Dolly Parton may not consider herself a rock ‘n’ roll great, but now that she’s a 2022 inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, she says she’ll just have to live up to the title.
The singer says she still isn’t sure if she’ll be able to attend the November induction ceremony, “but if I do, I’m going to sing the hardest style rock ‘n’ roll song I could ever muster up just to show that I can do it,” she tellsBillboard.
Dolly’s inclusion in the Hall’s class wasn’t without challenge. She initially declined her nomination, saying that — as someone who’s primarily worked in the country genre — she didn’t feel she’d earned it. But the Hall disagreed, leading Dolly to amend her statement, saying she’d misunderstood the criteria for inclusion.
The superstar says her husband is the “rock freak” of the house, but she’s still a fan of the genre. “I love the Rolling Stones. I always wanted to do the song, ‘Satisfaction,’” she continues, hinting that any Hall of Fame induction ceremony performance she’d give just might have to feature Stones frontman Mick Jagger.
“I may have to drag Mick’s guys up there to help me sing it,” says Dolly. “…I may do a version of something like [Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ] ‘Free Bird’ and do my own versions of some classic things that I think would make good rock ‘n’ roll songs.”
Dolly adds that she’s always wanted to make a rock ‘n’ roll album, and her induction might be the push she needs to make it happen. “Now I may have to call my album Rock Star!” she says.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Gala is set for November 5 in Los Angeles.
Howie Pyro, former bassist in Danzig and original member of influential ’90s punk band D Generation, has died at age 61.
DGen’s Jesse Malin confirmed the news Wednesday night in an Instagram post, writing that Pyro “fought real hard right till the end” after a long battle with liver disease.
“He changed my life and so many others in ways I can’t even begin to say,” Malin shared of his late band mate. “We made our world together…I learned so much from him. He made this planet a much better, cooler, weirder, and more beautiful place.”
According to Rolling Stone, Pyro died from COVID-19-related pneumonia.
Pyro, born Howard Kusten, co-founded D Generation alongside Malin in 1991, and the band was a staple of the ’90s New York City punk scene. From 2000 to 2003, he played bass in Danzig, contributing to the 2001 live album Live on the Black Hand Side and the 2002 studio effort Danzig 777: I Luciferi. Pyro was also a prolific DJ.
Queen‘s triple compilation The Platinum Collection, which gathers together all three volumes of the band’s official Greatest Hits albums, will be released on vinyl for the first time on June 17.
The six-LP collection will feature Greatest Hits, Greatest Hits II and Greatest Hits III as half-speed-mastered two-disc sets, with each LP pressed on a different-colored 180-gram vinyl disc and housed in an individually designed sleeve. The package will offer new artwork and will include an exclusive 24-page photo book.
First released in the U.S. in 2002 as a three-CD set, The Platinum Collection has been certified five-times Platinum by the RIAA.
Here’s a look at the individual compilations included in the retrospective:
— Greatest Hits got its initial release in 1981, and features classic Queen songs spanning from 1974 to 1980. The album has been RIAA-certified nine-times Platinum in the U.S. and is the best-selling album ever in the U.K.
— Greatest Hits II was first released in 1991 and has sold 19 million copies worldwide. It arrived shorty before the death of Queen singer Freddie Mercury and boasts highlights of the band’s catalog from 1981 to 1991.
— Greatest Hits III was originally released in 1999, and features songs from Queen’s Made in Heaven album issued after Mercury death, solo tunes by Freddie and guitarist Brian May, rarities, the group’s collaborations with other artists, and more.
You can pre-order the vinyl version of The Platinum Collection now.
In related news, a companion book titled Queen — The Platinum Collection: Complete Scores Collector’s Edition, a hardcover volume featuring full-band transcriptions for almost 50 classic songs by the British rock legends, is available for pre-order now at HalLeonard.com.
