Classic Hits

A new book that takes an in-depth look at Paul McCartney‘s life and musical endeavors following The Beatles‘ breakup will be published this winter.

The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1 — 1969–73 is a 720-page tome co-written by Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair that will be released December 13. The book utilizes recently unearthed documents and exclusive interviews with various producers, studio engineers and musicians, as well as archival interviews with McCartney, to examine the early years of his solo career.

Described as “the most exhaustive account of Paul McCartney’s life beyond the Beatles ever committed to paper,” the book also delves into his internal conflicts, his perfectionism and his struggle for acceptance in the wake of the Fab Four’s split.

Among the highlights included in the book are newly discovered details about such McCartney solo hits as  “Another Day,” “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,” “Live and Let Die” and “Band on the Run”; information about Paul’s decision to sue his Beatles bandmates with regard to their business dealings, and the effect that had on his friendship with John Lennon; a look at the internal workings of McCartney’s solo group Wings; and Pink Floyd‘s surprising influence on Paul’s music.

The book also features stories about songs that McCartney wrote for other artists around this time, including “Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance” for model Twiggy, “Six O’Clock” for Ringo Starr and “Mine for Me” for Rod Stewart.

You can preorder The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1 now at HarperCollins.com.

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2022 still has a few more months to go, but Billy Joel’s already making plans for 2023.

The Piano Man has announced that he’s headlining London’s annual British Summer Time Hyde Park festival on Friday, July 7. The gig is billed as his “only European appearance of 2023.” He’ll be joining his pal Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band at the festival: They’re performing July 6 and July 8.

The rest of the this year’s festival lineup — which has in the past featured the likes of Adele, Elton John, The Eagles, Celine Dion, Lionel Richie, Barbra Streisand, Michael Bublé and Bruno Mars as headliners — will be announced at a later date.

Tickets go on sale October 6  at 10 a.m. London time via www.bst-hydepark.com.

Meanwhile, Billy’s concert film Live At Yankee Stadium — which documents his June 1990 show, the first rock concert ever held at the iconic venue — will be shown in theaters on October 5 and 9. You can get tickets at BillyJoel.film.

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It turns out that those enigmatic posts that appeared on Bruce Springsteen‘s social media pages earlier this week were teasing a big album announcement. The Boss has revealed that he will be releasing a new collection of 15 soul covers titled Only The Strong Survive on November 11.

The studio album will include gems from the catalogs of the Motown and Stax labels as well as by the legendary Philadelphia-based songwriting and production duo of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

Sam Moore of Sam & Dave fame is a featured guest vocalist on two tracks — renditions of Dobie Gray‘s “Soul Days” and William Bell‘s “I Forgot to Be Your Love.”

Only the Strong Survive, which was produced by Ron Aniello, also features contributions from the E Street Horns, strings, and backing vocals by a group of singers that includes E Street Band touring member Soozie Tyrell.

“I wanted to make an album where I just sang. And what better music to work with than the great American songbook of the Sixties and Seventies?” Bruce says in a statement. “I’ve taken my inspiration from Levi Stubbs, David Ruffin, Jimmy Ruffin, the Iceman Jerry Butler, Diana Ross, Dobie Gray, and Scott Walker, among many others. I’ve tried to do justice to them all — and to the fabulous writers of this glorious music.”

The Boss has released a version of “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do),” a 1965 rarity by Frank Wilson, as an advance digital track. A companion music video, which was directed by frequent Springsteen collaborator Thom Zimny, has debuted on Bruce’s official YouTube channel.

Springsteen also has posted a YouTube video of him sharing details about the making of the project.

Only the Strong Survive can be preordered now. Here’s the album’s full track list:

“Only the Strong Survive”
“Soul Days” — featuring Sam Moore
“Nightshift”
“Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)”
“The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore”
“Turn Back the Hands of Time”
“When She Was My Girl”
“Hey, Western Union Man”
“I Wish It Would Rain”
“Don’t Play That Song”
“Any Other Way”
“I Forgot to Be Your Lover” — featuring Sam Moore
“7 Rooms of Gloom”
“What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”
“Someday We’ll Be Together”

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Most 76-year-old women wouldn’t feel “Strong Enough” to walk around in public in a spandex catsuit — but Cher’s not your average 76-year-old.

The entertainment icon walked in the finale of the Balmain fashion show Wednesday night during Paris Fashion Week, taking the stage arm-in-arm with designer Olivier Rousteing as her song “Strong Enough” blared from the sound system. She wore a marbled spandex bodysuit with a plunging neck, and platform wedges.

