Classic Hits

David Lee Roth has posted the third in a series of new, live-in-the-studio solo versions of classic Van Halen songs at his official YouTube channel.

The latest installment of the “Roth Lives!” series is a joyous rendition of Van Halen’s 1979 hit “Dance the Night Away,” which originally appeared n the band’s sophomore album, Van Halen II, and reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Roth’s updated version of the song includes a little guitar riff near the end nicked from the Them classic “Gloria.”

Accompanying the YouTube clip is a poster-like image of a vintage pinup model controlling two small Diamond Daves on puppet strings.

Earlier this month, Diamond Dave debuted new renditions of the Van Halen tunes “Panama” and “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love” on his YouTube channel. All three tracks were recorded in May of this year at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles with the current members of his solo backing band — guitarist Al Estrada, bassist Ryan Wheeler and drummer Francis Valentino.

None of the new tracks have been made available as digital downloads or via major streaming services.

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When Elton John dropped by the White House on Friday to perform at an event on the South Lawn, he was surprised by a special gift from President Biden: the National Humanities Medal.

Elton performed at A Night When Hope and History Rhyme, an event organized in collaboration with The History Channel and A+E Networks. In addition to celebrating the healing power of music, the event paid tribute to Elton’s philanthropic work, as well as his musical achievements.

“On behalf of the American people, thank you — and I sincerely mean this — for moving the soul of the nation,” the president told Elton. 

Elton entertained the crowd with favorites like “Your Song,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man,” “I’m Still Standing,” and “Crocodile Rock,” a favorite of the Biden family.  He also spoke about his work with his Elton John AIDS Foundation, praising the American people and the U.S. government for their generosity in helping him in his fight to eradicate the disease.

But Elton was shocked when Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden presented him with the Medal, given to people those “activities, contributions, and achievements have significantly enriched the educational, intellectual, and cultural life of the nation.”

“I said to the First Lady, I’m never flabbergasted but I’m flabbergasted. And humbled,” said Elton. “It will make me double my efforts to make sure this disease [AIDS] goes away.”

On Instagram, he wrote, “There is so much more to be done to reach the most vulnerable communities – thank you to everyone who has joined and supported us so far on our mission to make sure no one is left behind.“

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Cars guitarist Elliot Easton and Def Leppard bassist Rick Savage are among the new additions to the lineup for Foo Fighters‘ upcoming Los Angeles-area tribute concert to late drummer Taylor Hawkins, taking place this Tuesday, September 27 at the Kia Forum.

Other artists who’ve joined the bill include Yes vocalist and Hawkins’ childhood friend Jon Davison, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, Tool drummer Danny Carey and The Pretty Reckless‘ Taylor Momsen.

Additionally, The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins and pop star Kesha, who performed at the London tribute earlier this month, have been added to the LA lineup.

Previously announced participants, many of whom also played the six-hour London concert, include Queen‘s Brian May and Roger Taylor, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott and Phil Collen, The Police‘s Stewart Copeland, Heart‘s Nancy Wilson, the Joe Walsh-fronted James Gang, Joan Jett, Alanis Morissette, Led Zeppelin‘s John Paul Jones, Rush‘s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, David Bowie drummer Omar Hakim, Miley Cyrus and Pink.

Additionally, Dave Grohl‘s daughter Violet and Hawkins’ son Shane will perform.

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Dead & Company has come to the end of The Golden Road. The band took to Instagram on Friday to announce some good news and bad news: The Grateful Dead spinoff group is going to tour next summer, but that trek will be their last one.

“As we put the finishing touches on booking venues, and understanding that word travels fast, we wanted to be the first to let you know that Dead & Company will be hitting the road next summer for what will be our final tour,” reads the message on the band’s Instagram page.

“Stay tuned for a full list of dates for what will surely be an exciting, celebratory, and heartfelt last run of shows. With love and appreciation, Dead & Company.”

Dead & Company, formed in 2015, includes John Mayer, former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and bassist Otiel Burbridge. Their most recent tour was last year.

The band had previously announced plans for a 2023 edition of their Playing in the Sand destination festival, set for Moon Palace Cancún in Rivera Cancún, Mexico, from January 14 to January 17, 2023. 

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Pink Floyd has had many iconic album covers — The Dark Side of The Moon and The Wall come to mind. But the cover of its 1977 album Animals is up there: it shows London’s Battersea Power Station, with a pink pig floating between the chimneys. Now, fans are convinced the band plans to recreate the album cover to promote its newest archival release: Animals (2018 Remix), which features a 5.1 surround sound mix created in 2018.

A message posted on the band’s social media pages Friday reads, “To mark the release of Pink Floyd’s Animals 2018 Remix, London’s Battersea Power Station will be an eminently suitable canvas next Wednesday and Thursday, between 8:30pm – 11pm, with a sneak preview on Tuesday night at the same time, as a test run.”

The message is accompanied by the artwork from the release, which shows Battersea Power Station as it is today, with the iconic pig, nicknamed “Algie,” floating above it.

There’s speculation that the band plans to float an inflatable pig above the station in real life on September 27, 28 and 29, or that Pink Floyd members will make an appearance there, or both.

The deluxe box set comes out October 7, but the CD and Blu-ray versions are available now.

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The current season of Fox’s The Masked Singer marks the first time any contestant performed a song by The Beatles: It was “Love Me Do,” sung by The Hedgehog, later unmasked as Monty Python legend Eric Idle. Idle personally asked Paul McCartney for permission to sing the song, but he claims he wasn’t sure Paul would give it to him — because of something Idle did more than 40 years ago.

