Classic Rock 93.9

Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin concluded their 2021 Hanukkah Sessions series over the weekend with covers of The Clash‘s “Train in Vain” for night seven and KISS‘ “Rock and Roll All Nite” for night eight.

The “Train in Vain” performance honors Clash guitarist Mick Jones‘ Jewish heritage, while the “Rock and Roll All Nite” rendition pays tribute to Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley‘s Jewish upbringing.

Both covers are streaming now on YouTube.

Grohl and Kurstin first launched The Hanukkah Sessions in 2020 with covers of eight different Jewish artists for each night of the holiday. In marking the end of the 2021 series, Grohl says, “Greg and I would like to thank all of the people that helped ramp up the Hanukkah Sessions this year.” 

“It’s gonna be tough to beat! (But we will. Oh, we will…),” Grohl adds. “We hope that this year’s batch of hits has brought a little joy to you, as it surely did to us!”

Other 2021 Hanukkah Sessions covers included Lisa Loeb‘s “Stay (I Missed You),” the Ramones‘ “Blitzkrieg Bop,” Barry Manilow‘s “Copacabana,” Van Halen‘s “Jump,” Amy Winehouse‘s “Take the Box” and Billy Joel‘s “Big Shot.”

(Videos contains uncensored profanity.)

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The University of Florida has awarded the late Tom Petty an honorary doctorate of music.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that the school’s board of trustees voted unanimously on Friday to present the special degree to Petty, who was born and grew up in Gainesville, Florida, where the university is located.

According to the newspaper, University of Florida provost Joseph Glover read a motion to award the doctorate to Petty, who died in 2017 at age 67 of an accidental drug overdose.

During his declaration, Glover mentioned a variety of Tom’s career achievements, including induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, three Grammy awards, a MusiCares Person of the Year honor, the ASCAP organization’s Golden Note Award, Billboard magazine’s Century Award, and a U. of Florida Distinguished Achievement Award.

“Petty…is widely considered among the most distinctive and influential musicians of the past 50 years,” Glover said. “His presence remains significant as seen by abundant radio airplay and the popularity of events in his honor, such as the Tom Petty birthday bash held annually in Gainesville.”

The provost also noted that Petty’s solo hit “I Won’t Back Down” “has become a mantra at athletic events” at the university, and that he personally heard the school’s president, Kent Fuchs, sing it.

Later on during the meeting, Fuchs announced that Petty’s music will be played after the university’s fall commencement events later in December.

A video of the University of Florida trustees board meeting can be viewed at Trustees.UFL.edu. Glover’s reading of the motion to honor Petty begins around the 54-minute mark.

Petty never attended the University of Florida, but according to FloridaGators.com, he worked as a groundskeeper at the school while pursuing his music career. He later performed at the university in 1993 and 2006.

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Longtime Elton John guitarist Davey Johnstone will release his first solo album in nearly 50 years, Deeper than My Roots, on February 4.

The project was a true family affair, as Johnstone’s youngest son, Elliott, sings lead vocals on most of the album, his son Charlie recorded many of the basic tracks at his home in California and contributed keyboard and backing vocals, and his son Jesse played drums on some of the songs.

In addition, Davey collaborated with his oldest son, Tam, and Jesse to write, record and produce the two instrumental tracks that are featured on the album: “Black Scotland” and “Walt Dizney.”

Johnstone has premiered the lead single from Deeper than My Roots, the melancholy “Melting Snow,” which is sung by his son Elliott and features Davey’s longtime Elton John band mate Nigel Olsson on drums. The song is accompanied by a lyric video that debuted at the Spirit of Unicorn Music label’s official YouTube channel.

Former Paul McCartney and Wings drummer Denny Seiwell also lent his talents to three songs. The album includes a pair of bonus tracks, including a cover of The Beatles‘ “Here, There and Everywhere.”

Johnstone recorded Deeper than My Roots while Elton’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour was forced off the road because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The trek is scheduled to relaunch on January 19 in New Orleans.

Davey’s only other solo album, Smiling Face, was released in 1973. You can pre-order Deeper than My Roots on CD now at CherryRed.co.uk.

