Elton John/Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Disney; Joni Mitchell/Taylor Hill/WireImage
When Elton John and Bernie Taupin received the Gershwin Prize for Popular Music earlier this year, Joni Mitchell helped pay tribute to them by performing their song “I’m Still Standing.” And on Oct. 20, Elton returned the favor, singing backup as Joni did the song during her concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
The concert was one of two that Mitchell performed over the weekend, and they were her first two shows in LA in 24 years. For each, the legendary singer/songwriter, 80, was joined by an all-star lineup that included Brandi Carlile, Annie Lennox and members of the bands Dawes, Mumford & Sons, Lucius and Fleet Foxes.
In addition to Elton, Meryl Streep joined in the performance of “I’m Still Standing,” according to multiple reports. Mitchell’s concert also included renditions of some of her most famous songs, including “Big Yellow Taxi,” “The Circle Game,” “Both Sides Now” and “A Case of You.”
On his Instagram Story, Elton posted a video of himself embracing and kissing Mitchell. Brandi Carlile popped into the frame and joked, “Mom and dad,” indicating that Elton and Joni are her musical “parents.”
Elton’s surprise appearance comes just a few days after he made a cameo at London’s Royal Albert Hall, joining Dua Lipa for a performance of their hit duet “Cold Heart.”
Toni Cornell, daughter of late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, has shared a statement criticizing TMZ for its coverage of the death of former One Direction star Liam Payne.
In its original story, TMZ posted cropped photos of Payne’s body after he fell from the third floor of his hotel room in Argentina on Oct. 16. In a since-expired Instagram Story captured by Billboard and NME, Toni called the photos “disgusting” and “distressing,” noting, “I can’t help but reflect on my own experience when graphic images of my father’s death were also published by TMZ.”
Toni, who was 12 when Chris passed away in 2017, writes that accidentally stumbling upon those photos was “indescribably traumatizing, and something I still carry with me to this day.”
“TMZ still has not chosen to have the decency, seven years later, to remove those photos from the internet, and it is something I believe should be done,” Toni writes. “While the images of Liam have since been taken down, it means nothing. They should never have been put up in the first place, and it breaks my heart to think that his 7 year old son, Bear, might one day come across them and suffer exactly as I did.”
“This isn’t how an artist or a father should be remembered,” she concluded. “I’m sending so much love and support to Liam’s family and loved ones during this incredibly painful time.”
Bruce Springsteen asks a lot of his E Street Band members, but it turns out they’re very well compensated for their hard work.
At a London screening of his new documentary, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band on Oct. 18, The Boss opened up about one of the secrets to his success with his band: cold, hard cash.
“I pay them a tremendous amount of money. That greases the wheels pretty good,” the 75-year-old rocker said, according to Business Insider. “And then, I’m a pretty nice boss. The truth is, you need to cast your band well.”
He added, “If you get the art right, the music right, and the band right, you go out and play every night like it’s your last night on Earth. That was the serial philosophy of the band, and we’re sticking to it.”
But according to E Street Band guitarist Stevie Van Zandt, money isn’t the reason why they got into the music business in the first place.
“It was never a commercial enterprise,” Van Zandt said. “This has been an artistic adventure from the beginning.”
He added, “So anyone joining knew that was what they were getting into. Now, luckily, we found some commercial calling ground along the way, which was great.”
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band debuts Friday on Hulu and Disney+.
The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony took place Saturday in Cleveland and streamed live on Disney+.
Ozzy Osbourne was enshrined in the Rock Hall for the second time, after previously being inducted in 2006 with Black Sabbath. Jack Black did the inducting honors, and Ozzy, who has been dealing with various health issues over the past couple years, took the stage in a giant, demon-adorned throne.
While the Prince of Darkness didn’t perform, he did yell the iconic “All aboard!” opening for his song “Crazy Train,” which was then sung by Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan, backed by Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and producer Andrew Watt, as well as a guitar solo from Wolfgang Van Halen.
Smith, Trujillo and Watt were then joined by Jelly Roll and Ozzy’s longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde for “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” and Billy Idol for “No More Tears.”
Dave Matthews Band was inducted by Julia Roberts, who starred in the DMB video for the song “Dreamgirl.” The jam outfit performed their songs “Ants Marching,” “Crash into Me,” “So Much to Say” and “Too Much.”
