Author: LRussell

Call this “Let It AirBnb”: Original drummer Pete Best and his younger brother Roag have converted one of the earliest venues where the Beatles performed into a short-term rental property.

The Casbah Coffee Club hosted the early Beatles nearly 40 times, after John Lennon’s previous Quarrymen band played there on seven nights. The venue at 8 Haymans Green in Liverpool opened in 1956 in the basement of Best’s family home and was run by his mother Mona.

She’d initially tried to book a residency with the Les Stewart Quartet, which featured a young George Harrison, but they suddenly split up before opening night. “George basically turned ’round and said: ‘I happen to know a couple of guys who aren’t doing anything,'” Pete Best tells The Guardian. “They turned out to be John Lennon and Paul McCartney.”

READ MORE: 20 Beatles Songs That John Lennon Hated

There are now five AirBnB units above the club, each named after the original members of the Beatles – Lennon, Best, McCartney, Harrison and doomed founding bassist Stuart Sutcliffe. Roag Best, later revealed to be the son of Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall, has been renovating the property with his sibling for more than three years.

How Much Is the Casbah Club AirBnB?

Rooms are roughly $200 a night and each has been decorated with exclusive Beatles memorabilia, including band photos, classic posters and old instruments. Bookings have already drawn people from throughout the U.K., as well as Scotland, Canada and the U.S.

There’s no suite devoted to Ringo Starr, who later replaced Pete Best as the Beatles were nailing down a final take on their debut single “Love Me Do.” “Everything we do is about being authentic and the Beatles that performed and partied here were John, Paul, George, Pete and Stuart,” Roag Best told The Guardian. “Ringo was never a member when he was here.”

Pete Best has said he remains unsure why producer George Martin made the lineup change but holds no hard feelings. “I still don’t know the reason today, but it doesn’t worry me one iota,” Best said. “As far as I’m concerned, it happened 60-odd years ago, and I’ve lived my life. I’ve had a great life It did cause me initial heartache and resentment, but that’s show business.”

You Think You Know the Beatles?

Ian Gillan admitted that Deep Purple never intended to retire, despite calling their 2017 trek The Long Goodbye.

During a recent interview with SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk, the singer explained the reasoning behind the tour name.

“That was a joke, actually, because it was the promoters,” Gillian confessed. “And someone said, ‘We’ve gotta sell some more tickets.’ And it’s the good old standby, the farewell tour. So I said, ‘OK, we’ll call it ‘goodbye’ tour, but let’s call it ‘the long goodbye’, and let’s make the emphasis on the word ‘long’,’ so it’s kind of an enigmatic phrase.”

READ MORE: 15 Farewell Tours That Weren’t Actually Goodbye

The singer’s explanation deviates from what he said six years ago, when he claimed Deep Purple named their tour ‘The Long Goodbye’ because they were considering retirement. At the time, guitarist Steve Morse added further fuel to the fire when he said, “For me, personally, it’s a farewell tour.” Morse departed the band in 2022.

During his conversation with Trunk, Gillan made clear that Deep Purple will not be slowing down any time soon.

“There’s no intention to stop,” he affirmed. “We’re already booked to the end of ’26, in the planning stage, in the diary, with all the projects we’ve got for Deep Purple. So, yeah, years to come, hopefully.”

When Will Deep Purple Retire?

During a recent conversation with UCR’s Matt Wardlaw, Gillan alluded to when he might be ready to retire.

READ MORE: Deep Purple Albums Ranked

“As soon as you start feeling unable to deliver at that [high] level – of course, you adjust, of course, you adapt and make do the best you can. But when the energy level goes, that’s time to stop because then it gets embarrassing and nobody wants that,” the rocker explained. “But so far, so good.”

Deep Purple’s North American tour dates conclude Sept. 9 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. From there they’ll head to South America and Europe for tour dates stretching through the end of the year.

Don McLean has no time for what he describes as “woke bullshit,” adding that it’s the kind of societal issue he conveyed in his 1971 classic “American Pie.”

“The song really does open up a whole historical question about what happened in the ’60s and assassinations and the history that forms the backbone of the song as it moves forward,” the rocker explained during a recent interview with Metro. “This song talks about the fact that things are going somewhat in the wrong direction, and I think that they’re still going in the wrong direction. I think most people looking at America now kind of think that too.”

The rock legend then went on to draw a line between the issues portrayed in “American Pie” and the current climate in the U.S.A.

READ MORE: Top 200 ’70s Rock Songs

“I mean, we certainly have a wonderful country, and we do wonderful things, but we also are in the middle of all this woke bullshit,” he declared. “All this other stuff that there is absolutely no point to, as far as I can see, other than to undermine people’s beliefs in the country. That’s very bad.”

‘There’s So Much Anger Out There’

According to McLean, many of modern society’s problems can be attributed to a lack of human connection. He claimed that people “would just like to anesthetize themselves against any emotion” and are “in permanent party mode” without the ability to “get a handle on what really matters in life anymore.”

“They’re so addicted to their telephones and their iPads, and I am too. But there’s a constant flow of information and suddenly nothing makes much sense,” the rocker continued. “You have to concentrate in order to write songs like I did, or like other songwriters did in the past, or screenplays or novels or poetry.”

READ MORE: 50 Very Diverse Rock Songs About the U.S.A.

“There’s so much anger out there,” McLean added. “So many of these college students have been given everything, and they’re just angry. They don’t know why they’re angry. They don’t even know what to be angry about. It’s really a symptom of the fact that they’re frustrated. They don’t have a path that they can tread in life that leads to a better life.”

McLean has spent much of 2024 on the road, performing across America. His next run of dates begins Sept. 4 in Kalispell, Montana and ends Dec. 20 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

U2 has announced a new concert movie, V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film at Sphere Las Vegas, which will debut Sept. 5 and play exclusively at the Sin City venue they helped open with the 40-night U2: UV residency last fall.

“The goal was to give the immersive moviegoers as close to the live U2:UV concert experience as possible – and then some,” the Edge explained. “I’ve never seen a U2 show. I’m so relieved I caught a great one.” The guitarist also co-directed the movie with Morleigh Steinberg.

Read More: The Five Most Dazzling Moments from U2’s Sphere Show

U2 played 40 sold-out shows at the technologically advanced new venue between September 2023 and March 2024. The venue allows artists to surround concert-goers from every direction with breathtaking images and a state-of-the-art sound system.

V-U2 is the first movie to be shot entirely with the ultra-high resolution Big Sky camera system designed by Sphere entertainment. “We knew all the tremendous capabilities of the technology, but we didn’t know what to expect from the process of making this film.  The work became a true collaboration between band, artists, producers, and technology teams,” explains Steinberg. “The end result is a cinematic experience that transports viewers into the energy and beauty of the live show.”

The cheapest tickets for V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film at Sphere Las Vegas will cost $100, although the press release notes that this “is the full out-of-pocket price inclusive of taxes and fees.” They go on sale Thursday, Aug. 22 to U2.com and Sphere Inner Circle subscribers, and to the general public via Ticketmaster the next day.

Watch the Trailer for U2’s ‘V-U2’

“And just like that, 20 years,” Billie Joe Armstrong marveled in the final seconds of “Whatsername” during Green Day‘s Tuesday concert at the Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas.

You could see the gravity of it hit him in that moment. Twenty years since the blockbuster American Idiot gave the Bay Area punks a new lease on life and made them one of the biggest rock bands in the world for the second time — just as their meteoric major-label debut Dookie had done 10 years earlier.

With a combined 16 million U.S. sales, these twin peaks cemented Green Day’s status as one of the last rock bands of monocultural import. They’re playing both in full on their current Saviors tour, named after their new album (which the band has called a spiritual successor to Dookie and American Idiot), and on Tuesday they tore through 37 songs over the course of two hours and 15 minutes with age-defying efficiency.

The different phases of the set showcased Green Day’s various strengths — Dookie a vehicle their snot-nosed humor and Beatlesque melodies (endless credit, as always, to bassist Mike Dirnt, whose masterful vocal harmonies elevated the songs), while American Idiot demonstrated their muscular grandiosity and prog-punk theatrics. Thousands of Gen X-ers, many with children in tow, pounded their fists and sang along to slacker anthems like “Burnout” and “Longview,” but the concert shifted into next gear during the opening power chords of “American Idiot,” bolstered by the screams of those who came of age during Hot Topic’s halcyon days.

READ MORE: Why Green Day Initially Shelved ‘Good Riddance’

“Put the phones away! Just be here in the moment, right now!” Armstrong implored during “Longview,” marshaling the crowd with the zeal of a megachurch pastor or seasoned politician. Yet despite his now-routine jab at former President Donald Trump during “American Idiot” (“I’m not a part of a MAGA agenda”), Armstrong sought to uplift rather than antagonize.

“This is not divisiveness — this is unity!” he shouted during American Idiot fan favorite “Letterbomb.” “This isn’t just a party — it’s a celebration!”

There’s been some existential handwringing in recent years whether Green Day qualifies as a classic rock band. Those who came up during the actual classic rock era may balk at the notion, but here are the facts: They’ve been doing this for nearly four decades, and they’re one of a select few rock bands (along with Foo Fighters) capable of packing stadiums while still limber enough to take flying leaps off stage risers. Their hits are part of the pop-culture lexicon and continue to inspire hordes of disaffected young people who take solace in screaming guitars and singalong choruses.

Green Day is well into legacy-act territory now, but they steward that legacy responsibly, inviting starry-eyed young fans onstage every night to sing with them. (Along with the planned audience participation during “Know Your Enemy,” Tuesday also featured a brilliant, impromptu duet between Armstrong and a 17-year-old girl during the set-closing ‘Good Riddance [Time of Your Life].'”) And even if Saviors falls short of the dizzying peaks of Dookie and American Idiot, its highlights show impressive range and fervor, from the Weezer-adjacent “Bobby Sox” to the confessional alt-rocker “Dilemma,” one of their best songs of the past two decades.

They might not be your dad’s classic rock (unless your dad was born in 1981), but Green Day has earned their classic status, and they still rock with abandon. They’re long past the need to prove themselves — all that’s left to do now is celebrate.

The new Never Too Late documentary finds Elton John looking back on his storied career as he prepared for his final North American concert in November 2022 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Directed by R.J. Cutler (Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, The War Room, Nashville) and John’s husband David Furnish, the film will have a just-announced gala screening in October as part of the London Film Festival. It’s named after a song John co-wrote with Tim Rice that appeared during the closing credits of Disney’s 2019 remake of The Lion King.

Elton John: Never Too Late also begins at Dodger Stadium, as John performed at the peak of fame for more than 100,000 fans over two nights in 1975. In retrospect, however, John says “there was an emptiness within me. He would face down many doubts, and even more demons, before finding himself in a full circle moment in Los Angeles. “This is where you start to think about mortality,” John admits.

READ MORE: Top 10 Elton John Songs

John launched the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in September 2018 and became the first ever to earn $900 million as he continued through 2023 after a pandemic-related hiatus. (Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour quickly broke his record.) Previous top-sellers were Ed Sheeran with $776.4 million and U2 with $736.4 million. John set a number of other milestones along the way, including a No. 1 finish for 2020’s highest-earning tour and Top 5 spots in both 2019 and 2022.

Listen to Elton John’s ‘Never Too Late’

Upcoming Book Also Retraces Elton John’s Final Tour

John has already announced commemorative book called Farewell Yellow Brick Road: Memories of My Life on Tour, to be released in September. Elton John: Never Too Late screens on Oct. 10 at Southbank Center’s Royal Festival Hall in London. The documentary originally premiered in September at the Toronto International Film Festival.

“Directors R.J. Cutler and David Furnish bring a great intimacy and exhilaration to the story of one of the world’s most accomplished and beloved musicians,” Kristy Matheson, BFI London Film Festival director, said in an official statement. “We’re delighted to present Elton John: Never Too Late and give audiences a front-row seat to one of the most electrifying creative careers of our age.”

Elton John’s Terrifying First U.S. Concert

Paul McCartney leaped on stage last night during a Hamptons performance by Rolling Stones producer Andrew Watt, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and former Bob Dylan/Hall and Oates guitarist G.E. Smith. Watch fan-shot clip below.

The former Beatles star has long owned a home in the area. They did a ragged update of “I Saw Her Standing There” at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, but not before a raucous rendition of Neal Young‘s “Rockin’ in the Free World.” (The Instagram video compilation has the songs in reverse order.) Singer-songwriter Charlotte Lawrence, Watt’s girlfriend, sang along on the Young track.

Watt intersected with McCartney during sessions for the Rolling Stones’ 2023 album Hackney Diamonds, when McCartney appeared on “Bite My Head Off.” Watt has also worked with Ozzy Osborne, Pearl Jam and Iggy Pop. Next up? Yahoo! hints that Watt “will reportedly be involved in an upcoming McCartney album project – although details remain scant.”

READ MORE: Top 10 Beatles Guitar Solos Not By George Harrison

In the meantime, McCartney is headed back out on the road. The next round of dates begins on Oct. 1 in Uruguay and continue across South America through mid-November. European and U.K. shows then kick off on Dec. 4 in Paris. These dates continue until Dec. 19 at the O2 in London.

The previously unreleased Wings live performance One Hand Clapping is also coming to theaters. The set was recorded in 1974 at Abbey Road Studiost, but went unreleased. After being widely bootlegged, One Hand Clapping finally appeared in album form last summer. The accompanying film, originally shot on videotape, has been restored at 4K. It’s set to premiere on Sept. 26.

Was Paul McCartney’s ‘Broadstreet’ Doomed to Fail?

A catchy riff — whether it be on guitar, bass, synthesizer or some other instrument — can take a song from good to legendary. Just ask some of the artists we’ve listed below.

These are riffs that in some way are integral to the song itself. Without them, there is nothing to drive the track along, nothing for the singer to push up against and nothing all that memorable (or least much less) for a listener to hum along to.

Read on for our Top 30 Rock Riffs — good luck getting them out of your head afterward.

30. Rush, “The Spirit of Radio”
From: Permanent Waves (1980)

Rush’s “The Spirit of Radio” takes its title from the slogan of the Toronto-based radio station CFNY-FM, so the riff, guitarist Alex Lifeson told Classic Rock in 2021, was meant to add to that theme. “I just wanted to give it something that gave it a sense of static – radio waves bouncing around, very electric,” he explained. “We had that sequence going underneath, and it was just really to try and get something that was sitting on top of it, that gave it that movement.”

 

29. Led Zeppelin, “Immigrant Song”
From: Led Zeppelin III (1970)

We could probably make a whole other separate list of incredible riffs written by Jimmy Page, but to begin, we present “Immigrant Song,” which features a relentless, borderline barbaric guitar part. When the song was used in School of Rock starring Jack Black, Robert Plant noted the following (via Vulture): “It’s a killer guitar riff. What a shame ‘Immigrant Song’ isn’t easy for kids to play, by the way.”

 

28. New Order, “Age of Consent”
From: Power, Corruption & Lies (`1983)

When Joy Division ended in 1980 and New Order began not long after, there was a marked shift in the way the band approached their music. “Age of Consent,” with its propelling, easy-to-dance-to guitar riff is evidence of that. “There’s a heaviness and an intensity in Joy Division that suits the ’70s. The ’80’s were lighter and more melodic, more forward looking — certainly more interesting—and quite innovative as well,” bassist Peter Hook explained to Stereo Embers Magazine in 2013. “I think New Order sort of mirrored that as well in a way.”

 

27. Dire Straits, “Money for Nothing”
From: Brothers in Arms (1985)

If you have ever wondered why Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” has a sort of ZZ Top-like quality to the guitar parts, that’s because Mark Knopfler did some research, literally calling up Billy Gibbons for advice. The riff itself doesn’t enter the picture until roughly 30 seconds into the song, but when it does it’s instantly recognizable.

 

26. Blue Oyster Cult, “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper”
From: Agents of Fortune (1976)

Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser does not really understand how or why the riff to “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” occurred to him, it just did. “The riff came out of the ether; it just came to my fingers,” he told Mix in 2009. “Then the first two lines of the lyrics came the same way. I recorded some of the vocals, and then the idea of the song came to me. That was my first experience with multitrack recording. It definitely changed the way Blue Oyster Cult wrote and arranged songs. Once we started writing songs using the multitrack recorders, our demos got more fleshed-out and thought-through.”

 

25. Pink Floyd, “Money”
From: The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

When Roger Waters wrote “Money” and brought it to his band, there were a lot of directions that could have been taken. The path that was ultimately chosen was one of innovation. “It’s Roger’s riff,” David Gilmour explained to Guitar World in 1993. “Roger came in with the verses and lyrics to ‘Money’ more or less completed. And we just made up middle sections, guitar solos and all that stuff. We also invented some new riffs – we created a 4/4 progression for the guitar solo and made the poor saxophone player play in 7/4.”

 

24. Montrose, “Rock Candy”
From: Montrose (1973)

“Riffs are riffs, you know? They come out.” That’s what Ronnie Montrose said to Guitar Player in 2013, speaking about the “Rock Candy” riff that he said “just came out of my head” one day in the studio. “If you don’t remember it the next day, it’s not a song anymore.”

 

23. The Beatles, “Day Tripper”
From: 1965 Single

The Beatles may have stood out from dozens of other bands in the ’60s but one thing they had in common with the others was their love and appreciation of rock acts that came before them — people like Little Richard, Chuck Berry and more. “That’s mine,” John Lennon said in a 1980 interview with writer David Sheff, referring to 1965’s “Day Tripper,” which is based around an ascending guitar riff. “Including the lick, the guitar break and the whole bit. It’s just a rock ‘n’ roll song.”

 

22. Tom Petty, “Runnin’ Down a Dream”
From: Full Moon Fever (1989)

If you’re going to open a song with lyrics about driving along with cruise control with the radio on, like Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” you better include a great riff along with it. In this case, it served as the catalyst for the entire song. “[Guitarist Mike Campbell] had that riff but in a different time signature. It was kind of a broken beat, much slower,” Petty explained in 2005’s Conversations With Tom Petty. “I liked the lick a lot, and I’d sit around, playing it on my guitar, experimenting with it in different ways. I came to think it sounded good in a really straight beat, really fast. And I played it for Jeff [Lynne], one night when he was over at my house, and he said ‘Oh, that’s good. That might be one of those last riffs left. [Laughs]”

 

21. Van Halen, “Panama”
From: 1984 (1984)

The robust guitar riff you hear in “Panama” was Eddie Van Halen‘s attempt to write something in the vein of another band you’ll see later on in this list. “When the guys once asked me to write something with an AC/DC beat, that ended up being ‘Panama,'” the guitarist said to Guitar World in 2014. “It really doesn’t sound that much like AC/DC, but that was my interpretation of it. … I always start with some intro or theme and establish a riff, then after the solo there’s some kind of breakdown section. That’s there in almost every song, or else it returns to the intro.”

 

20. The Police, “Every Breath You Take”
From: Synchronicity (1983)

While in the studio recording 1983’s Synchronicity, Sting and Stewart Copeland of the Police struggled to find a way to make “Every Breath You Take” work, to the point where the song was nearly discarded entirely. In a last ditch effort, Andy Summers plugged in his guitar and out came the now-iconic guitar riff. “And of course, the fucking thing went right around the world, straight to No. 1 in America,” Summers recalled to Guitar World in 2022. “And the riff has become a kind of immortal guitar part that all guitar players have to learn.”

 

19. Aerosmith, “Walk This Way”
From: Toys in the Attic (1975)

In late 1974, Aerosmith traveled to Hawaii where they were booked to open for the Guess Who. “During the sound check, I was fooling around with riffs and thinking about the Meters,” guitarist Joe Perry told The Wall Street Journal in 2014. “I asked Joey [Kramer] to lay down something flat with a groove on the drums. The guitar riff to what would become ‘Walk This Way’ just came off my hands.”

