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“It’s pretty incredible”: Walker Hayes reflects on the success of “Fancy Like,” and his favorite 2021 memories

December 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Walker Hayes has had a whirlwind year, thanks to the success of “Fancy Like.”

After posting a video of him and his 16-year-olddaughter, Lela, performing an original dance to the track on TikTok, the video soon went viral, so much so the song and dance was featured in an Applebee’s commercial. “Fancy Like”also became Walker’s first #1 song and scored him his first Grammy nomination, for Best Country Song at the 2022 ceremony.

Looking back on where he was on January 1, 2021, Walker admits he never could have predicted that by the end of the year, he’d have a massive hit on his hands.

“It’s just crazy. [I] didn’t foresee that in my future when I woke up last year on the first of January, and so it’s just insane how this year my life has changed the most,” Walker reflects. “It’s pretty incredible.”

The singer shares that his favorite 2021 memories surround “Fancy Like” and the ripple effect that the song’s success is having across his life, noting that his wife, Laney, and their six children are at the center of it all.

“Biggest memory to me will probably be me and my daughter doing the dance to ‘Fancy Like’ and the adjustments that the catapult of my career has, the impact that it’s made on my family and how we’ve had to adjust,” Walker explains. “I’ve gotten so busy, but they’re able to come out with me, so we’re making memories left and right.”

Walker will perform “Fancy Like” and his new single, “AA,” on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2022, airing December 31 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Kane Brown throws back “Whiskey Sour” in mournful new song

December 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Kane Brown finds solace in “Whiskey Sour,” a new song he’s releasing on January 14.

Kane shared a sample of the track on Instagram, featuring traditional country elements of fiddle and tear-in-your-beer lyrics. It tells the story a couple preparing to get married, only to break up a month before the wedding. The chorus follows the heartbroken groom to a bar where he drinks his whiskey sour alone.

“So now I take my whiskey sour/Sittin’ bar side after hours/Thinkin’ how can I get over/If the love was never ours/And I know you got my message/All my x’s and my o’s/And it kills me by the hour/Now I take my whiskey sours alone,” Kane sings over the mournful, fiddle-led melody.

“I love getting to sing other people’s stories!” Kane writes alongside the video, which shows him singing along to the tune at his kitchen counter.

“Whiskey Sour” is set to arrive as Kane’s current single, “One Mississippi,” continues climbing inside the top 10 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.

KISS’ Paul Stanley contracts COVID for second time: “My entire family has it”

December 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

KISS‘ Paul Stanley has contracted COVID-19 for a second time.

In an Instagram post, the Starchild shared a photo of his “Omicron face,” referring to the latest COVID variant driving a new surge of cases.

“My entire family has it,” Stanley wrote in the caption. “I’m tired and have sniffles. Most of my family have absolutely no symptoms.”

“Do as you choose,” he added. “I’m so glad I’m vaccinated.”

Stanley previously tested positive for COVID-19 this past August, as did his band mate, Gene Simmons. As a result, KISS postponed a number of dates on their ongoing End of the World farewell tour.

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A post shared by Paul Stanley (@paulstanleylive)

The Strokes postpone New Year’s Eve NYC show

December 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

The Strokes have postponed their upcoming New Year’s Eve concert at the Barclays Center in New York City due to surging COVID-19 case numbers driven by the Omicron variant.

“We were so excited to be performing for everyone in Brooklyn this New Year’s Eve, but the Omicron variant has thwarted our plans,” Julian Casablancas and company write in a statement. “We’ve made the decision to postpone our show at Barclays Center.”

The band adds, “We want everyone to stay safe and healthy and we look forward to celebrating the new year with all of you…just a bit later than originally planned.”

All previously purchased tickets will be valid at the rescheduled show, the exact date for which has yet to be announced. Refund information will also be available when the rescheduled date is announced.

How can we put this….
We’re postponing the show.

We were so excited to be performing for everyone in Brooklyn this New Year’s Eve, but the Omicron variant has thwarted our plans. We’ve made the decision to postpone our show at Barclays Center.

— The Strokes (@thestrokes) December 24, 2021

Marvelettes singer Wanda Young dies at 78

December 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Wanda Young, co-lead singer of Motown’s The Marvelettes, died December 15 at age 78, according to the New York Times. Her daughter, Meta Ventress, told the paper that she died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Young replaced original member Georgia Dobbins ahead of the group signing with Motown in 1961. Their debut single, “Please Mr. Postman,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in December of that year. It was Motown’s first number-one record on the Hot 100.

Years later, “Please Mr. Postman” was famously covered by both The Beatles and The Carpenters.

While Young sang backing vocals on that song, she sang lead on many other Marvelettes hits, including “The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game,” “Too Many Fish in the Sea” and “Don’t Mess with Bill.“

Young left Motown in 1972 and later recorded for Motorcity Records. She and fellow Marvelettes member Gladys Horton also reunited for an album called The Marvelettes: Now! for that label in 1990.

