Classic Hits

The Who‘s Pete Townshend, Carlos Santana and Mariah Carey are part of the lineup of the Audible audio service’s next Words + Music series, a program that combines music and storytelling.

The new series of programs kicks off on May 6 with Pete Townshend: Somebody Saved Me, a two-hour presentation that features the legendary Who guitarist/songwriter discussing the period between the 1978 of Who drummer Keith Moon and the 2002 passing of bassist John Entwistle.

In the episode, the 76-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer reflects on the music he made with The Who and as a solo artist, his various other creative projects and endeavors, his personal relationships and more. The program also features newly recorded versions of several tunes from Pete’s catalog, including “Let My Love Open the Door,” “Slit Skirts,” “You Better You Bet” and “Eminence Front.”

A one-minute preview clip from Somebody Saved Me has been posted on Audible’s SoundCloud page. In the segment, Townshend notes that his episode will look at a time “when The Who was at its most popular, and when The Who broke up…a time when I made solo records and worked on projects of all kinds outside rock ‘n’ roll.”

He adds, “It was a time that The Who suffered great loss, and then came together again. You could say that in this Words + Music project I’m going to focus on my ‘Middle Ages.'”

Word + Music episodes are available for free at Audible.com. The premiere dates for Santana’s and Carey’s Words + Music episodes haven’t been announced yet.

Other artists featured in upcoming Word + Music presentations include Aimee Mann, Beck and comedy rock duo Tenacious D.

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Over 200 artists, including Foreigner, Rod Stewart, Aerosmith and The Who, are taking part in Live Nation’s 2022 Concert Week promotion, which will offer $25 tickets to shows across North American throughout the summer.

Among the many, many other participating tours are Alanis Morissette, Alice Cooper, Barenaked Ladies, The Beach Boys, The Black Crowes, Bonnie Raitt, Chicago & Brian Wilson, Def Leppard & Mötley Crüe, Devo, The Doobie Brothers, Duran Duran, Elvis Costello, Goo Goo Dolls, James Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, KISS, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pet Shop Boys, REO Speedwagon & Styx with Loverboy, Roxy Music, Sammy Hagar, Santana & Earth, Wind, & Fire, Sheryl Crow, Steely Dan, Sting, Tears for Fears, Third Eye Blind, UB40 and ZZ Top.

In total, over 3,700 shows will be discounted as part of the promotion.

The $25 Concert Week tickets will be on sale beginning Wednesday, May 4 at 10 a.m. ET, through Tuesday, May 10. For the full list of participating artists and all other info, visit LiveNation.com.

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David Bowie‘s landmark 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was released 50 years ago this June, and to commemorate the milestone, two special vinyl collections will be issued that month.

The first is a limited-edition half-speed-mastered Ziggy Stardust LP, while the second is a picture disc featuring the same master and packaged with a replica promotional poster. Both discs are due out on June 17, one day after the 50th anniversary of the Ziggy Stardust album’s original U.K. release.

The new master for LPs was created using restored masters of the original master tapes from Bowie’s sessions at London’s Trident Studios.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was Bowie’s fifth album and his first to break into the top 40 of the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at #21. While the record yielded no hit singles in the U.S., it features many of classic Bowie songs, including “Moonage Daydream,” “Starman,” “Ziggy Stardust” and “Suffragette City.” The record is a loose concept album focusing on the Bowie-created Ziggy Stardust character, a bisexual alien rock star, and his mythical backing group, The Spiders from Mars.

During that time, Bowie and his real band took on the personas of Ziggy and The Spiders from Mars in concert, until David dramatically declared onstage at the end of a July 1973 show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon that the group had played its last gig.

Today’s announcement of the upcoming vinyl discs coincides with the 50th anniversary of release of the album’s first single, “Starman,” which reached at #10 in the U.K.

Here’s the full Ziggy Stardust track list:

Side One
“Five Years”
“Soul Love”
“Moonage Daydream”
“Starman”
“It Ain’t Easy”

Side Two
“Lady Stardust”
“Star”
“Hang On to Yourself”
“Ziggy Stardust”
“Suffragette City”
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”

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The Beach Boys are launching a yearlong worldwide celebration to mark their 60th anniversary that will include special audio releases, an official documentary, a tribute special, new music videos, exhibitions, other commemorative events, and more.

Kicking things off will be an expanded and remastered reissue of the band’s 2003 hits compilation Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys that will be released on June 17.

