The Police’s Sting & Andy Summers reunite for big band cover of ‘Murder by Numbers’

June 17, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

The Police’s Sting and Andy Summers have reunited for a new cover of the band’s tune “Murder by Numbers.”

The former bandmates, who last played together during The Police’s 2007-08 reunion tour, both appear on a new version of the track. It was recorded by big band bassist Christian McBride for his upcoming album, Without Further Ado, Vol. 1., due out Aug. 29.

“I am absolutely thrilled to have Sting and Andy Summers — two-thirds of one of the most influential bands in history, The Police — join me for one of their songs,” McBride shares. “Sting continues to evolve gracefully as an artist, and Andy still plays with the sophisticated fire and grit he has always possessed.”

McBride’s version of “Murder by Numbers” is available now via digital outlets.

“Murder by Numbers” was recorded during sessions for The Police’s fifth and final album, 1983’s Synchronicity. The jazz-inspired tune wound up being a B-side to their #1 hit “Every Breath You Take,” and was a bonus track on the album’s CD and cassette release.

Barbra Streisand on her ‘extraordinary’ experience collaborating with Bob Dylan

June 17, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Bob Dylan appears on Barbra Streisand’s upcoming duets album, The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two, and apparently their collaboration was a long time in the making.

Dylan previously said he wrote the song “Lay Lady Lay” for her to sing and had reached out about them singing together. In a new interview with The New Yorker, Babs talks about that early connection with Dylan.

“The fun thing is that we were both nineteen years old, in Greenwich Village, never met each other,” she tells the mag. “I remember him sending me flowers and writing me a card in different-color pencils, like a child’s writing: ‘Would you sing with me?’”

She adds, “I thought, What would I sing with him? How could we get together on this? I couldn’t understand it at that time.”

On Streisand’s album, she and Dylan collaborate on the song “The Very Thought of You,” which she calls a “wonderful” choice.

“Bob loved that song. He’s very shy, like I am. But he was wonderful to work with,” she says. “I was told that he didn’t want any direction. But when I talked to him about things that I suggested, he was so pliable—he was so open to suggestions.”

“Everything I heard about him just went out the window,” she notes. “He stood on his feet for three hours with me. … It was just an extraordinary three hours.”

The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two will be released June 27 and is available for preorder now. In addition to Dylan, it has Babs collaborating with Paul McCartney, Sting, James Taylor and others.

Ozzy Osbourne’s DNA preserved in Liquid Death Infinitely Recyclable Ozzy iced tea cans

June 17, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Liquid Death may be going off the rails with its latest collaboration.

Known primarily for selling canned water, Liquid Death is also the company behind the Pit Diaper and the Travis Barker signature enema kit. Now, it’s announced Infinitely Recyclable Ozzy — cans of Liquid Death iced tea featuring the actual DNA of Ozzy Osbourne.

As a commercial explains, the Prince of Darkness personally drank and crushed 10 cans of Liquid Death iced tea, leaving behind “trace DNA from his saliva that you can now own.”

“Now, when technology and federal law permits, you’ll be able to replicate Ozzy Osbourne and enjoy him for hundreds of years into the future,” the ad says, though a disclaimer on the Liquid Death website notes, “DNA integrity and cloning results not guaranteed.”

All 10 of the Infinitely Recyclable Ozzy cans are sold out. They went for $450 a pop.

In addition to drinking a fair amount of iced tea, Ozzy is preparing for Black Sabbath‘s big reunion/farewell show in July. The concert will mark Ozzy’s final live performance.

Paul McCartney thanked by Beyoncé for writing ‘one of the best songs ever made’

June 17, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Paul McCartney has gotten a shoutout from Beyoncé.

Beyoncé wrapped up a six-night stand of her Cowboy Carter tour in London on Monday and took to Instagram to thank McCartney for writing The Beatles track “Blackbird,” which she covers.

“Thank you, Sir Paul McCartney, for writing one of the best songs ever made,” she wrote. “Every time I sing it I feel so honored.”