“JUST HAD BEST TIME, ON STAGE…FELT GREAT,” Cher tweeted afterwards. “SHOW WAS PROBABLY BEST FASHION SHOW ‘EVER.’ MODELS WERE BEAUTY FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE. CLOTHES 2 DIE 4…OLIVIER 2 DIE 4.” 

She added, “STAGE WAS CALLING ME cher…..oh cher….come Home….I HEAR YOU.”

It’s not surprising that Cher felt comfortable on that stage: As Billboard notes, the Balmain show took place in a massive stadium, with more than 10,000 tickets made available to fans in exchange for a charity donation.

(Cher’s entrance comes at 39:58 into the video below)

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Today, September 29, marks the 25th anniversary of the release of The Rolling Stones‘ 23rd U.S. studio album, Bridges to Babylon, which peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200.

While the 13-track collection yielded no U.S. pop hits, three singles from the record broke into the top 20 of Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock chart — “Anybody Seen My Baby?,” “Saint of Me” and “Flip the Switch,” which reached #3, #13 and #14, respectively.

While The Stones were recording “Anybody Seen My Baby?,” guitarist Keith Richards‘ daughter Angela pointed out to him that the melody of the chorus was similar to that of Canadian singer k.d. lang‘s 1992 hit “Constant Craving,” so lang and her co-writer Ben Mink were given songwriting credits on the Stones tune alongside Richards and Mick Jagger.

The music video for “Anybody Seen My Baby?” features Angelina Jolie.

Bridges to Babylon was recorded at Ocean Way Recording studio in Los Angeles, and in addition to The Stones’ core members — Jagger, Richards, guitarist Ronnie Wood and drummer Charlie Watts — a variety of guest musicians and singers contributed to the sessions.

Among them were longtime Stones touring member Darryl Jones, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Living Colour‘s Doug Wimbish and album co-producer Don Was on bass; guitarist Waddy Wachtel; keyboardists Billy Preston and Benmont Tench; jazz sax great Wayne Shorter; rapper Biz Markie; ex-Beach Boy Blondie Chaplin on multiple instruments and backing vocals; and famed session drummer Jim Keltner on percussion.

To support Bridges to Babylon, The Rolling Stones mounted a major tour that featured 108 dates and ran from September 1997 to September 1998.

The album has been certified Platinum for sales of over 1 million copies in the U.S.

Here’s the full track list of Bridges to Babylon:

“Flip the Switch”
“Anybody Seen My Baby?”
“Low Down”
“Already Over Me”
“Gunface”
“You Don’t Have to Mean It”
“Out of Control”
“Saint of Me”
“Might as Well Get Juiced”
“Always Suffering”
“Too Tight”
“Thief in the Night”
“How Can I Stop”

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A music video for “Fantastic,” a previously unheard solo Joe Strummer song featured on Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years box set, has debuted on the late Clash frontman’s official YouTube channel.

The clip features a montage of photos and candid archival footage of Strummer, and includes a brief cameo appearance by Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder. The video begins with an emotional spoken-word recording of Strummer encouraging people to get along with each other.

The clip was directed by Lance Bangs, whose credits include videos for songs by R.E.M., Green Day and George Harrison.

“Fantastic” was one of Strummer’s last recordings and includes vocals he recorded at the famous Rockfield Studios in Wales in December 2002, the same month that he died.

Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years features remastered versions of the three studio albums Strummer made with his backing band, The Mescaleros — 1999’s Rock Art and the X-Ray Style, 2001’s Global a Go-Go and 2003’s posthumous Streetcore — as well as a disc titled Vibes Compass that boasts 15 rare and previously unreleased tracks.

Vibes Compass includes “Fantastic,” as well as some of the first demos Strummer made for The Mescaleros, outtakes of several later tracks by the group and a song called “Ocean of Dreams” that features contributions from Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.

The collection was curated by Strummer’s widow, Lucinda Tait, and is available as a four-CD set, a seven-LP vinyl package and digitally.

The physical versions of the box set come with books featuring exclusive new interviews with Strummer’s friends, collaborators and Mescaleros bandmates, as well as previously unseen handwritten notes, lyrics and drawings from Joe’s archives.

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The Last Band on Stage, a new documentary about Chicago and how the group dealt with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, will premiere in select theaters Thursday, September 29, and will be available on demand starting Friday.

The movie, which is narrated by Joe Mantegna, features many of Chicago’s current members, including co-founders Robert Lamm, James Pankow and Lee Loughnane, discussing how the health crisis forced the band to put touring plans on hold for the first time in their 55-year career.

The film also documents the remote recording of the title track of Chicago’s new studio album, If This Is Goodbye, and how the experience led to the group members realizing they will eventually have to call it a day.

