Classic Hits

Mariah Carey decided to reference the controversial “All I Want for Christmas Is You” copyright lawsuit when she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on Thursday.  

Mariah has been sued by songwriter Andy Stone — who is better known by his stage name Vince Vance — for $20 million in damages. Vance wrote a song with the same exact title in 1989 and claims the Grammy winner infringed on his copyright, even though the songs differ in both melody and lyrics.

Mariah used her Thursday night acceptance speech to address Stone’s lawsuit by calling it “farcockteh,” the Yiddish word for “messed up.” Mariah noted, “It’s not the easiest profession in the world. Between the — this is a word my friend said to me the other day — the ‘farcockteh’ lawsuits and all the business side of it. No offense, we love the business people… they’re our best friends.”

This is the first time she’s mentioned the pending lawsuit.

Mariah then turned her attention to how writing songs and poetry helped her heal from her “incredibly dysfunctional background.”  

Although she has embarked on a successful music career, the “Fantasy” singer revealed, “I constantly have to remind people I’m a songwriter. It’s become a joke.” She referenced the meme of her repeatedly saying “as a songwriter” during interviews and decided to turn her acceptance speech into a replacement meme.

Hoisting up her trophy, she loudly said once more, “As… a… songwriter!”

Mariah also used the moment to take a stand for equality by remarking, “Out of the 439 total inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, only 32 have been women up until this moment. Now it’s 33.”

She then closed her speech on a sweet note, declaring, “As my father once told me — ‘you did good, kid!'”

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Paul McCartney‘s Got Back tour ended in exciting fashion on Thursday night at MetLife in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as the former Beatles legend was joined by two of the Garden State’s most favorite sons — Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi.

Rolling Stone posted a fan-shot video that shows McCartney introducing The Boss, telling the crowd, “He’s a local boy. He says he’s gonna come and sing with us.” Bruce then came out and commented to Paul, “Eighty more years of glory days,” a reference to McCartney’s upcoming 80th birthday this Saturday, before playing his 1984 hit “Glory Days” with Macca and his band.

After that tune ended, McCartney said to Springsteen, “Bruce, one more,” and then launched into the early Beatles tune “I Wanna Be Your Man.”

Later on in the show, as seen in a fan-shot clip, Bon Jovi came out on stage holding a bunch of helium-filled birthday balloons and told Paul, “Welcome to New Jersey. I’ve got 60,000 people want to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to you.” Jon then led the crowd in a singalong, after which he let the balloons go and exited the stage. McCartney and his band followed that with a rendition of The Beatles’ “Happy Birthday.”

According to Rolling Stone, Springsteen and Bon Jovi returned for the final encore of the show, a rendition of The Beatles’ “The End,” with Bruce playing guitar on the song.

Photos of Springsteen’s and Bon Jovi’s appearances during the concert also were posted on McCartney’s social media sites.

Paul currently has only one more confirmed show on his 2022 schedule, a headlining performance at U.K.’s famed Glastonbury Festival on June 25.

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Steve Miller is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but Thursday night in New York City, he received an honor that he considers even better than that: He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. On the red carpet before the event, Miller told ABC Audio that he never expected that he’d be honored for his songwriting.

“I was absolutely shocked when I was told that I was going to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame,” Miller told ABC Audio. “I went, ‘What?’ And I was in disbelief. But it’s such an honor and I’m so glad to be here.”

“When you look at the people on the list being inducted tonight, it’s just stunning,” he added, referring to fellow inductees like Eurythmics and The Isley Brothers. “And to be part of that…it’s the highest honor in my career.”

While Miller’s compositions include number-one hits like “The Joker,” “Rock’n Me” and “Abacadabra,” he says there’s one song he’s particularly proud of.

“I think ‘Fly Like an Eagle’ is one that stands out,” he says of his 1976 number-two hit. “It’s a really important song to a lot of people all over the world.”

“It’s about justice and equality. And so that means something that’s better than ‘ooh, baby, baby’ — even though I love the ‘ooh, baby, baby’ songs, you know?” he laughs. “But that one…it’s affected the world a little bit, so that makes it more valuable.”

Miller played “Fly Like an Eagle” at the ceremony after being inducted by his friend Bryan Cranston, who he met about three years ago backstage at Cranston’s Broadway show. 

“I just dig the guy, y’know?” the actor told reporters. “He’s like a really cool guy who loves music…he loves blues and jazz and, you know, country. He explores, he stretches his musical talents and curiosities…he was destined to be in music and play the guitar.”

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Sting will take part in the 2022 edition of Climate Action Live, an international event that’s being organized by the Peace One Day organization to promote positive action to help the environment.

The event will bring together musicians, actors, environmental activists, business leaders and others for performances, panel discussions and interviews to encourage individuals and organizations to work toward a more sustainable future for the planet while focusing on how peace and climate are interconnected.

