Author: LRussell

Two of Ian Hunter‘s most popular solo albums will be reissued in expanded editions this fall.

1979’s You’re Never Alone With a Schizophrenic and 1981’s Short Back N’ Sides will be reissued in two-CD and -LP form on Oct. 25. Both will include an entire disc of early versions of songs from their respective albums, demos and outtakes.

The albums – Hunter’s fourth and fifth solo records after he left Mott the Hoople – featured collaborations with late-era Hoople bandmate Mick Ronson, who co-produced. Both new editions have been remastered.

READ MORE: Top 10 Mott the Hoople Songs

You’re Never Alone With a Schizophrenic was Hunter’s highest-charting album in the U.S., reaching No. 35. It included backing by members of Bruce Springsteen‘s E Street Band and fan favorite “Cleveland Rocks.” Short Back N’ Sides, which made it to No. 62, was coproduced by the Clash‘s Mick Jones, who plays guitar and contributes backing vocals and recruited his band’s drummer, Topper Headon, for some songs.

What’s on Expanded Editions of Ian Hunter’s ’70s Solo Albums?

The expanded edition of You’re Never Alone With a Schizophrenic includes early versions of album songs “When the Daylight Comes,” “Ships” and “The Outsider.” There’s also a “Ronsonesque Version” of the single and opening track “Just Another Night.”

Short Back N’ Sides features a dozen extra songs, many of them not on the original album, such as “You Stepped Into My Dreams” and “Venus in the Bathtub.” A song titled “China” features a vocal turn by Ronson.

You can see the track listings for the upcoming reissues below.

Hunter released Defiance Part 2: Fiction in April, a sequel to 2023’s Defiance Part 1. The record included appearances by the late Jeff Beck and Taylor Hawkins, members of the Black Crowes, Cheap Trick, Def Leppard and Pearl Jam.

Ian Hunter, ‘You’re Never Alone With a Schizophrenic (2024 Expanded Edition)’ Track Listing
Just Another Night
Wild East
Cleveland Rocks
Ships
When The Daylight Comes
Life After Death
Standin’ In My Light
Bastard
The Outsider
When The Daylight Comes (Early Version)
Ships (Early Version)
The Outsider (Early Version)
Just Another Night (Ronsonesque Version)
Don’t Let Go (Demo)
Alibi
The Other Side Of Life (Outtake)

Ian Hunter, ‘Short Back n’ Sides (2024 Expanded Edition)’ Track Listing
Central Park N’ West
Lisa Likes Rock N’ Roll
I Need Your Love
Old Records Never Die
Noises
Rain
Gun Control
Theatre Of The Absurd
Leave Me Alone
Keep On Burnin’
Detroit (Rough Mix – Instrumental)
Na Na Na (Extended Mix)
I Need Your Love (Rough Mix)
Rain (Alternative Mix)
Listen To The Eight Track
China (Ronson Vocal)
You Stepped Into My Dreams
Venus In The Bathtub
Theatre Of The Absurd (Wessex Mix)
Detroit (Outtake 5 – Vocal)
I Believe In You
Old Records Never Die (Version 1)

Deep Purple has flirted with the idea of calling it quits before. But according to vocalist Ian Gillan, they’re still running strong. Don’t pay attention to the rumors you may have heard.

“So far, so good,” he quips early in the below conversation with UCR.

You can apply that thought to many things beyond their ongoing prowess on the road. Earlier this year, Deep Purple released =1, their newest studio album, which once again features legendary producer Bob Ezrin at the helm. There’s mutual respect between the two parties and it makes sense: Both Ezrin and the members of Deep Purple are not known for mincing words.

Deep Purple start their tour with Yes on Wednesday (Aug. 14). In advance, Gillan checked in with Ultimate Classic Rock Nights host Matt Wardlaw to discuss the upcoming run as well as the band’s decade-plus working relationship with Ezrin.

It’s great to see Deep Purple hitting the road with Yes. What sort of bond was there between the two groups back in the day?
There wasn’t much of a bond. [Laughs] We were doing a festival [in] Plumpton, the first rock, jazz and blues festival that became the Reading Festival, run by Jack Barrie at the Marquee [Club in London]. He’d put on some absolutely great bands. Of course, we’d worked with most of them in those days. It was fantastic. They were all good in their own way – but I think Yes were a bit miffed, because they wanted to close the show and it wasn’t in their contract. It was [in our contract] that Deep Purple would close the show, so they refused to leave the hotel room. 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.” “Yeah sure, okay, no worries.” Then, Ritchie [Blackmore] decided that if we weren’t going to close, nobody was. He ordered some gasoline to be brought in. He threw it all over the equipment and then had the roadie light a broom, which had a petrol-soaked rag on the end of it to ignite the lot. Of course, it did ignite – because the fumes just exploded. Within a half-hour, there were blue lights flashing. The police, the fire brigade and ambulances were all coming in and there was complete chaos. Everything was on the front page of the Sunday papers the next morning and it was all quite rock ‘n’ roll. [Laughs]

When the tour with Yes was originally announced, it was billed as the =1 More Time tour. Realistically, how close does the end of the road – and perhaps, this band, feel to you?
Well, you know what, it was only recently that I heard somebody mention [the tour name]. I’d never heard that before. I’d never even spoken to anybody about it. No one asked me. That’s rubbish. [Laughs] That’s not the name of the tour. I think the tour is called Unleashed. Not that it matters; it’s a Deep Purple tour and we’re happy and whatever. But to answer your question: It is what it is. As soon as you start feeling unable to deliver at that 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. But so far, so good. I think that’s a much better title than what you just said. [Laughs]

READ MORE: Will Deep Purple’s Next Tour Be Their Last?

I love the sound of this latest album. You guys have dialed things in quite nicely with Bob Ezrin. You’ve now done five albums with Bob. What is it that you love about working with him?
Bob is exactly what we were missing. No. 1, he’s an arbiter in the final stages of arrangement. I know it sounds ridiculous, but when you get five guys in a room, you get very close to a finished arrangement and someone will say, “Well, what about this? Why don’t we try this?” So we can sit and squabble and talk for three days trying to settle on an arrangement and just basically keep everyone happy. Bob comes in and says, “That’s rubbish. Get that out. Get rid of that. Do this, do that.” [Laughs] He takes our arrangements and tightens them up. That’s been great. He does it with a voice of authority because we respect him and what he’s achieved. He also gets the best sound we’ve ever had. That’s really important. I was overwhelmed when I heard what he was doing. Nothing comes near it in my opinion, from over the years. You can overcome that shortfall with excitement, brashness, youth and energy and all of those other things, but at the end of the day, it’s really important.

Watch Deep Purple’s ‘Portable Door’ Video

We had a series of front-of-house sound engineers [for our live concerts] who would mix like all of the other rock bands. They’d mix it like heavy metal. The audience would feel the bass drum thumping in their guts, the guitar and the power and it was relentless. Everything was full on, all of the way through the show. One day, we had a new engineer and he looked at things musically and made it enjoyable to listen to. We finished “Highway Star,” which is our traditional opening song and I couldn’t believe it. We were all taken aback because the audience reaction was at least four times greater. They raised the roof. Nothing had changed. The band was the same and it was the same sized venue – same everything. The only difference was the sound engineer and it’s been that way ever since. That was a massive change. It was more than Ezrin, to be honest, in the live field. I’ve always thought we didn’t get our sound as good as it could have been in the studio. Sure enough, that’s his gig, man. That’s his skill. He gets the best sound we’ve ever had. I say that without fear of contradiction. I mean, it’s obvious.

READ MORE: How Deep Purple Created a ‘Minor Miracle’ With ‘Machine Head’

With Deep Purple, there’s a lot to harness when it comes to getting the sound on record.
It is if you’re trying to impose a sound. If you just let it flow naturally: If it’s organic, it’s wonderful. You know, back in the day when I had my first recording contracts, one of the things that I noticed was that the old-style engineers, when the gear was set up in the room, they’d come around and literally and metaphorically throw blankets over everything. They’d put a blanket over the drum kit or pads – anything to flatten the sound. All sound engineers back in the ’60s wanted the performers to have a completely flat sound so that they could then manipulate it in the control room and give it the edge or the presence or the reverberation or the balance that they wanted and make it exciting in their way. But what that does is, it neutralized the personality of the performers. Everything sounded like the engineer’s sound, the way they wanted it or the producer. I noticed that right away and that was the main reason why Deep Purple wanted to get out of the studio and go to make our music in a barn or hotel or whatever it might be with a mobile unit back in the early days. So then we could actually take the blankets off and the engineer could record the band as it did sound, rather than as he imagined it would sound. That takes away everything you’ve achieved. I think that’s the way Bob approaches things now and he’s a shrewd guy. The best producers now understand that thing, but it’s a totally alien philosophy to the traditional way of recording.

Listening to the tone of your vocals on “Lazy Sod,” for example, it’s very theatrical, which has always been an element of your presentation. How do you view your approach to it?
Well, you’re always learning – but also, I think there are little things that you don’t know you’re doing at the time. You don’t notice until afterwards. It’s very obvious that when you’re relaxed, you perform better. I often think of the analogy of an athlete. If they’re relaxed, they’ll run faster and perform better – because your brain’s working better. That’s where it all comes from. The attitude that you have and the circumstances that you find yourself with, with the guys you’re working with, it’s incredible. There are stages you go through in life and you’ve got to adapt to each one. Evolve or die as the great prophet Darwin said. We do that. We learn as we go along. It’s still so fulfilling, the output of the band. It’s like an orchard. Someone’s been along to shake the trees. It’s a good time to be in Deep Purple.

But as far as the interpretation, I think it’s natural. With relaxation comes confidence, when you’re writing something that you really believe in. I tore up all of the songs on this album until I did that equation, the “equals one” equation, because I was so fed up with the complications of just trying to buy things or get through life without all of the bureaucracy and impediments that are constantly falling in your way. Once I put that “equals one” equation together, I thought, “Right, that’s it.” The whole album, I wrote it in about three weeks, all of the words and tunes and kept it simple. “Lazy Sod” was about me setting fire to my house, by the way. Some imaginary sprinklers come on that turn into waterfalls, flooding the place. It was all a bit surreal. But once you get these little stories, you can handle it in different ways, so it’s fantastic material for that kind of writing.

Watch Deep Purple’s ‘Lazy Sod’ Video

Vince Gill understands that a huge loss preceded his arrival in the Eagles lineup. It’s something he’s long lamented following the 2016 death of Eagles stalwart Glenn Frey.

There’s “just gratitude that I was the guy they decided would work,” Gill said not long after joining the group. “Just that – because Glenn was a great friend, and in my heart of hearts I wish I wasn’t doing it. That would mean Glenn would still be around, but life is what it is and you just go do what you can do because of what happens. Those songs deserve to live on as long as they can.”

For some, Frey’s passing seemed like a natural endpoint for the group – and surviving co-founder Don Henley initially indicated that he agreed. “I don’t see how we could go out and play without the guy who started the band,” Henley said a few months after Frey died. “It would just seem like greed or something. It would seem like a desperate thing.”

READ MORE: 10 Great Songs From the Eagles’ Extended Musical Family

By the time the Classic East and Classic West music festivals were announced the following year, however, Henley had changed his mind. He confirmed an Eagles rebuild with the addition of Frey’s son, Deacon, and hinted at another new hire. “Since it’s Glenn’s blood, it’s his son, I think that’s appropriate,” Henley mused back then.

The final piece of the puzzle turned out to be Gill, a long-standing country solo star who rose to initial fame singing Pure Prairie League’s Top 10 1980 hit “Let Me Love You Tonight.” That seems to have played a key role in Henley’s decision-making.

Listen to Vince Gill With Pure Prairie League

Vince Gill Makes New Fans With Eagles

Early into his tenure, Henley was asked to explain Gill’s presence. “He smiled and said, ‘Because he knows how to be in a band,'” Gill tells American Songwriter in a new interview. “That was just such a beautiful validation.”

In the years that followed, Gill earned scores of new fans with his determination to recreate Eagles songs – including “Tequila Sunrise,” “Take It to the Limit,” “New Kid in Town” and “Lyin’ Eyes” – just as they had been written and recorded. (Gill has also consistently enthused about a number of other Eagles songs, including “Peaceful Easy Feeling” and “I Can’t Tell You Why,” the latter of which he covered in 1993 on Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles.)

“I don’t have to have the attention; I don’t have to have the spotlight,” he admits to American Songwriter. “I don’t have to do all the talking. It’s proven to me that it doesn’t really matter what role you have, just as long as what you’re trying to do is make it better. That’s what I like.”

How a Drug Dealer Inspired Eagles’ ‘Life in the Fast Lane’

Chanel Haynes discussed how she managed to stay focused as the most-featured backing singer in the Rolling Stones’ history – with help from Keith Richards’ favorite meal.

She made two guest appearances with the band before being invited to be part of their North American Hackney Diamonds tour, which ran from April 28 to July 21.

During each performance she delivered Lady Gaga’s part in the Hackney Diamonds song “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” and also joined Mick Jagger on the catwalk for “Gimme Shelter” – the first time a supporting vocalist has had two leading moments.

READ MORE: 10 Highlights From the Rolling Stones’ ‘Hackney Diamonds’ Tour

Asked about the opening night of the tour in Houston, Haynes told Rolling Stone: “It felt like a party with my friends… everyone came together so that I could feel included. I’ve never felt disconnected from the band. Obviously, I’m the only girl, so there’s this awesome extra layer of sort of protection. They’re like, ‘Are you okay; [do] you need anything?’”

She added: “You can imagine the Rolling Stone fans. I’ve been singing my whole life, and I’ve had my own fans, but dude, this is otherworldly. And so sometimes when it was a little bit too much for me to process or handle…I’d have what I call my red room parties.

“And whoever was also sort of in the same mood, it was like, ‘Let’s just hang back.’ My room is always red. I always travel with red light bulbs, and we’ll just have snacks, drink wine, hang out, and listen to music. It has just really been a blessing.”

Watch Chanel Haynes Sing ‘Gimmer Shelter’ with Rolling Stones

Haynes said it was exhausting to be in close proximity to Jagger and his energy. “It’s not just the physicality. It’s the mental pressure. It’s the responsibility that’s on his shoulders,” she said.

“And it’s like, ‘Okay. You stand before your people, and you lead them strong. You take care of them, and they take care of you.’ It is beautiful to witness, and it’s very inspiring for me.”

Chanel Haynes Learned That Mick Jagger Doesn’t Miss a Note

She added: “I did a note one night [in] rehearsal, and I was kind of just being lazy. I’m like, ‘No, he’s not going to notice this note.’ I just did a lower note when I should have done a higher note. He totally caught it. He said, ‘Yeah. Next time, can you…’ I was like, ‘Oh yeah. You’re right.’ I learned, in that rehearsal, he’s going to catch every single thing, so you might as well lock it down, girl.”

Asked about bonding with guitarist Richards, she enthused: “I can’t even go into the details of how much he’s touched my heart,” she replied. “I had a little routine before the shows, where we’d have a little bite of shepherd’s pie with him. He always has it, and I’m sort of a foodie.

“Sometimes there’s a lot going on backstage and it can be a little unsettling, but Keith is the calmest… whenever I’m around him, I just really feel so grounded. Watching him strum his guitar, while I totally devour his shepherd’s pie, is one of my favorite memories.”

While Haynes didn’t offer any inside information, she said she was “hopeful” that rumors about a European tour in 2025 would turn out to be true. She reflected: “The greatest reward, truly, at the end of the show, [is] to be in the arms of everyone else.

“When we bow and we say thank you, that’s what the bow is for, thanking everyone else, and simultaneously thanking each other for getting us here. It’s just such a beautiful reward at the end, all that hard work that we did. And we did this together.”

Red Hot Chili Peppers tore through and rendition of their classic song “Can’t Stop” as part of the 2024 Olympics closing ceremony .

The legendary funk rockers were part of the customary handover portion of the event, when the closing games symbolically passes the spotlight to the next host city. In this case Paris, who hosted the 2024 games, ceded the spotlight to Los Angeles, which will host the 2028 Summer Olympics.

The process started with R&B sensation H.E.R. delivering an emphatic rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” onstage in Paris. This was followed by an appearance by Hollywood star Tom Cruise, who rappelled from the top of the Stade de France to claim the Olympic flag the from stage below.

In true Hollywood fashion, Cruise then drove the Olympic flag out of the stadium on a motorcycle. A recorded segment then show the Top Gun star bringing the flag to the streets of L.A.

READ MORE: Red Hot Chili Peppers Albums Ranked Worst to Best

Once the broadcast was live again, Red Hot Chili Peppers — who formed in Los Angeles in 1982 — appeared on a stage in Venice Beach in front of a rambunctious crowd. The group proceeded to tear though their 2002 hit in typical high-energy fashion. Watch video of the performance below.

Who Else Performed at the Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony?

Several other L.A.-based artists performed on the Venice Beach stage as part of the closing ceremony, including pop star Billie Eilish and rappers Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.

Earlier in the evening, several French acts were featured during the Paris portion of the festivities, including the rock band Phoenix who performed hits such as “1901” and “Lisztomania.” They were also joined by Vampire Weekend singer Ezra Koenig for “Tonight.”

Rock Stars Who Performed at the Olympics

Journey guitarist Neal Schon has offered his first in-depth public response to the most recent lawsuit filed against him by bandmate Jonathan Cain, labeling Cain’s allegations “absolute rubbish.”

Earlier this month it was revealed that Cain was once again suing Schon for allegedly spending the band’s money too freely and without the approval of Cain, an equal partner in the company the duo formed to handle their touring business. A similar battle between the bandmates broke out in 2022, but earlier this year it seemed the two had mended fences and arrived at a workable compromise.

Cain’s most recent lawsuit makes it clear that is not the case. In it he alleges that Schon and his wife Michaele have been racking up unapproved and unexpectedly high bills on the band’s credit card for private jet travel and hotel rooms that cost way more than his $1,500 nightly budget. The guitarist already denied Cain’s accusations in court, and Sunday night he responded to a social media post from a fan who was worried that Schon’s actions would bring about the end of Journey.

“There’s a lot of rumors about the band living its final days because you and your wife can’t stop expending the bands money,” the fan reportedly wrote. “Is this truth?”

