Classic Rock 93.9

Earlier this month Joni Mitchell was honored in Washington, D.C., with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, and music fans are finally going to get to see what went down at the event.

Joni Mitchell: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song is set to air on PBS Friday, March 31. It will feature performances by Joni, James Taylor, Graham Nash, Annie Lennox, Brandi Carlile, Cyndi Lauper and more. Mitchell’s visual art will also be highlighted during the show.

The night’s performances and performers include:

“Summertime”- Joni Mitchell
“California” – James Taylor
“Both Sides Now” – Annie Lennox
“Big Yellow Taxi” – Brandi Carlile, Angélique Kidjo, Cyndi Lauper, Annie Lennox, Ledisi, Lucius
“Carey” – Marcus Mumford
“River” – Herbie Hancock & Ledisi
“Shine” – Brandi Carlile & Lucius
“Blue” – Cyndi Lauper
“A Case of You” – Graham Nash
“Help Me” – Angélique Kidjo
“For the Roses” – Diana Krall  

The Gershwin Prize has been handed out since 2007, with Paul Simon the first honoree. Last year Lionel Richie received the award, with Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Carole King and Stevie Wonder among the previous honorees. 

Joni Mitchell: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song will debut at 9 p.m. ET on PBS, and will also be broadcast on PBS.org and on the PBS app. 

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Geezer Butler has debuted the cover of his much-anticipated memoir, Into The Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath—And Beyond, which is being released June 6.

“After spending my entire life creating memories, to eventually set aside how reserved I am, I have put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard),” the Black Sabbath bassist shared on Instagram next to the cover image. 

He also joked about the release date being 6/6/23, noting, “Yes I know that 2×3=6. Although unintentional, having that as a release date suits me fine.” 

When the book was first announced, the publisher described it as “a rollicking, effusive, and candid memoir by the heavy metal musician and founding member of Black Sabbath,” sharing that it details “how one of rock’s most influential bands formed and prevailed. Like Geezer’s bass lines, it is both original, dramatic, and forever surprising.” 

Into The Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath—And Beyond is available for preorder now.

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A collection of Jerry Garcia’s artwork has been donated to a new fundraiser for the History of Diving Museum in Florida.

The Jerry Garcia Foundation has donated a 21-piece collection of museum-quality prints to the museum for its Dive Into Art & Music fundraiser, which takes place Friday. The donation was made to commemorate the Grateful Dead frontman’s love of scuba diving, as well as his commitment to protecting the ocean. 

The collection is made up of mostly sea-themed art and will also feature travel photos of Garcia family vacations in Hawaii.

“While Jerry Garcia is recognized as one of the greatest guitarists and musicians, he is in reality so much more,” Garcia archivist Peter Agelasto, who’s appearing at the event, shares. “By bringing together his love and respect for the ocean with his visual art, we’re showcasing another side of Jerry that fans will find fascinating.”

The exhibition, which will also feature a concert by the Grateful Dead tribute band Rainbow Full of Sound, takes place at Safe Harbor Angler House in Islamorada, Florida.

Each Garcia print comes with a certificate of authenticity, and proceeds from the sales will support educational outreach programs and more at the diving museum. More information can be found at divingmuseum.org.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea has launched his new podcast, This Little Light.

The series finds Flea interviewing “musical guests from all genres to discuss the teachers who guided them, the influences that inspired them, and how the lessons they learned as young musicians have shaped their creativity, resilience, and careers.”

The first two episodes, which feature conversations with FINNEAS and frequent Peppers producer Rick Rubin, are out now. Future guests include Patti Smith, bass virtuoso Thundercat, country artist Margo Price, and musician and actor Cynthia Erivo.

Meanwhile, Flea and RHCP are back on the road supporting their two 2022 albums, Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen. The outing continues Saturday in Las Vegas.

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Def Leppard has shared a new director’s cut video for their reimagined version of the 1987 track “Animal.” It will be featured on their upcoming album, Drastic Symphonies, which has the rockers reimagining their classic tracks with the help of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The video features footage of the orchestra recording the tune, along with clips of the band’s live performance and some snippets from the original 1987 video. Many of these clips are superimposed over atmospheric footage of a rundown castle, a group of naked mannequins — some with instruments, and more. 

Drastic Symphonies is set to drop on May 19 on CD, two-LP black vinyl, limited two-LP colored vinyl, limited two-LP picture disc, CD/Blu-ray (Atmos) and digitally. It is available for preorder now.

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The music of Lynyrd Skynyrd will be celebrated with an all-star tribute performance at Sunday’s CMT Music Awards.

The segment will feature a who’s who of guitarists, including Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons and Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes. The performance will also feature Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers and country star Cody Johnson on vocals, along with the Rolling Stones’ keyboardist Chuck Leavell, and Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band members Ethan Pilzer on bass and Rich Redmond on drums.

