Classic Rock News

There’s no doubt music can make you happy, but a new study suggests some songs do a better job at brightening someone’s day than others. StudyFinds reports that a university professor claims to have found a scientific formula to discover what song makes people the happiest, with The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” topping the list.

Dr. Michael Bonshor, who has a Ph.D. in music psychology, claims the happiest songs are in a major key with 7th chords and 137 beats per minute. They also have four beats in every bar and are structured with a verse-chorus-verse-chorus.

The Beach Boys actually have two happy songs in the top 10, with “I Get Around” landing at seven.

Other tunes making the happiest songs list include James Brown‘s “I Got You (I Feel Good)” at two, Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” at five, Bob Marley’s “Sun Is Shining” at six, The Village People’s “YMCA” at eight, ABBA’s “Waterloo” at nine and the Earth, Wind & Fire classic “September” at 10.

Survey questions, methodology and results have not been verified or endorsed by ABC News or The Walt Disney Company.

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Geezer Butler is ready to tell his life story. The Black Sabbath bassist will release his memoir, Into The Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath—And Beyond, on June 6.

The book is described as “a rollicking, effusive, and candid memoir by the heavy metal musician and founding member of Black Sabbath,” sharing that it details “how one of rock’s most influential bands formed and prevailed.“ 

The book has Butler sharing stories of the beginnings of Black Sabbath in Birmingham, England, through their stardom, along with stories of his childhood growing up in a family of seven. According to the publisher, it “reveals the softer side of the heavy metal legend and the formation of one of rock’s most exciting bands, while holding nothing back.”

The publisher adds, “Like Geezer’s bass lines, it is both original, dramatic, and forever surprising.”

Butler first announced he was working on his memoir back in April 2021 during an interview with Cleveland.com, sharing he was doing it “for my grandkids to read.” Last April he announced on Twitter that he had turned in his first draft and mentioned Into the Void as a possible title, along with other options.

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On This Day, February 16, 1974…

Bob Dylan’s fourteenth studio album, Planet Waves, became his first album to hit number one on the Billboard Album chart.

Recorded with his longtime collaborators The Band, Planet Waves includes the future classic “Forever Young,” which appeared on the record in two different versions. The record was originally supposed to be titled Ceremonies of the Horsemen, and the release was delayed two weeks because of the title change. 

Dylan and The Band supported Planet Waves with a tour, which was Dylan’s first since 1966.

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The Kinks‘ Dave Davies is not at all happy with Twitter. As previously reported, The Kinks announced a new compilation, The Journey – Part 1, to celebrate the band’s 60th anniversary, but apparently when Davies decided to tweet about it, the social media site put a warning on it for “sensitive content” because of the band’s name.

Davies was so annoyed that he actually tweeted right to the social media site’s owner, Elon Musk, writing, “Dear @elonmusk would @Twitter please stop putting warnings on everything from ‘the Kinks’. We are just trying to promote our Kinks music @TheKinks #thekinks60.” 

Davies later informed Musk, “The Kinks are a brand name. We have been called the Kinks since 1963.”

The rocker also railed against robots that are flagging their name, noting, “The word robot should be banned. We got robots running our lives. At least I’m a Kink and not a f***n’ robot.

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Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett has premiered a new solo song, a country rocker called “Black Top White Lines.”

“Thematically it felt like it turned a classic country trope on its head a little,” Shiflett says of the tune.

You can listen to “Black Top White Lines” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying lyric video streaming now on YouTube.

“Black Top White Lines” follows Shiflett’s two 2022 singles, “Long, Long Year” and “Born & Raised.” He’s also been working on a new solo album, which is due out later this year.

Shiflett’s previously released two solo albums, 2017’s West Coast Town and 2019’s Hard Lessons.

In addition to working on his solo material, Shiflett will join the rest of Foo Fighters for a number of festivals this year, including Bonnaroo and Boston Calling. The shows mark the band’s live comeback following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last March.

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Back in early 1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosted the very popular daytime talk show The Mike Douglas Show. Now we’re about to get an in-depth look at what happened behind-the scenes.

Variety reports that a new documentary, Daytime Revolution, has just completed production, taking a look at that important week of television. The doc has the blessing of Yoko and Sean Ono, who also consulted on the project but do not appear. The doc will feature archival footage of the five Lennon/Ono hosted episodes, along with interviews from the surviving guests, which include political activist Ralph Nader.