“Absolute rubbish,” Schon responded on X. “I don’t know why people believe Media. If anything [what] she’s done is make us a lot of money by attaining the trademark her and I did by ourselves, [and it] cost quite a lot of money to attain it – both Jon Cain and [current singer] Arnel Pineda are benefiting from that equally. It’s split in thirds. We are traveling no differently than we have for many many years, including Jon Cain. He and his wife decided to take a bus [at] the 11th hour, [that] was his own decision. The rest of the band, Arnel and his children, my wife myself, Deen Castronovo, Todd Jensen, Jason, along with crew and security travel on one jet that was all ‘approved in our budget.'”

Addressing Cain’s contention that he and his wife were spending up to $10,000 a night on hotel rooms, Schon says he has developed “great relationships” with the managers of various hotels, and sometimes takes advantage of special upgrade deals, all of which are paid for out of his own pocket, “as we have done for years.”

“This is the second time Jonathan Cain has sued me for the same thing,” Schon continues. “We’ve already been through [this] in court, that case was dropped by both of us. We both agreed to drop and move forward with prejudice. That means that you never open it again. Well here we are again, in the middle of a wonderful tour with our good friends, Def Leppard and Steve Miller.”

Finally, Schon suggests that the band stop using the oft-disputed credit card altogether: “Let [the] Promoter take on all responsibilities and pay us all individually or equal money and we travel as we wish. Sounds like a good solution, right? Let’s see how this plays out. Then I’ll see you at our next gig. I’ll be kicking some ass.”

Journey’s next show is set for Monday night in Arlington, Texas. Their tour is scheduled to conclude Sunday, Aug. 25 in Los Angeles.

A famed Colorado compound which previously hosted classic rock stars such as Elton John, Joe Walsh, Chicago and Stevie Wonder.

The property, named Caribou Ranch, is located near the town of Nederland, approximately a 30-minute drive from Rocky Mountain National Park and an hour to Denver. Described as “nothing less than extraordinary” in its official listing, Caribou Ranch is a sight to behold.

Sitting on more than 1,700 acres, the property includes several buildings. Among them, a primary residence, two horse barns, two equipment buildings, five guest cabins and a six-room lodge.

The two-story, 9,000-square-foot primary residence features three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a walk-out basement. Four guest cabins range from 554 to 3,126 square feet , while the guest lodge boast six bedrooms and two baths.

READ MORE: Top 100 Classic Rock Artists

Still, rock fans will likely be most excited about the property’s recording studio. The facility welcomed a long list of famous acts over the years. Chicago recorded five albums there between 1973 and 1975, while John named his 1974 album Caribou in honor of the ranch (where it was recorded). Elton’s next two albums, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975) and Rock of the Westies (1975) were also recorded there.

Walsh, Steely Dan, the Beach Boys, Billy Joel, Dio, Frank Zappa, Peter Frampton, Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks and U2 were among the other notable acts to record at Caribou Ranch. Many stayed on site while working, inspired by the home’s incredible surroundings.

Indeed, the property’s natural beauty is arguably its biggest selling points. The official listing boasts views of the majestic snow-capped Indian Peaks to the west,” as well as “abundant wildlife” on site, including “moose, fox, deer, coyote, mountain lion, bear, and hundreds of elk.” The property also features ponds and creeks, perfect for fishing.

See pictures of Caribou Ranch below.

Caribou Ranch

Bruce Dickinson said the most decadent moment of his life came during Iron Maiden’s tour of the Soviet Union.

The road trip started out in August 1984, five years before the Berlin Wall came down, which marked the end of the U.S.S.R. While Maiden were the first Western band to take a full production show through the Iron Curtain, they refused to take credit for encouraging political change.

“We didn’t have to work too hard to build [a] bridge,” Dickinson told the Independent in a new interview. “We just had to build the other half to go and meet them halfway. Afterwards, when they took their destiny into their own hands … that Soviet-era authoritarian thing just crumbled because it had no substance, it had no basis, nobody actually wanted it.”

READ MORE: The Highs and Lows of Iron Maiden’s World Slavery Tour

One of the cross-culture issues they had to contend with was being paid in Polish zloty, a currency with zero value in the West. As a result, bassist Steve Harris said, “[w]e bought all kinds of stuff – china, porcelain, just to get rid of the money.”

Dickinson recalled an incident in a hotel dining room: “This guy comes up with a bin liner full of caviar. We were all drunk, going, ‘Come on then, how much?’ He got a half-kilo tin of caviar out and he said, ‘It’s $100.’ I’m like, ‘$100? That’s incredibly cheap!’”

Polish Vodka Made Iron Maiden See Pink

With the price settled at $50 a tin, the singer continued: “We said, ‘Have you got any more?’ He came back with five kilos – like an oil drum full of caviar. Everyone went mad. We probably had about 10 kilos of caviar, which we couldn’t possibly eat.

“This is the most decadent thing I think I’ve ever done in my life, eating a tablespoon of caviar and knocking it back with vodka. It could’ve been the scene in Tommy but without the baked beans.”

Dickinson also had stark recollections of drinking the Polish spirit: “When we started knocking back the shots of frozen vodka, you discovered that the world took on a whole different meaning, which was largely pink. That was the color that the world was the next morning when you woke up, because your eyeballs were so red.”

Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro has confirmed that he has unreleased material recorded with late Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins.

The two musicians were close friends and shared a mutual admiration for each other’s work. In late 2021, they announced a new band together called NHC. Its name came from the initials of the group’s three members – Navarro, Hawkins and bassist Chris Chaney.

Just a few months after the announcement of NHC, Hawkins died tragically while touring with Foo Fighters in South America. The drummer’s sudden passing hit Navarro hard.

READ MORE: Top 100 ’90s Rock Albums

“Once we lost Taylor, I didn’t pick up a guitar for a very long time,” Navarro admitted during a recent conversation with Rolling Stone. “It was a very long time because that was one of the more painful losses in my life, for sure.”

Navarro Says NHC Album ‘Deserves to Come Out’

The guitarist confirmed that NHC has unheard material. He hopes that it will eventually be released, though he stopped short of providing a timeline.

“We have a completed mastered album, but this might be a little soon [to release],” Navarro explained. “I don’t really know where that stands, but I’ll tell you that I really believe that it deserves to come out, because that record to me, really showcased what a brilliant all-around musician Taylor was, because he wrote most of the songs, played the drums and sang them.”

READ MORE: Top 30 American Classic Rock Bands of the ’90s

“His overall musicianship, I think, really deserves to be known and highlighted,” the guitarist continued. “So I really hope it sees the light of day. But yeah, that was one of the most happy experiences of my life making that record with him, and just obviously, I haven’t been able to listen to it since.”

October 11, 1975. A day that changed television history forever.

That was the Saturday night (live) when a new sketch show first debuted on NBC. Cobbled together by an inexperienced group of actors, producers, and writers, many of whom were getting their first exposure on national TV, the series was not expected to be a major success. ABC’s new show, titled Saturday Night Live, was considered far more promising at the time, because it starred popular broadcaster Howard Cosell.

The show was originally titled NBC’s Saturday Night. But after Cosell’s Saturday Night Live was canceled, it adopted that name as its own — along the way to becoming one of the most popular and most influential television comedies in history.

The fraught early days of SNL are now the subject of Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, a historical dramedy about the very first airing of SNL on October 11, 1975. Because SNL continues to loom large in pop culture — and because the show in the early days involved such pop culture icons as John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Chevy Chase — there’s a lot of curiosity both about the movie, and about who is playing who in it. (And, almost as importantly, how much they look like the people they’re playing.)

Below, you’ll find 15 members of the Saturday Night, and see how they stack up with their real-life counterparts. In my opinion, most of them look pretty great. A couple … uh, less great.

Saturday Night is scheduled to open in theaters on October 11 — the exact 49th anniversary of that very first SNL broadcast that the show is all about.

READ MORE: Every Saturday Night Live Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

Every four years, the world comes together for the Olympics, a time of both competition and camaraderie in the name of sport. But as with any type of contest, there are times when the players don’t see eye to eye, including at this year’s games in Paris.

On Friday, Ana Patricia Silva Ramos of Team Brazil and Brandie Wilkerson of Team Canada faced off in women’s beach volleyball. At one point during the game, the pairs could be seen arguing with one another at the net. (It is unclear what the discrepancy was over. Additionally, this writer’s knowledge of professional beach volleyball rules is next to none.)

As the referee attempted to break the conflict up, the DJ knew just the right song for the moment: John Lennon‘s “Imagine.” Within seconds, the players were smiling to themselves and the crowd was singing along.

READ MORE: Put Them in, Coach: 26 Rock Star Athletes

You can watch the moment in a clip below.

This is not the first time “Imagine” has been utilized at the Olympics. It was used at the 2021 games’ opening ceremony — the event was postponed a year on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Music at the Olympics Closing Ceremony

This year’s Olympic Games will finish on Sunday, and Red Hot Chili Peppers is reportedly scheduled to perform at the closing ceremony, along with Billie Eilish and Snoop Dogg.

Rock Stars Who Performed at the Olympics

Slash admits he didn’t hang onto guitars from early in his career.

“Unfortunately all that first stuff is gone,” the rocker confessed during a recent appearance on the Mistress Carrie podcast. “In the early days of Guns N’ Roses, there was a lot of hocking going on. Trying to get extra cash, so a lot of those guitars went by the way of that.”

There is, however, one exception. The GNR rocker detailed the story behind the lone guitar he’s hung onto since those formative years.

Slash’s Oldest Guitar Came From a Babysitting Gig

“The only guitar that I still have from my very early days of playing was a guitar that was given to me when I took on a babysitting job once,” Slash recalled. “I was always looking for work and someone said to me, ‘Hey, I’ve got a friend who needs a babysitter.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it.’ I think it was like a seven-year-old girl. And I was like, ‘OK, cool.’”

When Slash arrived at the family’s home, his eyes quickly turned to an instrument on display.

READ MORE: Slash Solo Albums Ranked

“They had an acoustic, a 1930s Epiphone acoustic hanging on the wall. And I asked them before the parents left if I could play it,” he explained. “So the girl had dinner and then she slept the whole time, and I just sat on the couch playing this really beautiful Epiphone guitar.”

“When the parents came home they saw how enthralled with this guitar I was and they gave it to me,” the rocker continued. “And I still have it.”

Slash’s most recent album, Orgy of the Damned, was released in May. He’s spent the bulk of summer on the road with his S.E.R.P.E.N.T. touring festival.

Singer Huey Lewis is getting his own mockumentary-style sitcom.

The rocker will star as himself in Whatever Happened to Huey Lewis, a fictionalized version of his life. In reporting the project, Deadline noted that the show will be done “Curb Your Enthusiasm-style” with its story centered around Lewis’ efforts to navigate “his new life after losing his hearing.”

“With the help of his codependent family and eccentric celebrity friends, Huey will tackle this hilarious next phase with his signature Heart and Soul,” Deadline further explained.

That plot closely mirrors Lewis’ life in recent years The rocker was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease in 2018, causing severe hearing loss. He has not toured since going public with the condition.

READ MORE: How Mutt Lange Helped Huey Lewis Land His First Hit Single

Lewis will executive produce the show alongside several Hollywood veterans, most notably late night television host Jimmy Kimmel. Kirker Butler (Only Murders in the Building, Family Guy) will write and produce.

Lewis has dabbled in acting in the past, appearing on TV shows such as One Tree Hill and The King of Queens. He had a recurring role on the sitcom Hot in Cleveland, and appeared in the feature films Short Cuts and Duets. Fans also likely remember his cameo in 1985’s Back to the Future, which featured two of his best-loved tunes: “The Power of Love” and “Back in Time.”

Lewis’ most recent album, Weather, was released in 2020. Earlier this year, a jukebox musical based on his catalog of songs opened on Broadway. The play, titled The Heart of Rock and Roll, began in April but closed in June.

Eddie Vedder has finally released a studio version of “Room at the Top,” the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ song he’s been covering live for years.

It appears on the soundtrack to Apple TV+’s upcoming Bad Monkey, starring Vince Vaughn, a show about a former police detective in Florida. In fact, the series’ entire soundtrack consists of Petty covers — Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit cover “You’re Gonna Get It,” Marcus King takes on “The Waiting” and Larkin Poe handled “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” just to name a few.

You can hear Vedder’s new recording below.

Eddie Vedder’s Love of Tom Petty

Vedder has long been a fan of Petty and his work, covering several of his songs in concert and occasionally teaming up with members of the Heartbreakers. In 2022, he performed “Room at the Top” and “The Waiting” with guitarist Mike Campbell at the Ohana Music Festival.

“Tomorrow will be five years since we all lost this guy [Petty] that was a part of our lives,” he told the crowd then (via Rolling Stone). “I think about him all the time, as we all do. I keep reminding myself how grateful we can be because we still have his voice in our heads, and the songs are in us. We can play them loud, and we can still hear him.”

READ MORE: The Best Song From Every Tom Petty Album

Journey‘s ongoing internal issues aren’t limited to American Express cards. Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon are even arguing over who should play drums.

Deen Castronovo missed Journey’s Aug. 2 concert in Toronto for unexplained reasons. (According to setlist.fm, “Journey’s drum tech Steve Toomey filled in due to a family incident.”) He returned a few days later when the group’s ongoing tour with Def Leppard reached Fenway Park in Boston; Castronovo was at the drums again on Aug. 7 at Citi Field in New York for Journey’s most recent show.

Lawyers mentioned the substitution while laying out a range of disagreements during an initial hearing in a Delaware court after Cain’s most recent lawsuit. He wants to restructure Journey’s tour management company to help resolve their financial issues. Schon has called the allegations “BS.”

READ MORE: Top 35 Journey Videos – Together and Apart

Chancery court judge J. Travis Laster wasn’t willing to wade into personnel issues. “I’m not qualified to decide who the drummer ought to be,” he said during the hearing.

It’s unclear why anyone would object to Toomey as a replacement since he’s previously sat in for Castronovo, most recently during Journey’s appearance on the 2022 broadcast of ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest, after Castronovo tested positive for COVID. Toomey is also the son of longtime former Journey tour manager John “JT” Toomey.

When Is Journey’s Next Court Hearing Date?

Toomey has always had Castronovo’s implicit trust. He also serves as a touring drummer with Revolution Saints, the side project that showcases Castronovo as a singer.

“That guy knows my playing inside out – all of my chops and all of my modules,” Castronovo memorably enthused as Revolution Saints geared up to release 2017’s Light in the Dark. “It’s like watching a little mini Deen. … He’s a beast! He’s a better drummer than he is drum tech.”

Meanwhile, the Delaware judge said he aims to resolve Journey’s management deadlock before the next leg of their tour. They’re set to play four October shows in Japan; subsequent concerts in the U.K. and Ireland were abruptly canceled this week. Laster has named a discovery appointment to sort through submissions from the opposing legal teams ahead of Journey’s next hearing, scheduled for the first week of September.

Nick DeRiso is author of the Amazon best-selling rock band bio ‘Journey: Worlds Apart,’ available now at all major bookseller websites.

You Think You Know Journey?

David Gilmour has released a new song and video from his upcoming album, Luck and Strange.

“Dark and Velvet Nights” is the third single from the album, Gilmour’s first solo record in nine years. The new song follows “The Piper’s Call” and “Between Two Points,” which features vocals by Gilmour’s daughter Romany, before the new LP.

You can watch the video for “Dark and Velvet Nights” below.

“Dark and Velvet Nights” recalls Gilmour’s work with Pink Floyd, especially the slithering guitar. It’s a highlight of Luck and Strange, which comes out on Sept. 6.

READ MORE: David Gilmour Announces First U.S. Live Shows in Eight Years

“The music sprang out one day,” Gilmour said of the song in a press release. “It was so exciting to have come across this groove. Polly [Samson, Giomour’s wife] had given me a beautiful poem for our wedding anniversary, which was sitting on the desk right next to me, so I picked it up and sang it on the track, to hear what it would sound like with words.

“I played it to Polly, and she said, ‘Lovely, great, I’ll need fiddle with it a bit. So she added a couple of verses,’ and there it was – very serendipitous.”

The album is Gilmour’s fifth solo LP and first since the release of Rattle That Lock in 2015.

Where Is David Gilmour Playing Live in 2024?

A month after the album comes out, Gilmour will play his first U.S. shows in eight years. The concerts will take place in Los Angeles and New York. He performs at the Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 29 and 30 and Madison Square Garden on Nov. 4 and 5.

Gilmour also announced shows in Rome on Sept. 27, 28 and 29, and Oct. 1, 2 and 3, and at London’s Royal Albert Hall for Oct. 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15.

The touring band for Gilmour’s upcoming concerts features bassist and backing singer Guy Pratt, keyboardists Greg Phillinganes and Rob Gentry, drummer Adam Betts, guitarist Ben Worsley and backing vocalists Louise Marshall, Hattie Webb and Charlie Webb.

While Gilmour has performed several Pink Floyd songs on his past solo tours, he said he may not play any material from the band’s ’70s albums during his upcoming shows.

Charles Manson was an aspiring rocker, long before he became known as the mastermind of one of history’s most grisly and shocking crime sprees. In fact, as the following list shows, he had a striking number of connections in the music business.

Manson and four members of his so-called Family – Charles “Tex” Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, Leslie van Houten and Susan Atkins – were ultimately convicted of murder and given since-commuted sentences of death for their roles in the killing of seven people beginning on Aug. 9, 1969. Atkins and Manson memorably died in prison while the entire group went through a never-ending merry-go-round of parole denials.

Only later did it become clear that Manson had drawn the Beatles into his strange and murderous worldview. He claimed, in explosive court testimony after his arrest, that their songs had inspired him to act – ensuring that the Beatles would remain a part of his troubled narrative forever.

They weren’t the only ones. By then, Charles Manson already had notable intersections with the Beach Boys and Neil Young. He’d even released his own album. Later, acts like Ozzy Osbourne looked to Manson for sinister inspiration, while Guns N’ Roses infamously covered one of his songs.

The Beach Boys recorded a rewrite of Manson’s “Cease to Exist” by drummer Dennis Wilson that was called “Never Learn Not to Love.” It became one of the more bizarre moments in a discography filled with them, and it almost got Wilson killed. Young, meanwhile, admits that he found Manson’s off-kilter songwriting style intriguing enough that he tried to help with a recording contract. Keep reading to find out more of Charles Manson’s often-terrifying music connections.

See the Beatles in Rock’s Craziest Conspiracy Theories

Jason Bonham admits that he’s asked his current bandmates about certain “awkward” moments in Van Halen’s music.

He came across these “weird” constructions in some of the band’s tracks while preparing for the ongoing tribute tour with Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Joe Satriani, dubbed “Best of All Worlds.”

