Classic Hits

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have debuted a music video for their new cover of the 1965 soul tune “Searching for My Love,” which appears on the duo’s 2021 collaborative album, Raise the Roof.

The clip, which is the first official music video that Plant and Krauss have released in 14 years, depicts a series of lonely male travelers on various quests to find seemingly unattainable objects of desire.

The video includes scenes of a man climbing to a mountaintop, a pirate standing in front of a treasure chest, an adventurer soaring through gray clouds on man-made wings, and a man swimming in the ocean toward a mermaid who disappears just as he reaches her.

“Searching for My Love,” which originally was recorded by American soul group Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces, is a tune that Plant first sang when he was a teenager. The Led Zeppelin frontman says the song was “another nugget of beautiful lost soul music which has been ricocheting between me and Alison for a long time.”

As previously reported, Raise the Roof, which was released in November, is a 14-track collection that features 13 covers of songs by “legends and unsung heroes of folk, blues, country and soul music,” as well as one original tune co-written by Plant and producer T Bone Burnett, titled “High and Lonesome.”

In support of Raise the Roof, Plant and Krauss will launch a U.S. tour leg that runs from a June 1 show in Canandaigua, New York, trough a June 17 appearance at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tennessee. The duo also has a series of European concert in late June and July.

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Police drummer Stewart Copeland made a surprise appearance at Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder‘s solo concert in Los Angles this past Friday.

Vedder invited Copeland on stage for the show’s encore, which included a ramshackle cover of The Police’s “Message in a Bottle” — “Still practicing,” Eddie quipped at one point — and a closing performance of Neil Young‘s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”

Copeland’s guest spot allowed Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith, who’s been Vedder’s drummer for the tour, to take a breather during “Message in a Bottle,” but he returned to the stage to play guitar on “Rockin’ in the Free World.”

Fan-shot footage of the performance is streaming now on YouTube.

Vedder’s tour, which launched earlier this month in support of his new Earthling solo album, concluded Sunday in San Diego. For the run, Vedder was joined by his Earthlings solo band, which included Smith, ex-RHCP guitarist and current Pearl Jam touring member Josh Klinghoffer, Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney, singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, and producer and guitarist Andrew Watt.

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Brian Jones, the accomplished slide guitarist and multi-instrumentalist who founded The Rolling Stones, was born 80 years ago today, February 28, 1942.

Jones, who died at age 27 in July 1969, formed The Stones in 1962 to showcase the music of the American blues artists he loved, including Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Elmore James. Brian came up with his band’s name, taken from the Waters song “Rollin’ Stone Blues,” and he initially was the group’s leader.

Jones’ slide guitar was a key element of the group, and he also played harmonica on many of the band’s recordings.  However, the band’s leadership soon shifted to singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards, as they emerged as The Stones’ main songwriting team.

As The Rolling Stones began exploring other musical styles, Brian’s ability to play almost any instrument allowed him to add interesting sonic flavors to many songs.  Jones played the recorder on “Ruby Tuesday,” sitar “Paint It Black,” dulcimer on “Lady Jane,” marimba on “Under My Thumb” and “Out of Time,” Mellotron on most of 1967’s Their Satanic Majesties Request album, and autoharp on “You Got the Silver.”

However, as the 1960s progressed, Jones’ talents became increasingly hindered by drugs and his contributions began to wane. In June 1969, he was fired from The Rolling Stones. Less than a month later, he was found dead in the swimming pool at his house in Hartfield, U.K.

The coroner ruled Jones had died by drowning and later listed the cause as “death by misadventure,” noting that he had an enlarged liver and heart due to drug and alcohol abuse. Allegations that Jones had been murdered have circulated over the years, but a 2010 review by local police asserted that no new evidence had emerged to change the coroner’s original verdict.

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Neil Diamond has joined the “sell your catalog” club of veteran musicians.

Universal Music Group has acquired Diamond’s entire catalog, as well as the rights to all his recordings, including 110 unreleased tracks, an unreleased album, and archival long form videos. The legendary singer, who turned 81 in January, has sold more than 130 million albums over the past 50 years. No price was reported for the deal.

Universal Music Group has overseen Diamond’s publishing since 2014. The deal also brings together recordings he made for UMG, like “Sweet Caroline,” “Red, Red Wine,” “Cracklin’ Rosie” and “Song Sung Blue,” with his earlier recordings for the BANG label, and his post-1972 work.

UMG will also release Diamond’s future music, if he decides to make any.

“After nearly a decade in business with UMG, I am thankful for the trust and respect that we have built together,” Diamond said in a statement, adding that he feels “confident” that the company will “continue to represent my catalogue, and future releases with the same passion and integrity that have always fueled my career.”

