Rock
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Metallica‘s Helping Hands benefit concert will spread the good cheer farther and wider this year with a deal to air the show on Paramount+, Pluto TV and MTV’s YouTube channel. “We’re looking forward to celebrating the achievements of All Within My Hands at this year’s Helping Hands Concert & Auction and we’re psyched to tell you that it will be streamed live, thanks to our friends at @paramountplus!” the band wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday (Nov. 22).
The sold out Dec. 16 show at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles will be hosted by late night’s Jimmy Kimmel and feature an opening set from Greta Van Fleet. The event will kick off at 8:30 p.m. ET and stream live on Paramount+, with simulcasts on Pluto and YouTube. It will also feature an auction that kicks off on Dec. 5 to benefit the foundation, with 100% of the ticket and auction proceeds earmarked for those in need via a number of national and local charities.
Among the organizations that All Within My Hands has partnered with over the years are: the American Association of Community Colleges, Feeding America, Direct Relief and World Central Kitchen. This year alone the foundation has handed out $100,000 to Direct Relief and World Central Kitchen to help those hit hardest by Hurricanes Ian and Fiona in Florida and Puerto Rico in October, as well as $20,000 to the Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh in August and $100,000 to World Central Kitchen’s efforts to feed Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s unprovoked war on their country.
Check out the announcement below.
Bruce Springsteen reigns on Billboard’s Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums charts for an eighth time, as Only the Strong Survive debuts at No. 1 on the Nov. 26-dated rankings.
The set of soul covers begins with 40,000 equivalent album units earned in the Nov. 11-17 tracking week, according to Luminate, with 37,000 of that sum via album sales.
Springsteen first led both lists, which began in 2006, with 2007’s Magic. (His hefty history on Billboard‘s charts dates to 1975.)
With eight Top Rock & Alternative Albums rulers, Springsteen matches John Mayer for the most in the chart’s history.
Most No. 1s, Top Rock & Alternative Albums:8, John Mayer8, Bruce Springsteen6, The Beatles6, Coldplay6, Grateful Dead6, Dave Matthews (solo and with Dave Matthews Band)6, Tom Petty (solo and with the Heartbreakers)
Concurrently, Strong starts at No. 8 on the all-genre Billboard 200, marking Springsteen’s 22nd top 10, dating to the No. 3-peaking Born to Run in 1975. Thanks to the No. 2-peaking Letter to You in 2020, he joined the exclusive club of artists with newly charting top 10s in each decade since the ’70s.
Two songs from Strong appear on Rock Digital Song Sales. “Nightshift” bows at No. 8 (1,000 sold) and “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” enters at No. 16 (800). “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” previously made the list (Oct. 15) at No. 24.
“I had so much fun recording this music,” Springsteen mused of the new set. “I fell back in love with all these great songs and great writers and great singers, all of them still underrated in my opinion. And through the project I rediscovered the power of my own voice.”
Christmas in America is a time for family togetherness and glitzy commercialism, and New Yorkers were treated to both on Tuesday (Nov. 22) night when Elton John, his husband David Furnish and children Zachary (11) and Elijah (9) helped unveil the Saks Fifth Avenue holiday display.
A police barricade stopped traffic on (the rather busy) Fifth Avenue at 49th Street in Manhattan while a grand piano was wheeled into the middle of Fifth Avenue around 7 p.m. E.T. as onlookers – who were expecting a holiday display reveal but not a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer – marveled. After some introductory remarks from Saks CEO Marc J. Metrick, who announced that Saks was giving a $1 million donation to the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s Rocket Fund, Sir Elton took his rightful place behind the ivories.
“It means a great deal to me to have your support,” John said of the donation. “Thank you so much. I’m so thrilled to kick off the holiday season tonight and to be a part of this spectacular and iconic window unveiling and light show.” At that point, Furnish brought the boys up to join Elton for a family countdown to the big reveal.
Sir Elton – who just played the final North American show of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour on Sunday (Nov. 20) – treated lucky onlookers to a one-and-done performance of his Billboard Hot 100 breakthrough single “Your Song,” a top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit that began his imposing run on the chart back in 1970 (No hyperbole: We’re talking 29 top 10s, nine No. 1s on the Hot 100).
