Classic Hits

A new edition of the touring celebration of The Band‘s historic, all-star 1976 farewell concert, “The Last Waltz,” will take place this November.

The Last Waltz Tour 2022, which features a star-studded lineup headed by ex-Allman Brothers Band member Warren Haynes and acclaimed producer/bassist Don Was, will kick off with a November 3-4 stand in Port Chester, New York, and is plotted out through a November 20 show in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Tickets for the trek, which features a total of 13 confirmed dates, go on sale Friday, September 16, at 10 a.m. ET.

Other musicians taking part in the tour include The Neville Brothers‘ Cyril Neville, country artist Jamey Johnson, The Radiators‘ Dave Malone, longtime Muddy Waters guitarist Bob Margolin, Dirty Dozen Brass Band drummer Terence Higgins and avant-jazz keyboardist John Medeski. The shows also feature a horn section that will be playing original arrangements created for The Band by late New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint. The trek is sanctioned by founding Band guitarist Robbie Robertson.

“We are counting down the days till we get to see this lineup, performing these songs, in the greatest music celebration of our lives,” says The Last Waltz Tour creator and producer Keith Wortman. “Seeing the audiences sing along to every word at every show as one family is what all of us music fans live for.”

The original Last Waltz concert was held November 25, 1976, at San Francisco’s Winterland venue. Documented for a movie directed by Martin Scorsese, it featured The Band performing with guest artists including Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Neil Diamond, Ronnie Wood, Ringo Starr and Dr. John.

Check out the tour dates at BlackbirdPresents.com.

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Mark David Chapman, the man who shot music legend John Lennon to death in December 1980, has been denied parole for the 12th time, according to the New York State Department of Corrections
and Community Supervision.

Chapman, 67, was turned down by the Board of Parole following an interview August 31. He will now have to wait 18 months, until February 2024, before his request for parole will be reviewed again.

Chapman is currently incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility in Beekman, New York. He was transferred to the prison earlier this year after spending many years at the Wende Correctional Facility outside of Buffalo, New York.

Chapman received a sentence of 20 years to life in August 1981, after he pleaded guilty to shooting the former Beatles star outside of Lennon’s apartment in Manhattan on December 8, 1980. 

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Paul McCartney is speaking out in support of a campaign by PETA’s Indian branch to have an allegedly abused elephant sent to a rescue center.

PETA India claims that a captive female elephant known alternately as Jeymalyatha and Joymala has been beaten by its keepers in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They’ve shared viral videos from June 2002 and February that allegedly show the animal being abused.

McCartney has written a letter to India’s Union Cabinet Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav, asking him to immediately relocate Jeymalyatha to a suitable animal sanctuary.

“I have considered India a spiritual place ever since I travelled there in the 1960s. I was impressed by India’s cultural love for animals,” writes Sir Paul, a longtime vegetarian and PETA supporter. “I know India reveres elephants, its national heritage animal; but cruelty to animals happens everywhere, even in India.”

He continues, “What reflects on a country’s values is how that cruelty is addressed. That’s why I am confident that action will be taken to send sorely abused elephant Jeymalyatha (Joymala) to a suitable rescue centre where she can receive the specialized care she needs for her psychological wounds, and can live unchained and in the company of others of her kind.”

McCartney adds, “I trust you agree that Jeymalyatha has suffered more than enough and that she deserves to spend the rest of her time on this Earth away from her abusive trainers, rehabilitating, and with others of her kind.”

A variety of Indian celebrities are also supporting the PETA campaign, with many posting tweets using the hashtag #FreeElephantJeymalyatha.

Visit PETAIndia.com for more details about the story.

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A limited-edition vinyl LP titled Paris Blues featuring the last known unreleased studio recording by The Doors will be issued on November 25 as part of Record Store Day’s 2022 Black Friday event.

The eight-song disc, which will be pressed on blue vinyl, is a blues-themed compilation that features the title track, an original tune written by The Doors and recorded during the sessions for either The Soft Parade or L.A. Woman. The master tape of “Paris Blues” was lost, and the only recording that survived was on a tape given to Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek, whose son Pablo partially damaged it when he was a child. The recording has been salvaged using creative editing.

The Paris Blues album also includes two previously unreleased tracks, featuring singer Jim Morrison and guitarist Robby Krieger performing as a duo at a May 1969 benefit event for author Norman Mailer‘s mayoral campaign in West Hollywood, California. The songs are a rendition of “I Will Never Be Untrue,” an original Doors tune intended for 1970’s Morrison Hotel album, and a cover of Robert Johnson‘s “Me and the Devil Blues.”

In addition, the LP contains two outtakes from The Soft Parade, “(You Need Meat) Don’t Go No Further” and “I’m Your Doctor,” which feature Manzarek on vocals. The tracks, which also include bass parts recorded in 2019 by Stone Temple Pilots‘ Robert DeLeo, were originally released as part of The Soft Parade‘s 50th anniversary reissue.

