Classic Hits

Donna Summer’s classic track “MacArthur Park” has returned to the Billboard charts thanks to the winter Olympics.

The song was used by American figure skater Alysa Liu for her long program when she won the gold medal. Thanks to the exposure, the song has landed at #1 on the Dance Digital Song Sales chart, up 575% in sales, with 2,000 downloads sold between Feb. 20-26.

The original 1978 track, which appeared on Summer’s album Live and More, spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA.

In 2013, following Summer’s 2012 death, a remix of the song retuned to the chart, hitting #1 on the former Dance Club Songs chart.

Another song getting a boost from the Olympics is Lynyrd Skynyrd’s classic “Free Bird.”

After the song became the unofficial anthem for the U.S. men’s and women’s hockey teams, it has hit #15 on the Rock & Alternative Songs chart, #1 on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart and #6 on the Digital Song Sales chart.

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Paul McCartney was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 1999, but it turns out he was expecting it to happen a lot earlier.

Vanity Fair just published a 2015 interview with McCartney that was conducted for a biography about Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner and in it McCartney reveals Wenner, who co-founded the Rock Hall, went back on a promise regarding his solo induction.

McCartney explained that when John Lennon was inducted into the Rock Hall as a solo artist in 1994, Wenner asked him to handle the induction, and while he agreed, it got him thinking about himself. 

“Then I put the phone down. I thought, Well, what about me? I’m not inducted. Now John’s going to go in,” McCartney said. “The thing about John Lennon and McCartney was we were always equal. But, of course, once John got murdered, he became the martyr—the Buddy Holly, the James Dean character—because of the atrocity.”

McCartney said he eventually called Wenner and said, “Well, wait a minute. What about me? Maybe I’ll do John, and then maybe I should go in.”

McCartney said Wenner told him they couldn’t do that, with McCartney noting, “In all my dealings with him, it’s never up to Jann. It’s up to these other people down the corridor somewhere. He happens to have ‘owner-editor’ on his door, but they’re responsible for things?”

McCartney says Wenner eventually told him his solo induction would happen the next year.

“I said, ‘Okay.’ And I bought the deal,” McCartney said. “Next year came around … Crickets.”

McCartney noted, “Eventually I did creep in there, and my daughter Stella wore a T-shirt [that said] ‘About f***** time.”

According to the article, Wenner claimed to not remember making the deal with McCartney.

Both McCartney and Lennon were inducted as members of The Beatles in 1988.

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Elton John: He’s not just like us. We’ve got our family photos framed on a shelf, but he’s got his family photo hanging in one of London’s most famous museums.

A portrait of Elton, his husband David Furnish, their sons Elijah Furnish-John, 13, and Zachary Furnish-John, 15, plus their two Labrador Retrievers, Joseph and Jacob, has been unveiled at London’s National Portrait Gallery. The portrait was taken by photographer Catherine Opie, who has a new exhibit opening at the museum.

The U.K. paper The Telegraph quotes Elton and David as saying, “To have our family photographed by Catherine Opie and on display at the National Portrait Gallery is a huge honour. We are huge admirers of her work, and proud to have her beautiful and poignant images in our collection.”

The photo was taken at the couple’s home in Old Windsor, England. According to the paper, Opie took the portrait three days before Christmas in the library of the house. She’s quoted as saying, “It is truly an honour to photograph Elton, David, Zachary and Elijah. For me, it represents the humanity of what family can be.”

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Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings are set to tour the U.S. as The Guess Who for the first time in 23 years.

The Canadian duo has announced dates for a U.S. leg of the Takin’ it Back Tour, with former Eagles guitarist Don Felder on board as special guest.

The dates kick off June 25 in Shakopee, Minnesota, outside Minneapolis, and wraps Aug. 22 in Seattle, Washington.

“Randy and I are incredibly grateful that our music has endured all these years,” Cummings said in a statement. “Knowing that people still want to hear these songs live means everything to us, and when we go out on stage, our goal is to truly honor the music.”

