Dire Straits hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Money for Nothing,” the band’s first and only chart topper. It spent three weeks in the top spot.
The song, written from the point of view of two working-class men, featured background vocals by The Police frontman Sting.
“Money for Nothing” was the second single from Dire Straits’ album Brothers in Arms. The song’s popularity was aided by its 3D animated video, which got regular play on MTV. It went on to win Video of the Year, as well as Best Group Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Bonnie Raitt has once again been recognized for her single “Just Like That.”
The track was named Song of the Year at the Americana Honors & Awards in Nashville on Wednesday, September 20, where she beat out the likes of Allison Russell and Brandi Carlile, Zach Bryan, Margo Price and Charley Crockett.
“Thank you to @americanafest, and congratulations to all of tonight’s winners including Bonnie’s ‘Just Like That’ for Song of the Year!” read a post on Raitt’s Instagram account. “Bonnie was so honored to stand alongside all the talented songwriters nominated this year and loved getting to perform and once again be a part of this wonderful celebration!”
This is the second big honor for “Just Like That,” which earlier this year took home the Grammy for Song of the Year.
Raitt performed the Just Like That… track “Made Up Mind” on the Americana Awards, which also featured tributes to two artist who passed this year. According to Variety, singer Logan Ledger performed “Come Monday” in honor of the late Jimmy Buffett, while the show ended with an all-star performance of The Band’s “Up On Cripple Creek,” in honor of the late Robbie Robertson.
Released on September 21, 1993, In Utero had the difficult and unenviable task of following Nirvana’s giant 1991 album, Nevermind, which had made worldwide stars out of Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, and brought the grunge and alternative rock movement of the ’90s to the mainstream.
Coming off of Nevermind, Cobain was deemed the “voice of a generation” that spoke for the angsty and disaffected youth of the day. It’s a role he seems to speak to on the opening In Utero track “Serve the Servants” with the line, “Teenage angst has paid off well/ Now I’m bored and old.”
Meanwhile, Cobain’s increased fame put scrutiny on his personal life. His marriage to Hole‘s Courtney Love, with whom he had a daughter, Frances Bean, had become tabloid fodder, along with reports of the couple’s drug use.
In Utero was produced by Steve Albini, with whom Cobain wanted to collaborate due to his work with bands including Pixies and The Breeders. The harsher sound of the record prompted mixed feelings from Nirvana’s label, as well as among the band members themselves, who at one point considered rerecording the album. Eventually, frequent R.E.M. producer Scott Litt was brought in to remix future singles “Heart-Shaped Box” and “All Apologies.”
Upon its release, In Utero was a critical and commercial success, even while Walmart and Kmart refused to sell it until the album artwork was changed. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified five-times Platinum by the RIAA.
Later in 1993, Nirvana recorded their legendary MTV Unplugged performance. Cobain died by suicide in April 1994, making In Utero Nirvana’s final studio record.
A 30th anniversary reissue of In Utero will be released October 27.
If you are in crisis or know someone in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
KISS‘ Gene Simmons is giving fans a shot at purchasing some unique collectables, and it’s all for a good cause.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has signed some Funko figures and sets, with all the proceeds going to the charity Mending Kids, which provides free lifesaving surgical care to sick children worldwide.
Items currently up for bid include a one-of-a-kind KISS Funko Jumbo 10-inch The Demon, a figure with Simmons’ KISS makeup and a tongue sticking out, just like the iconic rocker. There’s also a one-of-a-kind signed Pop! Yourself Gene Simmons of KISS figure, which has the rocker without the KISS makeup.
Some of the other collectables in the charity auction include: a KISS Deluxe Moment Alive II Tour 1978 set, featuring collectables of the whole band; a KISS Deluxe Album Destroyer set, with figures of all band members and the album cover art; plus autographed 4-inch versions of The Demon.
In a video showing him signing the 10-inch Demon collectable, Simmons reassures fans that all the money raised will go to the organization.
“Literally no money for administration, none of it’s gonna be taken for lunch for the people that work there,” he says. “Everybody contributes their time for free so that children who don’t have insurance and are not lucky, who don’t have money are still gonna get the operations they need.”
Bidding on eBay is open now and ends Sunday, September 24.
Eurythmics star Annie Lennox was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, and now some of her props are on display for fans to enjoy.
Lennox has contributed some new artifacts to the Hall’s “Right Here, Right Now” exhibit, including the hat she wore while performing “Jolene” with Dolly Parton and other inductees during the 2022 ceremony’s finale. There’s also the baton prop she used during her induction performance of Eurythmics classic “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).”
