Elton John is one of several artists set to be honored at Variety’s sixth annual Hitmakers celebration, which honors artists who have the 25 most-consumed songs of the past year, according to Luminate.
Elton is being honored alongside Dua Lipa as Hitmakers of the Year thanks to the success of their collaboration “Cold Heart-PNAU Remix,” which combines Elton’s hits “Rocketman,” “Sacrifice” and more. It peaked at seven on the Billboard chart and became Elton’s 28th top-10 hit. The honor also recognizes Elton for his incredible six-decade career, as well as his “mentorship of young artists.”
Also being recognized at the event is Kate Bush’s ’80s single “Running Up That Hill” for Sync of the Year, due to its resurgence on the chart after its use in season 4 of Netflix’s Stranger Things. It turned out to be the 12th most consumed song of 2022.
This year’s honorees, which include Imagine Dragons, Selena Gomez and Lizzo, will be celebrated on December 3 with an invitation-only brunch.
Danny Kalb, guitarist for the 1960s/1970s band TheBlues Project, passed away Saturday at his nursing home in Brooklyn; he was 80 years old. His brother Jonathan confirmed the news of his death to the New York Timesand revealed that Kalb had been diagnosed with cancer three years ago.
In a 2013 interview with AM New York, Kalb shared that he met Bob Dylan at the University of Wisconsin. After the singer “crashed with me for a few weeks” on his way to New York, Kalb said he “dropped out and followed him.”
He went on to become a fixture in the Greenwich Village music scene and played in the studio with such artists as Judy Collins and Pete Seeger. He contributed two songs to the 1964 anthology, The Blues Project: A Compendium of the Very Best on the Urban Blues Scene, which featured music from eight Greenwich Village regulars.
Kalb embraced the electric guitar and the blues after seeing John Lee Hooker perform at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. He then formed the Blues Project with Steve Katz, Andy Kulberg, Roy Blumenfeld and Tommy Flanders, releasing their only studio album, Projections, in 1966. Although they broke up in 1967, they regrouped in various forms up until about 2012. He also released several solo projects, including Livin’ with the Blues in 1995, All Together Now in 2006 and more.
Tuesday marks 25 years since INXS frontman Michael Hutchence died, and now, his sister is expressing her anger over his ex-girlfriend’s failure to reveal the truth about his state of mind at the time of his death.
Hutchence hanged himself in a Sydney hotel room on November 22, 1997, and at the time, his family had no idea he was suicidal. In the 2019 documentary Mystify, however, his ex-girlfriend, supermodel Helena Christensen, revealed he had suffered brain damage as a result of an assault by a taxi driver in Copenhagen. She said he wound up with a crack in his skull, and it caused him to suffer uncontrollable rages, something his sister, Tina Hutchence, wished she had divulged earlier.
Tina tells The Sun she knows her brother was “happy” with Christensen, but she says, “I did feel angry when I first found out about the assault, as I felt it was her duty to say something to his family,” especially since there were so many terrible rumors surrounding his death, including ones suggesting he died during a sex game.
“She was very close to our parents and could have easily reached out,” Tina says. “My first thought was, ‘He died all those years ago. Why didn’t she say something before now?’” She adds, “I’m sure that if Michael didn’t have that accident in Denmark, he would still be with us today.”
While Elton John welcomed some notable names to the stage Sunday night for his final North American concert — Dua Lipa, Brandi Carlile and his “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” duet partner Kiki Dee — the star power in the audience was pretty impressive.
Among those who attended the hit-packed show at LA’s Dodger stadium were Elton’s fellow music legends Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger and Joni Mitchell, as well as Taron Egerton, who portrayed Elton in his biopic Rocketman, and Elton’s good pals Donatella Versace, Neil Patrick Harris and Will & Grace star Eric McCormack.
Also in the house were Jude Law, Angela Bassett and her husband Courtney B. Vance, Miles Teller, Heidi Klum, Christopher Lloyd, Connie Britton, Kirsten Dunst, Jenna Dewan, John Stamos, Sara Gilbert, Lisa Rinna, JoJo Siwa and more.
Another guest was Elton’s longtime friend, tennis legend Billie Jean King,who’s also co-owner of the Dodgers. Over the weekend, she and other Dodger executives presented Elton with a $1 million donation to his AIDS Foundation in honor of the three shows he played at the stadium.
