Classic Rock News

U2 frontman Bono is among the music artists and other entertainment industry figures who will take part in keynote events during Variety‘s Music for Screens Virtual Summit, which will run from December 1 to December 3.

The summit will focus on a variety of topics involving music in media, including the revival of musicals on TV and in film, music in superhero-themed projects, video games as a launchpad for music artists, and more.

Bono will participate in a keynote conversation about the making of the new U2 tune “Your Song Saved My Life,” which is featured in upcoming animated film Sing 2. The event, which is scheduled for December 3 at 9:30 a.m. ET, also will feature Sing 2 writer and director Garth Jennings.

Other music artists and celebs taking part in the summit’s keynote events include Jennifer Hudson, will.i.am, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anderson .Paak, Colleen “Vitamin C” Fitzpatrick, and The National‘s Adam Dessner, Bryce Dessner and Matt Berninger.

For more details about the summit, visit MusicforScreens.SplashThat.com.

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A previously unheard song recorded in 1968 that features The Beatles‘ George Harrison and Ringo Starr got its world premiere today and will be released as a charity single on Thursday, BBC News reports.

The tune, “Radhe Shaam,” was written and produced by Indian-born journalist/broadcaster Suresh Joshi and was recently rediscovered at his Birmingham, U.K., home during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The song was premiered at an event Wednesday, held at the Liverpool Beatles Museum attended by about 100 people, and then was played on BBC Radio.

In a Wednesday interview with the BBC, Joshi explained that “Radhe Shaam” was recorded at London’s Trident Studios for the soundtrack of a feature film on which he was working. Joshi said Harrison and Starr turned up at the session while The Beatles were taking a break from recording “Hey Jude,” and the two musicians offered to play on the song, which was sung by Indian classical musician Aashish Khan.

Joshi said that the recording initially was shelved and he’d always hoped to release it eventually, but he never got around to it until it turned up again during the lockdown.

Suresh noted that he was inspired to find the master tape of the recording after telling his friend Deepak Pathak about the song. Liverpool Beatles Museum creator Roag Best, half brother of original Beatles drummer Pete Best, also took part in the interview, and explained that Pathak met Paul McCartney at the museum and told him about the track, and McCartney then helped to facilitate its release.

Roag also revealed that “Radhe Shaam” will be released Thursday, with all proceeds benefiting charity.

You can listen to the interview and the song at BBC.co.uk. The song is played at about the two-hour, 28-minute mark.

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Slash, Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart  and Yusuf/Cat Stevens and are among the many artists performing during Peace Through Music, an upcoming streaming concert focused on raising funds and awareness for environmental issues.

The virtual event, produced by the Playing for Change organization and the United Nations Population Fund, is set to premiere December 15 at 9 p.m. ET. You can tune in to watch via the Playing for Change YouTube channel.

Other musicians taking part in the event include Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins, No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Taj Mahal, Rosanne Cash, and The Lumineers. Additionally, The Band‘s Robbie Robertson will be making a “special appearance” during the stream.

Peace Through Music previously raised $1 million for social justice charities with its 2020 stream, which featured artists including Ringo Starr, Gary Clark Jr., and Carlos and Cindy Blackman Santana.

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On Wednesday, Elton John, who is already a British knight, received yet another prestigious honor during a ceremony at Windsor Castle. Prince Charles presented him with the Order of the Companions of Honour, which was first established in 1917 to reward for “outstanding achievement.”

As The Evening Standard reports, Elton attended the ceremony walking with the aid of a cane, following the hip surgery that forced him to postpone his European tour.  He received his award not just for his 50-year music career, but also for his work with his Elton John AIDS Foundation.

“I was quite taken aback when I got the letter to say that I’d received it because I know…very few people get it,’ he told the press. “I felt very proud to be British. I felt very blessed and very lucky. I’ve had an amazing life. Music has been my life and I got this for music and for work for charity.”

“I may not look as if I’m 100 percent fit…I’m not quite, but I’m still raring to go,” Elton continued. “And I’ve got a lot more work to do as far as my life goes, so this is just a reminder I think that there’s more to do: more work to do for music, more work to do for charity, and life is great. I’m so lucky.”

