Classic Rock 93.9

Billy Idol is reissuing three of his classic albums on vinyl. The rocker is set to release new vinyl re-pressings of 1990’s Charmed Life, 1986’s Whiplash Smile and the 1981 EP Don’t Stop on Aug. 15.

Charmed Life, which featured his hit song “Cradle of Love” and a cover of The Doors’ “L.A. Woman,” will be released as a two-LP set for the first time. In addition to the standard black vinyl, it will be released on limited-edition lavender vinyl.

To coincide with the announcement, Idol has shared an HD remastered version of the video for the Charmed Life track “Prodigal Blues.”

Meanwhile, Whiplash Smile, featuring the top-40 hits “To Be a Lover,” “Don’t Need a Gun” and “Sweet Sixteen,” will be released on standard black vinyl and limited-edition opaque tangerine vinyl.

Finally, Don’t Stop, Idol’s debut solo EP following the breakup of his band Generation X, features Idol’s hit cover of the Tommy James and the Shondells tune “Mony Mony” and “Dancing With Myself,” which was originally released by Generation X. The EP will be released in standard black vinyl, as well as a limited-edition lemon-yellow LP.

The announcement comes just weeks after Idol released the new studio album Dream Into It, which debuted at #7 on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart. He’s also the subject of a new documentary, Billy Idol Should Be Dead, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival in New York.

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The Rolling Stones’ contribution to an upcoming tribute album celebrating the late King of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, has just been released.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have covered the track “Zydeco Sont Pas Salés,” which features accordion player Steve Riley and includes Chenier’s original 1965 recording of the song.

“The Stones are truly honored to be on this tribute album amongst a stellar cast of artists and musicians,” the band shares. “Clifton Chenier was one of the most influential musicians to come out of Louisiana. He turned so many people onto the wonderful free spirited dance music of zydeco, including ourselves back in the day.”

They add, “Although the development of any music style can seldom be attributed to one artist, there is not a zydeco band who has not followed the template Chenier created.”

The track is now available via digital outlets, with a limited-edition 7-inch vinyl dropping on Friday.

The complete album, A Tribute to the King of Zydeco, will also be released on Friday. In addition to The Stones, the 14-track album features covers from Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Taj Mahal, John Hiatt and Jimmie Vaughan.

Chenier, who would have turned 100 on Wednesday, helped pioneer zydeco, a music genre created in Louisiana that blends blues, R&B and Afro-Cuban rhythms with music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles. He won a Grammy Award in 1983 for his album I’m Here. In 2014 he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Chenier passed away in 1987 at the age of 62.

Proceeds from the album benefit the all-new Clifton Chenier Memorial Scholarship at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. The album is available for preorder now.

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Rod Stewart is set to perform at the U.K.’s prestigious Glastonbury Festival on Sunday, and ahead of that milestone performance, the location where he was standing when his music career officially began has been recognized with a special plaque.

The Evening Standard reports that the plaque has been unveiled at Twickenham train station, located in the suburbs of London. It reads “Music legend and train enthusiast Sir Rod Stewart started his career at Twickenham Station in 1964.”

So how was a train station the start of Rod’s career? In 1964 he went to see blues singer Long John Baldry in concert, and while waiting at the station for his train home, he started singing a Muddy Waters song on the platform. Baldry, it turns out, was also waiting for his train, heard Rod singing and offered him a job in his band right then and there.

Rod became the lead singer for Long John Baldry and his Hoochie Coochie Men, later known as Steampacket. He left in 1966 and joined a number of other bands, eventually landing in future Rock & Roll Hall of Famers band Faces in 1969. Rod simultaneously launched a successful solo career that ran parallel, until Faces split in 1975 and he became a full-time solo artist.

By the way, Long John Baldry is also partly responsible for the career of another British rock legend. After Steampacket broke up, he formed a band called Bluesology, which featured a guy named Reg Dwight on keyboards. When Reg went solo, he adopted the name Elton John, taking the “John” from Baldry and “Elton” from another member of the band, Elton Dean.

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Joni Mitchell is exploring her jazzy side in a new box set coming in September.

Joni’s Jazz will feature recordings chosen by Mitchell that highlight how jazz has influenced her music. It includes 61 tracks, made up of studio recordings, live performances and alternative takes, including two previously unreleased demos from 1980.

The set features Joni collaborations with jazz greats like Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Herbie Hancock and Charles Mingusy, with tracks coming from albums like Songs to a Seagull, The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Hejira, Mingus, Turbulent Indigo and Both Sides Now. There are even tunes featuring Joni, which appeared on Hancock’s album River: The Joni Letters.

As a preview of what fans can expect, Joni has released one of those previously unreleased demos, for the song “Be Cool,” to digital services. The original version appeared on her 1982 album Wild Things Run Fast.

Joni’s Jazz will be released Sept. 5 in a variety of formats, including as an eight-LP or four-CD set, with the physical releases coming with original artwork by Mitchell, as well as rare and previously unseen photos.

Joni’s Jazz is available for preorder now.

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ZZ Top has expanded their North American Elevation Tour.

Now that drummer Frank Beard is back with the band after taking time off to recover from foot and ankle issues, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have decided to add more than a dozen new shows to their schedule.

“This has been a great tour so we figured it would be a good idea to add some additional dates to keep the good times rolling,” Billy F. Gibbons says. “Come on out and see us at a concert venue near you.”