Bonham says Anthony, Van Halen’s former bassist, told him the arrangements were a result of Eddie and Alex Van Halen being brothers.

READ MORE: Top 10 Van Hagar Songs

“Me and Joe were talking about this,” Bonham said on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation. “There’s the way they play certain parts as if they’re having a go at each other. It’s as if one of them is making it so awkward that the other one feels awkward doing it.”

So, “there was definitely some weird stuff that goes on where I’m going, ‘That’s not natural … to push there,’” Bonham added. “And Mike would say, ‘It’s Eddie screwing with Alex. … He’s making him play something that’s weird.’”

Bonham added that it had been an “eye-opening experience” to “really dig in there and go, ‘Hold on – why, why does it push there? It’s not meant to. That doesn’t feel right!’ And it’s the brothers. … That’s all [Anthony] says: ‘It’s the brothers. It’s their thing. It’s just the way they were.’”

Listen to Jason Bonham Discuss Van Halen’s ‘Weird’ Music

Is a Book Deal Behind Alex Van Halen’s Silence?

Meanwhile, Hagar previously reported that he tried several times to make contact with Alex Van Halen, in hopes that he’d take part in the Best of All Worlds tour. He’s now speculating that a book deal is behind Van Halen’s silence.

“I’ve asked him to meet me under any conditions – any circumstances, anytime, anyplace, anywhere,” Hagar says in a new interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It’s not like, ‘Well, let me think about it.’ It’s like, no answer – zero.”

Hagar confirmed that Van Halen could have taken any role he liked: “Just play a couple of songs, or if you want to be the drummer the whole night, or be the executive producer. What do you want to do?”

Van Halen’s Brothers is set for publication in October. “I’m sure when he made his book deal, they said, ‘You cannot talk to [David Lee Roth], and you cannot talk to Hagar,” he added. “I guarantee you, that that was part of the deal.”

Think You Know Sammy Hagar?

George Harrison‘s Grammy award-winning double live Concert for Bangladesh is finally available to stream on all major digital platforms.

Presented over two sold-out shows on Aug. 1, 1971, at Madison Square Garden, this is remembered today as the first major multi-act benefit concert. Harrison’s all-star list of guests included Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, Billy Preston, members of Badfinger and Ravi Shankar, among others.

See a new album trailer and complete track listing below. Also included as a bonus is the original studio version of Harrison’s Top 10 1971 U.K. charity single “Bangla Desh.”

READ MORE: Top 10 George Harrison Songs

Harrison spearheaded the effort to provide aid through UNICEF for millions of East Pakistani refugees who’d fled to escape suffering associated with the Bangladesh Liberation War and the Bhola cyclone of 1970. Scheduling was so complex that they couldn’t even complete a group rehearsal before the show.

“For three months, I was on the telephone setting up what became The Concert for Bangladesh, trying to talk people into doing it – talking to Eric and all those people who did do it,” Harrison wrote in his autobiography, I Me Mine. “We had very little rehearsal. In fact, there was never actually one rehearsal with everyone present. We did it in dribs and drabs and under difficulties.”

The Concert for Bangladesh reached No. 1 in the U.K. and other countries while finishing as a gold-selling No. 2 hit in the U.S. (Harrison and friends spent six weeks behind Don McLean‘s American Pie.) Initial gate receipts raised some $250,000 in relief funds; a triple album box set and film then helped generate millions of dollars for UNICEF.

That opened the door for a string of now-familiar musical charity projects like Live Aid, Farm Aid, America: A Tribute to Heroes and Live 8, among many others. “George and his friends were pioneers,” former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan once said.

Decades later, UNICEF still provides critical aid, while the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF advances this concert’s towering legacy by providing continued support. All proceeds from sales of The Concert for Bangladesh, after taxes, are directed to the Harrison’s UNICEF fund.

Track Listing for The Concert for Bangladesh
Introduction by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Ali Rakha and Kamala Chakravarti, “Bangla Dhun”
George Harrison, “Wah-Wah”
George Harrison, “My Sweet Lord”
George Harrison, “Awaiting On You All”
Billy Preston, “That’s the Way God Planned It”
Ringo Starr, “It Don’t Come Easy”
George Harrison and Leon Russell, “Beware of Darkness”
George Harrison, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
Leon Russell, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash / Young Blood”
George Harrison, “Here Comes the Sun”
Bob Dylan, “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”
Bob Dylan, “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry”
Bob Dylan, “Blowin’ In the Wind”
Bob Dylan, “Mr. Tambourine Man”
Bob Dylan, “Just Like a Woman”
George Harrison, “Something”
George Harrison, “Bangla Desh”
Bob Dylan, “Love Minus Zero / No Limit”
George Harrison, “Bangla Desh (studio version)”

Why Don’t More People Like This Bob Dylan LP?

Alice Cooper is regarded as the godfather of shock rock, but he not trying to jar fans the way he used to.

“It used to be easy to shock an audience in the ’70s. Now nobody’s really trying — we’re not really trying to shock an audience,” Cooper said during an interview with radio station KLPX. “I don’t think anybody is ‘shock rock’ anymore.”

While Cooper’s brand of gory theatrics may not shock the way they did in years past, he recognizes they’re importance to his performances.

READ MORE: The Night Alice Cooper Almost Hanged Himself … Again

“Those elements still remain in the show because they’re fun to watch,” he said. “It’s still fun to watch the guillotine and the fact that you really buy into it because of what happens before that. You’re really concerned about this character Alice up there, what happens – and that’s what I like about it. I want the audience to get involved in the show.”

Is Alice Cooper on Tour?

Cooper is playing nationwide in an extension of his Too Close for Comfort tour which began in 2023. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee wraps his U.S. leg on Sept. 18 in Fort Worth, Texas. From there, he heads overseas for an extended run across Europe in October.

Even at the age of 76, Cooper shows no signs of slowing down. He insists he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“The word retirement is not in my vocabulary,” he said. “I have never felt better in my life. I have never done better shows than the ones I’m doing now. My band is unbelievable.”

When Alice Cooper Got Stoned with Pink Floyd

Foo Fighters invaded San Diego on Aug. 7, bringing their distinctive brand of area rock to Petco Park.

The band’s full arsenal was on display, as they opened their set with the rousing 2002 tune “All My Life.” There would be plenty of further hits throughout the night, including such recognizable tracks as “The Pretender,” “Times Like These” and “Learn to Fly,” but some of the concert’s more poignant moments came via lesser-known songs.

The performance was the band’s first show in San Diego since the tragic death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022. Before playing one of Hawkins’ favorite tunes, There Is Nothing Left to Lose album cut “Aurora,” frontman Dave Grohl reflected upon his departed friend.

“You may have seen him walking around some of your beaches,” the singer noted, alluding to Hawkins’ So-Cal roots. “He was certainly Southern California’s son.”

READ MORE: Taylor Hawkins’ Classic Rock Influences: In His Own Words

Grohl was in notably fine form on the evening, delivering impassioned vocals throughout the nearly three hour show. The rest of the Foo Fighters’ lineup includes bassist Nate Mendel, keyboardist Rami Jaffee, guitarists Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett, and the band’s newest addition, drummer Josh Freese.

As has become tradition, the Foos tore through a medley of classic rock covers midway through their set. On this night, the selections included Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” Van Halen’s “Eruption,” AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” Beastie Boys’ Sabotage, Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” and Nine Inch Nails’ “March of the Pigs.”

READ MORE: Top 25 Foo Fighters Songs

The band’s encore brought with it another emotional moment, as Foo Fighters performed “The Teacher,” a powerful 10-minute track dedicated to Grohl’s mother, Virginia, who also died in 2022. Still, the night was always destined to end on a loud note, as the Foos closed with an electrifying rendition of their timeless hit “Everlong.”

Check out our exclusive photos from Foo Fighters’ Petco Park concert in the gallery below.

Foo Fighters, San Diego, Aug. 7, 2024

Chicago’s sport’s mascots never forget.

It’s been 20 years since Dave Matthews Band’s infamous “Poopgate” incident, when the group’s tour bus dumped 800 pounds of human waste off the side of the Kinzie Street Bridge. A tour boat happened to be passing underneath at the time, resulting in a disgusting brown shower for approximately 100 unlucky tourists.

READ MORE: 20 Years Ago: Dave Matthews Band’s Bus Poops on Chicago

In a video posted to social media, Benny the Bull (mascot of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls), Staley Da Bear (NFL’s Chicago Bears) and Tommy Hawk (NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks) honored the incident’s anniversary in mocking fashion.

The clip shows the trio of mascots – each dressed in dark suits – approaching the bridge with flowers in hand. Pensive piano plays in the background as the fluffy characters pay their respects. They, appropriately, use toilet paper to wipe away their tears, then sprinkle flower petals into the Chicago river. You can watch the video below.

What Did Dave Matthews Say About Poopgate?

Matthews was not directly involved in the Poopgate incident. The musician and his band were away from the bus at the time and the driver was solely responsible for what happened. Still, Matthews was understandably embarrassed by the incident and all of the news coverage it received.

“I’ll apologize for that as long as I have to,” Matthews told NBC in 2009. “I didn’t have my finger on the button … but it was one of the buses in my employment and so I feel bad about it. It would be funnier if it was anyone else but me. … I know some people there accept my apology and other people don’t, but I can’t do anything about it now. If Snoop Dogg had done it, it probably would have raised his record sales, but it applies differently to everybody.”

Dave Matthews Band will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in October.

Steve Martin seemed like an obvious choice to play Tim Walz on the upcoming season of Saturday Night Live – but it’s not going to happen.

Fans immediately rallied around Martin when the Minnesota governor was confirmed as Kamala Harris’ Democratic running mate in the upcoming presidential election. Martin now confirms that SNL producer Lorne Michaels asked the question, but he’s decided to pass on the offer.

READ MORE: The 50 Coolest Things Steve Martin Ever Did

“I wanted to say ‘no’ – and, by the way, he wanted me to say no,” Martin told the Los Angeles Times. “I said, ‘Lorne, I’m not an impressionist. You need someone who can really nail the guy.’”

He added: “I was picked because I have gray hair and glasses.”

That wasn’t Martin’s only reason for backing away: Playing Walz would be an ongoing commitment. “It’s not like you do it once and get applause and never do it again,” Martin argued. “Again, they need a real impressionist to do that. They’re gonna find somebody really, really good. I’d be struggling.”

‘SNL’ 50th Anniversary Marked by Movie Premiere

SNL’s 50th season is likely to heavily feature Harris and Walz, with the current Vice President to be played again by former cast member Maya Rudolph.

The show returns on Sept. 28. The feature movie Saturday Night, marking the first broadcast in 1972, will hit theaters two weeks later, on Oct. 11.

Described as an exploration of the 90 minutes leading up to the premiere, Saturday Night is based on interviews with those who were there. The film’s cast includes Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster and Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris. Jon Batiste, who plays the show’s first musical guest, Billy Preston, created the soundtrack.

In 1974, Paul McCartney and Wings gathered in Abbey Road Studios to record a potential live album. Also present was David Litchfield, who filmed and recorded the band over the course of four days.

The album and the film, both titled One Hand Clapping, went unreleased at the time, though bootlegs became frequently circulated in the years that followed. This past June, the album was officially released and now, the film will also get the same treatment. Originally shot on 1970s videotape, it has been restored at 4K and will begin appearing in theaters across the world on Sept. 26.

Also featured in the documentary is a new introduction by McCartney himself, footage from his “backyard session” involving songs on acoustic guitar, plus previously unseen polaroids from the sessions.

“It’s so great to look back on that period and see the little live show we did,” McCartney said in a statement. “We made a pretty good noise actually! It was a great time for the band, we started to have success with Wings, which had been a long time coming.”

READ MORE: Underrated Paul McCartney: The Most Overlooked Song From Each LP

Tickets for screenings will become available on Aug. 16. In the meantime, a clip from the film can be viewed below.

“We are looking forward to bringing the legendary music of Paul McCartney to the big screen and offering fans a front-row seat to his enduring legacy,” Marc Allenby, CEO of Trafalgar Releasing said. “This cinematic experience will transport audiences back to a golden era of rock and roll while captivating new fans with the magic of this iconic band. It’s a must-see event for music lovers of all generations.”

Neal Schon is responding to Journey bandmate Jonathan Cain‘s latest accusations of overspending, both in court and online.

Cain filed suit as Journey continues a stadium tour with Def Leppard, Steve Miller and Cheap Trick. He wants to restructure the company that manages their touring operation to address financial disagreements between Schon and Cain, who are the business entity’s only board members.

Cain is asking for the court to appoint a neutral party to break tie votes. Otherwise, he indicates that the band may soon be confronted with a financial day of reckoning.

“Petitioner’s allegations that the company faces imminent irreparable harm from a purported inability of the company to meet its financial obligations has no basis in fact,” Schon attorney Jack Yoskowitz told judge J. Travis Laster during a Wednesday hearing in chancery court in Delaware. A more complete written response was expected on Monday.

READ MORE: Ranking All 52 Journey Songs From the ’80s

Cain’s suit alleges that Schon is spending “up to $10,000” a night while on tour. He says Schon has also run up bills in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for private jets, while using the company credit card for personal matters.

These unexpected expenses are reportedly creating intense budget pressure. In some cases, lawyers say Journey has been unable to meet its obligations to members of the crew and production company.

“Our client denies that there’s been any mismanagement,” Yoskowitz said, adding that any band dysfunction was created by Cain. He specifically referenced public allegations that may harm the group.

Now, Journey’s fall 2024 dates in the U.K. and Ireland have been abruptly canceled. It’s unclear what role, if any, was played by background financial issues or this new legal wrangling.

Responding to fan questions about spending as much as $10,000 a night while on tour, Schon replied on X: “BS and what do you care? I pay for it.” He also described the cancellation of the band’s U.K. and Ireland dates as “very unfortunate.”

‘The Damage Is Taking Place on Tour’

Schon and Cain hold 50 percent shares in Freedom 2020, the Journey tour management subsidiary, but Schon serves as president. During Wednesday’s hearing, Cain attorney Sidney Liebesman said Schon believes that “he can do whatever he wants” in that role.

As a result, the band has become “dysfunctional,” Liebesman argued. “It is in crisis. The damage is taking place during the tour.”

Beyond the financials, there have also reportedly been petty disagreements between Cain and Schon about issues like whether Cain should play rhythm guitar during performances of Journey’s 1978 radio favorite “Wheel in the Sky.”

That’s created a “toxic internal environment” out on the road, Cain’s lawyers allege. “Rather than focusing on the band’s performances during a major international tour, the band’s business manager, lead vocalist and crew members now find themselves caught in the middle of the directors’ disputes, afraid of performing their job responsibilities, and pressured to align with one director or another.”

In the meantime, “the band has lost multiple members of its crew.”

Nick DeRiso is author of the Amazon best-selling rock band bio ‘Journey: Worlds Apart,’ available now at all major bookseller websites.

See Neal Schon Among Rock’s Forgotten Supergroups

Joni Mitchell will release the next installment of her archival series, Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980), on Oct. 4.

Highlights from this collection include recordings and alternate takes from three of Mitchell’s albums, Hejira, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter and Mingus, plus live cuts from various tours, including Bob Dylan‘s Rolling Thunder Revue. It will be released as a 6-CD/digital version, as well as a 4-LP version that consists of Mitchell’s “personal favorites” from the 6-CD version. Both can be pre-ordered now.

A complete track listing is available below, as well as the first song from the set, “Intro to Coyote / Coyote,” recorded at the Forum in Montreal, Canada on Dec. 4, 1975.

Joni Mitchell’s Upcoming Plans

Mitchell is currently scheduled to perform two shows at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Oct. 19 and 20, featuring special “Joni Jam” guests.

Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980), 6CD Track Listing”

Disc One:
Rolling Thunder Revue
Live In Niagara Falls
Convention Center, Niagara Falls, NY, November 15, 1975
Recorded by L.A. Johnson & Petur Hliddal

1. Jericho

Live at Harvard Square Theater
Cambridge, MA, November 20, 1975
Recording supervised by Don DeVito; Mixed by Sean Brennan

2. Introduction – Bob Neuwirth
3. Edith and the Kingpin
4. Don’t Interrupt The Sorrow

Live at Music Hall
Boston, MA, November 21, 1975
Recording supervised by Don DeVito; Mixed by Patrick Milligan

5. Introduction – Bob Neuwirth
6. Harry’s House

Live in Bangor
Bangor, ME, November 27, 1975
Recorded by L.A. Johnson & Petur Hliddal

7. A Case of You

Gordon Lightfoot’s House
Toronto, ON, Canada, November 30, 1975
Recorded by L.A. Johnson & Petur Hliddal

8. Woman of Heart and Mind

Live at Montreal Forum
Montreal, QC, Canada, December 4, 1975
Recording supervised by Don DeVito; Mixed by Sean Brennan

9. Introduction – Bob Neuwirth
10. Intro to Coyote
11. Coyote

1976 Tour of the United States
Recorded by Stanley Johnston from PA mixes by Brian Jonathan
(Courtesy of the estate of Stanley Tajima Johnston)

Live in Madison
Dane County Coliseum, Madison, WI, February 29, 1976

12. Help Me

Live at Music Hall
Boston, MA, February 19, 1976

13. Love or Money
14. Free Man in Paris
15. For The Roses
16. Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire
17. Big Yellow Taxi
18. Shades of Scarlett Conquering

Live at Nassau Coliseum
Uniondale, NY, February 20, 1976

19. For Free

Disc Two:

Live at Music Hall
Boston, MA, February 19, 1976

1. Intro to Coyote/Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter
2. Coyote/Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter

Live in Madison
Dane County Coliseum, Madison, WI, February 29, 1976

3. Just Like This Train

Live at Music Hall
Boston, MA, February 19, 1976

4. Shadows and Light
5. In France They Kiss on Main Street

Live at Duke University
Cameron Stadium, Durham, NC, February 7, 1976

6. Traveling (Hejira)

Live at Music Hall
Boston, MA, February 19, 1976

7. Edith and the Kingpin
8. Talk To Me
9. Harry’s House/Centerpiece
10. Intro to Furry Sings the Blues
11. Furry Sings The Blues
12. Trouble Child
13. Rainy Night House

Live at Duke University
Cameron Stadium, Durham, NC, February 7, 1976

14. Don’t Interrupt The Sorrow

Live at Music Hall
Boston, MA, February 19, 1976

15. Raised on Robbery
16. The Jungle Line
17. Twisted

Disc Three:

Hejira Demos
A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA, March 1976
Recorded by Henry Lewy; Mixed by Patrick Milligan

1. Furry Sings The Blues
2. Traveling (Hejira)
3. Dreamland
4. Talk To Me
5. Coyote/Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter
6. Black Crow
7. Amelia
8. Blue Motel Room
9. A Strange Boy

Rolling Thunder Revue
Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, TX, May 16, 1976
Recording supervised by Don DeVito; Engineered by
Don Meehan; Mixed by Patrick Milligan

10. Black Cow
11. Intro to Song For Sharon
12. Song For Sharon

Hejira Sessions
A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA, Summer 1976
Recorded & Mixed by Henry Lewy

13. Refuge of the Roads (Early Mix with Horns)
14. Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter (Early Rough Mix)

Disc Four:

Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter Sessions
A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA
Recorded & Mixed by Henry Lewy

1. “Save Magic” (Paprika Plains Embryonic Version)
2. Otis and Marlena (Early Rough Mix)

Mingus Sessions
Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY
Recorded & Mixed by Henry Lewy & Jerry Solomon

3. Sweet Sucker Dance (Vocals & Drums Version – Take 5)
4. A Chair in the Sky (Early Alternate Version – Take 6)
5. Sweet Sucker Dance (Early Alternate Version)

Live at Bread & Roses Festival
Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA, September 2 & 3, 1978
Recorded & Mixed by Henry Lewy

6. Introduction
7. The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines
8. Intro to A Chair In The Sky
9. A Chair In The Sky
10. Intro to Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
11. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
12. Intro to The Wolf That Lives In Lindsey
13. The Wolf That Lives In Lindsey

Mingus Early Alternate Version
Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY and A&M Studios,
Hollywood, CA, 1978 & 1979
Recorded & Mixed by Henry Lewy & Jerry Solomon

14. A Good Suit and A Good Haircut
15. God Must Be A Boogie Man
16. Solo for Old Fat Girl’s Soul
17. The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines

Disc Five:

1. Sue and the Holy River

Mingus Sessions
A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA, 1979
Recorded & Mixed by Henry Lewy

2. The Wolf That Lives In Lindsey

Live at May 6 Coalition Rally Against Nuclear Power
National Mall, Washington, D.C., May 6, 1979

3. Introduction – Graham Nash
4. Big Yellow Taxi

1979 Tour Rehearsals
SIR Rehearsal Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Recorded by Joel Bernstein

5. Jericho
6. Help Me

1979 Tour of the United States

Live at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium
Queens, NY, August 25, 1979
Recorded by Joel Bernstein from PA mix by Ed Wynne

7. Big Yellow Taxi
8. Just Like This Train
9. In France They Kiss On Main Street
10. Coyote
11. Edith and The Kingpin
12. Free Man In Paris
13. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
14. Jaco’s Solo/ Third Stone From The Sun
15. The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines

Disc Six:

1. Amelia
2. Pat’s Solo
3. Hejira
4. Don’s Solo
5. Dreamland
6. Black Crow
7. Furry Sings The Blues
8. Intro to God Must Be A Boogie Man
9. God Must Be A Boogie Man
10. Raised On Robbery
11. Shadows and Light
12. The Last Time I Saw Richard
13. Why Do Fools Fall In Love

Live in Philadelphia
Robin Hood Dell West, Philadelphia, PA, August 28, 1979
Recorded by Joel Bernstein from PA mix by Ed Wynne

14. Woodstock

Live at Greek Theatre
Los Angeles, CA, September 13, 1979
Recorded by Andy Johns & Henry Lewy; Mixed by Patrick Milligan

15. Intro to A Chair In The Sky
16. A Chair In The Sky

On Tuesday, Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic nominee for president, revealed her running mate: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

Walz, 60, has served as governor since 2019 and though the country has only just started to get to know him, we’ve already learned quite a bit about his musical taste. Spoiler: it’s pretty good.

Below, we’re taking a look at seven of Walz’s Classic Rock Connections.

1. March 5 is Bruce Springsteen Day in Minnesota

Getting tickets to a Springsteen concert these days isn’t easy, not even for a governor. In July of 2022, Walz put out a call on his social media: “Anyone manage to get an extra Bruce Springsteen ticket today? Asking for a friend.” The following year, he was spotted at the Minnesota State Fair in a Springsteen shirt. And it turned out that he scored a ticket to the Boss after all — Beto O’Rourke recently shared a photo of them at one of Springsteen’s shows. To really seal the deal, in 2023 Walz declared March 5 as Bruce Springsteen Day in Minnesota, describing him as a “living legend.”

 

2. He Once Named an Entire Highway After Prince

Dig if you will the picture of Walz signing a bill at Paisley Park just outside Minneapolis which officially renamed a state highway after local legend Prince. That happened in May of 2023. “Today, I signed a bill renaming a state highway in honor of Prince – an artist who transformed the music scene in Minnesota and across the world,” he said then. “Prince was a proud Minnesotan through and through, and it’s only fitting that we honor this icon in the community he called home.”

 

3. He Firmly Believes Warren Zevon Should Be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 

Who among us does not harbor at least one grudge against the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for overlooking someone we believe deserves inclusion? Walz, for one, “cannot believe” Warren Zevon is not a part of it, as he posted about in 2023. He also may have nodded to Zevon during his first official appearance as Harris’ running mate, telling an exuberant crowd in Philadelphia that he would work hard every day to win the upcoming election. “We’ll sleep when we’re dead,” he said, which comes awful close to the 1976 Zevon song “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.”

 

4. Tim Walz’s Favorite Bob Dylan Song

You kind of can’t have a conversation about Minnesota musicians without bringing up Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan, who was born in Duluth and spent much of his childhood in Hibbing. Back in 2019, Walz even declared April to be Minnesota Music Month, citing native Minnesotans like Dylan, Prince, Lizzo, the Replacements and more as hugely influential figures. In 2021, in honor of Dylan’s 80th birthday, Walz told MinnPost his favorite track: “As a dad, ‘Forever Young’ has always been my favorite Dylan song. A timeless message from a dad to his son.” And in 2023, Walz was on hand when the Broadway musical Girl From the North Country, which features Dylan’s music, came to Minneapolis, specifically to the Orpheum Theatre, which was owned by Dylan himself from 1979 to 1988.

 

5. He’s a Husker Du Fan

According to Beto O’Rourke, he and Walz have shared many a conversation about various Minnesota musicians, including Husker Du, the punk rock band that formed in Saint Paul in 1979. Singer and guitarist Bob Mould is reportedly thrilled to see Walz on the ticket, and even more thrilled that he’s a fan of their music. “History is rhyming really fucking hard right now,” Mould recently told Rolling Stone, noting his support for Walz and Harris. “It’s like, just listen to the chorus.”

 

6. He’s Also Into the Replacements

Another of those Minnesota bands Walz and O’Rourke bonded over was the Replacements, who, like Husker Du, also formed in 1979, but instead in Minneapolis. It probably helped that the Replacements’ fourth album — and their first on a major label — is called Tim, released in 1985.

 

7. He Collects Classic Rock Vinyl 

You can tell a lot about a person — or more specifically in this case, a political candidate — by what’s in their vinyl collection. In one 2023 post, Walz displayed his vinyl haul from the famous Minneapolis record store Electric Fetus, which included the Moody Blues‘ Long Distance Voyager, Steve Winwood‘s Arc of a Diver, Genesis‘ Duke and Warren Zevon’s Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School. Three years prior to that, he shared some photos of himself teaching his daughter about “old school” stereo set ups — “Quality speaker wire matters people!!!” he wrote.

Rock Stars Who Performed at the Olympics

Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee has revealed what happened after his band’s notorious gross-out battle with Ozzy Osbourne.

It’s a well-worn story that bears repeating: In 1984 the rockers were out together on tour. During one infamous drug-fueled stop, Osbourne snorted a line of ants in an effort to prove he was the wildest man of them all. Despite some people questioning if it really happened, the act has since been etched in rock history, and was recreated in Motley Crue’s biopic The Dirt.

“Full-on true,” Lee declared during a recent appearance on This Past Weekend With Theo Von, once again insisting the story’s validity. “I know people ask that all the time. They’re, like, ‘Dude, really?’ I’m, like, abso-fucking-lutely. You can’t make that shit up.”

READ MORE: Revisiting Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue’s Debauched Tour

“At that time, it was just kind of a thing — everybody was into [trying to] out-rock star and out-gross somebody out, like out-partying,” Lee continued. “So Ozzy’s wasted. He sees there’s a little trail of ants going all the way to this kid’s popsicle that he left on the ground. And Ozzy looks down and fucking just snorts the line of ants going to the popsicle. And Nikki [Sixx] is like, ‘Okay. Well, fuck that.’ So Nikki pulls his dick out at the pool. This is a hotel. This was, like, the Four Seasons [hotel], I think, in Dallas. And [there were] people, kids, everything. Nikki goes, ‘Fuck that. Watch this.’ Nikki goes to pee on the ground and Nikki’s gonna lick up his own piss to outdo Ozzy. And before Nikki could do it, Ozzy fucking beats him to it and licks up his piss. And we’re, like, ‘All right, Ozzy. You win. You win, dude.’”

Ozzy’s Antics Continued After the Pool

As insane as the pool shenanigans were, Lee revealed things got even grosser after the rockers left.

“I’m like, ‘Come on, Ozz. We’re getting kicked out [of the pool]. I’m gonna take you up to your room,'” Lee recalled. “We get in the elevator. We’re going up, and there’s people in the fucking elevator.”

Sensing another chance for depravity, Osbourne sprung into action.

“He pulls his pants down and he just starts fucking [pushing hard],” Lee recalled. “He’s shitting. I’m, like, ‘Ozzy, dude. No! Fuck! Dude, no.’”

READ MORE: Our 30 Wildest Ozzy Osbourne Photos

Things didn’t improve once the Motley Crue drummer finally got Ozzy to his room.

“I’m like, ‘OK, buddy. See you later,’” Lee remembered. “And he goes, ‘Come here.’ I’m like, ‘I’m gonna go.’ He’s like, ‘No, you come here.’ I go in, and now he’s gonna finish. He just starts shitting in the middle of the room. He bends down, picks it up and starts painting the walls with his shit. I’m, like, ‘I’ve gotta go, dude.’ And I fucking bailed.”

Stryper frontman Michael Sweet has come to the defense of a controversial new law in Louisiana.

House Bill 71, which was signed by the governor in June, requires every public school classroom to display the Ten Commandments, a decision critics argue goes against the separation of church and state. Sweet isn’t one of them.

“Just about everything else is allowed in schools right now,” he said during a recent conversation with The Metal Voice. “Children basically pledging allegiance to a rainbow flag. You know, that’s OK, that’s perfectly acceptable. I mean so why can’t the Ten Commandments be in there? Why can’t the Bible be in there?”

READ MORE: Top 100 ’80s Rock Albums

Sweet has never been shy about his religious beliefs as Stryper became one of the most successful Christian metal bands in history. He admitted that he’d “have to research and read up on” the law before fully endorsing it, but insisted his opinion was more about a perceived double standard.

“If we’re going to allow everything else [in the classroom], then you have to allow everything else, or not,” he explained.

‘We’re Not the Stryper of ‘86’

Elsewhere in the conversation, Sweet discussed Stryper’s upcoming album, When We Were Kings, noting that the band continues to evolve.

“We’re not the Stryper of ‘86. We never will be ever again and we’re not ashamed of that,” he said. “We’re a new band. Now this is Stryper 2024 and hopefully everyone’s still on board and there’s new people coming on board now with the new sound. There’s little bits of modern music in there you can hear the little things here and there but not too much. We’re not a modern rock band we don’t want to be, but we want to step into 2024 and not sound like 1986 again. “

When We Were Kings will be released on Sept. 13.

Sunset Strip Bands

Rod Stewart may think his “days are numbered,” but that’s not keeping him off stage. He announced 12 new dates for 2025 just as a lengthy Las Vegas residency was set to end.

“Vegas, I’m having too much fun for this to end so we are coming back for an encore!” Stewart said in a social media post.

“Rod Stewart: The Hits” ends tonight at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Some 12 more concerts, dubbed “The Encore Shows,” will now follow in the spring. Presales begin on Thursday, Aug. 8. General ticketing begins at 10AM PT on Monday, Aug. 12. All shows begin at 7:30PM. The complete list of dates is below.

READ MORE: In Defense of ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?’

Between Vegas gigs, Stewart will also play a string of other U.S. shows in August and September – including a co-headlining show with Billy Joel in Cleveland. Stewart then heads to Europe in December before returning for two previously announced American dates in February.

Stewart has played Vegas for more than a dozen years, notching some 200 shows. These new dates include six concerts in March 2025, two more in May and four in June. Live Nation is promising a set list boasting Stewart’s “biggest hits, plus surprises from the songbook, swing, as well as deep cuts, and stunning new production elements.”

Rod Stewart’s 2025 Encore Shows
March 12, Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
March 14, Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
March 15, Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
March 19, Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
March 21, Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
March 22, Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
May 29, Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
May 31, Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
June 1, Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
June 5, Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
June 7, Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
June 8, Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas

Rod Stewart’s Spouse is One of Rock’s Hottest Wives

At its peak, 10cc was seemingly untouchable. But all good things must often come to an end and eventually, the ’70s hitmakers would have their own version of that moment in a very uncomfortable way. 

As bassist and vocalist Graham Gouldman recalls, it was sobering when a record exec played music from another band on the label’s roster. “It was so great and our record was so bad,” he tells UCR.

Still, they’d had an enviable run, landing five straight Top 10 albums in the U.K. between 1974 and 1978. Some 12 Top 40 hits helped to power 10cc’s success in that period. Three of them went to No. 1, including the emotionally sublime “I’m Not in Love.”

“The last album that was successful for 10cc was Bloody Tourists in 1978,” Gouldman admits. “After that, things went downhill.”

Despite how it all might have wrapped up, the band’s legacy has continued to gather steam across the decades. Gouldman has remained busy with 10cc, his own solo work and additional fun excursions including a stint in Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band.

He recently released I Have Notes, his sixth solo album. 10cc is also in the midst of their first U.S. tour in more than three decades. They’ll follow the current run with additional dates overseas this fall. During a recent conversation with Ultimate Classic Rock Nights host Matt Wardlaw, Gouldman shared stories both past and present – including the moment when he knew 10cc was in trouble.

It’s been so long since the band toured America. What do you think it was that caused the long gap?
It’s a good question. I think although we had a couple of very big hits in America, we never gained any traction with any albums, really. We toured quite a few times back in the ’70s and it became impractical or too expensive to tour and we had other places to go to.

If we go all of the way back to the original four members, what’s the moment where you knew there was something special there?
We’d recorded a song called “Waterfall,” which [co-founding multi-instrumentalist and vocalist] Eric Stewart and I’d written. Apple Records, the Beatles‘ label, had shown some interest in it. Eric and I had written the A-side, so [we thought], we should ask [fellow co-founders] Kevin [Godley] and Lol [Creme] to write the B-side, which turned out to be “Donna.” As we were recording it, we thought, “We’ve got something special here. It’s different and it’s strange, but there’s something really good here.” We contacted Jonathan King, who ran a label called UK Records [distributed by Decca]. He said he loved it and wanted to sign us and that was it. Really, it was at that point [when we] recorded “Donna,” that I knew something special was going on.

Listen to 10cc’s ‘Donna’

The band began as a studio group. How long did it take to find your sea legs on the touring side?
I think we did it pretty quickly. Of course, we hadn’t [initially] toured as a band. We were born in the studio, really, but we all had some experience of being in bands anyway. Eric Stewart in particular, being in Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders and then the Mindbenders. So we took to it really easy, actually, I think, looking back. [Laughs] We waited a while until we made the decision to actually go on the road. But everything was going so well with the records, we thought, “Blimey, we should do this,” and we loved it.

READ MORE: 15 Artists With More Hits Compilations Than Studio Albums

For you, who were some of the memorable bands that 10cc toured with early on?
Well, in America, we toured with Slade, which was a bit of a strange combination.

That does seem like it would be strange!
It was a very odd choice of acts to put together, I have to say. I mean, we got on with them fine.

They seem like they would have been fun.
Yeah, they were fun in a kind of interesting way [laughs], but not what I would call compatible. But maybe that was the thing, you know, the fact that they were very different. Maybe it was the promoter’s idea that they were going to get two different sorts of audiences [attending the shows]

You’d been to America before touring there with 10cc. What sticks with you about the touring experience here?
On the negative side, it was a lot of traveling between gigs. It was really a real slog, I remember. But other than that, when you’re doing a gig or getting ready for a gig, it’s pretty much the same wherever you’re playing. The audiences were really good. I think we had our fanbase, there’s no doubt about it. I’m not sure how big it was, but we had some really serious fans. They really, really loved us, I guess. [Laughs] But the mechanics of actually getting ready and playing and everything else was pretty much the same as anywhere else. I think for us, though, it was great to be in America – because American music is such a big part of what influenced us. And for me, it still does to this day and it always will. People like Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, the Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, that’s in my DNA and the DNA of all of my contemporaries. Every writer or anybody I work with, once we start talking about influences, it’s always pretty much the same.

Watch 10cc’s ‘I’m Not in Love’ Video

How did your new album start coming together?
I recorded a track called “Floating in Heaven,” which I wrote about the James Webb Space Telescope. I played it to Andrew at my record company and he said, “You should get Brian May to play on it because he’s a great guitarist, obviously, but he’s also an astronomer and an astrophysicist, so it kind of fits.” We made that record and I loved what he did. I think I love the record as well. It started there and then I just began on the track of starting to write. Really, I shouldn’t have done it, in a way, because I put out an album just as the pandemic started called Modesty Forbids. Normally, I would leave five or six years between doing an album but it just so happened that I was enjoying writing songs and recording them – so why not?

It doesn’t really make any difference. You know, it’s not like I’m Taylor Swift or anything – you might have noticed. [Laughs] I just thought, it’s not like, “Oh, we’ve had so many albums. We’ve got them all now. Don’t give us another one yet.” It’s not a big deal for me to put another album out. I know where I am in the hierarchy of people buying billions of records – or downloading them. For me, the pleasure is the writing and recording. I call it my expensive hobby, making records. I just love doing it. What’s not to like?