Then Steven Tyler appeared. “When I heard Joe playing that riff during the sound check, I ran out and sat behind the drums and we jammed,” he added. “I rattled off the beat and just felt the song. Joe and I did this all the time when we wrote.”

 

18. AC/DC, “You Shook Me All Night Long”
From: Back in Black (1980)

Within the first 20 or so seconds of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” the riff is well established. That riff was written by Malcolm Young, who handed things off to the band’s brand new singer Brian Johnson, asking him to write lyrics for it. The result was AC/DC’s very first single with Johnson, a Top 40 hit.

 

17. Neil Young, “Cinnamon Girl”
From: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)

“Cinnamon Girl” is one of several songs Neil Young wrote while at home suffering from the flu. Evidently it wasn’t all that difficult: check out this video of Young teaching a fellow guitarist in a park how to play the iconic riff.

 

16. Ted Nugent, “Stranglehold”
From: Ted Nugent (1975)

At one point, Ted Nugent’s record label urged him not to include “Stranglehold” on his debut, self-titled album because, as Nugent recalled in 2024, “it doesn’t have a chorus, and nobody is gonna play an eight-minute song with all that ‘guitar part’ in it.’” Obviously, he did not heed that advice and went ahead with the riff-driven track anyway, and it worked out in his favor.

 

15. The Who, “I Can’t Explain”
From: 1964 Single

The cool thing about being a rock ‘n’ roll band in the ’60s was that there was so much music being made by fellow bands to absorb and take inspiration from. This is more or less how Pete Townshend came up with the riff in “I Can’t Explain,” a bit he came up with after hearing “You Really Got Me” by the Kinks. “He went home and tried to play it,” Who bassist John Entwistle said in a 1994 interview with Mojo, “but what he came up with was the riff that became ‘I Can’t Explain.'”

 

14. Free, “All Right Now”
From: Fire and Water (1970)

Sometimes, a bad experience serves as the fuel for something better. Such was the case when Free played a miserable show in Durham, England early on in their career — cold, rainy and only a few dozen people in the audience. Afterward bassist Andy Fraser was struck with a little bit of hopeful inspiration. “The chords of the song were basically me trying to do my Pete Townshend impression,” Fraser told Songwriting magazine in 2013. “I actually wrote the riff on piano and then [Paul] Kossoff transposed the chords to guitar, and he did a helluva job because that’s not always easy. Basically the chorus wrote itself, the chords took me about 10-15 minutes and then Paul [Rodgers] came up with the verses while he was waiting for a lift to a gig the next day.”

 

13. ZZ Top, “La Grange”
From: Tres Hombres (1973)

“The genesis and, of course, the heart of [“La Grange”] was that boogie backbeat, which everybody and their brother has learned how to play,” Billy Gibbons told Guitar Player in 2021. “La Grange” was based on John Lee Hooker’s “Boogie Chillen,'” so much so that there was a failed lawsuit by the copyright holder in 1992.

“Who would have thought that something so simple and severely compressed structure-wise would lead us on such a grand journey?” Gibbons continued in 2021. “From that cornerstone backbeat, our little song seemed to resonate and catch on with the masses, which has allowed us to chase it for going on five decades now.”

 

12. David Bowie, “Rebel, Rebel”
From: Diamond Dogs (1974)

There’s lots of fun to be had in the music business but there’s also plenty of competition. When David Bowie came up with a rough idea for a new guitar riff, he immediately thought of another energetic frontman and brought it to guitarist Alan Parker for help with fleshing it out. “He said, I’ve got this riff and it’s a bit Rolling Stonesy – I just want to piss Mick [Jagger] off a bit,'” Parker told Uncut in 2014. “I spent about three-quarters of an hour to an hour with him working on the guitar riff – he had it almost there, but not quite. We got it there, and he said, ‘Oh, we’d better do a middle…’ So he wrote something for the middle, put that in. Then he went off and sorted some lyrics.”

 

11. The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Purple Haze”
From: 1967 Single

The thing about Jimi Hendrix is that riffs just seemed to pour out of him as naturally as spoken sentences. The one found in “Purple Haze” is just one of them. Hendrix hummed the riff a bit to his bandmates Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding in the studio and they finished recording it in just a handful of takes.

 

10. Ozzy Osbourne, “Crazy Train”
From: Blizzard of Oz (1980)

Never underestimate the power of collaboration. Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist Randy Rhoads and Greg Leon, Rhoads’ replacement in Quiet Riot, came up with an awfully memorable lick one day. “We were hanging out, and I showed him the riff to Steve Miller‘s ‘Swingtown,'” Leon told Classic Rock in 2012. “I said: ‘Look what happens when you speed this riff up.’ We messed around, and the next thing I know he took it to a whole other level and end up writing the ‘Crazy Train’ riff.”

 

9. Derek and the Dominoes, “Layla”
From: Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970)

“Layla” is credited to Derek and the Dominoes, and those lyrics are Eric Clapton‘s, but the riff is the work of Duane Allman, who supposedly based it on a song by blues legend Albert King called “As the Years Go Passing By.” In total, there are six tracks of guitar on “Layla,” according to producer Tom Dowd: “There’s an Eric rhythm part; three tracks of Eric playing harmony with himself on the main riff; one of Duane playing that beautiful bottleneck; and one of Duane and Eric locked up, playing countermelodies.”

 

8. Black Sabbath, “Iron Man”
From: Paranoid (1970)

By now, you’ve probably noticed a pattern in this list: many of the riffs were not premeditated, and in fact, seemed to drop out of the sky. This happened to Tony Iommi as well when he heard his Black Sabbath bandmate Bill Ward casually drumming something out. Iommi joined in and before he knew it, he’d come up with the iconic “Iron Man” lick.

“Most of the riffs I’ve done I’ve come up with on the spot, and that was one of them – it just came up,” he explained to Songfacts. “It went with the drum, what Bill was playing. I just saw this thing in my mind of someone creeping up on you, and it just sounded like the riff. In my head I could hear it as a monster, so I came up with that riff there and then.”

 

7. Cream, “Sunshine of Your Love”
From: Disraeli Gears (1967)

Here’s an instance of one riff master inspiring another. In 1967, Cream went to go see Jimi Hendrix perform in London, and that was about all bassist Jack Bruce needed in order to come up with what would become the riff for “Sunshine of Your Love.” Eric Clapton recalled the moment in a 1988 interview with Rolling Stone: “[Hendrix] played this gig that was blinding. I don’t think Jack [Bruce] had really taken him in before…and when he did see it that night, after the gig he went home and came up with the riff. It was strictly a dedication to Jimi. And then we wrote a song on top of it.”

 

6. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
From: Nevermind (1991)

When Kurt Cobain first brought the bones of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to his bandmates, they were not fans, feeling as though the guitar part was cliche — more specifically, that the riff sounded like something by Boston. But Cobain felt he was on to something. “I made the band play it for an hour and a half,” he told Rolling Stone in 1994. After some workshopping, it finally became the recorded version we know today.

 

5. AC/DC, “Back in Black”
From: Back in Black (1980)

Back to AC/DC with “Back in Black,” which actually happens to be the song before “You Shook Me All Night Long” on the 1980 album Back in Black. This time, the central lick to “Back in Black” began as something Malcolm Young occasionally fooled around with while warming up on tour.

“I remember during the Highway to Hell tour Malcolm came in one day and played me a couple of ideas he had knocked down on cassette, and one of them was the main riff for ‘Back in Black,'” Angus Young recalled to Guitar World in 2003. “And he said, ‘Look, it’s been bugging me, this track. What do you think?’ He was going to wipe it out and reuse the tape, because cassettes were sort of a hard item for us to come by sometimes! I said, ‘Don’t trash it. If you don’t want it I’ll have it.'”

 

4. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love”
From: Led Zeppelin II (1969)

Perhaps the key to writing historic rock ‘n’ roll riffs is living on a houseboat. At least, that seemed to work for Jimmy Page. “I came up with the guitar riff for ‘Whole Lotta Love’  in the summer of ’68, on my houseboat along the Thames in Pangbourne, England,” he explained to The Wall Street Journal in 2014. “I suppose my early love for big intros by rockabilly guitarists was an inspiration, but as soon as I developed the riff, I knew it was strong enough to drive the entire song, not just open it. When I played the riff for the band in my living room several weeks later during rehearsals for our first album, the excitement was immediate and collective. We felt the riff was addictive, like a forbidden thing.”

 

3. The Kinks, “You Really Got Me”
From: 1964 Single

It really can’t be overstated the importance of blues music on ’60s rock ‘n’ roll, particularly for young bands in the U.K. who had not previously been exposed to that kind of American music. “When I wrote ‘You Really Got Me,’ I wanted it to be a blues song,” Ray Davies explained to The Austin Chronicle in 2001. “Like a Leadbelly or a Broonzy song. But because I was a white kid from North London, I put in certain musical shifts that made it unique to what I did.”

 

2. Deep Purple, “Smoke on the Water”
From: Machine Head (1972)

Would you believe it if we said the iconic riff in Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” was inspired by Beethoven? That’s what Ritchie Blackmore claimed in a 2007 interview with CNN (via Guitar World): “I thought [I’d] play [Beethoven’s fifth symphony] backwards, put something to it. That’s how I came up with it.” It’s unclear whether this was an entirely truthful statement or Blackmore’s sense of humor coming out, but either way, “Smoke on the Water” was a No. 4 hit in America.

 

1. The Rolling Stones, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
From: 1965 Single

Rock ‘n’ roll dreams do come true. It happened to Keith Richards, who has said that the riff to “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” came to him in a dream. He woke up, attempted to record it into a cassette player and went back to sleep. “I had no idea I’d written it,” he said in his 2010 memoir Life.

Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie launched the new leg of their Freaks on Parade tour on Tuesday in Albuquerque, New Mexico, storming the Isleta Amphitheater with support from Ministry and Filter.

You can see the set lists and videos from the show below.

Both shock-rockers made some changes to their set lists from last year’s joint outing. Cooper dusted off the Constrictor single and Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives theme song “He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)” and the Go to Hell title track, slotting them alongside smash hits like “Poison,” “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” “Elected” and “School’s Out.” Zombie, meanwhile, revived cuts such as “Demon Speeding” and “Super-Charger Heaven” and introduced the 2021 song “The Satanic Rites of Blacula,” mixing them in with hits like “Superbeast,” “Living Dead Girl” and “Dragula.”

What Have Cooper and Zombie Been Working on Lately?

Cooper released his latest studio album, Road, last August. “I wanted to show off the touring band, so we wrote songs, went in the studio, and I said, ‘Here’s the deal on this album: No overdubs,'” he told UCR last year. “I said, ‘Everything has to be done in the studio live because the whole idea of this album is showing off how good this band is live.’ So when you hear this album, it sounds like a studio album, but it’s actually them playing live in the studio.”

READ MORE: Why Alice Cooper Isn’t Trying to Shock Audiences Anymore

Zombie’s last album, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, arrived in 2021. In May 2023, the macabre rocker told the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast (via Blabbermouth) that he was working on a new album, but added that he was “not close at all” to finishing it. “We just have a ton of ideas and I’ve gotta take those ideas, whittle them down, start writing lyrics, see if that makes sense … Hopefully by next summer [it will be ready].”

The current Freaks on Parade leg concludes on Sept. 18 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Watch Alice Cooper Play ‘Snakebite’ in Albuquerque on 8/20/24

Watch Rob Zombie Play ‘Superbeast’ in Albuquerque on 8/20/24

Watch Rob Zombie Play ‘Dragula’ in Albuquerque on 8/20/24

Alice Cooper, 8/20/24, Isleta Amphitheater, Albuquerque Set List
1. “Lock Me Up”
2. “No More Mr. Nice Guy”
3. “I’m Eighteen”
4. “Billion Dollar Babies”
5. “Hey Stoopid”
6. “He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)”
7. “Snakebite”
8. “Feed My Frankenstein”
9. “Go to Hell”
10. “Poison”
11. Nita Strauss guitar solo
12. “Black Widow” jam
13. “Ballad of Dwight Fry”
14. “I Love the Dead”
15. “Elected”
16. “School’s Out”

Rob Zombie, 8/20/24, Isleta Amphitheater, Albuquerque Set List
1. “Demon Speeding”
2. “Super-Charger Heaven”
3. “Feel So Numb”
4. “Well, Everybody’s Fucking in a U.F.O.”
5. “What Lurks on Channel X?”
6. “Superbeast”
7. “The Lords of Salem”
8. “The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)”
9. “Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)”
10. “Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown”
11. “The Satanic Rites of Blacula”
12. “More Human Than Human”
13. “Living Dead Girl”
14. “Thunder Kiss ’65”
15. “Dragula”

 

Radiohead‘s Kid A and Amnesiac albums will be heard as the soundtrack to the classic silent horror movie Nosferatu in the first of a series of sync films.

The records – from 2000 and 2001 respectively – have been matched to the 1922 Dracula clone in a bid to entice music fans to visit movie theaters.

It’s the first of a series of sync projects, set to include music by Pearl Jam, R.E.M. and others connected with different films from the silent era. They’ll be available for art house, drive-in and indie cinemas to present.

A trailer for Radiohead’s Nosferatu can be seen below.

READ MORE: Why Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ Was Initially a Failure

“Silents Synced is a strategic format to draw new audiences to cinemas for a communal music experience like no other,” CEO Josh Frank told Deadline.

“The question for independent theater operators has become, ‘What can we do to inspire people to leave their homes outside of Hollywood blockbuster films?’ While traditional moviegoers will always be our lifeblood, music fans will go to greater lengths for a shared experience.

“They are a fundamentally new audience for us all. With these essential artists and our distribution partner, CineLife Entertainment, we seek to inspire people to gather in cinemas and invigorate independent theaters in a totally new way to help them with engaging and unique events.”

Silents Synced Series Offers New Perspective on Music and Movies

With a new movie arriving every four months, R.E.M.’s project will arrive in early 2025. “The guys thought it seems like a good idea,” band manager Bertis Downs said. “[T]hey like the uncanny way their music and Buster Keaton’s Sherlock, Jr., match up — kind of perfect. What a great and unlikely way of presenting great art.”

Pete Smolin, manager of They Might Be Giants, described the matching of his band’s music to another Keaton movie as “a perfect combo,” adding: “There is something strangely appealing about syncing modern music to an old silent film — it brings a whole new perspective. I like to imagine Buster Keaton moving around on set with a 1927 version of They Might Be Giants bouncing around in his head.”

Radiohead’s Nosferatu opens on Oct. 4. Further details of the series will be announced at the Silents Synced website.

Watch the Trailer for ‘Radiohead’s Nosferatu’

Billy Joel said he can understand the thinking behind the idea that his signature song “Piano Man” is set in a gay bar.

He’d recently discovered the suggestion that the track’s narrator is a naive straight man who’s not sure what’s going on around him, which is why the regulars in the room ask him, “Man, what are you doin’ here?”

But the main argument centers on the lines about a conversation between a real estate salesman and a sailor.

READ MORE: Billy Joel Live Albums Ranked Worst to Best

“There’s this new theory out there now that it’s actually about a gay bar,” Joel told NBC’s Today in a recent interview. “I [thought], ‘Oh I see how that could be.’ Paul’s talking to Davy who’s in the navy; he doesn’t have time for a wife.”

He explained that his original thinking behind Paul (“Now Paul is a real estate novelist / Who never had time for a wife”) was that he was too busy trying to write the Great American Novel to find romance.

Making a gesture that suggested the implications made sense, he said of the new idea: “It’s a whole theory – it’s very funny, actually!”

Sticking to the subject of the 1973 song from the album of the same name, Joel said: “At the time I was totally shocked that they wanted to put it out as a single. It’s in 6/8 time, which is a waltz,; it’s a long song; and the topic is a bit depressing. it didn’t go gold when it came out – but it got a lot of airplay.”

He added that “Piano Man” had always been a highlight of his record-setting 10-year residency at Madison Square Garden, joking: “I’ve watched people in the crowd. They know the lyrics so I’m following them! When the audience takes it over, I like that. I get to take a little break!”

Billy Joel asked Bruce Springsteen and Don Henley About Retirement

Joel went on to dismiss the idea of his retirement. “It doesn’t mean I’ll never play there again,” he said of the iconic New York concert hall. “It’s just the end of this run.

“I’m not gonna stop doing shows. That’s what I do. I asked a couple of contemporaries – Henley, Springsteen – ‘What are you gonna do now?’ They said the same thing: ‘Keep performing.’ Why? ‘Because that’s what I do.’ … Good idea!

“What else am I gonna do, stop doing shows, sit around and watch TV, [turn into] a vegetable? No, I don’t wanna do that.”

Watch Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man’ Video

Mick Fleetwood will headline the inaugural Maui Music & Food Experience, scheduled to take place from Sept. 5 through 7.

The three-day event will raise funds for the Hua Momona foundation, a non-profit organization that offers aid to those affected by the 2023 wildfires that devastated the Hawaiian island. Fleetwood himself is a longtime resident of Maui, and his restaurant, Fleetwood’s on Front Street, was destroyed in the blaze.

“Maui and the Lahaina community have been my home for several decades,” the drummer posted on social media at the time. “This is a devastating moment for Maui, and many are suffering unimaginable loss.”

READ MORE: The Best Song From Every Fleetwood Mac Album

“Our world moves so fast these days, it’s no wonder many people have forgotten about the devastation that took place here last summer and the crucial needs that still exist,” Gary Grube, founder of the Hua Momona Foundation, said in a recent press release. “This experience will support our ongoing efforts to provide food, housing and mental health resources to our fellow islanders and we invite everyone to join us for a weekend of music, food and unity as we honor the spirit of Maui and work towards a brighter future.”

The Maui Music & Food Experience will also feature the following artists: Billy Cox (Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys), Ron Artis II (participating in a special Jimi Hendrix set), Ronnie Baker Brooks, Wayne Baker Brooks, Keni Blue (participating in the Hendrix set), Bernard Fowler (Rolling Stones), Ernie Isley (Isley Brothers), Darryl Jones (Rolling Stones), Ivan Julian, Howard Levy, Ivan Neville, The Nicholas Tremulis 4, Charlie Sexton and Isaiah Sharkey, as well as local Maui musicians.

More information can be found on the festival’s webpage.

Ace Frehley believes the original Kiss lineup was a victim of its own success.

As the band’s first guitarist, Frehley’s initial tenure lasted from 1973 to 1982. That run included Kiss’ rise to international fame and featured many of their most commercially successful releases. Still, Frehley’s exit in 1982 was the result of growing tensions within the band, both due to creative differences and personality clashes.

During an appearance on the Guitar Tales podcast, the guitarist reflected upon his history with the band.

READ MORE: Kiss Solo Albums Ranked Worst to Best

“We created something that will endure way after we’re all dead and buried,” Frehley declared. “I try to let the negative stuff go and focus on the positive memories. We had a lot of fun. We used to really be very closely knit. And we’d have weekly band meetings and get the stuff off our chest that was bothering us.”

The guitarist then noted that things changed when the band tasted success.

“Once we became rich, we all became millionaires, everybody started going their own way,” he confessed. “Everybody had their own limo. Everybody had their own bodyguard. So, you know, nothing can last forever.”

Ace Frehley Says Getting Rich Was the ‘Beginning of the End’

In a separate part of the interview, Frehley reflected upon Kiss’ early years, when the band’s members had to hold down day jobs to help pay the bills.

READ MORE: Top 20 Ace Frehley Post-Kiss Songs

“Paul [Stanley] worked in a sandwich shop. I delivered liquor. I was a postman for six months. We did all sorts of jobs before we started making the big bucks,” Frehley noted. “In the early days, me and Gene [Simmons] used to room together in a Holiday Inn. And then after ‘Alive’ hit we each had our own suites. That’s when the band started, you know, everybody was going in their own direction. And it was kind of the beginning of the end.”

Frehley did return to Kiss for a second tenure, lasting from 1996 to 2002. Despite fan speculation that he may make a guest appearance, the guitarist didn’t take part in any of the band’s concerts during their 2023 farewell tour.

