Classic Hits

On December 3, 1979, 11 young people lost their lives in a stampede as fans rushed the doors of a Who concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio.  This weekend, a 1973 Who concert will be streamed online to raise funds in memory of three of those 11 victims.

The 12th annual P.E.M. Memorial event — named after victims Stephan Preston, Jackie Eckerle and Karen Morrison — will help to fund three annual scholarships for graduating seniors from the victims’ alma mater, Finneytown High School.  The scholarships will go to students who plan to major or minor in music or the arts.

The livestream event starts December 4 at 6:15pm ET, and includes the Who’s March 1973 show at Voorburg, Netherlands, which has never been seen before.  It’ll be followed by a concert by the high school’s Alumni Band.

Visit PemMemorial.org to access the livestream.  You can also donate at that link, or visit The Who’s official website for more information on how to donate.

The tragedy at the recent Astroworld festival in Houston — which left 10 people dead —  has been compared by many to the Who concert tragedy. After those 1979 deaths, festival-style seating was banned at concerts, but has since returned at many venues, and at music festivals like Astroworld.

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Lionel Richie wants you to say “Hello” to the new items he’s added to his home collection.

In addition to things like bed linens, towels and pillows, the singer is now offering furniture, and the first items are designed for storage as well, including ottomans, hampers and benches.

“Being able to expand my home line means so much to me. We have all spent so much time at home this past year so I wanted to create home products that are not only beautiful, but also comfortable and practical. I am so happy to be able to share it with the world,” says Lionel in a statement.  The pieces are described as “timeless, glamorous and functional.”

The furniture is available on Amazon now, as is Lionel’s signature fragrance, which is, of course, called HELLO by Lionel Richie.

 

 

 

 

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Toto is already scheduled to join Journey for a tour in April of 2022, but the band has just announced a series of headlining appearances before that.

The Dogz of Oz World Tour kicks off in Las Vegas on February 25; tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday, December 3 at 10 a.m.  After the band wraps up its stint with Journey, it’ll head to Europe in July and August for a series of festival dates, as well as regular concerts.

The tour features the newest Toto lineup: Founding member Steve Lukather and longtime member Joseph Williams, plus new members John Pierce, Robert “Sput” Searight and Steve Maggiora, who are joining existing members Xavier Taplin and Warren Ham.

In a statement, guitarist Steve Lukather says of the tour, “We’ll be selecting a broader mix from the Toto catalog that includes deep cuts, the hits, and tunes from Joe’s and my recently released solo albums. Both of ushttps://totoofficial.com/ could not be more thrilled with the global response to these records.”

Lukather notes that currently, he and Williams are the “only long-tenured members of the band that want to be on the road continuing to bring music to our multi-generational fan base,” adding that it’s “something I’ll never stop doing.”

Williams adds of Lukather, “I can’t think of anyone else on Earth I’d rather launch the next chapter with than with this lifelong, loyal and gifted friend and band mate. We’re the last men standing…The Dogz of Oz.”

Visit TotoOfficial.com for a full list of tour dates.

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Legendary Australian rockers Midnight Oil have announced that while they’ll continue as a band, they’ll be calling it quits on touring.

On social media, James Moginie, a founding member of the “Beds Are Burning” band, writes that the group has rethought performing live since their longtime bass player Bones Hillman died in November of 2020 and that next year’s tour will be their last.

“We’ve played intensely physical gigs since our humble beginnings back in 1977 and we never want to take even the slightest risk of compromising that,” writes Moginie, adding, “With the passing of Bones much has been lost, so it now feels like we’re at the end of a cycle.”

“These will be sad and beautiful gigs but luckily we’re still capable of blowing the roof off any stage and that’s what we intend to do,” he continues. “You could call this a farewell tour, but Midnight Oil will still continue in some form or other as we’re brothers, family.”

Frontman Peter Garrett added, “Having always tackled every tour like it’s the last – this time it actually will be.”

