Classic Hits

A few days ago, Elton John attended a preview performance of his new musical, The Devil Wears Prada, which is currently playing in Chicago on its way to Broadway. On Instagram, Elton told the cast and crew, “You’ve created something truly wonderful!” But at least one review doesn’t agree with him.

In its review of the show, Variety writes that the show needs to “get meaner,” calling it “an overly respectful and frankly miscalculated approach to its source materials.” According to Variety, the show, based on the book by Lauren Weisberger and the hit movie starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, “provides some serviceable entertainment but needs a hefty dose of guilty, edgy fun to boost its mild pleasures.”

In Variety’s opinion, the show “just never lets loose,” and in particular doesn’t give us enough of Prada’s iconic boss-from-hell Miranda Priestly, who in the movie and book treats her assistant Andy so terribly that we’re rooting for her to get out from under her thumb.

And while Elton’s score and its “pleasing, peppy pop sound” has “its moments,” Variety reports, “There’s a lot of work needed to replace the sincere and fairly dull songs … with songs that express the naked ambition, social irresponsibility and joyful artifice of the fashion industry.”

Variety suggests that Elton and the rest of the creative team need to “set niceness aside, and channel their inner Miranda Priestlys.”

Of course, Elton has written numerous hit musicals — The Lion King, Billy Elliott and Aida — so it’s unlikely one middling review will make much of a difference to him, though The New York Times isn’t thrilled with the show either. The musical is playing at Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre through August 21.

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Lamont Dozier, one-third of the legendary Motown songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, has died, his son announced on Instagram Tuesday. He was 81.

Lamont Dozier Jr. posted a photo of himself with his famous father and wrote, “Rest in Heavenly Peace, Dad!” Details of his death are not known at this time.

Dozier and brothers Eddie Holland and Brian Holland joined Motown in 1962 and wrote more than 200 songs for the label’s acts, helping to create the “Motown Sound.” Dozier and Brian worked as musical arrangers and producers, while Eddie focused on lyrics and vocal production. 

Together, the trio wrote 10 #1 hits, including The Supremes‘ “Where Did Our Love Go,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “Baby Love” and “Stop! In the Name of Love” and The Four Tops‘ “I Can’t Help Myself” and “Reach Out I’ll Be There.”  They also penned classic hits for Martha & The Vandellas, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye and The Isley Brothers.

In 1988 and 1990, Holland-Dozier-Holland were inducted, respectively, into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The trio left Motown in 1968 to form the labels Invictus and Hot Wax. In 1973, Dozier left the trio, recording albums as a solo artist and penning songs for others. Some of his later co-writes included the Phil Collins‘ smash “Two Hearts,” Alison Moyet‘s “Invisible,” Debbie Gibson‘s “Anything Is Possible,” and “Without You” by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle.

In a 2015 interview with The Guardian, Dozier explained why the songs the trio wrote were mostly empathetic toward women. “Women bought the records, to put it bluntly,” Dozier said. “They wanted music that talked about their feelings, but also … women raised me … I trusted women, and I still do.”

Fellow hitmaking songwriter of the ’60s Carole King tweeted, “Gerry [Goffin] & I respected Holland Dozier Holland over at Motown. Striving to keep up with them made us better songwriters. Rest In Peace and power Lamont Dozier.”

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A fresh run of episodes of the AXS TV investigative series Music’s Greatest Mysteries, which delves into some of the biggest myths and legends in music history, will premiere on Wednesday, August 24.

The first of the six new Music’s Greatest Mysteries episodes will include segments looking at the death of founding Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones and the curious similarities between two hit 1984 singles — Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” theme and Huey Lewis and the News’ “I Want a New Drug.”

Other episodes will feature segments about Pat Benatar‘s enduring rock ‘n’ roll romance, John Lennon‘s fascination and association with the number nine, and the tragic death of Who drummer Keith Moon’s chauffeur, as well as stories about Kris Kristofferson, Patsy Cline, Quiet Riot and Led Zeppelin.

A variety of experts and commentators will be featured on the new shows, including Quiet Riot bassist Rudy Sarzo, former MTV host Matt Pinfield, Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo, famous rock groupie and author Pamela Des Barres, Spin magazine founder Bob Guccione Jr. and many more.

The new episodes Music’s Greatest Mysteries will premiere weekly on AXS TV on Wednesdays through September 28.

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George Thorogood and the Destroyers‘ classic 1982 album Bad to the Bone, featuring the band’s signature tune of the same name, was released 40 years ago today.