Here’s the album’s full track list:

“Go Easy on My Heart”
“One Look in Your Eyes”
“Meh Amour”
“Walt Dizney”
“Melting Snow”
“You Lied to Me”
“Deeper”
“Boxer in the Corner”
“Black Scotland”
“The Final Quarter”

Bonus Tracks
“Here, There and Everywhere”
“All the Time in the World”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin have released a cover of Billy Joel‘s “Big Shot” for night six of their Hanukkah Sessions series.

“While he claims a secular Long Island upbringing (and has songs full of Catholic and Italian imagery), Billy Joel remains one of the great Jews of musical scripture,” Grohl says of the Piano Man.

You can watch the “Big Shot” cover streaming now on YouTube. Is there a kazoo solo? You’d better believe it!

Grohl and Kurstin launched The Hanukkah Sessions in 2020 with covers of eight different Jewish artists for each night of the holiday. This year’s series has so far included Lisa Loeb‘s “Stay (I Missed You),” the Ramones‘ “Blitzkrieg Bop,” Barry Manilow‘s “Copacabana,” Van Halen‘s “Jump” and Amy Winehouse‘s “Take the Box.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The deluxe 50th anniversary reissue of The Doors‘ classic 1971 album, L.A. Woman, got its release today.

As previously reported, L.A. Woman: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition is available as a three-CD/one-LP set featuring a newly remastered version of the album on CD, two bonus CDs of unreleased studio outtakes, and the new stereo mix of the original album pressed on 180-gram vinyl.

To celebrate the reissue’s release, the first-ever official music video for the Doors hit “Riders on the Storm” has premiered at the band’s official YouTube channel.

The clip, directed by the award-winning team of Brendo Garcia and Adriano Gonfiantini, combines live-action footage with digital animation and follows a mysterious woman as she takes a surreal, psychedelic journey on a motorcycle through the California desert and into Los Angeles.

The video features a number of Easter eggs alluding to aspects of Doors history, including a woman tied crucifixion-style to a streetlight, a reference to the image that appears inside L.A. Woman‘s original gatefold sleeve; Barney’s Beanery, one of Jim Morrison‘s favorite LA-area bars; and the Alta Cienega Motel, where Morrison once lived.

Other classics songs featured on L.A. Woman include the hit “Love Her Madly,” the title track, and “The Changeling.”

Among the unreleased tracks is the original demo of “Riders on the Storm,” and covers of Junior Parker‘s “Mystery Train,” John Lee Hooker‘s “Crawling King Snake,” Big Joe Williams‘ “Baby Please Don’t Go,” and Lee Dorsey‘s “Get Out of My Life Woman.” Also among the bonus tracks are multiple consecutive takes of “The Changeling,” “Love Her Madly,” “Riders on the Storm” and “L.A. Woman.”

In related news, L.A. Woman has just been RIAA-certified triple-Platinum for album equivalent sales of three million copies in the U.S.

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Styx and REO Speedwagon will sail away together next year on a U.S. co-headlining tour, and they’re taking Loverboy with them as their special guest.

The Live & Unzoomed Tour kicks off on May 31 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is plotted out through an August 21 concert in Wantagh, New York. The trek, which currently features 35 dates, includes one show in Canada, an August 16 event in Toronto.

To announce the tour, a hilarious video has premiered on YouTube featuring Styx’s Tommy Shaw, REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin and Loverboy’s Mike Reno chatting via Zoom about what they’ve been up to at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tickets for various dates of Live & Unzoomed Tour will go on sale to the general public on Friday, December 10, at 10 a.m. local time at LiveNation.com. Styx and REO Speedwagon will be making available VIP packages and exclusive pre-sales starting Monday, December 6, at 10 a.m. local time at StyxWorld.com and REOSpeedwagon.com.

Citi cardmembers will be able to buy pre-sale tickets for the U.S. shows beginning Tuesday, December 7, at 10 a.m. local time; visit CitiEntertainment.com for more details.

“I can’t think of a better way of touring the USA next year than with good friends we’ve known for years and performed with on many a stage,” Shaw says in a statement. “What a great night of music this will be!”

