Elton John‘s much-delayed Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour resumed Wednesday night in New Orleans, with a fresh new addition to his set list.
Not only did Elton play pretty much every hit you’d want to hear, from “Bennie and the Jets” and “Tiny Dancer” to “I’m Still Standing” and “Your Song,” but he also played his current top 10 hit “Cold Heart” live for the first time. His duet partner Dua Lipa didn’t join him for the song, but her vocals were heard during the performance.
“Cold Heart,” from Elton’s The Lockdown Sessions, is his first U.S. top 10 hit since 1998.
Elton’s North American tour dates run through April, and then he’ll head to Europe. This summer, he’ll return to North America to play stadiums starting July 15 in Philadelphia; he’ll wrap up those dates with two shows at Dodger Stadium in L.A. on November 19 and 20.
Here’s wishing a very happy birthday to KISS‘ Paul Stanley, who was born 70 years ago today.
The band’s frontman, co-lead singer and rhythm guitarist was born Stanley Eisen in New York City. He was born with a deformed ear caused by a defect called microsia that also left him deaf in that ear.
In his late teens, Paul joined a group called Rainbow that featured bassist/singer Gene Simmons. The band changed its name to Wicked Lester in 1971 and eventually recruited drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley. In 1973, the group again changed its name…to KISS. The band members soon came up with costumes and face makeup for themselves, with Stanley choosing the persona “The Starchild,” featuring a star over his right eye.
With their cartoonish look and over-the-top live shows featuring pyrotechnics and other dramatic effects, KISS soon became one of the most popular rock bands on the planet. Over the years, Stanley has written or co-written many of KISS’ biggest hits and most popular songs, including “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “Shout It Out Loud,” “Detroit Rock City,” “Hard Luck Woman,” “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” “Lick It Up” and “Forever.”
Stanley and Simmons have continued to lead KISS through the band’s entire history, while a number of musicians have filled the guitarist and drummer slots over the years.
In 2014, Stanley was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of KISS.
Outside of KISS, Stanley is an accomplished painter and also has released a few solo projects. His most recent was the debut album by his side project Paul Stanley’s Soul Station, Now and Then, which arrived in 2021. The album featured covers of a variety of classic soul tunes from the 1960s and ’70s, as well as a handful of originals.
Meanwhile, Stanley has had a rough go of it during the last several months, overcoming two bouts with COVID-19 and undergoing shoulder surgery in late 2021.
Thankfully, Paul appears to be on the mend as KISS prepares to relaunch its End of the Road farewell tour with an Australian leg that kicks off in March.
The Scorpions celebrate the joy of rocking their fans like a hurricane in the official video for the title track of their forthcoming studio album, Rock Believer.
The clip, which premiered this week at the veteran German hard rockers’ YouTube channel, features new scenes of The Scorpions performing “Rock Believer” in a studio, mixed with archival footage of the band playing at a variety of major concerts and behind-the-scenes footage of the group interacting with fans and having fun offstage.
The video also incorporates glimpses of childhood photos of the band members.
The group has posted a message on its Facebook page about the inspiration behind the song that reads, “Over the years, we’ve heard people say lots of times that rock is dead. But there are still millions of rock believers out there all over the world to prove them wrong. Our fans are the best in the world…We’ll see you someday somewhere out there, because we’re Rock Believers just like you.”
The Scorpions released “Rock Believer” as an advanced digital single last week, while the album, which can be pre-ordered now, is due out on February 25.
In conjunction with the video’s premiere, the band members took part in an online afterparty and Q&A event that was accessible by subscribers of the YouTube Premium service. The 50-minute presentation is available on demand at The Scorpions’ YouTube channel. A free YouTube Premium trial also is being offered.
KISS has announced new dates for four U.S. shows that were postponed last year, all of which will take place in May.
The concerts, which are part of the band’s End of the Road farewell tour, are scheduled for May 11 in Milwaukee; May 12 in Dayton, Ohio; May 14 in Hartford, Connecticut; and May 17 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Tickets and VIP packages that were purchased for last year’s shows will be honored for the new dates. Additional information will be emailed directly to those with tickets.
