In 2019 Peter Frampton announced he was retiring from touring due to a progressive muscle disorder, but apparently that doesn’t mean he’s ready to give up playing live altogether. In fact, he’s already lined up a new show for next month.
The guitar great just announced he’s headlining a free concert in Nashville on January 22.
So far no other details about the concert have been revealed. His last performance was back in August, when he performed at a Buddy Holly 85th birthday celebration in Texas.
Gov’t Mule fans are going to have to make some new New Year’s Eve plans. The band was supposed to kick off a run of shows in Philadelphia Thursday, but just announced the entire schedule has been postponed due to a “medical emergency.”
“After waiting for so long, we were excited to be together and finally make these shows happen, the last thing we wanted or expected was to have to postpone again, but it was an unavoidable situation,” the band shared on Instagram. “Please keep holding on to those tickets, and we’ll update you soon with more info. Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday.”
The Black ‘N’ Blue New Year’s Eve run was supposed to launch Thursday at the Met in Philadelphia, followed by shows Friday and Saturday at the Beacon Theater in New York. These shows have already been postponed twice. They were originally supposed to happen the end of December 2021 and then were rescheduled to April, but were then postponed again.
Looks like we may be getting new music from The Go-Go’s next year. Frontwoman Belinda Carlisle announced the news in a New Year’s Eve-related tweet that featured a throwback NYE performance.
The singer posted a video clip of her performing her solo single “I Get Weak” for an MTV special in 1987, writing, “It’s hard to believe that this was 35 years ago! But hey, great music never goes out of style!”
She then added, “We have new music coming out next year that I’m very excited about.” The fact that she wrote “we” and not “I” seems to indicate she’s referring to her band.
Neil Young is certainly known for standing up for what he believes in, and he did that in a big way this year, taking on Spotify.
It all started in January when Neil, upset about the COVID misinformation he believed was being spread on Spotify thanks to Joe Rogan’s podcast, demanded his music be removed from the streaming platform. Spotify did comply, but Neil wasn’t the only artist it was about to lose over the matter.
Not long after his declaration, in solidarity with Neil, Joni Mitchell and E Street Band/Crazy Horse member Nils Lofgren stood by him, demanding their music be removed from the service for the same reasons.
Then in February, Neil’s Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmate Graham Nash backed him up by removing his catalog from Spotify. Not long after, David Crosby and Stephen Stills demanded their solo work, plus any Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young or Crosby, Stills & Nash and Crosby-Nash music be removed.
But the battle with Spotify wasn’t the only thing Neil had going on this year. He also released a new Crazy Horse album, World Record, as well as the album Toast, which he recorded with them in 2001 but had not released. He also released a 50th anniversary deluxe reissue of his fourth album, Harvest, along with a companion documentary, Neil Young: Harvest Time, chronicling the making of the record. Neil also released the live album and concert film Noise & Flowers, which was recorded during his nine-date 2019 European tour with Promise of the Real.
David Lee Roth is opening up about his relationship with his late Van Halen bandmate Eddie Van Halen, who passed away in October 2020.
In the latest episode of his The Roth Show podcast, Roth shares, “My dear departed Ed. Boy, I miss him. I had a ball with Ed.”
As for their working relationship, Roth notes, “Walt Disney once said, ‘You know what? My love affair with Mickey Mouse was better than any love affair with a woman I ever had,’” offering, “I’ve gotta tell ya: playing with Ed, writing songs with Ed, presenting those songs with Ed was better than any love affair I ever had.”
He adds that some of the tunes they made together in Van Halen “might last forever – or until the last syllable of time, like Shakespeare said. They became anthems.”
While the Beatles broke up over 50 years ago, they were still making headlines in 2022, with Emmy wins, big tours and more.
Here’s a lowdown on all of 2022’s Beatles happenings:
—Paul McCartney launched his Got Back tour in Spokane, Washington, which featured a virtual duet with John Lennon on the Fab Four’s “I’ve Got a Feeling.” He wrapped the tour at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, with special appearances by Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. It was also Paul’s 80th birthday, and Bon Jovi led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to him.
