Classic Hits

2022 will mark the 40th anniversary of Madonna‘s recording debut, and today, her 63rd birthday, she’s announced that she’s entered into a new partnership that will allow her to celebrate that milestone to the fullest.

Madonna has made a deal with Warner Music Group to administer her entire recorded music catalog, including the classic albums she released on Sire/Maverick Warner: Madonna, Like a Virgin, True Blue, Like a Prayer and Ray of Light. 

Her three most recent studio albums, MDNA, Rebel Heart and Madame X, will join Warner in 2025. The deal in total includes 17 studio albums, singles, soundtracks, live albums and compilations.

Thanks to the new deal, 2022 will see the release of expanded deluxe editions for many of Madonna’s classic albums, which she will personally curate. There will also reportedly be “unique releases” for “special events.”

In a statement, Madonna says, “Since the very beginning, Warner Music Group has helped bring my music and vision to all my fans around the world with the utmost care and consideration. They have been amazing partners, and I am delighted to be embarking on this next chapter with them to celebrate my catalogue from the last 40 years.”

As previously reported, Madonna will release her documentary, Madame X, on Paramount+ on October 8.

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Heart‘s Ann and Nancy Wilson have both been busy with solo musical projects since the band last toured in 2019, but Nancy says she thinks there’s a good chance that the Rock & Roll Hall Fame group will hit the road again, possibly as early as next year.

“[Ann and I] don’t…speak real directly really often these days, but I think she wants to do [another tour],” the Heart guitarist tells ABC Audio. “And I want to do it. She knows that I want to do it.”

Nancy continues, “I think it’s just, you know, the devil’s in the details about who’s in the band and…making all the choices, because we’re partners in the project, so, you know, prerequisite decisions have to be made first.”

With the two sisters recording and releasing their own solo projects lately, they now each have backing groups. With that in mind, Nancy notes, “To me, the most important thing is who’s in the [Heart touring] band. So, we’re gonna figure it out.”

While no definite plans are in place for a new Heart trek, Nancy reveals that Live Nation has made an offer to the band for a 2022 tour.

Meanwhile, Nancy, who released a debut solo studio album titled You and Me in May, will play a special orchestral show with her solo band and the Seattle Symphony on October 30 at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall.

Nancy tells ABC Audio that she feels it would “be a sweet thing” if Heart also lined up some concerts with orchestral accompaniment.

Visit SeattleSymphony.org for more details about Nancy’s Seattle show.

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Happy 80th birthday to David Crosby, the golden-voiced folk-rock legend who co-founded The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and also has established a thriving solo career.

Among the well-known songs Crosby has penned or co-written are The Byrds’ “Eight Miles High” and “Renaissance Fair,” CSN’s “Wooden Ships,” “Guinnevere” and “Long Time Gone,” and CSNY’s “Almost Cut My Hair” and “Déjà Vu.”

The singer/songwriter also infamously struggled with drug abuse during the 1970s and ’80s, and spent nine months in jail in 1982 and ’83 after being convicted on drug and gun-possession charges. In 1994, he underwent a liver transplant, and he also has experienced various other health issues in recent years.

Crosby was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with The Byrds in 1991 and CSN in 1997.

During the 1990s and early 2000s, Crosby continued to tour and occasionally record with CSN and CSNY. Also during that period, David played and recorded with the band CPR, which also featured his son James Raymond on keyboards and guitarist Jeff Pevar.

Up until 2016, David’s main musical focus had been touring with CSN and working as a duo with Graham Nash, but a rift with Nash resulted in the trio going on indefinite hiatus and led Crosby to concentrate on solo projects.

Since 2016, David has released four solo albums. His latest, For Free, which hit stores on July 23. features major contributions from Raymond, plus collaborations with Michael McDonald and Sarah Jarosz.

In 2019, a documentary focusing on Crosby’s life called David Crosby: Remember My Name premiered. The film featured segments on David’s late-career creative resurgence and his rifts with Nash, Neil Young and Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn.

In a Twitter message posted today, Crosby revealed that he was working on songs for another new solo project.

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High-quality audiophile versions of The Eagles‘ classic 1970s albums are being reissued as two-LP 45-rpm vinyl box sets and on the SACD format by the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Billboard reports.

According to Billboard, Rhino Entertainment is licensing the band’s first six studio efforts — 1972’s Eagles, 1973’s Desperado, 1974’s On the Border, 1975’s One of These Nights, 1976’s Hotel California and 1979’s The Long Run — to the Mobile Fidelity company, with Eagles due out on August 15 and Desperado set for a September 15 release. Release dates for the other albums will be announced later.

The vinyl box sets, which are pressed on 180-gram vinyl, are priced at $125, while the SACDs cost $29.99. Only 7,500 copies of the LP collections will be available, limited to two copies per household.