Watch Graham Gouldman’s ‘Floating in Heaven’ Video With Brian May

I love the name of the new album, I Have Notes. With 10cc or otherwise, how often did you get notes?
There’s a series called The Boys, about the superheroes. The main character in that, Homelander, that’s where I heard it a lot. He used to say it a lot, “I have notes.” It struck me for the obvious reasons – but particularly with 10cc, nobody told us what to do or had notes for us. I don’t think they’d dare. It was like, what are you going to tell us that we don’t know? I know that sounds really arrogant but we didn’t have the record company guys coming in and going, “Yeah, that sounds great, but could we perhaps have more kick?” No one was going to do that. But actually, there was one moment, that I have just remembered. It was not a good thing, actually.

READ MORE: 30 Bands With One Original Member Left

We did an album and I can’t remember which album it was but it was after our “heyday,” if you like. The last album that was successful for 10cc was called Bloody Tourists in 1978. After that, things went downhill. I won’t go into details, but I remember we did an album and we took it to the record company. When you play something for somebody – it’s like a song or anything or if you’ve written a piece – and you read it to your friend or partner, as you’re reading it, anything that’s not good is suddenly dreadful. It amplifies all of the bad things. I was listening to it with the head of Phonogram, Brian Shepherd. He was listening to it and I’m thinking, “This is shit. It’s shit.” When we finished playing it, he never said, “I have notes,” but he said, “I want to play you something.” It was Dire Straits and a track called “Private Investigations.” It was so great and our record was so bad.

Some people might not be aware of some of the big songs you wrote early on, like “For Your Love,” which ended up being recorded by the Yardbirds. I love that it was presented to you, the idea that perhaps the song could be offered to the Beatles and you said, “I think they’re probably doing okay in the songwriting department.”
Oh, yeah. I mean, it was a ridiculous idea, really. Although as you know, every cloud has a silver lining. What happened was that the Yardbirds were supporting the Beatles in a Christmas show. I think that gave the idea to our publisher, “Well, the Beatles aren’t going to do it, but as it happens, the Yardbirds are looking for songs.” Whether that’s connected or not, I don’t know, but it seems like quite a coincidence that my manager at the time would suggest trying to place a song with the Beatles. That would have changed the course of history, wouldn’t it?

Yeah, for history and perhaps for your bank account, as well …
Maybe it wouldn’t have been a hit for the Beatles and then we’re all fucked! [Laughs]

Listen to the Yardbirds’ ‘For Your Love’

It’s been eight years since Axl Rose memorably joined AC/DC, but stories surrounding his brief tenure continue to emerge.

Chris Slade, AC/DC’s drummer at the time, reflected on Rose’s run during a recent appearance on the On the Road to Rock podcast: “Axl, I think, honestly, he did a great job – tremendous job. He’s not Brian [Johnson], and he wasn’t trying to be Brian – and he also was not trying to be Bon. He’s got a lot of respect for Bon Scott. I know he has – and AC/DC.”

Though his reverence was obvious, AC/DC was sure to lay down the law regarding Rose’s involvement. “With AC/DC, I was sent to boot camp,” Slade remembered Rose saying. The ultimatum: “If you screw up, Axl, you’ll get the boot.”

READ MORE: AC/DC Albums Ranked Worst to Best

Slade admitted that he wasn’t the one who delivered the message, noting that “Angus [Young] and management” handled that part.

By all accounts, Rose was on his best behavior during the 22 dates he fronted AC/DC. Johnson had been sidelined due to serious hearing issues, but was able to return in 2020.

Chris Slade Would Have Welcomed a Return to AC/DC

Slade had two separate stints in AC/DC, from 1989-94 and 2015-16. Recently, the band made another change behind the kit, replacing longtime drummer Phil Rudd for their recent tour cycle. Slade was not offered the gig, which ultimately went to Matt Laug, but he insisted there were no hard feelings.

“Would I have done it?” Slade pondered. “Yes, I would do it – of course. Angus probably wanted a change and thought maybe I couldn’t do it. I’m the same age as Brian. So, you can’t be ageist and say ‘Oh, Slade’s too old now,’” he added, with a laugh.

His latest project, the Chris Slade Timeline, recently released their debut album. One half of the LP is made up of original material, while the other features new versions of songs Slade played with other artists, including AC/DC.

The Only Time AC/DC Was Late for a Show

Music is a powerful force. What better way to harness that power than by using it to raise money and awareness for important causes?

This can be an especially influential move when more than one artist becomes involved, not to mention entertaining. Consider perhaps the most famous charity single of all time, 1985’s “We Are the World.” Where else would you be able to find Dionne Warwick and Willie Nelson sharing a mic? Or Bob Dylan singing within the same minute as Cyndi Lauper?

It may seem cliche, but through music, change for the better is not only possible, but it can be fun, too, as the below charity singles prove.

1. “Bangla Desh,” George Harrison (1971)

Just as the ’60s gave way to the ’70s, the country of Bangladesh experienced both a devastating cyclone and a war for liberation. George Harrison‘s friend, the Indian-Bengali musician Ravi Shankar, asked the former Beatle for whatever help he could give. Harrison responded by penning the song, “Bangla Desh,” often considered rock’s first major charity single. Three days after the song was released, Harrison hosted the Concert for Bangladesh, raising more funds and awareness for the war-torn country.

 

2. “Too Much Heaven,” The Bee Gees (1978)

In January of 1978, a benefit show titled The Music for UNICEF Concert: A Gift of Song was held at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, where acts like Rod Stewart, John Denver, Olivia Newton-John and more performed, raising money for UNICEF world hunger programs. The Bee Gees also appeared, performing a song called “Too Much Heaven,” the proceeds from which they donated to UNICEF. According to a 2017 social media post from the band, the song has raised $11 million in royalties since then.

 

3. “Chiquita,” ABBA (1979)

ABBA was another act to appear at The Music for UNICEF Concert. Their contribution to the fund was the song “Chiquita,” donating half of all royalties. Decades later in 2014, ABBA upped it to 100%.

 

4. “That’s What Friends Are For,” Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder (1982)

The ’80s were chock full of charity songs. Dionne Warwick kicked things off in 1982 with a little help from Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder, who all came together to record the song “That’s What Friends Are For,” written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. Not only did the single help raise money for AIDS research and prevention — the corresponding epidemic had begun the year prior — but it also earned Grammys for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals and Song of the Year.

 

5. “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” Band Aid (1984)

If you thought Dionne Warwick’s band of friends was impressive, take a look at the list of people who participated in the 1984 charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” which raised money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. This project included Bono, Boy George, George Michael, Sting, Paul Weller, Phil Collins, Simon Le Bon and many more (known as Band Aid). Recorded in a single day in London, the song held the No. 1 spot in the U.K. for five weeks and sold a million copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling single in U.K. chart history at that time.

 

6. “Last Christmas,” Wham! (1984)

George Michael had a second charity single up his sleeve in 1984 in the form of “Last Christmas” by Wham! The song went to No. 1 in multiple countries, including the U.K., with all the royalties being donated to Ethiopian famine relief programs.

 

7. “We Are the World,” U.S.A. for Africa (1985)

It’s possibly the most famous charity single of all time: 1985’s “We Are the World,” as recorded by U.S.A. for Africa. The brainchild of Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian, the song’s list of contributors reads like a who’s who of popular music, ranging from Bob Dylan to Billy Joel, Tina Turner to Willie Nelson, Ray Charles to Cyndi Lauper and many more in between. It currently holds the record for eighth best-selling single of all time, raising over $80 million for humanitarian aid in Africa.

 

8. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” Tears for Fears (1985)

In 1985, Tears for Fears had an enormous hit with “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” The year after that, they figured they may as well use the song’s popularity to a charitable advantage and re-recorded it to be used as the theme for a campaign called Sport Aid, which benefitted African famine relief. This version went to No. 5 in the U.K.

 

9. “Tears Are Not Enough,” Northern Lights (1985)

About a month after “We Are the World” was recorded by Americans, “Tears Are Not Enough” was recorded by an impressive lineup of Canadian artists under the name Northern Lights. Among them: Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Geddy Lee, Gordon Lightfoot, Bryan Adams and Burton Cummings. Within five years of its release, “Tears Are Not Enough” raised a little over $3 million for famine relief in Africa, with a portion of the proceeds being set aside for Canadian food banks.

 

10. “Sun City,” Artists United Against Apartheid (1985)

So far we’ve been examining songs written to aid famine relief, but here’s one written in protest of apartheid in South Africa. Penned by Steven Van Zandt and recorded by a group called Artists United Against Apartheid, “Sun City”‘s title was a reference to a resort that catered to white tourists. Joining Van Zandt was Ringo Starr, Lou Reed, Keith Richards, Pete Townshend, Pat Benatar, Joey Ramone and numerous others. In the end, the song raised over $1 million for anti-apartheid efforts.

 

11. “Dancing in the Street,” Mick Jagger and David Bowie (1985)

Most people know “Dancing in the Street” as the eccentric duet recorded by Mick Jagger and David Bowie in 1985, but did you know it was a charity single for Live Aid? This is why Jagger and Bowie, at the song’s top, call out to varying countries, urging them to come together for the cause: “Okay, Tokyo, South America, Australia, France, Germany, U.K., Africa!”  The accompanying music video was shown twice at the famous benefit concert in London.

 

12. “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” The Crowd (1985)

Yet another charity supergroup came together in 1985, this one called the Crowd, to record the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the Broadway musical Carousel. Led by Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers, the single was made in order to generate funds in the wake of the Bradford City stadium fire, which took place during a football game at Valley Parade in West Yorkshire, England and claimed the lives of 56 people. Denny Laine of Wings, John Entwistle of the Who and Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr, all took part in the recording, among others. 

 

13. “Stars,” Various Metal Artists (1986)

What if there was a charity song like “We Are the World” but performed by all heavy metal musicians? There is: 1986’s “Stars,” recorded by a supergroup of over 40 famous figures in heavy metal. To name just a few: Ronnie James Dio, Rob Halford, Blackie Lawless, Mick Mars, Dave Murray and dozens more. “Stars” was released as a single, but it was also part of an entire charity album titled Hear ‘n Aid, which raised over $3 million for famine relief in Africa.

 

14. “Let It Be,” Ferry Aid (1987)

As the title of the supergroup suggests, Ferry Aid was created in an effort to raise money in the aftermath of the 1987 Zeebrugge Disaster, which involved the sinking of a large ferry ship called the MS Herald of Free Enterprise, an incident that killed 193 people on board. Ferry Aid was made up of mostly British musicians who gathered for a charity rendition of the Beatles‘ “Let It Be.” Among them: Mark Knopfler, Boy George, Kate Bush and, of course, the song’s original writer, Paul McCartney.

 

15. “Man in the Mirror,” Michael Jackson (1988)

Michael Jackson’s charitable work continued in the ’80s with “Man in the Mirror,” the proceeds from which were donated to Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, a program for children suffering from cancer. Jackson would go on to found an entire charitable organization of his own called Heal the World, also dedicated to improving the lives of children around the world.

 

16. “Ferry Across the Mersey,” Paul McCartney and Others (1989)

If we had a nickel for every time Paul McCartney was involved in a charity single somehow involving ferry boats in the ’80s, we’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s interesting that it happened twice. The song “Ferry Across the Mersey” was originally released by Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1964, but was then recorded again in 1989 by a group of artists all hailing from Liverpool: The Christians, Holly Johnson, Gerry Marsden of the Pacemakers and McCartney. This time, the single raised funds for those affected by the Hillsborough disaster, in which a crowd rush at a football game in Sheffield caused the deaths of 97 people, many of them Liverpool fans. 

 

17. “Sacrifice” / “Healing Hands,” Elton John (1989)

By 1989, AIDS had claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people and the numbers were continuing to increase. That year, Elton John released a double A-side single with the songs “Sacrifice” and “Healing Hands,” the royalties from which were donated equally between four AIDS charities, each with a slightly different mission: The Terrence Higgins Trust (for educating the public about the disease), The London Lighthouse (a hospice center for those with AIDS), the Jefferiss Research Wing Trust (for finding a cure) and Body Positive (for those newly infected by HIV).

 

18. “Voices That Care,” Various (1991)

We’ve now entered the ’90s portion of this list, starting off with 1991’s “Voices that Care,” recorded by a group of people under the same name. The song, which featured the likes of Little Richard, Peter Cetera of Chicago, Mark Knopfler, Michael Bolton, Kenny G and more, went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and raised over $1 million for United Service Organizations and the American Red Cross.

 

19. “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Live),” Elton John and George Michael (1991)

Two of the most philanthropic artists of their times, Elton John and George Michael, joined forces for the 1991 release of a live version of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” Proceeds from the single — which grabbed the No. 1 spot in both the U.S. and U.K. — were given to 10 different charities for children, AIDS and educational programs.

 

20. “Rock and Roll,” Roger Daltrey and the Full Metal Rackets (1991)

In 1991, Roger Daltrey and the Full Metal Rackets recorded Led Zeppelin‘s “Rock and Roll” for the humanitarian campaign Rock Aid Armenia, which was designed to raise funds for those affected by the 1988 Armenian earthquake. This campaign also yielded an all-star cover of Deep Purple‘s “Smoke on the Water” and one of Marvin Gaye‘s “What’s Going On.”

 

21. “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Queen (1992)

Freddie Mercury died of AIDS in November of 1992. Two months later, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” was re-released in the U.S. with the proceeds going toward the Magic Johnson Foundation for AIDS research. At that time, the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 after over a decade, landing at No. 2.

 

22. “One,” U2 (1992)

U2, and Bono specifically, have long been advocates for various social causes. One such example of this arrived in the form of their 1992 single “One.” Its proceeds were donated to AIDS research, which Bono continued to talk about decades down the line. “The battle against AIDS is not a last decade issue,” he told The Irish Times in 2016. “It’s going to be the next decade issue. We need to finish the job, get new companies, new interest. It’s kind of annoying and sometimes upsetting that these global health issues can become creatures of fashion. People think AIDS is done – it’s not done.”

 

23. “Somebody to Love,” George Michael and Queen (1993)

Similar to George Michael and Elton John’s single, there was also a Michael/Queen single: a live version of “Somebody to Love” originally recorded at the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. The single was included on a 1993 EP called Five Live, which raised money for the AIDS/HIV organization Mercury Phoenix Trust.

 

24. “Love Can Build a Bridge,” Cher, Chrissie Hynde, Eric Clapton and Others (1995)

There have been many, many songs recorded in connection with the British charity Comic Relief, first launched in 1985. Here’s just one of them: a cover of the Judd’s “Love Can Build a Bridge” recorded by Cher, Chrissie Hynde, Eric Clapton and the Swedish singer Neneh Cherry in 1995. It topped the charts, making it Hynde’s very first U.K. No. 1 outside of the Pretenders and Clapton’s first U.K. No. 1 ever.

 

25. “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” Mark Knopfler and Ted Christopher (1996)

In March of 1996, the deadliest mass shooting in British history took place at Dunblane Primary School in Scotland — 16 students and one teacher were killed, prompting major gun law reform. Later that year, the Scottish musician Ted Christopher teamed up with Mark Knopfler, who was born in Scotland, to record a rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heavens Door,” the proceeds from which went to children’s charities.

 

26. “Candle in the Wind 1997,” Elton John (1997)

Throughout her lifetime, Princess Diana of Wales was well-known for her philanthropic efforts and was an instrumental figure in fighting the stigma against HIV and AIDS — in 1987 she visited a hospital in London where, by simply shaking the hand of a man diagnosed with AIDS, she helped challenge the belief that the disease could be shared through touch. A few months after her death in August 1997, her friend Elton John released a new version of “Candle in the Wind” and donated the global proceeds to charities the Princess supported. It is, to date, the second best-selling single of all time.

 

27. “Perfect Day,” Lou Reed and Others (1997)

What began as an advertisement for the BBC turned into a No. 1 hit single that raised over £2 million for Children in Need. It was a new version of Lou Reed‘s “Perfect Day,” made in 1997, featuring Reed himself, Bono, David Bowie, Tom Jones, Emmylou Harris and more. “I have never been more impressed with a performance of one of my songs,” Reed said to the BBC then.

 

28. “It’s Only Rock n’ Roll (But I Like It),” Artists for Children’s Promise (1999)

Just before the turn of the millennium, a supergroup of musicians came together under the name Artists for Children’s Promise to record a charity song for, as that title suggests, Children’s Promise. The song was the Rolling Stones‘ “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It),” featuring original writers Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, plus Jon Bon Jovi, Kid Rock, Iggy Pop, B.B. King, Joe Cocker, Jackson Browne, Ozzy Osbourne and more.

 

29. “What’s Going On,” Various (2001)

in 2001, 30 years after Marvin Gaye first released it, a new version of “What’s Going On” was released by Artists Against AIDS Worldwide. Personnel included Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, Britney Spears, Alicia Keys and others, and co-produced by Bono. The single raised money for various AIDS programs around the world.

 

30. “Tears in Heaven,” Various (2005)

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne spearheaded an all-star project in 2005, in which a myriad of artists came together to record a new version of Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven.” This included Slash, Duff McKagan, Steven Tyler, Elton John, Phil Collins, Ringo Starr, Scott Weiland, Rod Stewart and more. Sales from the single went toward the Disasters Emergency Committee, which at the time was helping tsunami victims in Southeast Asia.

 

31. “The Saints Are Coming,” Green Day and U2 (2006)

U2 and Green Day linked up in 2006 to record a cover of “The Saints Are Coming,” originally written by the Scottish punk rock band Skids. The newer version — which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal — helped raised money for the Edge‘s charity Music Rising, an organization that was founded to aid musicians, schools and churches in the Gulf Region. “New Orleans has always been a special city to us, being a hotbed of music and creativity, and it’s hard to believe parts of the Gulf region still remain devastated,” Green Day said in a statement then, referring to the damage done by Hurricane Katrina. “We feel that it’s important to continue to raise awareness.”

 

32. “Sing,” Annie Lennox and Others (2007)

Annie Lennox personally invited 23 fellow female artists to join her on a song called “Sing” in 2004, including Melissa Etheridge, Madonna, Gladys Knight, Bonnie Raitt and more. Not only did the single raise awareness and money for the AIDS pandemic in South Africa, it also was the catalyst for Lennox’s founding of the SING campaign, her own non-profit organization dedicated to the same cause.

 

33. “Nobody’s Child,” The Traveling Wilburys (2007)

One of the most famous supergroups in all of rock history, the Traveling Wilburys put their collective star power to good use in 1990 when they released a cover of “Nobody’s Child” as a charity single. Proceeds went to the Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation, an organization founded by George Harrison’s wife Olivia with the support of all three of the other former Beatles’ wives: Linda McCartney, Yoko Ono and Barbara Bach. “The issue of children affected by AIDS in Romania has always been so overwhelming that the only way to address it was to think that if we could improve the life of just one child, our efforts would be rewarded,” Olivia Harrison said in 1993.