Matthews delivered a speech thanking DMB’s notoriously devoted fans and band members past and present before closing the night with a cover of Talking Heads‘ “Burning Down the House.”
Foreigner was inducted into the Rock Hall by former Valen Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar. Guns N’ Roses shredder Slash andChad Smith joined members of the current touring incarnation of Foreigner, while Demi Lovato, Hagar and Kelly Clarkson sang “Feels Like the First Time,” “Hot Blooded” and “I Want to Know What Love Is,” respectively, the last of which also featured original vocalist Lou Gramm.
As previously reported, guitarist Mick Jones, who has Parkinson’s disease, did not attend the ceremony, and neither did drummer Dennis Elliott. Jones’ daughter gave a speech on his behalf, followed by remarks by Gramm.
The Who‘s Roger Daltrey inducted Peter Frampton, and Bryan Adams also called in from a concert to congratulate him.
Frampton, who has the degenerative muscle disease inclusion body myositis, performed while seated, delivering renditions of “Something’s Happening” and a particularly shred-heavy version of “Do You Feel Like We Do” alongside Keith Urban.
Influential proto-punk outfit MC5 and late “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett were both inducted with the Musical Excellence Award. They were honored with speeches by Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello and James Taylor, respectively.
The other inductees included Cher, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool & the Gang, Mary J. Blige, Dionne Warwick, Norman Whitfield, Big Mama Thornton, John Mayall and Alexis Korner.
On Jan. 1, ABC will air the special 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, featuring performance highlights.
U2 has shared a short documentary about the making of the video for their 2004 hit “Vertigo,” which was the lead single off their 11th studio album, How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
Based on guitarist The Edge‘s comments, it would seem the video wasn’t exactly pleasant to make.
“We finally managed to persuade somebody to shoot a video of us somewhere warm,” he says of their location in a Spanish desert, “and what happens? We get rained on. We get hurricane strength winds. Sand blasted.”
The video then shoots to Bono, who shares he “love[s] the smell of sand up my nose in the morning.”
Edge later jokes, “It’s not easy being a rock star these days.”
The video for “Vertigo,” directed by the team of Alex & Martin, won a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video in 2005.
The making of the video’s release is part of the band’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. In honor of the occasion, the band is also releasing what they’re calling a “shadow album,” How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb, featuring 10 previously unreleased tracks from the album’s recording sessions. It will be released Nov. 29 as an exclusive for Record Store Day Black Friday, along with a digital release.
In addition, on Nov. 22 U2 will release a special 20th anniversary remastered edition of How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, featuring the bonus track “Fast Car,” as well as a package with the remaster and the shadow album together, dubbed How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (Re-Assemble Edition).
When Foreigner gets inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Saturday, only three members of the band — singer Lou Gramm, keyboardist Al Greenwood and bassist Rick Wills —will be on hand to accept the honor.
Dennis Elliott and Mick Jones won’t be in attendance, and the trio tells ABC Audio their bandmates not being there is a bit of a letdown.
“I mean, we knew Mick was very doubtful for being here because of his illness,” Wills says. Jones revealed he had Parkinson’s disease back in February.
And while Greenwood said Elliott not coming is “pretty much of a disappointment,” Wills adds, “But Dennis is Dennis. I have to say sometimes that he makes his own decisions that we don’t always agree with,” with Gramm chiming in “or understand.”
Dennis revealed on Facebook he decided not to go because he was unhappy with the schedule, with Billboard suggesting one issue was that spouses were not allowed to walk the red carpet.
“It was very disappointing cause he said he was going to be here,” Wills says. “He should be here.”
But even though they’ll be missing two people, it sounds like fans can expect a great performance. Sammy Hagar is set to induct them and perform “Hot Blooded,” and Gramm is going to perform “I Want To Know What Love Is” with Kelly Clarkson, although if he had the choice he’d be singing a different tune.
“It is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and I’m disappointed that I’m not singing a rock song,” he said. “But apparently the choice of songs was not up to me.”
The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, taking place at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, will stream live on Disney+ at 7 p.m. ET.
Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival
Dave Matthews Band is being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Saturday in Cleveland, in a ceremony that will stream live on Disney+. At a ceremony at the Rock Hall Friday, during which a plaque honoring all of this year’s honorees was unveiled, Dave Matthews recalled his first encounter with another one of this year’s inductees: Foreigner.
“When I was a little kid, I was taking guitar lessons,” he told the crowd. “It was above a studio. And one day I was waiting for my mom to pick me up. And they started bringing all these little crates on wheels … and I looked on one of them and it said ‘Foreigner.’ And I was like, ‘What the f***?'”
Years later he ran into Foreigner a second time, when he and the band were recording for the first time in an actual studio.
“We were in one studio room and then the next one was Foreigner! And we were like, ‘What the f***?'” Matthews recalled, as the crowd laughed. “And then now, we’re getting into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Foreigner!”
Meanwhile, Rick Wills from Foreigner told ABC Audio on Friday that during that encounter in the recording studio, they actually ended up sharing a joint with the DMB.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony streams at 7 p.m. ET Saturday on Disney+.
The Bear star Jeremy Allen White is set to play Bruce Springsteen in the upcoming movie Deliver Me From Nowhere, and The Boss has shared his thoughts on the actor’s singing voice.
Springsteen appeared on the latest episode of The Graham Norton Show, where he talked about the film. According to People, he said, “It’s a lovely cast and I am involved a little.”
The Boss also acknowledged that portraying him on the big screen could be a challenge for White.
“This is not easy to do because you can’t do an imitation, you have to do a personal interpretation,” he said. “It’s difficult but he is a great actor and sings pretty good.”
White previously revealed in an interview with GQthat he’d be doing his own singing in the film.
“I’m really lucky that there’s sort of a team of folks now in place to help young actors portray rock stars,” he said. “I’ve got a really talented group of people helping me train vocally, musically, to get ready for this thing.”
Deliver Me From Nowhere, directed by Scott Cooper, follows Springsteen’s efforts to make his 1982 solo album Nebraska. The film is based on Warren Zanes‘ book Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.
In related news … After rumors circulated in May that Succession star Jeremy Strong was in talks to play Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau in the film, the actor has now confirmed his participation.
“It just always spoke to me, there’s a melancholy to it,” he told NME of Nebraska. “I am doing [Deliver Me From Nowhere] but I’d always felt that way about that album. There’s a narrative to it that comes from a very deep place in him and you can feel that.”
It looks like David Lee Roth may be responding to all the Van Halen news that’s been coming out since AlexVan Halen started doing interviews to promote his upcoming memoir, Brothers, which drops Tuesday.
The former Van Halen frontman just reposted a video to Instagram of his song “Nothing Could Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway,” which was originally released two years ago. The song has him reminiscing about his days in the band, and the video features plenty of archival videos and pictures from that time.
“We laughed, we cried, we threw the television off that balcony,” he sings in the song. “That memory means so much to me … Remember when you safety pinned the tablecloth to my pants/ And I stood up to the sound of dancing and the sound of our romance beginning.”
The post comes just days after Alex toldRolling Stone that Roth was to blame for the collapse of a planned Van Halentour following Eddie Van Halen’s 2020 death, saying that Roth “popped a fuse” at a suggestion to pay tribute to Eddie during the show.
Regardless, Alex said he’s still in touch with Dave and told Billboard, “I’m not angry at all with Dave.”
Ozzy Osbourne has announced a new vinyl box set titled See You on the Other Side 2.0.
As with 2019’s See You on the Other Side package, the 2.0 collection features all of the Prince of Darkness’ solo studio albums, as well as two live albums and the Flippin’ the B-Side rarities compilation. Newly added to the updated set are Ozzy’s last two solo records, 2020’s Ordinary Man and 2022’s Patient Number 9.
Ozzy’s also put out a new video in which his longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde plays a lawyer offering compensation to those suffering from LOPOD, or Lack of Prince of Darkness.
See You on the Other Side 2.0, which will set you back $599.99, is due out March 14, 2025. You can preorder your copy now.
Meanwhile, Ozzy’s set to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame during Saturday’s ceremony in Cleveland, which will stream live on Disney+. Those performing in his honor include Wylde, Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan, Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith, Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo, Wolfgang Van Halen, Jelly Roll, producer Andrew Watt, Billy Idol and Steve Stevens.
