Classic Hits

Wednesday marks the 60th anniversary of the release of The Beatles’ debut single, “Love Me Do.” But the Beatles-themed Liverpool attraction The Beatles Story has just posted newly discovered photos of the band playing at Liverpool’s The Cavern Club more than a year before that single came out.

The two photographs were taken in July 1961, when George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon were 18, 19 and 20, respectively. Their drummer at the time was Pete Best, who was also 19.

Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn says the photos show the band right after they’d returned from performing for 90 days in Hamburg, Germany. He notes that they all look very thin, likely due to an insane schedule that saw them spend 500 hours onstage over those three months. They’re also wearing leather trousers and cotton shirts, a combo Lewisohn says never showed up in previous photos.

Four months after the photo was taken, Brian Epstein saw the Beatles for the first time at The Cavern Club and soon after offered to manage them.

In honor of the single’s 60th birthday, fans are invited to bring their Beatles or Beatles-era memorabilia to The Beatles Story attraction Wednesday, where it’ll be appraised for free, Antiques Roadshow-style, by a specialist Beatles auction house.

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John Waite‘s smash “Missing You” is going to pop up in an unexpected place this week.

The track, which hit #1 in 1984, is the featured song on Wednesday night’s episode of ABC’s The Goldbergs.  The sitcom, set in the ’80s, features one hit from that decade in each episode. In a statement, Waite says the inclusion of “Missing You” is “rad.”

Waite, who also had success as a member of The Babys and Bad English, and has been part of Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band in the past, will kick off a tour October 28 in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. He’s set to be on the road through November 20, when he’ll wrap things up in Cincinnati.

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Since streaming seems to have made DVDs and Blu-rays all but extinct, former Yes keyboard whiz Rick Wakeman has come up with a unique way to share his visual history with his fans.

Wakeman has launched Wakeman Web TV, a one-stop shop for onstage and TV appearances. From episodes of Gastank, the early ’80s British TV show he hosted, to his appearances on various British and European programs, to live concerts and performances, this online portal has it all.

And in a unique twist, you don’t have to pay a subscription fee to access the material: It’s set up as a Pay-Per-View model, where you can just pay for the things you want to see. Live performances are around 10 bucks to stream for a week, or $20 to download anytime.

Wakeman says in a statement that he wants to “give fans old and new the best way to view and listen to the music,” and feels that Wakeman Web TV is “a very sensible alternative to those platforms that already exist.”

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New music from the legendary Janet Jackson is on the way. 

In honor of the 25th anniversary of Jackson’s sixth studio album, The Velvet Rope, the five-time Grammy winner will release a deluxe version on October 7, the same day it was released in 1997.

The two-part deluxe version will be comprised of an A side — the album’s 23 original tracks, along with two bonus tracks — and a B side of 13 remixes. Ten of the tracks will be new to streaming services.

In tandem with the release, remastered HD videos of tracks from The Velvet Rope, including “Go Deep,” “I Get Lonely,” “You,” “Got ‘Til It’s Gone” and “Together Again [Deeper Remix],” will be available on Jackson’s official YouTube page.  

Originally produced by Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Jackson, The Velvet Rope debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and turned out multiple #1 hits, as well as a Grammy Award for “Got ’Til It’s Gone” ft. Q-Tip & Joni Mitchell.

The Velvet Rope: Deluxe Edition arrives October 7 and is available for presave on major streaming services. 

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Tom Petty was a proud son of Gainesville, Florida, and the city’s university plans to honor the late rocker with Tom Petty Day.

The University of Florida has announced that this year’s UF/Louisiana State University game on October 15 will be the inaugural Tom Petty Day, with plans to continue celebrating it well into the future. The Tom Petty Estate is collaborating with UF on a capsule collection, with proceeds going to two local Gainesville charities: Kids Count and Family Promise. The collection is for sale on Petty’s online merch store.

Since his death in 2017, it’s been a tradition at UF games to sing Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” at the end of the third quarter. 

While Petty didn’t attend UF, he did work on the school’s grounds crew. In fact, there’s a lime tree on campus called the Tom Petty tree, in honor of the fact that he supposedly planted it during his stint on the crew — although in 2011, Petty said he didn’t remember doing so.

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October 13 marks Sammy Hagar‘s 75th birthday, and in honor of the occasion, AXS TV is devoting 24 hours of programming to the Red Rocker.