Paramount+ has released the official trailer for the upcoming docuseries Nothin’ but a Good Time: The Uncensored Story of ’80s Hair Metal, which premieres exclusively on the streamer on Sept. 17.

You can watch the trailer below.

Nothin’ but a Good Time is based on Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour’s 2021 book of the same name, a 500-plus-page oral history that provides an in-depth look at the ’80s hard rock explosion. The docuseries promises the same, featuring Poison, Def Leppard, Guns N’ Roses, Quiet Riot, Skid Row, W.A.S.P., Great White and more.

“Go inside the ’80s hair metal phenomenon that enthralled generations of music lovers and still influences culture today,” the official description reads. “Directed by Jeff Tremaine (Jackass, The Dirt), the three-part series showcases the notoriously wild ’80s hard rock phenomenon and features interviews with those who lived it, including Bret Michaels, Stephen Pearcy, Nuno Bettencourt, Dave ‘Snake’ Sabo and Riki Rachtman, along with Corey Taylor and Steve-O, among many others.”

“I Feel Like I’m Gonna Die, So I Probably Shouldn’t Be Doing This Band”

“In the ’80s, it was an exciting time in music — it was amazing,” Michaels says in the trailer. “We bet on ourselves, and when it paid off, it was awesome.” But as anybody even remotely familiar with the ’80s hard rock scene knows, what went up inevitably had to come down.

“It was nothin’ but a good time?” former Guns N’ Roses and Great White manager Alan Niven says in the trailer. “Not the fucking life I lived.” Immediately afterward, L.A. Guns guitarist Tracii Guns reflects: “I feel like I’m gonna die, so I probably shouldn’t be doing this band.”

Nothin’ but a Good Time is the second ’80s hard rock docuseries to hit Paramount+ in a little over a year, following last summer’s I Wanna Rock: The ’80s Metal Dream.

Rapper Snoop Dogg has recounted the memorable moment he met Paul McCartney.

“I did a little concert for somebody in Hollywood,” Snoop recalled during a recent interview with Complex (watch below). “Paul McCartney was there. So I’d never met him before, but I’m a fucking fan of the Beatles.”

Despite having friends in common, including Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, Snoop and Macca had never talked. Perhaps that’s why the rapper was so shocked by what he heard next.

READ MORE: All 229 Beatles Songs Ranked Worst to Best

“I’m in the back smoking and they’re like, ‘Sir Paul would like to meet you,’” Snoop recalled. “So I’m like, ‘Oh, for real? Hold on.’”

Excited to come face-to-face with one of his idols, the hip-hop star went to extinguish his blunt. To Snoop’s surprise, McCartney stopped him..

“[He] walks in the room like, ‘Don’t put that down,’” the rapper recalled. “He gave me a hug and he meet me, and it’s like, ‘Fuck. Paul McCartney knows who the fuck Snoop Dogg is!’”

‘F— Snoop Dogg. This Is Paul McCartney’

When interviewer Jillian Superstar pointed out that Snoop Dogg is certainly a legend in his own right, the rapper was adamant. “No, you’re not listening to me. Fuck who Snoop Dogg is. This is Paul McCartney. He knows who I am. That’s the experience that I love, is when the people that you respect respect you.”

READ MORE: Watch Snoop Dogg Smoke Weed With Lynyrd Skynyrd

McCartney has dabbled in hip-hop, most memorably teaming with Kanye West and Rihanna on the 2015 single “FourFiveSeconds.” Asked if he’d ever consider doing a collaboration with the former Beatle, Snoop responded immediately.

“Fuck yes, in a heartbeat,” the rapper declared. “‘Ebony and Ivory’? What, ‘The Girl Is Mine’? What you want to do?”

Is Phil Collins ready to release his first new music in more than 20 years? Producer and manager Simon Napier-Bell confirms that the ex-Genesis frontman has been updating the studio at his home by Lake Geneva.

Napier-Bell interviewed Collins for an upcoming documentary on London’s famous Marquee Club live music venue. “He was in top form, full of wicked stories – hugely fun,” Napier-Bell said in a social media post.

Genesis’ stops at the Marquee dated back to the band’s earlier Peter Gabriel era. But Collins fronted Genesis for a key show there, as well.

READ MORE: Top 10 Phil Collins-Era Genesis Songs

Genesis made a memorable appearance there in September 1982, despite having already risen to platinum-selling fame. They were billed as the Garden Wall in a secret warm-up show before a multi-night stand at the Hammersmith Odeon during the Three Sides Live Tour. Recordings from the show were widely bootlegged.

‘We’re Going to Hear Some New Music’

News of a return to recording is intriguing since Collins’ most recent new music dates back to the soundtrack for Disney’s 2003 film Brother Bear. His last solo album of original material was 2002’s Testify, which Collins followed up with a cover album of R&B standards in 2010 called Going Back.

“He’s just had his studio revamped,” Napier-Bell added. “For sure, before too long we’re going to hear some new music.”

Meanwhile, look for an expanded 30th-anniversary edition of Collins’ fifth solo album, 1993’s U.K. chart-topping hit Both Sides, in September. Dubbed Both Sides (All the Sides), the box set looks back at a project that arrived two years after Collins’ final album with Genesis, We Can’t Dance.

See Phil Collins in Rock’s Craziest Conspiracy Theories

The Black Crowes have announced additional dates for their Happiness Bastards Tour, including rescheduled shows following the cancellation of Aerosmith‘s Peace Out Tour, which the Crowes were supporting.

Fourteen new shows have been added to the 33-date tour, which gets underway on Sept. 27 in Northfield, Ohio. You can see the Black Crowes’ full itinerary for the Happiness Bastards Tour (The Reprise), including the new dates, below.

The upcoming concerts proceed a run of dates that concluded in June after starting in April, a month after the release of their latest album, Happiness Bastards.

READ MORE: The Black Crowes, ‘Happiness Bastards’ Album Review

The shows were scheduled to begin on Sept. 28 in Cincinnati and run through February 2025, with more than 20 dates as support on Aerosmith’s farewell tour. But the veteran band recently announced its retirement from touring following singer Steven Tyler‘s vocal issues, leaving the Crowes open to headline a new tour.

Where Are the Black Crowes Playing in 2024?

Several dates on the Black Crowes’ upcoming tour have been rescheduled in the wake of the Aerosmith tour cancellation. The band will now begin the run of dates a day earlier in Northfield, Ohio, with Cincinnati as the second concert of the tour.

New dates on the tour include stops in St. Petersburg, Florida, New Orleans, Austin and two concluding shows on Dec. 21 and 22 in Port Chester, New York. Rescheduled concerts take place in St. Augustine, Florida, Milwaukee, Albuquerque and a handful of other cities, which you can see below.

Tickets for the Happiness Bastards Tour (The Reprise) go on sale Aug. 23 at 10 a.m. local time. You can find more information on the Black Crowes’ website.

The Black Crowes, Happiness Bastards Tour (The Reprise)
9/27/24 – Northfield, OH – MGM Northfield Park – Center Stage +
9/28/24 – Cincinnati, OH – Hard Rock Cincinnati Outdoor Arena
10/1/24 – Pikeville, KY – Appalachian Wireless Arena +
10/3/24 – Simpsonville, SC – CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park
10/4/24 – St. Augustine, FL – The St. Augustine Amphitheatre *
10/6/24 – St. Petersburg, FL – Duke Energy Center for the Arts – Mahaffey Theater *
10/9/24 – Wilmington, NC – Live Oak Bank Pavilion
10/10/24 – Durham, NC – Durham Performing Arts Center +
10/12/24 – Macon, GA – Atrium Health Amphitheater
10/13/24 – New Orleans, LA – Saenger Theatre +
10/15/24 – Southaven, MS – BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove
10/18/24 – Gary, IN – Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana
10/19/24 – Milwaukee, WI – Miller High Life Theatre *
10/23/24 – Waukee, IA – Vibrant Music Hall *
10/25/24 – Rockford, IL – Hard Rock Live Rockford *
10/26/24 – St. Louis, MO – The Factory +
10/29/24 – Moon Township, PA – UPMC Events Center +
10/31/24 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena *
11/2/24 – Rama, ON – Casino Rama Resort *
11/7/24 – Tulsa, OK – Paradise Cove at River Spirit Casino Resort +
11/8/24 – San Antonio, TX – Tobin Center for the Performing Arts +
11/10/24 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at The Moody Theater +
11/11/24 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at The Moody Theater +
11/14/24 – Durant, OK – Choctaw Grand Theater
11/16/24 – Albuquerque, NM – Legends Theater at Route 66 Casino Hotel *
11/19/24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Eccles Theater +
11/30/24 – Wheatland, CA – Hard Rock Live Sacramento *
12/3/24 – Stateline, NV – Tahoe Blue Event Center
12/5/24 – Las Vegas, NV – The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas +
12/6/24 – Indio, CA – Fantasy Springs Resort Casino Special Events Center
12/19/24 – Oxon Hill, MD – The Theater at MGM National Harbor *
12/21/24 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre +
12/22/24 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre +

+New Date
*Rescheduled Date

Foreigner is celebrating their upcoming induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by sharing a previously unreleased song featuring original lead singer Lou Gramm.

“Turning Back the Time,” recorded in 1996, will serve as the title track to the band’s latest greatest hits compilation, available in CD and 2-LP versions on Oct. 4. It’s an upbeat song featuring country-tinged guitar licks from guitarist Mick Jones. The lyrics reference the Beatles‘ famous first appearance on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ as well as Foreigner’s own Double Vision album.

You can hear “Turning Back the Time” and see the album’s full track listing below.

“Foreigner’s membership in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a priceless highlight of my career. I hope that this collection of the songs that brought us here, along with some later recordings that light our way forward, will mean as much to all who listen to them as they do to me,” founding guitarist Mick Jones said in a statement announcing the new collection.

Read More: Top 10 Foreigner Songs

“There are a number of songs that Lou Gramm and I wrote together that have never seen the light of day,” he continued. “One of them, ‘Turning Back The Time,’ was co-written with [Aerosmith and Motley Crue co-writer] Marti Frederiksen. Marti and I recently revisited and reworked the song. Because of the time that had passed, we were able to go back to it with a fresh perspective. The sentiment of the song spoke to us now more than ever and with the upcoming Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, we thought it an ideal time to let the world hear it.”

Mick Jones Comments on Foreigner’s Long-Awaited Rock Hall Induction

Over two decades after they were first eligible, Foreigner will finally be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Oct. 19 at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, which will be broadcast live on Disney Plus. “I think it means more to me now than perhaps 20 years ago,” Jones explained to Billboard after first hearing the news. “I’ve had a great career, and this is like the whipped cream and cherry on top. It’s something I will savor over the years. It’s a great honor to be included amongst all these great artists that have been inducted over the years.”

Hear Foreigner Perform ‘Turning Back the Time’

Foreigner, ‘Turning Back the Time’ Track Listing
1. “Feels Like The First Time”
2. “Cold As Ice”
3. “Long, Long Way From Home”
4. “Hot Blooded”
5. “Double Vision”
6. “Dirty White Boy”
7. “Head Games”
8. “Urgent”
9. “Waiting For A Girl Like You”
10. “Juke Box Hero”
11. “Girl On The Moon”
12. “I Want To Know What Love Is”
13. “That Was Yesterday”
14. “Say You Will”
15. “Can’t Slow Down”
16. “When It Comes To Love”
17. “The Flame Still Burns”
18. “Turning Back The Time”

Phil Donahue was more than a trailblazing talk show host, he was also a mainstay of Saturday Night Live.

Donahue was one of the few non-political celebrities to be impersonated by three different SNL cast members.

The first was Joe Piscopo, who embodied the host during a sketch that aired on Oct. 2, 1982. In the scene, Donahue negotiates peace in the Middle East between Israel’s Menachem Begin (played by Tim Kazurinsky) and Palestine’s Yasser Arafat (played by Gary Kroeger). Though topical, the sketch only generated minor laughs. Still, it established a formula for Donahue as a character, and his talk show set proved to be a fertile ground for comedy in future episodes.

Phil Hartman’s ‘Genius’ Donahue Run

Arguably the most memorable Donahue impression came courtesy of Phil Hartman. The Canadian funnyman joined SNL in October 1986 and debuted his version of Donahue in his second episode. This time, the scenario was much closer to the silver-haired host’s real talk show: Donahue (Hartman) interviews two women (Victoria Jackson and Jan Hooks) who are in exploitative relationships. Hartman’s timing and cadence are played to perfection, expertly mimicking every one of Donahue’s mannerisms.

READ MORE: Top 30 ‘Saturday Night Live’ Characters

The sketch’s kicker also lands superbly: A nice guy in the crowd (Jon Lovitz) takes the mic to talk about how women should be adored, only to have onstage ladies brush him aside so they can ogle a jerk in the crowd (Kevin Nealon).

Watch Phil Hartman as Phil Donahue on ‘Saturday Night Live’

Accurate, without taking itself seriously, absurd, without becoming ridiculous, Hartman’s version of Donahue became one of his most popular impressions. Years later, Entertainment Weekly would describe it as “a work of minor genius.” Even the man himself was a fan. When Hartman’s parents came to New York for the first time to sightsee, the real Phil Donahue insisted he join them.

Then, in 1989, things escalated even further. During a episode of Donahue, focused on Saturday Night Live‘s 15th anniversary, Hartman showed up and flawlessly impersonated the talk show host on his own set.

READ MORE: 15 Guests Who Were Banned From ‘Saturday Night Live’

“Oh my word, you made me famous,” the real Donahue proclaimed after Hartman delivered the show’s opening monologue in character. “Every time I see [the impersonation], I don’t laugh the first time. I watch it and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. And the second time, I laugh. And always laugh.”

Watch Phil Hartman as Phil Donahue on ‘Donahue’

Darrell Hammond Was ‘Saturday Night Live”s Longest Running Donahue

Hartman played Donahue a total of five times during his SNL tenure, one less than the last man to don the silver wig, Darrell Hammond.

While Hammond didn’t quite command the role the same way Hartman did, his voice matched the real Donahue’s perfectly. Unlike previous versions of the host, Hammond’s Donahue was more likely to appear in a random location than on a talk show set. Appearances on “Celebrity Jeopardy” sketches and “Weekend Update” segments highlight Hammond’s history with the impression. His final appearance in character — and, as it stands, the final impersonation of Donahue on SNL — aired Feb. 21, 2004 in a sketch featuring Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and the episode’s host, Christina Aguilera.

See Darrell Hammond as Phil Donahue on ‘Weekend Update’

In 1991, Star magazine published an article claiming that founding Kiss drummer Peter Criss was homeless and living on the streets of Los Angeles. The story was eye catching and alarming — it was also completely false.

Around the same time, the rocker had been tending to family matters in New York following the death of his mother. When he returned to his Southern California home, he was inundated with questions about his well being. “They say you’re totally broke and you’re sleeping in the toilets of Santa Monica,” Criss was told, as recounted in the rocker’s memoir Makeup to Breakup: My Life in and Out of Kiss.

“I was blown away,” the rocker admitted, adding that he immediately got his hands on a copy of the tabloid. “There was a photo of some bum who was claiming to be me lying in the toilets in Santa Monica, and next to it was a photo of me in my Kiss makeup. I was furious.”

At this point in his career, Criss had been out of the spotlight for some time. The drummer departed the band in 1980 – some say he quit, others say he was fired. Regardless, the rocker had spent the next decade working on solo material, guesting with other acts and spending time with his family.

When a homeless impostor claimed to be the former Kiss drummer, Criss found himself unwillingly thrust back into the limelight. The musician immediately began the process of suing Star magazine, when his manager called with an offer from The Phil Donahue Show.

“They wanted me to come on and talk about having an imposter pose as me,” Criss recalled, adding that his manager thought it would be a great way to publicly denounce the fictitious story. “I just wanted it to go away, I was so hurt.”

Despite his initial resistance, Criss agreed to appear on the program. On Feb. 5, 1991, the drummer would confront his impostor on The Phil Donahue Show.

“Why couldn’t you impersonate the Lone Ranger or Tonto, something like that?” the real Criss asked Christopher Dickinson, the homeless man who’d been posing as the musician. “You’ve really given me a rocky time.”

Dickinson apologized to Criss, explaining that his alcoholism had played a role in the lies. “Ninety percent of the time, I was out of it. Loaded. Drinking,” Dickinson admitted. “I was walking around in a haze for months and months and months.” While waiting in line at a food kitchen, Dickinson had been approached by a reporter and photographer from the Star. He gave them his fake story for $500 and a motel stay.

Things got more confusing – and confrontational – on the show when Criss came face-to-face with Cheryl Ann Thompson, an aspiring actress who claimed to have formerly been in a relationship with the rocker. When Thompson read the Star article, she flew Dickinson to her Boston home and gave him a place to stay before realizing he was a fraud. Criss insisted she too was fabricating stories for attention.

“You just want to be on TV,” Criss declared to Thompson. “Here’s your Andy Warhol time. Fifteen minutes of fame.”

By comparison, Criss’ on-air time with Dickinson was civil, the drummer at one point even saying he “felt bad” for the homeless man and his situation. Still, words were much more heated off the air. “Are you happy about what you did to my life, you fuck?” the former Kiss drummer asked his impostor after the taping was done.

Criss later found out that Dickinson had been impersonating him for quite some time, “booking time at A&M studios (and) ordering limos under my name.”

Star magazine eventually printed a follow-up story, somewhat admitting their mistake by publishing an article about how “the world” was fooled by a homeless man claiming to be Criss. Though the drummer was clearly angry at all parties involved in the scandal, he reserved the majority of his rage for the magazine. Criss would sue the tabloid, eventually settling out of court for a “substantial amount of money.” He reunited with Kiss in 1996, departing the band for good again in 2004.

Watch Peter Criss Confront His Imposter on ‘The Phil Donahue Show’

Since 1962, the Rolling Stones — featuring various lineups — have been revving up audiences around the world.

That might sound like a full-time job, and it is, but it’s hardly stopped the band’s members from embarking on solo projects over the years. The resulting songs have ranged from traditional North African music to collaborations with Beatles to jazz LPs, showcasing the versatility of the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band.

Below, we’re taking a look at the Top 20 Rolling Stones Solo Songs, with selections from Brian Jones, Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts, Mick Taylor, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger.

20. Brian Jones, “Your Eyes Are Like a Cup of Tea (Al Yunic Sharbouni Ate)”
From: Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka (1971)

We realize that a song like “Your Eyes Are Like a Cup of Tea (Al Yunic Sharbouni Ate)” is, well, not everyone’s cup of tea. But the album that it appeared on, 1971’s Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka is an exceptionally unique and culturally significant one. Jones traveled to the village of Jajouka in Morocco in July of 1968, recorded the Master Musicians of Joujouka and made an entire LP out of it, which helped to bring national attention to traditional North African music.

 

19. Mick Jagger, “Shoot off Your Mouth”
From: Primitive Cool (1987)

Jagger’s solo career has had its share of hits and misses, but when he takes aim, he means it. During the late ’80s in particular, his relationship with Richards was strained to say the least, and “Shoot off Your Mouth” was one of a few songs that was speculated to be written about his writing partner, with lyrics like “I was a rising star / You hitched your wagon next to mine.” Regardless, it’s a sturdy rock ‘n’ roll track that wouldn’t have been out of place on a Stones album like Tattoo You or Emotional Rescue.

 

18. Mick Jagger (With Peter Tosh), “(You Gotta Walk And) Don’t Look Back”
From: Bush Doctor (1978)

What began as a 1965 song written by Smokey Robinson and Robin White and recorded by the Temptations turned into a 1978 reggae duet with Jagger and Peter Tosh of Bob Marley‘s Wailers. Even if Jagger had no hand in writing the song, it’s a really cool solo project, and his vocal harmonies work surprisingly well against Tosh’s.