“We are incredibly honored to be doing these Eagles records,” says Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab executive Josh Bizar, adding about the vinyl collections’ high price tag, “[P]eople will pay more for a quality product.”

Eagles was released in June 1972, and features such classic tunes as “Take It Easy,” “Witchy Woman” and “Peaceful Easy Feeling.” Desperado arrived in April of 1973, and includes the memorable title track, plus “Tequila Sunrise.”

Visit MoFi.com to pre-order Eagles and Desperado and to find out more info about the reissues.

Meanwhile, The Eagles are set to launch their 2021 orchestral tour celebrating Hotel California on Sunday, August 22, at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden. The trek is mapped out through a recently announced November 5 show in Seattle, tickets for which went on sale to the general public today.

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The latest episode of Queen‘s weekly YouTube video series Queen The Greatest premiered today, profiling five successful songs that guitarist Brian May has written for the band.

The installment begins by noting that Brian “has contributed some of the band’s most anthemic and best-loved songs,” including “Who Wants to Live Forever,” “Flash,” “The Show Must Go On,” “Keep Yourself Alive,” “Now I’m Here” and “Tie Your Mother Down.”

The first song profiled is 1977’s “We Will Rock You,” followed by 1978’s “Fat Bottomed Girls,” 1980’s “Save Me,” 1985’s “Hammer to Fall” and 1989’s “I Want It All.”

Each segment includes a clip from the music videos that Queen made to accompany the tunes.

“We Will Rock You” peaked at #2 and #4, respectively, on the U.K. and U.S. singles charts, while “Fat Bottomed Girls” reached #11 and #24, respectively. “Save Me” and “Hammer to Fall” landed at #11 and #13, respectively, in the U.K., but failed to chart in the States. As for “I Want It All,” it peaked at #3 in Queen’s home country, while only reaching #50 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Queen The Greatest series previously featured installments profiling songs written by drummer Roger Taylor and bassist John Deacon, while an episode focusing on the compositions of late frontman Freddie Mercury is yet to come.

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On Friday, August 20, Earth, Wind & Fire will release a new, reimagined version of their 1976 hit “Can’t Hide Love,” titled “You Want My Love” that they recorded in collaboration with acclaimed producer Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Lucky Daye.

The new track, which you can pre-save now, song will be the first release as part of a new global deal between Earth, Wind & Fire and Universal Music Enterprises that will see the R&B/funk legends putting out a series of collaborative songs in the coming months.

“You Want My Love” features a vocal performance from Daye and guitars by Edmonds, who also co-produced the song with Demonte Posey.

Earth, Wind & Fire lead singer Philip Bailey says, “I am super hyped about this all-star collaboration — Earth, Wind & Fire, Lucky Daye, and Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmonds producing. It was an honor to join forces with these two superstars, and I truly believe we’ve created a winner all the way.”

Adds Edmonds, “We really wanted to bring a tremendous, iconic song that is unmistakably Earth, Wind & Fire into the contemporary world of Lucky Daye. The goal was to create a reimagined version of this classic song that reflects Lucky’s unique voice and musical style, while still honoring the original.”

Earth, Wind & Fire, along with Daye and Babyface, will give “You Want My Love” its live debut when they perform together at the star-studded We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert, taking place in New York City’s Central Park on Saturday, August 21.

“Can’t Hide Love” was written by Skip Scarborough and was originally recorded by the soul group Creative Source in 1973. EWF’s version appeared on their 1975 album Gratitude, and peaked at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 the following year.

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The seventh annual Stand Up to Cancer telethon will feature a performance by Stevie Wonder and rapper Common during the hour-long special.

Brittany Howard also will be taking the stage during the charity event, set to air on Saturday, August 21.  Ken Jeong and his wife, Tran Ho, as well as Anthony Anderson and Sofia Vergara, will serve as the night’s hosts.

Reese Witherspoon, alongside husband Jim Toth, have signed on as the fundraiser’s executive producers.

Other recognizable names participating in the Stand Up to Cancer telethon to help raise funds will be Matthew McConaughey, Tony Hale, Jennifer Garner, Katie Couric, Jaime Camil, Max Greenfield, Chandra Wilson, Kate del Castillo and MJ Rodriquez.

In addition to the star power, those personally affected by cancer will share their experiences with the disease.

The commercial-free fundraiser will be telecast across all major networks on August 21, including ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, as well as major streaming networks, starting at 8 p.m. ET.

To date, Stand Up to Cancer has raised over $600 million for its mission to fund research aimed at curing the disease, which has led to several new therapies and hundreds of clinical trials.

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If you’ve been following the long path to the theaters for the oft-pandemic-delayed action comedy Free Guy, you’ll know that Mariah Carey‘s hit “Fantasy” plays a big role in the film — and it’s all because of star Ryan Reynolds.

