Classic Rock 93.9

Sammy Hagar & The Circle have released a third advance track from their forthcoming studio album Crazy Times, an expanded and updated version of “Funky Feng Shui,” which first appeared on their 2021 record, Lockdown 2020.

To accompany the song, which is available now via digital formats, Hagar and his band have debuted its music video on the Red Rocker’s official YouTube channel.

The cartoonish clip features Sammy and his bandmates — bassist Michael Anthony, drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Vic Johnson — playing the song on a Hollywood street while a giant woman in a tight-fitting red dress looms over them.

Regarding the making of the video, Hagar says, “[It] was a blast because the Director kept screaming ‘Just remember there’s gonna be a 50 foot woman stepping over you guys while you’re performing’ – ha ha! I love this song and this video is more fun than a frog in a glass of milk.”

“Funky Feng Shui” began as a jam that Hagar and The Circle would play backstage to warm up before shows. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Sammy and the band remotely recorded an abbreviated version of the tune that wound up on their Lockdown 2020 collection. Hagar completed the song while working on Crazy Times, and he and The Circle then recorded the extended version for the new album.

As previously reported, Crazy Times, which can be preordered now, will be released on CD and via digital formats on September 30, while standard black-vinyl and limited-edition red-vinyl LP versions will follow on October 28.

Prior to “Funky Feng Shui,” Hagar and the band released two other advance tunes from the album — the title track and a cover of Elvis Costello‘s “Pump It Up” — along with companion videos.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

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Following Queen Elizabeth II‘s death Thursday at age 96, Sir Paul McCartney issued a brief statement paying tribute to the monarch. But now the rock legend has penned a lengthy homage looking back at all the times he met the queen.

In the message, which was posted on his official website, McCartney starts by noting, “I feel privileged to have been alive during the whole of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. When I was 10 years old I entered an essay competition in Liverpool and won my division for my essay about the British Monarchy so I have been a fan for a long time.”

He also recalls watching the queen’s 1953 coronation on a black-and-white TV.

Sir Paul says he met Queen Elizabeth “eight or nine times,” adding that “each time she impressed me with her great sense of humour combined with great dignity.”

The first time McCartney met the queen was in October 1965, when The Beatles received the Member of the Order of the British Empire honor.

One of the most memorable occasions, according to Paul, was in 1997 on what he describes as “a very proud day for me” — receiving his knighthood.

“I felt very honoured to be offered a Knighthood and of course it would have been rude to turn it down!” he says.

Other meetings took place in 2002 and 2012, respectively, when Paul performed at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

McCartney recalls that the last time he saw Queen Elizabeth in person was in 2018, when she presented him with the Companion of Honour medal.

As Sir Paul recalls, “I shook her hand, leaned in and said, ‘We have got to stop meeting like this,’ to which she giggled slightly and got on with the ceremony.”

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Ozzy Osbourne has premiered the video for “One of Those Days,” the Eric Clapton-featuring song off his brand-new solo album, Patient Number 9.

The clip mixes live action and animation as the Prince of Darkness takes a strange journey through a world of skeletons and creepy forests. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.

“One of Those Days” contains the lyric that Ozzy previously told Classic Rock magazine he thinks will “cause s***”: “It’s one of those days that I don’t believe in Jesus.” In fact, Ozzy considered changing the words after Clapton said he wasn’t “sure” about the lyric but ultimately decided to keep it.

Patient Number 9, Ozzy’s 13th solo effort, is out now. Along with Clapton, it includes guest contributions from Jeff Beck, Black Sabbath‘s Tony Iommi, Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready, Black Label Society‘s Zakk Wylde, Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo and late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.

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After playing a September 4 warm-up show in Bangor, Maine, Aerosmith officially kicked off its 50th anniversary celebrations on Thursday with their long-delayed concert at Boston’s Fenway Park.