After reminding audiences why he remains such a treasure with his live prowess and inestimable gifts, Elton joined his family in a seated section of the crowd to watch the lights show. The window extravaganza included a fitting nod to John via a several rocket ships on pistons while seasonally shaded lights tripped the light fantastic on the building’s façade. A medley of Sir Elton’s hits accompanied the display, which found John and Furnish bobbing their heads to “Step Into Christmas” and “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix).”
As fireworks exploded above Saks Fifth Avenue, there was a moment when John reached up to scratch his head – it was almost certainly a biologically motivated move, but it seemed fitting that it occurred when his gentle ballad “Your Song” (playing in its studio version) blasted over speakers to accompany pyro above one of New York City’s most iconic and high-end department stories.
As John detailed in his marvelous memoir Me, he was fortunate enough to happen upon Bernie Taupin’s lyrics to “Your Song” as a struggling artist and was subsequently inspired to compose a melody to match the unabashed sincerity of the words. The idea – heck, the reality – that 50 years later, this gentle ballad would soundtrack an explosive holiday display that temporarily shut down one of the busiest metropolitan areas on earth is remarkably unlikely. But then again, John’s life has been unlikely.
As the fireworks faded and crowd dissipated, John can rest assured one of thing: even as he wraps up, he continues to deliver – and leaves us hungry for more treks down the yellow brick road. No matter how brief.
Of all the former One Direction members, Zayn has definitely forged the most unpredictable path. After becoming the first 1Der to leave the group, Zayn bounced from his debut R&B-leaning single “Pillowtalk” to a sultry Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack collab with Taylor Swift (“I Don’t Wanna to Live Forever”), as well as songs with Sia, Nicki Minaj and Zhavia Ward — the latter a cover version of “A Whole New World” from the 2019 Aladdin reboot.
He’s hopscotched from R&B to pop, old school hip-hop and even uptempo electropop, while recently signing on to be a part of the voice cast for the animated kid flick 10 Lives. But on Tuesday morning (Nov. 22), the singer posted what might be his most head-scratching left turn to date in the form of a cryptic 15-second video that appears to tease a collaboration with one of rock’s most iconic guitar heroes.
The video opens with Zayn’s name in a bold red font floating across the screen in shadow and shrouded in smoke followed by Jimi Hendrix‘s name in pale yellow as a spare guitar figure bubbles up in the background before the two artist’s names come into focus center screen. Zayn’s quietly urgent voice then trickles in singing the opening line (“Angel came down from heaven yesterday”) of the lesser-known Hendrix song “Angel,” which appeared on his 1971 posthumous studio album, The Cry of Love.
And then, just as things are getting interesting, the video begins to fade, with a final image of a white feather drifting down from the top of the screen to the sound of a distant audience cheering. At press time spokespeople for Malik and Hendrix — whose official account also featured the teaser — had not returned requests for clarification on what the project consists of and Zayn had not offered any further explanation on his socials.
The post teased a Friday (Nov. 25) release date for the song. Considered by many to be the greatest rock guitarist of all time, Hendrix, who died in Sept. 1970 at age 27, would have turned 80 on Sunday (Nov. 27).
Check out the tweet below.
Sixty-six years ago, Jerry Lee Lewis, who died Oct. 28 at the age of 87, shook America’s nerves and rattled its brains. The Dec. 22, 1956, issue of Billboard savored his debut single, “Crazy Arms,” as a “flavor-packed disk,” and the magazine went on to track the rise of “Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On” and “Great Balls of Fire,” both of which scored on the country, R&B and pop charts all at once. And as Elvis Presley turned his attention to Hollywood and then to the U.S. Army, Lewis seemed poised to vie for The King’s throne until a British journalist learned that the girl accompanying him on his U.K. tour was his third wife — as well as his 13-year-old cousin.
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‘Balls’ Out
Lewis raised hair as well as hell. The Oct. 28, 1957, Billboard noted that his EP The Great Ball of Fire sported “a photo of the cat with the wild hair flying in the breeze” and predicted it would “sell fast.” That fire didn’t fizzle: The May 5, 1958, issue reported that “Shakin’ ” had remained a jukebox hit for months thanks to “current teeners who still flip over the music with the big beat.”
