Classic Hits

The trailer has been released for the upcoming documentary Let There Be Drums!, which features such famous musicians as The Beatles‘ Ringo Starr, The Police‘s Steward Copeland, and The Grateful Dead‘s Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart.

As its title suggests, Let There Be Drums! spotlights “the world’s greatest drummers” as they “reflect on the art of drumming and how it has shaped their lives.”

In one segment of the trailer, which is streaming on YouTube, Ringo says, “My dream was to play drums, and you know where I ended up … in the best band in the land.”

Other musicians featured in the film include Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith, Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, ex-Guns N’ Roses drummers Matt Sorum and Steven Adler, Green Day‘s Tre Cool and in what’s thought to be his last filmed interview, late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.

The documentary was directed by Kreutzmann’s son, Justin Kreutzmann.

Let There Be Drums! is set to premiere in theaters, and via Amazon and Apple TV, on October 28.

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Cher is ready to move out of the Malibu mansion she’s owned since 1989 and has listed it for a whopping $85 million.

The Wall Street Journal reports Cher’s home sits on a 1.7-acre lot overlooking the Pacific Ocean. This isn’t the first time the singer has tried selling the property, however.

Back in 2009, Cher listed the Italian Renaissance-style estate for $45 million.  

So, what makes this property worth $85 million, besides the fact a living legend lived there for over 30 years?  For starters, the mansion offers 13,200 square feet of living space, which includes seven bedrooms. In addition, it offers luxury perks like an infinity pool, meditation room, indoor-outdoor gym, courtyard with a fountain, tennis court, theater and a detached gatehouse on the property. 

As for the most on-brand Cher thing the house could offer, it comes with a climate-controlled wig room.

“From every room, there is an ocean view,” Cher told the outlet. She said she would host “intimate dinners in the family dining room,” as well as “tented parties in the courtyard and pool area,” depending on party size.

The gated property, which boasts a driveway lined with over three dozen palm trees, also comes with added security, like a panic room that doubles as a closet.

It should be noted that while Cher bought the place in 1989, she rebuilt the mansion in 1999.

No reason was given for why the singer is moving on from her beloved home. That said, if you want to own a piece of Cher’s history and have $85 million to burn, there’s a house in Malibu with your name on it.

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Here’s wishing a very happy 75th birthday to the Red Rocker himself, Sammy Hagar.

In celebration of the milestone, Hagar will be playing the third and final show of his annual Birthday Bash concert series on Thursday night at his Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Hagar first found rock stardom in the early ’70s as the lead singer of Montrose. After leaving the band in 1975, Sammy forged a successful solo career that saw him score such hits as 1982’s “Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy” and 1984’s “I Can’t Drive 55.”

Hagar found even greater success when he joined Van Halen in 1985, replacing founding frontman David Lee Roth. Sammy appeared on four chart-topping albums with the group before exiting Van Halen in 1996.

Since then, Hagar has toured and recorded with his longtime backing band The Wabos, the supergroup Chickenfoot — featuring ex-Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani — and, most recently, The Circle, which also features Anthony, plus drummer Jason Bonham and Wabos guitarist Vic Johnson. If that wasn’t enough, Hagar is a business mogul whose interests have included Cabo Wabo Tequila and the Sammy’s Beach Bar & Grill franchise.

Hagar’s latest album, which was recorded with The Circle, is titled Crazy Times and was released last month.

As previously reported, AXS TV is celebrating Sammy’s 75th birthday with a 24-hour programming block that kicked off Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. During the marathon, 41 episodes of Hagar’s AXS TV show Rock & Roll Road Trip will be shown.

In between episodes, AXS TV is airing special content that includes birthday wishes from some of Sammy’s friends, among them Sebastian Bach and Foreigner/Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers, Elton John and The Rolling Stones are among the veteran artists who will compete for honors at the 2022 American Music Awards.

The Chili Peppers have received nominations for three awards — Favorite Rock Artist, Favorite Rock Song for “Black Summer” and Favorite Rock Album for Unlimited Love.