Over 38,700 people attended the event, setting a record for the most tickets ever sold for a concert at the historic ballpark. The show had originally been scheduled for September 2020, but was postponed and then pushed back again to this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a recap by The Patriot Ledger, Aerosmith played a 20-song set that included plenty of classics and some deep cuts. Near the end of the show, singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry appeared atop the stadium’s “Green Monster” section and performed “Dream On.” They then rejoined the band to finish the concert with renditions of “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way.”

A five-minute fireworks display brought the festivities to a close.

The night before the concert, Tyler paid a visit to 1325 Commonwealth Ave. in Boston’s Allston neighborhood, which served as the band’s home base during their early years. Special Aerosmith-themed projections were flashed on that building and at a few other Beantown locations before and after the concert.

You can check out photos of Tyler visiting the “Aerosmith Apartment,” and of the projections, on the band’s social media pages.

The band will now launch its latest “Deuces Are Wild” Las Vegas residency Wednesday, September 14, at Dolby Live at Park MGM. Tickets for the shows can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com. For more info, visit ParkMGM.MGMResorts.com.

Here’s the band’s full Fenway Park set list, according to Setlist.fm:

“Back in the Saddle”
“Same Old Song and Dance”
“Rag Doll”
“Mama Kin”
“Remember (Walking in the Sand)” (Shangri‐Las cover)
“Stop Messin’ Around” (Fleetwood Mac cover)
“Cryin'”
“Hangman Jury”
“Seasons of Wither”
“Toys in the Attic”
“Livin’ on the Edge”
“The Other Side”
“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”
“Love in an Elevator”
“Draw the Line”
“Dude (Looks Like a Lady)”

Encore:
“Dream On”
“Sweet Emotion”
“Walk This Way”

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Pearl Jam performed a cover of The Beatles deep cut “Her Majesty” during their show in Toronto on Thursday.

A hidden track off Abbey Road, the original “Her Majesty” lasts just 23 seconds and features tongue-in-cheek lyrics, such as “Her Majesty is a pretty nice girl/But she doesn’t have a lot to say.”

Pearl Jam’s rendition of “Her Majesty” came just hours after news broke that Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, had died at age 96. Vedder made no specific mention of the queen when introducing the song, telling the crowd only, “This is just a little one I’m gonna borrow from Paul McCartney.”

You can watch fan-shot footage of the performance posted to YouTube by user mfc172.

Both McCartney and fellow living Beatle Ringo Starr shared tributes to Queen Elizabeth II following the news of her passing.

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A new series of videos set to four classic Beach Boys songs from the mid-1960s launched Friday with the premiere of 1965’s “Barbara Ann.”

Watched together, the four videos tell the story of a high school romance between surfing-obsessed Helena and her classmate Lucas, an aspiring photographer who just moved into town. All of the clips include clever references and nods to The Beach Boys.

The “Barbara Ann” clip specifically follows Helena as she daydreams about surfing while sitting in class and then making her way home from school. We’re also briefly introduced to Lucas, whom Helena passes on her bicycle.

The other three videos, which will be set to “Don’t Worry Baby,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “God Only Knows,” will debut on the band’s official YouTube channel at noon ET, respectively, on Saturday, September 10; Friday, September 16; and Saturday, September 17.

The “Don’t Worry Baby” visual will share Lucas’ back story, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” will focus on his and Helena’s romance, and “God Only Knows” will look at where their relationship is at as the school year ends.

The videos were directed by Andrew Litten, who’s worked with Earth, Wind & Fire, Anderson .Paak and Pusha T, and were filmed in South Africa with local actors.

“A recurring theme throughout The Beach Boys’ music is the feeling of being young and in love,” explains Litten. “Their most iconic songs were written when they were between the ages of 15 to 21, so there’s this exciting view on life that’s immortalized in their lyrics. I wanted to do the same with the music videos by capturing the spontaneity and playfulness of being a teenager, fantasizing about the future, pursuing new passions, and falling in love.”

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Rod Stewart, who received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2016, is not only mourning the loss of the monarch but also of a close family member.

On Instagram, Sir Rod wrote, “It has been a devastating 48 hours. We lost my brother Don on Tuesday at 94 and today we have all lost Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at 96.”

