studios — for a price, of course. Well, now he’s offering U.S. fans a similar experience.

To coincide with KISS’ final shows ever at New York’s Madison Square Garden on December 1 and 2, Simmons is giving lucky fans a chance to join him at Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios December 4, 5 and 6.

For a little less than $6,000, a fan and a guest will get to spend the day in the studio with Simmons and record a song with him, which they’ll be able to take home. They’ll also get to hear Gene share stories about his career, snag some items from his personal KISS collection and take a photo with him. Plus Simmons will sign two of the purchaser’s personal items. 

Simmons notes that no musical experience is necessary to take part in this special package, but “if you play an instrument, we may use that in the recording.”

More info can be found at genesimmonselectricladystudios.com.

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Parliament-Funkadelic original member Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins passed away Friday at the age of 81. No cause of death was revealed. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s death was revealed in a social media post by P-Funk’s George Clinton, who shared, “We are saddened to announce the passing of an original Parliament Funkadelic member Clarence Eugene “Fuzzy” Haskins (born June 8, 1941-March 17th, 2023).”

Clinton later shared an obituary on his website, noting that Haskins “wrote and co-wrote some of Funkadelic’s earliest classics, including ‘I Got A Thing’ (featuring his vocals) and ‘I Wanna Know If It’s Good To You.’”

Bootsy Collins later shared his own tribute, writing, “Prayer’s (sic) going out to Clarence ‘Fuzzys’ Haskins family & friends. We lost his frequency today 3-17- 23. He was an original Parliament/Funkadelic inducted in the RHOF. We will miss u my friend, bandmate & Soul brother! Thx u for ur guidance in my pup year’s (sic).”

Haskins started his career with Clinton in the ’50s/’60s group The Parliaments, which then led to the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic in the ’70s, which became known as Parliament-Funkadelic or P-Funk. He left the band in 1977 for a solo career, releasing the album A Whole Nother Thang in 1976 and Radio Active in 1978.

He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic in 1997.

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