Classic Rock 93.9

The Beach Boys will be spending July Fourth in Washington, D.C.

Mike Love and the band are booked to play A Capitol Fourth, the annual PBS special celebrating Independence Day.

The celebration will air July 4 at 8 p.m. ET and will feature a telecast of the fireworks live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

The program will be hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and will also feature performances by The Temptations, Trombone Shorty, country stars Josh Turner and LOCASH, Yolanda Adams and others. There will also be a special tribute in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as tributes for World War II heroes and first responders.

And speaking of The Beach Boys, following the news of Brian Wilson’s death on June 11 at age 82, music fans have been revisiting the band’s catalog.

Billboard reports that for the first time in over a decade, The Beach Boys have returned to the top 40 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Their 2003 compilation, Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys, climbed to #14.

The last time The Beach Boys were in the top 40 was with their 29th studio album, That’s Why God Made Radio, which was released in 2012 and got as high as #3. It was the last album to feature Wilson.

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On June 30, 2000, 25 years ago Monday, nine people died in a crowd crush during Pearl Jam‘s set at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark.

In a statement published in 2020 marking the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, guitarist Stone Gossard called what happened “our worst nightmare.”

“Every day our hearts continue to ache and our stomachs turn at the thoughts of those young men dying and of what might have been different, if only…but nothing changes,” Gossard wrote. “And our pain is a thousandth of that of the families…. the moms and dads, sisters and brothers, best friends…Our deepest condolences and apologies to the families who lost their boys that day.”

In his audio book, I Am Mine, frontman Eddie Vedder said, “There was at least one person in the band … that thought maybe we should never play again.”

“Everyone failed to live up to what was needed in those hours before and in those days following the tragedy,” Gossard wrote. “The festival, the media, us included. We retreated and became angry after many reports implied PJ was responsible.”

“Our words were nothing to help at that point,” he continued. “We hid and hoped that it wasn’t our fault. We have been trying our best to unhide ever since.”

Pearl Jam eventually did return to the stage for their planned U.S. tour in August 2000, though what happened at Roskilde still remains with them. Their song “Love Boat Captain,” included on the 2002 album Riot Act, references the tragedy in the lyric, “Lost nine friends we’ll never know.” The band members have also met some of the victims’ families.

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Rod Stewart‘s “Legends Slot” performance Sunday afternoon at the U.K.’s Glastonbury festival featured not one, not two, but three different guest stars.

Lately, Rod’s live sets have included his version of the Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes song “If You Don’t Know Me by Now.” So on Sunday, about 15 songs into his set, he was joined by Mick Hucknall of the band Simply Red, who had a #1 hit with the tune in 1989. The two sang the song together.

Rod had previously teased that his former bandmate in the Faces, Ronnie Wood — who now plays guitar for The Rolling Stones — would be joining him at Glastonbury, and so he did: The two teamed up to perform the Faces’ classic song “Stay With Me.”

Wood then stuck around to play on a version of “Hot Legs,” during which Rod was joined by Lulu, the Scottish singer who’s best known in the U.S. for her 1967 #1 hit “To Sir With Love.”

Rod — who performed plenty of his own hits, including “Maggie May,” “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?,” “Some Guys Have All the Luck” and “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” — closed his set with “Sailing,” a song that flopped in the U.S., but is a beloved classic in the U.K.  In fact, it remains his biggest-selling single there.

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Paul Simon has been forced to cancel his June 28 and 29 shows at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music due to back problems.

“Paul has been struggling with chronic and intense back pain,” read the announcement on social media. “Today it became unmanageable and demands immediate attention.”

The post notes that both shows will not be rescheduled immediately.  However, it adds, “We are hopeful after this minor surgical procedure which has been scheduled in the next few days, Paul will be able to complete the tour as well as look into returning to make up these dates.”

Full refunds will be given to those with tickets to the two Philly shows.

Simon is currently on his A Quiet Celebration tour, which is his first full tour since 2018 and his first tour since releasing his 2023 album Seven Psalms. His next show is scheduled for July 7 in Long Beach, California. A complete list of dates can be found at PaulSimon.com.

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Metallica‘s blood drive in Denver ahead of their two shows at the Colorado capital’s Empower Field at Mile High stadium was the biggest in the history of the Denver Red Cross, according to a press release.

The two-day drive, held Monday and Tuesday, marked the finale of Metallica’s blood donation campaign, which took place in cities across the U.S. in connection with the metal band’s M72 tour. Those who donated had the opportunity to receive a limited-edition Metallica T-shirt.

Earlier in June, Metallica announced that the initiative had passed the 1,000 donations mark.

“Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood, and the need for blood donations increases during the spring and summer months,” Metallica said in launching the campaign. “By participating in these drives, the Metallica Family will help trauma victims, those facing cancer, new mothers, people living with sickle cell disease, and so many more.”

Metallica’s Denver shows take place Friday and Sunday, and currently mark the last scheduled U.S. dates on the M72 tour.

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Peter Gabriel has surprised fans with a new live album.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just released In the Big Room to digital services. The album is a recording of an intimate fan club show that took place in November 2003 in the Big Room at his Real World Studios in the U.K.

“I’d not really taken advantage of the Big Room as a performance space myself and when, in 2003, the opportunity came up, we grabbed it and offered the small number of seats to members of the Full Moon club,” Gabriel shares. “It was not part of a big tour so we weren’t as polished and rehearsed as we might have been while on tour, but it made for a more awake and edgy performance, as we were fully concentrating on what we were doing.”

