Classic Hits

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd is releasing a new Blu-ray disc and CD of the classic concert The Dark Side of the Moon — Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974 — and now they are giving fans a taste of it.

The band just released the album’s live recording of “Breathe (In The Air),” which is the second song on the classic album.

The March 24 release of the album will mark the first time it’s been issued on its own; it will be released on CD and, for the first time, on vinyl. Also on March 24, Pink Floyd will release The Dark Side of the Moon deluxe box set, which also includes the Wembley concert. 

And also in conjunction with the anniversary, Abbey Road Studios, where the album was recorded back when it was EMI Studios, just announced an exclusive 1973 Collection of The Dark Side of the Moon merch, including short and long-sleeve shirts, a hoodie, bucket hat, tote bag and replicated session sheet. The items can be purchased at shop.abbeyroad.com.

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Stephen Stills is revisiting his first solo tour for a new album. Stephen Stills Live at Berkeley 1971 is set to drop April 28, featuring archived songs hand-picked by Stephen.

The 14 previously unreleased live performances on the album were recorded August 20 and 21, 1971, at Berkeley Community Theater in Berkeley, California. It includes two songs with Stills’ Crosby, Stills & Nash bandmate David Crosby. 

“The intimacy of the Berkeley Community Theater seemed to serve as a focal point between the audience and the energy surrounding the social climate of the day,” Stills shares. “It was my first tour as a solo artist and these shows were raucous and unrestrained, captured here in these recordings.” 

Stephen Stills Live at Berkeley 1971 is available now for preorder in a variety of formats, including two-LP, CD, digital and a deluxe package that contains photos by famed photographer Henry Diltz, a numbered limited-edition self-portrait, framed lithograph and more.

Here is the track list for Stephen Stills Live at Berkeley 1971:

“Love The One You’re With”
“Do For The Others”
“Jesus Gave Love Away For Free”
“You Don’t Have To Cry” (with David Crosby)
“The Lee Shore” (with David Crosby)
“Word Game”
“Sugar Babe”
“49 Bye-Byes/For What It’s Worth”
“Black Queen”
“Know You’ve Got To Run”
“Bluebird Revisited”
“Lean On Me”
“Cherokee”
“Band Introductions”
“Ecology Song”

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Extreme has announced a new album called Six.

The aptly titled sixth studio effort from the “More Than Words” outfit — and their first since 2008 — will arrive on June 9.

“When Eddie Van Halen passed, it really hit me,” says guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. “I’m not going to be the one who will take the throne, but I felt some responsibility to keep guitar playing alive. So, you hear a lot of fire on the record.”

You can listen to the lead single “Rise” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.

Extreme plans to tour this year in support of Six, the details of which will be announced at a later date.

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A new musical about legendary disc jokey Alan Freed is set to open in New York this summer. 

Rock & Roll Man stars American Idol’s Constantine Maroulis as Freed, the DJ who popularized records by such artists as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis. It will begin previews June 2 at the New World Stages, Stage 3 in Manhattan, with the opening set for June 21.

The musical is set in the final days of Freed’s life; during a fever dream, Freed’s musical legacy is on trial, with J. Edgar Hoover as prosecutor and Little Richard as the defense attorney. It features an original score, along with classic tunes like “Lucille,” “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” “Tutti Frutti,” “Peggy Sue,” “Wake Up Little Susie” and “Great Balls of Fire.”

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We are getting our first look at the new Blood, Sweat & Tears documentary, What The Hell Happened To Blood, Sweat & Tears?, which is set to hit theaters March 24. 

A trailer for the John Scheinfeld-directed doc has just been released.

The film, which was made with the full cooperation of band members, delves into how the band got caught up in political controversy following a State Department-sponsored tour of Iron Curtain countries Yugoslavia, Romania and Poland in 1970. As the description notes, “As a result, they found themselves in the crosshairs of a polarized America – as divided then as it is now – and became an early victim of cancel culture.”

“It has been fascinating for me to re-live these incidents of some 50 years ago, through the footage, documentation and, incredibly, the live performance tapes John and his team discovered through some very deep and tireless digging. I believe the music we made then holds up today,” founding member and drummer Bobby Colomby shares. Blood, Sweat & Tears is known for such hits as “Spinning Wheel,” “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” and “And When I Die.”

Scheinfeld adds, “Uncovering the details of the extraordinary story took us far and wide, and we were amazed by the unexpected twists and turns of the tale. We hope people will be as struck as we were by the political parallels and counterpoints between then and now.”

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Diane Warren is supporting PETA’s attempt to call out the cruelty of the annual Iditarod dogsled race, which kicks off Saturday in Alaska.

