Classic Hits

The journey of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young will be detailed in an upcoming coffee table book called CSN&Y: Love the One You’re With.

Due for publication in June 2023, the book features 1,000 photographs and 34,000 words from 20 different contributors, plus an introduction penned by Graham Nash. Those contributors include Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Judy Collins, the late Glenn Frey, Grace Slick, Arlo Guthrie and notable behind-the-scenes music business figures.

The photos are courtesy of famed rock photographer Henry Diltz, who says in a statement, “I have known these guys my entire life as a photographer, way before they even formed a group, and so I have photographed them all separately and together for the past almost 60 years.”

Indeed, the book starts with Diltz’s photos of all four band members while they were in their previous bands: The Hollies, The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. What follows is decades’ worth of photos of the artists at recording studios, concerts, album covers, benefit concerts and more.

In an excerpt from the book, Neil Young is quoted as saying, “People believe in CSN&Y. When they see CSN&Y, even if it is a nostalgia trip, I want them to believe that life is worth living, and that the rest of their life is going to be better than the first part. I want people to feel an energy from the band that makes you feel great.”

The book is available for preorder now via Genesis Publications: “Collector” copies are bound in vegan leather, signed by both Diltz and Nash, and are available in limited quantities.

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Christine McVie‘s untimely death last week seems to have led to some impressive sales figures at the auction of Fleetwood Mac instruments and memorabilia, held over the weekend by Julien’s Auctions.

According to the auction house, McVie’s maxi dress, which she wore on the back cover of Fleetwood Mac’s biggest album, Rumours, sold for $56,250 — five times its original estimate of $10,000. A dress she wore to the 1976 Rock Music Awards went for $31,250, while her two American Music Awards dresses from 1978 went for $16,000 and $12,800. Her piano accordion, which she used to perform “Tusk” live onstage, sold for just over $11,500.

In addition, McVie’s speaker and microphones sold for $37,500 — some 37 times their original estimate. Her two Hammond B3 Organs went for $28,125 and $18,750.

Items from John McVie and Mick Fleetwood were sold, as well. John’s custom fretless bass guitar, which he used to record the classic song “The Chain” and played live onstage from 1976 to 1980, sold for $100,000.

The star of the auction, though, was the set of wooden balls that Mick Fleetwood wore on the cover of Rumours. The balls were originally part of the pull chains on the toilets in a club the band played early on in his career, and Fleetwood stole them and took to wearing them onstage. The balls brought in $128,000.

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Sorry Aerosmith fans, the band has cancelled another Las Vegas show. 

The band was set to take the stage as part of their Deuces Are Wild residency at the city’s Dolby Live at Park MGM Monday, but backed out due to their lead singer Steven Tyler needing “more time to rest.” 

“Unfortunately tomorrow’s show, Monday December 5th, in Las Vegas has to be cancelled,” a statement posted to Twitter reads. “Steven Tyler said ‘on the advice of my doctor, I’m taking more time to rest… There is nowhere we’d rather be than on stage surrounded by the greatest fans in the world.'”

“We sincerely apologize,” the band concluded. 

Refunds will be automatically refunded for those who purchased through Ticketmaster.com, with all other refunds processed at point of purchase. 

This is the second show that the “Dream On” artists have cancelled in the last four days. They cancelled their Friday, Dec. 2 show last minute telling fans at the time, “It is with great disappointment that we are forced to cancel tonight’s show in Las Vegas due to Steven feeling unwell and and unable to perform.”

There was no mention on whether Aerosmith will make-up the dates. Their final two performances for the Deuces Are Wild residency are scheduled for Dec. 8 and Dec. 11.

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Now that Pat Benatar and her husband and musical partner Neil Giraldo have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they’re focusing on their pet project: Invincible, a musical featuring their songs. But if you see the show, don’t expect to hear much of Benatar’s signature hit.

The show, Invincible, had its official premiere Friday night in Beverly Hills, where it will run through December 18.  It’s a reimagining of Romeo & Juliet, and in addition to hits like “Heartbreaker,” “We Belong,” “Love Is a Battlefield” and “Shadows of the Night,” it also features some lesser-known songs, all of which have been, Giraldo tells Variety, “twisted…a little bit, to have more fun with it.”

“We didn’t wanna do a jukebox musical with the exact same songs the way they were,” he tells Variety.

As for “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” probably Benatar’s best-known song, she tells Variety, “We have one chorus of that that comes in the middle of another song, only as an homage to everyone who’s gonna go crazy if we don’t have it, but it’s literally in there for, like, 10 seconds.”

As previously reported, Benatar has stopped performing the song at her concerts as well, out of respect to the families of mass shooting victims.

Benatar, Giraldo and their collaborator Bradley Bredeweg hope to eventually bring their musical to Broadway. For a former musical theater kid like Benatar, the show is a “full-circle” moment, while Bredeweg says it’s fitting that these songs are retelling Shakespeare‘s famous tale of star-crossed lovers.

“Everyone used to say they were considered the Romeo and Juliet of the rock ’n’ roll industry,” he tells the New York Times of Benatar and Giraldo. “Everyone tried to break them up at every step along the way.”

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Neil Diamond‘s been out of the spotlight since he announced in 2018 that he was retiring from touring after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. But the legendary artist will hit the red carpet this weekend for an event that’s all about his music and his legacy.

A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical will have its gala opening night Sunday at New York City’s Broadhurst Theatre. The man himself will be attending, along with Frankie Valli, record mogul Clive Davis, Bernadette Peters, Camryn Manheim, Audra McDonald, Lea Michele and Bob Gaudio.

Gaudio, a member of the Four Seasons, produced six albums for Diamond, as well as his hit Barbra Streisand duet “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers.” He’s a producer of the new musical.