As previously reported, The Neil Diamond Musical: A Beautiful Noise will premiere at Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre on June 21, where it’ll have a six-week engagement before heading to Broadway.

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Graham Nash shares stories behind some of his most famous songs in a new episode of the Apple Music 1 podcast Deep Hidden Meaning Radio, hosted by Chic‘s Nile Rodgers, which premieres this Saturday, February 26 at 11 a.m. ET.

As revealed in a preview provided to ABC Audio, one of the tunes Graham spoke about was his classic “Teach Your Children,” which appeared on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young‘s 1970 debut, Déjà Vu.

He explained to Rodgers that the tune was inspired by a famous 1962 Diane Arbus photograph of a boy holding a toy hand grenade in New York’s Central Park.

“[W]hen I was looking at the [photo]…I began to realize that if we didn’t teach our kids a better way of dealing with each other, then humanity itself was kind of screwed,” Nash recalls. “That was the beginning of ‘Teach Your Children.'”

Graham also revealed that in 1989, when he was selling some photo prints, including one of the Arbus photo, a tall young man introduced himself to him and told him he was the boy with the grenade, and shared his memory of his picture being taken that day.

Nash also talked about “Marrakesh Express,” the 1969 Crosby, Stills & Nash hit that he wrote. Graham explained that he first recorded the song with his previous band The Hollies, but he felt that version “absolutely sucked.”

He said that it was his CSN band mate Stephen Stills‘ guitar playing that made “Marrakesh Experess” a great song.

“When you are writing a song about a train, it needs a train,” Graham noted. “It needs urgency, it needs energy, it needs to be tracking right along. And that guitar part that Stephen Stills put on was unbelievable to me.”

The full podcast will stream for free at Apple.com.

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It wasn’t surprising when Elton John‘s collaboration with pop star Dua Lipa, “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” hit number one in the U.K. — after all, both artists are British. But apparently, Australia loves them even more.

The song, which mashes up four of Elton’s previous songs, has just checked off its 10th non-consecutive week at number one on Australia’s ARIA Singles Chart, which is that country’s official song ranking.

“Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)” is now one of only four songs that have spent 10 weeks on top of the ARIA Singles Chart. The others include Whitney Houston‘s “I Will Always Love You,” LMFAO‘s “Party Rock Anthem” and Sandi Thom‘s “I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair).”

Of course, “Cold Heart” has a long way to go before it sets any records Down Under: The longest-running song on the ARIA Singles chart is “Dance Money” by Tones and I, which was number one for 24 weeks.

Incidentally, the remix was created by the electronic dance duo Pnau, who happen to be Australian.

In the U.S., “Cold Heart” peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s the only song from this century that Elton is performing during his Farewell tour. Earlier this week, Elton performed at his “favorite venue in the world” — New York’s Madison Square Garden — for the last time. He’s played there more than 70 times.

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Paul McCartney‘s recently announced Got Back tour just got an additional show. The new date, which was added “due to overwhelming demand,” is scheduled for June 8 at Boston’s Fenway Park, and joins a previously announced June 7 concert at the historic stadium.

Tickets for McCartney’s June 8 performance will go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 4, at 10 a.m. ET.

American Express card members can get pre-sale tickets starting Monday, February 28, at 10 a.m. ET, while PaulMcCartney.com also is offering pre-sale tickets beginning at 12 p.m. ET that same day. For all the details, visit PaulMcCartneyGotBack.com.

As previously reported, McCartney’s Got Back tour, his first since his Freshen Up trek wrapped in 2019, launches April 28 in Spokane, Washington, and is scheduled to wrap up on June 16 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The U.S. outing currently features 15 shows.

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Hall & Oates singer Daryl Hall has released a live version of the 1984 Eurythmics hit “Here Comes the Rain Again” that he performed with the latter group’s Dave Stewart as an advance track from his upcoming solo compilation, BeforeAfter, due out April 1.

The performance, which features Daryl on vocals and piano and Stewart on acoustic guitar, comes a 2012 episode of Hall’s Live from Daryl’s House show. The track is available now via digital formats, while a video of their rendition of “Here Comes the Rain Again” has been posted on Hall’s official YouTube channel.

Hall has had a collaborative relationship with Stewart that dates back to Daryl’s 1986 album, Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine, which was produced by Dave and includes three songs that he co-wrote.

As previously reported, BeforeAfter is a 30-track collection that features selections from all five of Hall’s solo studio albums, as well as eight performances from the Live from Daryl’s House series, six of which are previously unreleased.

