Classic Rock 93.9

Mark Lanegan, frontman for Screaming Trees and various other projects, has died. He was 57.

A statement posted to Lanegan’s Twitter reads, “Our beloved friend Mark Lanegan passed away this morning at his home in Killarney, Ireland.”

“A beloved singer, songwriter, author and musician he was 57 and is survived by his wife Shelley,” the post continues. “No other information is available at this time. We ask please respect the family privacy.”

Lanegan co-founded Screaming Trees in the mid-’80s in Washington State, and helped pioneer the coming grunge explosion of the ’90s. The band released seven albums and earned hit rock radio singles with “Nearly Lost You” and “All I Know” before breaking up in 2000.

In between Screaming Trees activity, Lanegan began a solo career, and in the 2000s, he began collaborating with Queens of the Stone Age, guesting on their albums Rated R, Songs for the Deaf and Lullabies to Paralyze. Lanegan also frequently worked with Greg Dulli of The Afghan Whigs, and in 2008, they released Saturnalia, their first and only album as The Gutter Twins.

Lanegan released a total of 12 solo albums, the most recent of which being 2020’s Straight Songs of Sorrow. He also released three records with Scottish singer-songwriter Isobel Campbell.

Late last year, Lanegan released a memoir called Devil in a Coma, which detailed his “terrifying” battle with COVID-19.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Mammoth WVH brought some grunge to the Young Guns tour with a cover of Alice in Chains.

During the outing’s stop in Salt Lake City on Monday, Wolfgang Van Halen and company brought out a rendition of the Dirt opener “Them Bones.” Mammoth’s version stayed pretty close to the original, with Wolf and guitarist Jon Jourdan recreating the Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell harmonies.

You can watch fan-shot footage of the cover streaming now on YouTube.

The Young Guns tour, which also features Dirty Honey, launched over the weekend in Denver. In addition to the Alice cover, Mammoth’s also debuted a new song called “I Don’t Know It All” at the trek’s first shows.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Gary Brooker, the lead singer, pianist and main songwriter for the veteran British band Procol Harum, died Saturday, February 19, at the age of 76.

A post on Procol Harum’s website reports that Brooker had been receiving treatment for cancer and passed away at his home. The tribute describes Gary as “a brightly-shining, irreplaceable light in the music industry.”

Brooker co-wrote the vast majority of Procol Harum’s songs, mainly with lyricist Keith Reid, including the band’s signature tune, “A Whiter Shade of Pale.”

Released in 1967, “A Whiter Shade of Pale” was considered one of the anthems of the Summer of Love, peaking at #1 on the U.K. chart and reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune has become one of the most successful singles in history, selling over 10 million copies worldwide.

Procol Harum’s only other major U.S. hit was a 1972 live rendition of the band’s 1967 tune “Conquistador” that was recorded with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and reached #16 on the Hot 100.

Procol Harum was active from 1967 to 1977, and then from 1991 to the present, with Brooker being the band’s only consistent member.

Outside of Procol Harum, Gary also played in Eric Clapton‘s touring band, with Bill Wyman‘s Rhythm Kings and in Ringo Starr‘s All-Starr Band.  He also released a number of solo albums and contributed to various other artists records, including George Harrison‘s All Things Must Pass, Somewhere in England and Gone Troppo, and Clapton’s Another Ticket.

In 2003, Brooker was recognized as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his charitable services.

Procol Harum’s final album, Novum, was released in 2017.

Gary is survived by his wife of 53 years, Franky. Donations in his name can be made to Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

After a false start two years ago, The Smashing Pumpkins are bringing back the Rock Invasion 2 tour.

The outing will kick off May 2 in San Antonio, Texas, and will wrap up May 28 in Columbus, Ohio. Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 25, at 10 a.m. local time.

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit SmashingPumpkins.com.

The Pumpkins originally announced the Rock Invasion 2 tour, conceived as a sequel to the band’s 1993-94 Rock Invasion tour, for the spring of 2020. The outing was eventually canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since then, Billy Corgan and company released a new, double album, 2020’s Cyr.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Eddie Vedder‘s all-star solo band got even more firepower when Duff McKagan joined the Pearl Jam frontman onstage during his show in Seattle on Monday.

