Classic Hits

[Note Language] While a lot of artists hope to one day be big enough to be asked to headline the Super Bowl halftime show, John Mellencamp already is, but he isn’t interested. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer appeared on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live with his daughter Teddi Mellencamp, and when asked if he’d been offered the prestigious gig, he revealed that he had but said no. “I don’t like being on television,” he shared, adding he was only on WWHL because he loves his daughter.

Apparently, Mellencamp doesn’t only have an aversion to the Super Bowl; he doesn’t really like performing altogether. When asked what his favorite song to perform live was, he noted, “I don’t like really singing any of them.” He continued, “live performance for me is a job ‘cause they pay me for leaving home, not for going on stage,” sharing, “I owe it to the audience because they pull me through those songs.”

Mellencamp also talked about his breakthrough album American Fool. He revealed the “record company hated it” after hearing “Hurts So Good,” “Jack and Diane” and “Hand to Hold on To.” He said they wanted him to be the next Neil Diamond, adding he basically just told them “F*** you.”

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A new video for the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers classic “American Girl” has just been released. The live acoustic version of the song comes from the newly released Live at the Fillmore, (1997) box set.

According to a post on the Petty Instagram account, the black and white clip “realizes Tom’s stated vision of the ‘modern’ American Girl being ‘any kind of woman.’” It also includes a quick cameo from the singer’s granddaughter Everly.

Petty’s daughter Adria Petty directed the video and notes, “In 2017 Tom changed his tour visuals to reflect a wide range of women,” adding, “we are excited to carry on his wishes.” 

Speaking of “American Girl,” Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench performed a stripped down version of the classic song for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The clip was shot at the band’s recording and rehearsal space, with Tench on piano and singing, backed by Campbell on guitar.

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There is a very familiar album in the Billboard 200 Album chart this week. Thanks to the 40th anniversary celebration of Michael Jackson’s classic album Thriller, the album has returned to the top 10. 

The 40th anniversary edition of the record moved 37,000 equivalent album units to leap from #115 to #7 on the chart, with that number consisting of 27,500 in traditional album sales, an increase of 820% from the previous week.

The last time Thriller was in the top 10 was the week of June 30, 1984. In total, it has spent 37 nonconsecutive weeks at #1, which holds the record for the most weeks of any artist. Only the soundtrack to West Side Story has more weeks on top, 54.

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Just days after Simon & Schuster agreed to refund Bob Dylan fans who thought they were buying a personally signed copy of his recent book, only to find out it was signed using auto-pen, the rock star is apologizing for misleading fans.

“To my fans and followers, I’ve been made aware that there’s some controversy about signatures on some of my recent artwork prints and on a limited edition of ‘Philosophy Of Modern Song,’” he shares on Facebook. “I’ve hand-signed each and every art print over the years, and there’s never been a problem.” 

He then explained that in 2019 he developed vertigo that lasted through the pandemic, which made it “impossible to sign anything.” He adds, “With contractual deadlines looming, the idea of using an auto-pen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done ‘all the time’ in the art and literary worlds.” 

Finally he notes, “Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately. I’m working with Simon & Schuster and my gallery partners to do just that. With my deepest regrets, Bob Dylan.”

Simon & Schuster has already agreed to refund the $600 fans shelled out for the auto-penned signed books, but it turns out the controversy now extends to more than just the books. Castle Galleries, a UK gallery that sold what was supposed to be “hand-signed” prints of Dylan’s paintings, announced they are giving purchasers refunds. The paintings, “The Retrospectum Collection” and “Sunset, Monument Valley,” were also machine-signed, and while the purchasers can keep the paintings, if they send back the certificates of authenticity, they’ll get refunds, along with a new certificate that declares they were auto-signed.

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Jon Bon Jovi and his son Jesse have made a success of their rosé brand Hampton Water without using Jon’s music to promote the wine, something they don’t ever plan on doing.

During a Q&A with Daily Mail Australia, Jon was asked why they didn’t go with a name like “’bed of rosé,” a nod to his song “Bed of Roses,” and he had a strong opinion about it.

“[We thought] if we were going to do this, we were going to make sure we did it right,” Jon explained. “There’s no family name on the label, there’s nothing to do with any song titles on the label because we needed to respect the profession, if we were going to do this we had to take it seriously.” 

He added, “We worked very hard every day to garner the respect of the industry and to learn and that’s all we’re doing. So the last thing we are going to do is be a celebrity brand. It’s a family business.”