Meanwhile, the band is releasing a new album next year called Resist, and its 12 songs represent the last recordings they made with Hillman.  As for future recordings, they explain, “Each of the members will continue their own projects over the years ahead. They remain very open to recording new music together in future and supporting causes in which they believe.”

In the U.S., Midnight Oil broke through with their 1987 album Diesel and Dust, featuring “Beds Are Burning” and “The Dead Heart.”  Their 1990 release Blue Sky Mining featured the hits “Blue Sky Mine,” “Forgotten Years” and “King of the Mountain.” Their last major U.S. success came with 1993’s Earth, Sun and Moon.

 

 

 

 

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The climax of Peter Jackson‘s new Disney+ documentary Get Back is the Beatles‘ legendary concert on the rooftop of Apple Records, which turned out to be the final time they ever played together.  Now, the policeman who was sent to shut down the concert that January day in 1969 is looking back.

25-year-old constable Ray Shayler was working in London’s West End Central police station, about 150 yards away from the Beatles’ building on Savile Row, when the call came in about a disturbance. An inexperienced colleague was told to go find out what was going on, so Shayler offered to come along and help, as he tells the Daily Mail.

When they arrived, Shayler says, it was “an interesting moment” discovering that it was The Beatles making that racket. “I wouldn’t say I was a fan…but…I liked their music,” Shayler remembers. “But when I got on the roof, I had a job to do and I thought, ‘Well, we’ve got to try and stop this.’”

“I asked how long it was going on for. He said, ‘One more record,'” Shayler recalls of his conversation with Beatles road manager Mal Evans.

“So I said…’Get on with that one and then it stops,’” he adds. “It was a discussion; it never got heated.” 

The concert ended, and Shayler recalls that Paul McCartney was “apologetic,” while Ringo Starr joked, ‘Don’t put the handcuffs on me!’”

“I didn’t even put pen to paper to record it,” Shayler says of the incident.

“Someone asked me how I felt being the man who stopped The Beatles’ concert,” he says. “But I wouldn’t say that was true. I didn’t stop The Beatles – I merely suggested it would be a good idea if they didn’t carry on.”

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Whitesnake has seen many musicians come and go during its 40-year history, but the band has never featured a female member…until now!

This past week, after frontman David Coverdale and company announced that bassist Michael Devin had parted ways with the group, Whitesnake revealed that Devin’s replacement is Tanya O’Callaghan.

“[W]e are very proud to announce & to introduce you all to our newest Snake…or should I say…SNAKETTE!!!” a message on the band’s official website reads. “Please give A LOUD WHITESNAKE CHOIR welcome to THE IRISH TORNADO!!!…A whirling dervish of a performer whom we feel will bring a fresh, new, exciting musicality & welcome energy to the band, both in the studio & onstage…here she is…Irish born & bred…the one & only…Tanya O’Callaghan!!!”

Adds Coverdale, “For whatever reason Whitesnake has never featured a female musician in the band before…Bad Boys!!!…But, when we saw TANYA performing with our friend Stephen Adler‘s Band at the M3 festival in 2019 & we were all blown away.”

According to O’Callaghan’s official website, besides playing with ex-Guns N’ Roses drummer Adler’s solo band, Tanya has “toured, recorded, written and worked with” Twisted Sister‘s Dee Snider, Extreme‘s Nuno Bettencourt, Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan, Orianthi, 10cc‘s Kevin Godley, The Corrs‘ Sharon Corr and others.

Meanwhile, O’Callaghan has shared a message about how she feels about joining Whitesnake on her Facebook page.

“What an absolute honor to be joining Whitesnake/David Coverdale for their worldwide farewell tour 2022/23,” she writes. “[T]o step into the snake shoes of my bass brothers Rudy Sarzo, Tony Franklin, Neil Murray and Michael Devin…are you kidding me…what a f#*king honor beyond belief!!! My heart is exploding.”

Whitesnake launches its 2022 tour on May 10 in the capital of O’Callaghan’s homeland, Dublin.

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Robert Plant and Alison Krauss‘ second collaborative album Raise the Roof has debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard 200.