Claudette Robinson, the first female artist signed to Motown, paid tribute to Young on Twitter, writing, “Wanda was a star on Earth and now she is a star in Heaven. Put on some #Marvelettes and turn it up.“

Young was married to The Miracles‘ Bobby Rogers for 12 years, until 1975. In addition to Ventress, Young’s two children with Rogers survive her; she’s also survived by seven grandchildren, a great-grandson, four sisters and four brothers. Her daughter, Miracle Rogers, was murdered in 2015.

Eric Clapton releases new single, “Heart of a Child,” along with animated music video

December 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

As promised, Eric Clapton debuted a brand-new song titled “Heart of a Child” over the holiday weekend.

The melodic acoustic ballad, which was released on Friday, Christmas Eve Day, is available now as a digital download and via streaming services. In addition, and an animated music video for the tune has premiered at Clapton’s official YouTube channel.

Clapton co-wrote “Heart of a Child” with Robin Monotti, an Italian film producer and architect who identifies as a pro-vaccine-safety advocate, and with whom Eric apparently shares similar anti-lockdown views.

The song’s lyrics seem to be directed toward a man who is feeling dejected because he’s being criticized by others, and has recently lost a close friend for some unclear reason.

“We lost of the love of a man, I was proud to know/ They locked you down, boy, made you grieve alone,” Clapton sings. “Turn off the TV, throw your phone away/ Don’t you remember what your daddy used to say?/ Don’t break the heart of your child/ Don’t let your fear drive you wild.”

The clip features a series of enigmatic images appearing as spray-painted graffiti on walls, billboards and other public places. The images include a pair of hands reaching toward each other, musical notes, a rock band, a bride and groom, a boy with a heart with a crack in it, ominous giant hands reaching to grab a man from behind, a man chained to a TV set and a mobile phone, a young man with a gun in one hand and sadly holding his head with his other hand, and an eye with a tear dripping from it.

For more information about “Heart of a Child,” visit WheresEric.com.

Rock of Ages: Mike Pinder, Edgar Winter, Patti Smith, Tom Hamilton & more celebrating milestone birthdays this week

December 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

As we prepare to say goodbye to 2021, a number of well-known music artists will be celebrating milestone birthdays this week.

Two founding Moody Blues members were born 80 years ago this week — keyboardist/singer Mike Pinder and late flute player/vocalist Ray Thomas.

Pinder, whose 80th birthday is today, December 27, contributed his keyboard, songwriting and vocal talents to all of the band’s recordings from its 1965 debut album, The Magnificent Moodies, through 1978’s Octave.

The deep-voiced Pinder is perhaps best known for reciting the spoken-word piece “Late Lament,” written by drummer Graeme Edge, featured at the end of The Moodies’ classic 1967 concept album Days of Future Passed.

Thomas, who was born on December 29, 1941, contributed vocals, songwriting and flute to all of the band’s albums through 1999’s Strange Times, retiring from the group in 2002.

He died in January 2018 at age 76. Both he and Pinder were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as members of The Moody Blues in April 2018.

On Tuesday, December 28, Edgar Winter celebrates his 75th birthday. The multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter had his greatest success with his band the Edgar Winter Group‘s 1972 album They Only Come Out at Night, which featured the chart-topping instrumental “Frankenstein” and the top 20 hit “Free Ride.”

On Thursday, December 30, Patti Smith turns 75. The influential punk-rock singer, songwriter, poet and author is known for such memorable songs as her Bruce Springsteen collaboration “Because the Night,” her interpretation of Van Morrison‘s “Gloria,” as well as “Dancing Barefoot,” “People Have the Power” and many more. Smith was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2007.

On December 31, founding Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton celebrates his 70th birthday. In addition to playing bass on all of the band’s albums, Hamilton co-wrote the hits “Sweet Emotion” and “Janie’s Got a Gun,” as well as several other songs by the group. Hamilton entered the Rock Hall as a member of Aerosmith in 2001.

Rounding out the week, and ringing in 2022, Country Joe McDonald will celebrate his 80th birthday on New Year’s Day. McDonald was the frontman of Bay Area psychedelic rock band Country Joe and the Fish, and showcased his classic anti-war anthem “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag” at the 1969 Woodstock festival.

(Country Joe McDonald video contains uncensored profanity.)

The Year in Country 2021: Lady A and Carly Pearce witness ‘What a Song Can Do’

December 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

In November, a stunned Carly Pearce stepped onstage at the 55th CMA Awards to accept her very first trophy as CMA Female Vocalist of the Year.

Since she spent July through October on the What a Song Can Do Tour with her pals Lady A, the threesome had a front-row seat to watch how Carly’s career has grown in 2021.

“I mean, gosh, I’m so proud of her,” Dave Haywood tells ABC Audio. “We had so much fun with Carly, you know, Niko Moon as well, Tenille Arts.”

