Classic Hits

Snow? Check. Christmas tree? Check. Mariah Carey in a glamorous gown, hitting those high notes and singing with a gospel choir?  Check. “Fall In Love at Christmas” is Mariah’s latest seasonal offering: A single and video featuring her performing with Khalid and gospel legend Kirk Franklin. 

The song starts out as an R&B love ballad, as Mariah and Khalid croon to each other in “The Butterfly Lounge” — a room decked with Christmas decorations and framed platinum albums — and outdoors in the snow.  Mariah’s twins Monroe and Moroccan put in an appearance, as does one of her dogs.

But then Franklin, who’s been playing piano in the background, suddenly brings out a gospel choir and takes us to church, as the song switches from being about falling in love with someone at Christmas, to being about finding “love for all mankind” this holiday season, because “we all need grace to heal our troubled minds.”

Mariah, Khalid and Franklin will perform the song together on Mariah’s upcoming AppleTV+ special Mariah’s Christmas: The Magic Continues, debuting in December.

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Phil Lynott: Songs for While I’m Away, a 2020 documentary about the life and music of late Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, got its release on digital video today, November 5.

The film tells the story of how a Black boy raised during the 1950s by a working-class family in Dublin went on to become one of Ireland’s biggest rock stars, before dying in 1986 of drug-related health issues at the age of 36.

The film features archival footage of and conversations with Lynott, as well as new interviews with Thin Lizzy members and/or alums Scott Gorham, Eric Bell, Darren Wharton and Midge Ure, as well as with such other notable music artists as U2‘s Adam Clayton, Metallica‘s James Hetfield, Huey Lewis and Suzi Quatro.

The movie also includes conversations with Phil’s wife, Caroline Taraskevics, and his daughters Sarah and Catherine Lynott.

You can check out a trailer for the documentary at Thin Lizzy’s official YouTube channel. The promo includes archival audio commentary from Phil, as well as brief voice-over segments from various people, including Hetfield, who calls Lynott “one of the greatest songwriters of all time,” and Lewis, who says Phil was “literally the best hard-rock entertainer I’ve ever seen.”

For more details about the movie, visit PhilLynottFilm.com.

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On November 1, Billy Joel celebrated his 50th anniversary as a recording artist, and now he’s turning back the clock by posting his very first music video.

But maybe calling it a “music video” oversells it: It’s a 1971 film of a long-haired, bearded Billy in his early twenties, sitting at a piano and playing “Everybody Loves You Now,” a track from his debut solo album Cold Spring Harbor.

Cold Spring Harbor is one of the albums included in The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 1: a new box set of nine vinyl LPs featuring Billy’s first six studio albums and his first live album, Songs in the Attic, plus a previously unreleased double-LP concert recording that’s exclusive to the box set.  The set also comes with a 50-page booklet featuring archival photos, Billy’s personal observations, and tributes from fellow musicians and celebrities.

The box set is out today.  Tonight, Billy resumes his residency at New York’s Madison Square Garden.  He recently announced two more stadium shows for 2022: a March 12 concert at Orlando, FL’s Camping World Stadium and a September 23 show at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX.  Tickets for both shows go on sale November 12.

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A number of well-known veteran music artists have received nominations for the 2021 Hollywood Music in Media Awards — the HMMAs — which honor composers, songwriters, and music supervisors for their work in music for film, television and videogames.

This year’s nominees include Brian Wilson, Carole King, U2, Van Morrison and Devo‘s Mark Mothersbaugh.

Wilson received two nods, both for his recent documentary Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road. Brian will vie for the Song: Documentary Film honor for “Right Where I Belong,” which the Beach Boys legend co-wrote with My Morning Jacket‘s Jim James, while the movie itself has been nominated in the Music Documentary/Special Program category.

King has been nominated for the Song: Feature Film for “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home),” from the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect. The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer co-wrote that tune with the movie’s star, Jennifer Hudson, and with Jamie Hartman.

U2 received a nod in the Song: Animated Film category for their new tune “Your Song Saved My Life” from the upcoming flick Sing 2.

Morrison will compete for the Song: Independent Film award for “Down to Joy,” which is from the movie Belfast.