KISS also is scheduled to play a previously announced headlining set at the Rockville 2022 Festival in Daytona Beach, Florida, on May 19.
The band will kick off its 2022 End of the Road itinerary with a series of Australian shows in late March and early April, followed by a South American leg that’s mapped out from late April to early May.
After the U.S. concerts, KISS will head to Europe for a run of shows scheduled from early June to late July.
Toni Cornell has been named an ambassador for the International Rescue Committee humanitarian aid organization.
In her role, the 17-year-old daughter of Chris Cornell will “use her platform to help raise funds and awareness about the International Rescue Committee’s important work in 40+ countries.”
“The International Rescue Committee is excited to welcome our newest and youngest IRC Ambassador, Toni Cornell, to the family,” says IRC President and CEO David Miliband in a statement. “Toni Cornell has been a volunteer, donor, and now Ambassador who will be using her youthful voice to highlight some of the world’s greatest challenges, such as climate change, women and girls’ empowerment and education.”
The Cornell family has long worked with the IRC. Chris’ single “The Promise,” which was his final track to be released prior to his 2017 death, raised money for the organization, as did his duet cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U” with Toni, which was released in 2018.
Toni is set to speak at the upcoming briefing discussing the IRC’s 2022 Emergency Watchlist, taking place this Thursday, January 20, at noon ET.
George Martin with The Beatles in 1964; Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Giles Martin, son of late Beatles producer George Martin, has shared a touching archival family video that shows his dad telling Giles’ young daughter the story of how he wound up working with the Fab Four.
The clip, which Giles posted on his Twitter feed, shows his elderly father — who died in 2016 at age 90 — sitting on a couch next to the young girl, who appears to be about six years old.
George starts by telling his granddaughter that when he was first told about the band, he thought their name was silly, but it was then explained to him that it wasn’t Beetles, but Beatles with an “a.”
George then explains that he felt he needed to hear the group before deciding to work with them, so they came down from Liverpool to London to meet him.
“And when I listened to what they did, it was OK, but it wasn’t brilliant. It was OK,” George continues. “So I thought, well, ‘Why should I be interested in this?'”
He then notes, “But the magic bit came when I started to get to know them, because they were terribly good people to know. They were funny, they were very clever, they said all lovely things. And they were the kind of people that you like to be with.”
George concludes by saying, “So I thought, ‘Well if I feel this way about them, other people will feel this way about them. So therefore they should be very popular.’ And I made records with them.”
In a note that accompanies the video, Giles — who has overseen and produced many recent Beatles-related projects — writes, “Ordinary people do extraordinary things. Great decisions are made for the simplest reasons.”
The Whisker Bomb Po’ Boy is a fried green tomato sandwich that Gibbons devised in collaboration with Antone’s executive chef Alex Padilla. The sandwich is available now at both of Antone’s full-service sandwich shops in Houston, the bearded rock legend’s hometown.
“Antone’s has been notable for presenting one of the greatest sandwich collections and that fact remains unchallenged,” Billy says in a statement. “Their attention to perfection in the world of po’ boys made the draw a natural for teaming up and bringing a new twist and [a] tasty addition with Antone’s line of flavor sensations.”
The Whisker Bomb Po’ Boy features buttermilk-dipped fried green tomatoes, harissa, chipotle mayo, Gibbons’ Whisker Bomb Have Mercy hot sauce, goat cheese, spices and arugula served on warm French bread.
The po’ boy, which is priced at $9.95, is the last offering in Antone’s “H-Town Originals” sandwich series charity initiative, and will be available until June 1. Proceeds from sales of the sandwich will benefit The Clifford Antone Foundation, an Austin, Texas-based organization dedicated to preserving the local music culture and community “by caring for our elders and investing in our youth.”
Gibbons selected the foundation as his beneficiary because of his connection to the historic Austin venue Antone’s Nightclub.