 

17. Keith Richards, “Take It So Hard”
From: Talk Is Cheap (1988)

As the first single from Richards’ first solo album, “Take It So Hard” is literally the start of it all for the Stones guitarist. You might not think it sounds too far off from Richards’ usual approach with its guitar chord plus snare drum intro, but take a listen to those vocals. “On this album, the songs are not that much different in structure or in content, even,” Richards explained to Rolling Stone in 1988. “I managed to do some of the things that with the Stones I’d say, ‘Nah, can’t do that. Too complicated.”

 

16. Ronnie Wood, “Fountain of Love”
From: 1234 (1981)

Wood has friends in all sorts of places. Some of the people he invited to work with him on his 1981 solo album 1234 included Ian McLagan, Bobby Womack, Waddy Wachtel and Nicky Hopkins. “Fountain of Love” is a particularly stand-out track. It was co-written by a man named Jim Ford — whom Sly Stone once deemed the “baddest white man on the planet” — but Wood really puts his unique touch on it. Pay special attention to that groovy bass line by Womack, too.

 

15. Charlie Watts, “Art Blakey”
From: Charlie Watts Jim Keltner Project (2000)

One thing that is integral to understanding Watts as a musician is that being the drummer for the Rolling Stones was just one aspect of his career. Watts’ resume stretches much further beyond that, including a collaborative album he released with fellow drummer Jim Keltner in 2000 called, aptly, Charlie Watts Jim Keltner Project. Part of its premise was to record songs inspired by different drummers. Here’s an eclectic one based on the style of Art Blakey, one of the most influential jazz drummers of all time.

 

14. Keith Richards, “Robbed Blind”
From: Crosseyed Heart (2015)

At least a part of Richards’ heart belongs to country music. “Robbed Blind” wouldn’t sound out of place on a later Johnny Cash record with its slide guitar, the wood block keeping time and piano part that mirrors Richards’ deep, raspy vocal melody. But there’s also a Spanish-tinged acoustic guitar solo to break things up.

 

13. Keith Richards, “Make No Mistake”
From: Talk Is Cheap (1988)

The undeniable star of “Make No Mistake” is the Memphis Horns: Jimmi Kinnard, Andrew Love, Ben Cauley, Gary Topper, Jack Hale and James Mitchell. But the subtle clavinet by Bernie Worrell is also an excellent touch, not to mention the rich vocal by Sarah Dash. The whole thing is smooth and goes down real easy.

 

12. Mick Jagger, “God Gave Me Everything”
From: Goddess in the Doorway (2001)

There are many who consider 2001’s Goddess in the Doorway Jagger’s best solo offering. In any case, it’s clear that the singer knew damn well what he was doing when he enlisted the help of Lenny Kravitz for “God Gave Me Everything,” a scorching, riff-driven number that served as the album’s lead single.

 

11. Ronnie Wood, “Seven Days”
From: Gimme Some Neck (1979)

Wood did not write “Seven Days” — Bob Dylan did, though he hadn’t recorded it yet — but when he included it on 1979’s Gimme Some Neck he turned it into something only he could. That’s Mick Fleetwood playing the drums on the studio version below, but if you’re looking for even more exhilaration, check out the live version Wood did at Dylan’s 30th anniversary concert in 1992.

 

10. Keith Richards, “Eileen”
From: Main Offender (1992)

Main Offender, one might argue, is where Richards really began to hit his stride as a solo artist. The electric rhythm guitar part in “Eileen” is quintessential Keef, and it is, in this writer’s opinion, one of his strongest vocal offerings on record. And while he’s no Watts, Steve Jordan provides a sharp, clean drum part that works well in this setting.

 

9. Mick Jagger, “Memo From Turner”
From: Performance (1970)

This Jagger track stretches all the way back to 1970 when he participated in the soundtrack to Performance starring James Fox. Of course, because it’s from 1970, “Memo From Turner” features the Jagger voice we all know and love, but with a little bit of an extra drawl that matches well with Ry Cooder’s slide guitar work.

 

8. Keith Richards, “I’m Waiting for the Man”
From: The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed (2024)

Is there a better fit for a cover of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground‘s “I’m Waiting for the Man” than Richards? His low-pitched, gravelly voice perfectly suits the melody and of course, the image of Richards waiting for a dealer on a grimy New York City street corner makes a lot of sense. “To me, Lou stood out,” Richards said in a statement at the time the song was released in 2024. “The real deal! Something important to American music and to ALL MUSIC! I miss him and his dog.”

 

7. Mick Taylor, “Slow Blues”
From: Mick Taylor (1979)

Taylor did not release very much solo music, but the stuff that he did is really quite choice. In 1979, he released a self-titled album that stood in stark contrast to much of what was being put out at the time, including by the Rolling Stones. Here was a polished, blues meets jazz album that showcased the incredible level of skill Taylor clearly possessed on guitar. “Slow Blues” is an instrumental, leaving a listener the opportunity to focus their attention only on that beautiful six-string work.

 

6. Charlie Watts, “Practising, Practising, Just Great”
From: From One Charlie (1991)

Watts’ first and lifelong musical love was not rock ‘n’ roll but jazz. Out on the road with the Stones, you’d often find him visiting local jazz clubs on the band’s off nights. Watts’ first solo album, 1991’s From One Charlie, featured his own jazz group, the Charlie Watts Quintet. Here’s the leadoff track from that album, as polished and skillful as any professional jazz musician.

 

5. Ronnie Wood, “Far East Man”
From: I’ve Got My Own Album to Do (`1974)

If all Wood had ever done was play guitar with the Rolling Stones, that would have been impressive enough. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. Wood has collaborated with countless fellow legends from Jeff Beck to Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin to George Harrison. Wood and Harrison co-wrote the 1974 song “Far East Man” and each of them released a recording of it that same year. This is Wood’s version, which also features Ian McLagan of the Faces on keyboards and Mick Taylor on bass.

 

4. Keith Richards, “999”
From: Main Offender (1992)

“Jagger-Richards” is one of the most recognizable writing credits in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. But Richards undeniably proved with his solo work that writing with other people could yield some impressive results, like the song “999” which he co-wrote with Steve Jordan and Waddy Wachtel.

 

3. Mick Jagger, “Just Another Night”
From: She’s the Boss (1985)

The ’80s were a notoriously tough period for rock ‘n’ roll artists whose careers had launched in eras when synthesizers were not necessarily the hip thing to use. But Jagger was quite smart about his approach: embracing new trends while also enlisting the help of his rock friends. On the upbeat “Just Another Night,” Jeff Beck adds both electric and acoustic guitar, and the rhythm section is handled by Sly and Robbie.

 

2. Mick Taylor, “Leather Jacket”
From: Mick Taylor (1979)

Mick Taylor’s 1979 self-titled solo album did not enjoy very much commercial success, but it did receive some kind words from critics, who were generally impressed with his songwriting, and enamored with the guitar playing. Lyrically, Taylor might not top any lists, but he’s a damn fine singer and an even better song arranger, as evidenced by a track like “Leather Jacket.”

 

1. Mick Jagger, “Sweet Thing”
From: Wandering Spirit (1993)

Is there anything that Jagger does better than a falsetto vocal over a thick, driving bass line? Especially one that breaks out into a rougher rock ‘n’ roll growl? Not as far as we’re concerned. Exhibit A: “Sweet Thing” from 1993’s Wandering Spirit.

Former Motley Crue vocalist John Corabi was never far from the stage throughout the ’90s and into the 2000s. During that time, he witnessed hard rock fall on hard times as new genres, including grunge, gained popularity.

Corabi recalls one particularly dark moment while he was taking part in a package tour that was selling poorly. Previously, each of the bands could have drawn thousands on their own, but they were now collectively struggling to draw hundreds. “It was bleak,” he tells UCR. “I just remember getting offstage and having a panic attack.”

With the passage of time, a lot of those same bands are now benefiting from the power of nostalgia, Corabi notes. Though plenty have declared that “rock is dead” over the years, the reality is that the genre, featuring groups both new and old, continues to thrive. Corabi himself has been helping to keep that momentum with the Dead Daisies, a powerful all-star collective that’s featured players from some of classic rock’s biggest bands.

The Daisies will release Light ‘Em Up, their seventh studio album, on Sept. 6. Ahead of its release, Corabi checked in with UCR for a candid, wide-ranging interview. In the first part of the conversation below, the frontman remembers his encounters with former Great White vocalist Jack Russell and shares stories of his memorable adventures with members of Aerosmith and AC/DC. 

As you and I are talking, it’s been about a day since we found out about the death of Jack Russell.
I know, that sucks. It was probably about a year ago, I did an acoustic set. It was me, [former Danger Danger vocalist] Ted Poley and Jack with [his guitarist] Robbie Lochner. I was shocked. I hadn’t seen Jack in a while. He came in and had two crutches and just looked super frail. But you know what? He got in there, sat down on a stool and sang his balls off. I was just like, “Wow.” It’s amazing. He looked physically frail, but if you closed your eyes and listened to him, it didn’t sound like [any time had passed]. It sounded like old Jack. But yeah, I was sad when I heard that yesterday.

I saw him in 2018 and it was the same thing. Through it all, he always had that amazing voice. I know as a singer, you appreciate things like that.
Listen, I respect anybody that can get out and do what we do and have some success at it. Great White was one of the first bands I saw when I moved to L.A. I saw them at the Roxy and they were kind of in between record deals. I think they were writing for what became [Once Bitten]. They were just kind of in between. I saw them play the Roxy and I was just like, “Wow.” Then they did some [Led] Zeppelin stuff and I just thought it was amazing. It’s sad, dude. You know, you hate to see any of your heroes or musical peers [die]. We’re all getting up there in age, man. So we’re starting to lose ‘em all.

READ MORE: 30 Bands With One Original Member Left

Things like this and the recent news that Aerosmith is retiring from the stage, it’s sobering to see. You’re a fellow music fan; these are our rock heroes.
Obviously, the big ones for me — I’m going way back — but John Bonham passing away and then a few months later [the death of] John Lennon. The loss of Bon Scott, all of these cats. It’s been happening all along the way. But now we’re getting into [more of it happening]. Mick Jagger is 81. Paul McCartney is 82. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, all of these guys I grew up listening to. We already lost [David] Bowie and Prince — [his death] was an accident, but still. You know, it’s hard. These are guys that I looked up to, all of them. Then you start thinking, “Well, shit, you’re 65. You need to start taking better care of yourself.” It does give you a sense of mortality.

In your memoir, you talk about the many things you’ve been lucky enough to experience, and there’s a mention of jamming with AC/DC and Aerosmith.
Well, the AC/DC [story]: Motley’s tour manager, our good buddy and day-to-day guy, Mike Amato, got married in Catalina. I had been in the band about a month and got invited to go to the wedding. My wife and I went over to Tommy Lee’s house. We flew over in a helicopter, which was already freaking me out. I’d never been in a helicopter. As we’re landing, I could see Mike pulling up on a golf cart. There was another guy there. He had the hat, and I’m sitting there looking at him, thinking to myself, “I know this guy from somewhere.” I wasn’t putting two and two together. Mike said, “Hey, this is Brian.” I went, “Oh, hey man!” I think I had a look on my face, because Mike was like, “No, this is Brian Johnson from AC/DC.” I was like, “Oh, shit!” We went back to the hotel, dropped off our luggage and then Tommy and Heather [Locklear], my wife Valerie and I, Mick [Mars] and his wife, Emi [Caryn], Brian and his wife, Brenda, we all went to a Mexican restaurant. We sat there the entire afternoon on Catalina, right by the water, and we proceeded to eat and then get completely shit-faced drunk.

On the walk back to the hotel, we walked into this bar and just asked the guys [there] if we could use their gear. We started jamming. We were doing “Back in Black,” “Walk This Way,” all of this crazy stuff. [As we were playing] “Back in Black,” Brian’s singing, Mick is playing guitar, Tommy’s playing drums and I was playing the bass. I had this epiphany moment: “Holy shit, I’m in Motley Crue and I’m literally jamming with the lead singer from AC/DC.”

The [other moment], when we went up to do the record, we wound up being in the studio with Aerosmith. I was doing some guitar parts and [producer] Bob Rock didn’t like the tone, the mic placement on my amps or whatever. He said, “Go take a break.” I was sitting in the lounge and goofing off playing acoustic guitar by myself. I was doing [Led Zeppelin’s] “Over the Hills and Far Away,” and then I started playing the beginning of [Aerosmith’s] “Seasons of Wither.” Right when the voice started, where the vocals would come in, I heard the voice. I turned around and it was Steven [Tyler]. He was standing behind me and he started singing in my ear. He sat down with me on the couch, retuned the guitar to some weird-ass tuning that he uses and told me the whole story about he wrote it. Then we actually sat and played it on the couch together. I was like, “Fuckin’ pinch me, I can die right now.”

READ MORE: Aerosmith Albums Ranked

Thinking about Great White brought me back to something I think about a lot: how all of these bands weathered the storm in the ’90s and 2000s. You saw that in a couple of different ways, including your time with Ratt, and the separate experience of putting out new music with Union.
It was weird. You know, you say “weathered,” but I don’t think anybody that was “weathering” at the time [felt that way]. Everybody was freaking out. I remember doing a tour in 2002 where I was going, “What the fuck is going on?” We were somewhere in Iowa doing this big outdoor thing. It was Dokken, Ratt, Warrant, L.A. Guns and Firehouse. Five bands. I just remember that we got out there and Firehouse went on. I’m looking and there were maybe 12 people in the audience. It was just this parking lot. Nobody was there. L.A. Guns went on and there were maybe eight more people, and then Warrant went on. I’m just sitting there and when Ratt went on — we were right before Dokken — when we went on, there were maybe 200-250 people there. In an area that could have held 4,000 or 5,000. It was bleak. I just remember getting offstage and having a panic attack. I was going, “Any one of these bands 10 years ago, or five years ago, would have sold this out by themselves. There’s five bands on this bill and we couldn’t even break 1,000 people.”

Everybody had the same mindset: “Fuck, what is happening?” How do you go from 10,000-20,000 arenas to being completely irrelevant? It’s a little bit of a sting. The ‘90s and 2000s were weird. But some of these bands said, “Let’s just suck it up. I’m going to keep doing my thing.” Like you said, they weathered the storm and came out on the other end. Just recently, all of these bands that nobody gave a shit about, now there’s these people that are reminiscing about their youth. They want the soundtrack to their youth while they’re reminiscing. All of these bands, your Great Whites, Motley Crues, Poison, L.A. Guns, there’s a resurgence for the live shows. You know, unfortunately, nobody’s buying anybody’s records anymore. It’s all about streaming. But the live shows, there’s been a resurgence.

On Aug. 19, 2009, Paul Stanley proved he was done playing games with “Modern Day Delilah,” the first new Kiss song in 11 years.

The band’s founding frontman only agreed to end the decade-plus studio hiatus that followed the release of 1998’s in-name-only original lineup “reunion” album Pyscho Circus after setting some important ground rules: no more disco, concept album or grunge trend-chasing, no ballads and no outside songwriters or producers.

“I was through second-guessing or being second-guessed,” Stanley declared in his 2014 biography Face the Music: A Life Exposed. “At least if we did something I loved, there would be one big fan regardless of what happened.”

The resulting album, 2009’s Sonic Boom, was the first to feature Kiss’ final lineup, which would eventually go on to become its longest-lasting lineup: Stanley, co-founding bassist Gene Simmons, drummer Eric Singer, who joined for the third and final time in 2004, and lead guitarist Tommy Thayer, who had been performing with the group since 2002.

“The band’s never been better,” Stanley declared to Noisecreep in 2009. “It really seems like a time where we could actually – if we put our minds to it – put something together that would be definitive and that we could be proud of.”

Read More: Top 20 ’80s Kiss Songs

They hit that mark squarely with the lead single, “Modern Day Delilah,” an infectious stadium-rattler with an oversized Led Zeppelin-styled riff and a scorching hot solo from Thayer. After showing Godzilla-sized versions of the band stomping around New York City a la the Rolling Stones‘ “Love is Strong,” the song’s video packed all of the explosions and stunts of Kiss’ two-hour stage show into four frenzied minutes. The single just missed the Top 10 of Billboard’s rock airplay chart, peaking at No. 11, but that success helped propel Sonic Boom to the No. 2 spot on the Billboard albums chart, a career high for Kiss.

Paul Stanley Says Making New Kiss Albums Got ‘Frustrating’

Kiss’ return to the studio was rather short-lived. Although they kept touring until 2023, three years after Sonic Boom, they released their final album, 2012’s Monster. “[It] just became a bit frustrating, in terms of working hard to do a great album and having it kind of glossed over because somebody, understandably, wants to hear ‘Love Gun,'” Stanley told UCR in 2024. “I get it. But judging some of the newer material on its own merits, it was and is as good. The great stuff from the last two albums, I’d say, is as good as anything we’d done. At that point, it just became clear that if it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing.”

Watch Kiss Perform ‘Modern Day Delilah’

Sammy Hagar admits he would have reconnected with Eddie Van Halen sooner if he’d known the extent of the guitarist’s health woes.

During an interview with AZ Central, Hagar reflected upon his last tour with Van Halen. The 2004 trek was plagued by tension between the frontman and guitarist, largely due to Eddie’s substance abuse. At the last tour stop, the guitar god reportedly lay down on stage and apologized to fans for being “outta gas.”

“Eddie kind of lost it out there,” the Red Rocker recalled. “I mean, he was in bad shape the whole tour. Not trying to bring up a sore subject, but he was not healthy and was very abusive to himself.”

Hagar remembered being dejected during the plane ride following the last stop on the tour. “I just sat there, shaking my head, going, ‘God, that was a terrible experience.’”

Hagar Would Have ‘Tried Even Harder’ if He’d Known More About Eddie’s Health

Though the singer was “disappointed” and “hurt” following his final Van Halen trek, hindsight has softened his perspective. Now, Hagar simply wishes he’d had a better understanding of exactly what Eddie was dealing with at the time — both in terms of his alcoholism and his battle with cancer.

READ MORE: All 48 Sammy Hagar-Era Van Halen Songs Ranked Worst to Best

“No one knew quite what was going on with the guy,” the frontman explained. “Now we know. And it’s a little bit easier to understand his frustrations and probably why he was turning to alcohol and drugs more than ever. He knew things that we didn’t know, I guess, or was feeling things we didn’t know. God bless him.”

“I almost wish I would’ve known a little more about what was going on with him,” the Red Rocker confessed. “I would’ve probably tried even harder. I tried as hard as I could to connect us and get him on the good foot and get him healthy. But I would’ve maybe tried a little harder, maybe been a little more compassionate, instead of saying ‘Fuck it.'”

Hagar and Van Halen Shared ‘Emotional Moments’ When They Reconnected in 2020

Hagar and Eddie managed to reconnect in 2020, months before the guitar great died. Though the Red Rocker wishes they had made up sooner, he’s grateful that the former bandmates were able to revive their friendship.

READ MORE: How Sammy Hagar Made Peace With Eddie Van Halen Before His Death

“We had some really emotional moments on the phone, being very happy to be friends again,” the singer admitted. ‘For me, I can only speak for myself, it was so important that we had closure before he passed, because otherwise, I don’t know how I’d feel about it. I’d be waking up in the middle of the night once in a while going ‘Man, I wish we could’ve fixed that.’ Now, I don’t have to do that. Now, I just go, ‘Hey, I miss Ed.’ I miss the music.”

Sammy Hagar has revealed which Van Halen album will get the expanded reissue treatment next – and promised that the band he put together for his current tour celebrating his time in the band will record an album together.

He’s currently leading the Best of All Worlds Tour with Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham and Ray Thistlethwaite, playing a set that celebrates the music of Van Halen by way of a salute to late guitarist Eddie Van Halen.