The record lands at number seven on the all-genre chart with a total of 40,000 equivalent album units, 38,000 of which were traditional album sales.

Plant and Krauss’ first joint effort, 2007’s Grammy-winning Raising Sand, debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. With Raise the Roof, Plant now has nine top-10 records as a solo artist, along with the 13 he’s notched with Led Zeppelin. Krauss, meanwhile, has a total of five top-10s.

Raise the Roof is primarily a covers collection paying tribute to “legends and unsung heroes of folk, blues, country and soul music,” although it does include one original called “High and Lonesome” that Plant co-wrote with producer T Bone Burnett. Plant and Krauss will hit the road in support of the album starting June 2022.

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It was canceled for 2020, but Alice Cooper‘s annual charity fundraiser, Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding, is returning for 2021.

Scheduled for this Saturday, December 4, the lineup includes Tom Morello, Ace Frehley, Ed Roland of Collective Soul, Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray and Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals. Of course, Alice himself will perform with his touring band. It takes place at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona, where Alice lives.

According to the Arizona Republic, Alice’s wife Sheryl Cooper, a choreographer and dance instructor, will perform at the event for the first time.

As always, the event will raise money to pay for staff and resources at Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Centers, which provide free music, dance, arts and vocational training programs for young people aged 12-20. There are two such centers: one in Phoenix and one in Mesa, Arizona.

“The uniqueness of this concert is that you’ll never see this caliber and variety of artists on the same stage again,” said Alice in a statement. “Come join our ultimate Christmas party and help support the teens at The Rock Teen Center!”

Meanwhile, the shock rocker will kick off a tour January 28 in Cincinnati; he’ll play eight shows through a February 8 concert in Orlando, Florida. The next day, he sets sail on the Monsters of Rock Cruise.

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After Ed Sheeran teased it a while back, we now have a release date for his holiday collaboration with Elton John: a song called “Merry Christmas.”  The date is revealed in an adorable video inspired by everyone’s favorite British Christmas movie, Love, Actually.

In the video, we see Elton answering his door to find Ed on his doorstep with a series of cue cards, which detail the story of how the collab came about.

“Hello. Last Christmas, I received a call from my mate, Elton John, and he told me, ‘We should do a Christmas song,'” the cue cards read as Ed goes through them one by one. “And I replied, ‘Yeah, maybe in 2022.’ But I actually wrote the chorus that day, and here we are.”

Ed continues to shuffle through the cue cards: “Our Christmas song, ‘Merry Christmas,’ is out this Friday. Go pre-order or pre-save it now.  It has sleigh bells. A lot of them.”

All the U.K. profits from “Merry Christmas” will be donated to Ed and Elton’s respective favorite charities: the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

 

 

 

 

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Last week, Queen‘s Brian May gave an interview to the British paper The Mirror in which he reacted to the BRIT Awards — the British equivalent of the Grammys — doing away with the male and female solo artist categories in favor of just one single solo artist award.  Now, he’s clarifying his comments, which some have interpreted as being unsupportive of the transgender community.

On Instagram, May wrote, “Yes – I was ambushed and completely stitched up by a journalist…and it’s led to a whole mess of press stories making it look like I’m unfriendly to trans people. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

“My words were subtly twisted. I should have known better than to talk to those predatory Press hacks,” the guitarist continues. “Sincere apologies to anyone who has been hurt by the stories. My heart is open as always to humans of all colors, all creeds, all sexes and sexualities, all shapes and sizes – and all creatures. We all deserve respect and an equal place in this world.”

May went on to thank fans who “stepped up to defend me,” adding, “It means so much that you have faith in me.”

The guitarist was quoted as saying of the category change, “It’s a decision that has been made without enough thought..I get so sick of people trying to change things without thinking of the long-term consequences.”

He then mentioned the current “atmosphere of fear,” in which people are “are afraid to say how they really think,” and was quoted as saying that if Queen’s original lineup were around today, they wouldn’t have been considered diverse enough. 

“We would be forced to have people of different colors and different sexes and we would have to have a trans [person],” the paper quoted him as saying.

 

 

 

 

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