The songwriter has donated her Oscar-nominated track “I’m Standing With You” for a new PETA ad, which features footage of Iditarod dogs chained up in the cold, as well as images of PETA supporters rallying on the dogs’ behalf. 

“The images of trembling dogs chained up alone in the snow and ice and others limping from being run to the brink of collapse are hard to watch, but the protesters who show up to the Iditarod every year to speak up for these dogs give me hope that this cruel event will end,” Warren shares. “I’m standing with PETA and the kind people worldwide who are demanding an end to this cruel race.”

According to PETA, more than 150 dogs have died in the two-week race through the snow, ice and wind, not including dogs they say are killed during the off season or because they aren’t fast enough.

“I’m Standing With You,” from the 2019 movie Breakthrough, was sung by This Is Us’ Chrissy Metz and earned a Best Original Song Oscar nomination. It lost to Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from Rocketman.

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Gov’t Mule is headed back out on the road this spring.

The band just announced a new set of tour dates, kicking off May 5 at the Orpheum Theater in New Orleans, Louisiana. The special show, taking place during Jazz Fest, will feature guests George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners. 

The 10-show run features stops in Memphis, Cleveland, Nashville and more, including a two-night stand in Warren Haynes’ hometown of Ashville, North Carolina. The trek also includes a July 23 show at the Great South Bay Music Festival in Patchogue, New York.

Artist presale tickets begin Friday at 10 a.m., with the general sale set for March 8 at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at mule.net.

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On this Day, March 1, 1944… 

Musician and future Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Roger Daltrey was born in London, England.

In 1959, Daltrey founded a band called The Detours, which in 1964 was renamed The Who, with bandmates Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon. Daltrey’s voice can be heard on such Who classics as “My Generation,” “Pinball Wizard,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Baba O’Riley,” “You Better You Bet” and many others. 

Daltrey also launched a solo career in 1973, releasing ten solo studio albums, and dabbled in acting, playing the title role in Tommy, the 1975 Ken Russell film inspired by The Who’s classic album.  He also appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows over the years, including That ’70s Show, CSI, Tales from the Crypt and more.

Daltrey is also well known for his extensive charitable work, including his patronage of the United Kingdom’s Teenage Cancer Trust and its U.S. counterpart, Teen Cancer America.

As a member of The Who, Daltrey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2008. He was also appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services to music, entertainment and charity as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year’s Honor’s List of 2004.

Daltrey and The Who are set to release The Who with Orchestra Live at Wembley on March 31 and will launch a U.K. summer tour in July.

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March 1 marks the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, which was their eighth studio release and to this day is one of their most commercially successful releases ever.

The album, which features such songs as “Money” and “Brain Damage,” spent only one week at number one. But it went on to spend 741 weeks on the Billboard Album chart between 1973 and 1988, and has since gone on to spend a total of 972 weeks on the chart. As of 1998, the album had been certified 15-times Platinum by the RIAA.

“Dark Side of the Moon is not only one of the great Pink Floyd albums, but I think it’s one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll albums of all time,” Jason Hanley, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s VP of education and visitor engagement, tells ABC Audio. “It really is a record that is so revolutionary at the time when it comes out in 1973, it’s revolutionary even for the band.”

He adds, “The songs are fantastic, the album was on the charts almost longer than I think any other album in history, sold so many copies, and still continues to be part of pop culture today.” 

To celebrate the 50th anniversary, Pink Floyd has a lot of goodies in store for fans. 

They are releasing a newly remastered version of the album on March 24, along with a Blu-ray and DVD audio with the original mix and remastered stereo versions. There will also be a new Blu-ray disc and CD of the classic concert The Dark Side of the Moon — Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974 and a new book, Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon: 50th Anniversary.

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John Mellencamp is continuing his very public support of farmers. The Farm Aid co-founder and board member is set to join farmers, ranchers and farmworkers in Washington, D.C., on March 7 at the Rally for Resilience: Farmers for Climate Action.

Mellencamp, who is currently on his Live and In Person tour, is expected to perform and offer some remarks at the rally, which kicks off at Freedom Plaza at 11 a.m. ET. 

The rally comes as Congress begins work on the 2023 Farm Bill. It is part of a three-day gathering starting March 6, which also includes cultural events and a demonstration of climate-friendly farming practices.

“As a Farm Aid board member, I’ve been to Washington a few times to ask for farmer voices to be heard. I hope on March 7, members of Congress hear farmers and ranchers loud and clear,” Mellencamp shares. “If we want a better world, it starts with us.”

He adds, “Farmers know this. They have the tools and know-how to better our climate future, but they can’t do it alone. Policymakers — and all of us — need to support the solutions they can deliver.”

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