The record, which was the veteran blues rockers’ fifth studio effort, only peaked at #43 on the Billboard 200, but went on to be certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 in the U.S. The album featured the band’s first two singles to break into the top 40 of Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, “Bad to the Bone” and a cover of The Isley Brothers‘ “Nobody but Me.”

Thorogood tells ABC Audio that when he wrote “Bad to the Bone,” “I wanted [people] to think Bo Diddley wrote it or Muddy Waters wrote it, ’cause I wanted to follow that theme. ‘Cause that’s what I grew up on.”

George says he’s recognized more for that song than anything else he’s done in his career.

“Now, when I meet people who weren’t even alive when ‘Bad to the Bone’ was out, I’ll say my name and they’ll draw a blank,” the 72-year-old rocker notes. “And I’ll go, ‘Well, you know, “Bad to the Bone.”‘ They go, ‘Oh, that’s who you are!'”

Thorogood says he was thrilled when he met his all-time guitar hero, Jeff Beck, and Beck knew who he was because of the song.

The Bad to the Bone album featured longtime Rolling Stones touring keyboardist Ian Stewart playing piano throughout the record.

Thorogood, who’s a huge Stones fan, recalls about getting to work with Stewart, “I said [to myself], ‘You got to be kidding me, George? You’ve gone beyond your dreams. You’re in the studio with Ian Stewart’…And he was fantastic.”

Here’s the Bad to the Bone album’s full track list:

“Back to Wentzville”
“Blue Highway”
“Nobody but Me”
“It’s a Sin”
“New Boogie Chillun
“Bad to the Bone”
“Miss Luann”
“As the Years Go Passing By”
“No Particular Place to Go”
“Wanted Man”

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Joe Walsh will visit The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for a weeklong musical residency this week.

The longtime Eagles guitarist will be sitting in with the CBS talk show’s house band, Stay Human, on all four new episodes airing this week, starting with Monday night’s program and running through Thursday.

Walsh posted a message about the residency on his social media sites that reads, “It’s going to be a rockin week full of surprises — can’t wait — see you tonight!!!”

Walsh’s Colbert residency follows weeklong musical appearances on the show by James Taylor last week and St. Vincent the week before.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights on CBS at 11:35 p.m. ET.

Meanwhile, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s other upcoming plans include a new two-week Canadian leg of the Eagles’ Hotel California Tour, which kicks off September 9 in Toronto, and the recently announced 2022 edition of his annual VetsAid benefit concert, which is scheduled for November 13 in Columbus, Ohio.

As previously reported, this year’s VetsAid show will feature a reunion of Walsh’s pre-Eagles band, the James Gang, as well as performances by Dave Grohl, Nine Inch Nails, The Breeders and The Black Keys.

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The entertainment world is mourning the loss of Australian pop legend and actress Olivia Newton-John, who died Monday morning after a long battle with cancer.

John Travolta, who famously starred opposite Olivia in the 1978 film adaptation of the hit Broadway music Grease, posted a heartfelt message paying tribute to her on his Instagram page.

“My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better,” Travolta writes. “Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!”

Newton-John played Sandy Olsson in Grease, while Travolta portrayed her high school love interest, Danny Zuko. The film’s chart-topping soundtrack yielded three smash hits, including the duets “You’re the One That I Want” and “Summer Nights,” which peaked at #1 and #5, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100. Olivia also scored a #3 solo hit with the Grease tune “Hopelessly Devoted to You.”

Newton-John and Travolta also co-starred in the 1983 romantic comedy Two of a Kind.

Tributes to Olivia continue to pour in from a variety of celebrities. Here are a few:

Cyndi Lauper: “I’m so sorry to hear the news about #OliviaNewtonJohn. She was such a nice person and a radiant bright light. She will be missed.”

Brian Wilson: “Sad news about Olivia Newton John passing.”

Richard Marx: “My heart is broken. Rest now, sweet friend. You were as kind and loving a person as there’s ever been. I’ll miss you every day.”

Melissa Etheridge: “Journey well, dear friend. She was one of the first to reach out to me after my cancer diagnosis. What a beautiful woman and special talent. Hard to know what to say. She will be missed.”

Dionne Warwick: “Another angelic voice has been added to the Heavenly Choir. Not only was Olivia a dear friend, but one of the nicest people I had the pleasure of recording and performing with. I will most definitely miss her. She now Rests in the Arms of the Heavenly Father.”