Like Wilson, Mothersbaugh is a two-time nominee. He’s in the running for the Score: Animated Film prize for The Mitchells vs. The Machines, and in the Score: Video Game category for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

The winners of this year’s Hollywood Music in Media Awards will be announced during a livestreamed ceremony held November 17 in Hollywood, California.

To check out all of the nominees, visit HMMAwards.com.

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Neil Young & Crazy Horse have debuted a music video for “Heading West,” the second advance track that the veteran rockers have released from their upcoming album Barn.

You can check out the visual now at NeilYoungArchives.com and at Young’s official YouTube channel.

Like the clip for the first advance track released from Barn, “Song of the Seasons,” this video was directed by Young’s wife, Daryl Hannah, and features time-lapse footage of the Rocky Mountain area where Neil and the band made the album.

The “Heading West” clip shows the actual barn where the Barn album was recorded.

“This is the second of our series,” Neil writes in a post about the video on his website. “We are featuring ‘nature on the move’ in the area of the BARN where the music is emanating…Watch the door pulsing with the beat! It’s wonderful the way the videos let you listen and watch undisturbed at the same time.”

In a separate post, Young explained what inspired him to write “Heading West.”

“My mom and I travelled across the country together, heading west. She was on her way back home to start over. I was on my way there with her,” he wrote. “Here’s a song about me and my mom and those ‘growing up’ times. It’s so great to remember her this way!”

As previously reported, Barn, which you can pre-order now, is a 10-track collection that will be released on December 10. It will available on CD, vinyl, cassette and digital formats, and as a deluxe box set.

The box set includes a CD and a vinyl LP, as well as a Blu-ray disc that features a film directed by Hannah offering a look at the making of Barn. The Blu-ray will also be released separately.

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Rod Stewart has debuted a third track from his upcoming studio album The Tears of Hercules, an upbeat and romantic pop-soul tune called “I Can’t Imagine” that the singer has dedicated to his wife, Penny Lancaster Stewart.

The song is available now as a digital download and via streaming services, and you also can check out a new companion music video at Stewart’s official YouTube channel.

The clip captures Stewart performing the song and having fun with his band members and backing singers at a large lakeside mansion outside of Las Vegas. “I Can’t Imagine” is one of nine songs that Rod co-wrote on the 12-track album, which is due out next Friday, November 12.

Stewart will be promoting The Tears of Hercules with a number of TV appearances in the coming week. On Monday, November 8, he’ll be featured on Entertainment Tonight, while on November 12, the album’s release date, he’ll perform and be interviewed on The Kelly Clarkson Show and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

The Tears of Hercules can be pre-ordered now, and is available on CD, as a vinyl LP and in digital formats.

“I Can’t Imagine” follows the release of two other advance tracks co-written by Stewart, the country-pop gem “One More Time” and the introspective and topical gospel-influenced ballad “Hold On.”

Stewart recently wrapped his latest Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, and his next engagement at the venue is scheduled for May 2022. First up for Rod is a tour of Australia and New Zealand taking place in March and April.

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Diana Ross‘ first album of new, original songs in over 20 years, Thank You, got its release today.

Coinciding with the album’s arrival, the Motown legend debuted her first music video in more than a decade, for her new song “All Is Well.” The clip, which you can watch on her official YouTube channel, was directed by Amanda Demme in collaboration with Ross’ two sons, producer Evan Ross and photographer Ross Naess.

As previously reported, Thank You was recorded in Diana’s home studio during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, and features producers and songwriters who’ve created hits for Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Usher, Justin Bieber, Sam Smith, Ariana Grande, Beyoncé and Rihanna.

Ross says of the 13-track collection, “I spent the past year recording new music and this music is a reflection of the joy and the love and the gratitude that I feel every day. It’s an album of great appreciation for life, and for all of you.”

Prior to Thank You‘s release, Ross debuted three songs as advance tracks — the title cut, “If the World Just Danced” and “I Still Believe.”

Diana’s last album of new, original songs was 1999’s Every Day Is a New Day.

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Art Garfunkel, the angelic-voiced singer who made up half of legendary folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, celebrates his 80th birthday today.

