Ronnie James Dio performs at Challenge Stadium August 2, 2007 in Perth, Australia. (Paul Kane/Getty Images)
The Rock for Ronnie benefit concert, which pays tribute to the late metal icon Ronnie James Dio, has announced a trio of signed instruments going up for auction as part of the event.
Attendees will be able to bid on a Lakland bass signed by Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler and an Epiphone Les Paul signed by George Thorogood. Additionally, Lita Ford, who’s headlining Rock for Ronnie, will contribute a custom-made guitar featuring the artwork from the Dio album Holy Diver, which she will sign and then play during her set.
Additionally, the auction includes a violin from Metallica’s 2019 S&M2 concert.
Rock for Ronnie takes place Sunday in Los Angeles. It raises money for the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund in support of cancer research.
Prince performs during the 19th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in New York City, 2004 (Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
The Beatles are among the most-covered artists of all time, but there’s one cover that has yet to see the light of day — though Paul McCartney really wants it to be released.
While appearing on the BBC Radio 2 segment The Tracks of My Years, where artists pick their favorites songs, McCartney chose Prince’s “Kiss” and revealed that he was told awhile back that Prince had covered one of his songs.
“I was with some guy a couple of years ago, it was after Prince had died, and this guy said, ‘Have you heard Prince do “Long and Winding Road”?'” McCartney recalled. “I said, ‘I don’t think he ever did it.'”
McCartney said the man, who he believes was Prince’s photographer, told him that Prince had done the song in rehearsal, and offered to send it to him.
“It’s really great,” McCartney said. “And so I’m gonna sorta ask them if they — ’cause I could make it into something really good.”
“It’s kinda rocky. He plays some really good guitar on it,” Sir Paul added. “No, he was a special guy, you know. It’s so sad, these people, you know, they’re like — suddenly, he’s not here. And it always makes me wish that I’d known him better. … It’s such a shame ’cause they’re such talents.”
He referred to Prince as “a wizard.”
Other songs that McCartney chose included The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me,” Elvis Presley’s “All Shook Up,” The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows,” John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Despite the fact that Paul is one of the world’s most famous and successful musicians, he admitted that he’s always “a little bit nervous” to approach Dylan.
‘Live at Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, 17 June 1976’ album artwork. (Rhino)
Yes has announced a new live album called Live at Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, 17 June 1976.
The record is due out July 17. It showcases the lineup of vocalist Jon Anderson, guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, drummer Alan White and pianist Patrick Moraz, which played together on the 1974 Yes album, Relayer.
Live at Roosevelt Stadium includes renditions of songs including “Roundabout,” “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Long Distance Runaround” and “Heart of the Sunrise,” as well as a cover of the Beatles song “I’m Down.”
You can listen to the Live at Roosevelt Stadium version of “Roundabout” now.
The current incarnation of Yes will release a new album called Aurora on June 12.
Belinda Carlisle performs onstage at Paramount Pictures Studios on September 27, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Project Angel Food)
Belinda Carlisle and Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s, Cherie Currie of The Runaways and Kate Pierson of The B-52’s are taking part in the upcoming fourth edition of the Women’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp.
The camp, which is only open to women, takes place Nov. 5-8 in Los Angeles. Campers will have the opportunity to jam with the all-star guests, culminating in performances at the famed Whisky a Go Go and Viper Room venues in LA.
“I am so looking forward to spending time with the Campers, making some music and sharing stories of my experiences in the industry,” Carlisle says in a statement.
“I’m really looking forward to collaborating and getting creative with the campers!” Pierson adds. “Also I’d love to share any of my experiences in the music business that might be helpful to you all! See you there, happy campers.”
The camp will also feature Grammy-nominated songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman and music manager Susan Silver, who’s known for her role in the Seattle grunge scene.
: (L-R) Chris Robinson and Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes perform onstage during the FIREAID Benefit Concert for California Fire Relief at The Kia Forum on January 30, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for FIREAID)
The Black Crowes recently launched their new Southern Hospitality tour with Whiskey Myers. It’s their first tour since releasing their new album, A Pound of Feathers, and guitarist Rich Robinson tells ABC Audio that fans can expect them to play a mix of old and new songs.
“We change our set list every night,” he says. “You know, we have 10, 12 albums’ worth of stuff to pull from, some released and some unreleased albums.”
“It’s something I’m looking really forward to is to get in and flush these songs out and see where they fit within the set list,” he adds.
Rich says over the years they’ve adopted a different approach to creating their set list. “When we were younger, we were a little more militant about not playing a song twice in a row.”
“We kind of refused to play some of the songs that some of the people really wanted to hear every night,” he says, noting now that they’re older they get that people want to hear songs like “She Talks to Angels,” “Hard to Handle” and “Jealous Again” at every show.
“And we do that now,” he says, “but then we also have these moments in our set list where we can bring in these new things and bring in covers and stuff like that.”
And while incorporating new material may not always be easy, Rich says he’s up for it.
“To me, it’s not even a challenge,” he says. “It’s just like, I can’t wait to play these songs.”
The Southern Hospitality tour hits Orange Beach, Alabama, on Wednesday, and runs through Aug. 20 in Mountain View, California. A complete list of dates can be found at TheBlackCrowes.com.
John Lennon & Paul McCartney returning to Heathrow Airport from holiday in Greece (Cummings Archives/Redferns)
In a new video for Amazon Live and Amazon Music, Paul McCartney sits down with another famous Paul, Paul Mescal, who’s playing him in the upcoming quartet of Beatles films from Sam Mendes. During their 11-minute chat, McCartney discusses writing about his old Beatles bandmates on his new album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane.