–Lennon’s son Julian Lennon covered his father’s classic track “Imagine” for the first time during Global Citizen’s televised Stand Up for Ukraine special.
—Ringo Starr received an honorary doctorate from Boston’s Berklee College of Music.
–McCartney headlined the Glastonbury Music Festival in England, and was joined by special guests Bruce Springsteen and Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl. It was Grohls’ first time onstage since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins.
–McCartney released McCartney I II III, a box set of his three self-titled solo albums: 1970’s McCartney, 1980’s McCartney II and 2020’s McCartney III.
–Ringo and his All-Star Band relaunched their tour after 12 dates had to be scrapped in June due to positive COVID tests by Edgar Winter and Toto‘s Steve Lukather. Unfortunately, a month later Ringo was forced to cancel the remainder of the tour after testing positive for COVID himself.
–McCartney made a surprise appearance at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in England. Accompanied by The Pretenders‘ Chrissie Hynde, the pair teamed up for a version the Beatles’ “Oh! Darling.” Sir Paul and the Foo Fighters also performed “Helter Skelter.”
—The Beatles: Get Back won five Emmys at the Creative Artist Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. McCartney and Starr, as well as Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison,the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, received trophies since they were all co-producers of the series.
–Ringo released EP3, the third EP of a four-EP collection.
–A deluxe reissue of the Beatles’ Revolver was released, featuring various new mixes of the original 1966 record, as well as a collection of outtakes and a four-song EP. Following the reissue’s arrival, Revolver re-entered the top five on the Billboard 200.
–November marked the 20th anniversary of the Concert for George, celebrating George Harrison with a screening of the all-star concert in theaters.
–McCartney dropped The 7” Singles box, featuring 80 7-inch McCartney singles, all personally curated by the Beatleslegend.
–A new documentary about Abbey Road studios, If These Walls Could Sing, directed by Mary McCartney, debuted on Disney+.
The middle of the Venn diagram between Kate Bush and Metallica fans probably wasn’t all that big at the beginning of 2022. By the end of the year, however, both the English art pop singer and the U.S. metal outfit shared one (stranger) thing in common.
The popular Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things’ fourth season made unexpected resurgent hits out of Bush’s 1985 single “Running Up That Hill” and Metallica’s 1986 thrasher “Master of Puppets.”
“Running Up That Hill” was featured in the first half of the season, which premiered in May. As the favorite song of the character Max Mayfield, played by Sadie Sink, “Running Up That Hill” helps her — spoiler alert — escape the clutches of the evil Vecna.
Following its placement, “Running Up That Hill” began to run up the Billboard Hot 100, eventually peaking at #3 on the all-genre chart — a career-high for Bush. In Bush’s home country, “Running Up That Hill” hit #1 on the United Kingdom’s Official Single Chart, breaking several records along the way; Bush became the oldest female artist to ever conquer the ranking.
The response to “Running Up That Hill” was so overwhelming that Bush issued several public statements, which was major news for an artist who’d developed a reclusive and press-shy reputation. It even got to a point where Bush gave an actual interview, her first in several years.
When the second half of Stranger Things season 4 premiered in July, it was Metallica’s time to shine. Like “Running Up That Hill,” “Master of Puppets” was featured in a pivotal scene, this time featuring Joseph Quinn‘s beloved metalhead and Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast Eddie Munson, who — again, spoiler alert — shreds the metal classic in an effort to thwart Vecna.
While it didn’t quite match the enormous popularity of “Running Up That Hill,” “Master of Puppets” debuted on the Hot 100 for the first time, peaking at #35 — not bad for a nearly nine-minute metal song in the year 2022.
As Stranger Things was bringing in new fans, the “Enter Sandman” rockers reminded longtime ‘Tallica fans that “everyone is welcome,” no matter how long you’ve been listening.
Stranger Things also sparked renewed interest in Dio thanks to the Eddie character, who wore a patch dedicated to the “Holy Diver” metallers on the back of his denim jacket.