Elton is nominated for Collaboration of the Year for his Dua Lipa duet “Cold Heart” and for Favorite Touring Artist, making him the longest-recognized artist in AMA history: He was first nominated back in 1974, at the very first American Music Awards, for Top Pop/Rock Male.

The Rolling Stones are also in the running for the Favorite Touring Artist prize.

Leading all nominees this year is Latin superstar Bad Bunny, with a total of eight.

Fan voting is open now at VoteAMAs.com and via Twitter in nearly all the award categories.

The American Music Awards air Sunday, November 20, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

For the full list of nominees, visit TheAMAs.com.

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The previously unheard archival Queen track “Face It Alone,” which features the late Freddie Mercury on vocals and was recorded during the sessions for the band’s 1989 studio album The Miracle, has just been released as a digital download and via streaming formats.

In addition, a lyric video for the tune has premiered at Queen’s official YouTube channel.

“Face It Alone” serves as the lead single from an upcoming expanded reissue of The Miracle, dubbed The Miracle Collector’s Edition, which will be released on November 18. The recording was rediscovered during the process of putting the collection together.

“We’d kind of forgotten about this track,” admits Queen drummer Roger Taylor, “but there it was, this little gem. It’s wonderful, a real discovery. It’s a very passionate piece.”

The Miracle Collector’s Edition features five CDs, one vinyl LP, a Blu-ray disc, a DVD and a 76-page hardback book.

The CDs include a remastered version of the original 10-track album; a disc featuring early takes and versions, demos, in-studio conversations and unheard tracks; a CD titled Alternative Miracle that compiles extra tracks from The Miracle sessions, B-sides, extended versions and more; a disc of instrumental and backing tracks from the record’s 10 songs; and a CD of archival interviews with the band’s members.

The LP features an originally planned 11-track version of The Miracle, which features “Too Much Love Will Kill You” — a song that later appeared on Queen’s 1995 Made in Heaven album.

The Blu-ray and DVD contain promotional videos of five Miracle songs — “I Want It All,” “Breakthru,” “The Invisible Man,” “Scandal” and the title track — as well as archival interviews and features about the making of the clips and the album cover.

You can preorder The Miracle Collector’s Edition now.

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In addition to spreading the word of rock, AC/DC will soon be providing another educational service.

The Australian company Love Police Books has announced a new children’s book using the “Back in Black” rockers to teach the alphabet.

Titled The AC/DC AB/CD High-Voltage Alphabet, the book introduces each letter with an AC/DC-themed cartoon and a short poem, such as, “A is for Angus, who thinks it’s good luck, to wear a school uniform, and walk like a duck.”

High-Voltage Alphabet will be released November 11 and is available to preorder now.

If you’re looking for an AC/DC book aimed at an older demographic, frontman Brian Johnson is releasing his memoir, The Lives of Brian: AC/DC, Me, and the Making of Back in Black, on October 25.

In other AC/DC news, the Royal Australian Mint has announced a new series of coins commemorating the band’s 50th anniversary. Brothers Angus and Malcolm Young founded AC/DC in Sydney in 1973.

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A selection of instruments and other gear belonging to Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson will be available for purchase via Wilson’s shop at the Reverb.com online marketplace starting Wednesday, October 19.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will be selling more than two dozen items from her long career with Heart, including guitars, amplifiers and keyboards.

Among the guitars Wilson is selling is a late-1960s Gibson SG that she says has been one of her main guitars for playing the Heart classic “Barracuda” in concert. The instrument features a Bigsby vibrato bar, and the back of the body has two Marine Corps stickers affixed to it.

“It’s traveled really far with me. We’ve done a lot of stages and shows together … and you might recognize this Marine Corps symbol here that I used to flash at the end of ‘Barracuda,'” Wilson says. 

Other guitars that will be sold include a 1957 Fender Stratocaster, a Paul Reed Smith 12-string prototype electric guitar with a dragon inlay, a late-1970s David Petschulat Mini Les Paul that appeared on the cover of Heart’s Greatest Hits Live album, and a red-and-white TV Jones Spectrasonic model Wilson says she also frequently used to play “Barracuda” live.