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A mimeographed copy of an angry letter John Lennon wrote to Melody Maker in November 1971 responding to comments his former Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney made in an interview with the British magazine is up for bid at the GottaHaveRockandRoll.com auction site.

The highest bid for the signed document was $36,000 as of Monday afternoon, and bidding is open through August 19 at 9 p.m. ET.

In the interview, which was published on November 20, 1971, McCartney shared his feeling about Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, and also discussed the dissolution of The Beatles’ business partnership, among other topics.

Lennon angrily responded to the interview with a three-page typed missive that’s dated November 24, 1971, and that features a handwritten note asking Melody Maker to “please publish ‘equal time.'” The letter was published in edited form on December 4, 1971.

The note, which is directed at Paul and his first wife, Linda McCartney, covers a wide variety of subjects, including conflicts over the handling of The Beatles’ publishing, Paul’s critiques of John’s then-recent Toronto concert and his song “Imagine,” and Paul’s own apparent reticence at the time to perform live.

Near the end of the letter, Lennon’s tone seems to soften a bit, as he writes, “No hard feelings to you … I know we basically want the same thing and as I said on the phone and in this letter, whenever you want to meet, all you have to do is call.”

However, John also includes a handwritten message at the bottom of the last page in which he gripes, “The bit that really puzzled us was asking to meet WITHOUT LINDA AND YOKO. I know you’re camp! But let’s not go too far! I thought you’d have understood BY NOW that I’m JOHNANDYOKO.”

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Elton John scored his biggest hit in years by teaming up with British pop star Dua Lipa for “Cold Heart,” a reworking of four of his old songs. Now it appears that the rumors are true: Elton has done something similar with Britney Spears.

Page Six recently reported that Elton and Britney had teamed up for a remix of John’s 1972 hit “Tiny Dancer” and that the collaboration was Elton’s idea. The track is called “Hold Me Closer,” which is the first line of the chorus of “Tiny Dancer.”

Similarly, “Cold Heart” took its title from a line in “Sacrifice,” one of the four Elton hits that were mashed up by the Australian dance trio PNAU to create the duet with Dua.

Britney’s pal Paris Hilton recently said she’d heard the track and pronounced it “insane.”

“Hold Me Closer” is now available to presave.

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If you even happen to meet Flea in real life, here’s a piece of advice: don’t ask to take a picture.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist shared his take on taking photos with fans in response to a Twitter user detailing their “special” experience meeting and talking with Flea and frontman Anthony Kiedis.

“It’s because you all generated a kind and gentle light, and you didn’t ask for a picture,” Flea wrote of the interaction. “We are always down to talk and chat, asking for a photo ruins it instantly.”

Flea then added that, while “there’s nothing wrong” with asking to take a photo, he feels the request “ruins having actual conversation.” 

“It is a transaction,” he wrote.

Red Hot Chili Peppers are currently touring the U.S. in support of their new album, Unlimited Love. Another RHCP record, Return of the Dream Canteen, drops October 14.

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In a new interview with CNN, Roger Waters discussed the provocative political messages featured in his current This Is Not a Drill Tour. While doing so, the ex-Pink Floyd singer/bassist shared what many might consider eye-opening views regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

When CNN’s Michael Smerconish asked Waters why President Joe Biden was featured in a video segment of the show labeling a number of politicians “war criminals,” Waters responded, “Well, he’s fueling the fire in the Ukraine … That is a huge crime.”

The 78-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer continued, “Why won’t the United States of America encourage [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy to negotiate, obviating the need for this horrific, horrendous war?”

When Smerconish suggested that Waters was “blaming the party that got invaded,” Waters seemed to turn the blame on NATO’s actions in the region.

“This war is basically about the action and reaction of NATO pushing right up to the Russian border,” he maintained, “which they promised they wouldn’t do when [Soviet leader Mikhail] Gorbachev negotiated the withdrawal of the USSR from the whole of Eastern Europe.”

Waters also took exception when Smerconish brought up the U.S.’s historic role as “liberators,” firing back, “You have no role as liberators! You got into World War II because of Pearl Harbor. You were completely isolationists until that … awful day.”

He added, “Thank God the Russians had already won the bloody war almost by then. Don’t forget, 23 million Russians died protecting you and me from the Nazi menace.”

Later in the interview, Waters defended China’s recent threatening actions toward Taiwan in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi‘s recent visit to the latter country.

“Taiwan is part of China!” Waters declared. “That has been absolutely accepted by the whole of international community since 1948.”

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