Classic Rock 93.9

Bruce Springsteen has paid tribute to Americana singer Joe Ely, who passed away Monday at the age of 78 from complications of Lewy body dementia, Parkinson’s disease and pneumonia.

“Over here, we’re deeply saddened by the loss of Joe Ely, a singular American singer, great musician and great artist,” Springsteen wrote on Instagram. “I was lucky enough to count Joe as a true friend and I will miss that voice and his companionship. Our hearts go out to his wonderful wife Sharon and the family. We’ve lost an American classic.”

Springsteen and Ely collaborated with each other numerous times over the years. Bruce appeared on songs on Ely’s 1995 album, Letter To Laredo, including the tune “All Just to Get to You.” He also appeared on “Odds of the Blues,” a track on Ely’s 2024 album, Driven to Drive. They also performed together several times over the years.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Billy Idol has a chance to nab an Oscar nomination.

The rocker’s song “Dying to Live,” from his documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead, has earned a spot on the Oscars short list for best original song.

The tune, written by Idol, J. Ralph, Steve Stevens, Tommy English and Joe Janiak, is one of 15 tracks to make the short list, with the category to be narrowed down to five songs.

Another track making the short list is the Diane Warren song “Dear Me,” from her documentary Diane Warren: Restless. Warren has been nominated 16 times before, but has never won, although she did receive an honorary Oscar in 2022.

Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced Jan. 22.

Billy Idol Should Be Dead had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival in June. The film, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, is expected to be released in theaters and on streaming services in early 2026.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The first-ever video for George Harrison’s classic tune “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” has just been released, directed by Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard.

It took a team of 20 stop-motion artisans to create the stop-motion clip, which is set in the gardens of Friar Park, the Victorian mansion Harrison purchased in 1970. The video is described as “an homage to his love of gardening.”

“To work with the Harrison family and bring this video to life with a team of incredible young Canadian artists has been a great honor,” says Wolfhard. “It’s hard to put into words how grateful I am for this opportunity. George Harrison has and will continue to be a huge inspiration to me, and his work will live on forever.”

Harrison’s son, Dhani Harrison, who was an executive producer on the clip, notes, “Finn is one of the sweetest and most talented people I know of his generation, and he is the perfect person to direct a video for my dad.” He adds, “My dad would have loved this, and I hope his wonderful, creative, heartfelt ideas help this song reach another generation.”

“Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” was the opening track and lead single off Harrison’s 1973 album, Living in the Material World, which went to #1. The song topped the chart as well, becoming Harrison’s second #1 after “My Sweet Lord.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

If you didn’t get to see Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere in theaters, you’ll now have a new chance to see the film.

The movie about Bruce Springsteen’s efforts making his 1982 solo album, Nebraska, is set to hit digital platforms, including Amazon, Prime Video and Apple TV, on Dec. 23. It will also be released on 4K Blu-ray on Jan. 20, with the release including the four-act documentary Making Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.

The documentary’s four parts cover the process of adapting Warren Zanes’ 2023 book, Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, for the big screen; a look at the album Nebraska; a deep dive into actor Jeremy Allen White’s process of becoming Springsteen for the film; and what it took to capture Springsteen’s New Jersey during the era of the movie.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, directed by Scott Cooper, opened in theaters in October.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Queens of the Stone Age‘s Josh Homme and KISS‘ Gene Simmons are among the artists playing a tribute show to late AC/DC singer Bon Scott.

The concert will take place Feb. 3 at the Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles. It doubles as a 60th birthday celebration for comedian Dean Delray, who will be hosting the night and also handling lead vocals.

Other performers include Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk, Primus guitarist Larry “Ler” LaLonde, Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez, former Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman and former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee.

For ticket info, visit DeanDelray.com.

Scott died in 1980 at age 33. AC/DC then recruited vocalist Brian Johnson for their next album, 1980’s Back in Black. Johnson remains AC/DC’s singer today.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Foreigner has announced some new 2026 tour dates with original frontman Lou Gramm.

