Classic Hits

Chrissie Hynde is offering up another preview of her upcoming duets album, Duets Special, dropping Oct. 17.

The Pretenders frontwoman has just shared her collaboration with artist k.d. lang, a cover of “Me and Mrs. Jones,” originally recorded by Billy Paul.

“I met k.d. on a tour we did. Very early days,” Chrissie says of her relationship with lang. “It was up in Canada, and we bonded right from the start because of our mutual interest in animal welfare.”

“Me and Mrs. Jones” is available now via digital outlets.

In addition to lang, Duets Special features collaborations with Blondie’s Debbie Harry, The Killers‘ Brandon Flowers, Garbage’s Shirley Manson, The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, the late Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan, Lucinda Williams, Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan and Julian Lennon.

Duets Special, Hynde’s fourth solo album and the first since 2021’s Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan, will be released digitally, and on black vinyl and CD. It is available for preorder now.

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The Beatles recently announced several projects associated with their Anthology series, including a massive Anthology Collection box set that features the three original Anthology albums and the new Anthology 4. The Beatles are now giving fans a chance to get that fourth installment without shelling out the price of the whole collection.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just announced that “by popular demand,” Anthology 4 will be available as a standalone release. It will be released Nov. 21 as a three-LP or two-CD set, featuring 36 tracks, including 13 previously unreleased demos and session recordings, and other rare recordings.

It is available for preorder now.

The Anthology Collection box set will also be released Nov. 21 digitally and as a 12-LP or eight-CD collection. In addition to the music, it includes four exclusive art cards, housed in hand-numbered envelopes.

The Beatles released their original Anthology album, titled Anthology 1, in 1995, featuring rarities, outtakes and live performances from early in their career. It also included the new song “Free as a Bird,” which at the time was the first new Beatles song in 25 years. The song incorporated an old demo recorded by John Lennon with new music recorded by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison.

The original release was followed by Anthology 2 and Anthology 3, which covered later years of the band’s career. Both came out in 1996, with Anthology 2 also featuring a new song, “Real Love.”

In addition to the Anthology music collection, a restored and remastered version of the eight-part Anthology documentary, which aired on ABC in 1995, will debut Nov. 26 on Disney+ with a new ninth episode. A 25th anniversary edition of The Beatles Anthology book will also be released Oct. 1.

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Toto is set to close out 2025 with a show in Las Vegas.

The “Africa” rockers have announced their last show of the year will take place Dec. 30 at BleauLive Theater inside Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

This will be a return to the theater for Toto. They previously played a sold-out show at the venue in August.

A presale for tickets kicks off Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT, with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. PT.

Before heading to Vegas, Toto has several Latin American shows on their schedule. Their next concert, with Christopher Cross, is Dec. 11 in Santiago, Chile.

A complete list of dates can be found at totofficial.com.

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Former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman has announced a new set of U.S. tour dates, which will have him touring with his son Oliver Wakeman for the very first time.

Some of the dates on this tour are actually rescheduled shows from the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s July 2025 Strictly Wakeman tour, which was postponed so Rick could undergo surgery. That tour was supposed to feature singer Hayley Sanderson, but she is no longer on the bill.

“It’s always an honor for me to share the stage with one of my wonderful children,” says Rick, “and for the first time, it’s a thrill to be actually doing a tour with my eldest son Oliver. I know it will be very special – especially if, on the odd occasion, he buys me dinner!!”

While this is the first time Wakeman and his son have toured together, it isn’t their first time performing together. They previously shared the stage at London’s O2 Arena during Rick’s performance of The Myths And Legends of King Arthur.

The Wakeman & Son tour will kick off March 11 in Ridgefield, Connecticut, with dates confirmed through March 29 in Red Bank, New Jersey. Tickets for any of the postponed dates will be valid for corresponding new shows.

A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at rwcc.com.

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After touring to celebrate the 40th anniversaries of R.E.M.’s Murmur and Fables of the Reconstruction, actor Michael Shannon and his musical partner Jason Narducy are taking on another one of the band’s classic albums.

The duo just announced dates celebrating the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s fourth studio album, Lifes Rich Pageant. They’ll play the album in full, along with other R.E.M. classics. The trek kicks off Feb. 11 in Denver and wraps March 16 in Bloomington, Indiana.

The tour also includes two nights, Feb. 26 and 27, in Athens, Georgia, birthplace of R.E.M. Their two nights in Athens for the Fables of the Reconstruction tour included an onstage reunion of all four members of R.E.M.: Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck and Bill Berry.

“It dumbfounds and delights me that we continue our crusade through this astounding catalogue of music from one of America’s most influential and unique bands,” says Shannon. “Now we find ourselves at a summit, Lifes Rich Pageant, and we’re all pinching ourselves in disbelief to be so lucky.”

Narducy adds, “I’m thrilled to join Michael and our band in celebrating the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s monumental fourth album. This impeccable collection of songs meant so much to me when I first heard them and they continue to inspire and invigorate me.”

Tickets for the 2026 tour go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time.