In a recent interview with The Bogus Otis Show (below), Hagar was asked if the quintet had considered writing new music with his current bandmates. “Yes. I guarantee it,” he said, adding: “I don’t know when and why because records don’t sell!”

He continued: “I’ve made a couple of [the] best records of my life the last two solo records (2019’s Space Between and 2022’s Crazy Times), and they’re lucky to sell 50, 60,000. You go and make a record nowadays just to lose a couple hundred thousand bucks.

“It’s all good – but, you know, I need a tax write-off, so it really helps. I go, ‘Look, I made too much this year… let’s go make a record!’”

READ MORE: Sammy Hagar Says David Lee Roth ‘Went AWOL’ After Tour Invite

Van Halen Pay-Per-View Show Could Finally Be Released

In the same interview, Hagar said Van Halen’s 1995 album Balance – the last one to feature his voice – was next on the reissue schedule. The album featured the singles “Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do),” “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You,” “Amsterdam” and “Not Enough.”

He was asked about plans for that year’s pay-per-view concert, shot in Toronto and aired in Canada and later in the U.S. It had been scheduled for a commercial release which never happened because of his departure from the band.

“I didn’t know about that,” Hagar replied. “So I’ll bring that up. That’s a very good idea.”

Watch Van Halen’s 1995 Toronto Concert

AC/DC played the 24th and final show of their Power Up European tour on Saturday at Dublin’s Croke Park, bringing their first extended trek in eight years to a close.

You can see the set list and watch video from the show below.

The Aussie rock titans’ 21-song set list was identical to the one they’ve used on most Power Up tour dates. They opened with the one-two punch of “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” and “Back in Black” before shifting gears to play “Demon Fire” off 2020’s Power Up. They played a myriad of classics from across their storied career, including “Hells Bells, “Shoot to Thrill,” “Highway to Hell,” “Let There Be Rock,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Train” and “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” and they ended their show with a two-song encore comprising “T.N.T.” and “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You).”

READ MORE: The Ultimatum AC/DC Gave Axl Rose

How AC/DC Defied the Odds on the Power Up Tour

The Power Up tour marked AC/DC’s first extended outing since 2016’s Rock or Bust tour, which was plagued with difficulty. Singer Brian Johnson had to bow out of the trek due to hearing loss, and the band recruited Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose for nearly two dozen shows.

Four years later, Johnson returned to the fold for Power Up, but it remained unclear whether he was healthy enough to tour with AC/DC. The band made its long-awaited return to the stage in late 2023 at Indio, California’s Power Trip festival. Although some still questioned whether AC/DC — particularly the 76-year-old Johnson — could handle the rigors of a full tour, the band assuaged their doubts when they launched the Power Up trek in May.

Watch AC/DC Play ‘Back in Black’ in Dublin on 8/17/24

Watch AC/DC Play ‘Riff Raff’ in Dublin on 8/17/24

Watch AC/DC Play ‘Highway to Hell’ in Dublin on 8/17/24

Watch AC/DC Play ‘For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)’ in Dublin on 8/17/24

AC/DC, 8/17/24, Croke Park, Dublin Set List
1. “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)”
2. “Back in Black”
3. “Demon Fire”
4. “Shot Down in Flames”
5. “Thunderstruck”
6. “Have a Drink on Me”
7. “Hells Bells”
8. “Shot in the Dark”
9. “Stiff Upper Lip”
10. “Highway to Hell”
11. “Shoot to Thrill”
12. “Sin City”
13. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Train”
14. “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”
15. “High Voltage”
16. “Riff Raff”
17. “You Shook Me All Night Long”
18. “Whole Lotta Rosie”
19. “Let There Be Rock”
20. “T.N.T.”
21. “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)”

Throughout history, many of rock’s biggest artists have hit the road together.

In some cases, the alignment of legendary acts was done on purpose. Def Leppard and Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses and Metallica and Nine Inch Nails with Jane’s Addiction are just some of the examples of co-headlining treks from famous bands.

Still, there are plenty more examples of tours where one rock icon was already established, while the opening act was still making a name for itself. Such was the case when Van Halen took out Alice in Chains in 1991, or when the Who recruited Lynyrd Skynyrd for their 1973 trek. Could anyone who saw Kiss open for ZZ Top in 1974 have predicted both would become worldwide superstars? Probably not. Then again, that’s what makes their history together all the more fun.

READ MORE: 45 Surprising Opening Act and Headliner Combinations

While many legendary pairings went off without a hitch, others proved turbulent. Such was the case in 1978 when Van Halen opened for Journey and proceeded to steal the headliner’s spotlight. Meanwhile, Motley Crue’s tenure touring with Ozzy Osbourne is remembered more for its backstage debauchery than any of the shows.

Then there are the pairings which seem stylistically surprising. Rush playing with Kiss? Stevie Wonder opening for the Rolling Stones? In hindsight, they may seem like odd fits, but we still wish we’d been in the front row.

Below, we’ve highlighted 25 of the Coolest Tour Pairings in Rock History. For our purposes, one-off performances and festival appearances were not counted. Instead, we stuck purely to acts who hit the road together for multiple dates.

25 of the Coolest Tour Pairings in Rock History

Stone Temple Pilots and Live kicked off their co-headlining tour with a concert in Concord, California on Friday, Aug. 16.

The trek sees both bands celebrating the 30th anniversary of a landmark release. Live’s 1994 album Throwing Copper is the most commercially successful release in their catalog, an eight-times-platinum triumph that spawned hits such as “Lightning Crashes” and “I Alone.” Meanwhile, STP’s 1994 release, Purple, sold more than 6 million copies and cemented the band among the era’s greatest rock acts.

READ MORE: How Stone Temple Pilots Came Back Strong With ‘Purple’

Both naturally bands lent heavily on their 30th anniversary material during the Concord concert, though their approaches were noticeably different.

Live Deliver ‘Time Machine’ Set

After an opening set by fellow ‘90s rockers Our Lady Peace, Live took the stage as the night’s first headliner. As expected, the band dedicated plenty of their time to material from Throwing Copper. Eight of their 14 songs on the night came from the 1994 LP, however, the tunes were mixed in with a steady diet of other songs from Live’s catalog.

Frontman Ed Kowalczyk — the band’s only remaining original member — joked that his group was “jumping in a time machine” to cover material from the last 30 years. Yet in a show that was purposefully about celebrating the past, Live also made time for the present. Namely, their brand new song “Lady Bhang (She Got Me Rollin’)” which was performed early in the set. Other highlights included an emphatic rendition of the 1999 hit “The Dolphin’s Cry” and the brooding tune “Lakini’s Juice.”

Stone Temple Pilots Perform ‘Purple’ in Its Entirety

The final performance of the night came from Stone Temple Pilots, who opted to honor Purple by performing the album in its entirety from beginning to end.

To start, the raw aggression of opening song “Meatplow” gave way to the familiar sounds of “Vaseline.” Later, “Interstate Love Song” prompted one of the biggest sing-alongs of the night, as thousands in attendance joyously belted out the ’90s classic.

Jeff Gutt is now seven years into his run as STP’s singer, having taken over from Chester Bennington and Scott Weiland before him. It was surely a daunting task stepping into a group that featured two generational frontmen, but Gutt has unquestionably made the band his own.

READ MORE: Stone Temple Pilots Albums Ranked

Across 16 songs, the vocalist showcased substantial stage presence and charisma, but he was also sure to pay tribute to STP’s roots. Early on, Gutt introduced the rest of the band, made up of classic era members Dean DeLeo (guitar), Robert DeLeo (bass) and Eric Kretz (drums). “They made an amazing record and we’re here to play through that sucker for you,” the singer declared.

While many of Purple‘s songs have remained in Stone Temple Pilots’ set lists over the years, a few of the tracks have been long abandoned. Notably, the Concord show marked the first time in 22 years that STP played “Kitchenware & Candybars” in front of a live audience (the band did, however, perform it during a live stream in 2020). STP was also sure to end the night by playing a handful of their non-Purple hits, including “Plush” and “Sex Type Thing.”

Full set lists for both performances can be found below.

Stone Temple Pilots and Live will continue to tour together through the end of summer, with a closing concert on Sept. 15 in Indianapolis.

Watch Stone Temple Pilots Perform ‘Interstate Love Song’

Watch Stone Temple Pilots Perform ‘Fly Lounge’

Watch Live Perform ‘Lankini’s Juice’

Live, Concord, California, 8/16/24

1. “Top”
2. “All Over You”
3. “Selling the Drama”
4. “Freaks
5. “Lady Bhang (She Got Me Rollin’)”
6. “Pain Lies on the Riverside”
7. “Pillar of Davidson”
8. “Shit Towne”
9. “The Dolphin’s Cry”
10. “Turn My Head”
11. “White, Discussion”
12. “Lakini’s Juice”
13. “I Alone”
14. “Lightning Crashes”

Stone Temple Pilots, Concord, California, 8/16/24

1. “Meatplow”
2. “Vaseline”
3. “Lounge Fly”
4. “Interstate Love Song”
5. “Still Remains”
6. “Pretty Penny”
7. “Silvergun Superman”
8. “Big Empty”
9. “Unglued”
10. “Army Ants”
11. “Kitchenware & Candybars”
12. “Plush”
13. “Dead and Bloated”
14. “Trippin on a Hole in a Paper Heart”
15. “Sex Type Thing”

Jerry Fuller, the songwriter behind such classic hits as “Travlein’ Man” and “Young Girl,” has died at the age of 85.

Fuller’s passing was confirmed by his wife to the New York Times, who noted the songwriter died July 18 due to complications with lung cancer.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1938, Fuller got his first taste of music by performing in talent shows with his older brother, Bill. As an adult, he continued to chase his musical dreams, dropping out of college and moving to Los Angeles in 1959.

That fall, he scored his first minor hit with a rockabilly rendition of the country tune “Tennessee Waltz.” Though Fuller was a capable crooner behind the mic, his larger career success would come by penning hits for other artists.

What Hit Songs Did Jerry Fuller Write?

In 1961, he wrote “Travelin’ Man,” the story of a young lothario with romances around the world. “It’s a fairly simple song,” Fuller admitted in the documentary The Wrecking Crew. “I took a world atlas and I looked up, what do they call a girl in Germany? A fraulein. What do they call a senorita in Mexico? I didn’t know wahine for Hawaii, so I said Polynesian baby. And I made a song out of it. A girl in every port was the idea.”

Friend and frequent collaborator Glen Campbell helped Fuller demo the tune. He originally intended to give the track to Sam Cooke (who latter recorded a different Fuller-penned tune), but instead it ended up with Ricky Nelson. “Travelin’ Man” became a worldwide hit, selling more than six million copies. Fuller and Nelson became frequent collaborators, with further hits including “A Wonder Like You,” “Young World” and “It’s Up to You.”

Listen to ‘Travelin’ Man’ by Ricky Nelson

By the latter half of the ‘60s, Fuller was wearing many hats, serving as a record producer and talent scout while also writing songs. He produced O.C. Smith’s rendition of “Little Green Apples,” which reached No. 2 on the Billboard chart. Yet his biggest success came with Gary Puckett, whom Fuller discovered performing in a San Diego bowling alley.

Gary Puckett and the Union Gap would go on to score a string of hits, including “Young Girl,” “Lady Willpower” and “Over You.” All three were written and produced by Fuller, with “Young Girl” ranking among the era’s most recognizable tunes.

Fuller’s further songwriting credits included material for Johnny Mathis, John Anderson, Andy Williams, Ray Price and Reba McEntire.

Listen to ‘Young Girl’ by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap Band

Cruising to the Dominican Republic with food, drink, and sun in January… That sounds perfect, right?

Let’s throw in some rockers and wrestlers and now perfect is epic! We have a trip for two to get on board “Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea” and we want you to have it!

Here’s What You Could Win

The Grand Prize package includes:

• Two passes to Chris Jericho’s “Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea” January 31- February 4, 2024
• Tickets include a double occupancy cabin on the Norwegian Gem and a 4-night cruise from Miami, Florida to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
• All meals and basic beverages
• Admission to wrestling matches, concerts, and podcast sessions
• Meet-and-greet with Chris Jericho
• $1000 travel voucher to help you get to Miami
• $500 in spending money for souvenirs and more

Here’s How You Enter the Sweepstakes

Listen on weekdays for the codes you need to enter the sweepstakes. Starting Monday, August 19, we’ll share code words at 10 am, 2 pm, 5 pm, and 8 pm each weekday through Friday, September 6.

You can also enter the sweepstakes by completing the activities below beginning Monday, August 19 through Sunday, September 8– the more you subscribe, follow, and share, the more entries you can earn.

*This is a multi-market promotion open to residents of the contiguous 48 United States who are at least 21 at the time of entry. One (1) winner will be selected from eligible entries received on Monday, September 9, 2024. Prize is provided by Sixthman.*

Jack Russell, the original singer and co-founder of Great White, died Aug. 15 at the age of 63.

The musician’s death followed his retirement from touring earlier this year, as health problems – including a diagnosis of Lewy body dementia and multiple system atrophy – continued plaguing Russell in the latter part of his life.

As news of Russell’s passing continued to spread, fellow rockers took to social media to pay their respects.

READ MORE: Jack Russell, Great White’s Founding Singer, Dead at 63

“As you can imagine, though the end of the road was rough and broken, it wasn’t always that way,” wrote Mark Kendall, Great White’s co-founder and Russell’s bandmate for over 25 years. The two had a falling out following Russell’s 2011 exit from the band and subsequent lawsuit over the Great White name. “Jack and I shared amazing times and lived our dreams together! I choose to remember all the good times we shared on stage and off.”

Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer remembered Russell as “an amazing, soulful singer and truly great person,” while Night Ranger’s Jack Blades described him as “a true rock spirit.”

Meanwhile, Dee Snider took the opportunity to defend Russell, who for years continued to be blamed for the tragic 2003 nightclub fire that claimed the lives of 100 people.

“This man was vilified for a situation out of his control and tortured by the memories,” the Twisted Sister frontman wrote, captioning a picture of he and Russell together. “He was not evil. And man could he sing!”

“To my friend Jack Russell, such an amazing voice. May you rest in peace,” shared Poison frontman Bret Michaels. Meanwhile, Ratt’s Stephen Pearcy recalled the early days, when he and Russell were both regularly performing on the Sunset Strip.

“Brother Jack Russell R.I.P.,” Pearcy wrote. “Gazzarris on the Strip 1980-81. We always had a great time when Dante Fox and Mickey Ratt played a gig together back then.”

These memories and more can be found below.

Dave Navarro had mixed feelings over staying home while Jane’s Addiction toured without him. In fact, he didn’t even check out any of those shows.

The band hit the road in 2022 and 2023 while Navarro was dealing with long COVD, hiring Troy Van Leeuwen from Queens of the Stone Age for one leg and then former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer for the other.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Navarro admitted he felt emotional about the development.

READ MORE: How Taylor Hawkins’ Death Made Dave Navarro’s Health Battle Worse

“Part of me was disappointed to not participate, of course, because this is the band I was in since I was a teenager,” he said. “But I have to say that was overshadowed by the relief I had that I didn’t… prevent these guys from working.

“I would much rather be able to have my brothers do what they need to do, and be who they need to be, and do what they were put on this planet to do, instead of waiting for me. So the fact that they found people to step in for me was a big relief – because I think that if they didn’t go out, I would feel much more guilt than disappointment.”

Asked if he’d checked out any of the shows he missed via online postings, Navarro said he was too busy dealing with his health issues and trying to regain his playing skills.

“I never really got a chance to see any of that stuff – and frankly, I don’t really want to,” he said, “because whether it happens subconsciously or consciously, I don’t want my approach to be altered by something I hear.”

Dave Navarro Didn’t Want to Be Influenced By Other Guitarists

He continued: “Josh is an incredible player. If Josh played something that I like, and I’m like, ‘Fuck, I should do it like that’ … I don’t want to do that. I want to stay true to what the original lineup was. So in a way, I think it’s good that I didn’t hear those shows, but I heard they went well.”

Navarro went on to confirm that at least one new Jane’s Addiction song would follow the recent release of Imminent Redemption, and expressed hope that more would follow.

“The dream of so many fans is a new album with the 1.0 lineup; there hasn’t been one of those in 34 years,” he said. “That’s more than likely going to happen. I mean, we have recorded material. I don’t know specifically the model, if it’s going to be a song at a time, or if we’re going to drop a song and then a record.”

Before Taylor Swift was even born, Iron Maiden had already established itself as one of the most popular heavy metal bands of all time. Though the British legends have only grown in stature and influence since then, it’s quite possible that the pop superstar will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame before them.

Swift was born on Dec. 13, 1989. That’s a year and a half after Iron Maiden released their seventh studio album, 1988’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. They were firmly established as arena headliners by that time, and they remain capable of selling out large venues across the world today.

Since the release of her self-titled debut in 2006, Swift has rocketed to dizzying and nearly unprecedented levels of fame. She’s generated over $1 billion on her blockbuster Eras Tour and has sold an estimated 114 million albums in less than two decades. (Iron Maiden still has her beat in that department with 130 million sales, but given they had a 26-year head start, Swift seems certain to pass them at some point in the near future.)

Read More: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 10 Worst Metal Snubs

Swift will be eligible for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2031, 25 years after the release of Taylor Swift. In recent years, the institution has widened its scope, inducting pop, country and even hip-hop artists. If Swift can maintain anything close to her current level of popularity, it seems quite likely she’ll get voted in, perhaps even in her first year of eligibility.

On the other hand, despite being eligible since 2005, Iron Maiden has only been nominated for the Rock Hall twice — in 2021 and 2023 — and not yet inducted. The Rock Hall has been notoriously slow to induct even the most obviously important heavy metal and hard rock acts. It took them over 20 years to induct Judas %@#%$# Priest, and even then it was only in the secondary “musical excellence” category.

Of course, Iron Maiden hasn’t exactly endeared themselves to Rock Hall voters. In 2018, singer Bruce Dickinson made his distaste for the institution quite clear. “I’m really happy we’re not there and I would never want to be there,” he told the Jerusalem Post. “If we’re ever inducted, I will refuse — they won’t bloody be having my corpse in there. Rock and roll music does not belong in a mausoleum in Cleveland. It’s a living, breathing thing, and if you put it in a museum, then it’s dead. It’s worse than horrible, it’s vulgar.”

So, which one of these two vastly different artists will be the first to get inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? We asked four of our writers, and here’s what they said:

Annie Zaleski (Author, Taylor Swift: The Stories Behind the Songs): First off, Swift is no doubt a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2031. Whether Iron Maiden will get there before her is an interesting question. I’m going to be positive and lean toward yes. They’ve been nominated twice in the last few years, which is a good sign — this means they have advocates on the nominating committee — and it’s obvious that they’re one of the last superstar metal bands not in the Rock Hall. (Translation: They have less competition and won’t split the fan and overall expert vote.)

But I feel like their best route into the Rock Hall is how Judas Priest was inducted: the Musical Excellence category. They fit the profile of recent groups in this category — perennial nominees (MC5) or artists with fervent fanbases (Jimmy Buffett) — and it bypasses needing to drum up massive waves of industry support.

I don’t think Bruce Dickinson’s negative talk will affect Iron Maiden’s induction chances. After all, he isn’t the only artist to talk badly about the Rock Hall — consider Todd Rundgren, who expressed disdain for the institution but was inducted anyway. Rundgren just didn’t show up for the ceremony! Dickinson wouldn’t have to either — though it would certainly be excellent to see Eddie get the huge international spotlight.

Matthew Wilkening: I have to believe Iron Maiden’s going to get in first, otherwise my head might explode. It’s important to remember that the Rock Hall of Fame is just a private organization, who weren’t given any actual insight or authority from above. Your record and ticket stub collection is the only Hall of Fame that really matters. Their voters are of course entitled to their own opinions about what matters and what apparently does not matter in rock history. But at some point they’ve just got to realize that the line between subjective and objective has clearly been crossed here. Like them or not — and, actually, ever since 1986’s Somewhere in Time, their music has been increasingly self-indulgent and overbaked for my tastes — Iron Maiden are one of the most popular, important and influential bands in the history of heavy metal. If that’s not Hall of Fame-worthy, what is?

