Classic Hits

It’s only country music, but they like it … and rock ‘n’ roll, too.

A tribute to The Rolling Stones will be part of this year’s Country Music Association Awards, airing on ABC November 9. During the three-hour show, award-winning country duo Brothers Osborne will team up with Americana husband-and-wife duo The War & Treaty to sing “It’s Only Rock & Roll (But I Like It).”

The performance is in recognition of a new album called Stoned Cold Country, which features some of country’s biggest artists performing classic Stones songs, including “Wild Horses,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Dead Flowers.” 

The Brothers Osborne/War & Treaty duet is being released as a single November 4, with the album to follow next year. Other participating artists include Zac Brown Band, Elle King, Steve Earle, Eric Church, Maren Morris and Brooks & Dunn.

Other Rock & Roll Hall of Famers who’ll be saluted at the CMA Awards include the late Jerry Lee Lewis: King will perform “Great Balls of Fire” with The Black Keys in his memory.  

And finally, Linda Ronstadt will be honored as country stars Ashley McBryde, Caylee Hammack and Brandy Clark, joined by Joan Osborne, take the stage to sing the version of The Everly Brothers‘ “When Will I Be Loved” that was made famous by Ronstadt in 1975.

The CMA Awards air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 9 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Micky Dolenz plans to celebrate the 55th anniversary of The Monkees‘ third album, Headquarters, on his upcoming tour. But ahead of that, the album will get the super deluxe treatment this month.

Due out November 18, Headquarters: Super Deluxe Edition features four CDs, plus a 7″ vinyl single featuring “All of Your Toys” b/w “The Girl I Knew Somewhere.” Only 4,000 copies will be available worldwide; you can pre-order the package now at Monkees.com.

Headquarters, released in 1967, was the first album The Monkees made after finally securing artistic control over their own music. It was the group’s third straight number-one album; all were released in less than a year.

The expansive set contains 69 previously unreleased recordings, including backing tracks created for a version of the album spearheaded by Don Kirshner, which was ultimately abandoned. Early demos, as well as recordings which were ultimately completed for the band’s 2016 album Good Times!, round out the package.

“Headquarters will always hold a special place in my heart,” says Dolenz in a statement. “I remember the camaraderie, the collaboration, the enthusiasm and the occasional creative angst. And I particularly remember lying on the floor behind my drumkit between takes eating sunflower seeds.”

The Monkees Celebrated by Micky Dolenz tour starts April 1 in Orlando, Florida and will feature Dolenz, the sole surviving member of the group, performing the Headquarters album each night plus all the group’s biggest hits. Tickets for the trek, which wraps up April 27 in Ontario, go on sale this Friday, also at Monkees.com.

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This month will officially mark 40 years since Michael Jackson released his groundbreaking sixth studio album, Thriller. To celebrate the milestone, the late singer’s estate has teamed with Sony Music to launch a global anniversary campaign.

This worldwide initiative will allow fans across the globe to celebrate the late singer’s legacy. Two immersive fan experiences have been announced for Dusseldorf, Germany and New York City. Both events will offer photo ops, track-focused experiences, interactive elements and elements for social media engagement.

Germany’s event will run November 10 through November 13, while New York City’s will be held November 18 to November 20. Registration for both events is now open on the Michael Jackson website. 

That’s not all: There will also be Thriller-themed parties held across the world that will allow fans to learn the story behind Michael’s groundbreaking album by giving them an exclusive peek at the Thriller 40 documentary.  Tickets for these parties — which will be held in major cities such as London, Toronto, Madrid, Amsterdam and Seoul — will be sold on Michael’s official website.

Aside from the one-time-only screenings, there will also be fan events held worldwide that’ll feature DJs, short film screenings, giveaways and more. Details on how to register are forthcoming.

Michael released Thriller on November 30, 1982. It is hailed as one of the best-selling albums of all time. The album, which won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1984, is RIAA-certified triple Diamond in the U.S.

On November 18, Sony Music will release Michael Jackson Thriller 40, a double CD set with a bonus record filled with rare audio recordings and demos that Jackson worked on during the 1982 album’s sessions.

