Classic Hits

When Stevie Nicks canceled all of her scheduled 2021 performances a few months back over concerns about COVID-19, one of the shows was a headlining appearance at the Jazz Aspen Snowmass festival. Well, the Fleetwood Mac singer has now been announced as one of the headliners for next year’s edition of the Colorado fest, making it her first confirmed concert of 2022.

Nicks is one of three headliners announced for Jazz Aspen Snowmass’ 2022 Labor Day Experience, set for September 2-4 in Snowmass, Colorado.  The other two headliners are country star Chris Stapleton and R&B singer Leon Bridges.

Early bird three-day passes will go on sale starting Monday, December 20, at 10 a.m. MT. In addition to general admission passes, you can buy Deck Passes, which entitle you to complimentary grille food, as well as access to a private bar and restrooms.

The Labor Day Experience was reinstated last year following a COVID-19 pandemic-related cancellation in 2020. As of now, Jazz Aspen Snowmass plans to require attendees show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, or a negative test result taken within 72 hours.

Jazz Aspen Snowmass is a non-profit organization founded in 1991 that aims to “present and preserve jazz and related forms of music through world-class events, performances and education programs,” according to its website.

Meanwhile, Nicks is featured on a track called “Stolen Car” on Elton John‘s new collaborative album, The Lockdown Sessions, which debuted at #10 on the Billboard 200 chart.

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The recently announced archival Chuck Berry album Live from Blueberry Hill was released today on CD and digital formats.

The album features 10 performances recorded between July 2005 and January 2006 at the shows that the legendary rock ‘n’ roll pioneer and his backing band played regularly at the Blueberry Hill restaurant and club near his hometown of St. Louis.

Live from Blueberry Hill boasts renditions of many of Chuck’s most famous tunes, including “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Rock and Roll Music,” “Sweet Little Sixteen,” “Around and Around” and, of course, “Johnny B. Goode.”

Berry’s backing group at the Blueberry Hill shows included his daughter Ingrid on harmonica and his son Charles Berry Jr. on guitar.

In a new interview with the St.Louis Post-Dispatch, Charles says the album is “a serious bonus prize for us and for any fan of my father,” adding, “My whole family is very excited for there to be a non-bootleg release of the Blueberry Hill recordings.”

Chuck’s son notes that his father and the band were in great form at the concerts and that the recordings are “real deal, high quality.”

During his later years, Berry performed 209 times at Blueberry Hill’s The Duck Room, named after Chuck’s famous “duck walk” stage move.

“Out of all the places Dad liked to play, Blueberry Hill was his favorite,” Charles tells the newspaper. “He loved it. We all loved it. It’s an intimate venue, and he could just relax and do what he wanted.”

Regarding whether there are plans for more archival releases, Charles says, “I can’t reveal. But there’s always the possibility of something new and exciting.”

Vinyl versions of Live from Blueberry Hill will be released on April 15, 2022, and can be pre-ordered now.

Berry died in 2017 at age 90.

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Legendary British Invasion band The Dave Clark Five‘s 1964 debut U.S. album Glad All Over was reissued today as a limited-edition white vinyl LP.

This marks the first time Glad All Over has been available on vinyl since 1964.

The album reached #3 on the Billboard 200 chart, and yielded three hit singles — the title track, “Bits and Pieces” and “Do You Love Me,” which peaked at #6, #4 and #11, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100. The song “Glad All Over” also was a #1 hit in the U.K.

In 1965, the Glad All Over album was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 copies in the U.S.

The reissue was remastered at London’s Abbey Road Studios by band leader and drummer Dave Clark himself.

The Dave Clark Five went on to score six more top-10 hits during the 1960s — “Can’t You See That She’s Mine,” “Because,” “I Like It Like That, “Catch Us If You Can,” “You Got What It Takes” and the chart-topping “Over and Over. The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.

Here’s the full Glad All Over track list:

Side A
“Glad All Over”
“All of the Time”
“Crying Over You”
“Stay”
“Chaquita”
“Do You Love Me”

Side B
“Bits and Pieces”
“I Know You”
“3406”
“Time”
“Who Do You Think You’re Talking To”

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Eric Clapton is planning a little holiday gift for fans, announcing plans to release a new song called “Heart of a Child” next Friday…Christmas Eve.

