Classic Rock News

The Beatles final song, “Now and Then,” appears in the new movie Argylle. It turns out director Matthew Vaughn actually got the tune for the film before anyone knew it even existed.

During an appearance on the Kyle Meredith With… podcast, Vaughn shares that he was having a hard time finding a perfect song for the film when Giles Martin, Argylle’s music producer and the co-producer on “Now and Then,” spilled the beans on The Beatles song.

“Over a year and a half ago, I was with him and I said, ‘I’m really struggling to find what I call the romantic song of the movie, ’cause I need it to be sad, but hopeful…’ And he said, ‘Do you want to hear a new Beatles song?’” Vaughn shares. “And Giles has got a hell of a sense of humor, so I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah. Whatever.’ And he goes, ‘No, I’m being deadly serious.’” 

Vaughn notes, “He played it to me, and it was as if (John) Lennon had seen the film … We just slapped it on the movie, and we didn’t have to edit anything — it just fitted the picture.”

“Now and Then” was released in November. It features vocals Lennon recorded on a demo in the late ’70s along with new recordings from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and guitar parts Harrison recorded in the ’90s during the sessions for their Anthology series.

Argylle is in theaters now.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The world lost a number of well-known musicians in the year since the last Grammy Awards, including Tina Turner, who will be honored at the 2024 event. One of the show’s executive producers hint that Beyoncé may be involved in the tribute.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Raj Kapoor says this year’s in memoriam segment will include 16 minutes of performances and reveals there have been discussions about Bey being part of the Tina portion.

“We’ve definitely had conversations, and we know how much Tina and Beyoncé loved each other,” Kapoor says. While he didn’t confirm or deny that such a tribute would take place, he adds, “The Tina Turner tribute will be amazing. We are really excited. It may be a little unexpected, but it’s going to be absolutely amazing.”

This wouldn’t be the first time Beyoncé helped celebrate Tina. In 2005, she performed “Proud Mary” in tribute to Tina at the Kennedy Center Honors, and in 2008, they performed the song together on the 50th Grammy Awards.

In addition to Turner, music legends who died since the last Grammys include Tony Bennett, Jimmy Buffett, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Gary Rossington, Sinéad O’Connor, Gordon Lightfoot and the Eagles‘ Randy Meisner.

Kapoor also confirmed that Billy Joel will perform his new single, “Turn the Lights Back On” — his first in 17 years — and at least one of his classic hits. Additionally, Joni Mitchell will be joined by frequent collaborator Brandi Carlile as well as Jacob Collier, Allison Russell, SistaStrings, Lucius and Blake Mills.

The Grammy Awards air Sunday, February 4, on CBS.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Judas Priest has shared the video for “Crown of Horns,” the latest single off their upcoming album, Invincible Shield.

The clip gives fans some insight into how the song was made, showing all the band members recording their parts in various studios and, in some cases, at home.

“Crown of Horns” is the third single Judas Priest has released from Invincible Shield, following “Panic Attack” and “Trial By Fire.” The album, Priest’s first since 2018’s Firepower, is due out March 8 and is available for preorder now. 

Judas Priest is set to kick off a U.K. and European tour starting in Glasgow, Scotland, on March 11. They’ll bring the tour to the U.S. starting April 18 in Wallingford, Connecticut. A complete list of dates can be found at judaspriest.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Crosby, Stills & Nash will be celebrated with an upcoming tribute concert in New York City.

The Music of Crosby Stills & Nash is set to take place May 13 at Carnegie Hall. The show is the latest in a series of charity concerts put on by New York City entrepreneur Michael Dorf, with each one celebrating a different artist.

The announcement promises “20 artists performing CSN’s iconic catalog,” who will be announced on February 14.

Proceeds from the show will benefit music education for underserved youth, including such organizations as Grammys in the Schools, Theater Within and VH1 Save the Music.

VIP ticket packages are on sale now, with the top tier Our House package costing $10,000. It comes with access to the rehearsals and soundcheck, a dinner party with the artists, premium seats for the show and access to the after-party. It also includes the chance to join all the artists onstage for the finale. Regular tickets are expected to go on sale in March.

The Music of Crosby Stills & Nash will be the 19th tribute concert Dorf has put on. Since starting the series in 2004, they’ve raised over $1.5 million for charity. Other artists who’ve received such tributes include Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, The Who, Prince and R.E.M.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, February 2, 1942…

Singer/songwriter Graham Nash was born in Blackpool, England. He first gained fame in the early ’60s as a member of the Hollies, and then in 1968 he teamed with Stephen Stills and David Crosby to form Crosby, Stills & Nash, with Neil Young joining them a year later. They performed their second-ever gig together at Woodstock. Their first album as a foursome, 1970’s Déjà Vu, went to number one.

Nash has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of Crosby, Stills, & Nash in 1997, and again as a member of the Hollies in 2010. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours List for services to music and to charity.

