Classic Rock 93.9

Looks like someone didn’t need any “Help!” spending their money on a unique collectible from The Beatles. 

On the first day of its Music Icons sale at the Hard Rock Cafe New York, Julien’s Auctions sold a 12-string guitar used by John Lennon to record several Beatles classics for a whopping $2.9 million. That makes it the most expensive Beatles guitar ever to sell at auction. The person who bought it purchased it via a telephone bid, the auction house says.

As previously reported, the Framus 12-string Hootenanny acoustic guitar was used by both John and George Harrison to record songs like “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” “Girl,” “It’s Only Love,” “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” “Help!” and “Norwegian Wood.” It can also be seen in the movie Help!

Presumed lost for 50 years, the guitar was recently discovered in the attic of a 90-year-old man who once worked as the road manager for the ’60s duo Peter and Gordon. The duo’s Gordon Waller had gotten it from Lennon in 1965 and then passed it along to the road manager.

Other Beatles items sold during the auction’s first day include the band’s RIAA Gold single award for “Hey Jude,” previously owned by Julian Lennon, which went for nearly $32,000, and a copy of the band’s Please Please Me album signed by all four Beatles, which went for $39,000. A guitar played by early Beatles collaborator Tony Sheridan, who worked with them during the very early ’60s, sold for more than $76,200.

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The Police‘s final album, Synchronicity, is being reissued in honor of its 40th anniversary.

The release will be available in a variety of different formats, including six-CD and four-LP sets, on July 26. The most expansive edition boasts 55 previously unreleased tracks, including alternate takes, instrumentals, demos and live recordings.

You’ll also find new liner notes, interviews and previously unseen photographs.

You can preorder your copy now.

Synchronicity was released in 1983 and became The Police’s bestselling album. It’s certified eight-times Platinum by the RIAA and spawned hits including “Every Breath You Take,” “King of Pain” and “Wrapped Around Your Finger.”

The Police went on hiatus in 1984 before breaking up in 1986, making Synchronicity their final album.

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In a story that starts off infuriating but ends up heartwarming, the Osbourne family has taken in a new dog.

The infuriating part is that the pup, a bulldog, had been set on fire and abandoned. The heartwarming part is that he was found and nursed back to health by the organization Underdog Heroes Rescue. The Osbournes then adopted him after Sharon saw him while scrolling through TikTok.

“Everything they do is to rescue dogs that have been harmed, and they find the best homes,” Sharon says of Underdog Heroes during the latest episode of The Osbournes podcast.

“That’s so commendable,” Ozzy adds. “I’m glad he’s in our house now.”

The Osbournes are also asking fans for help naming their new addition. The names in contention include Pork Chop, Walter and Baby.

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Jon Bon Jovi is opening up about son Jake Bongiovi‘s wedding to Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown.

The rock legend confirmed the two recently tied the knot and shared a few details from the young newlyweds’ special day.

“They’re great. They’re absolutely fantastic,” Bon Jovi shared on BBC’s The One Show on Thursday. “It was a very small family wedding, and the bride looked gorgeous and Jake is happy as can be.”

Brown, 20, and Bongiovi, 22, who have been linked since 2021, announced their engagement in April 2023 on Instagram.

The Enola Holmes actress told Good Morning America in September 2023 that wedding planning was a “really, really exciting” process.

“It’s such an amazing part of my life so far, and just being able to do it with someone makes it even better,” she added.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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