Here’s the full track list of The Platinum Collection vinyl edition:
Greatest Hits
LP 1 — Side A
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“Another One Bites the Dust”
“Killer Queen”
“Fat Bottomed Girls”
LP 1 — Side B
“Bicycle Race”
“You’re My Best Friend”
“Don’t Stop Me Now”
“Save Me”
LP 2 — Side A
“Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
“Somebody to Love”
“Now I’m Here”
“Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy”
LP 2 — Side B
“Play the Game”
“Flash”
“Seven Seas Of Rhye”
“We Will Rock You”
“We Are the Champions”
Greatest Hits II
LP 3 — Side A
“A Kind of Magic”
“Under Pressure” — Queen + David Bowie
“Radio Ga Ga”
“I Want It All”
“I Want to Break Free”
LP 3 — Side B
“Innuendo”
“It’s a Hard Life”
“Breakthru”
“Who Wants to Live Forever”
LP 4 — Side A
“Headlong”
“The Miracle”
“I’m Going Slightly Mad”
“The Invisible Man”
LP 4 — Side B
“Hammer to Fall”
“Friends Will Be Friends”
“The Show Must Go On”
“One Vision”
Greatest Hits III
LP 5 — Side A
Queen + Elton John — “The Show Must Go On” (Live, Theatre National de Chaillot, Paris, 1997)
Queen + David Bowie -– “Under Pressure” (Rah Mix)
Freddie Mercury + Montserrat Caballé -– “Barcelona” (Single Version)
Queen — “Too Much Love Will Kill You”
LP 5 — Side B
George Michael + Queen -– “Somebody to Love” (Live, The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert For AIDS Awareness, Wembley, April 1992)
Queen -– “You Don’t Fool Me”
Queen -– “Heaven For Everyone”
Queen -– “Las Palabras De Amor” (The Words Of Love)
LP 6 — Side A
Brian May -– “Driven by You”
Freddie Mercury -– “Living On My Own”
Queen –- “Let Me Live”
Freddie Mercury -– “The Great Pretender”
Queen -– “Princes Of The Universe”
LP 6 — Side B
Queen + Wyclef Jean -– “Another One Bites the Dust” (Remix)
Queen — “No One but You (Only the Good Die Young)”
Queen — “These Are the Days of Our Lives”
Queen — “Thank God It’s Christmas”
Lady Gaga recorded the song “Hold My Hand” for the soundtrack of Top Gun: Maverick, but star Tom Cruise said she did much more than that.
Speaking to Access Hollywood at Tuesday night’s premiere of the film in San Diego, Cruise said that he didn’t feel the music for the film was quite right, until Gaga sent the song over. “I called her right after. I said, ‘I don’t know how you did this,'” Cruise noted. “I admire her so much, she’s an incredible artist.”
Asked if he’s a Gaga fan, he responded, “Are you kidding me? She can act, she can compose, she can do jazz and pop, and what she gave us…she’s like the guardian angel for the film. Her heart was the heartbeat of this film.”
Cruise went on to say that pre-pandemic, he’d seen Gaga’s Las Vegas residency show, Enigma, and recently, he went back to see her Jazz & Piano residency show.
“Who couldn’t love Gaga? I’m sorry, but that woman is like a force of nature!” he raved.
Top Gun: Maverick, featuring Cruise reprising his role from the original 1986 film, arrives in theaters May 27.
While she was raised Catholic, Madonna has run into trouble with the church several times in her career. Now, it appears that she wants absolution.
On Wednesday, the Queen of Pop tweeted at Pope Francis — yes, he has a Twitter account — “Hello @Pontifex Francis —I’m a good Catholic. I Swear! I mean I don’t Swear! It’s been a few decades since my last confession. Would it be possible to meet up one day to discuss some important matters ?”
She added, “I’ve been ex communicated 3 times. It doesn’t seem fair. Sincerely Madonna.”
It’s not clear if Madonna has truly been excommunicated, but she’s certainly drawn condemnation from the Vatican and the previous Pope over the years for her videos and live performances. For example, her video for “Like a Prayer,” in which she kisses a Black saint, dances in front of burning crosses and displays stigmata, was condemned by the Vatican, and Pope John Paul II encouraged people to boycott Madonna when she toured Italy.
In 1990, she responded to calls from Italian Catholic organizations to ban her concerts in Rome and Turin by saying, “If you are sure that I am a sinner, then let he who has not sinned cast the first stone.”
And in 2006, during her Confessions tour, religious leaders accused Madonna of blasphemy and condemned her because she performed the song “Live to Tell” while hanging on a cross and wearing a crown of thorns.
They may be called ARMY, but BTS fans don’t want to see their boys go into the army for real. In South Korea, all able-bodied men are required to serve in the military for about two years, but now, a government minister is proposing that BTS should be exempt from that rule.
As Yonhap News Agency reports, South Korea’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Hwang Hee is proposing that, just like South Korea’s elite athletes and classical musicians, K-pop stars like BTS should also be allowed to substitute their mandatory active military service for some kind of alternative service.
Hwang said at a press conference, “There is no reason the popular art-culture field should be excluded from this,” adding, “I thought somebody should be a responsible voice at a time when there are conflicting pros and cons ahead of the enlistment of some of the BTS members.”
He explained that if huge stars like BTS are forced to put their careers on hold for military service, there would be a great loss, not only to the country, but to the world.
Hwang urged parliament to approve a bill granting the exemption as soon as possible.