Closing out Paris Blues are a trio of blues covers from the archival Doors concert album Live in Vancouver 1970, which was released in 2010. The performances feature the band joined by blues legend Albert King. Audio of Morrison introducing King is also included.

Paris Blues‘ cover features an original painting by Krieger.

Here’s the album’s full track list:

Side A
“Paris Blues”*
“I Will Never Be Untrue”*
“Me and the Devil Blues”*
“(You Need Meat) Don’t Go No Further”
“I’m Your Doctor”

Side B
Jim’s Introduction
“Little Red Rooster” — with Albert King
“Rock Me Baby” — with Albert King
“Who Do You Love?” with Albert King

* = previously unreleased.

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The 2022 Emmy Awards were Monday night, and some fans of Olivia Newton-John are outraged over the “In Memoriam” segment that honored those who passed away since last year.

While the Emmys honored legends such as Betty White and Bob Saget, people noticed that Olivia was missing from this year’s roundup. The Grease star lost her battle with cancer last month.  

Fans slammed the Emmys for the omission, citing the “Physical” singer’s long list of television acting credits.  Olivia appeared on shows such as The Bonnie Hunt Show, Glee, Sordid Lives: The Series, Bette and more. 

Others pointed out that she won an Emmy — a Daytime Emmy Award, to be exact — in 1999. Olivia won Outstanding Original Song for “This Is Our Moment (Love Is a Gift),” which she performed for the soap opera As the World Turns.  

As of yet, the Emmys nor Olivia’s family have addressed the controversy.

News broke of Olivia’s passing on August 8 via an announcement by her husband, John Easterling. She was 73.

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In the new biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood portrays Madonna circa 1985 — and the film’s director predicts the Queen of Pop will enjoy it, because she knows how to laugh at herself.

“I hope that she loves it,” Eric Appel told People. “I feel like Madonna has a sense of humor…I think she’ll like it.”  Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Al, added, “I second that. I’m sure. It’s great — and [Evan is] playing her. Who could not love that?”

In real-life, Al famously spoofed Madonna’s hit “Like a Virgin” with his song “Like a Surgeon.”  In the biopic, which is actually more of a parody that fabricates and exaggerates moments from Al’s life, Madonna pursues the singer romantically in the hopes that he’ll spoof her song.

Wood says she prepared for the part by “just bingeing Madonna interviews from the early ’80s and her music videos and things,” adding, “It was fun. It’s always fun to get to go back and revisit and be like, ‘Oh, right — she’s a genius.’ There’s a reason why she’s Madonna.”

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story debuts on The Roku Channel November 4.  Meanwhile, Madonna is working on her own biopic, which will reportedly star Julia Garner as the superstar. No word on whether or not Weird Al will appear as a character in that film.

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Yes‘ classic fifth studio album, Close to the Edge, was released 50 years ago today, Tuesday.

A follow-up to the English prog-rock band’s popular 1971 album Fragile, Close to the Edge is Yes’ highest-charting entry on the Billboard 200, peaking at #3.

Close to the Edge features three long-form pieces, including the four-part, more than 18-minute title track, which took up the entire first side of the LP version.

An edited version of the second track, “And You and I,” was released as a single, reaching #42 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Making that album was a breakthrough for me completely … as a musician, as a sort of composer with [guitarist] Steve [Howe],” original Yes frontman Jon Anderson explains to ABC Audio, “’cause me and Steve, during the course of the Fragile tour … spent a lot of time sketching out the idea of ‘Close to the Edge.’ So when we got in the studio, everything was planned pretty well.”

Anderson also notes putting together “Close to the Edge” in the studio was an interesting process where the band members worked on multiple 3- to 5-minute segments as they built the epic song.

“At the end of it,” Jon recalls, “I couldn’t believe how extraordinary it was to edit it all together, and sit back after a month of creativity … and listen to it and go … ‘It’s so beautiful. It’s so good. Wow.'”

Close to the Edge was the last 1970s Yes studio album to feature founding drummer Bill Bruford, who left the band to join King Crimson. He was replaced by Alan White.

Close to the Edge is ranked #5 on Rolling Stone‘s 2015 list of the “50 Greatest Prog-Rock Albums of All Time.”

Here’s the track list:

“Close to the Edge”
–I. “The Solid Time of Change”
–II. “Total Mass Retain”
–III. “I Get Up, I Get Down”
-IV. “Seasons of Man”
“And You and I”
–I. “Cord of Life”
–II. “Eclipse”
–III. “The Preacher, the Teacher”
–IV. “The Apocalypse”
“Siberian Khatru”

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The track list and cover art have been unveiled for the upcoming John Entwistle compilation Rarities Oxhumed – Volume One, which will be released on CD on October 21.