The Guns N’ Roses bassist joined Vedder and his Earthlings for a rocking cover of The Pretenders‘ “Precious.” Fan-shot footage of the performance is streaming now on YouTube.

The Earthlings, named after Vedder’s new solo album, include Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, ex-RHCP guitarist and current Pearl Jam touring member Josh Klinghoffer, Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney, singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, and guitarist and producer Andrew Watt.

In related news, McKagan’s daughter Grace has released a new song called “Baby That’s Rock N Roll.” It follows her 2021 single, “One You Love.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Rolling Stones haven’t announced any official plans for 2022, but in a new post on his social media pages, Mick Jagger hinted that the band might be getting back to work soon, we assume either touring or recording new music.

Jagger posted a series of photos of him vacationing in Jamaica, along with a note that reads, “A little downtime before things get busy!” The pics show Mick holding an acoustic guitar with the ocean behind him, looking at some fresh produce at an outdoor market, standing in front of a wall painting, and playfully knocking on the door of the Roof Night Club in Port Antonio, Jamaica.

The Rolling Stones wrapped up a U.S. leg of their No Filter Tour in November of last year, and the band is widely expected to continue touring this year at some point. The Stones also have been working on songs for a new studio album over the last couple of years, although no official release details for the project have been announced.

In other Stones news, guitarist Keith Richards has posted a video of him “unboxing” the upcoming deluxe 30th anniversary reissue of his 1992 sophomore solo album, Main Offender, on his social media pages.

The minute-long clip shows Richards flipping through the pages of the booklet included in the box set, which he calls “incredible.”

“What am I seeing? I’m seeing some of the greatest friends I’ve ever had, you know,” Keith comments as he checks out photos of his collaborators on the album. “Waddy Wachtel, Steve Jordan, Ivan Neville, Charley Drayton, Sarah Dash, Babi Floyd…Bobby Keys…It don’t get no better than that.”

He adds, “I love to work with these guys. Always have. It’s all love.”

The Main Offender reissue is due out March 18.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Who will play a special acoustic show on March 25 at London’s famed Royal Albert Hall as part of the 2022 edition of the annual series of benefit concert for the Teenage Cancer Trust that singer Roger Daltrey helps organize.

The event will mark the band’s first concert since February 2020, and will take place a month before the recently announced The Who Hits Back! tour of North America kicks off.

The acoustic show will feature Daltrey and Who guitarist Pete Townshend accompanied by two members of The Who’s touring band — guitarist/backup singer Simon Townshend and backing vocalist Billy Nicholls — as well as by bassist Phil Spalding, percussionist Jodie Linscott, keyboardist Geraint Watkins, violinist Charlie Hart and accordion player Andy Cutting.

The concert will feature a mix of Who classics, rarities and fan favorites. The show’s opening act will be The Wild Things, a British rock group whose upcoming album is being produced by Pete Townshend.

The 2022 Teenage Cancer Trust Concerts will run from March 21 through March 27. This year’s other headlining acts include Yungblud on March 23, Madness on March 24, Liam Gallagher on March 26 and Ed Sheeran on March 27. The event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My wonderful team and I have pulled out all the stops to make this 20th series of shows for Teenage Cancer Trust the best ever,” Daltrey says. “The Who will be back on stage this year at the Hall alongside some wonderful talent. After the last two unbelievably difficult years, young people with cancer deserve everything we can do for them.”

Tickets for the shows go on sale to the general public on Friday, February 25, at 9 a.m. local time at RoyalAlbertHall.com.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones is one of more than 20 musicians from seven different countries featured in a video performing a new version of the blues song “When the Levee Breaks.” It premiered this weekend at PlayingforChange.com and on the Playing for Change YouTube channel.

