Classic Hits

Earlier this year, 16-time Grammy winner Paul Simon was honored with a special Grammy tribute concert in Los Angeles, and now the public is finally going see what went down. Homeward Bound: A GRAMMY Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon is set to air Wednesday, December 21, at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.

The two-hour concert, filmed back in April at the Hollywood Pantages Theater, has a whole host of artists performing Simon’s tunes, including Sting, Dave Matthews, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, Stevie Wonder, The Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs, Jonas Brothers, Brad Paisley, Eric Church and Billy Porter. Simon also performed at the tribute and was introduced to the crowd by Oprah Winfrey.

In addition to Oprah, the two-hour concert features special appearances by Elton John, Sofia Carson, Herbie Hancock, Woody Harrelson and Dustin Hoffman.

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) David Bowie’s wife, supermodel Iman, graces the cover of January’s British Vogue and while the rocker died of cancer in 2016, Iman cautions anyone from referring to him as her late husband.

“He is not my ‘late husband.’ He is my husband,” she tells the mag. “I don’t mind at all being referred to as ‘David Bowie’s wife.’” But, Iman says she and the rocker made it a point to remind people she was more than just married to him. “He never introduced me by saying, ‘Meet my wife.’ He’d always say, ‘Meet Iman, my wife,'” she says. “So we both already had our own identity. We were separate but together.” 

Iman shares that it was hard to grieve the loss of her husband because of all the media attention surrounding Bowie’s death. She noted she and her daughter were very private and it all got to be “too much,” so they eventually had to leave their New York home “because the public were always at the front door.”

She says that while she understood all the attention his death received, “there was a point where it was like: ‘OK, go home now.’” Iman explains, “You had people who would take your picture, sell it and then come to you and say, ‘I feel your pain,’” adding, “And, I’m like, ‘No, b****, you don’t feel my pain, get away from me.’”

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Well, there’s no doubt Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour is one of the hottest shows out there, and it’s earned Elton yet another honor.

StubHub is out with its 2022 Year In Live Experiences report and, thanks to the tour, which wrapped in the U.S. in November, Elton earns the honor of Top Global Touring Artist of the Year. He beats out Harry Styles for the top spot, with a third British act, Coldplay, landing at three. The rankings are based on cumulative ticket sales on StubHub North America and Viagogo international marketplaces over the past year.

Bad Bunny lands in the number four spot, with veteran rockers Mötley Crüe rounding out the top 5, thanks to their big stadium tour with Def Leppard.

StubHub’s Top Global Touring Artists of 2022

1. Elton John
2. Harry Styles
3. Coldplay
4. Bad Bunny
5. Mötley Crüe
6. Morgan Wallen
7. Billie Eilish
8. Garth Brooks
9. Adele
10. Justin Bieber

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In 2017, Sheryl Crow released a song called “The Dreaming Kind” to benefit Sandy Hook Promise, a charity that was established after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Sheryl has just released another song benefiting the charity to mark the 10th anniversary of the shooting.

Sheryl recorded the track, a live version of “I Shall Believe,” from her debut album, at a benefit in Nashville last month with the Promise Band, led by Mark Barden, the co-CEO of Sandy Hook Promise. The charity educates and empowers youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes and communities.

The Nashville performance will be part of a 2023 documentary called A Father’s Promise, which is about how Barden co-founded Sandy Hook Promise after losing his son Daniel in the shooting and how he rediscovered his passion for music.

Sheryl has also teamed up with the social giving app Cauze, which has offered to match the first $50,000 in donations to Sandy Hook Promise. You can donate online now.

On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Twenty were students between the ages of 6 and 7; six were adult staff members. It was the deadliest mass shooting at an elementary school in U.S. history.

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The Beach Boys recently released the new six-CD box set Sail on Sailor -1972, which focuses on their early ’70s releases, Carl and the Passions and Holland. At the time, the band was moving away from their customary sound and image to blend in more with the music of the day. They were so committed to the new direction they actually contemplated a name change.

“At that time, we felt we needed to get away from the California culture and just start over,” Al Jardine tells Variety. “We were in the process of even changing our name. I had an idea to call ourselves ‘the Beach,’ you know? Take the ‘Boys’ out, because we were branded with that.”

He adds that the band was in the midst of an “identity crisis” and were questioning, “Who are they? What is this all about? This is another direction.” 

They of course opted against the name change.

Sail on Sailor – 1972, which can be ordered here, contains newly remastered versions of both albums, along with 80 previously unreleased recordings, including unreleased outtakes, alternate versions and mixes and isolated backing tracks.