Wynonna Judd and LeAnn Rimes are also on board to provide harmonies, filling in for Skynyrd’s backup singers, The Honkettes.

So far there’s no word on what songs they will be performing, but the segment will serve as a tribute to founding member Gary Rossington, who passed away earlier this month, as well as the 50th anniversary of the band’s debut album.

And all this will be happening in front of current Lynyrd Skynyrd members Johnny Van Zant and Rickey Medlock, who will be in attendance at the show, as will Rossington’s widow, Dale Krantz Rossington. 

The 2023 CMT Music Awards air Sunday, April 2, on CBS live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

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Photographs taken by Paul McCartney during the height of Beatlemania will be the subject of a new exhibit at London’s National Portrait Gallery, as previously reported, and now the gallery is giving fans a peek at what they can expect.

The Portrait Gallery has shared some new photos from the exhibit on Instagram, including a self-portrait of McCartney, one of Paul with John Lennon, a photo of a smiling Ringo Starr and another of George Harrison being handed a drink by a girl in a yellow bikini.

“Looking at these photos now, decades after they were taken, I find there’s a sort of innocence about them,” McCartney shares. “Everything was new to us at this point. But I like to think I wouldn’t take them any differently today.”

Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm is set to run from June 28 to October 1 and feature more than 250 never-before-seen photographs taken by McCartney. The portraits that will be on display are from McCartney’s own archive and were taken between December 1963 and February 1964, giving fans an insight into his point of view as The Beatles were becoming international superstars.

Tickets to the McCartney exhibit are available for preorder now.

McCartney is also releasing a book of the photographs, 1964: Eyes of the Storm, on June 13. It is available for preorder now.

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Metallica‘s played “Master of Puppets” live a whole lot — a total of 1,689 times, to be exact, according to the band’s website. So perhaps it’s understandable that Kirk Hammett isn’t exactly thrilled to keep playing the song’s famed solo.

Speaking with Total Guitar, Hammett shares, “What I’m going to say people are probably gonna hate, but it drives me nuts having to play that f****** guitar solo in ‘Master of Puppets’ every time.”

“People love that guitar solo and they come to see that. That’s fine,” Hammett continues. “For that part of our career, all those solos are locked in. I don’t view them as solos anymore; they’re parts. I’m freaking bored of it, but it’s exciting for people to hear.”

Hammett then clarifies, “I’m not bored of the solo; I just get bored of playing the same thing all the time.”

“I’m inviting all sorts of criticism and opinions but I don’t f****** care,” Hammett says. “It’s like the solo on ‘Fade to Black.’ I play the first eight bars and then I go on a tangent for like 20, 24 bars and then come back in the last four bars and play parts that everyone knows. That’s one of my most favorite parts of playing that song live because I don’t know what the f*** I’m gonna play.”

If Hammett ever wants to take a break from shredding the “Master of Puppets,” surely countless metalheads would offer to take his place, not to mention Stranger Things fans. “Master of Puppets” was memorably featured in the season 4 finale of the Netflix sci-fi series, leading to a chart resurgence for the 1986 track.

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A new lawsuit has been filed over the Rolling Stones’ iconic “tongue and lips” logo. 

According to Billboard, the suit was filed in federal court by an apparel retailer named Simply Southern. Simply Southern claims Universal Music Group’s Bravado merch company, which does the merchandising for the Stones and other bands, has been threatening them over a T-shirt that Bravado claims features a “confusingly similar” logo to the one made famous by the Stones. 

Simply Southern says Bravado sent them a cease-and-desist letter over the shirt, which features a “disembodied mouth,” which Bravado believes is too similar to the Stones logo. Simply Southern argues that their design is “clearly and demonstrably different,” noting their image has “a more plump lower lip, more square teeth, and a wider and more open mouth.” 

They want the court to rule that their design does not infringe on “Bravado’s asserted intellectual property rights.”

The Rolling Stones are not named in the lawsuit.

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On This Day, March 30, 1945 …

Eric Patrick Clapton was born in Surrey, England, and would go on to be regarded as one of the most influential and successful musicians to emerge from the 1960s British music scene.

Clapton started his career with The Yardbirds and went on to have successful careers with such groups as Cream with Ginger Baker, Blind Faith with Steve Winwood, and Derek and the Dominoes.

Clapton eventually went solo, releasing his debut solo album in 1969, and scored his first number one in 1974 with a cover of Bob Marley’s “I Shot The Sheriff.” Clapton has sold more than 280 million records worldwide and is best known for such classic songs as “Lay Down Sally,” “Tears in Heaven,” “Wonderful Tonight,” “I Can’t Stand It” and “Change the World,” as well as covers of the J.J. Cale songs “After Midnight” and “Cocaine.”

Clapton is the winner of 18 Grammys and to this day is the only musician to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame three times — as a solo artist, and as a member of both The Yardbirds and Traffic.

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