The movie has Reynolds’ character Guy discovering he’s actually a background character — or NPC — in a violent Grand Theft Auto-like video game called Free City.  

“Fantasy” is peppered throughout the film: Guy starts each day with it and bonds with Jodie Comer‘s mysterious avatar MolotovGirl over the song.  At one point, the Killing Eve Emmy winner even sings it herself. Now, director Shawn Levy explains how “Fantasy” became the movie’s theme.

“Ryan is kind of a maestro of the odd, ‘random-but inspired’ song idea,” Levy said at a recent virtual press event. “He is…obsessive about it. And early on when we were working on the script, Ryan’s like: ‘You know what I think should be the anthem of this entire movie and marketing campaign?’ And he suggested this song by Mariah.”

Reynolds adds, “We’d written in The Outfield‘s ‘Your Love’…and it ended up not just fitting right. It’s a great song but [it was] not fitting right. But then Mariah Carey’s ‘Fantasy’ just came like a lightning bolt…– it was like an engine for so much of the movie. It was really fantastic.”

Mariah has given her stamp of approval: She tweeted a clip from the movie in which Reynolds’ character hears “Fantasy” when Comer’s character passes him and says, “I love that song.” 

“I love that song too!” she captioned the clip. “Come see #Fantasy  on the big screen in @FreeGuyMovie, in theaters Friday!”

Free Guy was produced by 20th Century Studios, which is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.

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The Who‘s fifth studio album, Who’s Next, considered one of the group’s finest moments, was released 50 years ago this Saturday, August 14.

The follow-up to the legendary British band’s classic 1969 “rock opera” Tommy, Who’s Next was put together from songs that The Who’s main songwriter and songwriter Pete Townshend composed for a multimedia project called Lifehouse that was based around the concept of a future society where music was outlawed.

Townshend’s grand vision for Lifehouse proved impossible to pull off, and the project was abandoned, but some songs and sonic ideas, including the use of synthesizers, were salvaged for Who’s Next.

The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200, and was the group’s only release to reach #1 on the U.K. albums chart. It features some of The Who’s most popular and enduring songs, including “Baba O’Riley,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Behind Blue Eyes” and “Bargain.”

“Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Behind Blue Eyes” also were released as singles, and both made it into the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #15 and #34, respectively.

“Baba O’Riley,” the album’s lead track, is often incorrectly referred to as “Teenage Wasteland.” Its title was inspired by the names of Townshend’s guru, Meher Baba, and one of Pete’s musical inspirations, minimalist composer Terry Riley.

The album’s iconic cover humorously appears to show the band members having just relieved themselves on a huge concrete monolith. However, only Townshend actually urinated on the structure; rainwater was used to mimic the effect for the group’s other members.

Who’s Next is The Who’s most successful U.S. album, selling over 3 million copies. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked it at #77 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Here’s the Who’s Next track list:

“Baba O’Riley”
“Bargain”
“Love Ain’t for Keeping”
“My Wife”
“The Song Is Over”
“Getting in Tune”
“Going Mobile”
“Behind Blue Eyes”
“Won’t Get Fooled Again”

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Earlier this week, Elton John and Dua Lipa teased their joint single, “Cold Heart,” and from a snippet, it sounded like a mashup of two Elton singles: 1990’s “Sacrifice” and the 1972 classic, “Rocket Man.”  “Cold Heart” is now out and it turns out the track, created by Australian dance duo Pnau, is actually a mashup of four Elton songs.

In addition to “Sacrifice” and “Rocket Man,” the song also includes snippets of Elton’s 1983 single “Kiss the Bride” and a 1976 track called “Where’s the Shoorah?” 

In the track, Elton sings the “Sacrifice” line, “Cold, cold heart/ hard done by you/ Some things look better baby/ Just passing through.” Then Dua follows by singing a line from “Rocket Man” — “And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time/ ’til touchdown brings me ’round again to find/ I’m not the man they think I am at home” — plus a line from “Kiss the Bride”: “And this is what I should have said/I thought it but I kept it hid.”

Elton and Dua have been friends since last year, when they performed at each other’s events. He reached out to her to work on “Cold Heart.” 

“Having the opportunity to spend time with Dua, albeit remotely has been incredible,” Elton says in a statement. “She’s given me so much energy. She’s a truly wonderful artist, and person, absolutely bursting with creativity and ideas.”

Dua adds, “Ever since we first ‘met’ online, we totally clicked. Elton is such an inspirational artist and also has the naughtiest sense of humor — a perfect combination. It has been an absolute honor and privilege to collaborate on this track with him.”

A trippy animated video for “Cold Heart,” featuring cartoon versions of Elton and Duo, is streaming now.

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