H.E.R. has released a cover of the Foo Fighters song “The Glass.”
As previously reported, the Grammy-winning R&B artist’s version of the But Here We Are track is included on a new single from Dave Grohl and company, alongside the original tune.
“Thank you [H.E.R.] for this stunning take on ‘The Glass,'” the Foos say. “We’re so honored.”
You can listen to the cover now via digital outlets. The joint single will be available on vinyl on December 29.
Foo Fighters and H.E.R. previously performed “The Glass” on Saturday Night Live in October.
In other Foo Fighters news, the band has been booked to headline Poland’s 2024 Open’er Festival, taking place July 3-6.
The Doobie Brothers are using their music to help those affected by the wildfires that hit the Hawaiian island of Maui this summer.
The band just released the new track “Lahaina,” co-written by Doobie Brothers Pat Simmons and Michael McDonald, both of whom have homes in Maui, along with collaborator John Shanks. It also features fellow Maui resident Mick Fleetwood on drums, as well as Hawaii natives Jake Shimabukuro and Henry Kapono.
Proceeds from “Lahaina” will go to the People’s Fund of Maui, which was launched by Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to give financial support to those displaced by the fires. The band is also donating $100,000 of their own money to the fund.
The cause is a particularly personal one for Simmons, who has lived in Maui for almost 30 years and raised his family there.
“I’ve been a resident of Maui for 28 years now and I wanted to make a tribute to the place I’ve called home for so long and help bring awareness and donations for the recovery and relief efforts there,” Simmons says. “This song is a look back at what Lahaina has meant to all of us. So many people have walked the streets of Lahaina and have felt that aloha spirit and we hope that one day we will walk those streets again.”
And Johnson is thankful for the support, sharing, “As our people of Maui piece their lives and homes back together, we’re grateful to have the genuine support and beautiful music of The Doobie Brothers.” He adds, “‘Lahaina’ is a song that both captures our aloha spirit and will help to make a real difference in the recovery.”
Peter Frampton is one of the many superstar special guests on Dolly Parton’s first rock album, Rockstar. He appears on two tracks, including Dolly’s take on his classic “Baby, I Love Your Way.”
Frampton tells ABC Audio he was actually the one who reached out to Dolly’s producer about the project, asking if there was anything he could play guitar on. Dolly’s producer was surprised that Frampton would want to just play on any old song and offered another suggestion.
“He said, ‘Wait a sec, would you be interested if Dolly wanted to do one of your songs?’ And I said, ‘Let me think for a minute. Yes,’” Frampton explains. “He said, ‘I’ll call you back in five minutes.’ He called me back in three minutes, and he said, ‘Dolly’s jumping up and down. She wants to do “Baby, I Love Your Way.”‘”
But Frampton was still interested in contributing his guitar to a song that wasn’t necessarily his. Dolly’s producer eventually asked him if he’d be interested in playing the solo on Dolly’s cover of The Beatles’ “Let It Be,” which also features Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Mick Fleetwood.Frampton couldn’t refuse.
“I said, ‘I think I can do that, yes,’” Frampton shares. “So yeah, I’m the only person that played on two tracks.”
Dolly Parton’s Rockstar, which also features special guests Steven Tyler, Steve Perry, Sting, Stevie Nicks, Richie Sambora, Elton John, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, John Fogerty and more, is out now.
Sammy Hagar just announced dates for The Best of All Worlds Tour, where he’ll joined by Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Joe Satrianito perform songs from the Van Halen catalog.
Satriani will be taking over the guitar parts made famous by the late Eddie Van Halen — and he realizes that’s no easy task.
“You can’t fill them. You can put them on, but you can’t fill them,” he tells Forbes about stepping into Eddie’s shoes. “But you’ve got to enjoy it. You have to respect the genius of the architecture of his guitar parts and how he built the songs and you’ve got to get in there and just enjoy what he was building cause he would weave in and out of his original composition every time he played it live and bring new amazing little nuggets to each little section.”
And while Satriani is certainly an accomplished guitar player in his own right, he notes, “It is really frightening because I don’t play like him and I’ve had to learn to anticipate all his quirky accents where he likes to push things and turn things upside down.”
“Just when you think they’re going to go left, they go right or up or down. So, it’s exciting,” he adds.
The Best of All Worlds Tour, featuring special guest Loverboy, kicks off July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Tickets go on sale Friday, November 17, at 10 a.m. A complete list of dates can be found at redrocker.com.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Crossroads Guitar Festival
Eric Clapton hosted his star-studded Crossroads Guitar Festival back in September to raise money for his rehab facility, Crossroads Centre Antigua. Now he’s launching a new auction to raise even more.