“It’s surreal to be able to partner with Billy F Gibbons, someone who grew up on Antone’s po’ boys, at the same time I grew up watching him on stage,” Antone’s Famous Po’ Boys CEO Craig Lieberman. “[W]e are honored to have a Texas legend like Billy to be a part of [our 60th anniversary].”
Fleetwood Mac drummer and co-founder Mick Fleetwood is set to executive produce the music drama 13 Songs, currently in development at Fox, according to Deadline.
The series reportedly follows an aging rock star who’s diagnosed with terminal cancer. Given just a few months to live, he reconnects with his old band to write and record 13 final songs as a final love letter to his fans and hopefully leave his mark on the world forever.
Will Reiser, who wrote the Joseph Gordon-Levitt-led comedy feature 50/50, will script the project, along with American Soul creator Jonathan Prince.
It will be directed by Jonathan Levine, who directed Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers.
Additionally, Fleetwood “will lend his creative and musical voice” to the project, according Deadline.
13 Songs is the latest in a series of musical dramas being prepped at Fox, along with Monarch, the country music family dynasty series starring Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins, and Icon, an anthology drama series profiling some of the world’s biggest music legends, starting with country music duo The Judds.
It’s been almost two years since Elton John‘s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour was sidelined because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the trek relaunches tonight in New Orleans, the first show of a lengthy two-part 2022 North American leg.
With the U.S. and many other areas around the world still dealing with COVID-related issues because of the easily spread Omicron variant, Elton’s longtime guitarist and music director Davey Johnstone tells ABC Audio he doesn’t know if the tour will go off without postponements, but he says every precaution is being made to help ensure the musicians and crew remain healthy.
“It seems it changes so much, and we’ve got to kind of be ready for anything,” Johnstone says regarding the COVID situation. “So, I know there’s no backstage, there’s no guests. There are no backstage passes. There are no wives or girlfriends or anything…[E]verybody’s [going to be] super masked up and getting tested every two days to make sure everybody on the tour stays safe.”
He adds, “I think there’s like a hundred people [who] travel around, between the crew and the production staff and…the band and all that. So it’s a lot of people to keep safe. So…it’ll be a different animal, but, you know, I think we’ll be OK as long as we can just keep to the program.”
Asked if, after a nearly two-year layoff, there might be some changes to Elton’s set list, Johnstone says he and the other band members are more focused on delivering an exciting show.
“[W]e just get out there and play some kick-a** rock ‘n’ roll, and that’s what we’ll do,” he declares. “And there might be a couple of subtle changes…but nothing too drastic.”
When it comes to a way to like his own voice, Bono still hasn’t found what he’s looking for.
On a new episode of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Awards Chatter podcast, the U2 frontman says he feels “embarrassed” when he hears his singing, particularly on the group’s earlier recordings, explaining that, while he thinks the his band mates sound “incredible,” he finds his voice to be “very strained.”
“I’ve been in a car when one of our songs has come on the radio and I’ve been the color of, as we say in Dublin, scarlet,” Bono says. “I’m just so embarrassed.”
During the interview, Bono shares a story about a fellow rock star who had a similar disdain for the U2 frontman’s voice, the late Robert Palmer. He says Palmer once approached U2 bassist Adam Clayton and griped, “God, would you ever tell your singer to just take down the keys a little bit? He’d do himself a favor, his voice a favor, and he’d do us all a favor who have to listen to him.”
Bono adds that he feels he “only became a singer, like, recently.”
“Maybe that hasn’t happened yet for some people’s ears,” he laughs. “And I understand that.”
Another thing Bono isn’t all that jazzed about: the name U2.
“I still don’t really like the name,” he says. Guitarist The Edge adds that they only picked U2 in the first place because, of the potential candidates, it was the one they “hated the least.”
While Bono may have his own issues with his voice, that doesn’t seem to be bothering the voters for the Oscars, who placed U2’s new single “Your Song Saved My Life” — from the animated film Sing 2 — on the shortlist to be nominated for Best Original Song.