The post included pictures of Bey in one of her stage outfits, fringed chaps with a white T-shirt with blackbirds, which apparently was designed by McCartney’s designer daughter, Stella McCartney.

“And it is a full circle moment to wear your beautiful daughter’s design,” she added in the post.

Bey’s cover, retitled “Blackbiird,” appeared on her Cowboy Carter album. At the time of its release, McCartney praised her take on the song in a social media post.

“I am so happy with @beyonce’s version of my song ‘Blackbird,'” McCartney posted on Instagram. “I think she does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place.”

He added, “I think Beyoncé has done a fab version and would urge anyone who has not heard it yet to check it out. You are going to love it!”

Trailer for Bruce Springsteen biopic ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere’ coming Wednesday

June 17, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

We’re finally going to get our first look at the upcoming Bruce Springsteen biopic, Deliver Me From Nowhere, starring The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White as The Boss and Jeremy Strong as his manager, Jon Landau.

Twentieth Century Studios shared a teaser on Instagram, announcing that the trailer for the film will be out on Wednesday.

The teaser shows someone loading a cassette labeled Colts Neck Demo into a player. When they hit play, the Nebraska session version of “Born in the U.S.A.” plays.

Deliver Me From Nowhere, based on Warren Zanes‘ book Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, follows Springsteen’s efforts to make his 1982 solo album, Nebraska.

The album featured 10 acoustic songs Springsteen originally recorded as demos on a four-track recorder. Springsteen had planned to rerecord them with the E Street Band but instead released them as a solo acoustic record.

Some of the songs on the demo that didn’t make it on Nebraska were later rerecorded with the band and wound up on Springsteen’s multi-Platinum #1 record, Born in the U.S.A.

The film, directed by Scott Cooper, also stars Paul Walter Hauser, Odessa Young, Stephen Graham and Johnny Cannizzaro. It hits theaters Oct. 24.

Rod Stewart says he ‘liked’ Donald Trump, but not anymore: ‘He became another guy’

June 17, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

As a Brit, Rod Stewart can’t vote in U.S. elections, but that doesn’t stop him from having an opinion about his former friend, President Donald Trump.

Speaking to the U.K. publication Radio Times, Rod says, “I’m not a great fan of Trump. I knew him very, very well. I used to go to his house. I live literally half a mile away. … We’re both on the beach. I used to go to his Christmas parties.”

“He’s always been a bit of a man’s man. I liked him for that,” Rod continues. “But he didn’t, as far as I’m concerned, treat women very well. But since he became president, he became another guy. Somebody I didn’t know.” Rod also shares that when he joked about Trump onstage in Las Vegas, he got booed.

The interview came in advance of Rod performing at the U.K.’s iconic Glastonbury Festival. He’ll play what’s called the “Legends slot,” on the afternoon of June 29. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer says, “I’ve got to bring [my band, crew and equipment] back from America. It’s going to cost me [over $400,000] to do it and they only pay you about [$162,000]. So, it’s going to cost me.”

But, Rod says, doing the show is such an honor that “it doesn’t matter.”

Rod also promises three special guests, all singers, plus his former Faces bandmate and current Rolling Stones guitarist Rod Wood. He’s concerned that he won’t be able to fit all his hits in the 75-minute slot he’s allotted, but says, “I’m really looking forward to it. And it is a different gig. It’s like when you’re playing a cup final: you’re trying to treat it like another game. But, of course, it’s not. It’s special.”

David Byrne appears in new documentary series exploring ‘The Art of Sound’

June 17, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Talking Heads frontman David Byrne is featured in a new three-part documentary series The Art of Sound, from L-Acoustics, a creator of professional audio technology.

According to the press release, the series “merges scientific discovery with artistic insight to explore sound’s fundamental role in human evolution and its continuing influence on our daily lives.”

“It’s remarkable how much we can orient ourselves based on sound,” Bryne, who appears in the debut episode, “Sound is Fundamental,” shares. “We can’t close off our ears because that way, we can tell if something or someone is approaching. With your eyes closed, you can tell what kind of space you’re in, what kind of room you’re in, and what kind of landscape you’re in.”