 

34. “We Are the World 25 for Haiti,” Various (2010)

A quarter of a century after the original came “We Are the World 25 for Haiti,” once again produced by Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie and recorded in a marathon session. There was a mixture of older and newer artists, from Carlos Santana, Tony Bennett and Al Jardine of the Beach Boys, to Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Adam Levine. This time, money and awareness was raised for those affected by a catastrophic earthquake in Haiti that killed tens of thousands and left millions more affected.

 

35. “Everybody Hurts,” Helping Haiti (2010)

Another charity single for Haiti arrived in 2010 in the form of an R.E.M. cover. Among those who contributed to the recording of “Everybody Hurts” was Jon Bon Jovi, Rod Stewart, James Blunt, Robbie Williams and more. Interestingly, this wound up being Bon Jovi’s very first time appearing at the No. 1 spot for U.K. singles.

 

36. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” Various (2016)

Here’s something a little different, unfortunately prompted by a terrible tragedy. In June of  2016, British politician Jo Cox, who served as a Member of Parliament for a little over a year, was murdered by a man with far-right views and ties to neo-Nazi ideology. A few months later, several of Cox’s former MP colleagues got together in a studio, along with musicians like Suzi Quatro, KT Tunstall, David Gray and more, to record a charity cover of the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

 

37. “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” Artists for Grenfell (2017)

In June of 2017, a fire broke out in the 24-story Grenfell Tower, a block of apartments in London. The fire lasted days and ultimately claimed the lives of 72 people, making it the worst residential fire in the U.K. since World War II. Simon Cowell organized a charity single in the fire’s aftermath, featuring Nile Rodgers, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and more, who all gathered to record a cover of Simon & Garfunkel‘s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

 

38. “Merry Christmas,” Elton John and Ed Sheeran (2021)

They say Christmas time is the season of giving. In 2021, Elton John and Ed Sheeran collaborated on a yuletide tune, “Merry Christmas,” which benefitted both the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

 

39. “Hey Hey Rise Up,” Pink Floyd (2022)

Pink Floyd‘s 2022 song “Hey Hey Rise Up” was notable for a few reasons. Firstly, it featured vocals from the Ukrainian musician Andriy Khlyvnyuk, and all of the proceeds went to the Ukraine Humanitarian Relief Fund as the country battled Russian invasion. But also, it was the first song recorded under the name Pink Floyd in nearly a decade. “We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world’s major powers,” David Gilmour, who has a Ukrainian daughter-in-law and grandchildren, said in a statement then.

 

40. “Going Home” Mark Knopfler and Others (2024)

What if you took as many living guitar legends as possible and had them all play on one song? That’s exactly what Mark Knopfler did with his 2024 charity single “Going Home,” which benefitted the Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America. On the recording were over 60 musicians, including but not limited to: Jeff Beck, Tony Iommi, Alex Lifeson, Tom Morello, Joe Walsh and so many more. “I really had no idea that it was going to be like this,” Knopfler said in a news release. “I think what we’ve had is an embarrassment of riches, really.”

Styx may have started as a simple neighborhood band, but they evolved into something much bigger.

With a career spanning more than 50 years, the group has delivered a bevy of hit songs and platinum albums. They may have been the model of consistency in terms of material, but their lineup has regularly been in flux.

Brothers Chuck and John Ponozzo were there at the beginning, alongside singer Dennis DeYoung. Styx didn’t get its name – or its original quintet lineup – until they signed their first record deal in 1972.

READ MORE: Styx’s Most Overlooked Song From Each Album

Three years later, the lineup got a creative jolt with the addition of Tommy Shaw. His prodigious talent brought a new element to Styx and helped them to new commercial heights. But Shaw, DeYoung and guitarist James “J.Y.” Young all wanted substantial creative input, so relationships ultimately frayed. Styx went through the longest hiatus of their career from 1984 to 1990.

Reunions in the ‘90s brought further lineup changes. Meanwhile, drummer John Ponozzo battled health problems that ultimately took his life.

Then the most shocking personnel change came in 1999 when DeYoung was dismissed from the group shortly before they were set to embark on another tour. Decades later, the circumstances surrounding his firing continue to remain a sensitive topic.

Those personnel moves – and others – are explored in the following complete guide to Styx lineup changes.

Styx Lineup Changes

Real-Life ‘Spinal Tap’ Stories: Styx

Journey has apparently backed out of the U.K. and Ireland leg of their 50th anniversary tour. These shows are now listed as canceled on Ticketmaster; their London concert no longer appears on the O2’s website.

Meanwhile, ticket holders were also reportedly receiving emails today confirming that the 11-date fall trek has been called off: “Due to circumstances beyond the band’s control, Journey’s UK and Ireland tour is unfortunately canceled. Refunds will be made from your point of purchase.”

The sudden halt follows news of yet another legal issue between Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon. North American stadium shows with Def Leppard continued, with dates set to conclude in September, but the lawsuit revealed a serious rift.

READ MORE: Ranking Every Journey Live Album

In an apparent rerun of competing 2022 suits related to a band credit card, Cain’s latest court filing accuses Schon of maxing out an American Express account with a $1 million limit. His suit claims Schon “has spent up to $10,000 per night.”

Journey’s finances have reportedly been in such disarray that the crew and production company couldn’t be paid. Situations like that have begun “impacting the band’s reputation throughout the music industry,” according to the suit. “The band’s actual onstage performance is, at the moment, one of the only aspects of the business that has not suffered.”

Cain’s legal action seeks to restructure Freedom 2020 Inc., which he co-founded with Schon to oversee Journey’s touring operations. The business apparently operates with only a two-seat board, held by Cain and Schon. The new petition is asking for a court-ordered custodian to act as a third board member in order to break tie votes.

Journey went through a long series of legal battles beginning in 2020, but appeared to have resolved things by creating a new organizational structure that involved both Cain and Schon and their respective wives. Michaele Schon isn’t named as a respondent in Cain’s latest lawsuit.

Nick DeRiso is author of the Amazon best-selling rock band bio ‘Journey: Worlds Apart,’ available now at all major bookseller websites.

See Neal Schon Among Rock’s Forgotten Supergroups

John Mayer can be seen playing guitar and taking solos during Dead & Company’s most recent show, despite having one finger strapped up.

He recently injured the index finger of his left hand but vowed it wouldn’t be an issue when he hit the stage as the band nears the end of its residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Last week Mayer showed off the protected digit and blamed a truck door for the damage, writing on Instagram, “The first thing that went through my mind was, ‘I really need that finger in a week.’ I need all my fingers, but the left index is the team captain of my fretting hand.”

READ MORE: Here’s Why Dead & Company Are Done Touring

He continued: “It will heal just fine, but will be out of commission for a while. In the meantime, I have spent every day practicing guitar using the other three fingers and I think I have it sounding pretty good!

“I’ve always felt like every part of me belongs to these shows, and it’s my responsibility to return to the stage each night without screwing up the equipment, and I’m sorry for the misadventure here. The power of the music and the love for these shows will prevail!”

John Mayer Loves ‘Live Music Space Race’ Created by the Sphere

A newly published video shot on Aug. 3 shows Dead & Company’s fourth-from-final Sphere concert. The band bows out after appearing on Aug. 8, 9 and 10. You can see the video below.

Explaining the band’s decision to settle in the Sphere despite having played a farewell tour last year, Mayer said in July, “I think what we all love is that there’s finally once again a live music space race … live music pretty much stayed the same for such a long time.”

He added that the venue presented the opportunity “to delight and surprise people more than they expected … with this big empty canvas and this really big palette.”

Pete Townshend has said he hopes the Who returns for farewell dates before they “crawl off and die.” Whether they’d be touring behind a follow-up to 2019’s Who is another matter.

Bandmate Roger Daltrey doesn’t seem interested in a return to the studio – and Townshend isn’t in the mood to argue. “I’m not gonna try to bully Roger to do anything,” Townshend tells the Daily Beast. “I don’t want to have the job that I used to have around the time of Quadrophenia, which is bullying everybody in the Who to do exactly what I want to do.”

Who was a Top 5 international hit, going gold in the U.K. At that point, the Who hadn’t released a new album since 2006’s Endless Wire, which hit the Top 10 in America and the U.K. If they remain apart, the Who’s final performances would date back to a short string of orchestral U.K. shows in 2023. Last year saw the release of The Who With Orchestra Live at Wembley, recorded during a 2019 concert in London.

READ MORE: Ranking Every Album by the Who

Townshend says he’s envisioning another tour but with a smaller, more tightly knit lineup. “I’m hoping Roger and I can find some common ground and find some way to work again, possibly without an orchestra because I think we’ve done that,” Townshend said. “But also, there’s this sense that we’re in the last tour period of our career. Are we just hoping to do what Bob Dylan does and just keep going?”

Daltrey seems to be open to touring in a smaller-scale fashion, after performing a series of his own intimate U.S. shows in June. “I’m encouraged by seeing what Roger’s doing in his solo tour,” Townshend admits. “It seems to me that if we put a small band together and just decided to throw shit at the wall, it might be great.”

The Who’s Breakdown in Communication

The problem: “Roger and I don’t converse. We don’t talk. So, it might be difficult to land on something that we both share an interest in – but it’s there for the taking, I think.”

Of course, back when Townshend was admittedly “bullying” the others, the Who was in the midst of a pretty good run: Quadrophenia arrived in the early ’70s as the group continued a run of six straight albums that went platinum or multi-platinum in the U.S.

“It worked, yeah – but it was no fun,” Townshend added. “And at the end of that, Roger knocked me out. I asked for it, but he knocked me out. Anyway, I’m hopeful. I’m certainly not saying that we won’t do anything, but Roger and I do have a bit of a river to cross. And once we cross that river, we’ll see what happens.”

Why the Who’s Drummer Invited Fans to Moon Him

Jay Jay French discussed Twisted Sister’s trick for preventing fans from heading to the restroom when the band played a new song live.

It’s an age-old problem for those who’ve become known as “legacy acts”: Their catalog is so well-loved that crowds want to hear the hits, regardless of how much the artists want to pursue their creative ambitions.

In a recent episode of Let There Be Talk, French explained how singer Dee Snider faced the challenge.

READ MORE: Twisted Sister Reunion Offers Soon Unrefusable, Says Dee Snider

“The truth is, when you come up with a new song, most people just get up and go to the bathroom,” the guitarist accepted. “We recorded a new song many years ago called ’30’ … we started playing it live.

“And Dee started saying, ‘OK, folks, tonight we’re going to be doing a new song. I’ll give you plenty of warning. … It’s the song that you’re gonna go out and get a drink or take a piss. We’re three songs away from the piss song … two songs away … .’

“And he would embarrass the people so much that they wouldn’t leave because now they don’t want to look like schmucks by getting up and leaving!”

Jay Jay French Says Bob Dylan Is ‘Indecipherably Bad’

French went on to cite the example of Bob Dylan as someone who refuses to accept the “play classics” rule and won’t even play the classics in their classic form.

Not a fan, he said, “Dylan is indecipherably bad … you don’t even understand it. But if you’re a deep Dylan guy, and [you think] Dylan’s so esoteric, you go, ‘He’s an interpretive artist – he does it the way he wants to.’

“The average person doesn’t give a shit. They want to hear ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ like ‘Blowin’ in the Wind.’ They want to hear ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ [as the original] ‘Like a Rolling Stone.’ They like to hear a song that sounds kind of like the record because that’s [what] they remember. … Dylan doesn’t do that game.”

You can hear the interview below.

Wolfgang Van Halen believes his famous father, Eddie Van Halen, “ruined the musical landscape” of the ‘80s.

When Van Halen exploded to mainstream success, Eddie was quickly hailed as rock’s newest guitar god. His distinctive style of playing was soon copied by musicians around the globe, as everyone looked to emulate his ax-wielding exploits.

During an appearance on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, Wolfgang explained why the endless array of Eddie Van Halen copycats had a negative impact on music.

“In a way, Dad kind of ruined the musical landscape [of ‘80s rock],” the Mammoth WVH frontman explained. “Because instead of everybody wanting to find out who they are, they just wanted to be [Eddie].”

READ MORE: The Best Song From Every Van Halen Album

Interestingly, Wolfgang also claimed that his father’s shredding overshadowed his bigger contributions to Van Halen.

“I think people focus on the guitar playing, but overall it was the fact that Dad is a great songwriter,” the rocker explained. “And that’s what I shoot for too.”

Wolfgang Van Halen: ‘It Fucking Kills Me That Dad Can Never Come to a Mammoth Show’

Mammoth WVH has been playing massive stadiums while opening for Metallica this summer. It’s the latest achievement for Wolfgang, as his band continues to grow in popularity.

During the conversation with Maron, Wolfgang admitted success is bittersweet, since his father, who died in 2020, isn’t around to see it.

READ MORE: Van Halen Lineup Changes: A Complete Guide

“It fucking kills me that Dad can never come to a Mammoth show,” the rocker confessed. “I was having dinner after a Metallica show. They do like these dinners. And I was hanging out with James [Hetfield] and he was wearing his son’s band shirt. I saw that and I was like, fuck. Dad would be stoked to wear a Mammoth shirt.”

Chicago has announced more tour dates for later this year, scheduled for October and November.

The band has already been on the road for much of this year, co-headlining the Heart & Soul Tour with Earth, Wind & Fire, which ends Sept. 7. But Chicago is slated to continue touring the U.S. through the rest of the summer into early fall, and they’ve now revealed even more American tour dates, plus a few in Canada.

A complete list of new dates can be viewed below. A ticket presale will launch on Aug. 6, following by regular sales on Aug. 9.

Chicago’s Upcoming New Live Collection

Chicago is also planning to release a new live set called Chicago at the John. F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. (9/16/1971), a 26-track collection that will be released on Sept. 27, the same day they will perform at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Hawaii.

READ MORE: When Chicago Got Meta on ’25 or 6 to 4′

Chicago, 2024 Fall Tour Dates
Oct. 22 Nashville, IN @ Brown County Music Center
Oct. 24 Erie, PA @ Warner Theatre
Oct. 25 Bethlehem, PA @ Wind Creek Event Center
Oct. 26 Morristown. NJ @ Mayo Performing Arts Center
Oct. 29 Port Chester, NY@ The Capitol Theatre
Oct. 30 Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theatre
Nov. 1 Atlantic City, NJ @ Hard Rock Live
Nov. 2 Atlantic City, NJ @ Hard Rock Live
Nov. 3 Baltimore, MD @ The Lyric
Nov. 6 Utica, NY @ The Stanley Theatre
Nov. 7 Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
Nov. 9 Windsor, ON @ The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor
Nov. 10 Niagara Falls, ON @ OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino
Nov. 13 Toledo, OH @ Stranahan Theater
Nov. 14 Columbus, OH @ Mershon Auditorium
Nov. 16 New Buffalo, MI @ Silver Creek Event Center
Nov. 17 Grand Rapids, MI @ DeVos Performance Hall

Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo and Kirk Hammett gave Boston sports fans a treat last night by leading a “Sweet Caroline” sing-along during the band’s Gillette Stadium concert.

For over two decades Neil Diamond‘s Top 5 1969 hit has been a fixture at Boston’s Fenway Park, with fans singing along with the song in the middle of the eighth inning of every Red Sox game.

You can watch Trujillo and Hammett play and sing “Sweet Caroline” below.

“This song is really scary, super heavy and if you start moshing try not to injure yourself, because it’s such a scary song I’m already shaking,” Trujillo joked before launching into the performance. The crowd eagerly joined in, shouting “Bum, bum, bum” and “So good! So good! So good!” in all the right spots.

Read More: Metallica’s Surprising 2018-2019 Tour Covers

Trujillo and Hammett regularly perform bass and guitar “doodles” at Metallica concerts, often choosing songs with connections to the city in which they are performing, such as Kansas’ “Carry On Wayward Son” in Kansas and Grand Funk’s “We’re an American Band” in Michigan.

Metallica’s 15-song Gillette Stadium performance was delayed by severe weather which forced the crowd to be evacuated from the stadium prior to the show. However, the venue’s curfew was extended to allow the band to play a full set that wrapped up with “One” and “Enter Sandman.”

Metallica’s ’72 Seasons’ 2024 Tour Nears the End

Next weekend, Metallica’s 72 Seasons tour moves to Chicago’s Soldier Field. The tour finds the band playing two completely different sets on two different nights in each city. Their travels are currently set to conclude with a four-show, two-weekend stand in Mexico City this September.

Watch Metallica Perform ‘Sweet Caroline’

Many of rock’s most popular acts will be hitting the road this fall.

In some cases, these tours will represent a last hurrah. Jeff Lynne’s ELO and ‘80s queen Cyndi Lauper will say goodbye to the road following extensive farewell treks in the fall. Aerosmith were going to be in that boat as well, but the band made the tough decision to cancel their Peace Out tour — which was scheduled to resume Sept. 20 — in the wake of singer Steven Tyler‘s continued vocal cord injury.

READ MORE: 46 Farewell Tours: When Rock Stars Said Goodbye

Several notable acts will continue tours this fall that they began earlier in the year. Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, the Doobie Brothers and Bret Michaels are among those stretching already-existing tours into the fall.

Residencies continue to be popular among classic rock fans, and none are more anticipated than the Eagles’ stay at the Sphere in Las Vegas. The group – whose lineup is currently made up of classic members Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit, alongside Glenn Frey’s son Deacon and country star Vince Gill – will appear at the otherworldly Sin City venue beginning in September and running through January 2025.

Several notable acts will join forces during their autumn treks. Among them, Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top continuing their co-headlining ways, plus the reunited Creed taking 3 Doors Down and Mammoth WVH on and extended run.

These artists and more can be found below in our 2024 Fall Tour Preview.

Running for president of the United States of America is no small task, but it can help to have some great music behind you.

For one thing, utilizing a campaign song (or a couple of them) is a way to give voters a sense of what kind of a candidate you are. Do the song’s lyrics emphasize peace? Doggedness? Hope?

Additionally, beyond simply getting approval to use a particular song, it can’t be understated how important the endorsement of a famous musician can turn out to be. If you have, for example, the support of Bruce Springsteen, that’s a whole lot of potential voters who may be more inclined to listen to what you have to say.

Below, we’re taking a look at the campaign music of candidates from across 50 years of American elections. To be clear: this is not an exhaustive list, as candidates typically use a variety of songs during their campaigns, but these are some of the highlights.