A trailer for the documentary has been posted on YouTube. It features various band members talking about the final concert Chicago played before the COVID-19 shutdowns began in March 2020 and their joy in returning to the stage over a year later.

The Last Band on Stage will be released digitally via iTunes this Friday and is available for preorder now.

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Jimmy Buffett is shelving the remaining five dates on his 2022 Life on the Flip Side – Redux tour after being briefly hospitalized and experiencing unspecified health issues.

A message on the 75-year-old singer/songwriter’s official website reports, “On doctor’s orders, he must take this time to recuperate and heal. Jimmy looks forward to getting back on stage next year.”

Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band‘s concerts scheduled for October 8 and October 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas have been pushed back to March 4 and March 11, respectively, while a new date for his October 22 show at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium hasn’t been announced yet.

Jimmy’s two other 2022 shows, which had been scheduled for October in Salt Lake City and Nampa, Idaho, have been canceled.

Those who purchased tickets for the rescheduled concerts are encouraged to hold onto them, as they will be accepted at the rescheduled events. Tickets for the canceled shows will be refunded.

In other Buffett news, Jimmy has been announced as the final collaborator on Grammy-winning country group Zac Brown Band‘s upcoming deluxe edition of its 2021 album The Comeback, which is due out October 15.

Buffett will join Brown and company on a new rendition of the band’s country hit “Same Boat.” Zac Brown Band and Buffett famously collaborated on the 2011 single “Knee Deep,” which hit #1 on country radio and reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.

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Former Youngbloods frontman Jesse Colin Young has three concerts lined up in Northern California in the coming week as part of the veteran folk-rock singer/songwriter’s ongoing tour in support of his 2020 solo album, Highway Troubadour.

The first show will see Young opening for the Steve Miller Band this Friday in Lincoln; the second concert, which takes place Saturday, is a headlining gig in Santa Cruz; and the final performance will be a set at San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival on Sunday.

Jesse tells ABC Audio that his friendship with Steve Miller dates all the way back to 1967, after they’d both relocated to the Bay Area. Young says Steve likely will hit the stage with him in Lincoln to perform The Youngbloods’ classic 1960s hit “Get Together.”

“He loves that song as much as I do, I think,” Jesse maintains.

Joining Young at all of the gigs will be his daughter Jazzy, a singer/songwriter in her own right who recorded a duet version of Cat Stevens‘ “Trouble” with her dad that was released as a single last year.

While Jazzy will sing with Jesse at the end of his sets opening for the Miller Band and at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Young says his daughter will get to play three of her own tunes during his headlining show.

“[S]he’s so musical and so real in the way she approaches writing about relationships,” Young enthuses.

Meanwhile, Jesse describes his performance at the San Francisco festival, which is a free event at the city’s Golden Gate Park, “a completion of the circle.”

He notes that when The Youngbloods moved to the Bay Area from New York in ’67, one of their early shows was a free performance in the famous park.

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Foo Fighters held their second star-studded tribute concert to late drummer Taylor Hawkins on Tuesday night at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

Unlike the first show, which took place in London on September 3, the LA tribute did not stream online, but according to the Los Angeles Times‘ live recap, it still boasted an epic night of impromptu supergroups often backed by the Foos themselves.

Here are some highlights:

—Joan Jett jammed “Cherry Bomb” with Blink-182‘s Travis Barker on drums.
—Def Leppard‘s Joe Elliott, Rick Savage and Phil Collen played “Photograph” with vocals by Miley Cyrus.
—Pink joined Heart‘s Nancy Wilson for “Barracuda.”
—Alanis Morissette, with whom Hawkins played drums before joining the Foos, performed “You Oughta Know” with Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith on drums.
–Current Yes vocalist Jon Davison, Hawkins’ childhood friend, sang “Owner of a Lonely Heart” with Taylor’s cover band Chevy Metal.
—Cars guitarist Elliot Easton played “Shake It Up” with the Foos and Queens of the Stone Age‘s Josh Homme.
—Queen‘s Brian May and Roger Taylor were joined by Pink for “Somebody to Love.”
—Wolfgang Van Halen ripped Van Halen‘s “Panama” and “Hot for Teacher.”
—Rush‘s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson played “YYZ” with Tool drummer Danny Carey.

As with the London concert, the LA show ended with a triumphant Foo Fighters set featuring various guest drummers, including Smith, Barker, Pearl Jam‘s Matt Cameron, Omar Hakim, Weezer‘s Patrick Wilson and Hawkins’ son, Shane, who once again manned the kit for “My Hero” as well as the song “I’ll Stick Around.”

The night ended around 1 a.m. local time with a full-band performance of “Everlong.”

Proceeds from the concert are being donated to MusiCares and Music Support.

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