Classic Rock 93.9

Elton John is celebrating his momentous year, which saw him bring his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour to a close, by giving holiday gifts to his fans.

Elton wrote on Instagram, “2023 has been an incredible year and I’m so grateful to all my fans who have supported me. As a big thank-you, I want to give away a bunch of my records and a Charlotte Tilbury gift set I’ve signed.”

He added, “All you have to do is tag your friend who deserves a treat this holiday in the comments for a chance to win!”

The Charlotte Tilbury gift set is part of Elton’s partnership with the cosmetics brand: He starred in a new holiday campaign for the makeup, set to his “Step Into Christmas.” He also signed off on a Rocket Collection of makeup for the brand, with proceeds going to his AIDS Foundation’s Rocket Fund.

If makeup isn’t your thing, there are plenty of albums to win: a copy of Elton’s Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player album on red marble vinyl; a 50th anniversary Madman Across the Water limited-edition vinyl; a two-LP vinyl version of Diamonds, his best-of collection; a 7-inch green vinyl 50th anniversary edition of “Step Into Christmas;” and a blue vinyl pressing of his 2021 album, The Lockdown Sessions.

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With Christmas just days away, several artists are sending their holiday wishes to fans.

Queen posted a holiday card on Instagram, featuring archival clips of interviews with Freddie Mercury, Brian May and more, along with the caption, “Happy holidays from Queen.”

The Who also posted a holiday card to fans on Instagram, with the cover of Who’s Next and the message, “Merry Christmas and a Happy Who Year,” signed by Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, The Who touring band and everyone at thewho.com.

Meanwhile, Bonnie Raitt is giving fans a peek into her Christmas past, sharing a family Christmas card from 1955, showing her whole family in holiday pajamas. 

“As my Dad was then starring in the hit musical, The Pajama Game, on Broadway,” she writes, referring to dad John Raitt. “We were gifted with matching pajamas and my folks thought it would be fun decking us all out in pj’s for our card.”

The card features the tagline “Still in Pajamas,” with Raitt noting that was referring to their 1954 Christmas card, “when we were all wearing, you guessed it, matching pajamas!”

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Following Nikki Sixx‘s confirmation that new Mötley Crüe music is coming in 2024, Tommy Lee is hyping up the upcoming tunes.

Speaking with the Desert Sun of Palm Springs, California, the drummer declares, “Wait until you hear it, it’s insane.”

“It’s not a full album, but that might be down the road a bit,” Lee says. “We’re always writing and doing stuff, so that’s always a possibility down the road.”

“We just went to the studio not too long ago and recorded three insane tracks and one of them is called ‘Dogs of War,'” he adds. “We’re just finishing up the video for it.”

Mötley Crüe last released new music in 2019 for the soundtrack to their biopic, The Dirt. The upcoming material will mark their first since John 5 joined Mötley in place of guitarist Mick Mars, who announced his retirement from touring in 2022 and has been involved with legal proceedings with his former bandmates.

“For those jonesing for some new Crüe, people are going to bug out,” Lee says. “John 5 is playing on it, the guitar work is incredible and it sounds sick.”

Mötley Crüe is playing a concert in Palm Springs on New Year’s Eve.

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The Rolling Stones just dropped the video for their latest Hackney Diamonds single, “Mess It Up,” with the clip featuring actor Nicholas Hoult, best known for his work in About a Boy, X-Men: First Class and the Hulu series The Great.  

The clip, directed by Grammy Award-winning director Calmatic, begins with Hoult and his girlfriend getting into an argument, which leads to him running out and then embarking on an epic yearslong journey by foot. When he finally reaches the ocean he breaks out into dance, then has an epiphany that sends him running back home. 

But when he arrives, he’s stunned to find a young boy. As he tearfully goes to talk to his shocked girlfriend, he’s suddenly knocked out by her new man, as The Stones’ single “Angry” plays in the background. 

Hackney Diamonds, which was released in October, is The Stones’ first album of new music in 18 years. Thanks to the recent release of the live edition of the album, featuring seven songs recorded at their record release show in New York,  the album is in the running to become the UK Christmas Number 1.

Next up, Stones fans are eagerly awaiting the launch of the Hackney Diamonds Tour. The trek kicks off April 28 in Houston, Texas, with dates confirmed through July 17 in Santa Clara, California. A complete list of dates can be found at therollingstones.com.

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Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart has revealed the artists who’ll be joining him for his special late night set at the upcoming Dead Ahead Festival in Riviera Cancun, Mexico.

The set, happening Friday, January 12, is billed as a “late night rhythmic experience with Hart’s Noce de Ondas,” with Mickey sharing on Instagram that it will feature a guest list that “ties together many musical worlds.” 

The blues are represented by guitarist Derek Trucks, while Latin music will be felt through percussionists Giovanni Hidalgo and Karl Perazzo; bass player Isaac Eady will bring the New Orleans funk, and drummer Jay Lane will add some rock, with all joining the “the cosmic sounds from the mind of Mickey Hart.”

“Brace yourselves for a unique musical experience during @deadaheadfest,” Mickey’s post reads. “Mickey and the Miracles will be 90 minutes of cosmic exploration that brings you into the now.”

