Foreigner is partnering with the Ford Motor Company on a new campaign to raise money for high school choirs in conjunction with the automaker’s Drive 4 UR School program.

The Rock Then Roll 4 UR School initiative will offer one school chorus from each city where Foreigner will be playing in October the opportunity to join the band onstage at its local concert and perform their classic ballad “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

To be considered, high school choirs must submit a video clip of them singing the song.  In addition, choir members will have the chance to rehearse for their performance with a member of Foreigner at a Ford dealership in their area, and will get to host a Drive 4 UR School fundraiser that can bring in as much as $6,000 for the school’s music program.  Foreigner and Ford also will donate $500 each to the choirs chosen to sing with the band.

“We are delighted to partner with such an iconic and influential band like Foreigner to provide support and visibility for high school choir programs,” says Ford executive Tracy Magee.  “Rock Then Roll 4 UR School is a unique iteration of our popular Drive 4 UR School and Drive 4 UR Community fundraising programs, and we’re hopeful it will inspire local communities to support students and their passion for music.”

Foreigner has 13 dates lined up in October, running from an October 5 concert in St. Paul, Minnesota, through an October 24 in Milwaukee.  Prior to their  partnership with Ford, the band began inviting local school choirs to perform “I Want to Know What Love Is” at its shows since 2012, and has already donated more than $200,000 to high school music programs.

Currently, the band is serving as Kid Rock’s opening act through a September 12 concert in Tinley Park, Illinois.  Meanwhile, as previously reported, Foreigner was slated to play an intimate acoustic show last night, August 24, in Dearborn, Michigan, that benefited the JDRF diabetes charity.  The concert was recorded for a new album that’s expected to be released in early 2016.  You can check out the band’s full itinerary atForeignerOnline.com.

Here are all the shows Foreigner is playing as part of the Rock Then Roll 4 UR School initiative:

10/5 — St. Paul, MN, Xcel Energy Center
10/7 — Moline, IL, iWireless Center
10/9 — Tulsa, OK, BOK Center
10/10 — Wichita, KS, Intrust Bank Arena
10/11 — Lincoln, NE, Pinnacle Bank Arena
10/14 — Columbus, OH, Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center
10/16 — Columbia, SC, Colonial Life Arena
10/17 — Jacksonville, FL, Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
10/18 — Greenville, SC, Peace Center
10/20 — Greeneville, TN, Niswonger Performing Arts Center
10/21 — Danville, KY, Norton Center for the Arts
10/23 — Appleton, WI, Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
10/24 — Milwaukee, WI, BMO Harris Bradley Center

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Images Courtesy of Ford Motor Company

Hackers of adultery website Ashley Madison used AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” to alert company employees to the security breach.

According to Billboard, when Avid Life Media employees logged onto their computers following the hack, they discovered a message from hackers accompanied by the 1990 song.

Avid Life Media is the parent company of the adultery website.

From Billboard, “Lyrically, the hit song is about finding yourself ‘caught in the middle of a railroad track’ after a wild night of partying with women. ‘You’ve been thunderstruck,’ goes the chorus. It’s not hard to see how this played into the hackers’ agenda.”

Avid Life Media is offering a $500,000 reward for any information leading to the prosecution of the hackers who managed to breach over 33 million accounts.

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Los Angeles police say a task force investigating Internet crimes against children served a search warrant at the Benedict Canyon, CA home of Gene Simmons Thursday.

The KISS rocker and his family were at the home at the time and were cooperative, and are not suspected in the case, police told KABC-TV.

Police haven’t released any other information about the investigation.

However, the Simmons family released a statement that declared the warrant was related to “a crime that may have occurred on their property last year while Mr. Simmons was away on tour with KISS.”

“Neither Mr. Simmons nor any member of his family is a person of interest in the investigation and they are cooperating fully with the investigation. At this time, the police have requested that Mr. Simmons and his family not discuss the investigation publicly so as not to compromise it.”

Simmons’ wife, Shannon Tweed Simmons, later tweeted, “Thanks for your support. We couldn’t be more horrified that someone used our residence for such heinous crimes. Law enforcement is on it.”

Gene Simmons himself as of Friday morning had no public comment, but tweeted a number of links to media coverage of the search that emphasized he and his family aren’t suspects.

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This past May, Eric Clapton played a series of shows at the famed London venue the Royal Albert Hall in celebration of his 70th birthday and 50 years in the music business.

Now, Eric Clapton: Live at the Royal Albert Hall — Slowhand at 70, a film featuring performances from one of those concerts, is scheduled to premiere in theaters worldwide starting on September 14.

The show, one of more than 200 that Clapton has performed at the Royal Albert Hall, boasted a career-spanning set that included renditions of songs Eric Clapton originally recorded with Cream and Derek and the Dominos, tunes from his solo albums and covers of songs by his blues hero Robert Johnson.

Among the songs featured in the film are “Layla,” “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Tears in Heaven,” “Crossroads,” “Cocaine” and “Wonderful Tonight.”