Earlier this month U2 was the recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, and fans will finally get to see the celebration Wednesday, when the ceremony airs on CBS at 8 p.m.
At the event, the band is saluted by actors Sean Penn and Sacha Baron Cohen, who stays in character as Kazakhstan journalist Borat. The night also features several performances, with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder performing two U2 tracks, “Elevation” and “One,” and Hozier, Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow and others performing “Walk On.”
And U2 isn’t the only act being honored. The special also features tributes to Gladys Knight, George Clooney, Amy Grant and conductor Tania León, with performances from The Highwoman, BeBe & CeCe Winans and Michael W Smith, Garth Brooks, Mickey Guyton and more.
Bob Marley’s grandson Joseph “Jo Mersa” Marley passed away Tuesday at the age of 31. A rep confirmed his death to Rolling Stone, although no official cause of death was given.
Earlier reports by journalist Abka Fitz-Henley claimed that Joe Mersa was found unresponsive in his vehicle, with TMZ reporting his death was asthma-related.
Joe Mersa was the son Stephen Marley, one of Bob’s 11 children, and leaves behind a wife and a daughter. He was a singer in his own right, releasing the EP Comfortable in 2014 and another EP, Eternal, in 2021. He also appeared on his father’s 2016 song “Revelation Party,” which appeared on the album Revelation Part 2: The Fruit of Life.
Another set of musicians were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, but before it actually happened there was at least one unexpected issue.
After the initial list of nominees was announced, Dolly Parton, who was included on the list, threw things for a loop when in February she requested her name be removed from the ballot. But the Hall refused, noting her music “impacted a generation of young fans and influenced countless artists that followed.” She eventually agreed to stay on the ballot, and it’s a good thing she did.
When this year’s class was finally announced, not only did Dolly make it, but so did Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Carly Simon, Judas Priest and Eminem. In addition, duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were chosen to receive the Musical Excellence Award, while Harry Belafonte receivedthe Early Influence Award. The late R&B singer Sylvia Robinson was chosen for the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
The induction ceremony was held in November in Los Angeles. Here are some of the evening’s many highlights:
–Duran Duran performed “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Girls on Film” and “Ordinary World.” Fans were hoping to see the band reunite with original guitarist Andy Taylor, but instead singer Simon Le Bon read a letter Taylor wrote explaining he couldn’t be there because he’s been battling stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer.
—Sheryl Crow paid tribute to Benatar and Giraldo, who then treated the crowd to “All Fired Up,” “Love Is a Battlefield” and “Heartbreaker.”
–Eurythmics reunited at the ceremony for their first performance since 2019, performing “Would I Lie to You,” “Sweet Dreams” and “Missionary Man.”
—Carly Simon missed the ceremony, as she was grieving the loss of her two sisters. She was celebrated by Sara Bareilles, who performed “Nobody Does it Better,” and Olivia Rodrigo, who performed “You’re So Vain.” Alanis Morissette was supposed to take part in the Carly tribute but dropped out at the last minute, hinting it had to do with “anti-woman sentiment.”
—Judas Priest reunited with former bandmates K.K. Downing and Les Binks for a performance that included “Breaking the Law” and “Living After Midnight.” During speeches they were joined by guitarist Glenn Tipton, who retired from touring full time in 2018 due to Parkinson’s disease.
—Eminem, who was inducted by Dr. Dre, performed a medley of hits, including “My Name Is,” “Sing for the Moment” with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and “Stan,” with Ed Sheeran singing the chorus and playing guitar.
–Richie treated the crowd to “Hello” and brought out a special guest, Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl,for “Easy,” ending his set with his classic “All Night Long.”
—Pink helped induct Dolly, then joined Dolly and Crow for a performance of “Jolene,” which also included this year’s fellow inductees Benatar, Annie Lennox, Le Bon and Judas Priest’s Rob Halford.
–Finally, the night ended with a classic HOF jam, with Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp paying tribute to the late Jerry Lee Lewis with a medley of his hits.