He added, “The Queen has been an unwavering presence throughout my life and a great unifier. A shining star that will never fade in our hearts and souls. What a privilege it was to perform for her. My deepest sympathies to the Royal Family. God save the King.”

Rod met and performed for the queen multiple times: his most recent performance was at her Platinum Jubilee this past summer. Ahead of that concert, he told the BBC, “She’s been so much part of my life, almost like a sister, you know?”

At the time he also said he “loves” the newly minted monarch, Charles, and joked that his wife and the then-prince had “a thing going on.”

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Wolfgang Van Halen is marking the anniversary of one of his father’s most iconic musical contributions with his own version.

The son of the late Eddie Van Halen tweeted a video of him shredding Van Halen‘s famed instrumental “Eruption” on the same guitar his dad used to record the original.

While the video was filmed in 2015, Wolf’s sharing it now in honor of it being the 45th anniversary of “Eruption’s” first recording in 1977. The song was later released on Van Halen’s 1978 self-titled debut album.

Wolf, who played bass in Van Halen starting in 2006, hasn’t performed much of his dad’s music since Eddie passed away in October 2020, instead focusing more on his Mammoth WVH solo project. However, he did jam the Van Halen songs “On Fire” and “Hot for Teacher” during last weekend’s Taylor Hawkins tribute concert.

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When it was announced that Ozzy Osbourne would perform during halftime at the NFL’s season opening game between the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills, a press release stated that a “portion” of his set would air as part of the NBC broadcast. As it turns out, a “portion” meant only about 10 seconds.

Those who tuned in for the halftime performance saw only a brief clip of Ozzy playing his tune “Patient Number 9,” the title off his just-released solo album, before the broadcast cut back to analysis of the game’s first half.

As it became clear that the rest of Ozzy’s performance wouldn’t be aired, followers of the Prince of Darkness took to social media to air their frustrations.

“Wtf was that?” asked one fan. “You say ‘here’s Ozzy Osbourne’ cut to him for 5 seconds then back to the half time recap no one cares about?”

Another added, “NBC thinking we’d rather hear a 1st half recap than Ozzy Osbourne’s performance is…puzzling.”

According to Setlist.fm, Ozzy’s whole performance included “Patient Number 9” and his solo classic “Crazy Train.” He was backed by producer Andrew Watt on guitar, bassist Chris Chaney and drummer Tommy Clufetos for both songs, while Zakk Wylde joined for “Crazy Train.”

If you were among those disappointed by the broadcast, perhaps you can find comfort in listening to the Patient Number 9 album, which is out September 9. It includes guest contributions from Wylde, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Black Sabbath‘s Tony Iommi, Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready, Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo and late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.

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Following the announcement of Queen Elizabeth II‘s death on Thursday at the age of 96, Elton John paid tribute to late monarch at his Toronto concert.

“We have the saddest news about the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth,” he said. “She was an inspiring person to be around — I’ve been around her and she was fantastic. She led the country though some of our greatest and darkest moments with grace, decency and a genuine care and warmth.”

“I’m 75 — she’s been with me all my life and I feel very sad that she won’t be with me anymore,” the legendary rocker shared. “But I’m glad she’s at peace, and I’m glad she’s at rest, and she deserves it because she’s worked bloody hard,” Elton continued as the audience cheered.

“I send my love to her family and her loved ones. She will be missed, but her spirit lives on and we celebrate her life tonight with music, okay?” he concluded, before launching into his 1974 hit, “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” a song that gets its title from the Queen Victoria-era saying, “The sun never sets on the British Empire.”

Elton’s tribute was similar to a post on his Twitter earlier in in which he called the late Queen “an inspiring presence to be around.”

Elton paid tribute to his close friend Princess Diana after her death in 1997 with the song “Candle in the Wind ’97,” a reworking of his 1973 hit honoring Marilyn Monroe.

Elton was knighted by the Queen on April 24, 1998 for his musical and commercial contributions to the United Kingdom, as well as his extensive charity work, particularly with AIDS research and financial support.

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