Other Live from Daryl’s House performances on the compilation include a rendition of Todd Rundgren‘s “Can We Still Be Friends with Rundgren, and covers of Ruby and the Romantics‘ “Our Day Will Come” and Gladys Knight and the Pips‘ “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye).”

Coinciding with BeforeAfter‘s release, Hall will embark on his first solo tour in a decade, with Rundgren as his special guest. The eight-show trek runs from an April 1 concert in Chicago through an April 16 show in National Harbor, Maryland, and includes stops at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and New York City’s Carnegie Hall on April 5 and April 14, respectively.

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George Thorogood and the Destroyers are known for recording memorable versions of other artists’ tunes, but frontman George Thorogood has written plenty of memorable songs as well. It’s those originals that are the focus of a new compilation titled, aptly, The Original George Thorogood, that’s due out April 15.

The album, which you can pre-order now, will be available on CD, via digital formats, and as a two-LP vinyl set, including a standard black-vinyl version and a limited-edition translucent-orange-vinyl collection.

The CD and digital versions of The Original George Thorogood feature 14 tracks, while the vinyl editions boast 11 songs. All versions include such classic Thorogood tunes as “Bad to the Bone,” “I Drink Alone,” “Born to Be Bad,” “If You Don’t Start Drinkin’ (I’m Gonna Leave)” and “You Talk Too Much,” as well as the previously unreleased track “Back in the U.S.A.”

“It’s easy to write a song, difficult to write a good song, and even harder to write a great song,” says Thorogood. “It strikes home that I have the ability to write some pretty great songs, and there’s a real sense of achievement to that.”

George adds about the compilation, “We’ve been playing a lot of these songs for a long time, and some haven’t been performed live at all. I hope fans are surprised by the ones they’ve never heard before.”

This year, Thorogood and the Destroyers launched the Good to Be Bad: 45 Years of Rock Tour, which resumes on April 29 in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. The band also will be supporting Sammy Hagar & the Circle on the Crazy Times! trek, which includes a variety of dates in June, August and September. Check out a full list of shows at GeorgeThorogood.com.

Here’s The Original George Thorogood‘s full track list:

“Bad to the Bone”
“I Drink Alone”
“Gear Jammer”
“Born to Be Bad”
“If You Don’t Start Drinkin’ (I’m Gonna Leave)”
“Back in the U.S.A.”*
“Rock and Roll Man”
“You Talk Too Much”
“Miss Luann”
“Back to Wentzville”**
“Rock and Roll Christmas”
“Oklahoma Sweetheart”
“Woman with the Blues”**
“I Really Like Girls”**

* = previously unreleased
** = on CD and digital versions only.

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The Scorpions‘ long-awaited 19th studio album, Rock Believer, the band’s first new record since 2015’s Return to Forever, arrived today.

Frontman Klaus Meine tells ABC Audio that with the album, exemplified by its title track, The Scorpions deliver the message that they believe hard-rock music is alive and well, and that they know their fans feel the same way.

“The lyrics [of ‘Rock Believer’ are] about saying, ‘We are the essence of rock believers, doing this for so long,'” Meine explains. “And, of course, it was addressed to all the rock believers out there, addressed to the hard and heavy community.”

Meine says the band’s objective with Rock Believer was “for us to have great songs, powerful songs for our live set, and…for the hard and heavy fans out there hoping The Scorpions this time would not focus too much on ballads.”

Having said that, Meine notes that alongside various fast and mid-tempo rock songs on Rock Believer, there is indeed one ballad, “When You Know (Where You Come From).”

Asked to name some of his favorite songs on the album, Klaus says “When You Know,” “Rock Believer” and “Call of the Wild,” which he says is “a cool little…bluesy song.”

He also singles out “When I Lay My Bones to Rest” which he says he likes because it’s “a fast song, it’s so powerful, with really funny lyrics.”

The Scorpions recorded the album during the COVID-19 lockdown, and while some of the songs feature lyrics inspired by the global health crisis and other serious issues, Meine says he focused more on writing tunes “for the fans to enjoy and get away from this whole corona thing…and just to rock out with us with positive energy.”

Here’s Rock Believer‘s full track list:

“Gas in the Tank”
“Roots in My Boots”
“Knock ‘Em Dead”
“Rock Believer”
“Shining of Your Soul”
“Seventh Sun”
“Hot and Cold”
“When I Lay My Bones to Rest”
“Peacemaker”
“Call of the Wild”
“When You Know (Where You Come From)”
“Shoot for Your Heart”
“When Tomorrow Comes
“Unleash the Beast”
“Crossing Borders”
“When You Know (Where You Come From)” (Acoustic Version)

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