The digital track can be pre-saved and pre-added now.

Interestingly, Clapton co-wrote the song with Robin Monotti, an Italian film producer and architect who identifies as a pro-vaccine-safety advocate, and who apparently espouses similar anti-lockdown views to Eric.

“Heart of a Child” was co-produced by Clapton and his longtime studio collaborator Simon Climie. Musicians joining Eric on the track include Sonny Emory on drums, Nathan East on bass, Dirk Powell on mandolin, Daniel Santiago and Pedro Martins on guitar, Climie on keyboards and percussion, and Sharon White and Katie Kissoon on backing vocals.

Strings on the track were arranged and conducted by Nick Ingman, and the strings were led by violinist Everton Nelson. Ingman also arranged and conducted strings on Clapton’s recent single “This Has Gotta Stop.”

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Performances by Rod Stewart, Roger Daltrey, Robert Plant, Neil Young, Lindsey Buckingham and a variety of other artists will be featured on the 2021 edition of Nordoff Robbins charity’s The Stars Come Out to Sing at Christmas concert special that will stream online for free this Sunday, December 19, at 2 p.m. ET.

The event will be hosted by Nile Rodgers of Chic, and also will feature performances by Rodgers and his band, Eurythmics member Dave Stewart, Tony Bennett, Shakira, Robbie Williams and many more.

Plant will be featured singing with his current band project Saving Grace, while Daltrey will team up with former Jam front man Paul Weller. Some of the performers also appeared on last year’s inaugural edition of The Stars Come Out to Sing at Christmas.

The 2021 presentation also will include footage of the Nordoff Robbins benefit holiday concert that took place Tuesday at St. Luke’s Church in London. The show was headlined by Rod Stewart, and featured a variety of other performers, as well as readings from actors Alice Eve and Clarke Peters.

The free program will be viewable at carols.nordoff-robbins.org.uk. Viewers are encouraged to make a donation to Nordoff Robbins, a U.K. music-therapy charity that focuses on helping people with physical disabilities and mental-health issues.

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Phil Chen, a Jamaican-born session bassist whose long list of credits include recordings with Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck and members of The Doors, died on Tuesday, December 14, after “a long battle with cancer” at age 75.

Chen’s passing was announced on his official Facebook page in a message that reads, “He spent his final days surrounded by family and close friends and cherished time with his grandchildren who always brightened his day. He will be missed greatly and his contagious passion for music and positive energy on and off the stage will be remembered always.”

Phil played on Beck’s acclaimed 1975 album Blow by Blow, and on three albums by Stewart during the late 1970s and 1980. He also was a member of Robby Krieger and John Densmore‘s post-Doors project The Butts Band, and later joined Krieger and Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek in some of their post-Doors groups.

Krieger recently told ABC Audio that he’d been working with Chen on a new reggae-flavored instrumental album featuring various cover tunes.

Regarding the project, Robby said, “[Phil’s] been down with mesothelioma lately, so we wanted to do something that would make him happy.”

Krieger posted a tribute message about Chen on his Facebook page that reads, “Aside from his extraordinary musical talent, Phil was an incredible human being who would do anything for a friend and always brought a smile to whatever situation he was in.”

Among the many other artists with whom Chen collaborated are Donovan, Pete Townshend, Jackson Browne, John Fogerty, Eurythmics and Queen‘s Roger Taylor.

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Today, December 17, marks the 50th anniversary of the U.K. release of David Bowie‘s fourth album, Hunky Dory, and two special releases are planned to celebrate the milestone.

First off, a new alternative mix is being made available as a streaming single today of the classic Hunky Dory track “Changes” created by Ken Scott, who co-produced the album with Bowie. The updated song was mixed using the original multi-track recordings.

“The new version of ‘Changes’ is a fresh look at David’s classic,” says Scott. “When listening to the original multi-track I discovered a few things that I had eliminated from the original mix and also a completely different sax solo at the end. It was those things that led me to try a new mix, trying for a slightly harder, more contemporary edge to it.”

The second release is a limited-edition 50th anniversary Hunky Dory vinyl picture disc that will be available on January 7, 2002, a day before the late Bowie would’ve celebrated his 75th birthday.  The picture disc, which you can pre-order now, will feature the 2015 vinyl remaster of Hunky Dory, as well as a poster of the original version of the album’s annotated back cover image.