Adds Cronin, “Tommy and I have done a number of Zoom performances together during the pandemic, and REO and Styx are ready to go get UnZoomed, and out on the road for our fifth U.S. tour together. Add our great friends Mike Reno and the Loverboy guys, and I am totally psyched.”

Meanwhile, Reno declares, “Best tour of the summer…guaranteed.”

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Manticore Records, the record label founded by late Emerson, Lake & Palmer frontman Greg Lake, is being relaunched by his widow, Regina Lake.

“It was always Greg’s wish to reinstate the Manticore Records Label,” Regina reveals in a statement. “Greg’s idea, in his own words, was to give new, talented musicians the chance to be heard, when other doors might have been closed to them for being different. Greg was once one such young Musician.”

She continues, “He had put everything in place for Manticore Records to start up again, but as we know, it wasn’t possible for Greg to be there to realise his vision. Just a few days before Greg died, he asked me if I would like to carry on with Manticore Records, after he had gone.”

Regina points out that Greg had set the label up in her name in case she was interested in keeping it going, while telling her it was entirely her decision.

“I told him, as I am sentimental about Manticore, having been there in the early days, I would give it my best,” she says, “with a lot of help from my friends and advisers.”

Regina adds, “On reflection I would like this label to be devoted to Greg Lake Music and Songs to keep his legacy alive for us all in years to come.”

According to a press release, the first new Manticore project will be “a definitive collection” of Lake’s solo work. To celebrate the label’s relaunch, a rare video of Greg performing his classic holiday song “I Believe in Father Christmas” in 2005 has been posted on YouTube.

Lake died of cancer on December 7, 2016. He was 69.

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Slash has released a new song with his solo band, Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators.

The track, titled “Fill My World,” will appear on the group’s upcoming album, 4, due out February 11, 2022. You can download “Fill My World” now via digital outlets.

4, the fittingly titled fourth Conspirators effort, also features the lead single “The River Is Rising.”

In addition to recording a new Conspirators record, Slash has spent much of 2021 on the road playing live with Guns N’ Roses. The “Welcome to the Jungle” rockers have been touring pretty regularly since reuniting in 2016, which, as Slash tells CNN in a new interview, wasn’t necessarily the original plan.

“Everybody got along great,” Slash says of his GN’R band mates. “That’s actually why the tour has kept going, because initially it was just going to be a couple of shows.”

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Elton John and his pal U.K. pop star Ed Sheeran are making sure fans ring in the holidays with a little extra cheer with their new single, “Merry Christmas.”

The song, which they co-wrote and released on Friday, sees the two powerhouse British singers explaining why it’s important to enjoy the season with those you love.

Sheeran begins the festive song by encouraging listeners to appreciate the season’s wonders by singing, “So kiss me under the mistletoe/ Pour out the wine, let’s toast and pray for December snow/ I know there’s been pain this year, but it’s time to let it go/ Next year, you never know.”

Sir Elton adds, “We’ve both known love, but this love we got is the bеst of all/ I wish you could see it through my eyes, then you would know.”

If that wasn’t enough to help bring some joy back to the holidays after another stressful year, Ed and Elton also released the official and ultra-campy music video for “Merry Christmas.” The two are decked out in several of their best holiday outfits, from sequined tuxedos to very short Santa-like robes, as they rotate through various Christmas-like scenes.

“Merry Christmas” is available to stream and purchase now across all platforms. Proceeds from the single will benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation.

The track also appears on the “Christmas Edition” of Sheeran’s latest studio album, = (Equals).

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Foo Fighters have shared a sneak peek behind their upcoming horror-comedy film, Studio 666.

The 43-second clip offers a brief preview of the supernatural hijinks that befall Dave Grohl and company in the movie. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.

Studio 666, which stars all six Foo Fighters members, was filmed at the same house where the band recorded their newest album, this year’s Medicine at Midnight. While the movie is, of course, fictional, Grohl repeatedly said in interviews leading up to the record’s release that the house was haunted.

You can buy tickets to Studio 666 now via Studio666Movie.com. The film premieres in theaters February 25, 2022.

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