I believe Swift will — and, sure, why not, should — be inducted as soon as possible, which gives the Rock Hall six years to finally do the right thing by Iron Maiden. Also, having Judas Priest in and them out just makes this exclusion all the more glaring and self-incriminating. Dickinson’s public attacks shouldn’t matter; they’ve inducted numerous artists — Axl Rose, Johnny Rotten, Ozzy Osbourne — who have spoken out against the organization in the past.

Matt Wardlaw: I really do think that Iron Maiden will get in long before Taylor — and hopefully soon. It’s bonkers that we’re still talking about Maiden and they’re still not inducted. No matter what Bruce Dickinson may have said about the Rock Hall, it will ultimately not keep the organization from putting the band in, as we’ve seen with similar past examples. At the end of the day, Iron Maiden are a key influence on countless hard rock and heavy metal bands. As it was with Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and anyone else you might want to name, Maiden helped write the book for so many who have followed in their footsteps. Brave New World was perhaps their last truly great album, but they’ve remained creatively engaged and a force to be reckoned with in the live realm all the way to the present. Like Judas Priest before them, Iron Maiden’s proper invitation into the Hall is long overdue. Every day that they’re not in is a total travesty.

Taylor Swift will no doubt be inducted when she becomes eligible, and I think she deserves a slot in the Hall of Fame. If we consider Iron Maiden’s impact and lasting legacy, Taylor has also been an impressive trailblazer in multiple genres, including pop and country music. She’s still got a lot of career to go, but I think that like Maiden, we’ll still be talking about Taylor for many years to come.

Bryan Rolli: I hate this question. Not because it’s bad or invalid, but because it makes me sad to consider one of the greatest heavy metal bands of all time being leapfrogged by a pop star who debuted 26 years after them. Swift is a shoo-in for the Rock Hall, probably in her first year of eligibility, due to the sheer magnitude of her success and her vice grip on virtually every mainstream music publication. (Let’s not forget that before the HOF ousted cofounder Jann Wenner, artists basically had to be in bed with Rolling Stone if they had any hope of induction.)

That said, I really, really hope — and perhaps I can even convince myself to believe — that the Hall will right one of its biggest wrongs and induct Iron Maiden within the next seven years. The clamoring will only get louder with each passing year, especially in the wake of Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne’s recent inductions. Nicko McBrain has also been candid about his health issues lately, and there’s been increasing pressure on the Hall to induct sick and aging artists while they’re still alive to savor the milestone. With all these factors at play, I do think the Hall will ultimately induct Maiden before Swift — still egregiously late, mind you, but better late than never, I guess.

Dennis DeYoung has only just discovered that the Cars hated Styx. He was responding to a 2006 interview republished online by Classic Rock last month, which it seems he’s never encountered before.

In the article, the late Ric Ocasek spoke of the Cars’ early days: “We opened for about anybody in the beginning. We opened for bands that we really hated, like Styx. Most of those bands would go watch us on the side of the stage to see what the fuck was going on. And it seemed that the people were relating to us and not relating to them. So they got a little pissed.”

DeYoung wrote on his Facebook page: “A pal in radio sent me this and I had a good chuckle. First, I really like the Cars’ music and thought they had very tasteful musicians. Concise catchy pop tunes.”

READ MORE: Dennis DeYoung Says ‘I Was Begging for My Life and Job’ With Styx

He admits that he “really didn’t know they hated us – but that’s not unusual for new bands who are trying to take the mantle from the reigning chart toppers. It’s as old a story as you can get.”

As to the idea of Styx was “pissed” about Cars fans “relating to them more than us,” DeYoung says that “nonsense” and “the real knee slapper. The Cars opened for us on some West Coast dates on the Paradise Tour [in 1981] and, if memory serves, at the Forum in L.A. That year we sold out six shows between the Forum and the Los Angeles Sports Arena. We were as big as it gets, and the idea that our fans were anything more than polite to them is ludicrous.”

Styx Didn’t Give the Cars a Second Thought

DeYoung said he’d watched part of a Cars performance from the wings because he enjoyed their music, but concluded “they were better to listen to than watch. The idea that we would be envious of them is silly. We didn’t give them a second thought, much less a first.”

He concluded by telling surviving members Eliot Easton and Greg Hawkes: “You played some nice parts – be well.”

The broad strokes of Great White‘s career trajectory are similar to many of their peers: hardscrabble origins followed by astronomical success, cut off at the knees during the grunge explosion and relegated to the nostalgia circuit in the decades that followed.

But Great White — in particular frontman Jack Russell, who died on Aug. 15, 2024 at age 63 after being diagnosed with Lewy body dementia and multiple system atrophy — battled demons far more profound than a decline in popularity. For the last two decades of his life, the frontman grappled with his degree of culpability in the deadly 2003 Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island.

It only took six minutes for the blaze to engulf the building and irrevocably change the course of hundreds of lives, including Russell’s. Great White tour manager Daniel Biechele set off the pyrotechnics during the band’s first song. They ignited the soundproofing foam on the club’s ceiling, rapidly engulfing the club and killing 100 people and injuring 230 more.

Biechele pled guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to four years in prison for his involvement in the fire, though he was granted parole roughly halfway through his sentence. Venue owners Michael and Jeffrey Derderian pleaded no contest and were sentenced to prison and 500 hours of community service, respectively.

Russell was never charged, and for legal reasons he was advised to say little in the aftermath of the fire. But he became a music industry pariah and persona non grata among New Englanders — and remained haunted by the tragedy for the rest of his life.

“I Just Didn’t Want to Feel Anything”

“After the fire happened, I really went into a downward spiral,” Russell told City Journal in 2007. “Every single drug I could ever get, I’d do, because I just didn’t want to feel anything. I was in so much pain.”

As for his response or lack thereof after the fire, the singer explained: “Initially all my lawyers said don’t ever say I was sorry because that would mean I was guilty or something. I didn’t have anything to do with what happened, you know what I mean? It was a horrible thing.”

Great White donated money to the victims’ families and embarked on a benefit tour, with proceeds going to the Station Fire Memorial Foundation. Detractors later took issue with Russell receiving a televised facelift, which some considered insensitive. When the band staged a poorly received 10th-anniversary benefit concert, the Foundation announced that it would no longer accept any funds from Russell or Great White.

Controversy bloomed again in 2015 when Russell’s Great White was booked to play the Party in the Pasture festival in Mechanics Falls, Maine, which was promoted as their first New England show since the Station fire. (Their set was eerily canceled due to an unexplained power outage.) The event drew the ire of rock fans throughout the region, and even Russell was bewildered by the advertising.

“Ah geez … people just don’t get it,” he told Vanyaland in 2015 regarding the Party in the Pasture promotion. “What are you thinking? Don’t you understand that people died? People lost their friends? I mean, have a little courtesy and respect. There’s people that are still devastated — I’m one of them. I’ve got a lot of friends I can’t just pick up the phone and call and their numbers are still in my phone. And I don’t want to erase them. I still cry, you know? Like 10 times a month, just bawling. I miss my friends, you know?”

READ MORE: Great White Still Love Jack Russell, Says Mark Kendall

“If I could go back and change my life, or anybody’s life I would do it,” Russell added. “That wasn’t supposed to happen; it was supposed to be a concert. I just try to take it one day at a time, and sometimes one day [is] worse … some days I can’t even get out of bed. I am so sorry. I just don’t want to cause any more pain — ever. It’s just — I don’t know.”

“I Don’t Feel Better About Any of It and I Don’t Think I Ever Will”

Russell’s anguish over the Station fire was compounded by his survivor’s guilt. He revealed in 2015 that he’d been seeing a psychiatrist once a week for 12 years following the tragedy.

“It really affected my life in a lot of ways, but I can’t complain because I’m alive,” he told Classic Rock in 2013. “My demons are my demons, and at that time, they were coming and going as they pleased, but that just took me to my knees. There’s no psychologist you can talk to, and trust me, I’m still talking to them, who could ever help me come to terms with that and go, ‘Okay, I feel better now.’ Because I don’t. I don’t feel better about any of it and I don’t think I ever will.”

In death as in life, Russell remains inextricably linked to the Station fire. But he also leaves behind a legacy as a powerhouse vocalist with a sensitivity and zest for life, according to those who knew him. Among the early tributes was Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, who wrote: “RIP Jack Russell. This man was vilified for a situation out of his control and tortured by the memories. He was not evil. And man, could he sing!”

Stone Temple Pilots met the music industry head-on as their debut album, 1992’s Core, sold millions and millions of copies.

As bassist and songwriter Robert DeLeo tells UCR, “I don’t think we were really prepared for that.”

His ’90s contemporary, Live vocalist Ed Kowalczyk, felt similarly as you’ll read in the below interview. They’d made great strides with Mental Jewelry, which arrived at the end of 1991. But the prospects of having to follow that up were overwhelming.

As we know now, they figured it out. STP’s Purple debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Album Charts, selling a quarter-million copies in its first week of release. It would eventually sell over six million copies. Live’s Throwing Copper moved over eight million units, buoyed by a slot at Woodstock ’94.

30 years later, the two bands are teaming up for a retrospective run that will highlight both records. In advance of this week’s tour launch, Kowalczyk and DeLeo joined Ultimate Classic Rock Nights host Matt Wardlaw to take a look back.

Both bands have key career albums turning 30 this year. What do you remember about where things were as you started to work on songs?
Ed Kowalczyk, Live: You know, we’d put out Mental Jewelry first. It had done really well. It went gold and got on the radio. I remember thinking, “I don’t know if there’s any more than this. I think we pretty much hit it.” I was so thrilled with everything. But then the record company came, sort of out of nowhere, and said, “Okay, do it again.” Like, now. [Laughs] I remember being super freaked out, because I was like, “I’ve just lived my whole life to this point.” Mental Jewelry was everything. It was our record deal and it was the whole impetus for everything. Now, it was like, “Do it again in six or eight months.” So it was an exciting time, but it was also a lot of pressure, having that clean slate. But that pressure, looking back on it now, I think it’s where I cut my teeth and honed [my process] as a songwriter. I really figured out how to do it, because it was do or die at that point. We were getting another chance. Because that’s the way it was, really, you’re as big as the release that came out before. Getting this other chance, it was time to go. It was exciting, kind of scary, but a thrilling time.

READ MORE: Live Albums Ranked

Robert DeLeo, Stone Temple Pilots: Core came out and it took off. I don’t think we were really prepared for that. We went out on the road and supported that record for 14 months. During that time, we were writing. I wrote “Interstate Love Song” in the back of an RV on a little 20 dollar nylon string guitar. There were some lyrical things that Scott [Weiland] got into. “Meatplow” and songs like that, which were his reaction to what the business was trying to do to the band. You know, there is that thing called the “business” to the music business. When you put that together with music, it doesn’t always work. But we were quickly and rapidly discovering what the business side of the music was. There was a moment there where I thought, “I’ve got to come up with another ‘Plush.’” Once I stopped thinking about that, I think we were alright. We didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on ourselves. We went into Southern Tracks down in Atlanta with Brendan O’Brien and tracked Purple in 11 days and mixed it in four and we were done. We were really happy with where we’d gone after being on the road for those 14 months and having the success of Core.

Listen to Stone Temple Pilots’ ‘Big Empty’

STP had “Big Empty” on the soundtrack to The Crow prior to it being on Purple. What’s the relative history behind that song?
DeLeo: That’s a song that Dean [DeLeo] wrote and Scott did the lyric and melody for. It had been around. We actually recorded it in 1993 at the Record Plant, which I heard, sadly just closed. You know, all of these great studios are no longer with us. We did it at the same time we did the Encomium tribute for Led Zeppelin and recorded “Dancing Days.” We went in that day and did both songs in ‘93. So we had those in our pocket, with “Big Empty” being on Purple. But that’s kind of where it came from.

Ed, while Live was promoting Throwing Copper, you guys got to play Woodstock ’94, which seems like it would have been quite an experience.
Kowalczyk: You know, it was a wild night. We played Friday, so we kind of played before it all went really crazy and got into Saturday and into the mud mayhem. We were on Friday at like eight o’clock. I think we were one of the first bands to play. I just remember it being mayhem backstage. It was a spinning stage where you set up while the other guys are playing and then they spin you around. We were still so green. Throwing Copper had just come out not that long ago. We were still figuring it all out. We hadn’t gone to Europe yet. We hadn’t really played festivals yet, definitely nothing [as big as Woodstock ’94]. We spun around, got to the front and you literally couldn’t see the end of the crowd, a quarter-million people or whatever the hell it was. I’ll never forget that. It was absolutely insane. But we were in and out. So to look back on it now, it doesn’t seem like we were even there very long. But it was such a significant moment in the band’s career. I was so nervous that I barely remember playing — or meeting anyone, I don’t know! It was a blur. But it was definitely an impactful show for the band, as far as the first time that many people got to see us.

Listen to Live Perform ‘Selling the Drama’ at Woodstock ’94

What’s it been like for each of you, going back to these albums?
Kowalczyk: I think all of the good ones for me, are always the magical ones. They’re always the ones that you go, “Where did that come from? What made me think that?” Or you’re in the studio and you really like the idea, but then there’s this harmony that you put on that just explodes the idea up. It’s a really fascinating process.

DeLeo: I think at the time we made those records, being as young as we were, it’s kind of a blur to think about it. I appreciate and like what I think of those songs now. It’s always really humbling to hear one of your songs on the radio. Just that alone, I’m so grateful and thankful that people actually responded to our art. A lot of bands really don’t get that chance to appreciate that feeling. Now, after all of this time – 35 years have gone by – so to take in at my age what the whole era has accomplished and achieved, I’m really proud of that and thankful.

Kowalczyk: This relationship is such an ongoing thing. The conversation that the music has had with people over these years is still going strong. Here we are 30 years later and we’re going to tour together and there’s still so much interest and passion for it. It’s awesome.

September will be marked by a series of massive live recordings – and the return of a Pink Floyd legend.

Luck and Strange is David Gilmour‘s first solo album in nearly a decade. Charlie Andrew takes over as co-producer, after Gilmour released a pair of LPs with Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music. Of note for Floyd fans: The title track includes an archival performance from Gilmour’s late bandmate Richard Wright.

Bob Dylan‘s historic ’70s-era return to touring is the focus of a new box set, The 1974 Live Recordings. Featured are more than 430 tracks, almost all of them unreleased, from dates with the Band. America is also releasing a special concert performance, Live From the Hollywood Bowl 1975, where they appeared with an orchestra conducted by George Martin.

Fleetwood Mac‘s Mirage Tour ’82 merges 22 songs from a pair of sold-out shows at the Los Angeles Forum performed amid a 31-city U.S. trek. Neil Young‘s 17-disc Archives Vol. III set includes 198 tracks recorded between 1976 and 1987. The 19-disc Grateful Dead box Friend of the Devils: April 1978 features eight complete previously unreleased concerts.

Founding Chicago trumpeter Lee Loughnane and engineer Tim Jessup returned to the original multi-track tapes to finish the 26-track Chicago at the John. F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. (9/16/1971) live collection. Axl Rose, Slash and Dee Snider are among the guests on Michael Schenker’s My Years With UFO, which features updates of 11 tracks from his time with the band.

More information on these and other pending rock albums can be found below. Remember to follow our continuously updated list of new music releases for details on records issued throughout the year.

Sept. 6
America, Live From the Hollywood Bowl 1975
David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (Blu-ray audio disc)
David Gilmour, Luck and Strange
Dead Daisies, Light ‘Em Up
Fast Eddie Clarke [Motorhead], Make My Day: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Story of Fast Eddie Clarke (4CD/book)
Genesis, Nursery Cryme; Selling England by the Pound; Wind and Wuthering; We Can’t Dance; Calling All Stations (remastered vinyl reissues)
King Crimson, Sheltering Skies: Live in Frejus, August 27th 1982
Neil Young, Archives Vol. III
Steve Marriott [Small Faces/Humble Pie], Poor Man’s Rich Man: 1978-1987
Tom Verlaine [Television], Songs and Other Things (teal vinyl reissue)
The The, Ensoulment

Sept. 13
Black Sabbath, The End (4K UHD reissue)
Bon Jovi, Greatest Hits (2LP vinyl reissue)
Eric Clapton, Slowhand at 70: Live at the Royal Albert Hall (4K UHD reissue); Unplugged (purple vinyl reissue)
Frank Zappa, Apostrophe (50th anniversary super deluxe edition; metallic gold vinyl reissue)
Jimi Hendrix Experience, Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision (3CD/5LP/Blu-ray box)
Nick Lowe, Indoor Safari
Pat Benatar, Crimes of Passion; In the Heat of the Night; Precious Time (various vinyl reissues)
Randy Newman, Pleasantville (deluxe edition 2LP red, white and blue vinyl reissue)
Stryper, When We Were Kings
Van Morrison, New Arrangements and Duets
Velvet Revolver, Contraband (deluxe edition 2LP vinyl reissue)

Sept. 20
Bob Dylan and the Band, The 1974 Live Recordings
Fleetwood Mac, Mirage Tour ’82 (3LP vinyl set)
Grateful Dead, Friend of the Devils: April 1978; Duke ’78 (3CD/4LP)
Curved Air, The Rarities Series (6CD box)
Jackson Browne, For Everyman (vinyl reissue)
Michael Schenker [UFO/Scorpions], My Years With UFO (with Axl Rose, Dee Snider, Slash, others)
Phil Collins, Both Sides: All the Sides (expanded reissue; 5LP box)
Rainbow, Live In Munich 1977 (2CD/DVD set)
Santana, Supernatural: 25th Anniversary Edition (red 2LP reissue)
Skid Row, Live in London

Sept. 27
Alice in Chains, Black Gives Way to Blue (vinyl reissue)
Chicago, At the John. F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. (9/16/1971) (3CD; 4LP)
Genesis, A Trick of the Tail; And Then There Were Three; Invisible Touch (remastered vinyl reissues)
Kim Wilde, Love Moves; Love Is; Now and Forever (expanded 3CD/DVD reissues)
Steve Howe [Yes], Guitarscape
Thin Lizzy, 1976 (6CD box); Jailbreak: 2024 Remix (gray vinyl reissue); Johnny the Fox: 2024 Remix (brick red vinyl reissue)
Vanilla Fudge, Where Is My Mind: The Atco Recordings 1967-69 (9CD box)
Various artists, Cut Me Deep: A Story of Indie Pop 1985-1989 (4CD box with the Stone Roses, Jesus and Mary Chain, Edwyn Collins, the Sundays, others)
Various artists, Pour a Little Sugar On It: The Chewy, Chewy Sounds of American Bubblegum: 1966-1971 (with the Archies, the Monkees, Ohio Express, 1910 Fruitgum, others)

October and Beyond
Joni Mitchell, Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980) (4LP box)
Rick Wakeman, Yessonata (12-inch vinyl)
Various artists, He Took Us By Storm: 25 Lost Classics From the Bob Dylan Folk-Rock Revolution Era (with Lou Reed, Bob Seger, David Crosby, Boz Scaggs, Leon Russell, others)
MC5, Heavy Lifting
Jerry Cantrell [Alice in Chains], I Want Blood (with Duff McKagan, Robert Trujillo, others)
Allman Brothers Band, Final Concert 10-28-14 (3CD set)
Bryan Ferry, Retrospective: Selected Recordings 1973-2023
Ian Hunter, You’re Never Alone With a Schizophrenic; Short Back N’ Sides (expanded 2CD/LP reissues)
Smashing Pumpkins, Aghori Mhori Mei (vinyl edition)

Rock’s Most Expensive Out-of-Print LPs

The Boss is back from Europe. After spending a few weeks performing across the Atlantic Ocean, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off another leg of North American shows on Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

“Pittsburgh! We finally got here!” Springsteen said from the stage at one point (via Triblive.com), referencing the fact that the concert had been rescheduled from 2023 due to the singer’s then ongoing health issues. Springsteen then resumed touring in June of this year.