As for how they come up with the name, Jesse shares that one night when he was hanging out with his dad, he offered him “one last glass of ‘pink juice’,” to which Jesse responded, “no one calls it ‘pink juice’ anymore, you’re out in the Hamptons, it’s Hampton Water.” His dad instantly loved the name, with Jesse noting, “Right then and there Hampton Water was born and we’ve been working hard at it ever since.”

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If Marie Osmond has her way, Selena Gomez would play her in a documentary about her life.

Speaking to E! News, the singer opened up about the possibility of having her very own biopic to tell her life story. “I think Selena Gomez would be amazing — only because she has been through a lot of the things that I’ve been through,” Marie raved.  

Both singers stepped into the limelight as children, to which Marie noted, “I think it’s nice to have a child’s perspective as being an entertainer because it’s very different.”

As for her experience growing up in front of an audience, the singer is grateful for what her life gave her. “I don’t look at life that way,” she said when asked if she missed out on having a normal childhood. “I look at what’s a positive. I like to dwell on that more than what I missed.”

Selena has not yet commented on the possibility of bringing the legendary singer’s life story to the big screen.

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With the upcoming Black Friday being the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, lots of folks are probably starting to think about what to get their loved ones. If there are music fans in your family, Bravado is here to help.

Universal’s merchandise and brand management company has just launched some new exclusive holiday-inspired collections, with items from such artists as The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, The Who, Guns N’ Roses and more. 

Among the items available:

• The Rolling Stones — A Licks snow globe, a black Sixty cardigan and a variety of ornaments, including a diamond anniversary ornament, and Forty Licks, Steel Wheels and No Filter Licks ornaments.
• Black Sabbath — An ugly Christmas sweater that reads “Holidays Bloody Holidays,” ornaments and more.
• Guns N’ Roses — A variety of ornaments, as well as a blue and white Christmas sweater and an Appetite for Destruction corduroy jacket.
• The Who — Socks, vintage T-shirts, sweatshirts and sweaters.
• The Beatles — A Merry Christmas green shirt, a Sgt. Pepper’s green holiday beanie, a holiday sticker set, gift wrapping, various T-shirts and more.
• The Beach Boys — A snow globe photo sweatshirt, a “Little St. Nick” T-shirt and zip hoodie, as well as an ornament and a scarf.

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Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour may be finished in the U.S., but he’s still got a lot more touring to do — and it may see him break a new record.

Elton wrapped the U.S. leg of the tour this weekend in Los Angeles and, according to Billboard, the last three Dodger Stadium shows brought in $23.5 million and sold 142,970 tickets. In total, the last 13 shows bring the tour’s total gross to $749.9 million, with over 5 million tickets sold since it began in 2018. And with about 50 shows still left to play, it’s certainly looking like Elton has a good shot at surpassing Ed Sheeran’s The Divide Tour for the title of best-selling tour of all time.

Ed’s tour wrapped in 2019 and grossed $776.4 million, which means Elton is less than $30 million away from taking over number one. It now sits at number two, having surpassed U2’s 360 Tour, which brought in $736.4 million.

Next up, Elton brings his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour back to Australia and New Zealand in January with 10 stadium shows, which puts him on track to break Sheeran’s record in early 2023.

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A rare live recording of Led Zeppelin performing a 13-minute version of “Dazed and Confused” has just turned up on YouTube.

The audio clip was shared by YouTuber Mark McFall, founder of the Zepfan memorabilia website, and features audio recorded at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on October 5, 1969. According to the post, the performance was recorded from a fan’s TV speaker during a broadcast of the show on November 12, 1969.

A review of the show on Ledzeppelin.com says “the atmosphere crackled” during the concert, noting, “Heavy, crashing Zeppelin sounds swept the audience onto another plain.” The review continued, “Wild, standing ovations brought the group back time and time again and they finally left the stage exhausted.”

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Bruce Springsteen has just landed another chart milestone. The Boss’ latest album, Only The Strong Survive, tops the Billboard Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums charts this week, moving 40,000 equivalent album units. 

The new number one marks the eighth time Bruce has topped both of these charts since they began in 2006. He first reached number one on them with 2007’s Magic.

Springsteen is now tied with John Mayer for the most number ones on the Top Rock and Alternative Albums charts. The Beatles, Coldplay, Dave Matthews and Tom Petty are just behind them, with six each.

In addition to the album chart success, two songs from Only The Strong Survive land on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart this week. “Nightshift” lands at eight, while “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” is at 16.

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