To that end, Sky News reports that Elton said he feels that ending AIDS by 2030 is “doable,” adding, “We have the medicines, we have the wherewithal…we need to stop the stigma, and so when I stop touring in 2023, I will hopefully be able to devote more time to this than I can at the moment.”

He added, “This is something that I desperately want to finish off.”

Paul McCartney, Judi Dench, Ian McKellan and J.K. Rowling are other celebrities who’ve been honored with the Order.

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Aerosmith must be experiencing some sweet emotion with the news that their 1975 album Toys in the Attic has now been certified nine times Platinum by the RIAA for amassing nine million equivalent album sales in the U.S.

Toys in the Attic is Aerosmith best-selling studio album, eclipsed only by the Boston rockers’ 1980 Greatest Hits compilation, which has been certified 11 times Platinum.

Released in April 1975, Toys in the Attic peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200. It featured two hit singles, “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion,” which reached #10 and #36, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100. Other memorable tunes on the album include the title track, “Big Ten Inch Record” and “No More No More.”

Meanwhile, five Aerosmith singles also received new certifications from the RIAA, including “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion,” which now are two times Platinum and three times Platinum, respectively.

The other tracks are the band’s 1998 chart-topping hit “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” which is five times Platinum, and 1997’s “Pink” and 2000’s “Jaded,” which both have been certified Gold for notching 500,000 equivalent single sales in the U.S.

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ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons is bringing fans some early holiday cheer with a new single titled “Jingle Bell Blues,” a 12-bar-blues-infused version of the Christmas classic “Jingle Bells.”

The track is available now as a digital download and via streaming services, while a limited-edition seven-inch vinyl single pressed on red-translucent vinyl will be released on December 10.

The disc, which you can pre-order now at Gibbons’ official online store, comes with an old-school vinyl center hole adapter with “Billy F Gibbons” written on it. The single’s flip side features an etching of a whitewall tire.

Billy recorded “Jingle Bell Blues” in Nashville this past June, with accompaniment from Mike Fiorentino on bass and Miles McPherson on drums.

Gibbons co-produced the track with Fiorentino, who also co-produced Billy’s 2021 solo album, Hardware, with Billy and ex-Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum.

Commenting about the new track, Gibbons says he hopes it’s worthy to stand alongside some of the classic tunes of the yuletide season.

“Around Christmas, it always seems that there are five to ten holiday selections listed in the lower right corner of a typical juke box in a typical juke joint, the song titles and artist names printed on wreath-bedecked title strips,” Billy reflects. “Our hope is for ‘Jingle Bell Blues’ to be one of those records. Bing Crosby, David Bowie, Elvis, Brenda Lee, Jose Feliciano, Otis Redding, Mariah Carey, Nat King Cole, Gene Autry, and not forgetting Adam Sandler, need some company and we’d be thrilled to provide it in the spirit of the season.”

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U2 and the upcoming animated film Sing 2 have teamed up with the Education Through Music nonprofit to create a special music video for the Irish rockers’ new tune “Your Song Saved My Life” to promote the organization, which provides music classes to children in under-resourced schools throughout North America.

The video, which premiered today on U2’s YouTube channel, features several students and teachers from the Education Through Music (ETM) program, who, through interviews, voice-overs and subtitles, share why music has had such an important positive impact on their lives. The clip seeks to demonstrate the importance of ETM’s goal of making high-quality music education available to more young people across America.

You can support ETM and find out more about the program by visiting YourSongSavedMyLife.com and www.national.etmonline.org.

As previously reported, “Your Song Saved My Life,” which was released last week, will appear on the soundtrack album for Sing 2, which features Bono making his animated film debut as the voice of a rock-star lion character named Clay Calloway. The flick is scheduled to get its U.S. premiere on December 22.

The album, which will be released on December 17, also features Bono duetting with Sing 2 co-star Scarlett Johansson on a version of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” as well as Johansson performing renditions of the band’s “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” On the latter tune, Scarlett is joined by Sing 2 cast members Reese Witherspoon, Nick Kroll and Taron Egerton.

