Classic Rock 93.9

A new documentary about John Lennon and Yoko Ono has been announced.

The film, titled One to One: John & Yoko, focuses on the pair’s 1972 One to One concerts in New York City, which marked Lennon’s only full-length performances following the breakup of The Beatles in 1970.

One to One will include remixed audio of the concerts produced by John and Yoko’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, as well as restored footage and previously unreleased material from the couple’s personal archives.

“I wanted to make a film that surprises and delights even the most dedicated Lennon and Ono fans by focusing on one transformative period in their lives and telling the tale through their own words, images and music,” says director Kevin Macdonald. “Built around the beautiful 16mm film footage of the only full-length concert John gave after leaving the Beatles I hope the film will introduce the audience to a more intimate version of John and Yoko – while also reflecting their politically radical and experimental sides.”

Sean adds, “Kevin’s documentary brings completely fresh insight into my parents’ lives during their Bank Street and early New York years, showing first hand their unwavering dedication to promoting peace and non-violence during a turbulent era of unrest, corruption and unnecessary war.”

A release date for One to One has yet to be announced.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, May 29, 1969…

Folk supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash, made up of former Byrds member David Crosby, former Buffalo Springfield member Stephen Stills and former Hollies member Graham Nash, released their self-titled debut album.

The album peaked at #8 on the Billboard Album chart and spawned two top-40 singles: “Marrakesh Express,” which peaked at #28, and “Suite Judy Blue Eyes,” which did a little better, peaking at #21.

Other future CSN classics on the record included “Wooden Ships,” “Long Time Gone,” “Helplessly Hoping” and “Guinevere.”  

The album helped the band earn a Best New Artist win at the 1970 Grammys and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

Crosby, Stills & Nash went on to release five albums as just a trio and another three with Neil Young, who joined them starting with their sophomore release, 1970’s Deja Vu.

Crosby, Stills & Nash were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. All three members were also inducted as members of their previous groups.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

This Pride Month, Elton John is offering fans the chance to meet him — and to raise money for his AIDS Foundation.

It’s a social media campaign called the #SpeakUpSingOutGiveaway and here’s how it works: Record a video of yourself singing — or reciting — these lyrics from Elton’s hit “Your Song:” “I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind, that I put down in words /How wonderful life is now you’re in the world.”

Then, at the end, you add in the name of the person “who has always supported you to be your most authentic self.”  Post the video to your Instagram with the hashtag #SpeakUpSingOutGiveaway, and follow Elton’s Foundation at @ejaf on Instagram. For every post, $10 will be donated to the Foundation, up to $25,000.

One participant will be chosen to meet Elton and his husband David Furnish on June 27 in New York City. The deadline to enter is June 18 at 8 p.m., and the contest is open to U.S. and U.K. residents over the age of 18.

Elton tells People that the money will go to his Rocket Fund initiative, which drives “important policy changes around the world to uplift the LGBTQ+ community.”

“We mustn’t let increasing discriminatory legislation taking place around the world hold us back,” he adds. “Let’s lead with acceptance and joy this Pride Month and encourage everyone to be who they are and to love who they love without shame or fear.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Legendary musician Randy Bachman, founder of such bands as The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, is auctioning off over 200 guitars from his personal collection via juliensauctions.com. He decided to do so after dealing with some serious health issues.

Bachman tells ABC Audio that he had “four or five health challenges in a row,” including Covid and four different cancers, and he says surviving them “made me look at my fragility.”

He decided to ask his eight kids if they’d want his guitars when he was gone, and they all said they’d rather have money, and knowing he’d get more for them alive than they would get for them after he was gone, Bachman decided to sell.

And the lot of guitars available is certainly impressive, including his ’59 Les Paul, which hasn’t been played since 1970.

“The last thing I played it on was ‘American Woman,’” he says, referring to The Guess Who classic, which spent three weeks at #1.

“These all played on number one records and albums. So I want to make a big deal out of it,” he says of the guitars up for auction. “I want them all to get a good home.” 

Of course, it won’t be easy to say goodbye to his instruments. When asked which guitar will be the hardest to say goodbye to, Bachman joked, “every single one.” 

Julien’s Auctions’ Music Icons auction of The Randy Bachman Collection is happening Thursday, May 30, live at the Hard Rock Café in New York. More info can be found at juliensauctions.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Looks like Stevie Nicks may have gotten a special delivery from Taylor Swift.

When Taylor’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, was released in April, she sent packages of merchandise to select people, including Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Simu Liu, Ellen Pompeo and Sarah Michelle Gellar. While there’s no photographic evidence that Stevie received one, she was seen onstage wearing one of the items Taylor sent to her fellow stars.

As Page Six reports, at the BottleRock Napa music festival on May 25 — one day before her birthday — Stevie took the stage wearing stacks of bracelets, one of which was a gold nameplate bracelet that says “TTPD” on it. 