The screenings also will feature a short film offering new interviews with some of the members of Clapton’s touring band, including Paul Carrack, Andy Fairweather Lowe and Chris Stainton, as well as with music writers Hugh Fielder and Paul Sexton.

Dates for U.S. screenings of Eric Clapton: Live at the Royal Albert Hall haven’t been announced yet, but are expected soon.  Visit EricClaptonFilm.com for the latest information about the movie.  Watch an official trailer for the flick at Clapton’s official website and YouTube channel.

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Images courtesy Arts Alliance/Eagle Rock Entertainment

Keith Richards is promoting his upcoming solo album, Crosseyed Heart,with a cool new campaign in his home country of the United Kingdom.

Starting this week, one of four temporary commemorative blue “Heritage” plaques celebrating a site of significance to the Rolling Stones guitarist’s life will be unveiled in London or Southwest England.

There will be a new one unveiled each week up until the album’s September 18 release date.

The locations of the markers are being revealed via Richards’ officialFacebook page and Twitter feed.  Each plaque features a unique password, and once any fan submits the word at the newly launched website CrosseyedHeart.com, a song from Keith’s upcoming album will be unlocked for everyone to hear.

The site of the first plaque actually was revealed on Tuesday: 6 Spielman Road in the Dartford section of London, which is where Richards lived as a teenager.

Thanks to the discovery of the plaque, fans can now hear the new tune “Amnesia” at the website.  The location of the next blue plaque will be announced on Monday, August 24.

Interestingly, a permanent official blue plaque was erected at the Dartford train station this past February, because that’s where Richards and Mick Jagger met and struck up a friendship that led to the formation of The Rolling Stones.

Ex-Stones bassist Bill Wyman made headlines recently when he claimed in a BBC interviewthat the marker was inaccurate because founding late guitarist Brian Jones actually was responsible for the group’s formation.

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Images courtesy Mindless Records/UMe

If you just can’t wait until next month to catch the new Jimi Hendrix documentary Electric Church, you’re in luck.

Rolling Stone is offering an exclusive preview of what’s in store.

The clip — which was filmed July 4, 1970 at the Atlanta Pop Festival — finds Hendrix, bassist Billy Cox and drummer Mitch Mitchell blazing through “Purple Haze.”

The Atlanta Pop Festival performance wasn’t just another gig for Hendrix; it was the biggest U.S. show of his career, with an estimated attendance of 300 thousand people.

“Jimi was at the peak of his creative and commercial powers that summer,” says John McDermott, who directed the documentary.

“There are so few examples of Jimi performing on film that this footage of him performing before the largest U.S. audience of his career is significant. Younger fans should take note that Jimi didn’t need set lists, dance steps, stage backdrops and lighting cues to connect with his audience.”

Jimi Hendrix: Electric Church will air September 4 at 9:00 p.m. ET on Showtime. The performance will also be released on CD as Freedom: Atlanta Pop Festival on August 28.

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Images courtesy SHOWTIME

With the September 18 release of Keith Richards’ latest solo album,Crosseyed Heart, approaching, the Rolling Stones guitarist reissued his first two solo efforts — 1988’s Talk Is Cheap and 1992’s Main Offender — Friday the 14th.

The two albums will be available as digital downloads and via streaming services for the first time ever, and will come out on Richards’ own Mindless Records label.

Talk Is Cheap, Richards’ solo debut, included the mainstream rock hits “Take It So Hard” and “You Don’t Move Me,” and went on to be certified gold for more than 500,000 sales in the U.S.

Keith worked on the album with his frequent collaborators Steve Jordan, Waddy Wachtel and Ivan Neville.  The project led to the formation of Richards’ touring band The X-Pensive Winos.

Among the guest artists featured on the record are ex-Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, E Street Band backing singer Patti Scialfa, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell and Maceo Parker.

Main Offender also featured major contributions from Richards’ X-Pensive Winos collaborators, including Jordan and Wachtel.

The album yielded two songs that landed in the top 20 of Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Tracks tally — “Wicked As It Seems” and “Eileen.”

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Images courtesy Mindless Records

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) – John Mellencamp’s 20-year-old son is serving a four-day jail sentence in 12-hour stints because he suffers from a panic disorder.

The Bloomington Herald-Times reports a judge is allowing Speck Mellencamp to serve his time from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. so a health care professional is on duty when he’s there.

He received the sentence after he pleaded guilty in April to misdemeanor battery stemming from a fight in July 2013.

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Photo credits: Andrea Sartorati

Longtime Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora left the group in 2013, and is focusing on his solo career now, but many fans of the New Jersey rockers have been wondering whether he eventually would consider reuniting with them.

Sambora, who is recording a collaborative album with his current girlfriend, Australian guitar whiz Orianthi, that’s expected to be released next year, tells ABC Radio that although he has “no plans right now” to work with Bon Jovi again, he could see reuniting with the band under the right circumstances.

