Classic Hits

Songwriter Shirley Eikhard, best known for writing Bonnie Raitt’s Grammy-nominated tune “Something To Talk About,” has died at the age of 67, Consequence reports. No cause of death has been revealed.

The Raitt hit, which appeared on her 1991 Grammy-winning album, Luck of the Draw, peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammys in 1992, while Raitt won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her recording of the track. In 2020 the song was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Eikhard, who was Canadian, also wrote songs that were recorded by artists like Cher, The Pointer Sisters, Anne Murray and Emmylou Harris. She recorded 17 of her own albums, and won two Juno Awards for Best Country Female in 1972 and 1973. She was also named Songwriter of the Year at the Juno Awards in 1992.

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Andy Summers is revisiting a Police classic. Summers just announced he’s dropping a new version of “Bring on the Night” on Friday, which he recorded with Italian guitar quartet 40 Fingers.

And it seems Andy may have been hinting at the collaboration earlier this year. He previously posted a video of him and 40 Fingers at his Harmonics of the Night photo exhibition in Hamburg, Germany, back in October. In his announcement, he says the recording was filmed there.

“Bring on the Night,” which was written by the Police frontman Sting, was featured on the band’s sophomore album, 1979’s Reggatta de Blanc. It was also the title track to Sting’s 1986 live album, as well as the 1985 Michael Apted-directed documentary on Sting’s solo career.

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We are getting our first real look at the upcoming movie about music producer Neil Bogart and Casablanca Records. The film, Spinning Gold, hits theaters March 31 and tells the story of the producer credited with launching the careers of such artists as Donna Summer, Gladys Knight, Parliament Funkadelic, The Village People and even KISS.

The movie stars Tony winner Jeremy Jordan as Bogart, with a cast that also includes Michelle Monaghan, Dan Fogler, Jay Pharoah, Chris Redd, Michael Ian Black and Sebastian Maniscalco.

In addition, X Ambassadors vocalist Sam Harris plays KISS’ Paul Stanley, with Casey Likes as Gene Simmons and All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth as Peter Criss. Other artists portrayed in the film include George Clinton, played by Wiz Khalifa; Ron Isley, played by Jason Derulo; Gladys Knight, played by Ledisi; Bill Withers, played by Pink Sweat$; and Donna Summer, played by Tayla Parx.

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Looks like a lot of David Bowie fans went to the movies this year. BMG reports that BoxOfficeMojo figures show the Bowie doc Moonage Daydream is 2022’s highest-grossing documentary, grossing more than $12.2 million.

Just how big is that? Well, to put it in perspective, the doc at #2, 2000 Mules, brought in just $1.4 mil — and it came out in May, while the Bowie doc was released in September. 

Moonage Daydream, directed by documentary filmmaker Brett Morgen, focused on Bowie’s catalog from 1970 to 1977. It was described as “a sublime kaleidoscopic experiential cinematic odyssey that explores Bowie’s creative, spiritual, and philosophical journey.”

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Siouxsie and the Banshees frontwoman Siouxsie Sioux hasn’t performed live since 2013, but that’ll change next year.

The “Kiss Them For Me” artist is confirmed to perform at the United Kingdom’s 2023 Latitude Festival, taking place July 20-23.

The bill also includes Pulp, George Ezra, Paolo Nutini and The Kooks. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit LatitudeFestival.com.

When Sioux takes the stage at Latitude next year, she might see some younger fans in the audience. The music of Siouxsie and the Banshees has been reaching Generation Z this year with a placement on the Stranger Things season 4 soundtrack, while Sioux helped influence the viral Wednesday dance scene.

Meanwhile, a new Banshees compilation titled All Souls dropped in October.

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As previously reported, The Rolling Stones are dropping the new live album and DVD GRRR Live! on February 10, and to celebrate they’ve announced a new interactive virtual concert event with Kiswe.

The online screening will take place February 2 at 8 p.m. Thanks to the Kiswe Live platform, viewers from across the globe can be part of the excitement. They can share short video selfies, and they’ll be able to see themselves on screen and be seen by others as the performance airs. 