After his unmasking, Idle told viewers that while Paul had given him permission, he’d added, “Please tell me what show it is, so I can make sure to avoid it.” Idle tells Yahoo that Paul’s joke, and his trepidation about asking him for permission, stem from Idle’s 1978 film spoof of The Beatles — The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash.

“I have a friend who worked at Apple in London, and he said, ‘I think Paul will have forgiven you by now,'” Idle tells Yahoo. “Because, you know, I played [Paul] in The Rutles.” The portrayal wasn’t particularly flattering.

Idle says, “My wife and I bumped into him … shortly after [the movie came out], and he said, ‘Oh, I’m not sure we’re talking to you!’ Obviously, he wasn’t  quite so comfortable in those days.”

But eventually, Paul came around. He even sent out a tweet promoting The Masked Singer, writing, “I have heard whispers that a pal of mine is on America’s #TheMaskedSinger…Best of luck friend! Sing with all your heart!“

The Beatles were actually big Monty Python fans, and Idle and George Harrison were extremely close; Harrison even mortgaged his house to finance the comedy troupe’s classic film Life of Brian.

“He was a remarkable man. He really changed my life,” Idle says of Harrison, who died in 2001. “I’d never had a friend like that.”

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The late Mama Cass Elliott of The Mamas and the Papas will be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next month.

The star ceremony will take place October 3 at 11:30 a.m. PT and will be streamed live at walkoffame.com. Among those who’ll speak at the ceremony are Michelle Phillips — the other “Mama” in The Mamas and the Papas — as well as longtime pal John Sebastian. Cass’ daughter Owen Elliott-Kugell and Cass’ sister Leah Kunkel will also speak.

The star — the 2,735th star to be awarded — will be located at 7065 Hollywood Blvd.

As a member of The Mamas and the Papas, Cass scored six top 10 hits, including “Monday Monday,” “California Dreamin'” and “Dedicated to the One I Love.” The group sold over 40 million records and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Cass then went on to a solo career, scoring hits like “Make Your Own Kind of Music” and “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” She died of heart failure in London in 1974.

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If you’re a Rolling Stones fan, you’ve no doubt seen the photo of the band members in drag on the U.S. version of the single “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?” Now, you can see that photo come to life: The original 1966 video for the song has been officially released.

Director Peter Whitehead created the black-and-white video using footage from the single artwork photoshoot.  All five original members of the band — Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman and Brian Jones — are shown dressed as women, standing around on a New York City street. Well, everyone is standing around except for Wyman: He’s sitting in a wheelchair wearing a women’s military uniform, which includes a skirt and pumps.

The footage of the band in drag is intercut with a clip of Jagger walking through what looks like an art fair on the street, plus random shots of the other band members.

Along with that visual, the band has released a live performance video of the same song, also shot by Whitehead. That one — filmed on September 23, 1966 during a performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall –shows the band being mobbed onstage by screaming fans.

“Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?” was a top 10 U.S. hit in 1966.

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Billy Idol‘s recently announced EP, The Cage, got its release Friday, September 23.

The EP is available on CD, digitally, and as a standard black-vinyl disc and a limited-edition red-vinyl disc.

The Cage features four new songs on which the veteran pop-punk rocker collaborated with his longtime guitarist, Steve Stevens.

Fans got their first taste of the record last month, when Idol released the track “Cage,” along with a companion music video.

The Cage‘s other songs are “Running from the Ghost,” which focuses on Billy overcoming drug addiction; “Rebel Like You,” a blues-rock tune that pays tribute to his 2-year-old granddaughter; and “Miss Nobody,” a spoken-word rap/R&B/funk-influenced track inspired by a feisty homeless woman he crossed paths with near the studio where he was working on the EP.

“These new songs are celebratory because Steve and I are enjoying ourselves,” Idol recently told Variety. “It’s kind of wild to still be making music we’re excited about.”

The Cage EP is a follow-up to 2021’s The Roadside EP.

Meanwhile, Billy kicks off a new European tour Friday night in Halle, Germany. The trek is mapped out through an October 25 show in Leeds, England. When Idol returns to the U.S., he’ll launch a five-date Las Vegas residency at The Cosmopolitan that runs from November 11 through November 19.

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Earlier this week, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame posted an “In Memoriam” tribute to original Doobie Brothers drummer John Hartman — though oddly, according to a Hall of Fame rep, his family confirmed that he actually died on December 29, 2021. Now, his bandmates have acknowledged Hartman’s passing on their official Facebook page.

Hartman, who was 72, co-founded the Doobie Brothers and played on all their ’70s-era hits; the band added a second drummer in 1971. Hartman left after 1978’s Minute by Minute album but rejoined twelve other Doobies alumni for a 1987 benefit tour. 

He was subsequently part of the reunited Doobies lineup that recorded 1989’s Cycles and 1991’s Brotherhood, but retired permanently from the band in 1992. In 2020, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with eight other Doobie Brothers members.

On the band’s Facebook page, they wrote, “Today we are thinking of John Hartman, or Little John, to us. John was a wild spirit, great drummer and showman during his time in the Doobies. He was also a close friend for many years and an intricate part of the band personality! We send our condolences to all his loved ones at this difficult time. Rest In Peace, John.”

It’s unclear why nobody in the band seemed to be aware of Hartman’s passing prior to the Rock Hall’s posting.  Doobie Brothers drummers Keith Knudsen and Michael Hossack died in 2005 and 2012, respectively.

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