The 13-track collection features previously unheard studio tracks, demos, remastered live performances and other unreleased gems, mostly from the late Who bassist’s solo career. The album includes a song called “Bogey Man,” which features a guest appearance by late Who drummer Keith Moon, and a demo version of “Where Ya Going Now,” which John had intended for The Who.

Rarities Oxhumed – Volume One also features several tracks that appeared on the final record Entwistle released with his solo group, 2000’s Music for Van-Pires, as well as The John Entwistle Band‘s live renditions of the 1978 Who tune “Trick of the Light” and the 1986 Roger Daltrey hit “Under a Raging Moon.”

An advance track from the collection, “I’ll Try Again Today” — a song that also was featured on Music for Van-Pires — will debut on September 16.

Rarities Oxhumed – Volume One can be preordered now at Merchbucket.com. In addition, special bundles are available that include an expanded 12-page booklet with photos, recording information and either a necklace or a keychain.

Entwistle died in June 2002 of a heart attack at age 57.

Here’s the compilation’s complete track list:

“Bogey Man”
“Darker Side of Night”
“I’ll Try Again Today”
“When You See the Light”
“Back on the Road”
“Left for Dead”
“I Wouldn’t Sleep with You”
“Don’t Be a Sucker”
“Life Goes On” (Demo)
“Where Ya Going Now” (Demo)
“Trick of the Light” (Live)
“Under a Raging Moon” (Live)
“Shakin’ All Over” (Live)

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Former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman and the band’s current keyboardist, Geoff Downes, are among the musicians who have contributed to multi-instrumentalist/producer Fernando Perdomo‘s soundtrack to the recent thriller film Frost.

The album, which features a score composed by Perdomo, will be released as a white-vinyl LP and digitally on September 23, while a CD version will be packaged with a Blu-ray featuring the film that’s due out on October 11.

Wakeman is featured on the album’s lead single, “The Crash,” which was released Friday via digital formats. He also appears on two additional tracks. Downes lends his talents to a pair of other tunes, while other guest musicians on the album include veteran U.K. singer/guitarist Terry Reid and electric violinist L. Shankar.

Among Perdomo’s previous projects are Energy Overload, a collaborative album with Vanilla Fudge/Cactus drummer Carmine Appice, and Ram On, a star-studded 50th anniversary tribute to Paul and Linda McCartney‘s Ram album. Both albums were released last year.

The Frost soundtrack tells the story of a father and daughter who have to fight for their lives when they are stranded on an icy mountain after a car accident.

Here’s the full track list of the Frost soundtrack:

“The Crash” — featuring Rick Wakeman
“Fading Heartbeat” — featuring Terry Reid
“Helicopter Rescue” — featuring L. Shankar
“First Sign of Impending Snowstorm” — featuring L. Shankar
“Orchid Dreaming — Big Electric Cat
“Photo Album” — featuring Terry Reid
“Hoodoo Man Blues — Junior Wells featuring Joe Louis Walker
“Desperation” — featuring Geoff Downes
“The Bonening — Front Line Assembly
“Not Alone” — featuring Rick Wakeman
“Snowy Landscape” — featuring Geoff Downes
“Dad Finally Answers the Walkie” — featuring L. Shankar
“Family Tragedy” — featuring Terry Reid
“Frosted Blonde” — featuring Rick Wakeman
“Intruder — Front Line Assembly*

* on CD and digital versions only.

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Vanilla Fudge has announced official details about the release of Vanilla Zeppelin, a newly remastered version of the group’s 2007 Led Zeppelin covers album, Out Through the In Door.

Vanilla Zeppelin will be released September 30 as a digital download and via streaming services and is available for preorder now.

The 12-track collection features renditions of various classic Led Zeppelin songs done in the style of Vanilla Fudge, with soaring keyboards and added soul and funk influences. The Vanilla Zeppelin album also boasts a brand-new cover design.

Three of the remastered songs from the album have already been released as advance digital tracks — “Rock and Roll,” “Ramble On” and “The Immigrant Song.” You can now watch the music video for “The Immigrant Song” on Golden Robot Records’ official YouTube channel.

In other news, Vanilla Fudge has confirmed a series of eight fall U.S. shows in the Northeast, which will run from a September 30 concert in Millville, New Jersey through a November 5 performance in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Among the shows is a previously announced October 1 appearance at the prog rock-themed Sea of Tranquility Festival in Poughkeepsie, New York.

More shows will be added to band’s schedule soon. Visit VanillaFudge.com to check out the full itinerary.

Here’s the full Vanilla Zeppelin track list:

“Rock and Roll”
“Immigrant Song”
“Ramble On”
“Dancing Days”
“Black Mountain Side”
“Your Time Is Gonna Come”
“Dazed and Confused”
“Trampled Under Foot”
“Moby Dick”
“All of My Love ”
“Babe I’m Gonna Leave You ”
“Fool in the Rain ”

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