Classic Hits

It’s rare to see Mariah Carey not wearing a dramatic gown — even in a hot tub.  The diva did just that when celebrating the anniversary of her album The Emancipation of Mimi, which was released on April 12, 2005.

Taking to Instagram live Tuesday night, Mariah donned a sparkling red gown and some chunky diamond bangles before slipping into her hot tub to talk about the super-successful release, which she called “one of my favorite albums, ever.”

“That album meant a lot to me… It was a really tough road,” Mariah said.  As for the tracks she loves most on the album, she hinted toward “Fly Like a Bird” and “Circles.”

Mariah also asked fans to share their thoughts about her joining Latto for a new remix of the rapper’s hit “Big Energy.”  The connection is that both Mariah’s 1995 hit “Fantasy” and Latto’s “Big Energy” sample the same song: 1981’s “Genius of Love,” by Tom Tom Club.

Mariah also celebrated the remix hitting number one on the Billboard Digital Sales chart, cheering, “Can I get a yay?”

As for her future plans, the “Obsessed” singer hinted, “Just been in the studio doing a lot of stuff and some other projects that I think you know about.”  

“It’s rare that I take a break. I’m still working even while I’m here,” she teased. “Don’t get me started about Christmas. I am very excited about something major — a new accomplishment that I’m really excited about and I hope you guys like it.”

Mariah also spoke about her Black Irish brand of liquor and her plans for Pride, as well as her upcoming MasterClass, where she’ll teach her students how to use their voice as an instrument.  She also hinted that the class will feature “an amazing special guest,” later revealed to be Brandy.

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The treasured 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival – a series of events and music concerts held to celebrate Black culture – will make a triumphant return to its hometown next Summer, according to Billboard. 

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson‘s Oscar- and Grammy-winning film Summer of Soul, about the 1969 festival, inspired the new annual Harlem Festival of Culture (HFC), which is founded by Harlem community leader Nikoa Evans, entrepreneur Yvonne McNair and Ambassador magazine editor Musa Jackson, who attended the original festival back in the day.

“Being rooted, watered, and grown in this village of Harlem, I believe HFC is our moment to show the world the vibrancy of today”s Harlem — the music, the food, the look, all of it! The original event was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, one that I will never forget,” Jackson said in the announcement. “With this initiative, we want to create something that evokes that same sense of pride in our community that I felt on that special day in 1969. We want to authentically encapsulate the full scope: the energy, the music, the culture. We want people to understand that this festival is being built by the people who are from, live and work in this community.”

Like that of the past festival, HFC will host indoor and outdoor live music performances and events over the course of multiple days, doing so from Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park, formerly Mount Morris Park. HFC will also host events leading up to to the inaugural celebration next year, including A Harlem Jones open mic night at the Museum of the City of New York in tribute to the 1997 Black classic film, Love Jones. 

HFC founders have also established the HFC Foundation, a nonprofit organization that will provide resources for Harlem’s next generation of leaders in music. 

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Classic rock songs by Queen and Journey are among the 25 recordings that have been added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry for 2022.

Each year, 25 recordings are chosen for induction into the National Recording Registry, based on their “cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”

This year’s list includes Journey’s soaring 1981 power ballad “Don’t Stop Believin'” and Queen’s 1975 anthem “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Former Journey frontman Steve Perry, who co-wrote “Don’t Stop Believin,'” said, “That song, over the years, has become something that has a life of its own. It’s about the people who’ve embraced it and found the lyrics to be something they can relate to and hold onto and sing.”

Other recordings by notable artists from the rock world chosen for the registry include Bonnie Raitt‘s Grammy-winning 1989 comeback album Nick of Time and Linda Ronstadt‘s 1987 album of traditional Mexican music, Canciones de Mi Padre.

Also being inducted: The Four Tops‘ classic 1966 hit “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” Alicia Keys‘ 2001 debut album Songs in A Minor, Ricky Martin‘s 1999 smash “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” Nat King Cole‘s 1961 recording of “The Christmas Song,” and two landmark hip hop albums: 1993’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest‘s 1991 release, The Low End Theory.

Playlists featuring this year’s inductees are available on most streaming services.