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A new animated video for “I’m Only Sleeping,” one of the songs featured on The Beatles‘ new remastered edition of Revolver, just hit YouTube.

The trippy clip opens with an oil-painting image of John Lennon sleeping, which swirls into a series of dreamy, watery images, some featuring the other Beatles, their manager Brian Epstein, fighter planes dropping bombs, birds and more. The concept seems to be that everything we’re seeing is part of Lennon’s dream.

As the dream progresses, time seems to progress backwards: We see more swirly, oil-painting images of The Beatles running onto a stadium field for a concert, the band performing onstage, headlines trumpeting their success, the group playing at the Cavern Club in their early days, a quick glimpse of Liverpool’s Penny Lane and what looks like Lennon receiving his first guitar.

The clip ends with the final image being wiped away in real life by an artist, who’s apparently been painting the entire thing in his studio.

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Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew are reuniting next year for more installments of their popular show celebrating the music of Talking Heads.

The Talking Heads guitarist/keyboardist and the former King Crimson singer and guitarist started doing these gigs in 2021 after being inspired by a 1980 show that Talking Heads played in Rome to support their album Remain in Light. At the time, Belew was a touring member of the band. Harrison and Belew performed songs from Remain in Light at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theater last month.

The tour starts February 16 in Denver and wraps up in New Haven, CT on March 11. Tickets go on sale this Friday, November 4 at 10 a.m. local time via remaininlight.net.

In a statement, Harrison says, “Remain In Light is a high point in my career. Adrian and I had often discussed the magic of the 1980 tour and the sheer joy it brought to audiences. It is such a delight to see that joy once again in the audiences on the current tour.”

Belew adds, “A joyful show of Talking Heads songs you know and love performed by a hot, eleven-piece ensemble including Jerry and me: You can’t help but dance and go home with a happy smile on your face.”

Belew is currently part of the Celebrating David Bowie tribute tour, which wraps up November 13.

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Huey Lewis and the News is the latest veteran act to sell their catalog for millions.

The group has partnered with Primary Wave Music to sell their “entire commercially released music catalog” from the band’s beginnings through 1994. The deal includes hits like “Heart of Rock & Roll,” “I Want a New Drug,” “Hip to Be Square,” “Workin’ for a Livin'” and the number-one smash “The Power of Love.”

In a statement, a Primary Wave executive said the company looks “forward to working with Huey to create new opportunities for his storied song catalog into the future.”  

While Primary Wave would only describe the deal as “multi-million dollar,” Variety reports that according to sources, it’s worth around $20 million.

In 2018, Lewis revealed that he’s suffering from an inner-ear disorder, Meniere’s disease, which forced him to retire from performing. That same year, the band released Weather, an album of tracks recorded before Lewis was diagnosed. Lewis has said there are plans in the works for a jukebox musical based on the band’s hits.

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On Friday, Hall & Oates singer John Oates released a soulful new single titled “Pushin’ a Rock” that ties in with this year’s edition of Movember, an annual campaign that focuses on raising awareness about men’s health issues.

Oates has been asked to serve as the international spokesperson for the campaign, which asks people to grow or wear a mustache for the month of November while encouraging men to address such issues as testicular cancer, prostate cancer and mental health.

John, who’s growing back a full mustache for the first time in 30 years in conjunction with the initiative, tells ABC Audio, “[I]t’s an honor to be able to try to … get the word out on men’s health issues.”

As Oates explains, “Pushin’ a Rock” is a reworked version of a song he first recorded and released several years ago, and he decided to contribute the new rendition to the Movember campaign because he felt its message aligned with that of the initiative.

“[I]t’s about overcoming struggles,” John notes. “The inspiration came from … the old myth of Sisyphus pushing a rock uphill, and when it rolls back down … sometimes you just have to either never give up or you just keep pushing … And it really seemed to dovetail and speak for what Movember was all about.”

With regard to being a Movember spokesperson, Oates admits that while he’s had a very successful career in music, “I’ve definitely had my moments and my issues, and they’re ongoing,” adding that important for people to realize that “no matter how much difficulty you have, you can overcome it if you … try your best.”