The oldest member of BTS, Jin, is due to enlist in December. Since 2018, there’s been a law in place — sometimes called the BTS Law — which allows K-pop stars to ask to delay their military service until they turn 30.
On Wednesday, Live Nation launched its 2022 Concert Week promotion, which offers $25 tickets to shows by more than 200 artists taking place across North American throughout the summer.
In total, over 3,700 concerts will be discounted as part of the promotion, which runs through Tuesday, May 10. Among the many participating tours is REO Speedwagon, Styx and Loverboy‘s Live & UnZoomed package trek, which kicks off May 31 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Founding REO Speedwagon keyboardist Neal Doughty says he and his band mates are excited to be returning to full-scale touring following two years where the number of shows they played was reduced because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re thrilled that live music is back, of course, because that’s our entire life,” he tells ABC Audio. “But we just want to really let people know that, hey, come out of your house, it’s safe now. Live music is back and Live Nation is gonna kick-start the whole thing.”
Doughty notes that REO and Styx have toured many times together many times over the years, and the two bands really complement each other.
“[I]t just really works well,” Neal maintains. “Like our manager says, ‘One plus one equals three when it’s Styx and REO.’ And then, of course, you put somebody like Loverboy on the show, and who would not go to a show like that? I don’t know.”
Doughty also points out that his band and Styx both deliver a balanced show that offers up “the right mix between the love songs and the hard-rock songs.”
The Live & UnZoomed tour is mapped out through a September 18 concert in Bangor, Maine.
For full details about the Concert Week promotion, including a list of participating artists and venues, visit LiveNation.com/ConcertWeek.
In a tweet Wednesday, the “Soul Meets Body” band confirmed that their next record is “done.” They also revealed that new music is set to drop next Wednesday, May 11, and is available to pre-save now.
The most recent Death Cab album is 2018’s Thank You for Today, which features the singles “Gold Rush” and “Northern Lights.” Since then, they released The Blue EP in 2019, and a covers EP in 2020 to support voting rights. Meanwhile, frontman Ben Gibbard curated a tribute album to Yoko Ono, which was just released this past February.
You can catch Death Cab for Cutie live on their upcoming U.S. tour, kicking off in July.
Season two of Sara Bareilles‘ Emmy-nominated Peacock comedy Girls5Eva arrives today, and it finds the main characters doing something that Sara is very familiar with in real life: making an album.
After launching their comeback in season one, the Girls5Eva members — Sara’s Dawn, Renée Elise Goldsberry‘s Wickie, Busy Philipps‘ Summer and Paula Pell‘s Gloria — get a record deal, but with only six weeks to record, they go into “album mode.”
“Dawn takes it really seriously…embracing her role as songwriter and trying to really be the voice for the group that she didn’t feel like she got to explore when they were younger,” Sara says of her character. But there are plenty of distractions: Dawn fights with the producer, Gloria tries to reunite with her ex-wife, Summer wants a divorce and Wickie wants to find love.
“They get messy with each other and with their relationships,” Sara laughs. “And I’m here for that. I love that they’re becoming more and more three dimensional as we go.”
But in real life, Sara says her “album mode” isn’t much fun.
“I mean, to me, it means going [into] sort of hermit mode and getting very self-reflective and self punishing,” she explains. “For me, it can be a little bit of like a downward spiral. I think the best times of album mode have to do with collaboration. And…this season, we really get to see the workings of [the group’s] collaboration.”
Sara also reveals that her character “gets in a little bit of trouble because of her ambition this year,” which rings true to her.
She notes, “Album mode is like, you’re kind of dancing with your own ambition the whole time, and ‘what can I make?’ and ‘is it true?’ and ‘what are you willing to give up for what you want?'”
The red-carpet event is a benefit for Asian Hall of Fame‘s newly launched Brain Injury Endowment, which supports trauma survivors, victims of hate crime and brain injury research.
Seraphine will be playing a headlining set with his band California Transit Authority, or CTA, which also features former Chicago bassist/singer Jeff Coffey and veteran keyboardist Ed Roth, who also frequently collaborates with Krieger.
Both Seraphine and Krieger are Asian Hall of Fame Ambassadors, awarded annually to noteworthy non-Asian people who support the Hall of Fame’s mission of celebrating Asian excellence, cross-cultural collaboration, and multiracial fairness to with a goal of overcoming anti-Asian violence.
The event begins with a VIP reception starting at 4 p.m. PT that will include an artisan showcase, traditional performers, and food from Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. The reception also will include a memorabilia auction featuring collectibles from Chicago, The Eagles, U2 and more.
The concert will run from 7:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. PT. Early bird tickets to the Celebrate Asia Festival can be purchased at AsianHallofFame.org.
