You’ve heard of an elderly woman behind the counter in a small town, but what about a 60-year-old man behind the microphone in a hugely successful rock band?
Eddie Vedder hits the big 6-0 on Monday. The Pearl Jam frontman was born Edward Louis Severson III on Dec. 23, 1964, in Evanston, Illinois.
While living in San Diego in the ’80s, Vedder recorded a demo for Seattle musicians Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and Mike McCready, who were forming a band called Mookie Blaylock after the NBA player of the same name. The trio was also in a group called Temple of the Dog alongside Soundgarden‘s Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron.
Vedder was hired as Mookie Blaylock’s vocalist, and he also sang on Temple of the Dog’s debut album, contributing co-lead vocals to the song “Hunger Strike” alongside Cornell. Meanwhile, Mookie Blaylock changed their name to Pearl Jam and started recording their debut album, Ten, named after the player’s jersey number.
Alongside Nirvana‘s Nevermind, Ten helped make “grunge” a household term with songs including “Even Flow” and “Alive,” that latter of which was inspired by Vedder learning that his dad was not his biological father.
Pearl Jam followed Ten with the albums Vs. and Vitalogy while also making headlines for boycotting Ticketmaster, which would last until 1998. Subsequent albums would take more experimental turns, but PJ’s devoted fanbase stayed with them as they built their status into one of rock’s biggest and most enduring bands.
All told, Pearl Jam’s sold over 85 million albums worldwide and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. Vedder’s also put out a trio of solo records, the most recent of which being 2022’s Earthling.
It was a monumental year for The Beatles, as they celebrated the 60th anniversary of the first time they arrived in the U.S.
In February 1964 The Beatles — Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — made their first visit to the U.S. to play The Ed Sullivan Show, which was seen by a then-record 73 million viewers, a moment that launched Beatlemania in America.
The moment in history was highlighted in 2024 with the documentary Beatles ’64, directed by David Tedeschi and produced by Martin Scorsese, which debuted on Disney+ in November. It featured never-before-seen footage of the legendary group and their fans during the height of Beatlemania.
The anniversary was one of many Beatles-related highlights of 2024. Among the others:
Sam Mendes announced he’ll be directing four movies about The Beatles, each one told from the point of view of a different band member. So far no casting has officially been announced, but Ringo let it slip that Saltburn’s Barry Keoghan would be playing him.
McCartney’s original backing track for “Blackbird” was used for Beyoncé‘s interpretation of the song, retitled “Blackbiird,” which appeared on her album Cowboy Carter. He called it a “killer version” of the song.
Ringo dropped the EP Crooked Boy, produced by Linda Perry,and announced he’ll release the country album Look Up, co-written and produced by T Bone Burnett, on Jan. 10.
The Beatles’ 1970 documentary Let It Be debuted on Disney+ in May, marking the first time it had been available in over 50 years. The film was restored from the original 16mm negative by Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post Production.
Lennon’s 1973 solo album, Mind Games, was reissued, including an Ultimate Collection that featured unreleased outtakes, stripped down mixes, instrumentals, demos, rehearsals and even what was described as “studio chatter.” It earned a Grammy nomination for Best Boxed or Limited Edition Package.
Paul McCartney and Wings’often bootlegged album One Hand Clapping got an official release in June, 50 years after it was recorded. The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in August 1974 as a video documentary and possible live album, although it didn’t officially come out until now.
Harrison’s first sitar, used during the recording sessions for the song “Norwegian Wood,” sold at auction for $66,993, while one of Lennon’s 12-string guitars, used to record several Beatles classics, sold for $2.9 million, making it the most expensive Beatles guitar ever to sell at auction. Harrison’s Resonet Futurama, a Czechoslovakian-made electric guitar, sold for $1.27 million, a world record for a Harrison guitar sold at auction.
The 50th anniversary of Harrison’s solo album Living in the Material World was celebrated with a series of new reissues, including a super deluxe edition featuring 12 previously unreleased recordings.
Two new Lennon documentaries debuted: One to One: John & Yoko, which focused on Lennon and wife Yoko Ono’s 1972 One to One concerts in New York City, and Daytime Revolution, about the time in February 1972 when John and Yoko co-hosted The Mike Douglas Show for a week.
In October, McCartney launched a new leg of his Got Back tour in Montevideo, Uruguay, and added the band’s 2023 song “Now and Then,” which was billed as the final Beatles single, to the set list.
“Now and Then” went on to receive a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year.