Starting Wednesday, October 12 at 8 p.m. ET, AXS TV is going all-Hagar, starting with his appearance on Daryl Hall’s music series Live from Daryl’s House. That’ll be followed by 41 episodes of Hagar’s show Rock & Roll Road Trip, in which the singer travels around the country interviewing famous pals like Dave Grohl, Nancy Wilson of Heart, Alice Cooper, John Mellencamp, Metallica’s James Hetfield, Roger Daltrey, Mick Fleetwood and more.

In between episodes, AXS TV will air special content from Sammy’s friends wishing him a happy birthday. Those friends include Sebastian Bach, former Hole drummer Scott Lipps and Dokken and Foreigner bass player Jeff Pilson.

In a statement AXS TV VP of Programming Katie Daryl says, “We are honored to celebrate [Sammy] with this ultimate birthday block, and we hope he enjoys the special shoutouts we have planned. Here’s to 75 more rockin’ years!”

Hagar and his band The Circle just released their new album Crazy Times.

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Mariah Carey has another major milestone to celebrate: her fifth studio album, Daydream, turned 27 on Monday.

The singer celebrated the sweet anniversary on Twitter, writing, “Happy anniversary Daydream. My most bittersweet album.”

Mariah encouraged fans to read her 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, to learn why she believes that.  The Grammy winner further noted, “Oh and I believe it’s 11x platinum by the way” and joked “but we like the sound of Diamond!” RIAA confirmed the track is Diamond; its website reflects the record earned its eleventh Platinum certification in March 2022.

Daydream was nominated for six Grammy Awards and produced some of Mariah’s biggest hits — namely her Boys II Men collab “One Sweet Day,” which had spent the most weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 until it was dethroned in 2019 by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus‘ “Old Town Road.”

Other standout tracks include “Fantasy” — which gained new life thanks to Latto‘s “Big Energy” and soundtracking the Ryan Reynolds comedy movie Free Guy — “Always Be My Baby” and “Forever.”

The album also started Mariah’s exploration of hip-hop and R&b music, which she previously spoke about when saluting her 1997 follow up album, Butterfly. Butterfly celebrated its 25th anniversary last month, and Mariah rolled out the red carpet to salute the studio work.

Daydream has sold over 20 million albums worldwide since it was released in 1995, and to date, it’s considered one of the best-selling albums of all time.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers are releasing a Los Angeles Rams-themed vinyl version of their upcoming album, Return of the Dream Canteen.

The two-LP set will be printed on the NFL team’s blue and white colors. The record’s shrink wrap will also feature a Rams sticker. You can preorder it now via RedHotChiliPeppers.com.

If you’ve heard, well, any Red Hot Chili Peppers song, then you know that the band hails from California –specifically, the City of Angels. The Peps have been longtime supporters of their local teams and performed at the Rams’ home opener during the 2016 season, which marked the team’s first game back in LA after spending the previous 20 years in St. Louis

Return of the Dream will arrive in all formats, football-themed or not, on October 14. It’s the second RHCP album of 2022, following April’s Unlimited Love.

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Ringo Starr has put his current tour with his All Starr Band on hold because he’s contracted COVID-19.

The Beatles legend was forced to cancel his shows this past Saturday in New Buffalo, Michigan, and Sunday in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Now, he’s canceled another five concerts, all in Canada, that were scheduled from October 4 through October 9.

A statement from his rep notes that Ringo “hopes to resume as soon as possible and is recovering at home.” The statement continues, “As always, he and the All Starrs send peace and love to their fans and hope to see them back out on the road soon.”

After the canceled dates, the next All Starr Band date is October 11 in Seattle, WA. It’s not clear if Ringo will be recovered by then.

Ringo’s most recent release is an EP titled EP3, which came out last month.

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Las Vegas is definitely in Rod Stewart‘s heart and in his soul: He’s just renewed his residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace for a 12th year.

Dates for Rod Stewart: The Hits have been announced for 2023 and go on sale Friday, Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. PT via ticketmaster.com/rodstewartvegas. A fan club presale starts Tuesday at 10 a.m. PT. Citi cardmembers have a presale starting Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT as do members of Caesars Entertainment’s loyalty program and Live Nation and Ticketmaster customers.

The 2023 concerts going on sale are on:

May: 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 15

November: 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 22

Sir Rod will be touring his native U.K. in November and December. In 2023, he has a number of North American tour dates booked in addition to the Vegas shows.

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