‘An Open Letter’
In May 1958, after word had spread that he had married his 13-year-old cousin, Lewis, 22, was forced to cancel his U.K. tour. In the June 9, 1958, Billboard, the singer bought a full-page ad to pioneer a pop culture tradition: the half-apology. “I confess that my life has been stormy. I confess further that since I have become a public figure, I sincerely wanted to be worthy of the decent admiration of all the people, young and old, that admired or liked what talent (if any) I have,” he wrote. “I can’t control the press or the sensationalism that these people will go to to get a scandal started to sell papers.” One big DJ backed him up. “Jerry’s a Southern boy,” Alan Freed said, “and Tennessee boys get married quite young.”
Sun Makes ‘Light’
A week later, Billboard reviewed Lewis’ New York club debut in less than glowing terms. “Showmanship is not simply a matter of banging a piano [and] stomping around stage,” griped the June 16, 1958, issue. The following edition (June 23, 1958) reported that Sun Records head Sam Phillips was servicing DJs a “cute” promotional disc, “The Return of Jerry Lee.” “It makes light of the whole British episode,” Phillips explained, “which is the way we think the whole thing should be treated anyway.”
The Killer Beats Death
Lewis found a second life in Nashville, scoring four country No. 1s between 1968 and 1972. His hard living caught up with him, however, and in 1981, he was put in intensive care and underwent stomach surgery in Memphis. Lewis pulled through and performed at the Grand Ole Opry on Dec. 3. Almost a quarter-century after Billboard panned his New York concert, the Dec. 25, 1981, issue called his return to action in Nashville “an occasion tinged with awe.” The verdict: “He’s nothing short of mesmerizing.”
Biopic Blues
A New York preview of the Dennis Quaid-starring biopic Great Balls of Fire! was followed by a midnight jam with punk purveyors John Doe and Mick Jones backing Lewis, according to the July 8, 1989, issue. Even as an elder statesman, though, Lewis stirred up trouble: In the June 24, 1989, Billboard, his own manager, Jerry Schilling, called him out for “negative and damaging” statements about Presley to another outlet.
Bob Dylan’s publisher is offering refunds for a $600 special edition of his new book, The Philosophy of Modern Song, acknowledging that the allegedly “hand-signed” copies were not individually inscribed.
“To those who purchased THE PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SONG limited edition, we want to apologize,” Simon & Schuster announced in a statement posted Sunday (Nov. 20) on Instagram. “As it turns out, the 900 limited edition versions of the books do contain Bob’s original signature, but in a penned replica form. We are addressing this immediately by providing each purchaser with an immediate refund.”
Simon & Schuster’s statement came after days of complaints from customers, who through social media had compared their copies and found the autographs suspiciously alike. The books had arrived with a letter from Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp, vouching for the signature’s authenticity. But, according to Variety, when the books began arriving in fans’ mailboxes last week, they began comparing notes, and photos, and realized that the books had seemingly been signed using an “autopen,” which mimics a real signature and then reproduces it using a machine-powered pen.
On Friday, the publisher reportedly refused requests for refunds of the $599 limited-edition version, still claiming that it was hand signed, as evidenced by the letter included from S&S’s Karp. Within 48 hours, however, the fan photos caused the publisher to reverse course, leading to emails on Sunday admitted to the “mistake.”
The Philosophy of Modern Song, in which Dylan assesses compositions ranging from Hank Williams “Your Cheatin’ Heart” to Jackson Browne’s “The Pretender,” was published Nov. 1. A Dylan spokesperson declined comment Monday.
Pantera fans are getting psyched for the upcoming reunion of the beloved thrash metal icons. The group’s first major tour in more than 20 years will kick off in South America on Dec. 2 when they play at the Hell & Heaven Metal Fest in Texicoco, Mexico and over the weekend we got the first look at the new-look lineup of the group.
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Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante — who is filling-in for late original Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul — posted a pic of their reunion rehearsals on Sunday that featured him jamming in the studio with longtime Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde, who will be playing late guitarist Dimebag Darrell’s parts. Also in the candids were longtime bassist Rex Brown and vocalist Phil Anselmo.