Candidate: Robert F. Kennedy (D), 1968
Song: “Omaha Rainbow,” John Stewart

John Stewart, the writer and performer of “Omaha Rainbow,” was a member of the folk group the Kingston Trio. He also wrote a number of songs for other artists, including “Daydream Believer” for the Monkees and “Never Goin’ Back” for the Lovin’ Spoonful. In 1968, Stewart toured the country with Democratic candidate Robert Kennedy, whose campaign would be cut short when he was shot and killed after winning the California primary.

 

Candidate: George McGovern (D), 1972
Song: “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” Simon and Garfunkel

George McGovern may not have been able to secure the presidency, but he was able to do something perhaps even more impressive: bring Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel back together. A one-off reunion occurred on June 14, 1972 at the Together for McGovern benefit concert, produced by the actor Warren Beatty. Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits was released the same day.

 

Candidate: Walter Mondale (D), 1984
Song: “Gonna Fly Now,” Bill Conti

Nothing says motivational like the theme from Rocky, which Democratic candidate Walter Mondale used for his 1984 campaign against the actor-turned-politician Ronald Reagan.

 

Candidate: George H.W. Bush (R), 1988
Song: “This Land Is Your Land,” Woody Guthrie

Few songs have become as synonymous with America as Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.” Though used by Republican candidate George H.W. Bush, this song has roots in what was once considered the “radical left,” a sort of alternative national anthem that advocated for a more inclusive society.

 

Candidate: Michael Dukakis (D), 1988
Song: “America,” Neil Diamond

Running against Bush in 1988 was Democrat Michal Dukakis, who went with the Top 10 1981 hit “America” by Neil Diamond for his campaign. This was a nod to Dukakis’ own roots — his father was a Greek immigrant from Edremit in Turkey, making Dukakis the first ethnic Greek nominated for the presidency by a major party.

 

Candidate: Ross Perot (Independent), 1992
Song: “Crazy,” Willie Nelson

There are many who believe that running for president on any other ticket aside from Democratic or Republican is, well, crazy. Ross Perot did it anyway in 1992 and, surprisingly, polled exceptionally well against the two major party candidates, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush. “There are millions of crazy people in this country,” he said on the last day of campaigning, using Willie Nelson’s “Crazy,” the Patsy Cline version. “And I’ll say tomorrow I bet it’ll be a crazy day at the polls.”

 

Candidate: Bill Clinton (D), 1992
Song: “Don’t Stop,” Fleetwood Mac

Bill Clinton is not just a music fan — he and his wife Hillary Clinton named their daughter Chelsea after the Joni Mitchell song “Chelsea Morning” — he’s a musician himself, albeit an amateur one. He learned to play the saxophone as a kid and he even played it at his 1993 inaugural ball. Also at his inaugural ball, Fleetwood Mac reunited to perform what had become Clinton’s official campaign song, “Don’t Stop.”

 

Candidate: Bob Dole (R), 1996
Song: “Soul Man,” Sam and Dave

When running for president, you should never pass up an opportunity to cleverly insert your own name into a popular song. Republican candidate Bob Dole did this with Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man,” swapping it for “Dole Man.”

 

Candidate: Al Gore (D), 2000
Song(s): “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,” Bachman-Turner Overdrive, “Sir Duke,” Stevie Wonder, “Let the Day Begin,” The Call

Al Gore did not win the presidency in 2000, arguably one of the most controversial elections to take place in America. Gore used a few different songs during his campaign, including the Call’s 1989 minor hit, “Let the Day Begin.” “It was incredibly shocking,” Michael Been of the Call told ABC News then. “It was out of the blue. No one told us anything about it. When I got home [from the recording studio] at four or five in the morning, I had messages on my answering machine from friends. It was a big shock. I don’t know Gore’s motive behind it, but I’m glad they picked it. Any way you can get a song heard by as many people is great by me. I hope he wins; I’m definitely voting for him.”

 

Candidate: George W. Bush (R), 2000 and 2004
Song(s): “I Won’t Back Down,” Tom Petty, “Right Now,” Van Halen

Tom Petty did not appreciate George W. Bush’s use of his song “I Won’t Back Down” during his election campaign in 2000, against Al Gore. So much so that he not only sent a cease and desist letter to Bush’s team, he also performed the song at Gore’s house after he conceded the election, with Gore’s wife Tipper even joining in on percussion.

 

Candidate: John Kerry (D), 2004
Song(s): “No Surrender,” Bruce Springsteen, “Fortunate Son,” Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Beautiful Day,” U2

CCR’s “Fortunate Son” was not written to be a patriotic anthem, but instead an acknowledgment of privilege in America during the Vietnam War — those with friends and family in high places seemed to always be able to avoid being drafted. But John Kerry, future Democratic candidate for president, was not one of those people. He enlisted in the Navy after graduating from Yale and served in South Vietnam, where he was wounded three times and earned three Purple Hearts.

 

Candidate: Rudy Giuliani (R), 2008
Song: “Rudie Can’t Fail,” The Clash

There’s no way to know this for certain, but it seems unlikely that Joe Strummer of the Clash, noted figure of punk rock rebellion, would have supported former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s use of “Rudie Can’t Fail” during his 2008 bid for the presidency. By that time, Strummer had been dead for six years, though, in the end, Giuliani did indeed fail.

 

Candidate: Mike Huckabee (R), 2008
Song: “More Than a Feeling,” Boston

Republican candidate Mick Huckabee, an amateur bassist, took to not just playing the song “More Than a Feeling” at his campaign events, but also sometimes performing it himself with onetime Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau. Tom Scholz, who wrote the song and played every guitar part on its recording, did not take kindly to this, writing a letter to Huckabee that stated, among many other things, the following: “Boston has never endorsed a political candidate, and with all due respect, would not start by endorsing a candidate who is the polar opposite of most everything Boston stands for. In fact, although I’m impressed you learned my bass guitar part on ‘More Than a Feeling,’ I am an Obama supporter.”

 

Candidate: Dennis Kucinich (D), 2008
Song: “Give Peace a Chance,” John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band

A lot of people ran for president in 2008 — one of them was bound to incorporate some John Lennon. Democrat Dennis Kucinich used “Give Peace a Chance,” evidently a favorite topic of his. In 2001 as a member of the House of Representatives, he proposed HR 2459, a bill to establish a Department of Peace.

 

Candidate: Chris Dodd (D), 2008
Song(s): “Get Ready,” The Temptations, “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” The Four Tops

Chris Dodd, the longest-serving senator in Connecticut’s history, didn’t have a super successful run at the presidency in 2008, but he apparently had a penchant for Motown vocal quartets, as he used songs by the Temptations and the Four Tops.

 

Candidate: John Edwards (D), 2008
Song: “Our Country,” John Mellencamp

A significant part of John Edwards (D) 2008 campaign revolved around the plight of middle class Americans, a message that fit nicely with John Mellencamp’s “Our Country.” Mellencamp even performed the song at one of Edwards’ events in November of 2007.

 

Candidate: Hillary Clinton (D), 2008
Song(s): “Takin’ Care of Business,” Bachman-Turner Overdrive, “9 to 5,” Dolly Parton, “American Girl,” Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

At the time that Hillary Clinton announced she would be running for president in 2008, no woman had ever been nominated by a major party, and no first lady had ever run either. Among her song choices: the classic ode to working women “9 to 5″ by Dolly Parton,” the tough-minded “Takin’ Care of Business” by BTO and the all-around red-white-and-blue “American Girl” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

 

Candidate: Cynthia McKinney (Green), 2008
Song: “Power to the People,” John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band

Turns out Dennis Kucinich wasn’t the only one to use a Lennon song in their 2008 campaign. Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney (and first African American woman elected to represent Georgia in the House) went with “Power to the People,” the title of which doubled as her campaign slogan.

 

Candidate: John McCain (R), 2008
Song(s): “Take a Chance on Me,” ABBA, “Our Country,” John Mellencamp

Remember earlier in this list when John Mellencamp let John Edwards use his song “Our Country” and endorsed him? Well, Edwards wasn’t the only one using the song. So too was Republican candidate John McCain, but Mellencamp took this right off the table. “If you’re such a true conservative,” Mellencamp told AP then, “why are you playing songs that have a very populist pro-labor message written by a guy who would find no argument if you characterized him as left of center?” McCain instead went with ‘Take a Chance on Me” by ABBA, whom he was reportedly a “huge” fan of according to his campaign blog.

 

Candidate: Barack Obama (D), 2008 and 2012
Song(s): “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours,” Stevie Wonder, “City of Blinding Lights,” U2, “Higher and Higher,” Jackie Wilson, “Think,” Aretha Franklin, “We Take Care of Our Own,” Bruce Springsteen

If there’s one thing we know about Barack Obama, winner of both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, it’s that he loves music — in recent years he has taken to annually sharing a playlist of his favorite songs. Among his choices during his campaigns were songs by Stevie Wonder, Jackie Wilson, Aretha Franklin and his very own friend, Bruce Springsteen, with whom he would later start a podcast.

 

Candidate: Mitt Romney (R), 2012
Song: “Born Free,” Kid Rock

It was actually 2012 Republican candidate Mitt Romney who reached out to Kid Rock, asking for his support. Rock would not give it until he met personally with Romney to make sure the politician was not “just a rich guy who wanted to become president to out-do [his] dad,” as he told Howard Stern then. “I know what it’s like to want to be better than your father,” he said. “Of course, I’m getting these ‘I really want to help America [answers]’ and I said, ‘Cut the shit, this is my living room; this isn’t going to leave here.'” In the end, Rock’s “Born Free” was used during the campaign.

 

Candidate: John Kasich (R), 2016
Song: “Beautiful Day,” U2

No one said you had to use music by American artists on the campaign trail. John Kasich went with U2, whose singer, an outspoken advocate for many socio-political causes, Kasich had crossed paths with many times. Back in 2000, for instance, he and Bono sat next to one another at the White House as members of Congress met to discuss debt relief.

 

Candidate: Bernie Sanders (D), 2016:
Song(s): “America,” Simon and Garfunkel, “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution,” Tracy Chapman, “Starman,” David Bowie

In addition to Tracy Chapman’s “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution,” you could also hear songs like “The Revolution Starts Now” by Steve Earle and ‘Revolution” by Bob Marley & the Wailers on Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign trail. There was also Simon & Garfunkel’s “America” and David Bowie’s “Starman.”

 

Candidate: Donald Trump (R), 2016
Song: “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” The Rolling Stones

George Bush and John McCain are definitely not the only ones who have run into issues with their musical selections. In 2016, Republican candidate and future winner of the election Donald Trump caught flack for his use of the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” — “The Rolling Stones do not endorse Donald Trump,” they tweeted. (He also occasionally used “Start Me Up.”) Trump was once again told to stop using their music during the 2020 election season.

 

Candidate: Rand Paul (R), 2016
Song: “Revolution,” The Beatles

Sometimes the title says it all. Rand Paul opted to use the Beatles’ “Revolution” during his 2016 campaign, which ended shortly after the Iowa caucus.

 

Candidate: Beto O’Rourke (D), 2020
Song: “Clampdown,” The Clash

Beto O’Rourke chose “Clampdown” by the Clash for his 2020 campaign because they “changed my life,” as he explained to the San Fransisco Chronicle in 2019. “The urgency in that music. Politics in a way I had never experienced before. Joe Strummer — the coolest human being that ever walked the planet.”

 

Candidate: Bernie Sanders (D), 2020
Song(s): “Seven Nation Army,” The White Stripes, “Power to the People,” John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band, “Rockin’ in the Free World,” Neil Young

Bernie Sanders did not win in 2016, so he came back again in 2020, this time with some new music, including songs by the White Stripes, John Lennon and Neil Young. Jack White even performed at one of Sanders’ events in Detroit, a gig that was on a volunteer-basis. “We do not want an artist on our stage that isn’t sympathetic to the senator and the Bernie 2020 campaign,” Caleb Wilson, national director of talent outreach for the campaign told Rolling Stone. “For that reason alone, that’s why we’re not offering paydays.”

 

Candidate: Joe Biden (D), 2020
Song(s): “We Take Care of Our Own,” Bruce Springsteen, “Higher and Higher,” Jackie Wilson, “We the People,” The Staple Singers

Bruce Springsteen saw things in 2020 candidate Joe Biden that he recognized in himself: a blue-collar background and a strong belief in American labor unions. In October 2020, Springsteen shared a video on his social media showing Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania. “This is more than where he’s from,” he said. “This is who he’s for.”

 

Candidate: Elizabeth Warren (D), 2020
Song(s): “9 to 5,” Dolly Parton, “Respect,” Aretha Franklin

There is something about Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” that makes a lot of people want to get up and dance, and Elizabeth Warren is one of them. She could be seen shimmying to the song during her 2020 bid for the presidency.

 

Candidate: Jay Inslee (D), 2020
Song: “Mr. Blue Sky,” Electric Light Orchestra

When Democrat Jay Inslee announced he would be running fr president, he noted that he would be focusing intensely on climate change. That might explain why he then selected ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky” for his campaign.

 

Candidate: Donald Trump (R), 2020
Song: “Y.M.C.A.,” Village People

We’re not quite done with cease-and-desist letters on this list. Donald Trump received one from Village People in 2020. At first, singer and co-founder Victor Willis tolerated his use of “Y.M.C.A.” since it was “not being used for a specific endorsement.” But then Trump also started using “Macho Man,” and that prompted legal action from the band. “Sorry,” Willis said, “but I can no longer look the other way.”

 

Candidate: Donald Trump (R), 2024
Song(s): “Hold On, I’m Comin,'” Sam and Dave

Regardless of which side of the political spectrum you fall on, it’s probably a good idea to consider the lyrics and title of a song before using it at an official event. Donald Trump was criticized for using Sam & Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Comin'” at a National Rifle Association rally in Houston in May of 2022, three days after 19 children and two teachers were murdered at a school in Uvalde, Texas. Following the incident, it was revealed that law enforcement waited outside the building for over an hour before finally apprehending the perpetrator. The estate of Isaac Hayes, who wrote the song, stated that they did not approve and “would never approve” its use by Trump at such an event.

 

Candidate: Nikki Haley (R), 2024
Song(s): “Eye of the Tiger,” Survivor, “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, “We Got the Beat,” The Go-Go’s

Nikki Haley, the first Indian American to serve in a presidential cabinet, plus the first woman to win a Republican Party presidential primary contest, appreciates rule breakers like Joan Jett, whose song “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” she used during her 2024 campaign. “Let me tell you: Joan Jett was one of the first true rockers, and the industry didn’t like how she looked or how she dressed,” she wrote on social media. “But she never gave up. She was a total badass. That’s a great lesson for everyone.”

 

Candidate: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Independent), 2024
Song: “Real American,” Rick Derringer

We’ve come full circle. This list began with Robert F. Kennedy Sr. and ends with his son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. His choice for his 2024 campaign: Rick Derringer’s “Real American.”

News of Aerosmith‘s retirement from touring reverberated throughout the music world, with several of their peers and acolytes quickly chiming in to pay their respects to the rock ‘n’ roll titans.

The Boston legends dominated the stage for more than half a century before they officially called it quits in August 2024, scrapping the rescheduled dates of their Peace Out farewell tour on account of Steven Tyler‘s vocal injury, which forced the band off the road in September 2023 after just three dates of their initial trek.

With their signature sleazy, blues-rock boogie and Tyler’s one-of-a-kind scream, Aerosmith set the standard for countless hard rock bands throughout the ’70s and ’80s. One of their most obvious disciples was Guns N’ Roses, whose guitarist, Slash, paid tribute to them on Instagram.

“Just wanted to take a moment to thank Aerosmith for everything. Without this band, none of this would have been possible,” Slash wrote along with a clip of Aerosmith playing “Train Kept A Rollin'” on The Midnight Special in 1974.

Guns N’ Roses alum and L.A. Guns guitarist Tracii Guns also spared kind words for Aerosmith on social media. “I love you Aerosmith,” he wrote. “Thank you for letting me jam to your records when I was a teenager all the way through till current day. Thanks for the education and memories.”

READ MORE: Revisiting Aerosmith’s Final Concert

The Black Crowes, who were slated to support Aerosmith on their Peace Out tour, also shared their condolences and their admiration for the band. “We are shocked and saddened by this news from earlier today,” they wrote. “Nothing but love and respect to our friends in Aerosmith. Heartfelt thanks for all of the incredible memories.” They also noted that they would continue touring this fall in support of their new album Happiness Bastards.

Another lengthy and heartfelt tribute came from Queen guitarist Brian May. “This has brought a tear to my eye,” May wrote on Instagram. “Aerosmith have been a huge part of my life, as they have been for millions of other rock fans. Steve Tyler stands as one the greatest vocalists and frontmen of all time — and it’s heartbreaking that his extraordinary voice has been so damaged. We all send our love and prayers for your recovery, Steve. It’s also typical of the pure class of the band that they have made and broadcast this bold decision in such style. The career of Aerosmith is truly something to celebrate forever. All things must pass — but the inspiring work of Aerosmith will live on — along with the memories of truly one of the most awesome bands to ever hit a stage.”

Sammy Hagar took things one step further on Friday during his Best of All Worlds tour stop in Clarkston, Michigan. The Red Rocker covered the Beatles‘ “Helter Skelter” in a nod to Aerosmith, as they and Hagar’s Montrose both covered the song during their first shared gig back in 1974.

“Honest to God, my hat goes off to one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll singers of all time, Steven Tyler, for saying, ‘I can’t sing anymore. I quit.’ Fuck yes!” Hagar exclaimed. “Listen, that’s honorable. That’s fuckin’ honorable. The day I can’t sing anymore I will fuckin’ do the same thing, and that’s what a lot of other motherfuckers should have done a long time ago. So let’s do one for them. Let’s do one for Aerosmith.”

You can see these and more tributes to Aerosmith below.

Journey tweaked their North American summer stadium tour set list on Friday, playing the Top 5 hit “Who’s Crying Now” for the first time since their trek with Def Leppard launched nearly a month ago.

You can watch the performance below.

The set list shakeup took place at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, where Journey’s 18-song set also included a rendition of “O Canada.”

According to setlist.fm, “Who’s Crying Now” ranks among Journey’s top 20 most-played songs in concert — and for good reason. The Escape single reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their first Top 10 hit and their second-highest-charting single ever, behind “Open Arms” (No. 2).