The massive vinyl box set The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums In Mono was released featuring seven albums the band released in the U.S. from January 1964 and March 1965. It marked the first time these albums have been available on vinyl since 1995.
And to close out the year, there was a Beatles reunion at McCartney’s final night at the O2 in London on Dec. 19, with Ringo coming out to join his former bandmate on two songs, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” and “Helter Skelter.”
Kayla Bartkowski/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Jeff Lynne’s ELO is set to say their final farewell to the road in London when they headline BST Hyde Park on July 13, and Lynne tells Mojo magazine, “It will certainly be an emotional show for me.”
“It has been great getting to tour the world and to this day at every show I am always surprised and delighted by the crowds and the energy they bring,” he adds. “I will miss it.”
Lynne announced in March that ELO would be heading out on their final tour. Dubbed The Over and Out Tour, the U.S. dates kicked off in August and wrapped in October.
As for what fans can expect from the final show, Lynne shares, “We will of course be playing all the songs the fans want to hear,” adding, “As for surprises, these are the final shows so who knows what can happen!”
And just because Lynne won’t be touring as ELO anymore, it doesn’t mean it’s the last we’ve heard of him.
“I am happy with what I’ve done, and the crowd reactions to the shows and the music have been amazing,” he says. “This is not a farewell to music. I am excited to return to the studio full-time, which is what I love!”
Bruce Springsteen has shared a new addition to his live series, posting a third playlist of live covers he’s performed throughout his career.
Bruce Springsteen The Live Series: Songs Under Cover Vol. 3 is made up of 15 songs, with covers of tracks by The Rolling Stones, The Pogues and even Ray Parker Jr.
The playlist kicks off with a cover of The Shirelles hit “Sha-La-La” from a 1975 show in Post Dome, New York. It also includes Bruce’s takes on Jerry Lee Lewis’ “High School Confidential” from a 1978 show in Passaic, New Jersey; The Stones’ “Street Fighting Man” from a 1984 concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey; Jimmy Cliff‘s “Trapped” from Boston in 1992; and INXS’ “Don’t Change” from a 2014 show in Sydney, Australia.
There’s also a 2023 East Rutherford performance of “Jersey Girl,” which, despite what some people think, is not a Springsteen original, but a cover of a Tom Waits song.
Springsteen also includes two covers from this year: The Pogues’ “A Rainy Night in Soho” from The Boss’ Croke Park show in Dublin and “Ghostbusters” from his Halloween show in Montreal.
Bruce Springsteen The Live Series: Songs Under Cover Vol. 3 is available now via digital outlets.
Legendary New Jersey rocker Southside Johnny has retired from touring, according to an announcement canceling his Dec. 31 performance at the Count Basie Center in Red Bank, New Jersey.
“After a hugely successful 50-year run with his band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, touring non-stop throughout the U.S and overseas, ‘Southside Johnny’ Lyon has made the decision to retire from touring in order to manage ongoing health issues,” read the announcement, which was also shared on the Asbury JukesInstagram account.
No other details regarding the rocker’s health issues have been announced. Tickets for the show will be refunded.
“Johnny Lyon and the Asbury Jukes are an integral part of the Basie Center’s history and the history of music here at the Jersey Shore,” the post continued. “While we’re sad we won’t be seeing them this New Year’s Eve, everyone at the Count Basie Center is forever grateful for the hundreds of moments that he and his bandmates have created on our stages.”
Southside Johnny was a staple in the Jersey Shore music scene, alongside Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt. He and Van Zandt co-founded the Asbury Jukes, with Van Zandt producing their first three albums, 1976’s I Don’t Want to Go Home, 1977’s This Time It’s for Real and 1978’s Hearts of Stone. The band’s signature song “I Don’t Want to Go Home” was written by Van Zandt.
Queen continues to celebrate the release of a box set dedicated to their 1973 self-titled debut album, and in the latest edition of Queen The Greatest, guitarist Brian May is taking a deep dive into the album’s artwork.
In the clip, May shares the DIY challenges they faced in coming up with the art for the release, especially after he thought their then-unknown frontman Freddie Mercury should be on the cover in a very specific way.
“I had this premonition that Freddie was special and he was going to be our icon. So, I thought it would be nice just to have Freddie as a symbol, like the figurehead on a Viking ship,” May shares.
Because this was before the time of Photoshop, to make that happen May had to physically slice a photo of Mercury in a spotlight onto a ship.
“And that was basically the cover and everyone liked it,” he says. “Freddie had designed this lovely special font for Queen. So, we said, ‘OK, we’ll go with that.’”
