Classic Hits

As previously reported, Gov’t Mule was forced to postpone their New Year’s concerts due to a medical emergency in the band. It turns out it was Warren Haynes who suffered that emergency and now he’s giving fans an update on his health. 

In a post on Instagram, Haynes shared that he is “doing OK,” but that he had been hospitalized for the past week “due to some pretty serious complications from COVID and influenza.” He is home now.

“I’m very sorry Gov’t Mule couldn’t do our New Year’s Eve run,” he writes. “Trust me when I say we were actually really excited for these shows and the band was raring to go.” He also assured fans they would be rescheduled. 

But in some more bad news, Haynes let fans know that he will not be able to attend Gov’t Mule’s annual Island Exodus in Jamaica, which kicks off January 15, because doctors say he needs more time to recuperate.

The four-day festival will go on, however, and it’s added Anders Osborne, Jackie Greene, John Scofield, Robert Randolph, Audley Freed, Rob Barraco, Robert Kearns and Jeff Sipe to the lineup, which already includes special guests Jimmy Vivino and Ron Holloway, as well as Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience, Duane Betts, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country and Little Days.

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Elvis Presley would have turned 88 on Sunday and his birthday was celebrated at his Memphis estate, Graceland, with daughter Lisa Marie Presley on hand to welcome a huge crowd of fans.

“I can speak with some authority having been here every year for a lot of years,” Elvis Presley Enterprises CEO Jack Soden told the crowd. “This is unquestionably the largest crowd we’ve ever had. You all come from all over the world … and we love you for being here.”

The celebration included several Elvis-related events, including a birthday proclamation from the city of Memphis, an Aloha from Hawaii-themed cake to mark the concert’s 50th anniversary and an appearance by actor Alton Mason, who played Little Richard in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis film.

“Thank you. It’s been a while. I missed you,” Lisa Marie told the gathered crowd. “I keep saying you’re the only people that can bring me out of my house. I’m not kidding.”

She added, “Today, (Elvis) would’ve been 88 years old, it’s hard to believe. I think that he’d be proud. This year has been an incredible year,” referring to the renewed love of Elvis thanks to the film. She added, “It’s just so moving how every year you come from all over the world. It’s moving to me and my family … so thank you.” 

The celebration also marked the official opening of Graceland’s new The Making of Elvis exhibition featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the 2022 film.

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David Bowie’s classic album Aladdin Sane turns 50 this year, and the milestone will be marked with two special vinyl releases.

On April 14, just one week before the actual anniversary, a special limited-edition 50th anniversary half-speed mastered LP of Aladdin Sane is coming out, along with a picture disc LP, which will be pressed from the same master. The new release was cut by John Webber at AIR Studios from the restored masters of the original master tapes, with no additional processing.

Aladdin Sane, Bowie’s sixth studio album, was released April 30, 1973, just ten months after The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. It featured such songs as “The Jean Genie” and “Drive-In Saturday Night,” and marked Bowie’s debut on the U.S. album charts, landing in the Top 20. It is probably best known for its classic album cover, featuring a photo by Brian Duffy of Bowie donning his iconic red and blue lightning bolt makeup.

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Looks like Journey is no longer dealing with at least one court case. While Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain are still at odds, former frontman Steve Perry has decided to drop a lawsuit he filed over the band’s trademarks.

Perry filed his suit back in September, asking a court to stop Schon and Cain’s company, Freedom JN LLC, from using Journey song trademarks on merchandise, clothing and more. He argued the three of them agreed that any business decisions on the matter required unanimous consent from all of them and he hadn’t given his. He argued Cain and Schon committed “fraud on the trademark office” by applying to register the song names without informing the office of the true status of the ownership of the songs.

But based on a tweet by Schon, that legal battle is behind them. He shared the document showing Perry withdrew his lawsuit on Friday, and when asked if that’s indeed what happened he replied, “yes he did. Now we can talk as we were.” 

Schon had previously blamed Cain for Perry filing the lawsuit, and in his tweet the guitarist noted, “So much for [Cain] trying to throw me under the bus as he claimed I was blatantly trying to rip off [Perry] while collecting the checks for the very diligent work my wife and I did to protect our Merch.”

Meanwhile, Schon and Cain are getting to hit the road for the band’s Freedom tour kicking off February 4 in Allentown, PA. When asked by a fan how they can share a stage together with all their fighting, he responded, “We’ve written great music. Gregg Rolie will be there also. Channel the great music. Honor it.”

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James Taylor is dipping into his archives to share a very special performance with fans. The singer just shared what he says is a “rarely seen” performance of his classic “You’ve Got A Friend.”

According to a post on Instagram, the performance is from the German TV program Live, which originally aired on October 14, 1993. 