A video of Wilson showing off and talking about the various guitars she’s selling has been posted on Reverb’s official YouTube channel.

The sale was organized by Wilson and Reverb in partnership with the DEFINITIVE Authentic company, which works directly with artists and other celebrities to help certify, preserve and exhibit their artifacts.

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Is Green Day planning something for the 25th anniversary of Nimrod?

The band’s 1997 album celebrates the milestone this Friday, October 14. In a tweet Tuesday, Billie Joe Armstrong and company teased the occasion, writing, “Someone’s got a VERY big birthday on Friday…any guesses who??!”

The tweet is also accompanied by an image featuring the Roman numeral for 25, XXV.

Nimrod is Green Day’s fifth studio album, which has been certified double Platinum by the RIAA. It spawned the singles “Hitchin’ a Ride” and “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” which, despite being originally written as a breakup song, has become a staple of high school proms and graduations.

Meanwhile, Green Day is set to headline the 2023 edition of Las Vegas’ When We Were Young festival on October 21 of next year.

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Back in 2015, Yes released a 14-CD box set titled Progeny: Seven Shows from Seventy-Two featuring recordings of seven full concerts from their 1972 North American tour. Now, a 21-LP vinyl version of the collection is set to arrive on December 2.

The limited-edition package will be available exclusively at Rhino.com, with each show pressed on a different color vinyl. Only 1,972 copies will be available.

The concerts featured in the box set span from an October 31, 1972, show in Toronto to a November 20, 1972, gig in Uniondale, New York.

Yes’ late 1972 tour found the band promoting its fifth studio effort, Close to the Edge. The band had recently welcomed Alan White as its new drummer, replacing founding member Bill Bruford. Making up the rest of the group’s classic lineup at the time were singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe and keyboardist Rick Wakeman.

The LPs come packaged in a cigarette-style flip-top box, with artwork created by longtime Yes artist Roger Dean.

Among the classic songs Yes played at the shows were “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Heart of the Sunrise,” “Roundabout” and “Yours Is No Disgrace.”

Here is the complete list of shows featured in the Progeny: Seven Shows from Seventy-Two box set, along with the color vinyl on which each concert is pressed:

10/31/72 — Toronto, Canada, Maple Leaf Gardens (ruby vinyl)
11/1/72  — Ottawa, Canada, Ottawa Civic Centre (orange vinyl)
11/11/72 — Durham, NC, Duke University (cobalt vinyl)
11/12/72 — Greensboro, NC, Greensboro Coliseum (soda bottle clear vinyl)
11/14/72 — Athens, GA, University of Georgia (tan vinyl)
11/15/72 — Knoxville, TN, Knoxville Civic Auditorium (forest green vinyl)
11/20/72 — Uniondale, NY, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (grape vinyl)

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Four new episodes of Mary McCartney Serves It Up, the discovery+ cooking series hosted by Paul McCartney‘s daughter Mary, will air in the coming weeks, starting with a show that premieres Tuesday, November 1.

Among Mary’s guests will be rocker Bryan Adams, who like McCartney also is an accomplished photographer. Bryan will join Mary to make a “Skillet Flatbread Caponata Pizza.”

Mary McCartney Serves It Up is a half-hour program that features Mary whipping up quick and easy dishes that showcase her “accessible vegetarian food philosophy,” while exchanging stories with her various guests.

Other guests on the upcoming episodes of Mary McCartney Serves It Up will include 50 Shades of Grey actor Jamie Dornan, Texas frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri, singer-songwriter Celeste and designer Henry Holland.

Among Mary’s previous guests were her famous dad and Dave Grohl, who were featured on episodes from the series’ second and first season, respectively.

Mary also is a cookbook author and filmmaker. Her feature-length directorial debut, If These Walls Could Sing, a star-studded documentary about London’s Abbey Road Studios, will get its TV debut soon on Disney+.

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