“I’m not ruling it out, because I think I would do it a lot for the fans there, because they were so important to us,” he explains.

“I wouldn’t want to go out and do those long tours anymore, but…I love those guys, man, and I’m not shunning it whatsoever…Man, we had a run.  Thirty years is a run.”

Sambora admits that the grind of the cycle of recording albums and heading out on lengthy tours was a big factor in his decision to exit Bon Jovi, but he says that wasn’t the only reason.

“I just needed a change,” he maintains.  “Plus, I wanted to sing again.  You know, I’ve been lead singer in all the bands I was in before this band, and I did a pretty good job.  So, I wanted to get back into that and see where I was going with that.”

Richie says his years with Bon Jovi, not surprisingly, have made him quite wealthy, which is allowing him the opportunity to experiment with the new music he’s making while not having to worry about answering to a record company.

Looking back at the pressure he experienced being in Bon Jovi, Sambora notes, “[When] we went to work we went to work.  And Jon and I were primary songwriters for that band, so I gotta be there from the beginning…So right after [the band finishes a tour,] you go into the studio.  So that’s…three months there.  Maybe you got a month off, then you start the promotional tour and then, it’s 16-and-a-half months on the road.  That was a normal tour for us.  There was some breaks, but not significant, you know.”

He also points out that those long treks made it difficult for him to spend time with his daughter, although he made provisions to take private planes to attend important events with her whenever he could.

“As long as I was close enough to get back and forth…I set a specific fund to stay in touch with her,” Richie explains. “So that worked out really well.”

With his commitments to Bon Jovi behind him, Sambora says he’s looking forward to introducing his new music projects, including his album with Orianthi to fans.  “Creating this brand and creating my own brand, it’s very, very important to me right now,” he declares.

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Cover photo credit: James Minchin III

Foreigner will record a new acoustic live album later this month, and raise money for a worthy charity at the same time.

The band has announced they’ll play a private show August 24 at The Ford Motor Company Conference and Event Center in Dearborn, Michigan, that’ll be captured for an album titled The Hits Unplugged and Live.

Proceeds from the event will benefit JDRF, formerly known as Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

A limited number of tickets are available by calling 313-248-1655313-248-1655 or emailing [email protected].  Foreigner’s donating its performance and the royalties it receives from the upcoming album to JDRF.

The concert will feature unplugged performances of such classic songs as “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold as Ice,” “Hot Blooded,” “Juke Box Hero,” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You.”

In addition, Foreigner will play its chart-topping ballad, “I Want to Know What Love Is,” with the Detroit-based student choir Mosaic, which also will open the show with an a cappella performance.  The Hits Unplugged and Live is expected to be released in early 2016.

“We are so pleased to be collaborating with JDRF for such a meaningful program,” says founding Foreigner guitarist/songwriter Mick Jones.

“Type 1 diabetes is a cause close to our heart, as our longtime tour manager’s daughter was diagnosed with T1D in 2003 when she was 4 years old.  There is tremendous anticipation around our first ever live acoustic album, and we’re glad we could donate our performance fees and royalties to benefit such an important cause.”

Fans attending the show also will be able to enjoy a pre-concert meal featuring menu items chosen by Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen.  In addition, the event will include a Foreigner memorabilia sale to benefit the cause.

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After fronting ZZ Top for nearly 45 years, Billy Gibbons will release his solo debut, Perfectamundo, on October 23.

The album was recorded in Spain, Los Angeles and Gibbons’ native Texas and as its title suggests, will have more of a Latin feel than his work with ZZ Top. Gibbons co-produced the disc with Joe Hardy.

In addition to the title track, Perfectamundo includes originals like “Pickin’ Up Chicks on Dowling Street” and “Quiero Mas Dinero” plus covers of “Baby Please Don’t Go” by Lightnin’ Hopkins and “Treat Her Right” byRoy Head.

Here’s the Perfectamundo track list:

“Got Love If You Want It”
“Treat Her Right”
“You’re What’s Happenin’, Baby”
“Sal y Pimiento”
“Pickin’ Up Chicks On Dowling Street”
“Hombre Sin Nombre”
“Quiero Mas Dinero”
“Baby Please Don’t Go”
“Piedras Negras”
“Perfectamundo”
“Q-Vo”

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Images courtesy Concord Records

Jimi Hendrix fans will want to mark September 4 on their calendars.

That evening will see the world premiere of a new documentary, Jimi Hendrix: Electric Church, on Showtime.

Directed by John McDermott, the film captures the guitar legend’s performance at the Atlanta Pop Music Festival in July of 1970 — just two months before his death.

During the performance — which was his largest ever in the U.S. — Hendrix blazes through such classics as “Purple Haze,” “Freedom,” “Hey Joe” and his version of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the latter against a backdrop of fireworks.

The documentary includes never before seen footage, plus interviews withPaul McCartney, Steve Winwood and Hendrix’s late, great drummer Mitch Mitchell.

Jimi Hendrix: Electric Church will premiere September 4 at 9:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime.

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