“Pushin’ a Rock” is available now via streaming services, and you can watch a companion music video at John’s official YouTube channel.

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U2‘s Bono may have titled his new book Surrender, but he says that word is something he really doesn’t quite get…though he’s working on it.

Appearing on ABC’s Good Morning America on Tuesday, the Irish icon noted that “[‘Surrender’] is a word I haven’t yet fully grasped or fathomed, if I’m honest. I was born with my fists up, metaphorically — sometimes physically! — and putting them down is hard for me.  And I’m trying to. So the title is where I’m headed, rather than where I’m at.”

The full title of the book is Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. In his conversation with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Bono described it as “a love letter” to his wife, Ali Hewson.

“Writing the book was really frightening because I was going to have to let her read it!” he laughed. “And she came back with spelling [corrections], mostly — there were a couple of sections she wanted removed.”

Bono met Ali and the other three members of U2 during the same week at their high school in Ireland and has kept both his relationship and his band going for more than 40 years. Asked how he’s managed that feat, Bono joked, “Desperation.”

Turning serious, he then explained, “Friendship is at the heart of it, really. I mean, friendship is a lot less passionate as it looks at face value but I think it can outpace even romantic love. If you’ve got both — even better.” 

“I love my bandmates,” he added, laughing, “We don’t always love each other at the same time…but we get through it. We’re always breaking up!”

On Wednesday, Bono starts his 14-date book tour, described as “an evening of words, music and some mischief,” in New York City.

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Bono‘s memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, gets released on Tuesday, November 1, and to celebrate its arrival, the U2 frontman will make an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America, which airs starting at 7 a.m. ET.

As previously reported, Surrender follows Irish rocker, born Paul Hewson, from his childhood in Dublin to the loss of his mother when he was 14, to the founding of U2 and their rise to global stardom. It also covers Bono’s activism, including his work to fight AIDS and extreme poverty.

The book’s subtitle refers to the fact that as each of its 40 chapters is named after a U2 song. Bono also contributed 40 original drawing to the publication.

To promote Surrender, Bono has lined up a 14-date book tour dubbed Stories of Surrender beginning Wednesday, November 2, in New York City. The trek, which is completely sold out, features stops in seven North American cities followed by stops in seven European cities. It runs through a November 28 event in Madrid.

The tour is described as “an evening of words, music and some mischief,” which means Bono won’t only be talking about his life, he’ll be singing about it too.

In other news, Bono also marked the impending arrival of his book with a humorous animated video posted Monday on U2’s YouTube channel and set during this year’s edition of the Halloween Parade in New York City’s Soho section.

The clip, which Bono narrates, features the singer excitedly watching as copies of Surrender are put on display in the window of a local bookstore. As the cartoon progresses, Bono is approached by people dressed as Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga, who are revealed to be his three bandmates — Larry Mullen Jr., The Edge and Adam Clayton.

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Coinciding with Halloween, an eerie new lyric video for “Bogey Man,” an archival solo song by late Who bassist John Entwistle, has premiered on the Deko Entertainment label’s official YouTube channel.

“Bogey Man” is the lead track of the recently released Entwistle solo compilation, Rarities Oxhumed – Volume One. The track features drums by late Who legend Keith Moon, whose part was recorded for an early demo version of the song dating back to the 1970s.

Entwistle and his solo band originally contributed “Bogey Man” to the soundtrack of a late-’90s computer-animated kids show called Van-Pires that was about vehicles that were turned into gasoline-sucking villains after a meteor struck the Earth.

The “Bogey Man” video features footage of Entwistle and his bandmates performing the tune along with scenes from Van-Pires. Fans who watch the clip can sing along to the lyrics by following a bouncing spider, a nod to John’s classic Who tune “Boris the Spider.”

Rarities Oxhumed – Volume One is a 13-track collection featuring previously unheard studio tracks, demos, remastered live performances and other unreleased Entwistle gems.

The compilation is available now via digital formats and on CD. The CD version can be ordered at Merchbucket.com. Exclusive special bundles are available at the site, including an expanded 12-page booklet with photos and recording information and either a necklace or a keychain featuring a specially designed Entwistle crest.

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