The event will begin at 8 a.m. ET on June 21 and will be viewable live on Peace One Day’s Twitter page. Sting will give a performance that will air at 4:10 p.m. ET.

Filmmaker Jeremy Gilley, who founded Peace One Day, says, “The timing of Climate Action Live 21 June is more important this year than ever. Worldwide we’ve seen the devastating effect that conflict over resources manifests so please join the global community and tune into Climate Action Live…and listen to individuals of all ages from across the world as they inform, inspire and engage you towards positive climate action. ‘No Peace — No Climate Action.'”

Gilley founded Peace One Day in 1999 to establish an annual Peace Day that takes place on the same date each year, September 21.

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As Christine McVie prepares to release her first solo compilation, Songbird (A Solo Collection), on June 24, the Fleetwood Mac singer/keyboardist has shared some potentially disappointing news regarding her famous band with Rolling Stone.

Fleetwood Mac finished its most recent tour in 2019, with a lineup that featured Crowded House‘s Neil Finn and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell stepping in for Lindsey Buckingham after Buckingham’s much publicized firing from the group in 2018.

Christine tells the magazine, “Those guys were great. We have a great time with them, but we’ve kind of broke up now, so I hardly ever see them.”

Christine adds that Fleetwood Mac no longer exists “as we know it.” Regarding the band’s future, she says, “We might get back together, but I just couldn’t say for sure.”

Christine, who is 78, also notes that she isn’t sure if she wants to tour again.

“I don’t feel physically up for it,” she maintains. “I’m in quite bad health. I’ve got a chronic back problem, which debilitates me. I stand up to play the piano, so I don’t know if I could actually physically do it.”

In addition, Christine says that her ex-husband, Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie, also has “health issues” and isn’t sure if he wants to tour anymore. “You’d have to ask him,” she adds.

If Fleetwood Mac does decide to hit the road again, Christine says she’d like to have Buckingham back in the band.

“He’s the best,” Christine says. “Neil and Mike were such a cheerful couple, but Lindsey was missed.”

Although she says she’s “quite happy to be at home,” Christine won’t completely rule out another Fleetwood Mac tour.

“I’ll just leave it open and say that we might,” she notes.

You can preorder Songbird now.

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Just in time for Father’s Day, Rod Stewart is paying tribute to his late father, Robert, with a video and a concert.

Rod has dropped two teaser videos for “Touchline” from his most recent album, The Tears of Hercules. The song is about his father and, specifically, about how love and tradition is passed down to generations via sports — in this case soccer or, as they call it in the U.K., football. The full video will debut Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

Rod says in a statement, “If you know anything about me, you know that our dad’s love of football has most definitely left its impact on me and my brothers, and I’m delighted that it’s now such an important part of my children’s lives as well. The song ‘Touchline’ was my tribute to him and I’m so happy and moved that the new video takes that to the ultimate level just in time for Father’s Day.”

Rod will also perform a special show in Edinburgh, Scotland, on November 13 in honor of his dad, who was born in Leith, in northern Edinburgh, and died in 1990 at the age of 85. Details on that will be announced soon.

In addition, Rod has announced that select tickets on his U.K. tour this fall will be donated to National Health Service frontline workers. “It’s terrific that we’ll be able to have both NHS workers and doctors and nurses who have been on the front lines these last couple of years as our guests!” he says.

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Ringo Starr‘s All Starr Band recently postponed the last 12 concerts of the first leg of their 2022 North American tour after two members of the group — Edgar Winter and Steve Lukather — tested positive for COVID-19. Now all of those shows have been rescheduled.

The new dates run from a September 5 concert in Lenox, Massachusetts, through a September 22 performance in Providence, Rhode Island. The rescheduled shows take place immediately before the previously announced second leg of the All Starr Band’s 2022 North American trek, which is mapped out from a September 23 concert in Bridgeport, Connecticut, through an October 19-20 stand in Mexico City.

“We were having so much fun playing again and it was disappointing to have to stop,” says Ringo. “But we were able to reschedule these shows and add them to our Fall tour — and so as the song goes — I’ll see you in September! Peace and love.”

Here’s the full list of rescheduled All Starr Band dates:

9/5 — Lenox, MA, Tanglewood (original date: 6/17)
9/6 — Baltimore, MD, Modell Lyric (original date: 6/14)
9/7 — Baltimore, MD, Modell Lyric (original date: 6/15)
9/9 — Easton, PA, State Theater (original date: 6/11)
9/10 — Pittsburgh, PA, PPG Arena (original date: 6/18)
9/11 — Philadelphia, PA, Metropolitan Theater (original date: 6/19)
9/15 — St. Augustine, FL, The AMP (original date: 6/24)
9/16 — Clearwater, FL, Ruth Eckerd Hall (original date: 6/26)
9/17 — Hollywood, FL, Hard Rock (original date: 6/25)
9/19 — Atlanta, GA, Cobb Center (original date: 6/22)
9/20 — Richmond, VA, Virginia Credit Union Live (original date: 6/21)
9/22 — Providence, RI, PPAC (original date: 6/12)

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Mariah Carey will soon have her name added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Ahead of the ceremony, the hitmaker sweetly thanked fans for the honor.