Released in July 1986, Lifes Rich Pageant peaked at #21 on the Billboard chart. It featured such songs as “Fall on Me,” “Begin the Begin” and a cover of “Superman,” which was sung by Mills.

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Heart is extending their Royal Flush tour into next year.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just announced a set of 2026 tour dates kicking off Feb. 15 in Duluth, Georgia, and wrapping March 15 in Fishers, Indiana, with Lucinda Williams on board as special guest for select dates.

Heart wrapped the summer leg of their tour in Bethel, New York, on Aug. 30. They are set to play three shows at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, Nov. 12, 14 and 15, before kicking off a new leg of the tour on Nov. 18 in Anaheim, California.

Their 2025 tour wraps Dec. 21 in Nashville.

Tickets for all new shows go on sale Friday. A complete list of dates can be found at Heart-Music.com.

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Dave Mason, best known for his work with Traffic, has announced his retirement from touring after 60 years in the business.

The 79-year-old artist says “ongoing health challenges” are the reason behind his “difficult decision” to give up the road.

In September 2024, Mason canceled his Traffic Jam tour due to an urgent heart condition. He was supposed to launch a new tour in July, but canceled that as well because he needed time to recover from an infection he developed in March.

“He retires from touring a happy man with a heart full of gratitude to his band members, business colleagues, and especially his legions of fans who made his life one of deep satisfaction and fulfillment,” reads the press release announcing his retirement. “The immensity of his joy remains solid as he steps back from the stage.”

Mason is one of the founding members of Traffic, which he formed in April 1967 with Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood and Chris Wood. He wrote their hit “Feelin’ Alright?,” which has been covered by a variety of artists, most notably Joe Cocker. He also had a solo hit with 1977’s “We Just Disagree,” which peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Mason has also had a successful career as a session musician and appeared on well-known albums by artists like Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Wings, The Rolling Stones and more.

He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 as a member of Traffic.

But just because Mason’s retiring doesn’t mean this is the last we’ll hear from him. He’s got an upcoming children’s book and is also “culling over unreleased tracks from his 60-year career of live performances.”

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On This Day, Sept. 16, 1977 …

Talking Heads released their debut album, Talking Heads: 77, featuring the now-classic “Psycho Killer,” as well as “Uh-Oh,” “Love Comes to Town” and “Don’t Worry About the Government.”

Jon Bon Jovi’s cousin Tony Bongiovi was credited as one of the album’s producers, though the band disliked him and later claimed the engineer, Ed Stasium, did most of the work.

While the album never got higher than #97 on the Billboard 200 chart, Rolling Stone included it on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003.

Talking Heads went on to release seven more studio albums, their last being 1988’s Naked. They also released the soundtrack to their critically acclaimed documentary Stop Making Sense, which spent 119 weeks on the Billboard 200.

In November 2024, Talking Heads celebrated their debut album with the release of a new box set, Talking Heads: 77 (Super Deluxe Edition), featuring a remaster of the original release, bonus material and live recordings.

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Gold records, gold Grammys, gold lamé outfits, gold jewelry — Elton John‘s life has been full of gold. That’s why he’s starring in a new documentary called Touched by Gold, produced by the World Gold Council — who knew that was a thing?

In the doc, Elton shows off his first-ever Gold record, which he says made him feel like he’d “made it”; his gold stage outfits, including his gold platform boots; and his trophies, including a custom EGOT statue he commissioned to mark the fact that he’s won at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. “An award doesn’t really look right unless it’s in gold,” he points out.

Elton also reminisces about his and husband David Furnish‘s wedding day, which took place when gay marriage became legal in the U.K. They already had their sons, Zachary Furnish-John and Elijah Furnish-John, who were 3 and 1 at the time, so they tied their gold wedding rings to stuffed rabbits and had the boys present them to their dads at the ceremony.

Gold also follows Elton into the studio: He explains that the best microphones have a gold-coated diaphragm inside them. “So obviously, I’ve gotten through a lot of gold, as I’ve been in the studio many times,” he notes. Gold is even found inside the pacemaker Elton had to get in 1999.

The weirdest gold thing Elton owns, though, would have to be the gold pendant and brooch he had made out of his left and right kneecaps after he had them removed and replaced with artificial knees. “I will no longer bow to any man” is written in Latin on the back of the pendant, because you can’t without kneecaps.

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After teaming up for their Ozzy Osbourne tribute at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 7, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry are once again collaborating with Yungblud, this time on a new song.

The artists first teased that something was up with a post on Instagram. It features a video in which Tyler and Yungblud share a big hug, before Tyler sings, “We got a secret and nobody knows it.”

Well, that secret is apparently out now, with Yungblud sharing a video of him, Tyler and Perry in the studio recording a song together, with the post captioned, “My Only Angel.” 

Tyler, Perry and Yungblud teamed up to perform “Mama, I’m Coming Home” on the MTV VMAs, ending their performance by shouting “Ozzy Osbourne forever.”

Tyler and Yungblud also performed at the Back to the Beginning concert on July 5, which was the final live performance by Ozzy and the original Black Sabbath lineup. Ozzy died just over two weeks later on July 22.

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