The new shows include dates in Oklahoma, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana and their home state of Texas. Night Ranger, The Wallflowers, Black Stone Cherry, Molly Hatchet and Payton Smith are booked as openers.

ZZ Top’s Elevation Tour hits Laval, Quebec, Canada, on Wednesday. The tour is set to run through Nov. 21 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A complete list of dates can be found at ZZTop.com.

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On This Day, June 25, 2023…

Elton John headlined the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival, which was the final U.K. show of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.

This was Elton’s first ever time headlining Glastonbury, and he treated the crowd to a set filled with hits, including “Bennie and the Jets,” “Daniel,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Your Song,” “Candle in the Wind,” and more, wrapping the night with “Rocket Man.”

Elton was also joined by several guests including The Killers’ Brandon Flowers, Stephen Sanchez, Jacob Lusk and Rina Sawayama.

While the concert was billed as Elton’s final U.K show, that didn’t turn out to be true. In March, he headlined a special concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall with Brandi Carlile.

The 2025 Glastonbury Festival kicks off Wednesday, with Neil Young and Rod Stewart among the performers.

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The 30th anniversary of Van Halen’s tenth studio album Balance is being celebrated with an expanded reissue, which will offer a boatload of extras for fans.

Balance (Expanded Edition), dropping Aug. 15, will be released as a two-LP/two-CD/Blu-Ray set featuring a remastered edition of the original album, along with audio and video rarities, like the B-side “Crossing Over,” and non-album tracks like “Humans Being” and “Respect the Wind,” which were originally featured on the Twister soundtrack.

The set will also include eight live performances from the band’s 1995 show at London’s Wembley Stadium, including a performance of “The Seventh Seal,” which is out now via digital outlets.

The expanded edition’s Blu-ray will include restored promo videos for songs like “Can’t Stand Lovin’ You,” “Not Enough,” and others, along with a previously unreleased live clip of “The Seventh Seal,” shot in Minneapolis in 1995.

In addition to the full expanded set, Balance will be released as a standalone two-CD set featuring the remastered album and the rarities, as well as on vinyl, marking the album’s first time on vinyl in three decades.

Balance (Expanded Edition) is available for preorder now.

Released in January 1995, Balance was the band’s last studio album with frontman Sammy Hagar and the last to feature bassist Michael Anthony. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and was certified triple Platinum by the RIAA.

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The late guitar great Jeff Beck has inspired a new guitar from Epiphone.

The company has just debuted an Inspired by Gibson Custom Collection recreation of Beck’s 1954 Oxblood Les Paul, which is featured in the artwork on the cover of his 1975 debut solo album, Blow by Blow. Beck’s original Oxblood guitar sold at auction in January for $1.3 million.

The new Jeff Beck 1954 Oxblood Les Paul from Epiphone features a mahogany body with a maple cap and a one-piece mahogany neck, with mother-of-pearl trapezoid inlays, along with several other details that match the original guitar.

“Bringing the Epiphone version of the infamous ‘Oxblood’ Les Paul to life was something Jeff Beck wanted, and the team has now truly delivered,” says Lee Bartram, head of commercial and marketing EMEA at Gibson. “Making this guitar accessible to a wider market was important to Jeff and his family; this Epiphone guitar turned out truly exceptional and is a worthy tribute to the legacy of a legend.”

The Jeff Beck 1954 Oxblood Les Paul from Epiphone is now available online, at the Gibson Garage in Nashville and London, and at authorized Epiphone dealers around the world.

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Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Annie Lennox is the subject of a new book.

Annie Lennox: Retrospective, dropping Sept. 16, is described as a “visual memoir” featuring over 200 photographs that take fans chronologically through the legendary singer’s career. The book includes shots from her personal archives, as well as album covers and music video stills, covering Lennox’s time with Dave Stewart in Eurythmics to her solo career and more.

“There have been thousands of photographic images floating around in the zeitgeist throughout the decades of my life as a performer. In a way, each one serves as part of the picture-puzzle narrative of my story,” Lennox shares. “With Retrospective, I wanted to look back at my life’s work lived under the public gaze, throughout the creation of music—lyrics—recordings and film.”

“Each album, video, and photograph has its own identity and style,” she adds. “Retrospective could actually have been presented in many different ways, with many more different images. But for now—here it is… A memento—a souvenir—A life lived through imagery and sound. I hope you enjoy it!”

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Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan is set to be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame this year.

The rocker is one of 17 inductees for 2025, with R&B group The Isley Brothers and pop stars the Jonas Brothers the other musicians chosen for induction this year.

“This year’s class of inductees remind us of what it means to be Jersey strong and resilient,” said Steve Edwards, president of the New Jersey Hall of Fame. “They showcase the incredible range of talent that has come out of New Jersey, from global icons in entertainment to pioneers in sports, public service, and enterprise. We’re proud to honor these heroes who inspire generations to be the best versions of themselves.”

The 17th annual New Jersey Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held Nov. 21 at The Rink at The Arena at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which is where the New Jersey Hall of Fame is located.

Bryan was born David Rashbaum in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and was raised in Edison, New Jersey. In addition to being a founding member of Bon Jovi, he is a Tony Award winner for writing the music and co-writing the lyrics to the 2009 Broadway musical Memphis. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Bon Jovi in 2018.

Bryan is the second member of Bon Jovi to be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Frontman Jon Bon Jovi was inducted in 2009.

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