John Lennon wrote and recorded the single “Instant Karma” in one day, at one point telling reporters he “wrote it for breakfast, recorded it for lunch, and we’re putting it out for dinner.”
The song, produced by Phil Spector, featured his Beatles bandmate George Harrison on acoustic guitar and piano, with Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono and Billy Preston contributing background vocals.
The inspiration for the tune came to Lennon during a visit he and Yoko took to Denmark, where they met up with Yoko’s former husband Tony Cox. Cox’s then wife Melinde Kendell used the term in conversation.
“Instant Karma,” Lennon’s third solo single, wound up being a hit for the rocker, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Simple Minds is returning to North American for a new tour this spring.
The Alive & Kicking tour, featuring special guests Soft Cell and Modern English, will hit arenas and amphitheaters across the U.S. and Canada starting May 16 in Ridgefield, Washington, and wrapping June 22 in Noblesville, Indiana.
“Been a while but absence makes the heart grow fonder,” says frontman Jim Kerr. “Simple Minds are ecstatic at the prospect of touring so extensively in the US and Canada this coming Spring.”
A ticket presale launches Wednesday at 10 a.m. with tickets going on sale to the general public starting Friday at 10 a.m.
The tour coincides with this year’s 40th anniversary of their hit studio album Once Upon a Time, which featured their #1 hit “(Don’t You) Forget About Me.” To mark the occasion the band released a ruby anniversary digital edition of the album on Monday, and will play “(Don’t You) Forget About Me” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday.
Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend are set to play two shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall, March 27 and 30, as part of the annual benefit concerts for Teenage Cancer Trust. They’ll be joined by special guests Level 42.
A post on The Who’s Instagram shares that the two rockers “are so excited to be among the incredible artists who have played these historic shows,” adding, “Every day seven young people hear the life-changing words, ‘You have cancer’ – and this number is set to rise. But with your support, Teenage Cancer Trust can help make sure no young person faces cancer alone.”
Other artists booked for the Teenage Cancer Trust shows include: Sex Pistols with Frank Carter on March 24, James Arthur on March 26 and The Coors on March 28.
Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday at 9 a.m. GMT.
Teenage Cancer Trust is a nonprofit dedicated to providing specialized treatment and support for young people with cancer.
Bob Dylan has released 40 studio albums throughout the course of his career, which means he’s come up with 40 unique album covers. But not all covers are created equal, and Rolling Stonemagazine decided to take a deep dive into those covers, singling out the best and the worst of them.
Writing about the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s cover art choices, the mag notes, “Sometimes Dylan made iconic covers, both calculated and spontaneous; sometimes he treated them with the same regard as a grocery list.”
Topping the mag’s list as the best Dylan album cover is 1963’s The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, which features the rocker walking down a New York City street with his girlfriend Suze Rotolo.
The mag notes photographer Don Hunstein nabbed an image “full of love and art and the endless possibilities of youth.”
Coming in at #2 is Dylan’s 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home, followed by 1965’s Highway 61 Revisited, 1976’s Desire and 1966’s Blonde on Blonde.
As for the worst of Dylan’s 40 album covers, that distinction went to 1986’s Knocked Out Loaded, which features an image taken from the January 1939 cover of Spicy-Adventure Stories magazine. Rolling Stone describes the shot as “ungainly and amateurish.”
A Complete Unknown star Timothée Chalamet was the host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live on Saturday, where he performed some Bob Dylan songs, although he opted for deep cuts rather than hits like “Like A Rolling Stone” or “The Times They Are a Changin’.”
During his monologue, Chalamet revealed that he was “really excited” to perform, and shared, “you might not know the Bob Dylan songs I’m performing, but they’re my personal favorites.” He then added, “I’m so grateful Saturday Night Live is still doing weird stuff like this.”
Chalamet’s first performance was a medley that started with “Outlaw Blues,” from 1965’s Bringing It All Back Home, with Chalamet donning a black hooded jacket with fur trim, and wearing black shades, to go along with the song’s lyrics: “I got my dark sunglasses/ I got for good luck my black tooth.”
He then shed the jacket to perform “Three Angels,” a tune from Dylan’s 1970 album New Morning, with the help of British singer James Blake on keyboards.
That performance was introduced by Adam Sandler, who was part of a Nikki Glaserjoke at the Golden Globe Awards about the pronunciation of Chalamet’s last name.
Chalamet’s final performance had him on acoustic guitar for the 1963 track “Tomorrow Is A Long Time,” which appeared on the 1971 compilation album Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II.
A Complete Unknown is up for eight Academy Awards, including best actor for Chalamet, something he joked about in his monologue. He commented on how he keeps losing every time he goes to an awards show, sharing, “Each time it gets harder to pretend it doesn’t sting.” SNL showed then showed a montage of his reactions every time he lost at a ceremony.
Monica Barbaro just earned a best supporting actress Oscar nod for playing Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown, and she’s yet to meet the singer. But she’s hoping that will change soon.
Barbaro tells Vulture that so far she has only talked and texted with Joan, but she’s making plans to try and see her perform.