Meanwhile, a new lyric video for “Changes” has premiered on David’s official YouTube channel. The clip features a variety of pics from the Hunky Dory cover photo shoot, including some previously unpublished images.

Hunky Dory, which was released December 4, 1971 in the U.S., initially had little commercial success in the U.K. and the States, despite featuring such enduring songs as “Changes,” “Life on Mars?” and “Oh! You Pretty Things.”

“Changes” eventually reached #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975, while “Life on Mars?” became a #3 U.K. after it was reissued in ’73.

Here’s Hunky Dory‘s full track list:

Side One
“Changes”
“Oh! You Pretty Things”
“Eight Line Poem”
“Life on Mars?”
“Kooks”
“Quicksand”

Side Two
“Fill Your Heart”
“Andy Warhol”
“Song for Bob Dylan”
“Queen Bitch”
“The Bewlay Brothers”

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As we usher in 2022, Journey will be there to remind us all, “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers will be performing live in New York’s Times Square on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2022, airing on ABC at December 31. The show is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Others acts who’ll join Ryan Seacrest and co-host Liz Koshy in Times Square this year include fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famer LL Cool J, R&B/pop star Chlöe and Latin star Karol G.

Meanwhile, co-host Billy Porter will be singing aboard a riverboat in New Orleans, and reggaeton superstar Daddy Yankee will perform from his hometown of Puerto Rico.

The show gets underway at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

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Journey wraps up its 2021 tour schedule this Saturday with a special symphonic performance in Las Vegas at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, which follows a six-date Vegas residency at The Theater at Virgin Hotels.

Keyboardist Jonathan Cain tells ABC Audio that he’s “really excited” about the concert, which he says will be filmed.

Cain also reports that the band will be accompanied by a 24-piece orchestra led by a conductor from the University of Las Vegas, and the performance will showcase his band’s greatest hits.

“It should be an amazing evening,” he adds.

Jonathan hints that Journey’s latest single, “The Way We Used to Be,” also will be featured in the show. He tells ABC Audio that while the band is in Vegas this month, it’s planning to record a new version of the song with an orchestra.

Cain admits that he’s been disappointed with how “The Way We Used to Be” has been received since its release in June. Jonathan says he loves the song, and insists that it will remain in Journey’s live set.

“So…if you don’t like the song, too bad,” he declares. “You’re gonna have to sit and listen to it.”

Explaining why the song appeals to him, Cain says, “It’s just something different. We don’t we don’t have anything like it in our set…And [guitarist] Neal [Schon] played so well on it. And the fans really receive it, you know?”

Meanwhile, Jonathan says Journey may do a few more symphonic shows while on tour next year. “Just where we can, where we have people that want to go do it,” he maintains.

Journey’s Freedom Tour 2022 kicks off on February 22 in Pittsburgh. Billy Idol will serve as the trek’s opening act through April 5, when Toto takes over.

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Mariah Carey is helping London Underground’s commuters to feel a bit more festive on their travels by taking over the system’s intercom.

The Grammy winner revealed on Wednesday that she has teamed with Amazon Music UK to take over the transit system’s speakers to make sure travelers stay safe and “stand behind the yellow line.”  

In a post on her social media sites, Mariah said she aims to “bring some festive cheer to the London Underground” with her new partnership, and wishes everyone using the transit system “Safe travels!!”  She also shared a clip of her new greeting for passengers on London Tube lines.  Unfortunately, she does not tell travelers to “Mind the gap.”

“Hi darlings, it’s Mariah,” her announcement over the PA system begins, as sleigh bells jingle in the background. “Make my wish come true and please stand behind the yellow line at all times. Proceed with caution.  And don’t forget to ask Alexa to play ‘All I Want for Christmas’ on Amazon Music!”

The partnership is meant to promote her classic holiday song, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which is now the only holiday song to obtain RIAA-certified Diamond status.

No word yet if Mariah plans to take over any rail lines on the other side of the pond, but we’ll let you know when — or if — it happens.

UK lambs 🐑🐑 I’ve teamed up with @AmazonMusicUK to bring some festive cheer to the London Underground. Safe travels!! https://t.co/wrogIAMfXn pic.twitter.com/xiTfdkhaAM

— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) December 15, 2021

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