Nash released his most recent album, Now, in May of 2023. He’s set to kick off a tour of Australia and New Zealand on March 1.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Queen is paying tribute to their late frontman, Freddie Mercury, in the latest edition of their weekly YouTube series, Queen the Greatest Live.

The episode actually highlights how the current lineup, Queen + Adam Lambert, incorporates Freddie into their gigs, sharing clips from shows that took place in 2020 and 2022.

The first is from the band’s 2020 Fire Fight Australia benefit concert, where they recreated Queen’s 1985 Live Aid set. While doing the group’s famous “Ay-Oh” call and response, the crowd goes wild when they see Freddie on screen to lead them. 

The second clip is from a 2022 performance at London’s O2 arena, during which Brian May performed the acoustic version of “Love of My Life,” with Mercury singing along on the video screen. It ends with them reaching their hands out to one another.

Freddie passed away November 24, 1991, at the age of 45.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle is out with a new album, Anthems – Honoring The Music Of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and he tells ABC Audio there was a clear reason why he wanted to make it. 

“Ronnie Van Zant and his band deserve it,” he says, referring to Skynyrd’s former frontman, who died in the 1977 plane crash that also killed guitarist Steve Gaines and backup singer Cassie Gaines, and injured Pyle and the rest of the band.

The album features guest stars including Dolly Parton, Sammy Hagar and Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes putting their spin on Skynyrd classics, but Artimus notes they also wanted to pay tribute to Ronnie.

“You can hear it in their performances that they’re putting their hearts into these performances because they’re singing for Ronnie,” he says.

Artimus says Dolly was the first to sign on for the album and that after hearing her take on the classic “Freebird,” he “cried like a baby.” The song was also an emotional one for Artimus because he was able to get his Skynyrd bandmate Gary Rossington to play on it.

“This album meant so much to me because it was a vehicle that brought Gary and I back together,” he says of Rossington, who passed away in March, leaving Pyle as the final living member of the original Lynyrd Skynyrd. 

And while some people may think he is trying to profit off the Skynyrd legacy, Pyle insists that’s not the case.  

“We didn’t do it to make a bunch of money,” he says. “The people that will benefit from these songs are the children and grandchildren of my friends that are up in rock and roll heaven.” 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The new season of Fox’s The Masked Singer returns next month, and it will include nights devoted to two rock legends.  

The show revealed that season 11 will include a Billy Joel night and a Queen night, which means we could hear the masked contestants perform songs like “Uptown Girl,” “Piano Man,” “We Will Rock You,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” and more.

There will also be nights dedicated to girl groups, shower anthems, a TV theme night and more, with this season’s costumed characters including Gumball, Lizard, Ugly Sweater, Goldfish, Starfish and Book.

Season 11 of The Masked Singer premieres Wednesday, March 6, at 8 p.m. on Fox.

Speaking of rockers and Fox games shows, Peter Frampton made a surprise appearance on Fox’s We Are Family on Wednesday, January 31. The legendary guitarist joined his son, Julian, for a performance of the Soundgarden classic “Black Hole Sun.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Looks like U2 is enjoying their down time in Sin City. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Bono and The Edge were seen at The Golden Tiki, an off the strip bar in Vegas’ Chinatown area, on Wednesday, January 31. 

The rockers turned up at the tiki bar around 1 a.m. after they finished headlining their residency, U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere, and posed for several photos. 

The Golden Tiki is a popular spot with celebrities, which displays shrunken heads in honor of the stars that stop in. Famous faces who’ve gotten shrunken head honors include Mötley Crüe‘s Vince Neil, Sammy Hagar and Rod Stewart along with Breaking Bad stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, who stopped by last March.  

So far, there’s no report on Bono or The Edge getting the shrunken head honor. They are due back onstage at the Sphere on Friday, February 2. A performance from the residency is also going to be part of the Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 4.

 A complete list of U2 dates can be found at u2.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Bruce Springsteen is mourning the loss of his mother, Adele, who passed away Wednesday, January 31, at the age of 98.

The Boss shared a video on Instagram of him dancing with his mom alongside lyrics to the song “The Wish,” which was written for her. In it, he sings about her buying him a guitar for Christmas and his memories on how she looked getting up and ready for work each day.

“The Wish” was one of the songs Springsteen would perform on his Springsteen on Broadway run, during which he revealed she had Alzheimer’s disease. The chorus has him singing about the wish he has for his mom, who he said loved to dance.

“It ain’t no phone call on Sunday, flowers or a Mother’s Day card/ It ain’t no house on the hill with a garden and a nice little yard,” he sings in the chorus. “I’ve got my hot rod down on Bond Street I’m older but you’ll know me in a glance/We’ll find us a Little rock ‘n roll bar and we’ll go out and dance.”

Adele grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and was a legal secretary. She was also a big supporter of her son’s career, often showing up at his concerts and rocking along with the crowd.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.