Here’s the full list of recordings selected for the National Recording Registry in 2022:

“Harlem Strut” — James P. Johnson (1921)
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Complete Presidential Speeches (1933-1945)
“Walking the Floor Over You” — Ernest Tubb (1941) (single)
“On a Note of Triumph” (May 8, 1945)
“Jesus Gave Me Water” — The Soul Stirrers (1950) (single)
Ellington at Newport — Duke Ellington (1956) (album)
We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite — Max Roach (1960) (album)
“The Christmas Song” — Nat King Cole (1961) (single)
Tonight’s the Night — The Shirelles (1961) (album)
“Moon River” — Andy Williams (1962) (single)
In C — Terry Riley (1968) (album)
“It’s a Small World” — The Disneyland Boys Choir (1964) (single)
“Reach Out, I’ll Be There” — The Four Tops (1966) (single)
Hank Aaron’s 715th Career Home Run (April 8, 1974)
“Bohemian Rhapsody” — Queen (1975) (single)
“Don’t Stop Believin'” — Journey (1981) (single)
Canciones de Mi Padre — Linda Ronstadt (1987) (album)
Nick of Time — Bonnie Raitt (1989) (album)
The Low End Theory — A Tribe Called Quest (1991) (album)
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) — Wu-Tang Clan (1993) (album)
Buena Vista Social Club (1997) (album)
“Livin’ La Vida Loca” — Ricky Martin (1999) (single)
Songs in A Minor — Alicia Keys (2001) (album)
WNYC broadcasts for the day of 9/11 (Sept. 11, 2001)
“WTF with Marc Maron” (Guest: Robin Williams) (April 26, 2010)

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Classic rock songs by Queen and Journey and a Grammy-winning album of traditional music by Linda Ronstadt are among the 25 recordings that have been added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry for 2022.

Each year, 25 recordings are chosen for induction into the National Recording Registry, based on their “cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”

This year’s list includes Journey’s soaring 1981 power ballad “Don’t Stop Believin’,” Queen’s 1975 anthem “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Ronstadt’s 1987 album of traditional Mexican music, Canciones de Mi Padre.

Former Journey frontman Steve Perry, who co-wrote “Don’t Stop Believin,'” said, “That song, over the years, has become something that has a life of its own. It’s about the people who’ve embraced it and found the lyrics to be something they can relate to and hold onto and sing.”

Other notable recordings by veteran artists chosen for the registry include Bonnie Raitt‘s Grammy-winning 1989 comeback album Nick of Time, The Four Tops‘ classic 1966 hit “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” Ricky Martin‘s 1999 smash “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” The Shirelles‘ 1961 album Tonight’s the Night, Nat King Cole‘s 1961 recording of “The Christmas Song,” and Andy Williams‘ enduring 1962 rendition of “Moon River.”

Playlists featuring this year’s inductees are available on most streaming services.

Here’s the full list of recordings selected for the National Recording Registry in 2022:

“Harlem Strut” — James P. Johnson (1921)
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Complete Presidential Speeches (1933-1945)
“Walking the Floor Over You” — Ernest Tubb (1941) (single)
“On a Note of Triumph” (May 8, 1945)
“Jesus Gave Me Water” — The Soul Stirrers (1950) (single)
Ellington at Newport — Duke Ellington (1956) (album)
We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite — Max Roach (1960) (album)
“The Christmas Song” — Nat King Cole (1961) (single)
Tonight’s the Night — The Shirelles (1961) (album)
“Moon River” — Andy Williams (1962) (single)
In C — Terry Riley (1968) (album)
“It’s a Small World” — The Disneyland Boys Choir (1964) (single)
“Reach Out, I’ll Be There” — The Four Tops (1966) (single)
Hank Aaron’s 715th Career Home Run (April 8, 1974)
“Bohemian Rhapsody” — Queen (1975) (single)
“Don’t Stop Believin'” — Journey (1981) (single)
Canciones de Mi Padre — Linda Ronstadt (1987) (album)
Nick of Time — Bonnie Raitt (1989) (album)
The Low End Theory — A Tribe Called Quest (1991) (album)
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) — Wu-Tang Clan (1993) (album)
Buena Vista Social Club (1997) (album)
“Livin’ La Vida Loca” — Ricky Martin (1999) (single)
Songs in A Minor — Alicia Keys (2001) (album)
WNYC broadcasts for the day of 9/11 (Sept. 11, 2001)
“WTF with Marc Maron” (Guest: Robin Williams) (April 26, 2010)

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Rolling Stones will release a restored and remastered concert film and album titled Licked Live in NYC on June 10 that captures a January 2003 show the British rock legends played at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden.