The 21-song soundtrack also includes tunes by Elton John, Whitney Houston, Billie Eilish, Pharrell Williams and more. You can pre-order the album now.

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A house in the Liverpool, U.K., suburb of Speke where George Harrison lived while growing up will be auctioned off on November 30 by the Omega Auctions company.

The residence, a three-bedroom council house where Harrison and his family resided from 1950 to 1962, is estimated to sell for between 160,000 and 200,000 pounds, or from about $217,000 to $271,000.

While living at the house, George met Paul McCartney and John Lennon and was asked to join their band The Quarrymen. That group and, later, The Beatles, frequently rehearsed at Harrison’s home.

A number of features dating back to when Harrison lived at the house remain intact, including a bath, a sink, some of the original doors and hanging rails in wardrobes, as well as a kitchen dresser unit found in one of the outbuildings in the property’s backyard.

Omega Auctions points out that the buyer would be able to apply for a blue plaque, which acknowledges that a site is of historic U.K. significance, starting this month.

The home will be available for viewing by appointment during the two weeks leading up to the auction.

A video featuring photos of the house, as well as vintage pics of Harrison taken in and around the home, has been posted on the Omega Auctions’ official YouTube channel.

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Josh Klinghoffer is feeling right at home with Pearl Jam.

The former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist made his debut as the grunge outfit’s newest touring member during their performance at New Jersey’s Sea.Hear.Now. Festival in September. As Klinghoffer tells Consequence, joining up with Eddie Vedder and company feels “enormously gratifying.”

“My bedroom wall when I was like 11, 12, 13 years old was all these people,” Klinghoffer says. “I feel like I’ve known these guys for 30 years already, I don’t know if that will make it work better or not.”

Describing his place in the live Pearl Jam setup, Klinghoffer says he’s “sort of doing a new role,” including providing percussion and background vocals for songs off the band’s new album, 2020’s Gigaton.

“Anything that’s an older song that has a harmony, extra little things that they sort of get by without, I have free range to add if it makes sense to,” Klinghoffer explains. “I generally don’t go up there for one little teeny part, I try to make my being onstage matter instead of just popping in and out for one little word.”

Klinghoffer adds that his new band mates have been “incredibly welcoming and generous.”

“[They] have just sort of let me find my place,” he says.

You’ll also be able to hear Klinghoffer on Vedder’s upcoming solo album, Earthling.

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Sammy Hagar & The Circle will team up with REO Speedwagon next year for a May 7 concert in Laughlin, Nevada, at the Laughlin Event Center.

Opening the show will be Sir, Please, a band featuring REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin‘s twin sons Josh and Shane.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, November 10, at 10 a.m. PT, while pre-sale tickets will be available starting today at 10 a.m. PT via Ticketmaster.com.

The concert is one of two performances Hagar and his current band have confirmed for 2022, along with a headlining appearance on July 8 at the Lakefront Music Fest in Prior Lake, Minnesota.

First up for Hagar, the Red Rocker will wrap up his 2021 “Sammy Hagar and Friends” residency at The Strat hotel and casino in Las Vegas with concerts this Friday, November 12, and Saturday, November 13.

Sammy’s Vegas gigs have featured various guest musicians joining him, including his friend Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead, who hit the stage with Hagar and his longtime backing group The Wabos this past Friday. They played three songs — covers of Buddy Holly‘s “Not Fade Away,” The Rascals‘ “Good Lovin’,” and Depeche Mode‘s “Personal Jesus.”

Meanwhile, Hagar and The Circle will head to the Lone Star State in December for the “A Toast to Texas” tour, a four-show outing that also will celebrate the recent launch of Sammy’s Beach Bar Cocktail Co., the Red Rocker’s new line of canned sparkling rum cocktails.

The tour will visit Fort Worth on December 3, San Antonio on December 4, Austin on December 6 and Houston on December 8.

Visit RedRocker.com for more details about Hagar’s itinerary.

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