GRRR Live!, recorded December 15, 2012, at Newark’s Prudential Center during the band’s 50 & Counting tour, was the final of four shows in the New York area and was a pay-per-view event. It featured guest appearances by such big names as Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Gary Clark Jr., Mick Taylor and The Black Keys.

Tickets for the interactive experience go on sale Thursday at 3 p.m. ET at RollingStonesNewark.com.

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AXS TV is helping music fans ring in the new year with a lineup of iconic concerts to keep folks entertained.

The party kicks off at 3:30 p.m. with Def Leppard: Hits Vegas, a concert from Sin City featuring classic tunes and rare cuts like “Too Late For Love” and “Two Steps Behind,” followed by Kid Rock: Live From The Artists Den at 7 p.m. 

As we get closer to midnight, fans get another Sin City concert, KISS Rocks Vegas, which was filmed during their residency at the Hard Rock Hotel, airing at 8 p.m. That’s followed by Mötley Crüe: The End – Live In Los Angeles, which has them returning home for a concert that features such hits as “Girls Girls Girls” and “Shout at the Devil.”

Finally, as the clock strikes midnight, fans can chill out with Stevie Nicks – 24 Karat Gold, in which she performs such classics as “Landslide” and “Gypsy.”

And then, on New Year’s Day, fans can look back on some of the important moments in music history with a day of A Year in Music programming, looking back on 1963, 1973, 1983, 1993 and 2003.

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A new cover of Jim Croce’s classic tune “Walkin’ Back to Georgia” has just been released to help raise money for Georgia Music Foundation. Butch Walker, Elizabeth Cook and Katie Pruitt team up for the new take on the song, which appeared on his 1972 album, You Don’t Mess Around with Jim. They performed it live earlier this year at a benefit in Nashville.

“My parents used to listen to Jim Croce all the time in the house and I realized how they would always play ‘Walkin’ Back to Georgia’ on summer days when we were living in Cartersville,” Georgia native Walker tells Rolling Stone. “It brought a rush of memories back, and when we were getting ready to soundcheck I hit up Katie and Elizabeth and asked if they knew the song.”

He adds, “We thought it went over really well, so we all agreed that recording a version of it for the cause was the right thing to do.” 

Like the benefit show, proceeds from the song will go to Georgia Music Foundation, a nonprofit that supports music education programs in the state.

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New Order‘s Bernard Sumner and The Patti Smith Band will perform during the 2023 Tibet House US Benefit Concert, taking place March 1 at New York City’s Carnegie Hall.

The annual event, which will return to an in-person celebration in 2023 after the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to go virtual the past two years, raises money for Tibet House US, a nonprofit organization founded in 1987 that works to preserve Tibetan culture.

Other artists on the lineup include Laurie Anderson, Gogol Bordello, Allison Russell and artistic director Philip Glass.

For more info, visit the Tibet House US website, THUS.org.

A previous version of this story published on 12/13/2022 erroneously stated Patti Smith was confirmed to perform instead of The Patti Smith Band. The text above has been updated to correct the error.

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The new Abbey Road documentary If These Walls Could Sing was incredibly important to its director, Mary McCartney, daughter of Paul McCartney. Paul recorded many of the Beatles’ albums at the studio, including Abbey Road, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

“Some of my earliest memories as a young child come from time spent at Abbey Road,” she tells Far Out. “I’ve long wanted to tell the story of this historic place.” 

Mary says when she started the process she didn’t know the studio was over 90 years old, so she spent time researching its history and the artists who had recorded there. She wanted to show the studio was more than just where the Beatles made records, although she wasn’t able to cover all the artists who recorded there.

“I picked the famous names, like the Beatles and Pink Floyd when they did Dark Side of the Moon,” she says. “I was also really happy to explore the lesser-known artists … and peppered it with stories that I think will surprise and entertain the viewer.”

The doc features appearances by Paul, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Liam Gallagher and more. Mary ends the film with a performance by Celeste, noting it was important to her to show that to this day “Abbey Road is a really active studio.”

If These Walls Could Sing debuts Friday, December 16, on Disney+.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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