You can view a complete set list, plus videos from the show, below.

Where Does Springsteen’s Tour Head Next?

The next several dates on Springsteen’s tour are also rescheduled 2023 shows, including a second concert in Pittsburgh on Aug. 18, two in Philadelphia, one in Washington D.C. and one in his home state of New Jersey. After that he’ll head north across the border for a string of Canadian dates.

Watch Bruce Springsteen Perform ‘Seeds’

Watch Bruce Springsteen Perform ‘Letter to You’

Watch Bruce Springsteen Perform ‘Youngstown’

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, 8/15/24, PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Set List
1. “Seeds”
2. “Lonesome Day”
3. “No Surrender”
4. “Ghosts”
5. “Letter to You”
6. “The Promised Land”
7. “Hungry Heart”
8. “Reason to Believe”
9. “Atlantic City”
10. “Youngstown”
11. “Long Walk Home” (introduced as a “prayer for our country”)
12. “The E Street Shuffle”
13. “Nightshift” (Commodores cover)
14. “Racing in the Street”
15. “Last Man Standing” (acoustic; with Barry Danielian on trumpet)
16. “Backstreets”
17. “Because the Night” (Patti Smith Group cover)
18. “She’s the One”
19. “Wrecking Ball”
20. “The Rising”
21. “Badlands”
22. “Thunder Road”

Encore:
23. “Born to Run”
24. “Bobby Jean”
25. “Dancing in the Dark”
26. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”
27. “Twist and Shout” (The Top Notes cover)

Encore 2:
28. “I’ll See You in My Dreams” (solo acoustic)

Jack Russell, original vocalist for the glam metal act Great White, has died at the age of 63.

The singer’s passing was confirmed via a message posted to his Facebook page.

“With tremendous sadness, we announce the loss of our beloved Jack Patrick Russell — father, husband, cousin, uncle, and friend,” the post began before noting that the rocker “passed peacefully” in the presence of his family. “Jack is loved and remembered for his sense of humor, exceptional zest for life, and unshakeable contribution to rock and roll where his legacy will forever thrive.”

In a separate post, Great White noted that Russell’s “incredible voice will live on forever.” “All those wonderful years together will be held close to our hearts. It was a privilege and joy to share the stage with him – many shows, many miles and maximum rock.”

Who Was Jack Russell?

Born in Montebello, California, Russell first started playing with guitarist Mark Kendall in 1977. After serving an 18-month stint in prison, Russell joined Kendall in the band Dante Fox, which would eventually evolve into Great White.

The band released its self-titled debut album in 1984, with sophomore release Shot in the Dark arriving in 1986. Neither LP garnered much mainstream attention, but the group earned a devoted fanbase on the road, opening for such popular acts as Judas Priest, Whitesnake and Kiss.

Things took off with Great White’s third album, 1987’s Once Bitten… The LP’s singles, “Rock Me” and “Save Your Love” became rock radio hits. By ‘88, Once Bitten… was certified platinum and the band found itself on tour with the likes of Guns N’ Roses and Twisted Sister.

Great White’s commercial peak came with 1989’s …Twice Shy. The album featured their biggest hit, a cover of Ian Hunter’s “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.” The rendition peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped …Twice Shy sell more than 2 million copies.

Watch Great White’s Music Video for ‘Once Bitten, Twice Shy’

Great White continued to steadily release material, but the group’s popularity waned in the ‘90s. Russell took some time away from the band to release his debut solo album in 1996. By 2001, Great White had officially broken up.

After touring under his own name for some time, Russell began to perform as Jack Russell’s Great White. The band notoriously became part of history in 2003 when, during a performance at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island, pyrotechnics ignited fire in the venue. The tragedy killed 100 people and injured 230 others.

READ MORE: The Story of the Great White Concert Tragedy

Great White and Russell reunited in 2006, but in 2009 the singer began to suffer ongoing health problems, compounded further by addiction issues. His final album with the band, Rising, was released the same year. Russell exited the group and later sued his former band over the Great White name. An agreement was eventually reached wherein Great White could continue under its name, while Russell could once again tour as Jack Russell’s Great White.

Most recently, Russell announced he was retiring from touring in July 2024 following a diagnosis of Lewy body dementia (LBD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA).

“Words cannot express my gratitude for the many years of memories, love and support,” the rocker said at the time. “Thank you for letting me live my dreams. You have made my life a wonder.”

Beastie Boys members Adam “Ad Rock” Horovitz and Michael “Mike D” Diamond have reflected upon their unique experience opening for Madonna.

It was 1985 and both acts were in the early stages of their respective careers. Madonna had released her self-titled debut album in 1983 and followed it with 1984’s Like a Virgin. Beastie Boys, meanwhile, had yet to release their first studio LP, but the trio had earned substantial buzz in the New York music scene.

Like a Virgin had delivered Madonna’s first chart-topping hit, thanks to its hugely popular title track. “Material Girl” soon followed, further escalating her to pop stardom. The Virgin Tour would be her first massive concert trek, taking her across America. Beastie Boys were tabbed as opener, but the deal was made before Madonna truly became Madonna.

“It was a huge deal and totally absurd that we got asked to do that tour,” Mike D admitted during a recent appearance on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast. “She booked the tour and she was playing like theaters. And by the time the tour was actually happening, she was so beyond selling out a theater in terms of stature.”

READ MORE: Top 10 Beastie Boys Song With Classic Rock Samples

“Before the tour was finished, I think she was like on the cover of Time Magazine or something,” Mike D continued. “She was on her way to being a cultural phenomenon [when the tour started], but then she really was one by the end of that tour.”

‘That Whole Tour Was Crazy’

The Virgin Tour was a monumental success and many of the concerts were moved to larger venues in response to overwhelming fan demand.

“That whole tour was crazy,” Madonna admitted to Rolling Stone in 2009, “because I went from playing CBGB and the Mudd Club to playing sporting arenas.”

READ MORE: How the Beastie Boys Inspired Robert Plant’s ‘Tall Cool One’

Beastie Boys were essentially along for the ride, but the trek gave the trio incredible public exposure considering they had yet to release their debut album. In a previous interview, Horovitz described Madonna’s decision to take them on tour as a “terrible idea.” However, in the conversation with O’Brien, Ad Rock noted the pairing was not as crazy as it seemed.

“We used to play at the same clubs in New York,” the vocalist pointed out. “No one ever talks about that part of the story.”

Deep Purple and Yes launched their joint 2024 tour on Wednesday night in Hollywood, Florida. See set lists and videos below.

The =1 More Time tour celebrates Deep Purple’s latest studio album, also called =1, and 50 years of “Smoke on the Water.” (Frontman Ian Gillan, in a recent interview with UCR, said he’d have preferred if the tour was called “Unleashed – not that it matters. It’s a Deep Purple tour and we’re happy.”)

Yes’ latest tour follows 2023’s Mirror to the Sky, but the group stuck with old favorites. Their most recent release was an expanded 4CD or limited-edition white vinyl anniversary box set of 1994’s Talk.

READ MORE: Ranking Every Yes Song

Highlights from the evening included Deep Purple’s live debut of “Show Me” from =1. Meanwhile, Yes offered the tour debuts of “Yours Is No Disgrace,” “Clap” and “Siberian Khatru.”

Watch Deep Purple Perform ‘Smoke On the Water’

Sharing the stage wasn’t always so easy. Deep Purple and Yes were both on the bill at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in 1970, a precursor to the U.K.s Reading Festival held at Plumpton in East Sussex, England – and both assumed they’d be the closing act.

Promoter Jack Barrie from London’s legendary Marquee Club stepped in to negotiate a truce. “Jack said, ‘Guys, would you mind going on a bit earlier? I don’t want to push you, but it would help me and it would help the crowd,'” Ian Gillan remembered.

He said Deep Purple responded, “Yeah, sure. Okay, no worries.” But then co-founding Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore set fire to his amplifiers on stage – causing an explosion.

Watch Yes Perform ‘Roundabout’

Joint North American dates with Deep Purple and Yes continue through September, with key stops in Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Toronto and Montreal, among others. Deep Purple appears as a solo act on Aug. 19 in Oklahoma. Their new LP was preceded by a 3CD/LP/Blu-ray super deluxe edition of Machine Head, home to “Smoke on the Water” as well as “Highway Star” and “Space Truckin.'”

Watch Deep Purple Perform ‘Lazy Sod’

Deep Purple, Aug. 14, 2024, Hollywood, Florida, Set List
“Highway Star”
“A Bit on the Side”
“Hard Lovin’ Man”
“Into the Fire”
“Uncommon Man” (Dedicated to Jon Lord)
“Lazy Sod”
“Lazy”
“Show Me” (live debut)
“Portable Door”
“Anya”
“Bleeding Obvious”
“Space Truckin'”
“Smoke on the Water”
Encore:
“Caught in the Act”
“Hush”
“Black Night”

Yes, Aug. 14, 2024, Hollywood, Florida, Set List
“Machine Messiah”
“I’ve Seen All Good People”
“Yours Is No Disgrace”
“Clap”
“Going for the One”
“Siberian Khatru”
“Roundabout”
“Starship Trooper”

Revisiting Yes’ First LP Without Chris Squire

Some of the numbers associated with Woodstock are well known. The now-legendary festival featured 32 acts performing over three days before half a million fans. But did you know there were hundreds of portable toilets, too?

Kicking off on Aug. 15, 1969, in Bethel, New York, Woodstock gave the world a series of career-making performances – perhaps most notably from a fledgling group of Latin rockers called Santana. There were just as many challenges, from scheduling mixups to overindulgence and arrests to rain delays and some seriously muddy festival grounds. A tractor crushed someone.

And all of that was after Woodstock was banned from its first proposed location in Wallkill, New York, then rejected again by the town of Saugerties. As a result, festival organizers barely had time to set up everything after a late permitting process in Bethel, leaving yawning gaps in the fencing. Organizers were then forced to convert Woodstock into a free event as fans descended from all over America.

Ironically enough, however, the original Woodstock was far and away the most successful of them all. Woodstock ’94 turned into a muddy moshpit while Woodstock 1999 went down in flames. Woodstock 2019, which would have marked the 50th anniversary, simply fell apart.

Meanwhile, a film of the original event earned more than $50 million during its run in theaters, becoming the sixth highest-grossing movie of 1970. The album version, dubbed Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More, topped the Billboard chart on its way to double platinum certification.

Here’s a look back at the original Woodstock – by the numbers.

The Killers launched their residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Wednesday and revived a few long-abandoned rarities for the occasion.

It was a homecoming for the band, which was founded in Sin City in 2001. The residency, which runs through Sept. 1, is also a 20th anniversary celebration for the Killers’ breakthrough debut album, Hot Fuss.

The evening began with “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine,” the emphatic Hot Fuss opening track. Next came the band’s ubiquitous hit “Mr. Brightside,” as the Killers performed their debut LP in chronological order.

READ MORE: Top 50 Classic Rock Albums of the ’10s

Further highlights included “Everything Will Be Alright,” which the group played for the first time since 2005, and the rarely performed “Believe Me Natalie,” which hadn’t appeared in their set list for six years.

The Killers Honor Their Las Vegas Roots

At one point in the night, frontman Brandon Flowers took a moment to reflect on the band’s Las Vegas roots, as well as their two-decade run of fame.

“As you know, a lot of people come to Vegas to gamble,” the singer noted. “And I’m no exception. I came here from a quiet town in Utah when I was just 16 years old. I had big dreams working as a busboy right here in Caesars Palace.”

“And I bet my life on three men who I hardly knew,” he continued. “Some people come to Vegas and lose everything – that’s just the way it goes. But let tonight serve as a reminder: sometimes it goes the other way too.”

After performing Hot Fuss in its entirety, the Killers briefly departed the stage, only to return for an encore featuring songs from throughout their career. This included the live debut of their newest track, the Vegas-inspired “Bright Lights.” Videos and full set list from the performance can be found below.

Watch the Killers Perform ‘Jenny Was a Friend of Mine’

Watch the Killers Perform ‘Mr. Brightside’

Watch the Killers Perform ‘Somebody Told Me’

Watch the Killers Perform ‘Everything Will Be Alright’

Watch the Killers Perform ‘Bright Lights’

The Killers, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Aug. 14, 2024

1. “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine”
2. “Mr. Brightside”
3. “Smile Like You Mean It”
4. “Somebody Told Me”
5. “All These Things That I’ve Done”
6. “Andy, You’re a Star”
7. “On Top”
8. “Change Your Mind”
9. “Believe Me Natalie”
10. “Midnight Show”
11. “Everything Will Be Alright”
12. “Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll”
13. “The Man”
14. “Human”
15. “This Is Your Life”
16. “Caution”
17. “Runaways”
18. “Read My Mind”
19. “Bright Lights”
20. “When You Were Young”

The grounds were muddy, littered with hippies and smelled like an uninviting combination of reefer and feces. But the Woodstock Music & Art Fair – which took place in Bethel, N.Y., on Aug. 15-18, 1969 – featured a ton of great music.

More than 30 artists performed over the three-day weekend. Some were established stars, others were just getting their start. And most of them had breakthrough performances at the festival.

Even if their sets weren’t all that great, they were elevated by their association with the granddaddy of all music fests. UCR looks at the Top 10 Woodstock Performances below.

10. Jefferson Airplane, “Volunteers”

By the time Jefferson Airplane got onstage at around 8 a.m. Sunday, they, as well as much of the audience, were wiped out. The band has never sounded so raw and frayed. Their 100-minute set was made up of familiar hits like “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit,” but the early-morning performance took a toll on them. Still, they spring to relative life for three glorious minutes during “Volunteers,” finding community and jam-band spirit in the song’s tireless groove.

 

9. Country Joe and the Fish, “The ‘Fish’ Cheer”/”I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag”

A three-hour downpour following Joe Cocker‘s set delayed the music for a while. When things started back up, the drenched audience was ready for anyone. They got Berkeley-bred psych-rocker Country Joe McDonald and his ragtag band. They were kind of ragged, but their set-closing song is one of the festival’s defining moments: a crowd-cheering chant of “fuck” gives way to “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag,” an antiwar cut that fired up the Vietnam-weary Woodstock nation.

 

8. Canned Heat, “Going Up the Country”

If you ever needed proof that Canned Heat could be damn good at what they did when they wanted to be, check out their hour-long Woodstock set from Saturday afternoon. It’s raw, brittle and at times almost out of control, but the band held it together with a superb mix of expert playing and blues-rock exuberance. “Going Up the Country” pounds home the point.

 

READ MORE: Top 10 Crosby, Stills & Nash Songs

 

7. The Who, “My Generation”

The Who were touring Tommy when they played Woodstock at daybreak Sunday morning. So most of their set – which ran for a little more than an hour – consisted of an abbreviated run-through of their rock opera plus a few of their older classics. The highlight comes near the end, as the band tears into a seven-minute version of “My Generation” that erupts in a fiery display of guitar heroics by Pete Townshend.

 

6. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”

Neil Young joined his new bandmates onstage for a couple of songs during their Sunday night/Monday morning set. But he didn’t play the acoustic portion and skipped most of the electric set too. Stephen Stills told the audience, “This is the second time we’ve ever played in front of people. We’re scared shitless” – which probably explains their wobbly performance. But seeing as they took the stage at 3 a.m., their defining set-opening take on ”Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” fits the lethargic hour.

 

5. Sly & the Family Stone, “I Want to Take You Higher”

Unlike several of the artists who played Woodstock, Sly & the Family Stone were already stars when they took the stage at 3:30 Sunday morning. But they had recently released their first classic album, Stand!, and were at the tightest point in their career. Their early-morning show is a bit sloppy, but the blurry-eyed delivery digs into the dirty, nasty pull of the music. Their entire 50-minute set is pretty remarkable, but the stumbling-toward-ecstasy drive of “I Want to Take You Higher” is the highlight.

 

4. Joe Cocker, “With a Little Help From My Friends”

Joe Cocker was already generating some buzz for his debut album, which came out four months earlier when he stepped onto the Woodstock stage. But his 90-minute show super-sized it. Cocker and the Grease Band covered Bob Dylan and Traffic, but they completely floored the Sunday afternoon crowd with their intense performance of “With a Little Help From My Friends” (also the title of Cocker’s debut LP), which took the Beatles‘ Sgt. Pepper‘s cut to spiritual new heights.

 

3. Richie Havens, “Freedom”

Like several of the artists who performed at Woodstock in August 1969, few people knew who Richie Havens was when he walked onstage. But his festival opening set Friday afternoon, particularly the rousing “Freedom” (which closed his two-hour show), typified the hippie ethos of the period. Rocking an acoustic guitar, with some help from a percussionist and another guitar player, Havens got the audience on its feet and became Woodstock’s first breakout star.

 

READ MORE: Woodstock by the Numbers

 

2. Santana, “Soul Sacrifice”

Santana was pretty much unknown when they took the stage for a 45-minute set on Saturday afternoon (their debut album was still a week or so from release). By the time they left, they were one of the festival’s breakout acts. Most of the songs they played were from their self-titled LP, including the instrumental “Soul Sacrifice,” a percussion-fueled dynamo that was about as funky as things got all weekend.

 

1. Jimi Hendrix, “The Star-Spangled Banner”

More than any other performance during those three storied days in August 1969, Jimi Hendrix‘s festival-closing set at 9 a.m. Monday helped shape the sounds and images that still define Woodstock almost 45 years later. Near the end of his two-hour show, Hendrix pulled out his electrifying version of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” complete with guitar pyrotechnics – designed to sound like dropping bombs and machine-gun fire – which blow the mind from thousands of feet away.

Greg Kihn, the Baltimore-born singer, songwriter and guitarist best known for the hit “Jeopard,” has died. He was 75.

According to a post on his website, Kihn died on Aug. 13 after struggling with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Beyond the world of music and radio, Greg was renowned as a great storyteller and novelist with six published novels and a multitude of short stories,” notes a statement on his site. “He had a unique hobby of breeding rare praying mantis and he also spent time and raised money for Operation Care and Comfort.”

READ MORE: Top 100 ’80s Rock Albums

Kihn started his music career in 1976 with the band Greg Kihn Band. His first two albums didn’t chart but by his third (and first of many LPs with a title that included a pun on his name), 1979’s Next of Kihn, he started to find some broader success with his music.

A pair of singles – “Remember” in 1978 and 1981’s “Sheila” – stalled just outside of the Top 100, but with 1981’s “The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em)” he broke into the Top 40 for the first time with a No. 15 hit.

What Songs Is Greg Kihn Known For?

But it was with 1983’s “Jeopardy,” a song that benefitted from much MTV airplay during the music network’s earliest years, that took Kihn and his four-piece band into the Top 10. The song climbed to No. 2 and became his biggest and best-known hit, thanks to the conceptual video that featured Kihn as a groom terrorized by otherworldly creatures.

Over the next three years, Kihn placed six more singles in the Top 100 or just outside of it, some with his band and some released under his solo name (like 1986’s “Love and Rock and Roll,” his last chart entry).

Among his most popular albums, Rockihnroll (1981), Kihntinued (1982) and Kihnspiracy (1983) all reached the Top 40.

In 1996 Kihn became a disc jockey at San Jose’s KUFX and soon after that published his first novel, Horror Show, which was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. He penned several other horror books over the years.

In July, Kihn hinted on Facebook that he was retiring. “After so many years of touring as well as doing radio shows from 3 a.m. -3 p.m. for 15 years, it’s finally time I get to chill out,” he wrote. “I’m enjoying sleeping in, watching movies, listening to music and my favorite thing to do is just spend time with my family.”

The announcement of his death noted that a “public celebration of life concert for fans and fellow musicians will be announced in the near future.”