“When the Levee Breaks,” a song written about about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, was originally recorded by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929. Led Zeppelin’s reworked version of the tune appears on the band’s 1971 album, Led Zeppelin IV.

The video, which features various musicians and singers performing their parts in different locations around the world, also includes Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins and ex-Allman Brothers Band guitarist Derek Trucks, as well as Trucks’ wife and current band mate Susan Tedeschi on vocals, Robbie Robertson‘s son Sebastian on guitar, singer/songwriter Ben Lee on harmonica, and many others.

The clip also includes footage such natural disasters as flooding and drought.

“It seems that little has changed since 1927, or even 2005 with [Hurricane] Katrina,” Jones says in a statement regarding “When the Levee Breaks.” “It’s still a really powerful track, both musically and lyrically.”

Those who view the video are encouraged to donate money to the Playing for Change Foundation to aid its efforts raise awareness about and support organizations focused on various environmental issues.

The new recording and video of “When the Levee Breaks” is the latest in a series of covers of famous songs by international musicians that have been put together by  Playing for Change organization, which connects people around the world through music.

The “When the Levee Breaks” video originally premiered in December 2021 as part of the Peace Through Music: A Global Event for the Environment virtual benefit event.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Edgar Winter has released a second advance single from his upcoming album project, Brother Johnny: An All-Star Tribute to Johnny Winter: a rendition of his late older sibling’s 1968 song “Mean Town Blues.”

Edgar’s version of the driving blues-rock gem, which is available to stream now, also features acclaimed contemporary blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa, drummer Gregg Bissonette of Ringo Starr‘s All Starr Band, and longtime John Mayer bassist Sean Hurley.

“Johnny’s most highly respected authenticity was as a blues man, particularly his style of slide guitar, and if there’s one song that best epitomizes and brings all those elements together to represent the many aspects of who Johnny was in the early days, it is ‘Mean Town Blues,'” Edgar writes in the liner notes for Brother Johnny. “Every time I hear it I think, ‘Now that’s Real Johnny Winter.’ It just captures the essence of everything he was.”

As previously reported, Brother Johnny, which Edgar organized as a tribute to his brother, blues-rock guitar great Johnny Winter, will be released on April 15. The album features contributions from an impressive list of guest musicians, including Starr, Joe Walsh, ZZ Top‘s Billy Gibbons, Michael McDonald and John McFee of The Doobie Brothers, ex-Allman Brothers Band members Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, Foo Fighters‘ Taylor Hawkins, Toto‘s Steve Lukather, and many others.

The 17-track collection, which was curated by Edgar and producer Ross Hogarth, was put together to present Johnny’s artistic evolution. In addition to featuring various covers and renditions of songs by Johnny, it also includes two new originals by Edgar.

The album’s lead single, which was released in January, is a cover of the Chuck Berry classic “Johnny B.Goode” that features Edgar and Walsh sharing lead vocals.

Johnny Winter died in 2014 at age 70.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Scorpions have released another advance track from their their forthcoming studio album, Rock Believer, which is due out next Friday, February 25.

The new tune, titled “Shining of Your Soul,” is available via digital formats now, and is one of the few love songs on Rock Believer. Scorpions frontman Klaus Meine, who wrote the lyrics for the track, says it’s about the intensely passionate attraction that one person can sometimes feel for another.

Meine notes that “Shining of Your Soul” is about that emotion you may experience “[w]hen someone enters the room and you sense an aura that makes everything else fade into the background. When the atmosphere changes inexplicably, and one is enveloped in a warm glow. The shining of a soul.”

Musically, the song features verses that offer up a taste of reggae, while the choruses burst forth with the German rockers’ trademark melodic metal sound.

“Shining of Your Soul” is the fourth advance track from Rock Believer that the Scorpions have released, following “Peace Maker,” the album’s title track and “Seventh Sun.”

You can pre-order Rock Believer now.

As previously reported, The Scorpions will kick off their 2022 tour in support of the Rock Believer album with a nine-date Las Vegas residency at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood, running from March 26 to April 16. Visit The-Scorpions.com for more info.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.