Lennox is one of several artists contributing memorabilia to the “Right Here, Right Now” exhibit. Others include Taylor Swift, Brandi Carlile, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish and Harry Styles.
Devo is giving fans another preview of their career-spanning box set, 50 Years of De-Evolution: 1973-2023.
The band has just shared a remastered version of their 1990 song “Post Post-Modern Man” to streaming services for the first time. It’s the second song they’ve released from the set, following the 7-inch version of “Disco Dancer.”
50 Years of De-Evolution 1973-2023, dropping October 20, will be released in a variety of formats: a four-LP set pressed on clear vinyl; a 25-song, two-LP set on black vinyl; and a two-LP blue and red vinyl, which will be sold exclusively at retail stores. There will also be a 50-song, two-CD set.
Roger Waters is setting the record straight regarding his feelings about former Pink Floyd bandmate David Gilmour’s talent.
Waters shared a video of him answering a fan who asked if he’d ever shared his “opinions or criticisms” about Gilmour’s solos on The Wall while they were in the studio recording it.
“Of course I expressed my opinions,” Waters said, “because I was producing the record and so was he.” He added, “we would all stick our oar in.”
Waters then noted, “there’s an implication in this question that I’m somehow critical” of David’s playing but said that’s not true.
“I like all of Gilmour’s solos. I say so often. I say so, I believe, on the sleeve notes on the new record,” he said, referring to The Dark Side of the Moon Redux, which he’ll drop on October 6. “There’s nothing wrong with Dave’s solos. There’s nothing wrong with his solos on The Wall or his solos on Animals or his solos on Dark Side of the Moon … or any of the work I did with him.”
Jackson Browne is revisiting his debut album. A new version of the self-titled record will be released on CD and 180-gram vinyl on Friday, September 22, with both remastered from the original analog master tapes.
The new release will be packaged to resemble the album’s original vinyl release, which was designed to look like a burlap water bag. The cover reads, “Saturate Before Use” on top of Browne’s name, which led many people to think that was the actual title of the record.
Released January 1972, Jackson Browne featured two hits: “Doctor My Eyes,” which peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Rock Me on the Water,” which peaked at #48.
Here’s the track list for Jackson Browne:
“Jamaica Say You Will”
“A Child In These Hills”
“Song For Adam”
“Doctor My Eyes”
“Something Fine”
“From Silverlake”
“Under The Falling Sky”
“Looking Into You”
“Rock Me On The Water”
“My Opening Farewell”
With Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band canceling their September shows so The Boss can recover from a peptic ulcer, Nils Lofgren is free to play with Neil Young again.
Young is set to headline two shows at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles on September 20 and 21, in celebration of the venue’s 50th anniversary. He’ll be backed by his pre-Crazy Horse band The Santa Monica Flyers, which will include Lofgren now that he’s not busy on the road with The Boss.
Young announced the news on his Neil Young Archives, noting the shows will feature Lofgren, Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina, all original members of the Santa Monica Flyers, along with Willie Nelson’s son Micah Nelson.
And it certainly sounds like Young fans are in for a treat. “We will be playing two albums live,” Young shares about the gigs. “All songs will predate the original Roxy opening 50 years ago. We are stoked!”
The Roxy concerts are taking place almost 50 years to the day Young first performed for the venue’s opening. He opened The Roxy with a three-night stand September 20-22, 1973.
As for Springsteen and the E Street Band, they’re expected to return to the road on November 3 in Vancouver, Canada. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.
Now that Elton John has declared he’ll never tour again, he no longer needs the home that was his U.S. touring base: a 13,500-square-foot condo in a complex in Buckhead, an upscale area of Atlanta, Georgia. It’s on the market for just under $5 million, reports The Wall Street Journal.
In 1992, Elton bought a duplex in the building and then bought five more apartments in the building over the next 20 years, combining them together into one four-bedroom space. Serving as his touring base, as he could easily get to most places in the U.S. flying out of Dekalb-Peachtree Airport, it also held his massive collection of photography.
As for why a British rock star would move to Atlanta in the first place, Elton tells the Journal that at the time, he was just out of rehab and dating someone in the area. He decided he liked the area for the people and the recovery facilities.
“The only people I knew were real people, who had normal jobs,” Elton tells the paper. “The city adopted me and I adopted it.”
He adds, “I didn’t know what the first apartment that I bought would lead to. But it was a wonderful surprise. Everything about Atlanta was a surprise.”
“After years and years of touring, it was so comforting just to come home instead of staying in a hotel,” he notes.
Elton says he’ll miss Atlanta very much, adding that he always checks the baseball scores in the morning to see how the Braves are doing.
You can see photos of the condo, including the closets holding Elton’s massive wardrobe, at WSJ.com.