“2 weeks in NOLA with these boys, it’s been a lot of work but how could it not?,” Benante wrote. “So much heart and soul is going into it. This is all about the Love for Vinnie and Dime, the fans and the music that these 4 created.” Charlie said he’s really enjoying playing the songs, which he promised “sound Great! It’s very emotional and it’s just starting to hit me… see you soon, I need a drink.”
Pantera is one of the most successful and influential bands in metal history, combining elements of hardcore and thrash to create a menacing sound anchored by late brothers Vincent “Vinnie Paul” Abbott on drums and “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott on guitar; the reunion tour was given the green light by both mens’ estates. The group broke through after the release of their fifth album, 1990’s Cowboys from Hell, with then-new singer Anselmo and the 1992 follow-up, Vulgar Display of Power. “Dimebag” Darrell was murdered in 2004 while performing on stage during a show with his band Damageplan in Columbus, Ohio, while Vinnie died in 2018 from natural causes including heart disease.
In addition to the shows in Latin America and Mexico, Pantera are playing three Knotfests (in Colombia, Chile and Brazil), as well as a run of European festivals in 2023.
Check out the pictures and their tour dates below.
Pantera 2022-2023 tour dates:Dec. 2 – Texicoco, MX @ Hell & Heaven Metal FestDec. 6 – Monterrey, MX @ Monterrey Metal FestDec. 9 – Bogotá, CO @ Knotfest ColombiaDec. 11 – Santiago, CL @ Knotfest ChileDec. 12 – Santiago, CL @ Movistar ArenaDec. 15 – São Paulo, BR @ Vibra São PauloDec. 18 – São Paulo, BR @ Knotfest BrazilJune 2-4 – Nürburgring, DE @ Rock Am RingJune 2-4 – Nürnberg, DE @ Rock Im ParkJune 10 – Sölvesborg, SE @ Sweden Rock FestivalJune 22-24 – Oslo, NO @ Tons of Rock
Nandi Bushell is ready to rage — this time, with the help of her little brother on the drumkit. On Sunday (Nov. 20), the multi-instrumentalist sensation took to Twitter and Instagram to post an instrumental cover of Rage Against the Machine‘s popular protest song, 1992’s “Killing In the Name.”
“A family that Rages together, stays together! I love jamming with my brother Thomas,” Bushell shared on the social media platforms. “I am teaching him about all the greatest #rock and #metal#bands. @RATM is one of the bands at the top of my list! #ratm. Hey @tommorello and @bradwilk you guys are awesome! Thomas is really getting good!”
With assistance from Thomas on drums, Nandi led the guitar portion of the track, kicking it off with the song’s ominous intro guitar riffs before expertly hitting Morello’s crunchy notes with skilled precision.
“Killing In the Name” was released as the lead single from Rage Against the Machine’s self-titled Nov. 1992 debut album. The lyrics of the track were inspired by the police brutality suffered by Rodney King and the Los Angeles race riots in 1992 that occurred as a result.
Despite the track’s early 1990s release, “Killing In the Name” did not appear on the Billboard charts until the 2010s — the politically charged track first hit the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart in 2011, but peaked at No. 3 on June 20, 2020, during the thick of the George Floyd protests against police brutality.
Watch Nandi and her brother Thomas cover “Killing In the Name” below.
Add Jack White to the growing list of musicians, activists and politicians who are fleeing Twitter in the wake of new owner Elon Musk’s so-far chaotic reign. Specifically, White blasted Musk for his controversial decision to reinstate former president Donald Trump to the platform after the site’s previous owners had permanently suspended the election-denying real estate mogul for violating company rules in the wake of the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“So you gave trump his twitter platform back. Absolutely disgusting, Elon. That is officially an a–hole move,” White wrote in a lengthy note posted on Sunday (Nov. 20) after deactivating his Third Man Records label’s Twitter account in protest.
“Why dont you be truthful? Tell it like it is; people like you and Joe Rogan (who gives platforms to liarslike alex jones etc.); you come into a ton of money, see the tax bill, despise paying your fair share, and then think moving to Texas and supporting whatever republican you can is going to help you keep more of your money (How else could trump possibly interest you?),” White continued.