The release will be available in several formats and configurations, including as a DVD/two-CD set, an SD (standard-definition) Blu-ray/two-CD set, and as a standalone two-CD package and a three-LP vinyl set.

The Madison Square Garden performance took place during the band’s 40th anniversary Licks World Tour, and featured The Stones playing a deep set that included classics from throughout their decades-long career. Sheryl Crow joined the band for a rendition of “Honky Tonk Women.”

The film of the concert originally premiered in 2003 as an HBO special, and also was featured on the multiple-disc Four Flicks DVD set that was issued that same year.

The Licked Live in NYC DVD and Blu-ray include four previously unreleased songs from the Madison Square Garden show, as well as three bonus performances from a concert that the band played in Amsterdam during the Licks trek, and footage from the group’s tour rehearsals in Toronto.

The CDs and LPs also feature the four unreleased tunes from the MSG concert.

Meanwhile, the SD Blu-ray also features a 51-minute documentary titled Tip of the Tongue that offers a look at the conception and preparation of the Licks tour, which saw The Rolling Stones playing at three different-sized venues at each metropolitan area they visited.

Licked Live in NYC can be pre-ordered now.

Here’s the release’s track list:

Intro
“Street Fighting Man”
“Start Me Up”*
“If You Can’t Rock Me”
“Don’t Stop”
“Monkey Man”
“Angie”
“Let It Bleed”
“Midnight Rambler”
“Tumbling Dice”*
“Thru and Thru”
“Happy”
“Gimme Shelter”*
“You Got Me Rocking”
“Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”
“Honky Tonk Women” — with Sheryl Crow
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
“It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)”
“When the Whip Comes Down”
“Brown Sugar”
“Sympathy for the Devil”*
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”

Bonus Content
Live in Amsterdam (DVD and SD Blu-ray only)
“Star Star”
“I Just Want to Make Love to You”
“Street Fighting Man”

Rehearsals (DVD and SD Blu-ray only)
“Well Well”
“Extreme Western Grip”

SD Blu-ray only
—Tip of the Tongue documentary
—Tip of the Tongue – Boston backstage

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ringo Starr‘s All Starr Band has unveiled dates for a second North American tour leg this year.

The newly announced series of shows, which includes 19 dates, begins on September 23 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and runs through an October 19-20 engagement in Mexico City. After the kickoff show, the outing will stop in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and then work its way across Canada, with concerts in Michigan and Minnesota along the way.

Once on the West Coast, the trek will proceed to visit venues in Washington, Oregon, and California, wrapping up the U.S. portion on October 16 at Los Angeles’ famed Greek Theatre.

As previously reported, the first leg of the All Starr Band’s upcoming tour begins with a May 27-28 stand in Rama, Canada, and runs through a June 26 show in Clearwater, Florida. The 2022 trek is made up mostly of dates that were postponed from 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is so great to finally announce all these shows we had planned for 2020, and I am really looking forward to playing them!” Ringo says. “How great to start at Casino Rama [in Rama, Canada], where we’ve begun 5 All Starr tours, and then to go back to [New York City’s] Beacon [Theatre], and to the Greek, which was the last show we played in 2019 on our 30th Anniversary tour. I can’t wait to see all our fans and until then I’m sending everyone peace and love and see you soon!”

The All Starr Band’s current lineup features Edgar Winter, Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, Men at Work‘s Colin Hay and former Average White Band guitarist/bassist Hamish Stuart, as well as sax player/percussionist Warren Ham and drummer Gregg Bissonette.

Visit RingoStarr.com for a full list of dates.

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A new photo book celebrating the history of The Beatles‘ Apple Records label is available for pre-order now.

The book, titled Inside No 3: A History on the Products and Memorabilia from Apple Records 1968-73, features images of albums and singles released on the label, as well as promo photos of the artists who recorded for Apple, and pics of posters, t-shirts, stationary, correspondence and much more.

In addition to many Beatles-related photos, Inside No 3 features pics of albums, singles and/or promotional materials from George Harrison, Plastic Ono Band, Yoko Ono, Badfinger, James Taylor, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar, Mary Hopkin, Ronnie Spector, Delaney & Bonnie, Phil Spector and many others.

The book was written by Nigel Pearce and focuses on the collection of Apple Records memorabilia he has amassed over the years.

