Classic Rock News

Note Language) As previously reported, Journey’s Neal Schon hit his bandmate Jonathan Cain with a cease-and-desist letter over Cain’s recent performance of “Don’t Stop Believin’” at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Well, now Cain has responded.

“Schon is just frustrated that he keeps losing in court and is now falsely claiming the song has been used at political rallies,” reads the statement issued by Cain’s spokesperson.

But Schon has already fought back against that argument. “Now he’s claiming I keep loosing in court ?!? Inf******sane,” he tweeted. “Get off the kool-Aid. Wow lies after lies. I’ve won 1 case in court with Cain and the residing one has not been heard yet.”

Schon also took to social media to defend his actions. First, the guitarist shared a written excerpt from an earlier report showing the band’s former frontman, Steve Perry, who co-wrote “Don’t Stop Believin’” with Schon and Cain, did not want their music used for political purposes. He noted Perry tweeted that he didn’t give permission for the song to be used by any political candidate. Shon commented, “Well Steve and I agree on this.”

He followed that up with an audio clip of an interview with Cain, where he seemed to agree with that idea, noting, “Have a listen right around 9:25mins. Jonathan Cain himself talking about politics and religion not a good idea with our music. One word -hypocrite.” 

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Night four of Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin‘s Hanukkah Sessions became a family affair with an assist from Violet Grohl.

The teenage daughter of the Foo Fighters frontman joined her dad and the producer for a rendition of the Janis Ian song “At Seventeen,” handling lead vocals and playing an acoustic guitar.

You can watch the performance streaming now on YouTube.

For The Hanukkah Sessions, which is now in its third year, Grohl and Kurstin release a cover of a song by a Jewish artist for each of the holiday’s eight nights. This year’s edition was recorded live at the Los Angeles club Largo earlier this month and so far has included versions of Blood, Sweat & Tears‘ “Spinning Wheel” featuring director Judd Apatow, Pink‘s “Get they Party Started” and 10cc‘s “The Things We Do for Love” with Inara George.

The last two Hanukkah Sessions spawned covers of artists including KISS, Beastie Boys, Bob Dylan, Drake, Lisa Loeb, Ramones, Amy Winehouse and Billy Joel.

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CBS aired a special Grammy tribute to Paul Simon Wednesday, featuring a host of artists performing some classic Simon tunes.

Homeward Bound: A GRAMMY Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon was filmed back in April at the Hollywood Pantages Theater and had Simon being serenaded by the likes of Dave Matthews, Jonas Brothers, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.

Among the highlights: Matthews teamed up with Angelique Kidjo for a rousing rendition of “You Can Call Me Al,” along with “Under African Skies,” while Take 6 sang the a cappella tune “Homeless,” which received high praise from Simon himself. Also, Jonas Brothers performed “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover,” Sting performed “America,” Garth and Trisha duetted on “The Boxer,” and Susanna Hoffs was on hand to perform The Bangles’ cover of Simon’s “Hazy Shade of Winter.”

Among the other performances: Stevie Wonder was joined by Sheila E, Jonas Brothers and Ledisi to perform “Mrs. Robinson,” then partnered with Ledisi for “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.” Bonnie Raitt and Brad Paisley performed “Something So Right”; Jimmy Cliff and Shaggy teamed up for “Mother and Child Reunion”; Billy Porter and Take 6 performed “Love Me Like A Rock”; and Eric Church performed “Homeward Bound.”

The night ended with a performance by Simon. He started off with “Graceland,” then brought out Rhiannon Giddens for a powerful performance of “American Tune.” He then ended the night with the classic “The Sound of Silence.”

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences just announced the short lists in several categories for the upcoming 95th Academy Awards and documentaries about two iconic musicians are in the running. 

The David Bowie doc Moonage Daydream, as well as the Leonard Cohen documentary Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song are among the 15 films in the running for a possible nomination in the Documentary Feature Film category.

Moonage Daydream, directed by Brett Morgen, focuses on Bowie’s catalog from 1970 to 1977 and was described as “a sublime kaleidoscopic experiential cinematic odyssey that explores Bowie’s creative, spiritual, and philosophical journey.” Hallelujah, created by Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine, tells the story of Cohen’s life and how his song “Hallelujah” became such an iconic track.

The short list was also announced for the Best Original Song category, with LCD Soundsystem making the cut for their White Noise song “New Body Rhumba.” The David Byrne/Mitski track “This is a Life,” from Everything Everywhere All at Once, is also in the running, as are songs by Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Rihanna, The Weeknd and Lady Gaga.

The 95th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, are set to air March 12 on ABC. Nominations will be announced January 24.

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The fighting between the members of Journey continues. Variety reports the latest battle is over their classic song “Don’t Stop Believin’,” with Neal Schon filing a cease-and-desist order against bandmate Jonathan Cain to stop him from playing the tune.

The trouble appears to stem from Cain’s appearance last month at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, where he played the tune backed by Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Kari Lake.

“Although Mr. Cain is free to express his personal beliefs and associations, when he does that on behalf of Journey or for the band, such conduct is extremely deleterious to the Journey brand as it polarizes the band’s fans and outreach,” the letter reads. “Journey is not, and should not be, political.”