The updated collection, features 80 tracks, 50 more than the original version, including classic hits and deeper cuts spanning from the group’s 1962 debut album, Surfin’ Safari, through 1989’s Still Cruisin’.

The track list boasts nearly every top-40 single that the band released, including “California Girls,” “I Get Around,” “Surfer Girl,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” “God Only Knows,” “Good Vibrations” and “Kokomo.” Newly added songs include such gems as “Feel Flows,” “Sail On Sailor” and “Surf’s Up.”

The Sounds of Summer reissue includes 24 new mixes, with two tracks getting stereo mixes for the first time. The collection, which can be pre-ordered now, will be available as a three-CD set, digitally and as a six-LP vinyl package. A limited-edition, numbered version of the vinyl collection will feature a rainbow foil slipcase and four lithographs.

A remastered version of the original 30-track compilation also will be released, on CD and as a two-LP set.

In advance of the reissue’s arrival, a new stereo mix of “Good Vibrations” has been made available as a digital single.

The Beach Boys also are planning to release an archival multi-disc set this fall that delves into two of the band’s early-’70s albums — 1972’s Carl and the Passions — “So Tough” and 1973’s Holland.

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It’s been almost three years since Paul McCartney last played a full-length concert — with his long hiatus due, of course, to the COVID-19 pandemic — but the former Beatles star finally is ready to get back on the road, with a new U.S. tour kicking off tonight in Spokane, Washington.

McCartney’s trek, dubbed the Got Back tour, features a total of 16 dates, and runs through a June 16 performance at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The outing includes three multiple-night engagements — May 2-3 in Seattle; May 6 and May 8 in Oakland, California; and June 7-8 at Boston’s famed Fenway Park.

With Sir Paul and his band just about ready to kick things off, McCartney has posted a video on his YouTube channel and social media sites featuring some behind-the-scenes and rehearsal footage, as well as audio of a performance of “Get Back.”

In the clip, McCartney says, “Very excited. Final days of rehearsal, and we’re gonna get back out. We’re really excited to see those happy faces, and try and bring ’em some peace, love and a little bit of joy in these dark days.”

The video also features some comments from drummer Abe Laborial Jr., who notes, “I can’t believe how much I’ve missed this. You know, I thought maybe having a couple months off would be nice. Wasn’t expecting it to be two-and-a-half years, so I’ve really missed my family. I’ve missed all of these people.”

To check out Sir Paul’s full U.S. tour schedule and to buy tickets to the shows, visit PaulMcCartneyGotBack.com and PaulMcCartney.com.

After the stateside trek, Sir Paul will be playing a headlining set at the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival on June 25.

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Devo is among the nominees for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, marking the third time that the quirky and influential New Wave band has been in the running for the honor.

Founding Devo member Gerald Casale tells ABC Audio that “it’d be nice” if the band is chosen for induction, and “a feather in [our] cap,” while admitting, “I won’t cry if it doesn’t happen.”

The 73-year-old musician says if Devo is selected to inducted, the band will be up for performing at the ceremony. He notes that if he had to choose the songs that the group would play, “they would have to be the tent poles of Devo, [and]…would certainly have to…include ‘Whip It!,’ ‘Uncontrollable Urge’ and ‘Beautiful World.'”

Gerald also has ideas about who he’d like to see induct Devo into the Rock Hall, pointing out that since David Bowie is no longer with us, “Neil Young would be the first logical choice.”

Young was not only an early Devo devotee, he featured the band in his apocalyptic 1982 cult comedy film Human Highway, and collaborated on some recordings with the group around that time.

“We loved working with him. We actually loved him,” Casale tells ABC Audio. “We had no idea that the…grandfather of granola rock would take to Devo so well and he’d be such an interesting, iconoclastic person, and easy to talk to and [with a] full sense of humor and still [with] boy-like enthusiasm and energy for new music.”

The Rock Hall’s 2022 inductees will be announced in early May. Voting for the online fan poll, which only has minor influence on who gets inducted, ends this Friday, April 29. Devo currently is ranked ninth out of the 17 nominees.

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KISS bassist/singer Gene Simmons has extended an invitation to the band’s founding lead guitarist, Ace Frehley, to join the group during encores at some of the upcoming shows on KISS’ End of the Road farewell tour.

Simmons’ invite was part of a birthday message he sent via Twitter to Frehley, who turned 71 today.

“Happy Birthday Ace…And many more,” Gene wrote. “The invitations still stand. Jump up on stage with us for encores. The fans would love it.”