“I don’t know, but we’ve known Carly, and I feel like our friendship just grew and grew and grew,” he continues. “I mean, you’re sitting around having lunch every day on the road backstage. And so… I coulda toured a whole ‘nother 30 dates with them. It was so much fun.”

Carly released her 29 EP in February, followed by the full-length 29: Written in Stone in September. You can count Lady A’s Hillary Scott among the music’s biggest fans.

“To be able to say that we were touring with Carly when she released 29… this album feels different,” Hillary reflects. “It feels so special and I love all of her stuff.”

“But to be able to be a witness to her life and her career that close on tour weekend after weekend,” she continues, “hearing the crowd get louder listening to certain songs. It was a privilege to get to witness just how this music is just connecting so deeply with people.”

Watch for Lady A’s follow-up to their hit, “Like a Lady,” coming in 2022, while Carly continues to climb the chart with Ashley McBryde and “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.”

The Year in Hip-Hop 2021: Craziest moments

December 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

There was no shortage of wild moments in 2021. From the ongoing feud between Drake and Kanye West to Nicki Minaj‘s claims about the COVID-19 vaccine, some of the biggest names in hip-hop got people chatting.

Here are three of the craziest moments in hip-hop this year.

—Kodak Black throws money overboard: The 24-year-old rapper posted a video of himself throwing money off of a yacht and into the ocean. And it wasn’t small change, either. The money tossed overboard added up to approximately $100,000, according to My Mixtapez, which re-posted the clip.

–Drake and Kanye West beef: The feud originally ignited in 2018 after Pusha T accused the Certified Lover Boy of using a ghostwriter in the song “Infrared,” which West produced.

The beef continued this year when Drake dissed Kanye on Trippie Redd‘s track, “Betrayal, with the lyrics, “All these fools I’m beefin’ that I barely know / Forty-five, forty-four (burned out) let it go.” Kanye responded by posting, and then deleting, Drake’s home address on Instagram.

Drake and Kanye two finally squashed their beef in November and performed together in December at the Free Larry Hoover benefit concert.

–Nicki Minaj and the COVID-19 vaccine: After the “Super Bass” rapper revealed that she didn’t attend the Met Gala because she wasn’t vaccinated, she later made claims about a cousin of hers refusing to get the vaccine after “his friend” got the shot and suffered an alleged reproductive side effect.

“My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent,” Nicki tweeted. “His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding.”

Medical experts stress the COVID-19 vaccine does not cause impotency, nor does the booster.

— DaBaby gets cancelled: The rapper came under fire for making controversial HIV/AIDS remarks at the Rolling Loud festival in Miami over the summer. He was dropped from a bunch of other music festivals after that, including Lollapalooza and New York’s Governors Ball. He issued an apology and later met virtually with Black leaders from HIV organizations.

The Year in Music 2021: Taylor Swift’s past comes back…to top the chart

December 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

In 2020, Taylor Swift made headlines by putting out two critically acclaimed new albums. In 2021, she continued to make headlines — for, among other things, re-releasing her old albums.

Here are the highlights of Taylor’s year:

–Taylor started off 2021 by winning her third Album of the Year Grammy for folklore. That made her the first female artist ever to win Album of the Year three times, after her wins for 2008’s Fearless and 2014’s 1989.

–One of the year’s hottest new artists, Olivia Rodrigo, gave songwriting credit to Taylor on two tracks on her number-one album, SOUR, because she’d interpolated or otherwise borrowed melodic elements from two of Taylor’s songs.

–The first of Taylor’s re-recorded projects, Fearless (Taylor’s Version), came out in April and topped the Billboard album chart, making it the first re-recorded album to do so. The 26-track project included six “From the Vault” songs written around the same time as the original album, and featured guest vocals from country stars Maren Morris and Keith Urban.

–Red (Taylor’s Version), Taylor’s re-recording of her 2012 album, came out in November, with a whopping 30 tracks, plus guest appearances from Phoebe Bridgers, Ed Sheeran and country superstar Chris Stapleton.

–Red (Taylor’s Version) featured a 10-minute version of fan favorite “All Too Well.” Taylor wrote and directed a short film to go with the song and also appeared in it, along with stars Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien. “All Too Well” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, setting the record for the longest song ever to top that chart.

–In addition to re-recording her own music in 2021, Taylor appeared on one song on the expanded edition of HAIM’s album Women In Music Pt. III, and on two tracks from Big Red Machine‘s album How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last.

–In 2021, Taylor also won the BRIT Awards’ Global Icon trophy, and the Songwriter Icon award from the National Music Publisher’s Association. Her 2020 documentary Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions won a Gracie Award.

–In October of 2021, Taylor inducted one of her musical heroes, Carole King, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and performed one of King’s compositions, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” during the ceremony.

–In November of 2021, Taylor received yet another Album of the Year Grammy nod, this one for evermore.

(Note: All Too Well short film contains uncensored profanity.)

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