The back of the album was also difficult, as May had to cut and paste together a collage of photos of the band. He noted, “We had this idea that we could kind of portray our lives on the back of the record.”
All these original and unique details are captured in the new Queen 1 box set, although they’ve been recreated, as May puts it, at “slightly higher quality” using modern technology.
“I thought, we’ve recreated the whole album soundwise, so let’s recreate it visually as well,” he says.
The Queen I box set, out now, is comprised of 63 tracks with 43 brand-new mixes, as well as alternative takes, demos and rare live tracks.
Elton John at 1975 gig that inspired new figure; Chris Barham/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
Most celebrity wax figures at Madam Tussauds museums show the star standing up or sitting down. But a new figure of Elton John, unveiled Dec. 20 at the museum’s London outpost, shows the Rocket Man lifting off — literally.
The figure depicts Elton in the ’70s, doing one of his famous keyboard handstands: His hands are on the keyboard of a piano and the rest of his body is suspended in midair. The pose and Elton’s outfit are based on his 1975 one-day festival performance at London’s Wembley Stadium. In fact, he gave the museum’s team the original bedazzled Bob Mackiejumpsuit he wore during that performance so they could replicate it.
The figure is also wearing copies of the glasses and platform shoes Elton rocked at that concert; the baby grand piano the figure is playing is covered in 24,000 rhinestones. In a statement, the museum’s general manager describes the statue as “one of our most technically ambitious figures to date” and “a pose that we have never done before.”
Elton’s first Madam Tussauds wax figure was created in 1976, and that one was historic, too: It was the first Madam Tussauds figure that could smile and talk, with Elton providing the voice recordings for it.
Julian Lennon, eldest son of The Beatles‘ John Lennon, is opening up about a recent health scare, revealing on social media he had surgery to remove melanoma from his skin.
The musician shared that ahead of a trip to New York for some appearances, he went to see the dermatologist who had previously diagnosed a mole as skin cancer back in 2020 “and literally saved My Life.”
He said after finishing up an interview with Good Morning America, his doctor called with another skin cancer diagnosis.
“I had 2 locations on My Skin, Shoulder & Forearm, one of which was Melanoma, that should be operated on ASAP!”
He flew back to Los Angeles to take care of it, noting, “The operation was a success, but we have yet to have the results of the biopsy, which we may not receive before Christmas.”
“Obviously good news, would be the best Christmas present ever… Which I’m hopeful for… But I just want to say, this is also a timely reminder to all, to please get yourself checked out by your doctor,” Lennon writes. “It only takes a short while to do so, and you may just be saving your own life, at the end of the day… so please, for the sake of yourself, your family and friends just go to your Dr and do what must be done.”
Finally he notes, “I love life and I want to live for a very long time and this is one way, and a choice, that could determine your future… I wish you all happy holidaze and a healthy long life… Love to all.”
Christmas is just days away, but the festive tunes keep on coming.
Jason Kelce and his charity musical project The Philly Specials have already released singles featuring Boyz II Men and Stevie Nicks, but now they’ve got a new one, featuring none other than Jon Bon Jovi.
While Jon isn’t from Philly — he’s from Jersey, duh — he was part owner of the Philadelphia Soul arena football team and his Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation has worked on many philanthropic projects in the city. He’s teamed with Jason and the rest of the Philly Specials, Philadelphia Eagles Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata, to record a version of Chuck Berry‘s “Run Rudolph Run.”
The Philly Specials’ goal this season was Operation Snowball: providing a gift for every student and teacher in the Philadelphia school district. That’s over 1 million gifted items. Jason, Lane and Jordan also hand-delivered many presents.
British punk band The Clash and legendary superstar Prince have been chosen to receive the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be handed out during the Academy’s Special Merit Awards Ceremony during Grammy week in February.
The honor is given to performers who “during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.”
This year’s other Lifetime Achievement Award honorees include blues musician Taj Mahal, Four Seasons singer Frankie Valli, R&B singer Frankie Beverly, hip-hop artist Roxanne Shante and gospel vocalist Dr. Bobby Jones.
“It’s an amazing privilege to honor this eclectic group of music icons during the year’s biggest week in music,” Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, shares. “Each of this year’s Special Merit Award recipients has left an indelible mark on music, from paving the way for others to innovation that forever has changed the trajectory of the musical landscape. We can’t wait to celebrate this group and their achievements in February.”
The Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards Ceremony is set to take place Feb. 1 in Los Angeles. The Grammys air live from LA on Feb. 2 on CBS and will stream live on Paramount+.