“We’re texting because I’m trying to make it to this benefit concert she’s having next month in San Francisco,” Barbaro shares. “It’s a retrospective on her amazing career. I’m filming in London for the next few weeks, so I’m spitballing ideas to her, like ‘How do I get a round-trip ticket, pop in for the night, and then run back to London to keep working? Where are my Sky Miles?’ She’s so cool and grounded about all of this.”
The concert Barbaro’s referring to is A Night to Honor Joan Baez, happening Feb. 8 at Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco, with Baez expected to perform. Other artists on the bill include Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Rosanne Cash, and others.
But if Barbaro really had time to spend with Joan, she has some ideas on what she’d like to do with her.
“We’d have a lovely time drumming and dancing in her garden. I think that would be my pinnacle, pie-in-the-sky moment to share with Joan,” she says. “What do we do for the rest of the day? I don’t know and I don’t care. If I could dance in a drum circle with Joan, I’d die right there.”
The Beatles must now share one of their U.K. chart records.
According to the U.K.’s Official Charts, singer Robbie Williams just landed his 15th solo U.K. #1 album with the soundtrack to his movie Better Man, which now ties him with The Beatles for the most U.K. #1 albums.
Williams was previously tied with The Rolling Stones for the second-most number ones, with 14.
The Beatles landed their first U.K. #1 in April 1963 with Please Please Me and had their last #1 in 2000 with 1, a greatest hits album featuring #1 singles from 1962 to 1970.
Elton at his Academy Awards Party in 2024; Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation
In March, Elton John will be hosting his annual Academy Awards viewing party, which raises funds for his Elton John AIDS Foundation. But this year that won’t be the only charity it will benefit.
The foundation writes in an Instagram post, “For over 30 years, Los Angeles has helped shape our annual Academy Awards® Viewing Party into the iconic celebration it is today. We are deeply grateful to this vibrant city and its people for their boundless generosity, passion and support.”
The post continues, “The devastation caused by the wildfires has been heartbreaking, and our thoughts are with everyone impacted. To give back to this extraordinary community that has given so much to the Elton John AIDS Foundation, we are dedicating a portion of this year’s Oscar Party to wildfire relief and recovery efforts. We love you, Los Angeles.”
Elton’s party, featuring entertainment by his Grammy-nominated pal Chappell Roan, will take place in West Hollywood, California, on March 2 and will be hosted by Elton and his husband, David Furnish, along with co-hosts Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, David Burtka, plus Jean Smart and Sheryl Lee Ralph.
And Elton may find himself celebrating a win at the party: He’s nominated for an Oscar in the category of best original song for his duet with Brandi Carlile, “Never Too Late.”
Over the years, Elton’s annual bash has raised nearly $115 million for the fight to end HIV/AIDS.
Queen continues to celebrate the release of their Queen I box set, this time with a special video focused on Roger Taylor’s drum contributions to their debut album.
In the latest special episode of Queen the Greatest, Taylor reveals that he was disappointed when they got to Trident Studios to record the album, because he had little control over his sound.
“At Trident, it did feel like, ‘OK, now we’re in it,’ but I didn’t really get on with their ideas,” he shares. “They had a drum booth and it was a well-known sound: very dry and dead, which is not what I wanted. I wanted to hear the drums resonate.”
He adds, “I didn’t want it to go ‘thud, whack.’ But that’s what they wanted. There was cloth over everything, and everything was taped down.”
Taylor also notes that he couldn’t even play on his own drum kit.
“I had to play this s***** little kit. It was just awful,” he says. “We were told, ‘This is the Trident sound.’ But we didn’t want the Trident sound. We wanted our sound.”
As for why they went along with it, he says, “We sort of just did what we were told.”
The Queen I box set, which was released in October, features a new mix of the album, which the band is much happier with.
“What we’ve done now with Queen I … is we’ve used all the actual recordings but made it sound more like we wanted it to sound at the time,” Roger says. “So it’s ‘liver,’ the drums are more live and more ambient. So, for me, it’s a significant improvement, and I know Brian (May) feels the same.”
Ringo Starr is set to appear on Tuesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where he’ll discuss his recently released country album, Look Up.
The album is already a success for Ringo, landing on several Billboard charts, including the all-genre Top Album Sales chart, where it’s at #7.
The album is also #1 on the Current Rock Album sales, Americana/Folk Album sales and Current Country Album sales charts, at #4 on the Current Digital Album sales chart and #6 on the Overall Digital Album sales chart.
It’s even landed on the rock charts, at #23 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart and at #30 on the Rock & Alternative Albums chart.
Meanwhile, on the all-genre Billboard 200, Look Up debuted at #147 and is now Ringo’s 20th album to land on that chart.
“Thanks everyone who supported me with Look Up, produced by T Bone Burnett,who did a great job,and all the musicians on it I want to thank,” Ringo shared on social media. “It’s just been a great experience for me to make this record and have the experience of it actually doing great, it fills my heart. Peace and love. Thank everybody. Thank you.”
Look Up, co-written and produced by Burnett, is made up of 11 songs, with special guest appearances by Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Lucius,Larkin Poe and Alison Krauss, the latter appearing on the album’s closing song, “Thankful,” which was co-written by Ringo.