Bachman added, “I’m really excited about reuniting with Burton and touring again as The Guess Who. He noted, “We created an amazing body of work together, along with memories that have lasted for decades, and those songs are still as strong as ever. I can’t wait to sing them with everyone very soon.”

A Citi presale for tickets begins Wednesday at 10 a.m. local time, followed by an artist presale at 12 p.m. local time. Tickets go on sale to the general public starting Friday at 10 a.m. local time.

Before the U.S. shows, Burton and Cummings will launch the Takin’ it Back Tour in Canada, starting May 26 in Moncton. A complete list of dates can be found at TheGuessWho.com.

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Despite his recent health issues, Barry Manilow seems to be doing just fine — and he’s thrilled about the success of his latest single, “Once Before I Go.”

In a new Instagram video, Barry says, “Well, looks like I made it, and I look fabulous, right?” He goes on to announce that the song has reached the top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. This marks his sixth decade on the charts, dating from “Mandy” back in 1974.

“How do you like that? I’m 100 years old with a top 10 single,” Barry, who’s 82, jokes. “Like my grandmother once said, ‘Next thing you know, they’ll be walking on the moon!'”

He goes on to thank his longtime friend Clive Davis for suggesting the song, which was written by the late Peter Allen and Dean Pitchford, who’s best known for co-writing the many hits from the movie Footloose. He also thanks radio stations for playing it and his fans for requesting it.

Barry then goes on to thank fans for all their support over the last couple of months, when he was forced to postpone multiple shows following lung cancer surgery. “It’s been a long ride and since I have no patience, it’s been agony,” he says of his recovery. “But I am getting stronger and I have great doctors and wonderful friends and family. But I am so looking forward to getting back onstage.”

“What a time it’s been,” Barry adds. “Hey! That’s the name of my new album! It’s called What a Time. It comes out real soon and I can’t wait to show these songs to you. So here’s to another century of making music together, my friends! All my love and gratitude.”

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Peter Gabriel has released another track off his upcoming album, o/i.

The latest, “What Lies Ahead,” has been released to coincide with Tuesday’s blood/worm moon. Gabriel notes that the unfinished instrumental track of the song was played during his 2023 tour as a “work in progress.”

“The song actually began with a melody that my son Isaac was playing with and I thought, oh, that’s really nice – I could build that into something,” says Gabriel. “It’s a song about inventors and invention.”

“My dad was an electrical engineer, inventor and I saw him go through the frustrations of not only trying to realize an idea, which has to normally go through so many iterations, but then to sell it, both to the people who’ve got the money and then to the outside world,” he adds. “So, I’ve always been curious about the creative process and how that applies to inventors.”

As he did with his last album, 2023’s i/o, Gabriel plans to release a new song from o/i with each full moon of the year. The entire album will be released by the end of 2026, along with Dark-Side and Bright-Side mixes handled by Tchad Blake and Mark “Spike” Stent, respectively.

“What Lies Ahead (Bright-Side Mix)” is available now via digital outlets.

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Ringo Starr is back with new music.

The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is set to release a new album, Long Long Road, on April 24. It’s his second album with producer T Bone Burnett following 2025’s Look Up.

“I’m blessed to have T Bone in my life right now and working with me on these records,” Ringo says in a statement. “After we did the last record, which I love listening to, this one just sort of happened.”

He adds, “I like to say sometimes I make the right moves, like you can go left or right at any point, and one of the right moves was hooking up with T Bone for Look Up, and now for this one, which I’m calling Long Long Road, because I’ve been on a long long road.”

The album, which is described as having “roots in Country and Americana,” features 10 songs, including a cover of Carl Perkins’ “I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore.” It includes guest appearances by Sheryl Crow, St Vincent and Billy Strings, as well as Molly Tuttle and Sarah Jarosz, who appear on the song “It’s Been Too Long,” now available via digital outlets.