Jane’s Addiction continued their recently-launched North American tour on Tuesday with a sold-out performance at Inglewood, California’s YouTube Theater alongside fellow ’80s alt-rockers Love and Rockets.

You can see the set list, video and UCR’s exclusive photos from the performance below.

After opening with the title track off the 1997 compilation album Kettle Whistle, Jane’s Addiction leaned heavily on their two biggest albums — 1988’s Nothing’s Shocking and 1990’s Ritual de lo Habitual — for the majority of the 14-song set. The Perry Farrell-fronted outfit played classics such as “Jane Says,” “Mountain Song” and the closing one-two punch of “Stop!” and “Been Caught Stealing,” along with fan favorites such as “Pigs in Zen” and the new song “Imminent Redemption.”

Why Jane’s Addiction’s Current Tour Is Special

Jane’s Addiction’s 2024 tour marks the return of guitarist Dave Navarro, who had been sidelined in recent years due to lingering COVID complications. The band’s May 23 show at London’s Bush Hall marked the first show with the classic lineup — Farrell, Navarro, Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins — since 2010.

A new Jane’s Addiction album is reportedly in the works, assisted by Love & Rockets cofounder Daniel Ash. It will mark their first studio LP since 2011’s The Great Escape Artist and fifth overall. The rockers’ current trek will continue on Thursday in Phoenix and will keep them on the road through the end of September.

Watch Jane’s Addiction’s Full Set in Inglewood on 8/13/24

Jane’s Addiction, 8/13/24, Inglewood, YouTube Theater Set List
1. “Kettle Whistle”
2. “Whores”
3. “Pigs in Zen”
4. “Ain’t No Right”
5. “Ted, Just Admit It …”
6. “Summertime Rolls”
7. “Jane Says”
8. “Mountain Song”
9. “Three Days”
10. “Imminent Redemption”
11. “Then She Did …”
12. “Ocean Size”
13. “Stop!”
14. “Been Caught Stealing”

Kenny Wayne Shepherd believes Eddie Van Halen was far different than how he was portrayed in the media.

Shepherd had a long history with the late guitar god, having toured with Van Halen on two separate occasions.

“We toured with them back in the ‘90s when it was Van Halen III and they had Gary Cherone singing in the band for a brief moment,” Shepherd recalled during a recent appearance on the Appetite for Distortion podcast. “And then we toured again with them on the very last tour in 2015.”

Shepherd, who also became social friends with Eddie away from the stage, found the rocker to be friendly and outgoing, a far cry from the aloof figure that had been portrayed in the media.

READ MORE: The Best Song from Every Van Halen Album

“What I’ve learned in my life is you hear stories about people and a lot of times people only tell the stories that, the bad stories because it kind of makes for a good headline or whatever,” Shepherd explained. “So I’ve learned not to judge people based on other people’s experiences and I had nothing but great experiences with Eddie. He was always just, couldn’t have been a nicer guy to me.”

“I think people can often mistake shyness with being standoffish,” the blues rock guitarist continued. “A lot of people like to keep to themselves. A lot of them are not very outgoing people in private settings, but on stage they’re larger than life.”

Shepherd also noted that he never saw any of the reported bitterness between Van Halen and his bandmates.

“[Eddie] never trashed anybody,” he confirmed. “He never was talking trash about anybody.”

Shepherd Noticed a Big Difference Between Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth

While Shepard was clear that all of his Van Halen experiences were positive, he did note one clear difference during the band’s final tour.

“On this last tour, I saw Wolfgang all the time. I saw Alex frequently. I saw Ed every day,” the rocker recalled. “The one guy I never saw, never said hello to me or anything like that was David Lee Roth. So, I can’t speak to him because I never met him.”

READ MORE: Van Halen Albums Ranked

“His guys were always trying to be like, if he entered the building, it was like, ‘He’s entered the building! Everybody, clear the room!’” Shepherd continued. “There was definitely a difference between my interactions with Eddie and then the way that David Lee Roth seemed to approach things. But I’m not gonna judge that guy because I’d never actually had an interaction with him.”

Shepherd’s new album, Dirt on My Diamonds Vol. 2, will be released Sept. 20.

Even five and a half decades after it happened, Woodstock still looms large in the minds of a lot of people, both performers and attendees.

The three-day festival began on Aug. 15, 1969, featuring over 150 musicians playing to hundreds of thousands of people. Even those not present at the event could feel its power from miles away. Joni Mitchell, who did not appear at the festival, would write a song about it which CSNY turned into a hit — “Said I’m going down to Yasgur’s Farm / Gonna join in a rock ‘n’ roll band / Got to get back to the land / Set my soul free.”

Thanks to the abundance of drugs and alcohol, there are plenty of gaps in the memories of those who did play Woodstock, but there’s also still plenty that is remembered. Below, in order of their appearance at the festival, we’re taking a look at 15 rock acts and their retrospective thoughts on playing Woodstock.

1. Arlo Guthrie

They say that if you remember the ’60s, you weren’t there. Arlo Guthrie, son of the famous folk pioneer Woody Guthrie, was certainly there. “I remember gettin’ there,” he said of Woodstock at a 2023 event, “but I don’t remember leavin.'”

But that was mostly a joke, since Guthrie does have fond memories of the day, as he recalled to Smithsonian magazine in 2009: “One of the things that was interesting to me was that everybody at the time knew that we were in a history-making mode. It was plainly evident from the size of the crowd and the overwhelming factors like weather, roads and food that we were in the middle of a disaster. And we knew that it was historic in proportion. Nothing like this had ever happened before, planned or by surprise. When you realize that most historic events are written in hindsight – you don’t realize you’re in a historic event at the time – so it was special to be in a historic event and know that it was just that.”

 

2. Joan Baez

By the time Joan Baez hit the Woodstock stage, she had already made history multiple times over in her career as a folksinger, but this was an entirely different ballgame. “Everybody was crazy,” she said to Rolling Stone in 2009. “I guess the collective memories that people have, I have in a sense. It’s the mud and the cops roasting hot dogs and people wandering around in the nude. And the fact that, looking back, it was in fact a huge deal. I think of the events that happened around that time, it was a perfect storm, which is why people wish they’d been there.”

It was a particularly memorable experience for Baez as someone with a more political mindset than most of the other acts. “I was always an outsider,” she told The New York Times in 2019. “One, I was a girl. And two, I didn’t do drugs or drink alcohol. I remember running into Janis Joplin a couple of times. I said, ‘Oh, Janis, you’ve got to come over for tea some time.’ She held up her bottle [of booze] in the paper bag. I was a political activist, and there were not many of those at Woodstock.”

 

3. Santana

For the members of Santana, playing Woodstock was an especially big deal because it was their first time playing a gig outside of their hometown of San Fransisco. “We stayed in the town of Woodstock and Paul Butterfield’s band was there,” percussionist Michael Carabello told SFGate in 2009. “There was a saloon of some sort that for a week and a half we made into a jam place and everybody would come down there and play. It was great, just great, even before getting to the gig.”

The gig helped bring Santana national attention, the kind that would ensure a successful future. “I’ve always said that if you played at Woodstock, you had a career,” keyboardist Gregg Rolie told UCR in 2014. “It was just wide open.”

 

4. Mountain

Even rock ‘n’ roll musicians have to eat at some point. Leslie West of Mountain vividly remembered the food situation for the band at Woodstock. “There were bagels backstage, and they were going real quick,” he told Rolling Stone back in 1989. “I remember that distinctly because our manager brought these barbecued chickens up in the helicopter — his wife had told him he’d better bring something to eat, and we were the only ones with food. Well, with all the smoke that was there, the appetites were crazy, and there was absolutely nothing to eat. We could have probably sold those chickens for like five grand apiece.”

 

5. The Grateful Dead

Both Bob Weir and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead recognize the cultural significance of Woodstock, but neither of them felt their band’s performance was anything to write home about. “You don’t see festivals that draw half a million people any more,” Hart once said to The Detroit News. “I recall the people who played really well at Woodstock — Carlos Santana, Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix — were over-the-top great. But we just didn’t play well. It was a missed opportunity.”

“Had we played a good set, we probably would have transported them to another reality entirely,” Weir told Rolling Stone in 1989. “Some people made their careers at Woodstock, but we’ve spent about 20 years making up for it [Laughs]. It was probably the worst set we’ve ever performed. And to have performed it in front of a crowd that size was not an altogether fulfilling experience.”

 

6. Creedence Clearwater Revival

Not only did Creedence Clearwater Revival struggle to get to Woodstock because of the terrible weather, they also had the misfortune of having to follow the Grateful Dead, whose discombobulated set went over their allotted time. So when CCR finally hit the stage it was somewhere around 2:30 a.m. “We ran onstage ready to rock ‘n’ roll, but everybody was just lying there in front of the stage asleep,” John Fogerty recalled to the Los Angeles Times in 2019. “About halfway through, I went to the microphone and said, ‘We’re playing our hearts out for you and want you to have a good time.’ And from the back of the field somewhere I heard a voice shout, ‘Don’t worry about it, John.’ So in my mind, there was one guy who was awake and we finished our set for that guy.”

Drummer Doug Clifford had actually been anticipating something like that happening. “It’s what I expected, to be honest,” he told Rock Cellar in 2019. “We were a pretty disciplined band. We prided ourselves in being consistent. It was another walk in the park; that’s what we do it for.”

 

7. The Who

Roger Daltrey has said that he feels Woodstock was perhaps the Who‘s worst gig ever. “It was a particularly hard one for me, because of the state of the equipment,” he explained to The New York Times in 2019. “It was all breaking down. I’m standing in the middle of the stage with enormous Marshall 100 watt amps blasting my ears behind me. [Keith] Moon on the drums in the middle. I could barely hear what I was singing.”

Like CCR, the Who played their set in the wee hours of the morning to an exhausted crowd. Pete Townshend wasn’t really a fan of the experience either. “Well, it changed me, I hated it,” he once said (via Far Out Magazine). “I took my six-month-old child, and it was very weird. I didn’t like it all. They dumped us out of a limousine into six feet of mud, and we stood there for five hours waiting to go on.

“I drank a cup of coffee, and five minutes later, I’m on an LSD trip, unwillingly. They put LSD in the coffee, LSD in the mud, if you fell over and accidentally drank some muddy water, you were on a trip.”

 

8. Jefferson Airplane

Many people who were present at Woodstock — both on the stage and in the crowd — have spoken about the feeling of togetherness that was there. “The thing that really hit me was the sense of identity and community,” Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen once said (via woodstock.com). “The counter culture train had been rolling for a couple of years by that time, but all of a sudden those of us who were taking part in the circus found that we had a national identity. That sea of humanity…we could look out at them from the stage and know that everyone knew where we were coming from.”

But it was also, as singer Grace Slick recalled to CBC in 2019, muddy, messy and logistically complicated. “For us, it wasn’t quite as marvelous as it might be for somebody who’s 18 years old,” she said. “I was 29, so my idea of fun is not having to watch out for a white dress and no bathrooms and playing at six o’clock in the morning. So Woodstock, personally, was not fun. But the idea of it, and the idea that we attracted that many people, was kind of amazing. But that’s all in your head. That’s not what actually happened.”

 

9. Country Joe and the Fish

The same year that he performed at Woodstock, Country Joe McDonald was also issued an arrest warrant for inciting an audience into lewd behavior at a concert in Massachusetts. (He wound up paying a $500 fine.) So for McDonald, playing Woodstock was nothing short of a rags to riches type of story. “I never had a plan for a career in music, so Woodstock changed my life,” he told The New York Times in 2017.

It should be noted that in addition to the festival itself, the movie made out of it also helped bring the bands more and more attention, which guitarist Barry “The Fish” Melton would describe as the “best paying minute I ever spent in my life.”

 

10. The Band

If there was one act that could be considered the hometown group at Woodstock, it was the Band, who had moved to the town in 1967. After spending a few years in semi-seclusion, suddenly performing for that many people was shocking, as Robbie Robertson would recall to Rolling Stone in 1989: “I remember looking out there, and it seemed as though the kids were looking at us kind of funny. We were playing the same way we played in our living room, and that might have given the impression that we weren’t up for it. But it could’ve been that we just couldn’t get that same intimate feeling with a few hundred thousand people.

“Most of the other musicians went up and said, ‘Everybody clap your hands and sing along with me.’ But that wasn’t our calling. We were thinking, ‘These poor suckers have been putting up with a lot of stuff, so maybe we should send out a little spiritual blessing to them.'”

 

11. Johnny Winter

When asked in 2009 by The Repository what he remembered the most from playing Woodstock, Johnny Winter replied: “That it was very muddy!” Yet, when Winter took the stage, on day three of the festival, the weather had improved. “I played Sunday around midnight. It was probably the time of the largest attendance and the weather was great at that time,” he said. “I had Tommy Shannon on bass and Uncle John Turner on drums. It was a special night.”

 

12. Sly and the Family Stone

“I kicked ass,” Sly Stone recalled in his 2023 memoir Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (via The Guardian), reminiscing on his Woodstock performance with the Family Stone. “Did I feel the moment as pressure? I knew we had to live up to it, not to mention rise to the level of the other artists. Janis Joplin was on before us, and then there was a break, and it was like the sky split open with rain. More than one of us was afraid to touch the equipment because of the danger of getting shocked.”

 

13. Blood, Sweat and Tears

The thing that has struck singer David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears the most in the years following Woodstock is how amazing it was that even with all the mud, drugs and late nights, the entire event happened peacefully. This is especially interesting when you consider that many of the people attending Woodstock were frustrated and fed up with issues like the Vietnam War and other decisions being made by a government they felt controlled too much of their lives.

“The legacy of Woodstock is that a small city’s worth of people, up to their asses in mud, sharing only a few Port-a-Potty’s with little refreshments didn’t kill one another,” Clayton-Thomas said to The Western Gazette in 2009. “There was not one assault reported. The three days of love and peace could have easily been a bloodbath.”

Bandmate Steve Katz doesn’t recall the gig all that fondly on account of the weather, not to mention the lack of connection with the crowd.

“When you’re looking out at 300,000 people or whatever it’s just like a curtain. I think the problem was the audience was far from us,” he told Radio New Zealand in 2019. “And when the audience is far from you, you lose intimacy and basically you’re playing for yourself.”

 

14. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

When Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young hit the Woodstock stage, it was only their second time performing together. But with all of the dope around and general good vibes, it didn’t unsettle them.

“I thought we did a lousy set,” Graham Nash told Rolling Stone in 1989. “When you consider playing acoustic guitars to 400,000 people and trying to reach to the back of the crowd with songs like ‘Guinnevere,’ it was absurd. But we certainly gave it our best shot. Sure, the ‘Suite’ was a little out of tune, but so what?”

“We were all searching for enlightenment, but it turned into a lot of rants,” Stephen Stills recalled to The Independent in 2023. “Watching all the American kids lolling around in the mud, I remembered that there were peace talks trying to go on at the time. I thought: ‘Oh, the North Vietnamese must be quaking in their fucking boots looking at this!’ Those ironies struck me, here at age 78.”

 

15. Sha Na Na

Out of all the bands that performed at Woodstock, Sha Na Na stood out as the only doo-wop revival group. Singer Henry Gross set the record for the youngest person on the bill at 18 years old — he graduated high school just a few months before the festival — and he suddenly found himself rubbing shoulders with some of the most famous people in the music industry.

“I got there at 9 in the morning, I was drinking all morning, drinking Jack Daniels out of a bottle with Jimi Hendrix,” he told CultureSonar in 2019. “I went in the car with Jerry Garcia. It took us about an hour to get to the backstage area from the hotel, which was actually only a minute away because there were hundreds of thousands of kids in the way. … And Jerry got me so stoned. I didn’t remember that I spent the entire day before the concert started at night with Jerry. When Jerry Garcia got you stoned, you were ready for surgery.”

In 1972, daytime TV talk show The Mike Douglas Show got a pair of new hosts for the week: John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Now, a new documentary titled Daytime Revolution, will chronicle that moment in pop culture history. Directed by Erik Nelson, the film will hit more than 50 theaters across the country on what would have been Lennon’s 84th birthday, Oct. 9.

“Daytime Revolution takes us back in time, as we observe John and Yoko interacting with a transfixed studio audience in revealing Q and A sessions where John Lennon was astonishingly candid about his life after the Beatles,” a press release described (via Deadline). “John and Yoko also got to pick the guests, some very controversial at the time, like [anti-war activist and Yippie] Jerry Rubin and Black Panther Bobby Seale, as well as Ralph Nader and George Carlin. In addition, the shows featured blazing musical performances, including an epic duet with Chuck Berry, and a poignant rendition of the now classic ‘Imagine.’ Conceptual art events and even cooking segments were woven into the crazy fabric of the format.”

READ MORE: What if John Lennon Had Starred in ‘WarGames’?

According to Nelson, the documentary — on which both Ono and her son Sean Ono Lennon served as creative consultants — was originally going to be put out in the fall of 2022, but “we made a conscious decision to hold back release until the election fall of 2024, as we felt very strongly that the film’s optimistic and idealistic message would be a far more welcome ‘letter from home’ the closer we got to what promised to be an apocalyptic and tension filled Nov. 5. We were clearly right in that assumption!”

Daytime Revolution will first premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival, followed by its theatrical release. Details on locations and ticketing have yet to be announced.

Sex Pistols reunited and played their first show since 2008 last night, and it was also their first performance without Johnny Rotten (aka John Lydon).

When the punk-rockers announced a pair of benefit shows earlier this year, they revealed that Frank Carter (Gallows, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes) would fill in for Rotten. The first of the two concerts took place last night (Aug. 13) at London’s Bush Hall.

All of the original members, except Rotten, took part in the reunion. Thus, the evening was the first time Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock played onstage together as the Sex Pistols since Sept. 5, 2008 [via Setlist.fm]. Rotten fronted the band throughout all of ’07 and ’08.

The band promised to play their sole 1977 album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols in its entirety when they first announced the shows, so last night’s set consisted of 15 songs, including their biggest hits “God Save the Queen” (which they changed the lyrics to) and “Anarchy in the U.K.” Yungblud jumped onstage for a bit during the former of the two.

READ MORE: Sex Pistols Change ‘God Save the Queen’ Lyrics at Reunion Show

They also played three songs that weren’t included on the original album release, but were either B-sides or bonus tracks — “Did You No Wrong,” “Submission,” “Satellite” and their cover of The Stooges‘ “No Fun.”

“Thanks for the invitation lads,” Carter wrote in an Instagram post when they first announced the shows back in early June. “Will be an honor to smash our way through one of the most influential records of all time together.”

Check out the full setlist, as well as some fan-filmed footage from the night, below.

Johnny Rotten and Sex Pistols

In April of 2022, Rotten said his Sex Pistols bandmates “can all fuck off” after he found out they had been working on the FX biopic series Pistol without him. Jones and Cook also filed a lawsuit against the vocalist the year prior because he was against the use of the band’s official recordings in the show. Rotten claimed that the court case that followed had left him in financial ruin.

It’s unclear if the show itself is the reason Rotten wasn’t part of these reunion performances.

Sex Pistols Setlist — Aug. 13, 2024

01. “Holidays in the Sun”
02. “Seventeen”
03. “New York”
04. “Pretty Vacant”
05. “Bodies”
06. “Did You No Wrong”
07. “Liar”
08. “God Save the Queen” (Lyrics changed to fit “God Save The King”, Yungblud came on stage for two lines)
09. “Submission”
10. “Satellite”
11. “No Feelings”
12. “E.M.I.”
13. “Problems”
Encore:
14. “No Fun” (The Stooges cover)
15. “Anarchy in the U.K.”
via setlist.fm

Sex Pistols With Frank Carter – “Pretty Vacant” (Live 2024)

Sex Pistols With Frank Carter – “God Save the Queen” (Live 2024)

Sex Pistols With Frank Carter – “EMI” (Live 2024)