Sunday’s show was Elton’s 103rd in the Los Angeles area since his career began, and the 271st show of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, which started way back in 2018. When it finally wraps up in July of 2023, Billboard notes that it’ll likely overtake U2‘s 360 tour to become the second highest-grossing tour in history, and may even overtake Ed Sheeran‘s Divide tour, which holds the all-time record.
Publisher Simon & Schuster have agreed to refund Bob Dylan fans who shelled out almost $600 for what was supposed to be personally “hand-signed” copies of his book The Philosophy of Modern Song.
It turns out, the 900 books sold were not actually signed by Dylan, and instead, the signatures were just mechanical duplicates. According to Variety, complaints about the signatures started rolling in Friday as those who purchased the book started receiving their copies. Many quickly realized they were actually signed using “autopen,” which reproduces real signatures using a machine. The publisher initially insisted the books had been hand-signed, especially since each book came with “a letter of authenticity,” and refused refunds, but later announced they had changed their stance.
“To those who purchased the ‘Philosophy of Modern Song’ limited edition, we want to apologize,” Simon & Schuster tweeted. “As it turns out, the limited edition books do contain Bob’s original signature, but in a penned replica form. We are addressing this information by providing each purchaser with an immediate refund.”
There’s some new infighting within the band Journey. New legal documents show Neal Schon is suing bandmate Jonathan Cain over a credit card.
According to the Page Six, docs accuse Cain of opening up an Amex card through the company that operates the band, suggesting “millions of Journey funds have flowed through it.” Both Schon and Cain have a 50% stake in the company, Nomota, and in his suit, Schon insists he “has the right to access and control Nomota’s books and records” in order to “oversee and manage” the company and the band. Schon, however, argues Cain has yet to turn over important records about their finances.
Schon’s documents argue he needs the financial records in order “to determine the proportion of Journey’s profits that he’s entitled to as the founder and president of Journey,” adding, “Schon’s right to Journey’s profits is being controlled by Cain — Schon’s bandmate, who Schon brought into the band in the 1980s — and despite all of his requests and efforts, Schon has been unable to get full access.”
Schon adds that Cain has told him he will have access to that Amex card, but so far, he has yet to be added to it. He says he only knows it exists because American Express told him about it.
Despite the legal fighting, Journey is set to hit the road on a 38-city, 50th anniversary tour in February, with special guests Toto.
Bruce Springsteen has another hit record. The Boss moved 39,500 copies of his new covers album, Only the Strong Survive, to debut at eight on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Of those albums moved, 36,500 were in traditional album sales.
Only the Strong Survive is now Bruce’s 22nd top 10 record, landing him at eight for the most top 10 albums and at six for the most among solo artists. The Rolling Stones currently have the most, with 37, followed by Barbra Streisand with 34, and The Beatles and Frank Sinatra, with 32.
Only the Strong Survive has Bruce covering some of his favorite soul songs, including “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do),” “Nightshift,” “Don’t Play That Song” and more. He recently told Rolling Stonethat a second volume of covers is on the way and that he has about “three-quarters” of it recorded.
Neil Young and his frequent side band Crazy Horse are back with their third new album in three years, World Record, which follows 2019’s Colorado and 2021’s Barn.
The 10-song collection was co-produced by Young and Rick Rubin and recorded at Rubin’s Shangri-La studio in Malibu, California.
Founding Crazy Horse bassist Billy Talbot tells ABC Audio that World Record came together in a similar way to most of the albums the band has made with Neil: recorded quickly and live in the studio.
“We didn’t do these songs more than once or twice in the recording of them,” Talbot says. “Once we decided on which way they would be played, electric guitar or organ or acoustic guitar or piano … then we did ’em once or twice and that was it. So … it was a great experience.”
On the new songs, Young touches on such topics as the environment, his wish for a world without war and his love for vintage cars.
“He likes to write about what he’s feeling, you know, lyrically, and then having the melodies and having a good feel,” Talbot says of Young. “And he’s a natural songwriter, like he’s a natural guitar player … He likes to keep it natural and real. [He] doesn’t like to, I guess the word’s pontificate. I mean, when you think things through for too long, they get … kind of lost.”