“You’ve Got A Friend” was written by Carole King and appeared on her 1971 classic Tapestry. It also won her a Grammy for Song of the Year. Taylor’s version appeared on his 1971 album, Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and won him a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

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Looks like music fans are getting yet another chance to see Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks in concert together.

The two Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have just added another date on their co-headlining tour, which is billed as “two icons – one night.” The latest is set to go down November 10 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tickets go on sale January 13 at 10 a.m. local time.

This is now the sixth concert Billy and Stevie have confirmed. The others are set for March 10 in Los Angeles, April 8 in Arlington, Texas, May 19 in Nashville, August 5 in Columbus, Ohio, and August 19 in Kansas City, Missouri.

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Céline Dion fans were outraged that Rolling Stone omitted the Canadian superstar from its new list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. But instead of just complaining about it on social media, some die-hard Céline-iacs have decided to take their outrage to the next level.

On Friday, a group of Montreal-based Céline fans known as The Red Heads organized a protest outside the New York City offices of Rolling Stone, and their actions were documented and shared online. Footage posted on The Red Heads’ Facebook page show the fans waving signs with messages like “The Power of Celine,” “How Can You Forget Celine?” “Celine is #1” and “We Want a Recount.” 

According to Variety, the fans, who’d driven the six hours from Montreal for the protest, chanted, “Justice for Celine” while blasting her hit “That’s the Way It Is” on a portable speaker. Another sign, referring to Celine’s hit song for the movie Titanic, read, “Rolling Stone you’ve hit an iceberg.”

Red Heads president Line Basbous, who helped organize the protest, told Variety, “The list is completely illegitimate. We wanted to support her and make sure that Rolling Stone hears the voice of the fans. The list is ridiculous.”

Rolling Stone‘s response was to cover the protest on its online front page and suggest that the entire thing “was an organized stunt.”

What’s certain is that the protesters are self-aware. On January 3, Basbous told The Journal de Quebec that she was “very amused” by the response to the list. She added, “We love it when Céline is talked about … we are very proud of the reactions, the popular uprising and the backlash.”

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As previously reported, Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson are set to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy, and now they’re sharing their feelings about the honor. 

“I can hardly fathom the Lifetime Achievement Award is coming to me and my sister Ann. It’s a deep acknowledgment for the nearly 50 years of our lives we put into this music. It is more than meaningful for both of us,” Nancy shares on social media. “It speaks to the relevance of the songs themselves and what those songs continue to mean to our loyal and our new fans.”

She adds, “And I hope it speaks to the new breed of amazing women who are now emerging in the world of rock – keeping it alive and kicking. And I plan to keep on kicking too.” 

Ann also posted a reaction to the announcement, sharing, “It’s such an honor to be recognized in this way after all the years, all the miles and all the songs! Thank you!” 

Nile Rodgers, who is also set to be honored with a Lifetime Achievement honor, reacted to the news on social media, simply sharing “#nowords #purelove #gratitude.”

This year’s Lifetime Achievement honorees, who also include Nirvana, Bobby McFerrin, The Supremes, Ma Rainey and Slick Rick “The Ruler,” will be celebrated at the Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards Ceremony, taking place February 4 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles.

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As previously reported, Ian Gillan’s wife, Bron, passed away in November at the age of 67, and now the Deep Purple rocker has shared a tribute to her on his personal website.

“My darling wife, Bron, died of heart failure on Saturday 19 November, 2022, in Exeter Hospital,” he writes. “It’s taken some weeks until I could find the words to dignify her publicly. Publicly, because our life together, (forty. wonderful, happy years), was mainly private.” 

He adds, “But, I don’t think she’d mind if I said out loud that ‘I love you my sweet B, we are forever entwined. The wrench of bereavement is softened by your continued presence. Thank you for your love and guidance. See you later.’” 

Gillan also shares that Bron was “was funny, beautiful, intelligent and strongly supportive to me and our daughter Grace, in our work,” adding, she “made a wonderful happy place for me and Grace, to come home to.”

As for the upcoming year, Gillan offers, “I’m getting my head together for the year of work ahead, for which I’m grateful (it helps) and excited. We are getting around a bit in this coming year, so I hope to see as many as possible of your smiling faces on the road, or in a bar somewhere.”

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Netflix’s latest Knives Out film, Glass Onion, is sparking some renewed interest in The Beatles classic of the same name. Billboard reports that the White Album track, which plays over the credits of the hit flick Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, has seen a streaming bump since the film debuted on the streamer December 23. 

During the week of December 23 to 29, The Beatles’ “Glass Onion” was streamed 160,000 times, up from 60,000 the previous week, an increase of 167%. 

And that’s not the only song to get some help from the movie. David Bowie’s “Star,” which plays during a Kate Hudson dance sequence, saw a 60% increase, while the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody,” which is also in the flick, saw a 37% streaming increase.

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