READ MORE: Top 10 Songs Journey Hasn’t Played Yet in 2024

Journey Keeps Playing Amid Ongoing Schon-Cain Legal Drama

Journey’s massive co-headlining tour keeps on running across North America even as the protracted legal battle between Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon heats up again. This week, Cain filed a lawsuit against Schon for overspending — echoing his 2023 complaint — alleging the guitarist maxed out an American Express account with a $1 million limit and exceeded a daily hotel fee cap of $1,500, spending “up to $10,000 per night.”

Cain’s lawyers claimed that these “unforeseen strains on cash flow” now “pose a severe threat of harm to the company and to Journey’s storied history of musical greatness.” The court filing further claims that the ongoing schism is “impacting the band’s reputation throughout the music industry. The band’s actual onstage performance is, at the moment, one of the only aspects of the business that has not suffered.”

Journey’s tour continues on Aug. 5 in Boston and will extend through early September.

Watch Journey Play ‘Who’s Crying Now’ in Toronto on 8/2/24

Sammy Hagar paid tribute to the retiring Aerosmith with a Beatles song on Friday night during his The Best of All Worlds Tour stop in suburban Detroit. And he had a very personal reason for that particular choice.

Coming back for the encore at the Pine Knob Music Theatre, Hagar first told the crowd that, “We had some crazy news today. We got here this afternoon sometime and we’re all sitting around backstage and a friend of ours that works for Aerosmith came and said, ‘Yeah, Aerosmith called retirement today. They quit. They stopped. God bless ’em; it’s a horrible thing. What a great fuckin’ loss.”

Hagar then explained that his band Montrose had opened for Aerosmith during 1974 (he mistakenly said 1973) at Detroit’s famed Cobo Arena. “We didn’t know who they were and they sold out Cobo Hall and I’m going, ‘Who the fuck are these guys?'” Hagar recalled. “So we did our show. We did an encore and we played (the Beatles’) ‘Helter Skelter’ for our encore and Aerosmith comes on and they open with ‘Helter Skelter.’ Steven (Tyler) and I have been friends ever since.

Read More: Revisiting Aerosmith’s Final Concert

“Long story short, we love those guys. We all grew up with those guys — you grew up with them, we grew up with them. Mike (Anthony) and I, y’know, they’ve been our competitors to Van Halen for fuckin’ 10 years, us saying ‘Fuck those guys!’ — no, no, we really like ’em. It’s just that we were mad at them. What a shame. It’s a sad thing.”

Sammy Hagar Agrees With Aerosmith’s Decision to Retire

But, Hagar added, it was the right decision. “Honest to God, my hat goes off to one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll singers of all time, Steven Tyler, for saying, ‘I can’t sing anymore. I quit.’ Fuck yes! Listen, that’s honorable. That’s fuckin’ honorable. The day I can’t sing anymore I will fuckin’ do the same thing, and that’s what a lot of other motherfuckers should have done a long time ago. So let’s do one for them. Let’s do one for Aerosmith.”

Hagar and company then performed a throat-shredding version of “Helter Skelter” in place of the usual first encore, Montrose’s “Space Station #5,” following with Chickenfoot‘s “Big Foot” and the Van Halen hits “Jump” and “When It’s Love.”

Aerosmith had already postponed its Peace Out farewell tour last September, after just three shows, due to a reported vocal injury for Tyler. The trek was supposed to resume Sept. 20 in Pittsburgh, with dates announced through February. The group announced its cancelation and its retirement from touring, telling fans that, “It has been the honor of our lives to have our music become part of yours. In every club, on every massive tour and at moment’s grand and private you have given us a place in the soundtrack of your lives.”

Sammy Hagar Talks About the First Time He Met Aerosmith

Watch Sammy Hagar Perform ‘Helter Skelter’

When Aerosmith walked off the stage at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York on Sept. 9, 2023, they had no idea their touring life had just come to an end.

The band had only just launched their Peace Out farewell tour, a goodbye trek which started a week earlier on Sept. 2 in Philadelphia. That night’s performance was roundly praised, with many observers noting how strong the group sounded. A second show, Sept. 6 in Pittsburgh, offered more of the same, further building the excitement surrounding Aerosmith’s tour.

The New York show started much like the others – a video history of the band played on the big screens before Steven Tyler and company emerged from underneath the stage and launched into their opening number, “Back in the Saddle.”

Watch Aerosmith Play ‘Back in the Saddle’ at Their Final Concert

The second song of the night was a cover, as Aerosmith delivered their version of the Rufus Thomas song “Walking the Dog” for the first time on the tour (they originally covered the track on their 1977 LP Draw the Line).

READ MORE: How Aerosmith Began to Fall Apart With ‘Draw the Line’

The hits would keep on coming from there. The soaring power of “Livin’ on the Edge” gave way to the gradual build of “Janie’s Got a Gun.” Power ballads such as “Cryin’” and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” were sprinkled through the night, offering a change of pace from more raucous tunes like “Love in an Elevator” and “Sweet Emotion.”

Watch Aerosmith Perform ‘Love in an Elevator’ During Their Final Concert

How Did Aerosmith’s Final Concert End?

After briefly exiting the stage following their sixteenth song of the night, “Toys in the Attic,” Aerosmith returned for an encore. The band rocked through renditions of two of their biggest hits, “Dream On” and “Walk This Way,” the latter of which featured a piece of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” mixed in for good measure.

As fate would have it, the final song of the night wasn’t even an Aerosmith track. The group performed “Happy Birthday to You” and brought out a giant chocolate cake to celebrate guitarist Joe Perry, whose 73rd birthday was the following day.

Watch Aerosmith Perform ‘Dream On’ at Their Final Concert

At the time, Aerosmtih seemed poised for further triumphs throughout their Peace Out tour, yet something happened during the show at UBS Arena. Though it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when, Tyler’s voice was seriously injured during the set. Two days later, he’d announce to the world that he’d “sustained vocal cord damage” which “led to subsequent bleeding.” Tyler was initially told to rest for 30 days, but when his voice still hadn’t healed, the entire farewell tour was pushed into 2024.

Since that Sept. 9 show, Tyler and his medical team have worked tirelessly to get one of the most distinctive voices in rock history back in shape. For a long time, it seemed like the injury would simply be a bump in the road, a footnote in the tale of Aerosmith’s grand farewell. A surprise appearance at a Black Crowes concert in May marked Tyler’s return to the stage, and rescheduled tour dates gave fans everywhere the impression that Aerosmith was ready to rock once more.

READ MORE: Watch Steven Tyler’s First Performance Since Vocal Cord Damage

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. On Aug. 2, 2024 – roughly six weeks before they were scheduled to return to touring – Aerosmith announced they would retire from the road for good.

“Steven’s voice is an instrument like no other,” the band noted in their message to fans. “We’ve seen him struggling despite having the best medical team by his side. Sadly, it is clear that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible. We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision — as a band of brothers — to retire from the touring stage.”

The announcement brought to a close Aerosmith’s powerful history of performances spanning more than 50 years. Still, though the Bad Boys from Boston may not have ended things in the way they’d hoped, their sudden retirement did nothing to dampen a legacy which remains eternal.

Aerosmith has announced their retirement from the road and scrapped the rescheduled dates of their Peace Out farewell tour.

The band broke the news on Friday afternoon in an emotional statement. “It was 1970 when a spark of inspiration became Aerosmith,” they wrote. “Thanks to you, our Blue Army, that spark caught flame and has been burning for over five decades. Some of you have been with us since the beginning and all of you are the reason we made rock ‘n’ roll history.

“It has been the honor of our lives to have our music become part of yours,” they continued. “In every club, on every massive tour and at moments grand and private you have given us a place in the soundtrack of your lives.”

They then addressed the primary cause for their retirement from the road: Steven Tyler‘s vocal injury, which forced them to initially postpone their farewell tour after just three dates in September 2023. They were scheduled to resume the tour on Sept. 20 and stay on the road through late February.

“We’ve always wanted to blow your mind when performing. As you know, Steven’s voice is an instrument like no other. He has spent months tirelessly working on getting his voice to where it was before his injury. We’ve seen him struggling despite having the best medical team by his side. Sadly, it is clear that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible. We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision — as a band of brothers — to retire from the touring stage.

“We are grateful beyond words for everyone who was pumped to get on the road with us one last time,” they concluded. “Grateful to our expert crew, our incredible team and the thousands of talented people who’ve made our historic runs possible. A final thank you to you — the best fans on planet Earth. Play our music loud, now and always. Dream On. You’ve made our dreams come true.”

The band also noted that tickets purchased through Ticketmaster will be automatically refunded. All other refunds will be available at point of purchase.

READ MORE: Aerosmith Live Albums Ranked

What’s Next for Aerosmith?

It’s unclear what, if anything, Aerosmith has planned next. The band has not released an album since 2012’s Music From Another Dimension!, but guitarist Joe Perry recently told Rock Candy magazine that new music was “definitely a possibility, but at the minute we’re looking at the set for the tour and the songs we can play. He added: “We’re also remixing some of the early stuff and finding some interesting outtakes, so it’ll be fun to look at that stuff.”

Perry also expressed his gratitude for every opportunity to play at this stage — comments that sound especially prescient in light of Aerosmith’s retirement from the road. “The issue with Steven shows you that freak things can happen,” he said. “You just don’t know, so that’s why every night that I go on, I play like it’s the last show.”

Dave Mustaine has played his share of challenging gigs with Megadeth. But it was the closing night of the historic Big 4 tour — Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax at Yankee Stadium in September 2011 — that found the metal frontman in a serious bind.

“My neck was getting ready to stop working,” he tells UCR, remembering the gravity of what he was facing that day. “The show must go on,” he adds. In the conversation below, Mustaine details how he was able to soldier onward and step onstage in front of 41,000 people to finish the tour. 

Megadeth is back on the road on Aug. 2 for the Destroy All Enemies tour. Mustain discussed the new trek, the band’s latest album, The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!, and his love of Sammy Hagar and Judas Priest.

You’ve already been doing some shows this summer overseas. “Kick the Chair” is back in the set for the first time in 15 years. What made you think of that song?
It’s one of the heaviest songs on [The System Has Failed]. Somebody mentioned it and with James [LoMenzo], Dirk [Verbeuren] and Teemu [Mantysaari] playing now … you know we [previously] had limitations on the songs we could put into our set, because of the use and video and the reluctance of any of us to learn any new songs — and also, my limitations on my voice after I had my neck fused together and a plate put in my vocal box area.

READ MORE: Megadeth Albums Ranked

How has that changed things for you when it comes to writing new music and playing shows?
That’s changed a lot of stuff, because my voice has been limited because of trying to save my ability to walk. They fused my neck together, because I’d gone to a chiropractor and he had adjusted me while he was angry at something and broke a bone in my neck. So the guy broke my neck and I lived with it for a few years in agonizing pain. I finally got an X-ray and they said, “You need to get you neck fixed now.” That was right before the Big 4 show at Yankee Stadium. The day before the concert, I was in the hospital. The day of the concert, I had flown out right before it and was on so much anti-inflammatory steroidal medicine so I could walk. Because my neck was getting ready to stop working. [But] I went out and played and we had all kinds of tape all over the stage [that said], “Do not headbang.”

You’ve been doing this cool series of videos for the latest album, starting with “We’ll Be Back,” with a whole storyline. I wondered how the concept came about.
There’s five of them, and we were actually talking recently as this campaign winds down for [the current album] about doing a sixth video as a climax to the story, so that when we do our next record, we can start fresh again. [Similar] to guitar playing, now all of the good chords are taken, because there’s so many guitar players. The video directing and producing world, there are so many people now with the advent of photos and videos on everyone’s cellphone. Everybody’s a videographer. Everyone, everyone is a photographer. So how do you put this all together nowadays? I mean, you let ‘em fight it out and the best man wins.

Watch Megadeth’s ‘We’ll Be Back’ Video

You mentioned guitar playing. I spoke with Bruce Kulick recently, and he was talking about the interesting things he learns about his own songs from the fans. I wondered if you’ve had any similar experiences?
There was only one time ever that a fan showed me one of my songs. He played it the same way I played it. But it was not in the premise of somebody showing me an easier way to play my songs. He had said he knew one of my songs and I said, “No, you don’t.” It was the beginning of “Lucretia,” which is very difficult. He goes, “Yeah, I do.” He picked up my guitar, which made me mad in the first place, and then he played “Lucretia.” I went, “Damn, he’s got it. That began a 25-year friendship, and he’s still working with me today. You never know how these business things turn into friendships. I don’t like friendships that turn into business. That never works. When it’s a business that turns into friendship, even that is risky. But yeah, we’ve been together now for 25 years. Probably more.

There are a couple of epics on the latest album. You’ve certainly had plenty of experience in the past, but I wondered what your approach is when it comes to putting them together. 
I think my approach towards some of those more dramatic songs, it’s just like a bull being led by the nose. The song takes me where it wants to go. I have a general idea, because of the vibrations of the songs. There’s a lot of truth to be said about energy, electricity, light and sound. When we start playing, you know when it feels good. It just feels good. Some of the songs, as they progress, they need something very mysterious as a beginning and something very dramatic as an ending, such as “Poisonous Shadows” [from 2016’s Dystopia]. That was a song that for me was a really fun undertaking. Because it was pretty dramatic, pretty classical. You know, Kiko [Loureiro] had a part in that too, so that was fun.

How did Ice-T come to mind for “Night Stalkers”? I know he’s someone you’ve known for a long time.
Ice-T and I have been friends for years, going back to the Rust in Peace days. We used to go out onstage to his intro tape, which he loved. One time, I did an interview and they said, “Name your top three records” and I said, “Ice-T, Ice-T, Ice-T.” He got wind of that too, and he was super excited. We became friends. I loved the fact that he was [in the Army — prior to his own musical career, Ice-T was a squad leader in the 25th Infantry Division for several years in the late ‘70s]. I thought that was badass. Especially when I was a kid, to see special ops guys before they were super popular, I always liked that stuff. It goes back to watching John Wayne in The Green Berets movie. That’s when I started to really fall in love with the special ops guys, the Green Berets. I was also starting to watch other Army flicks at the time. I mean, I was not a big fan of stuff like M*A*S*H*, although I watched that — but it was for different reasons. It was for comedy, not military stuff.

READ MORE: Hear Megadeth Recruit Ice-T For Blistering ‘Night Stalkers’

This tour with Mudvayne and All That Remains seems like it’s going to be a lot of fun.
We tried to be a little bit open to what the fans are going to want to be listening to and make it a fun night for everybody. I’m hoping that all of [the bands] become close as quick as possible. You know, you usually become friends on tours, but it takes a little while. But I’m hoping we can spend some time together. We did a couple of tours a long time ago where on days off, we’d go and do charity softball games in minor league baseball stadiums. We did that back in the Gigantour days. Stuff like that is really cool. There’s days off and there’s a couple of times when we have a couple of days off. So it’s really, really smart as celebrities, when we go into a town, to do something for that town in the form of charity. Go bowling, go play softball or whatever.

But [we like to] bring the fans in on it and do something for the local food banks. When we did Youthanasia, we did a food drive, and anybody who brought 10 pounds of canned, non-perishable food would get an after-show pass. We only had about 200 passes for each night. It was a brutal undertaking, but we’d raise 2,000 pounds — a ton — of food each night in 13 cities. The sad thing about it was that we only got thanked by the city of Chicago. The city of Phoenix, where I lived, they said something kind of nice, but it wasn’t a thank-you. It just shows with all of the bureaucratic shit that goes on in our cities … how could somebody not know that a metal band comes into their city and drops off 2,000 pounds of food for your city’s homeless people? How could you not know that? But it didn’t keep us from wanting to help our fellow man, because at the end of the day, I was homeless and I remember that. I’ll never lose sight of that.

Listen to Megadeth and Sammy Hagar’s Version of ‘This Planet’s on Fire (Burn in Hell)’

One of the bonus cuts on the latest album is a version of “This Planet’s on Fire” with Sammy Hagar. Tell me about working with Sammy.
Well, Sammy is a musician that I’ve been a fan of for a very long time, ever since the Montrose days. We’re talking 45 years ago, when I first heard Montrose. I was really excited when he did his solo career and I got the album Street Machine that had “This Planet’s on Fire” on it. You know, when you’re used to a certain type of music from people, you don’t expect stuff like that. That was just a burner. It was an amazing song. That beginning riff was very much like [Rush‘s] “The Spirit of Radio” or AC/DC parts. I don’t know where Sammy got that idea from, but it was a really cool part that was very popular with the greatest guitar players at that time. I think because Sammy’s been so successful and he’s so content in his life, he’s very off-the-cuff. The way he would talk to me was really refreshing and fun. It was like he was an older brother,  and I really mean that in every sense of the word. Because he would talk to me and I would feel really good. It’s kind of like being pinched by your sister or your mom or something — annoying, but there was this dialogue between us that I wished I had growing up, that kind of banter with an older brother. But fuck, let’s move on to the singing. Man, Sammy is one of the greatest rock voices ever. Who else sings like Sammy? Nazareth’s singer …

Dan McCafferty.

… Maybe [some of the] brilliant moments from Axl [Rose]. But there’s not a lot of guys that sing like that. Chris Cornell has some of those moments, of that super distorted voice.

Another thing Megadeth did in 2022 is a version of “Delivering the Goods” by Judas Priest that’s crushing.
Thanks. We sped it up a little bit. We just kind of felt that out of homage to Glenn [Tipton] and the boys in Judas Priest. I’m a huge fan of their guitar playing, Glenn and K.K. [Downing]. Those were my heroes. “Victim of Changes” was one of the first songs that really knocked me on my ass. I can’t even begin to express how much that song made an impression on me. “The Ripper” was great too. It was, by far, one of the greatest songs I’d ever heard. But “Victim of Changes” was like nothing I’d ever heard before. The drama, the builds, the singing, the guitar parts. There’s that incredible intro with the guitar part starting so far off in the background.

The funny thing too, Matt: I was looking at their amps when we traveled with them on the Painkiller tour. They had these guitar racks that had — with all due respect to the beloved Priest — they had some really old, really cheap gear. It was the stuff I was using on Peace Sells. Rocktrons and stuff like that, which were great effects, but I didn’t think that they would be using that. Because it’s kind of like an economical device to get chorus and delay on guitar. It totally made sense now why their sound was so appealing to me, because I had that sound for so long with the first two records. I think I’d moved away from the Rocktrons on the third record, but I know for sure that I had it on the first two.

Listen to Megadeth’s Version of ‘Delivering the Goods’