“You intend to give platforms to known liars and wash your hands like pontius pilate and claim no responsibility? trump was removed from twitter because he incited violence multiple times, people died and were injured as a result of his lies and his ego, (let alone what his coup did to attempt to destroy democracy and our Capitol).”
After posting a Twitter poll asking users if they would like to see Trump back on the service — just days after the failed 2020 candidate announced his third White House bid — Musk announced that he would return the suspended Trump account after around 15 million users allegedly voted 51.8% in favor of reinstating it. White’s post pointed to the division and “families broken apart” by Trump’s divisive rhetoric and its destructive impact on the nation as a reason to keep his conspiracy peddling account shuttered.
“That’s not ‘free speech’ or ‘what the poll decided’ or whatever nonsense you’re claiming it to be;this is straight up you trying to help a fascist have a platform so you can eventually get your tax breaks.I mean, how many more billions do you need that you have to risk democracy itself to obtain it?” White asked, giving Musk credit for doing “amazing things” with his electric car company, Tesla, which the rocker noted, he personally “supported the hell out of.”
But, White said, world’s’ richest Man Musk had gone “too far” and is now using his power to promote “horrible, violence-inducing liars, who are taking the country and the world backwards and endangering the democracy that made you rich and successful in the first place.” White said he steadfastly believes in free speech, though he noted that he would never let the Ku Klux Klan hold a rally at his record label’s performance stage, or sell the KKK gasoline burn crosses “then wash my hands as if I didn’t help facilitate hatred.”
White acknowledged that Musk took on a big responsibility in spending $44 billion on the site, but said that “‘free speech’ isn’t some umbrella that protects you from that.” In a follow-up comment on his Instagram, White said “shame on you” to Musk for giving Trump and other “professional liars” a place on Twitter; on Saturday, Trump, who launched his own social media site after being booted from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram after the insurrection, said he has no plans to return to the site. “And shame on you if you think it’s no big deal. It is,” wrote White of the decision Musk made in his signature move-fast-and-blow-up-things style.
Noting that he’s never had a personal Twitter account, White then announced that he’d de-activated the Third Man Records account, saying it’s a “shame that our label’s artists will los a social media outlet to promote their art,” and apologizing to his acts for doing so. “But we are not going to even tangentially support you or this platform that will help conspiracy spreading liars and out of touch narci-capitalists tear this country apart, all for trump’s ego and your tax break agenda,” he said.
White’s noisy exit follows Nine Inch Nails leader Trent Reznor announcing that he plans to leave his 1.6 million Twitter followers behind while saying “we don’t need the arrogance of the billionaire class to feel like they can just come in and solve everything.” Even without Trump, Reznor said he finds Twitter to be “such a toxic environment. For my mental health, I need to tune out. I don’t feel goo being there anymore.”
Among the other stars who’ve logged off for good in the days since Musk’s Oct. 28 acquisition of the company are: Alex Winter, David Dastmalchian, Laura Benanti, Gigi Hadid and Whoopi Goldberg, while others have signaled their intentions to stop using Twitter in the near future.
“You should return to using your money and influence in ways that help the world like the electric car did, not in ways that bring negativity and division to the populace,” White concluded his statement. “And no, this isn’t ‘funny’ either Elon, it’s dangerous. Enjoy your new found power as a ‘freedom of speech’ purveyor but remember that the violence and division that occurs based on those tweeting lies is directly related to you giving them a platform.”
At press time it did not appear that Musk had responded to White.
See White’s full post below.
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced a $1 million donation to the Elton John AIDS Foundation during one of the star’s weekend performances at Dodger Stadium, the last North American stop on his final tour.
The team’s principal owner, Mark Walter, and Dodgers co-owner Billie Jean King presented a symbolic giant check at Saturday night’s (Nov. 19) show.
John thanked the team for its generosity and called Dodger Stadium “an iconic venue which has meant so much to me and my career.”
John made his 1970 U.S. debut at a local nightclub, the Troubadour, and surged to stardom, famously appearing at Dodger Stadium in sequined Dodgers uniforms in 1975.
His foundation is an independent organization dedicated to ending AIDS.