“It’s become a cliche that Woodstock was the defining moment of the counterculture,” says the film’s director, Erik Nelson, but “when I watched these broadcasts in their entirety, I realized that, in reality, this week in 1972, when John Lennon and Yoko Ono essentially hijacked the airwaves and presented the best minds and dreams of their generation to the widest possible mass audience of what was then called ‘Middle America,’ was as far as the counterculture would ever get.”

Nelson notes Lennon and Ono’s appearance presented “Not just music but a prescient blueprint for the future we now live in.” 

The Lennon/Ono hosted episodes of The Mike Douglas Show featured a variety of guests, all personally invited by the couple. In addition to Nader, comedian George Carlin appeared on the program, as well as Chuck Berry and Black Panther chairman Bobby Seale and others, with the show touching on a variety of controversial topics.

So far, Daytime Revolution is still looking for a distributor and doesn’t have a release date.

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Rolling Stone magazine is out with another list that’s bound to get people talking. Following their controversial 200 Best Singers of All Time list, the mag has now called out 50 Genuinely Horrible Albums by Brilliant Artists.

While Kanye West’s 2018 release, Ye, tops the list, several rockers are recognized for their horrible records, including the The Velvet Underground, Yes, Bob Dylan, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

The Velvet Underground lands at two with their 1973 release, Squeeze, which didn’t really feature any of the original members. It had Doug Yule, who replaced founding member John Cale in 1968, writing and singing the majority of the songs. It did, however, have an impact on Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, who were inspired to call their band Squeeze because of the album. 

Albums making the top 10 include: Yes’ Union at three, Bob Dylan’s Down in the Groove at five, Black Sabbath’s Forbidden at six, Lennon and Ono’s Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins at seven, Elvis Presley’s Fun in Acapulco original soundtrack at eight, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s American Dream at nine and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Mardi Gras at 10.

The list also includes Van Morrison’s Latest Record Project, Volume 1, Billy Joel’s The Bridge, Metallica’s St. Anger, Elton John’s Leather Jackets, David Bowie’s Never Let Me Down, George Harrison’s Gone Troppo and Paul McCartney’s Give My Regards to Broad Street.

The complete list can be found at rollingstone.com.

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Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Survivor keyboardist Frankie Sullivan, who co-wrote the band’s hit single “Eye of the Tiger,” is not happy that former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley used the band’s hit track this week as she walked out to announce her run for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination.

Sullivan tells Billboard that his initial reaction when he discovered she used the tune was, “Stop using my f***ing song!”

“That song belongs with the Rocky franchise and they don’t ask because they’d get a no. Absolutely,” he said. 

“Eye of the Tiger” was the theme song to Rocky III, starring Sylvester Stallone, and went to number one for the band in 1982. In 2016 Sullivan sued Republican Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign for using the song at a rally without permission; Huckabee had to pay $25,000.

“I don’t care who it is, I don’t think it’s appropriate, especially with ‘Tiger,’ since it’s such a special song,” he said. “I have no idea why any politician would play that as a walk on. I would say you have to have balls … but in this situation that doesn’t apply.”

Finally, he notes, “I wish they would just stop this nonsense!”

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In a career full of awards and accolades, Sting has received one that really stands out.

Sting has been made a Fellow of The Ivors Academy, the body that presents The Ivor Novello Awards. These awards, which have been handed out since 1956, are the most prestigious music honor in the United Kingdom. They celebrate excellence in British and Irish songwriting, and are peer awards, voted on by other British and Irish songwriters and composers.

Sting has won seven Ivor Novello Awards, including a 2002 Lifetime Achievement Trophy, but being made an Academy Fellow is a bigger deal than that. In its 79-year history, the academy has only inducted 22 Fellows, including Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Elton John, Peter Gabriel, the members of the Bee Gees and Annie Lennox.

“Of all the awards in the world of music, The Ivors are for me, the most prestigious. Songwriting is a skilled craft and The Ivors Academy are its guild,” Sting says in a statement. “So, I am delighted and honored to be offered this Fellowship of the Academy, joining and acknowledging this extraordinary group of fellow songwriters, and all of those who went before us.”

In honor of the, well, honor, Amazon Music — the award ceremony’s new title sponsor — has released an exclusive demo version of “If It’s Love,” a song from Sting’s most recent album, The Bridge. 

The winners of this year’s Ivor Novello Awards will be announced May 18 in London. Nominations come out in April.

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