Garfunkel began performing and recording with Paul Simon during the 1950s as a rock ‘n’ roll duo called Tom and Jerry. After breaking up for a while, Art and Paul reunited in the early ’60s and began recording acoustic folk music using their real names.

After their debut album, 1964’s Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., was a failure, they split up again. Then, in 1965, producer Tom Wilson took a track from the album, “The Sound of Silence,” and added electric guitar and drums and re-released it, and it became a hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100.

The reunited duo, propelled by Simon’s songs, and Art and Paul’s harmonies, went on to become one of the most celebrated music acts in the world.

After the success of “The Sound of Silence” and through the 1970s, Simon & Garfunkel scored two more #1 hits, “Mrs. Robinson” and Garfunkel’s showcase “Bridge over Troubled Water,” and numerous other top-40 singles.

Garfunkel won five Grammys for his work with Simon, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year in 1970 for Bridge over Troubled Water and its title track.

Garfunkel launched an acting career in the early 1970s that Simon cited as a factor in his decision to break up the duo.

After the split, Art enjoyed moderate solo success. He scored a #9 hit with his 1973 single “All I Know,” written by Jimmy Webb, and his 1975 album Breakaway was certified platinum.

Over the years, Simon and Garfunkel reunited multiple times for tours and special events, but the two old friends currently are estranged.

Art was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Simon & Garfunkel in 1990. He continues to perform as a solo artist. His next scheduled tour is a run of European dates in fall 2022.

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Steve Perry‘s first Christmas album, The Season, arrives today, and finds the ex-Journey frontman putting his own stamp on holiday classics like “Winter Wonderland,” “Silver Bells” and “The Christmas Song”…gently.

“I’ve always loved these songs since I was a child, and I was really…careful to make sure that the original emotional reverence that meant so much to me when I was young stays intact,” Perry tells ABC Audio. “And so I wanted to do them a little bit different. I wanted to make them mine, but I didn’t want to walk too far away from the melodic structure…that I loved about them.”

Perry says The Season is his way of bringing holiday cheer to everyone who’s struggled through the pandemic.

“The last year and eight months or two years have been so difficult for so many, including myself,” Perry admits. “And given me such a different respect for so many things.”

He continues, “Honestly, I’m not in the music business to make money. At this point, these records I’ve been making, solo-wise, are almost like just giving back to what I’ve been given so much [of].”

To that end, Steve thinks that one particular song really sums up with the project is all about.

“For this particular period, this Christmas…it has to be ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas,'” Perry notes. “Because it’s something everybody in their heart wishes they could have done [last year]. And perhaps now, what we’ve all been through has refreshed our reverence for how important it is to go home for Christmas.”

And does Perry see more holiday music in his future?

He laughs, “If I can pull it off — if Uncle Steve is still here — I might do that, yes!”

Here’s The Season‘s full track list:

“The Christmas Song”
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
“Auld Lang Syne”
“Winter Wonderland”
“What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve”
“Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
“Silver Bells”
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

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If you’ve been searching for a new, upbeat track to soundtrack your weekend, look no further than Green Day‘s infectious new single, “Holy Toledo!,” which they released Friday… just don’t listen too closely to the lyrics.

The rockers once again invoke their clever happy song/dark lyrics format for their latest offering.  “Holy Toledo!” rides a whimsical yet nostalgic ska-like beat and, while the music presents itself as the perfect tune to sway your shoulders to, the lyrics paint a completely different picture.

“We’re hell raisers, death wish cravers/ We’re running with razor blades/ Party favors, sex with strangers/ We don’t care what the neighbors say,” the Grammy winners celebrate in the chorus, as they sing about “crawling out of the dead man’s bed” all to catch the high of getting “sick again.”

The single was created for the rom-com Mark, Mary & Some Other People, which follows a newlywed couple exploring the world of ethical non-monogamy in an attempt to spice up their love life.  The movie is in theaters and streaming on-demand now.

“Holy Toledo!” follows Green Day’s previously released singles “Pollyanna” and “Here Comes the Shock.”  The punk trio also released a cover of the KISS classic “Rock and Roll All Nite,” which was recorded during their Hella Mega tour with Fall Out Boy and Weezer.

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