He adds, “I think sound probably affects us emotionally and physically. You can sense something you can’t see.”

Byrne’s episode is now streaming on the L-Acoustics YouTube channel.

Byrne is set to release the new solo album Who Is the Sky? on Sept. 5, which is his first solo album since 2018’s American Utopia. He’ll also head out on a North American tour in support of the album, starting Sept. 14 in Providence, Rhode Island. A complete list of dates can be found at DavidByrne.com.

Sting’s debut solo album, ‘The Dream of the Blue Turtles’, turns 40

June 17, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

After a hugely successful career as frontman of The Police, Sting launched his solo career 40 years ago Tuesday with the release of his debut solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles.

The album, named after a dream Sting had, saw the rocker embracing a jazzier sound and working with jazz musicians like Branford Marsalis, Omar Hakim and Kenny Kirkland, which is something Sting found very fulfilling.

“I was putting myself out of my comfort zone, working with an entirely different group of musicians, a different kind of musician, and it paid dividends,” Sting tells ABC Audio. “I think, you know, your risk is rewarded a lot of the time.”

The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Sting released four singles in the U.S., starting with “If You Love Someone Set Them Free,” which landed at #3 on the Hot 100.

Other singles from the album include “Fortress Around Your Heart,” which was a top-10 hit, and “Russians” and “Love Is the Seventh Wave,” both of which reached the top 20.

The Dream of the Blue Turtles wound up being a huge commercial success for Sting, with the album certified three-times Platinum in the U.S. It went on to earn several Grammy nominations, including album of the year.

And while 40 years is a big anniversary, the milestone isn’t one that Sting thinks about too much.

“I can’t keep up with these anniversaries. I mean, birthdays come around far too quickly, anniversaries do as well,” he says. “I remember my wedding anniversary. That’s what I remember. That’s important.”

Eagles, Dead & Company among the top tours of 2025 so far

June 16, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Eagles and Dead & Company are among the top tours of the year so far.

Pollstar has released its 2025 midyear report, revealing the top touring artists of 2025 based on shows played between Nov. 14, 2024, and May 14, 2025.

The Eagles land at #2 on the Mid-Year Top 100 North American Touring Artists list, thanks to $93.4 million from their shows at Sphere Las Vegas. Dead & Company, who also headlined the Sphere during that time period, land at #6, with $61.9 million.

Both bands also land in the top 10 on the Mid-Year Worldwide Touring Artists list, with Eagles at #4 and Dead & Company at #8.

Both Eagles and Dead & Company have more shows ahead of them in 2025. Eagles return to the Sphere on Sept. 5 for four shows, followed by more dates in October and November. A complete list can be found at Eagles.com.

Meanwhile, Dead & Company are playing shows Aug. 1, 2 and 3 at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park as part of the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary celebration. More info can be found at DeadandCompany.com.

Steve Perry raises more than $200K for LA fire relief with memorabilia auction

June 16, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Steve Perry‘s fans “Faithfully” showed up for the former Journey singer’s charity auction of personal memorabilia.

Perry raided his archives to raise money for LA wildfire relief; he ended up raising $215,000 for the cause. The top-selling item on the auction site, Darkives Collectibles, was a page of handwritten lyrics to “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which went for $43,500.

Other items that were sold in the auction included the handwritten lyrics to “Faithfully,” which brought over $12,000; Perry’s Gold and Platinum record plaques; vintage tour merchandise; studio-used instruments; and signed LPs, CDs and cassettes. One signed plaque highlighting the Platinum sales of Perry’s albums with Journey, as well as his own solo albums, went for over $10,000.

Perry said in a statement, “It means the world to me to see these personal pieces, many of which carry deep memories from different chapters of my life, find new homes while helping a cause that matters so deeply to me. I started this auction as a way to give back, and the response has been nothing short of overwhelming.”

Perry also teased, “Who knows… maybe I’ll dig a little deeper into the vault and do this again sometime.”

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