Frehley last performed with KISS in 2018, when he joined the band’s current lineup to play a few songs during the group’s annual KISS Kruise. That same year, Ace released the solo studio album Spaceman, which included two tracks on which he collaborated with Simmons.

In interviews around that time, Frehley said he wasn’t opposed to rejoining KISS to tour, but insisted the money had to be right.

Meanwhile, as reported last month, Frehley is slated to reunite with original KISS drummer Peter Criss to perform a few songs during the first day of Nashville’s Creatures Fest event, which runs from May 27 to May 29.

KISS’ next show on its End of the Road tour takes place on Thursday, April 28, in Curitiba, Brazil. The band begins a new U.S. leg of the trek on May 11 in Milwaukee.

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Foreigner‘s recent eight-show Las Vegas residency at The Venetian Theatre raised more than $100,000 for the American Red Cross’ Ukrainian relief efforts as part a partnership with the charitable organization.

The veteran rockers donated $5,000 from each Las Vegas concert to the American Red Cross’ Ukrainian relief initiative, and also gifted hand-signed guitars to the more than 70 fans at the shows who donated at least $1,000 to on-site American Red Cross reps.

The Red Cross is providing potentially lifesaving humanitarian aid to Ukrainians in need both in their own country and to those who have fled to neighboring countries during the current Russian military invasion. International crisis responders have been deployed by the organization to Poland, Moldova, Hungary and Romania to provide relief.

To date, more than three million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, and its estimated that 18 million will need humanitarian aid. Visit RedCross.org for more info.

Next up for Foreigner will be a tour of Ireland, the U.K. and mainland Europe that runs from a May 10 show in Dublin through a June 18 performance in Dessel, Belgium. The band will then launch a new series of U.S. concerts that begins in late June and is plotted out until late September. Those shows include headlining gigs and concerts supporting Kid Rock on his Bad Reputation tour. Visit ForeignerOnline.com for a full list of the band’s tour dates.

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Veteran New Zealand/Australian pop-rock band Crowded House has lined up a 2022 North American tour in support of their latest studio album, 2021’s Dreamers Are Waiting.

The trek is scheduled to get underway September 2 in Philadelphia and is mapped out through an October 3 show in Vancouver, Canada.

Tickets for the trek go on sale to the general public this Friday, April 29, at 10 a.m. local time.  American Express card members in select areas will be able to buy pre-sale tickets starting today, April 27.

Crowded House is led by founding singer/guitarist Neil Finn, who also joined the touring lineup of Fleetwood Mac for that band’s most recent outing. The “Don’t Dream It’s Over” group now also features original bassist Nick Seymour, acclaimed producer Mitchell Froom on keyboards, and Neil’s sons Liam and Elroy, respectively, on guitar and drums.

“Crowded House are delighted at long last to be able to play shows in North America,” Neil says in a statement. “We have been picking up the pace recently as the world opens up and can’t wait [to] present the show with this band lineup in absolute top form to the good folk of North America, from sea to shining sea.”

Prior to the North American trek, Crowded House will be touring the U.K., Ireland and mainland Europe in June and early July. Check out the band’s full schedule at CrowdedHouse.com.

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A new book celebrating the life and music of late Emerson, Lake & Palmer keyboardist Keith Emerson can be pre-ordered now.

The official book, titled simply Keith Emerson, features a bevy of rare photos, as well as recollections, tributes and anecdotes from Emerson’s musical collaborators, fans, friends and family members.

Among the notable artists interviewed for the book are ELP/Asia drummer Carl Palmer, ex-Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, Yes drummer Alan White, Yes/Asia keyboardist Geoff Downes, ex-Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter and many others.

The book focuses an all aspects of Keith’s musical career, including his work with ELP, The Nice, 3 and his solo band, and also looks at his personal relationships and how his legacy has inspired other musicians.

The Keith Emerson book is available in two versions — a Classic Edition and the pricier Signature edition. The limited-edition latter version is signed by author Chris Welch and Keith’s son Aaron. It comes packaged in a clamshell box and includes an high-quality art print of a portrait of Keith, a CD featuring an unheard interview with Emerson, and specially created sheet music to his first-ever original composition, “Quatermass Boogie Woogie,” which he wrote at age 12.

To pre-order the book, visit KeithEmersonbook.com and Rocket88Books.

Emerson died by suicide in March 2016. He was 71.

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