The Dead Ahead Festival, taking place January 12-15, will feature four nights of music with a lineup that includes Hart, Bobby Weir, Jeff Chimenti, Oteil Burbridge, Don Was and Lane, along with special appearances by Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Margo Price and Sturgill Simpson. More information can be found at deadaheadfestival.com.

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The music world is paying tribute to veteran Los Angeles rock DJ Jim Ladd, who passed away December 17 at the age of 75. The news was confirmed by Sirius XM, where Ladd hosted a show on their Deep Tracks channel. 

Ladd was the inspiration behind Tom Petty’s 2002 track “The Last DJ,” and the late rocker’s Instagram page shared a tribute: “Tom respected and admired Jim Ladd and considered him a friend.” It added that Ladd’s “insights into rock and roll were priceless.” 

The Doors also paid tribute to Ladd, with John Densmore sharing, “There wasn’t a more soulful spinner of music. The songs he played were running through his blood, he cared so much for rock n’ roll.” Robby Keiger added, “He was the best friend in radio The Doors ever had.” 

And Peter Frampton called Ladd a “good friend” and “a champion of great music,” describing him as a “special man with a huge passion for music.”

In other tributes, Steve Van Zandt called Ladd’s passing a “huge loss,” while Grace Slick noted that Ladd’s “curiosity and care could be felt in each of his broadcasts.” Stephen Stills said talking to Ladd “was always a pleasure,” while George Thorogood & The Destroyers wrote they were “deeply saddened” to hear about Ladd’s passing, noting, “You are already missed.”

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On This Day, December 19, 2012 …

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason opened his wallet to save the London music store where he bought his first drum kit. The store, Foote’s, was about to go out of business, so Mason provided the funding it needed to continue.

“One of my great memories of being a young, budding drummer was going to the original [Foote’s] … and buying my very first kit for £7.50,” he told Britain’s ITV news.

Unfortunately, the store closed down in 2022 after more than 100 years in business.

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A new book is set to give fans some insight into the creative process of some of today’s most legendary artists. 

Icons of Rock — In Their Own Words features interviews with huge rock stars like Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Ringo Starr, conducted by Jenny Boyd. Boyd was married to Mick Fleetwood in the late ’70s and is the sister Pattie Boyd, who was married to Clapton and The Beatles‘ George Harrison. 

The book promises “an intimate insight into how some the world’s greatest musicians and producers created some of their greatest work.” It’s based on interviews Boyd did for her Ph.D. dissertation 30 years ago, portions of which were previously featured in the 1992 book Musicians in Tune. The new book has Boyd sharing the complete interviews, with each artist getting a chapter.

Other musicians featured in the book include Fleetwood, Don Henley, Steve Winwood, Stevie Nicks and Joni Mitchell, along with Harrison and other musicians who have passed, like David Crosby, Warren Zevon and Christine McVie, who Boyd dedicates the book to.

“I had spent the last twenty-something years surrounded by talented musicians and had watched them playing their instruments and creating songs,” Boyd writes in the book’s introduction. “I was immersed in their world and had witnessed their creative process first hand … it always left me wondering what it must feel like to be so creative.”

Icons of Rock — In Their Own Words will be released February 13. Boyd will launch the book at the upcoming 50th anniversary NYC Fest for Beatles Fans, which takes place February 9-11.

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U2 has wrapped up their U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency for 2023 and they’re looking back on what’s transpired so far.

The band shared some highlights from the residency on Instagram, set to the 2005 How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb track “City of Blinding Lights,” writing, “See you in 2024…#U2UVSPHERE.”

One person who was there to see U2 wrap up 2023 last weekend was E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt, who shared video of the view from his seats. “U2. F****** amazing,” he wrote, giving credit to James Dolan, CEO of Madison Square Garden, which owns the Sphere, for his “taste, his vision, his creativity, and HIS BALLS!”

U2 launched U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere at The Venetian in September and will wrap the residency on March 2, after 40 shows. A complete list of dates can be found at u2.com.

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Julian Lennon is setting the record straight on any suggestion that he and his brother, Sean Lennon, don’t get along. 

Julian is the son of John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, and Sean is the son of John and Yoko Ono. The subject of their relationship comes up in an interview with Esquire magazine, in which Julian talks about how neither he nor his brother wanted to go to the Get Back premiere back in 2021.

“He felt overwhelming pressure. And I didn’t particularly want to go. But he said he felt obligated to go, so because I love him so much I said, ‘Listen, I’m coming with you. We’ll face the demons together,’” he says. “And it’s funny because there’s always been, especially in the U.K. press, ‘Lennon Sons Feuding,’ this, that. We’ve never had a fight in our life. It’s such bull.”

Julian said he’s shared “lots of happy pictures” of him and his brother to show that love. “This was important for me and for the peace and for family, because there has been friction, no question, in the past between everybody,” he says. “But we’re all getting a bit older, and as we get older we lose people and we realize now what’s most precious in life.”

And that love extends not only to Sean and Yoko, but Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and all The Beatles‘ children. Julian says “it’s a big old, weird family. But as they say, families are always a bit screwed up.”

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