Taking to her Instagram story, Mariah wrote, “I’ve always considered myself a songwriter first. It’s my favorite part of creating music, and what I feel is the greatest of all.”

While thanking fans for “all your love and support,” she decided to take a stroll down memory lane and introduced, “Here is a fan-favorite selection from each of my studio albums to celebrate my induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame!”

From her eponymous debut studio album, Mariah selected the song “Vanishing.” Other highlighted tracks include “Make It Happen” from the Emotions album and “Hero” from Music Box.

The honor is a long-time coming for the “Fantasy” singer, who waited nearly three years to be inducted. She, along with Eurythmics‘ Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, The Neptunes‘ Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, members of The Isley Brothers and veteran rocker Steve Miller, were announced as the new class of honorees in December 2019.

“I can’t believe it,” Mariah said at the time on Instagram. “The SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME!!!! This is truly one of the greatest honors of my career. I’m so proud and humbled to be in the company of such legendary songwriters — both previously inducted as well as the incredible class of 2020!”

The Induction and Awards Gala was originally scheduled for June 11, 2020, but it was moved to June 10, 2021, because of the pandemic — before it was bumped again to this Thursday, June 16.

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Fifty years ago today, on June 16, 1972, David Bowie released his classic fifth studio album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, one of the defining recordings of the glam-rock era.

The record was a loose concept album focusing Ziggy Stardust, a character Bowie created as an alter ego that was an androgynous bisexual alien rock star, and his mythical backing group, The Spiders from Mars.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars peaked at #5 on the U.K. albums chart in 1972, while in the U.S. it initially only reached #75 on the Billboard 200. After Bowie’s death in 2016, the album enjoyed its highest chart position in the U.S. — #21.

Only one single was released from the Ziggy Stardust album, “Starman,” which reached #10 on the U.K. singles chart, although it only peaked at #65 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100. The album did feature several other classic Bowie songs, including such enduring tunes as “Moonage Daydream,” “Ziggy Stardust” and “Suffragette City.”

Bowie and his real band — guitarist Mick Ronson, bassist Trevor Bolder and drummer Mick “Woody” Woodmansey — took on the personas of Ziggy and The Spiders from Mars in concert, and toured together for about a year and a half. Then, at the end of a July 3, 1973, show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, David dramatically declared onstage that the group had just played its last gig.

In 2020, Ziggy Stardust was ranked #40 on Rolling Stone‘s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list.

In honor of Ziggy Stardust‘s 50th anniversary, a new mix of Bowie’s historic 1972 performance of “Starman” on the U.K.’s Top of the Pops TV show was released as a special streaming single today.

Here’s the full Ziggy Stardust track list:

Side One
“Five Years”
“Soul Love”
“Moonage Daydream”
“Starman”
“It Ain’t Easy”

Side Two
“Lady Stardust”
“Star”
“Hang On to Yourself”
“Ziggy Stardust”
“Suffragette City”
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”

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Country-rock pioneer Richie Furay, a founding member of both Buffalo Springfield and Poco, has released his new cover of Marc Cohn‘s 1991 hit “Walking in Memphis” as an advance track from his upcoming covers album, In the Country.

The song is available now via digital formats, and Furay has also debuted a music video for the tune on his official YouTube channel.

As previously reported, In the Country is due out on July 8 and is made up mainly of Furay’s interpretations of various well-known country songs.

Among the tunes featured on the 12-track collection are renditions of such country chart-toppers as Keith Urban‘s “Somebody Like You,” Garth Brooks‘ “The River,” Alabama‘s “I’m in a Hurry and I Don’t Know Why” and Lee Ann Womack‘s “I Hope You Dance,” as well as notable crossover hits like “Walking in Memphis” and John Denver‘s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

The album includes guest contributions from Vince Gill, John Berry, ex-Chicago singer/bassist Jason Scheff, and longtime Eagles bassist and former Poco member Timothy B. Schmit.

The digital version of In the Country features two bonus tracks — new renditions of the 1969 Furay-penned Poco tune “Pickin’ Up the Pieces” and George Strait‘s 1992 chart-topper “I Cross My Heart.” You can preorder the album now.

Furay is in Nashville this week, and his schedule includes a concert Thursday at the City Winery; his first performance at the historic Grand Ole Opry on Friday; and a special in-store appearance Saturday at East Nashville’s Vinyl Tap record shop, where he will be signing vinyl copies of In the Country in conjunction with Record Store Day.

Visit RichieFuray.com to check out his full concert schedule.

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