“On this record, I might even refer to him in my mind, you know, as if we’re still writing together,” McCartney tells Mescal about John Lennon. “I’ll write something and go, ‘What’s that? Is that any good?'”
“And you’re talking to him?” asks Mescal.
“Kind of,” says McCartney. “You know, sometimes I get away with it. And sometimes you say, ‘No, it’s s***!'”
“That’s mad,” replies Mescal. “You know, his spirit’s still in me,” McCartney says. “And I’m very glad of that.”
Mescal also asks McCartney how it feels to have written songs on the album specifically about Lennon and George Harrison. “It’s like seeing old snapshots,” he says. “It’s nice because you’re kinda revisiting them.”
But when Mescal asks McCartney how he managed to write songs about the old days and still make them sound as though they’re in the “present tense,” he has no answer.
“I mean, I don’t know how I do it,” McCartney replies. “I haven’t got a formula.”
In other McCartney news, he’ll be going live on TikTok Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. ET. He’ll be answering questions submitted by fans ahead of time, and ones that come in live during the stream. You can now register for the upcoming event.
‘ZAPPAtite – Frank Zappa’s Tastiest Tracks’ vinyl. (Zappa Records/UMe)
The Frank Zappa compilation ZAPPAtite – Frank Zappa’s Tastiest Tracks is being released on vinyl for the first time.
The record will make its wax debut on July 17. It was previously only available on CD and digital upon its original release in 2016.
The two-LP package is divided into four sections — Appetizers, Entrées, Second Course and Desserts — and is described in a press release as “an inviting entry point into the more rock-oriented side of [Zappa’s] expansive repertoire.”
“This isn’t a greatest hits album, as Frank didn’t really have ‘hits,’ per se, nor is it a ‘best of,’ since it would be impossible to fit so much awesome onto one disc,” Zappa’s son Ahmet Zappa said of the collection back in 2016. “It’s a veritable smorgasbord of musicality for the curious and a buffet of favorites for the fans.”
Ozzy Osbourne and Jack Osbourne on April 25, 2011 in New York City. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
Jack Osbourne has shared more info on the vision for the AI-powered interactive digital avatar of his late father, Ozzy Osbourne.
As previously reported, Jack spoke about the avatar at the 2026 Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, saying Ozzy “will exist digitally as himself for as long as we have computers.”
“You can ask Ozzy anything, and he will answer you in his own voice – and the answers will be what Ozzy would have said,” added Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy’s widow and Jack’s mother.
Jack has since answered some more questions about the avatar during a livestream on his YouTube channel.
“It’s going to be so tasteful what we’re doing,” Jack says. “It’s not going to be f****** lame.”
“It’s really complex what we’re doing,” he continues. “This isn’t just, like, hooking up an image of my dad to chatGPT … this is some, like, high level technology that we’re going to be working with and it’s going to feel very real and it’s kind of wild how it will be utilized.
Jack adds that he thinks Ozzy would approve of the idea.
“We actually talked about it before he passed about doing something like this,” Jack says. “I know he’d be into this.”
Jimi Hendrix performing live onstage, 1968, (Graphic House/Archive Photos/Getty Images)
In between wowing audiences with his otherworldly guitar skills, Jimi Hendrix was just a regular person who ordered food and paid his phone bill.
That’s what a new exhibit dedicated to the “Purple Haze” icon opening in London will show.
According toThe Guardian, the exhibit includes various documents from Hendrix’s time living in London during the 1960s. Pieces include receipts from meals ordered from the restaurant Mr Love, which was located on the ground floor of the building, and dry cleaning tickets.
“They tell a really important story of this one little moment of domesticity in Hendrix’s life,” exhibition curator Claire Davies tells The Guardian. “He had a very difficult childhood and then, during his four-year career when he was based in London, he was staying with other people or in hotels. So when he was here at 23 Brook Street, it was the only place he called home and the only place with his name on the rent invoices.”
The exhibit will be open at London’s Handel Hendrix House on June 19.
Paul McCartney during The Beatles’ concert in Milan, Italy, 24th June 1965. (Sergio del Grande / Mondadori via Getty Images); Taylor Swift performs Nov. 1, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Kevin Mazur/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Paul McCartney thinks Taylor Swift’s global fame is similar to the level of superstardom he once experienced with The Beatles — though he wouldn’t presume to give her any advice about it.
While appearing on BBC Radio 2, McCartney was asked how he perceives Taylor’s fame compared to that of his former group, and whether he’d offer advice to her or any other current pop superstars. “Absolutely, yeah,” the Beatles legend responded. “And you do see the parallel, y’know, like the fame and the amount of fame and the worldwide fame that Taylor Swift has and that we had. But I don’t think she needs any advice, [to] tell you the truth!”
“If she asked for it, I definitely would,” McCartney, 83, continued. “Because I’m like the older brother to that generation, y’know. Or, more like the grandad, actually.”
McCartney also shared that he recently met many of today’s female pop stars at a party thrown by his wife, Nancy Shevell, and daughter, designer Stella McCartney, whom he said are “very good at getting cool people to a party.” Guests included Taylor, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish.
“I ended up chatting to them all,” he said, adding, “They’re really cool people. They’re very good. So basically to answer your question, I like their voices. If they needed any advice, yeah, I would be happy to give it, but I don’t think they do.”