Stevie deserved a package more than most of those celebrities: She’s actually mentioned in the lyrics of one of the songs on the album, “Clara Bow.” Taylor sings, “You look like Stevie Nicks in ‘75/ the hair and lips/ crowd goes wild at her fingertips/ half moonshine, a full eclipse.” She also wrote an original poem that’s included in the album.

Stevie and Taylor have known each other for years. They sang together at the Grammy Awards in 2010, and Stevie referred to Taylor as “my friend” in an interview last year. Stevie also thanked Taylor for writing the Midnights song “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” which Stevie said helped her grieve the 2022 death of her Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Rock for Ronnie tribute concert, held in honor of the late Ronnie James Dio, raised $80,000 for the Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund.

The event took place May 19 in Woodland Hills, California, and featured performances by Quiet Riot and Lita Ford, among others. A guitar Ford played and signed, featuring a light-up Dio logo, was auctioned for $11,500, while a Quiet Riot-autographed guitar went for $7,000.

The Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund was founded in honor of Dio, who passed away in 2010 from stomach cancer. He was 67.

Along with Rock for Ronnie, the Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund also hosts the Bowl for Ronnie charity bowling tournament.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jon Bon Jovi wants fans to know that despite what Richie Sambora says, the guitarist hasn’t made any “great overtures” about rejoining Bon Jovi.

Since Sambora left Bon Jovi in 2013, he’s hinted several times that he might reunite with the band, most recently in November 2023. But according to Jon, if Sambora is interested in doing so, he hasn’t made it very clear. In fact, according to Jon, the two have had very limited contact since 2013.

“I’ve talked to him twice,” Jon tells Classic Rock magazine. “He. Quit. The. Band. I swear to Christ there was never a fight, nothing … He wasn’t kicked out, he quit. And he hasn’t made any great overtures about coming back.”  

Jon also tells the magazine the exact circumstances under which Richie departed the band right before a show in Calgary.

“I talked to him the day before, I remember it so well. It was Easter Sunday, 2013 … [I was in New York] and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m feeling great … see you up there [in Canada].’”

“He said: ‘Can I stay home one more day?’ ‘Of course. You want to fly private tomorrow? Sure. Do it. I don’t care. See you up there,’”  Jon continues. “And then the next day the phone rings at three in the afternoon, and, you know… ‘I can’t go on.’”

Since then, Sambora has claimed that one reason he wanted to leave was that the band was getting “stale,” which Jon refutes.

“I didn’t think so, and the collective, we didn’t think so,” he tells Classic Rock. “I personally thought that everything was going incredibly … And it was never brought up in the room, or in the writing, or in the recording, or during the first 20 shows of that tour.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Dead & Company‘s Las Vegas residency is very much alive.

The band has just announced six additional shows for their Dead Forever – Live at Sphere residency, beginning August 1. That brings the total number of shows at the Sphere to 30, for now.

You can register for the presale at Dead & Company’s website. The presale itself starts Thursday at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. PT via deadandcompany.com. Tickets start at $145, including taxes and fees.

You can also access VIP concert and hotel packages for the dates at deadforever.vibee.com.

The band’s residency launched on May 16.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A painting that Bob Dylan created while living in Woodstock, New York, in the ’60s has brought nearly $200,000 at an auction held one day before his 83rd birthday.

At the May 23 sale, held by RR Auctions, the colorful abstract painting — featuring the outline of a bull’s head and an image of a red man in a wide-brimmed hat — went for $196,156. It had been anticipated to sell for $100,000.

Dylan originally gave the painting to a Woodstock woman named Sandy LePanto in exchange for LePanto creating an astrology chart for him. The painting was rediscovered as part of LePanto’s ex-husband’s estate. 

Another notable item sold at the auction was a rare recording of Jimi Hendrix performing with Little Richard at a concert in Boston in 1965. That went for $51,644.

The next Bob Dylan auction item to keep an eye on is the ’65 Fender Telecaster he played on Blonde on Blonde and on his 1966 tour with The Band, then known as The Hawks. On each night of that tour, Dylan was booed by audiences who were upset that he’d “gone electric.” The Band’s Robbie Robertson later used the guitar at various live gigs, on The Band’s albums Music From Big Pink and Stage Fright, and on sessions for artists like Joni Mitchell and Ringo Starr.

The guitar will be auctioned off May 29 by Julien’s Auctions and is expected to bring up to $700,000.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Metallica‘s longest song has made its live debut.

The “Enter Sandman” metallers played the 11-minute “Inamorata” for the first time during their concert in Munich, Germany, on Sunday.

“Inamorata” is the closing song off Metallica’s latest album, 2023’s 72 Seasons.

Metallica played two nights in Munich to kick off the 2024 European leg of their M72 tour. For each headlining stop on the tour, Metallica is playing two nights with completely different set lists.

The M72 tour will return to the U.S. in August.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.