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The annual M3 Rock Festival is out with the lineup for their 14th edition, and they’ve landed some heavy hitters. 

The festival, set for May 6th and 7th at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD, opens with Styx, Extreme, Winger, Slaughter, Lita Ford and Quiet Riot on Saturday, with Warrant, Great White, Loudness, former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler, FireHouse, Riley’s L.A. Guns, Vixen, White Lion’s Mike Tramp, and Maryland’s own KIX wrapping the weekend on Sunday.

Two-day tickets and VIP packages go on sale Friday at 12 p.m. ET via Ticketmaster and at the 9:30 Club, The Anthem and Lincoln Theatre box office. The Merriweather Post Pavilion box office will begin selling tickets Monday at 10 a.m. Single-day tickets will go on sale at a later date.

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Cyndi Lauper made a trip to Washington, D.C., Tuesday to thank President Joe Biden for his support of the Respect for Marriage Act.

ABC News reports that ahead of the signing ceremony, Lauper surprised the press in the White House briefing room, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre introducing her by joking, “I know we have some serious business ahead of us today, but, you know, sometimes girls just want to have fun,” referring to one of Cyndi’s biggest hits. 

“I came here because I wanted to say thank you to President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, Vice President Harris and all the advocates and his team for all families — mine and a lot of my friends and people you know,” Lauper told reporters. “We can rest easy tonight because our families are validated, and because now we’re allowed to love who we love.”

Lauper also performed at the signing ceremony, treating those gathered to her classic song “True Colors,” introducing it by saying, “Well this time love wins.” Sam Smith was also on hand to perform their hit track “Stay With Me.”

Biden signed the bill into law Tuesday afternoon. It repeals the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibited federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

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Night Ranger and Ace Frehley are set to headline this summer’s Gettysburg Bike Week motorcycle rally, scheduled for July 6 to 9 at the Allstar Events Complex in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Former KISS guitarist Frehley is set to headline the Gettysburg Bike Week Main Stage on Friday night, with Night Ranger headlining Saturday and more live acts to be announced at a later date.

“We just keep rolling,” GBW event coordinator Kelly Shue shares. “We’re always trying to top the year before, and we’re giving it a run with this year’s Friday and Saturday headliners, Ace Frehley and Night Ranger!” 

In addition to the performances, the Bike Show, now in its 23rd year, features rides around the historic Gettysburg battlegrounds, along with a huge vendor village and swap meet, fun bike games, a cornhole tournament, memorial rides, the Moto Motion Stunt Show and more. Tickets can be purchased here.

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The Alan Parsons Project is set to release a new box set of their fifth studio album, The Turn of a Friendly Card. 

The limited edition set, dropping February 24, will feature three CDs and one Blue-ray, with the album remastered and remixed by Alan from the original master tapes. It will also include 42 bonus tracks, culled from Eric Woolfson’s songwriting diaries, and studio session outtakes, as well as four promotional videos.

Plus it includes an illustrated book with new essays and photos, recollections from Alan and Sally Woolfson, and a reproduction poster. Fans can preorder it here.

The Turn of a Friendly Card was originally released in 1980 and spawned two hits, “Games People Play” and “Time.” A deluxe anniversary edition of the album was previously released in 2015.

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As previously reported, Cher’s mother, Georgia Holt, passed away Saturday at age 96. Cher initially didn’t share too much about it, only tweeting “Mom is gone,” but she’s now opening up a bit about her mom’s final days.

After tweeting that she “can’t sleep very well,” Cher explained, “The truth…. She’s been Sick, & rallying, she then got bad, she was in so much pain,” adding, “Finally she coded on way to Hosp. By time we Got to Hosp….The Woman who Who Was MY KICK A** MOM was No long Here.”

Cher also noted how grateful she was for the outpouring of affection her mother has received since her death.  “Mom Would Be So Trilled That Ppl From All Over 🌎 Are Talking About Her With ❤️ & Admiration,” she tweeted. “Truth Is…I TOOK MOMS VOICE & HER DREAM & MADE THEM REAL. She Couldn’t Manifest Them, So I Did It 4 Her, & Made Her Happy,” noting, “My SISTER GEE WAS THE BRILLIANT ONE.I WAS UGLY 🦆THAT TURNED 2 🦢.” 

And if people don’t believe Cher’s comment about taking her mom’s voice, she suggested, “Look for Cher & mom sing ‘I’m just your yesterday.’ You’ll see where I stole my voice,” referring to her mom’s 1982 song.

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