Unlike his usual live shows, Gabriel notes that the performance didn’t include an “elaborate visual show,” instead “the whole focus was about making it sound good.”

The 14-track album features songs Gabriel performed during two tours: the 2002-03 Growing Up Live tour and 2004’s Still Growing Up Live tour. The album features performances of songs like “In Your Eyes,” “Shock the Monkey,” “Digging in the Dirt” and “More Than This.”

Here is the track list for In the Big Room:
“Burn You Up, Burn You Down”
“More Than This ”
“Games Without Frontiers”
“Downside Up”
“Mercy Street”
“Darkness”
“Digging In The Dirt”
“The Tower That Ate People”
“San Jacinto”
“Shock The Monkey”
“Signal To Noise”
“Secret World”
“Father, Son”
“In Your Eyes”

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While making the press rounds ahead of his performance at the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival on Sunday, Rod Stewart openly admitted to ripping off one of his most famous songs — but he seems to think it’s OK because he didn’t profit from the theft.

While talking to The Times of London, Rod’s #1 hit “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” comes up. The paper notes that the chorus of the song is “remarkably similar” to the chorus of a song called “Taj Mahal,” by Brazilian singer Jorge Ben. In fact, Jorge sued Rod over it, and the case was settled amicably.

Rod claimed in his 2012 autobiography it was “unconscious plagiarism” because he was at Brazil’s Rio Carnival in 1978 and must have heard it then. But now he’s dropped the whole “unconscious” part of the story altogether.

Speaking to The Times, Rod comes right out and admits, “Oh yeah, I nicked it.” But, he added, “Never earned a penny out of it. All the royalties went to UNICEF.” 

It’s worth noting, though, that Rod only began donating the royalties from the song, which was released in 1978, in 1979, after Ben sued him.

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In 2024 it was announced that a musical biopic about the German rock band Scorpions was in the works. Now we know who’ll be starring in the film, titled Wind of Change, after the band’s 1991 top-five hit.

The Last Kingdom’s Alexander Dreymon has been cast to play guitarist and founder Rudolf Schenker; Generation War’s Ludwig Trepte as frontman Klaus Meine; You’s Ed Speleers as lead guitarist Matthias Jab; and Interview with the Vampire’s Luke Brandon Field as drummer Herman Rarebell.

Also cast in the film is The Crown’s Dominic West, who’ll play the band’s manager, Doc McGhee, and The Reader’s David Kross, who’ll play Andrej, a friend of the band who’s imprisoned on the other side of the Berlin wall.

According to the description, the film, directed by Alex Ranarivelo, “tells the story of a band united by their passion for music, who sought to inspire change in the world through their powerful sound and meaningful lyrics. At the heart of the film is their iconic anthem ‘Wind of Change,’ which became the soundtrack to the end of the Cold War, symbolizing hope, peace and unity.”

Wind of Change is currently filming in London and is expected to hit theaters in 2025.

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Talking Heads have shared another track from the upcoming super-deluxe edition of their sophomore album, More Songs About Buildings and Food.

The latest is a live recording of their cover of Al Green‘s “Take Me to the River,” from the band’s Aug. 10, 1978, concert at Entermedia Theatre in New York, part of the bonus live album featured in the set. The song is now available via digital outlets.

Dropping July 25, More Songs About Buildings and Food (Super Deluxe Edition) is being released as part of the band’s continued celebration of their 50th anniversary. The three-CD/Blu-ray set will include the remastered album, as well as 11 rarities, four of which are previously unreleased versions of album tracks, and the Entermedia Theatre concert.

The Blu-ray includes Dolby ATMOS and 5.1 surround sound mixes of the album, and footage from the Entermedia concert and a concert recorded at Sproul Plaza at the University of California, Berkeley.

The set will also be released as a four-LP vinyl edition, featuring the original album, rarities and the live New York concert. There will also be a second version, available on the band’s website, featuring the bonus reissues of four international 7-inch singles, as well as a two-LP black vinyl version and a red vinyl pressing.

More Songs About Buildings and Food (Super Deluxe Edition) is available for preorder now.

Released in July 1978, More Songs About Buildings and Food was a top-40 hit for Talking Heads, peaking at #29 in the U.S. Their cover of “Take Me to the River” was the band’s first big hit, also peaking at #29 on the singles chart.

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Eric Clapton, Sting and Graham Nash are among the artists set to appear on the upcoming album from singer/songwriter Stephen Bishop.

Bishop, best known for such songs as “On and On” and “It Might Be You,” just announced he’ll release his 20th and final album, THIMK, on Aug. 15. Other guests on the release include Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Art Garfunkel, Christopher Cross, and America’s Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell.

“After five decades of recording music and performing, I figured it was time to close this chapter of my music career,” Bishop shares. “THIMK — my 20th and final album — is a celebration of friendship, legacy, and all the people who’ve been part of this long, wonderful ride.”

He adds, “I’ve developed a bit of arthritis in my hands over the past few years, so I wanted to give this last album everything I had while I still could. I’m proud of it — and grateful for the chance to spend my life doing what I love.”

Sting and Clapton are featured on the just-released track “Now That I’ve Hit the Big Time,” a tribute to Bishop’s mother. Sting contributes vocals to the tune, while Clapton adds guitar. It is available now via digital outlets.

THIMK will be released digitally, and on CD and custom colored vinyl. Physical copies will come with two bonus songs not available on streaming platforms. The album is available for preorder now.

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