Long Long Road is available for preorder now. Here is the track list below:

“Returning Without Tears”
“Baby Don’t Go”
“I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore”
“It’s Been Too Long”
“Why”
“You And I (Wave Of Love)”
“My Baby Don’t Want Nothing”
“Choose Love”
“She’s Gone”
“Long Long Road”

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Billy Joel is the subject of this year’s Music Of concert put on by New York entrepreneur Michael Dorf.

This is Dorf’s 21st Music Of charity concert, and he tells Rolling Stone it was the rocker’s documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, that finally pushed him to make the Piano Man this year’s honoree.

“I think there’s a lot of love for Billy, and a desire to hear his music,” Dorf says.

This year’s show will be held March 12 at New York’s Carnegie Hall. The lineup includes Joel’s daughter Alexa Ray Joel, Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas, Train’s Pat Monahan and others, with Joel’s eight-piece touring band serving as the house band.

“The fact that it is his band, that’s exciting for people,” Dorf says. “We sold out without a single artist mentioned who’s performing, and we got a great lineup, as people trusted. Fingers crossed, let’s see if we have any special guests.”

Of course fans would love for one of those special guests to be Joel, who canceled his 2025 tour in May after being diagnosed with a brain condition. The only time he’s performed since then was a surprise appearance with a Billy Joel cover band in Wellington, Florida, in January.

Dorf will only say that like all previous honorees, Joel has been invited to the concert.

“There’s a box for the band, and if we’re lucky and they want to jump on stage, great,” he tells the mag. “But it’s really for them as much as it is anybody.”

Money raised from the concert benefits music education programs. Previous concerts celebrated the music of Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Paul McCartney, Van Morrison and The Who.

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Guitar greats Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, who in 2024 announced the formation of SATCHVAI Band, have dropped a new single.

The two rockers have released the track “Dancing,” accompanied by a video directed by Satriani’s son, ZZ Satriani.

The clip opens with the duo’s manager, played by comedian and musician Brendon Small, pushing them to hire dancers for their upcoming tour, with the rest of the clip focused on auditions for the gig. It features a cameo at the end by their drummer, Kenny Aronoff.

“‘Dancing’ really captures the playful side of what Steve and I discovered on stage together last summer — that push-and-pull of melody and energy,” Satriani says. “The video gave us a chance to show that spirit in a completely different way. Watching ZZ bring this absurd casting concept to life — and having Brendon step into the madness — made it even more fun.”

Vai adds, “This band thrives on surprise — musically and visually. ‘Dancing’ is a perfect example of that.” He notes, “It’s melodic but relentless, and the video turns that energy into a kind of surreal comedy. It’s a glimpse into the personality of this band before we even hit the stage.”

SATCHVAI Band will launch the Surfing With The Hydra tour on April 1 in Seattle. It will mark their first tour of the U.S. They have dates confirmed through May 30 in Vienna, Virginia. A complete list of shows can be found at satchvaiband.com.

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Looks like Lenny Kravitz is working on a new album.

The rocker teased fans with news of a new record in a recent post on Instagram featuring a photo of him behind the drum kit and his dog sitting beside him. Kravitz captioned the photo, “Jojo vibing on the new tracks for the upcoming album.”

This isn’t the first time this year that Kravitz has hinted at new music. Back in January he posted a photo from inside the studio, captioning the shot, “Studio. New music. New love. Let Love Rule. Always!”

So far Kravitz hasn’t revealed any specific details about a new album. When it does get released it will be his first album of new material since 2024’s Blue Electric Light.

Kravitz has a trio of shows in Mexico that kick off March 8 in Guadalajara. He returns to the U.S. to play Atlantic City, New Jersey, on May 16, and then heads to Europe for a tour that begins June 12 in Italy.

A complete list of dates can be found at LennyKravitz.com.

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