Classic Hits

Roger Waters and David Gilmour are currently feuding, but Waters took to social media to declare that he has nothing but admiration for his former bandmate’s ability to play guitar.

Waters took issue with a piece that journalist Stuart Maconie wrote for the British publication New Statesman. In it, he referred to an article in the Spanish paper El Pais that quoted Waters as saying he was planning to remove Gilmour’s “horrible guitar solos” from his new version of The Dark Side of the Moon.

In a Twitter posting, Waters said he had to “set the record straight” about something in Maconie’s story. Referring to the “horrible guitar solos” quote, Waters wrote, “I don’t know who he thinks he’s quoting when he says Gilmour’s ‘horrible guitar solos’ but it sure as s**t ain’t me.”

He continued, “I was there, I love Dave’s guitar solos on DSOTM, both of them, and on [Wish You Were Here] and on ANIMALS and on THE WALL and on THE FINAL CUT…Dave’s solos on those albums constitute a collection of some of the very best guitar solos in the history of Rock and Roll.”

He then addressed Maconie, writing, “Please check your copy with the subjects of your grubby little piece, before you go to print.” The current version of Maconie’s article now notes that the El Pais quote has been removed.

Of course, there still hasn’t been any resolution between Waters and Gilmour regarding their most recent war of words. Earlier this month, Gilmour’s partner, Polly Samson, tweeted a slew of insults at Waters, to which Gilmour added, “Every word demonstrably true.”

Waters threatened legal action and, then speaking to The Telegraph , claimed Gilmour and late Pink Floyd member Rick Wright “can’t write songs…They have no ideas, not a single one between them.”

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Kansas is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year with a new tour kicking off June 2 in Pittsburgh. While you’d think that would mean their audience would be a mostly older crowd, that’s really not the case. It turns out, thanks to the CW show Supernatural using their classic “Carry On My Wayward Son” as their unofficial theme song, the band has been attracting a much younger audience.

“I’m not sure exactly when it was, eight years ago or so, just looking out and going, ‘What are all these 13-, 14-, 15-year-old kids doing in the front row?’” guitarist and founding member Richard Williams tells ABC Audio. “And we didn’t really understand it and we said, ‘Curious, why are you here?’ And they said, ‘Supernatural.’”

He adds, “That television show brought probably the biggest thing that’s happened to our career in the last quarter century. Those 15-year-old kids in the front row then are 30 and they’re bringing their kids to Kansas shows.” 

The song was such an integral part of the series that Williams says Kansas was actually supposed to appear in the program’s 2020 series finale, but COVID got in the way.

“The final show was written for us and then we were flying to Vancouver to film it and we were told, ‘Don’t get on the plane because Canada has closed its borders because of COVID,’” he shares. “And so that last episode never got to be filmed. They had to rewrite the ending, and that was a bummer. It was such an exciting thing to be a part of.” 

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On This Day, February 20, 1982 …

Pat Benatar married her guitarist and songwriting partner, Neil Giraldo, which went on to become a rock ‘n’ roll marriage that has lasted over 40 years.

The couple met in 1978 shortly after Benatar signed her first record deal, and they went on to create hit songs together like “Heartbreaker” and the top five hits “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “Love Is A Battlefield” and “We Belong.”

The couple are parents to two daughters, Haley and Hana Giraldo, and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

They continue to perform together and will kick off a new North American tour in April. They are also set to open select dates on Pink‘s Summer Carnival tour.

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The Rolling Stones are giving fans a little insight into their early recording process with a documentary about their mobile studio, which they call “the most important music studio on wheels.”

“Did you know that The Rolling Stones owned the world’s first independent recording studio on wheels?” reads a description of the almost 10-minute clip. “The Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, built into the back of a truck, not only produced some of the band’s biggest albums but was also used to record some of the most iconic albums of the 1970s,” including albums by Fleetwood Mac, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. 

The video explains that the recording studio was born out of the band’s desire to not take up studio time rehearsing and instead do that at Mick Jagger’s Stargroves estate in the English countryside. Realizing that would mean transporting all their equipment, their road manager and pianist Ian Stewart suggested building the recording equipment into a truck, allowing them to bring the studio to them anytime they wanted to record.

This iconic mobile recording studio now resides in the National Music Center in Calgary, Canada.

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While the members of Queen have been touring with Adam Lambert since 2011, they have yet to put out any original music together, and guitarist Brian May says there’s a good reason for it.

In case you missed it, in an interview with Total Guitar May says they believe that Queen’s fanbase simply won’t accept anyone but Freddie Mercury on a recording.

“I think if people see Queen on a record label, they still want it to be Freddie singing,” he shares. “It could be Jesus Christ on it, but they’d still want Freddie, and I don’t blame people for that.” 

He adds, “There are people who feel like we shouldn’t even be going on stage without Freddie. But I think that would have been very sad, and it’s not what Freddie would have wanted either. He would have wanted us to continue developing. And of course, because we are continuing and developing, it keeps that legacy alive.”