The show tells Diamond’s story using many of his most beloved hits, from “Love on the Rocks,” “Sweet Caroline,” “I’m a Believer” and “Red Red Wine” to “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Song Sung Blue,” “America” and many more.

According to a press release, the opening night is set to feature an “unforgettable red-carpet entrance” by Diamond, 81, as well as a “never-to-be-seen-again, surprise moment with one of the recording industry’s greatest living legends.” Will he join the cast onstage for a rendition of “Sweet Caroline”? Stay tuned.

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Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle recently came together for a great cause. The two living legends headlined the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s annual World AIDS Day Concert, held Wednesday at the The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

At the event, which posthumously honored the late Princess Diana, a longtime humanitarian and AIDS advocate, Gladys took the stage to perform a medley of hits, including “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “Midnight Train to Georgia.”

Patti, who headlined the concert when it was held in LA back in 2016, also sang a medley of hits, including “Love, Need and Want You,” “On My Own” and “Lady Marmalade,” during her set.

Previous headliners include Mariah Carey, DJ Khaled and Ne-Yo, who performed in 2017; Diana Ross,Teyana Taylor and Keke Wyatt, who hit the stage in 2019; and Jennifer Hudson and Christina Aguilera, who headlined the LA concert in 2021, produced by Debbie Allen.

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December 7 will mark what would have been the late Harry Chapin‘s 80th birthday, and that milestone is being celebrated with a worldwide screening of a star-studded documentary about the singer, songwriter and activist.

The 2020 documentary, called Harry Chapin: When In Doubt, Do Something, will be shown in movie theaters around the world on December 7 at 8 p.m. local time, with all ticket proceeds going to The Harry Chapin Foundation, Long Island Cares and WhyHunger, the nonprofit organization that Chapin co-founded.

The documentary features interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Graham Nash, Pat Benatar, Chicago‘s Robert Lamm, Sir Bob Geldof, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run-DMC and the late artists Pete Seeger, Richie Havens and Harry Belafonte. It focuses on Chapin’s impact on the world, not only through his hits like “Taxi” and “Cat’s In the Cradle,” but also through his tireless work in ending world hunger.

In addition to the documentary, the screening will include 15 minutes of never-before-seen live footage from a recent Chapin Family concert. Some of those same family members will also participate in a live chat that will take place as part of the screening.

Chapin’s son Jason helped produce the documentary and says in a statement, “My family is incredibly excited and grateful for the special event … to celebrate my father’s 80th birthday, 50th anniversary of his first hit ‘Taxi’ and his lasting legacy as a musician and humanitarian. We’re also thrilled that proceeds will benefit three charities that carry on his mission to help end hunger.”

For tickets, visit Kinema.com or ChapinEvent.com.

Chapin was killed in July 1981 in an auto accident en route to a benefit concert on Long Island, New York. He was 38.

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Former Talking Heads mastermind David Byrne has a new Christmas song out, and if you purchase it, you’ll be giving him a nice holiday gift.

Byrne is releasing the track “The Fat Man’s Comin'” exclusively through Bandcamp. The song, which is about Santa Claus, dates back to 2013, but was never released. It also comes with a video comprised of the hand-drawn storyboards Byrne created for a more elaborate video that was never produced. The song is available as a pay-what-you-can download, with a minimum contribution of one dollar.

All proceeds from the song will go to Reasons To Be Cheerful, the nonprofit online magazine founded by Byrne in 2019. The magazine focuses on positive stories detailing “proven, evidence-based responses to the world’s most pressing problems.” For example, one recent story is about a supermarket in the United Kingdom that’s offering interest-free microloans to help shoppers buy groceries.

In a statement announcing the song, Byrne says that “The Fat Man’s Comin'” dates back to when he was collaborating with rocker St. Vincent aka Annie Clarke a few years ago. “It wasn’t right for Annie and me – the story of a fat man in rather odd attire who breaks into people’s homes and leaves mysterious packages,” he notes, adding that he wanted it to sound “sort of old-school creepy.”

Byrne concludes that supporting another year of Reasons To Be Cheerful is “a good reason to resurrect this song,” adding, “Enjoy and thanks for listening/watching.”

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The first night of Barry Manilow‘s series of Christmas concerts in Las Vegas wasn’t very merry: It had to be canceled due to a health issue.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Manilow, 79, was scheduled to kick off his A Very Barry Christmas holiday production at Westgate Resort and Casino on Thursday night, but the show was scrapped because the singer was experiencing atrial fibrillation, also known as an abnormal heartbeat.

According to a statement on Manilow’s Twitter account, Manilow was “being treated and will be fine” as of Thursday. He now plans two shows on Friday to make up for the cancellation: One at 4 p.m. and one at 7 p.m.

Manilow’s Christmas shows will run through December 10. In early 2023, he’s scheduled a brief tour that kicks off January 13 in Sunrise, Florida, and wraps up January 21 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He returns to the Westgate for his regular Vegas residency February 16.

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Neil Young recently told The New Yorker that he’s glad that one of his most beloved albums — 1972’s Harvest — “was a big successful record,” but he admitted, “I have no idea really why.” Maybe you can figure out why yourself, since the 50th anniversary edition of the classic set is out now.

The Harvest box set, available on CD, digital or vinyl, includes the original album, three outtakes and an unreleased live 1971 BBC solo performance on CD, LP and DVD.

The set also features a DVD of Harvest Time, a two-hour film featuring footage of the making of the album. A hardbound book and fold-out poster rounds out the package.

The three outtakes from the original sessions are “Bad Fog of Loneliness,” “Journey Through the Past” and “Dance Dance Dance.” The live BBC performance includes live versions of “Old Man,” “Heart of Gold,” “Don’t Let It Bring You Down” and “A Man Needs a Maid,” among other songs.

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