Talbot says working with Rubin “was great,” noting, “he has a great ear, and he knows when something’s right and when it’s really happened, and when it’s not happening. And so does Neil on that level. So consequently, they were able to really work together and understand when they got the great feel on a song.”
You can orderWorld Record now. Here’s the track list:
“Love Earth”
“Overhead”
“I Walk with You (earth ringtone)”
“This Old Planet (changing days)”
“The World (is in trouble now)”
“Break the Chain”
“The Long Day Before”
“Walkin’ on the Road (to the future)”
“The Wonder Won’t Wait”
“Chevrolet”
“This Old Planet (reprise)”
Instead of a sequinned LA Dodgers baseball uniform, he wore a sequinned LA Dodgers bathrobe, but Elton John’s final North American show Sunday night at Dodger Stadium will likely be just as fondly remembered as the original career-making shows he played there in 1975.
The third night of Elton’s three-night stand at the stadium was streamed live globally by Disney+, and was preceded by a 20-minute pre-show that included goodbye wishes from the likes of Dolly Parton, Sting, Coldplay, Bette Midler, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Ed Sheeran, JoniMitchell, Tony Bennett, Prince Harry and even President Joe Biden.
The concert itself featured hits, album cuts and fan favorites from across Elton’s entire career, from his very first hit, “Your Song,” to last year’s “Cold Heart,” performed with special guest Dua Lipa. She was one of three guests for this final show: Brandi Carlile stood in for the late George Michael on “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” while Kiki Dee, who sang with Elton at the original Dodger Stadium shows in 1975, returned to sing their number-one hit “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.”
As Elton wrapped up the concert, he brought onstage the man without whom, he noted, he wouldn’t be here: Bernie Taupin, his songwriting partner of 55 years. He also brought out what he said is the reason he’s retiring: his family. His husband David Furnish came onstage, along with their two adorable sons, Zachary and Elijah.
Elton told the crowd, “I became successful first in America, and you bought the singles and the albums, and the 8-tracks, the cassettes, and CDs, and more importantly, you bought the tickets to the shows….so I want to thank you for that, because you made me.”
He added, “Without America, I wouldn’t be here. So thank you for all the years of love and generosity and loyalty.”
“I wish you health and love and prosperity,” he concluded. “Be kind to each other, O.K.? And farewell.”
Here’s the set list for Elton’s final North American show:
“Bennie and the Jets”
“Philadelphia Freedom”
“I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues”
“Border Song”
“Tiny Dancer”
“Have Mercy on the Criminal”
“Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time)”
“Take Me to the Pilot”
“Someone Saved My Life Tonight”
“Levon”
“Candle in the Wind”
“Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding”
“Burn Down the Mission”
“Sad Songs (Say So Much)”
“Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word”
“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (with Brandi Carlile)
“The Bitch Is Back”
“I’m Still Standing”
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (with Kiki Dee)
“Crocodile Rock”
“Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”
Encore:
“Cold Heart” (with Dua Lipa)
“Your Song”
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”
Bruce Springsteen just released his soul covers record Only The Strong Survive, which is billed as volume 1, so of course fans are wondering when they’ll get to hear volume 2. And it sounds like it’s not too far off.
“Volume 2, I would say, is probably three-quarters recorded,” The Boss tells Rolling Stone, explaining the genre he’ll focus on is “very similar” to the first album. “I continued working in soul music because I was just having so much fun,” he says. “But I thought of doing a series of these records in a variety of different genres with songs that I love.”
Bruce shares that he’s currently not writing anything new, noting, “I might not write in a while,” which is “very normal for me.” But with these cover albums, fans “don’t have to sit around and wait four years for me to make another record.”
Bruce says he’s also interested in tackling covers of country and rock songs: “There’s just so many different things, and all focused around my voice … I’d really like to use this time when I’m not writing to really focus on my vocals.”
And this may not be the only music Bruce is going to release. He seemed to confirm the rumors of a Tracks 2 box set, saying he has “five unreleased albums that are basically post-1988” that he’ll eventually release. While he says some fans felt the ‘90s “wasn’t a great decade” for him, the Tracks set will “give people a chance to reassess what I was doing during that time period,” noting, “I can’t wait to see the response to some of it.”