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Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band brought their tour to Austin, Texas, Thursday night, which kicked off with a very special introduction. Rolling Stone reports that when The Boss walked out onstage at the Moody Center he was accompanied by none other than country legend George Strait.

“Austin, Texas!” Strait said. “It’s my honor tonight to introduce to you a band that really needs no introduction, right? Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band!” 

Bruce responded, “Thank you, George. Good evening, Austin!” 

As for the show, Bruce played a 27-song set, opening with “No Surrender,” as he has most nights of the tour. The set included tracks like “Cadillac Ranch,” “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” “Out in the Streets” and “Thunder Road.” 

The show was down one E Street Band member, however, with saxophone player Jake Clemons, nephew of original E Streeter Clarence Clemons, out with COVID.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s next stop is Kansas City, Missouri, Saturday night.

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The full lineup for England’s Glastonbury Festival has yet to be announced, but it looks like Blondie will be on it, at least according to their drummer, Clem Burke. 

During an appearance on Foxy Radio, Burke was talking about Blondie’s July show with Iggy Pop at Crystal Palace Park in London when he let it slip that the band’s booked for the famed festival.

“We’re also doing Isle of Wight and we’re doing some other festivals,” Burke said. “I guess it hasn’t really been announced, the full list of artists to be playing Glastonbury, but we are going to be playing Glastonbury, so maybe you got an exclusive there.”

Glastonbury Festival is happening June 21 to 25. So far the only artist officially confirmed for the festival is Elton John, who is headlining June 25.

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A huge auction of guitars once owned by original Fleetwood Mac member Peter Green is set to take place this summer. Guitarist reports The Peter Green Collection auction will happen through the auction house Bonhams from June 16 to 28, featuring over 150 electric and acoustic guitars once owned by the late Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.

“We hope that Peter’s guitars and other items included in the auction will be of great interest to his fans and find good homes,” says a rep from Green’s estate. The auction will also include “several important handwritten lyrics and some of his psychedelic sketches,” including a rare set of lyrics for Fleetwood Mac’s “Man of the World,” which Green wrote.

A full list of the guitars up for auction has yet to be announced, but some that have been confirmed include a 1999 Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster in sea foam green and a 1968 Gretsch White Falcon 6137. Some of the items are set to go on exhibit at the annual Guitar Show in Birmingham, England, happening February 25 to 28.

“Peter Green was one of the greatest guitarists,” said Bonhams’ director of popular culture department, Katherine Schofield. “Even when out of the limelight, the tributes paid to his playing throughout his lifetime continued to highlight his reputation and the esteem his fellow artists held him in. This sale is a celebration of his love for the guitar.”

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A compilation album of duets featuring the late Olivia Newton-John singing with artists like Mariah Carey, Michael McDonald, John Travolta, Jon Secada and Barry Gibb will be released later this year.

The 17-track album, Just the Two of Us: The Duets Collection, is due May 5 and includes some duets that have never been released on CD or vinyl. The first release from the album features Olivia singing with Dolly Parton on a version of Dolly’s classic “Jolene,” recorded shortly before her death.

In the video for the song, Dolly says Olivia is one of her “favorites of all time” and that they stayed close after first meeting in 1974. Olivia, meanwhile, says that she’s always wanted to sing with Dolly.

“I cannot wait to hear that album and Olivia may you rest in peace. You left a spot that one else will ever fill,” Dolly says in a statement.

While a track listing for the album hasn’t been released yet, ABC Audio can confirm that the duet with Mariah Carey is a version of “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” taken from a TV special Mariah did in 1998 in Olivia’s hometown of Melbourne, Australia. 

Olivia’s daughter, singer Chloe Lattanzi, is also featured on the album. Chloe appeared on NBC’s Today show Friday and revealed her mom’s last words to her. “Right before she lost her ability to speak, she was making jokes,” Chloe shared. “The last words she could say to me was, ‘My sunshine.'”

Chloe noted that the outpouring of support she’s received from Olivia’s fans “has been a life raft” and “has felt like a big hug from the universe.”

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Crazy Horse is making music on their own. The group, known for being Neil Young’s backing band, is set to release their own album next month.

All Roads Lead Home, from Crazy Horse members Ralph Molina, Billy Talbot and Nils Lofgren, was recorded during the pandemic, which meant the band couldn’t be together. Instead each member recorded three original songs with other musicians in a variety of locations. The first single released from the record is the Lofgren track “You Will Never Know.”

The album also includes one contribution from Young, a live solo version of the tune “Song of the Seasons,” which originally appeared on the album Barn with Crazy Horse. 

All Roads Lead Home will be released March 31 on vinyl and CD, and will be available on hi-res audio at Neil Young Archives. It is available for preorder now.

Here is the track list for All Roads Lead Home:

“Rain” (Billy Talbot)
“You Will Never Know” (Nils Lofgren)
“It’s Magical” (Ralph Molina)
“Song Of the Seasons” (Neil Young)
“Cherish” (Billy Talbot)
“Fill My Cup” (Nils Lofgren)
“Look Through The Eyes Of Your Heart” (Ralph Molina)
“The Hunter” (Billy Talbot)
“Go With Me” (Nils Lofgren)

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