The title Inside No 3 refers to the address of Apple Records headquarters, located at No 3 Savile Row in London. Four different versions of the book will be available, including a special collector’s edition limited to only 100 copies that features a signed and numbered hardback copy packaged with replica memorabilia.

The other versions are signed and unsigned hardback copies, and an unsigned softcover edition.

“When you open this beautiful book, you will enter a world that millions of people never knew existed. It’s a world of colour, innovation, revolution, coupled with a completely fresh and different mode of marketing from Apple Records, the label owned by The Beatles,” Pearce writes. “No 3 Savile Row is where it all happened in a way beyond belief operation that still inspires artists from all walks and ages of music and life.”

You can pre-order the book now at InsideandOutsideNo3.com and GonzoMultimedia.co.uk.

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Bobby Whitlock is best known as a member of Eric Clapton‘s 1970s band Derek and the Dominos, but in recent years, the singer, keyboardist and songwriter also has become a prolific painter.

On April 1, Whitlock’s first-ever art exhibition opened at the Crockett County Museum in Bobby’s current hometown of Ozona, Texas, and the 74-year-old musician will be at the museum this Wednesday, April 13, for a special meet-and-greet event that runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. CT.

The exhibit features almost 200 of his paintings displayed throughout the museum’s three floors, and Whitlock tells ABC Audio that he feels like he’s making art history with such an auspicious debut exhibition.

“No other artist has ever had this happen, where their first exhibition [features] nearly 200 works of art, and in a museum on top of that,” he enthuses. “Generally, an artist gets maybe a showing at a gallery [with] couple of pieces, that’s it.”

Whitlock says the exhibit came about when he was approached by one of the museum’s curators at the local post office.

She said, ‘I’ve been on your [websites] and I love your art, and would you like to do an exhibition?'” he recalls. “And I said, ‘Yeah, that’d be great,’ you know, ’cause I didn’t know what I was gonna do with all of my paintings.”

Bobby says he happily surprised when he was informed that so much of his artwork would be displayed, and that the exhibit was to run for six months.

As for how he felt getting to view his paintings hung on the walls of a museum, Whitlock notes, “[I]t took my breath away…It was pretty astounding to see something like that.”

To find out more about Whitlock’s paintings, visit BobbyWhitlockArt.com.

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The cannabis brand Dad Grass has launched a new line of George Harrison-themed products celebrating the late Beatles guitarist’s classic 1970 solo album, All Things Must Pass, and approved by Harrison’s estate.

The All Things Must Grass collection in includes pre-rolled joints featuring organic CBD and CBG hemp flower, as well as paraphernalia and merch items. The products can be purchased online now, and will be available at select U.S. stores this month.

Among the products available is a pack of joints made to look like an All Things Must Pass cassette case, featuring the classic cover image of Harrison on the lawn of his Friar Park estate surrounded by garden gnomes. The collection also includes rolling papers, a rolling tray, silk-screened posters, buttons, pins, and stickers.

To promote the All Things Must Grass collection, a teaser video has premiered online set to George’s song “Let It Roll.” The clip brings the All Things Must Pass cover to life, with an animated Harrison frolicking with his garden gnomes, and the gnomes sampling the Dad Grass products.

Dad Grass CEO and co-founder Ben Starmer says, “For this project, we set out to create a mellower kind of joint, something that blended together the type of high quality, low potency, and all-natural flower that was around when George was ‘having a laugh’ back in the early ’70s. Just a classic smoke for a classic bloke.”

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Alice Cooper has announced dates for a new fall leg of his 2022 U.S. headlining tour.

The new dates of the shock rocker’s Detroit Muscle tour kick off with a September 7 concert in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and will wrap up October 8 in Las Vegas. Tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday, April 15, at 10 a.m. local time.

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit AliceCooper.com.

Cooper will be touring in continued support of his new album Detroit Stories, which was released February 2021.

If you can’t wait until the fall, you can catch Cooper on his spring tour leg, which comes to a close April 24 in Los Angeles. Buckcherry and Ace Frehley open on select dates.

Cooper is also hosting his CoopStock 2 — Grooves and Divots charity event on April 30 in Mesa, Arizona. The fundraiser, which will support Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Centers dance, music and art education program, will feature Judas Priest‘s Rob Halford, R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills and Creed‘s Scott Stapp, among others.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.