It adds, “Mr. Cain has no right to use Journey for politics. His politics should be his own personal business,” noting, “He should not be capitalizing on Journey’s brand to promote his personal political or religious agenda to the detriment of the band.”

The bandmates’ relationship certainly has been on rocky ground recently. Just last month, Schon sued Cain over an American Express card Schon said Cain signed up for, but didn’t give him access to. Cain claimed the suit was an attempt to cover up Schon’s own “excessive spending and extravagant lifestyle.”

Somehow they are supposed to work together again, though. Their tour with Toto kicks off February 4 in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

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Paul McCartney is giving fans a little insight into how he dealt with the grief of John Lennon’s death in 1980. While discussing the making of the 1982 record Tug Of War with Sirius XM’s The Beatles Channel, he opened up about writing the tune “Here Today,” in which he pays tribute to his Beatles bandmate.

“When John died, it was so difficult,” Sir Paul says. “It was difficult for everyone in the world because he was such a loved character and such a crazy guy. He was so special.” 

McCartney says he remembers hearing people talk about Lennon on TV, which was something he just couldn’t do. “I can’t just go on TV and say what John meant to me,” he shared. “It was just too deep. It’s just too much. I couldn’t put it into words.”

But, McCartney says “once the emotions had sort of settled a little bit” he was able to channel his grief into music. He explains, “I found a room and just sat on the wooden floor in a corner with my guitar and just started to play the opening chords to ‘Here Today.'”

Paul says the line “the night we cried” refers to an experience in Key West, Florida, where they were stuck in a motel for a few days and got drunk together.

“We got drunk and started to get kind of emotional,” he continued. “There was a lot of soul-searching. We told each other a few truths, you know, ‘Well, I love you,’ ‘I love you man,’ ‘I love that you said that,’ and we opened up.” 

Paul notes, “So that was kind of special to me. I think that was really one of the only times that ever happened.”

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R.E.M. announced they were calling it quits back in 2011, and since then we’ve only heard sporadic music from the band’s frontman, Michael Stipe. Well, that’s about to change. 

In an interview with Departures, Stipe reveals that he’s working on his first-ever solo album, which he says “should come together next year.”

“I’m working on a solo album, my first,” he says. “I’m collaborating with a bunch of different musicians and each of those songs, if I get my way, which I think I will because I’m paying for it, will be very different.” Stipe adds that he currently doesn’t have a manager or label, “So I get to do whatever I want.”

“Anyway, there will be a visual representation for each of the songs, and it should come together next year,” he explains. “I’m hoping to build slowly.”

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Dead & Company will be heading to Mexico next month for their annual Playing in the Sand festival, and now fans who can’t make it across the border will be able to enjoy the show.

The band just announced that the festival, set for January 14 to 17 in Riviera, Cancun, will be livestreamed on Nugs.net. 

Fans can purchase tickets for individual shows, as well as a four-show package, which includes three Dead & Company performances and one performance, on January 15, of opener Goose. 

This year’s Playing in the Sand will be the last for Dead & Company, who previously revealed that their upcoming summer tour will be their last. The summer tour is set to kick off May 19 in Los Angeles, California.

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Ozzy Osbourne is not expecting to kick off 2023 with a Grammy win.

The Prince of Darkness is up for four awards at next year’s ceremony, including Best Rock Album for his new solo effort, Patient Number 9, as well as Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for the record’s Jeff Beck-featuring title track and Best Metal Performance for the Tony Iommi collaboration “Degradation Rules.”

Speaking with Billboard, Ozzy shares that he was “shocked” by the nominations and will be even more so if he actually wins.

“I mean, if I won anything for the album I’ll be floored,” Ozzy says.

Should a win be in the cards, will Ozzy be preparing a speech ahead of the February 5 show?

“I’m not good at making speeches,” Ozzy explains. “I always end up saying it twice or blowing it or whatever. I’m sure my wife will have it worked out. Behind me is my wife. My wife pulls my strings.”

However unexpected a Grammy victory may be, it’d be a nice boost for Ozzy, whose last few years have been, in his own words, “sheer hell” due to a variety of health issues.

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Elton John‘s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour is paved with gold: It’s topped Billboard‘s list of the highest-grossing tours for the month of November. It’s the sixth time Elton has been number one on that chart, and it extends his record as the artist with the most months at number one overall.

Elton’s eight concerts in November took in a whopping $60.2 million, including $23.5 million alone for his three concerts at L.A.’s Dodger Stadium on November 17, 19 and 20. Those shows represented the final North American concerts of his farewell tour; the show on November 20, featuring Dua Lipa, Kiki Dee and Brandi Carlile, was livestreamed on Disney+.

Since mid-July, Elton’s been playing North American stadiums, and those 33 shows together have brought in a hefty $222 million. Overall, the tour currently ranks as the second-highest-grossing one of all time, behind only Elton’s pal Ed Sheeran‘s Divide tour, which ran from 2017 to 2019.

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