Eric Clapton Crossroads 25th Anniversary Signature Auction, In Aid of Crossroads Centre Antigua, will take place December 8 at Heritage Auctions. It will feature guitars from not only Clapton, but superstars like Carlos Santana, Joe Bonamassa, Gary Clark Jr., Steve Vai, John Mayer and Sheryl Crow.
Clapton has contributed several guitars to the auction, including a 2019 Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster, which he played onstage at the 2019 Crossroads Festival in Dallas, and a metallic blue Stratocaster that he played at the 2023 festival in Los Angeles.
There are also three guitars signed by Clapton and over three dozen artists who played at this year’s fest, including the “Blackie” Stratocaster built to commemorate the 2007 festival in Chicago, featuring the Clapton-created sunshine logo for Crossroads Centre Antigua.
The auction also includes guitars donated by some of Clapton’s friends who didn’t appear at the festival, as well as several VIP experiences.
Those interested in bidding can get a preview of some highlights from the auction at Heritage’s New York City offices November 21-22 and 27-30 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.
Despite all their rage, The Smashing Pumpkins are taking the holiday stage.
Billy Corgan and company will perform during a pair of ABC holiday specials, The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration and Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade.
On The Wonderful World of Disney, the Pumpkins will put their spin on the classic holiday tune “Silver Bells.” They’ll play a song called “Evergreen” on Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade.
While The Smashing Pumpkins performing during TV holiday specials might be a bit unexpected — if anything, their name suggests they’d be more fitting for fall festivities — the band has been working on a Christmas album for some time.
The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration airs November 26 at 8 p.m. ET, while Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade premieres December 25 at 10 a.m. ET.
Mickey Thomas, best known for being the singer for Jefferson Starship and its later iteration Starship, is the latest musician getting into the holiday spirit.
The singer is set to release A Classic Christmas on December 1, a digital double-sided single, featuring covers of the holiday classics “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
“In general, I prefer Christmas songs that are pensive and reflective. I love the ones that transport me into a warm nostalgia—the ones that express deeply personal feelings as opposed to religious themes,” he says. “‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ is a perfect example. It’s somewhat melancholy yet hopeful at the same time.”
As for “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” Thomas describes it as “truly a celebration of all things Christmas. Parties, singing carols, sledding, roasting marshmallows, social gaiety, reminiscing about past Christmases.”
Bono has previously said that U2’s next album will be a rock record, and now he’s giving fans some insight into what he means by that.
“I announced it, without discussion, as ‘an unreasonable guitar record,’” he tells Mojo. “And Edge called me up and goes, ‘How unreasonable?’ And I said, ‘As unreasonable as you’re ready to take it.’”
But when fans will actually hear that record is still up in the air. Not only is U2 busy with their Las Vegas residency, U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere, they are also waiting for drummer Larry Mullen Jr. to recover from surgery.
“Starting work on new songs is somewhat tied to Larry’s situation,” bassist Adam Clayton says. “Could he commit to an album project? I don’t know.”
But when they do finally get that album out, Bono wants to make sure it’s something special.
“I don’t think the world is waiting on the next U2 album,” he says. “I think we have to give them a reason to be interested in it.”
Bono adds, “I just want to write great tunes, because that’s where U2 started – with big choruses, clear ideas. And let’s go back there, but do it with some petrol and some matches.”
The Immediate Family will be releasing a new studio album next year. The group, made up of renowned session musicians Danny Kortchmar,Waddy Wachtel, Steve Postell, Russ Kunkel and Leland Sklar, will release Skin in the Game on February 16.
The album features 13 original songs and one cover: the album’s first single “The Toughest Girl in Town,” which was originally released in October 2022. The album’s title track is set for release in January.
“This band has such power. It’s almost like an embarrassment of riches,” Wachtel shares, with Sklar adding, “The Immediate Family’s unrivaled musical chemistry comes from years of playing together. We all know each other backward and forward and can play to each other’s strengths in ways that other groups can’t always get to.”
The new album announcement comes just as a new documentary about the musicians is due for release. Immediate Family, directed by Denny Tedesco, will open in theaters for special one-night screenings on December 12, and will be available everywhere on December 15.
Dave Grohl is getting a front seat to some new thrash tunes.
The Foo Fighters frontman recently stopped by the recording studio where Anthrax is currently working on a new album, the follow-up to 2016’s For All Things. The “Madhouse” metallers shared photos of the visit on their Instagram along with caption, “New album is going to be awesome.”
The post is tagged with #Foothrax, which would be a fitting title for any Anthrax collaboration with Grohl.
Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian is a particularly big Foo Fighters fan, as is his son, Revel, who joined Grohl and company onstage to perform “Everlong” in 2019. Following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, the Ians shared a covers medley of Foos songs.