The band is set to reunite with Gramm for a string of Florida shows that kick off April 17 in St. Augustine, wrapping April 23 in Key West.

Foreigner played several dates with Gramm in December. According to setlist.fm, Gramm joined the band for five songs, including “I Want to Know What Love Is,” “Hot Blooded” and “Urgent.”

Foreigner also has several 2026 dates planned without Gramm. They launch a string of unplugged shows on Feb. 25 in Beaver Creek, Colorado, and then hit Las Vegas for an orchestral residency at The Venetian Theatre on March 6.

They are also touring this summer with Lynyrd Skynyrd on the Double Trouble Double Vision Tour, which starts July 23 in Atlanta.

A complete list of Foreigner dates can be found at ForeignerOnline.com.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Billy Joel is going to be the focus of New York City entrepreneur Michael Dorf’s annual Music Of concert series, and the lineup of artists celebrating Joel has just been announced.

This year’s concert is March 12 at Carnegie Hall, with a lineup that includes Joel’s daughter Alexa Ray Joel, Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas, Train’s Pat Monahan, Gavin DeGraw, OAR’s Marc Roberge, Matt Nathanson, country star Tanya Tucker, Americana artists The War and Treaty and Mary Chapin Carpenter and singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright, with more artists to be announced.

Joel’s eight-piece touring band will also be on hand for the celebration, serving as the evening’s house band.

For the first time ever, the show completely sold out before the lineup of artists was announced. Tickets remain for a live rehearsal show at City Winery on March 11.

The Joel concert will be the 21st Music Of tribute put on by Dorf. Since the series launched in 2004, the concerts have raised over $2 million for charity.

This year’s honoree was Patti Smith, with previous concerts celebrating the music of Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, The Rolling Stones, Prince, R.E.M., Crosby, Stills & Nash and more.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, Dec. 16, 1989…

Billy Joel hit #1 on the Billboard 200 chart with his 11th studio album, Storm Front.

The album featured Joel’s third #1 single, “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” along with the top-10 single “I Go To Extremes” and the top-40 ballad “And So It Goes.”

The album also boasted several songs that became fan favorites, including “The Downeaster ‘Alexa’,” and “Shameless,” the latter of which was later covered by country star Garth Brooks.

Storm Front earned Joel five Grammy nominations, including song of the year and record of the year for “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

Billy went on to have one more #1 album, River of Dreams, which was released in 1993 and is widely regarded as his final rock album.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Items from The Beatles, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan and more are part of a new Marvels of Modern Music auction being put on by RR Auctions.

Among the highlights of the auction is an extremely rare EMI mono acetate pressing of The Beatles’ track “Please Please Me,” which was cut at Abbey Road Studios. There’s also an acetate of an unreleased version of “She’s a Woman,” which, according to the description, “offers a rare window into The Beatles’ studio experimentation at the height of Beatlemania.”

Other items in the auction include Ringo’s 1964 Gold record for A Hard Day’s Night; a vintage pressing of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, signed by Ringo, Paul McCartney and George Harrison; a Bob Dylan mixed media painting, Side Tracks; and a signed 1968 document by the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

More info on the auction, which closes on Thursday, can be found at rrauction.com.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Styx has announced a string of tour dates with special guest Cheap Trick.

The two bands will team up for five shows, starting May 16 in Little Rock, Arkansas, and wrapping May 24 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time.

Styx already has a busy 2026 ahead of them. Their next show is Jan. 7 in Tucson, Arizona. They are also set to return to Las Vegas for a five-show residency starting Jan. 23 at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, where they’ll play their 1978 album, Pieces of Eight, in its entirety, along with other classic hits.

Then this summer they’ll hit the road with Chicago on The Windy Cities Tour – All The Hits … Your Kind of Tour, which starts July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

A complete list of dates can be found at StyxWorld.com.

As for Cheap Trick, they’ll launch their All Washed Up Tour Jan. 24 in Madison, Wisconsin. For a list of shows, go to CheapTrick.com.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.