Supertramp’s ‘Live in Paris ’79’ coming in February

January 17, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

After the release of their 1979 album Breakfast in America, Supertramp hit the road in support of the record, and now fans are getting a chance to relieve that live experience.

Live in Paris ’79, a recording of the band’s December 1979 concerts at the Pavillon de Paris, will be released Feb. 28. Select performances from the shows previously appeared on a live album that was released in 1980, but the new release features a complete show, taken from recordings during their two concerts at the venue on Dec. 1 and Dec. 2.

The album features Supertramp performing such classic hits as “The Logical Song,” “Goodbye Stranger,” “Take The Long Way Home,” “Give A Little Bit” and more.

“Looking back at that period, it really was the experience of a lifetime … the best of times,” drummer Bob Siebenberg shares. John Helliwell, who played sax, keyboards and more, adds, “Those Paris shows were a definite high point for us because you could feel the audience reaction. You can actually hear the volatility in the French crowd. They sound a little mad!”

Live in Paris ’79 will be released as a three-LP and two-CD set. Both formats are available for preorder now.

Breakfast in America went on to be the band’s bestselling record, hitting #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart and selling more than 4 million copies in the U.S.

Hear the new song from neil young and the chrome hearts

January 17, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Neil Young has just debuted his first new song with his new band.

Billed as neil young and the chrome hearts, the track, “big change,” is described as “a song that looks square in the face of so many of the moving parts of where the world is turning today.”

According to John Hanlon, Young’s longtime mixing engineer, “big change” is an “in your face loud irreverent rock ‘n roll paint splatter on the canvas in the vein of a Jackson Pollack painting.”

Young first began working with chrome hearts last year, when they played several live shows together, including the 2024 edition of Farm Aid. The band consists of Micah Nelson on guitar and vocals, Spooner Oldham on Farfisa organ, Corey McCormick on bass and vocals and Anthony LoGerfo on drums.

“Big change” is available digitally via the NYA Download Store and all digital retailers.

And Young will be playing live with chrome hearts once again. They are already confirmed to play the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival in June.

ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons drops new song, ‘Livin’ It Up Down In Texas’

January 17, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons is out with new music.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has just dropped the new tune “Livin’ It Up Down In Texas,” which got an early preview on the Paramount+ drama Landman, created by Tyler Sheridan, who also created Yellowstone.

The song was actually co-written by Gibbons and two of the series’ stars, Billy Bob Thornton, who plays Tommy Norris, and Mark Collie, who plays Sheriff Walt Joeberg. The series is set in the world of the oil fields of West Texas.

“It seemed really natural to team up with Billy Bob and Mark to write a song for Landman,” Gibbons shares. “‘Livin’ It Up Down In Texas’ isn’t, per se, autobiographical, but does encapsulate the oil-stained Lone Star lifestyle as seen each week in the series.”

“Livin’ It Up Down In Texas” is expected to appear on Gibbons’ next album, his first solo record since 2021’s Hardware. The tune is available now via digital outlets.

Gibbons and his band the BFGs are set to kick off a new tour with a three-night stand in Honolulu starting Friday. A complete list of dates can be found at billygibbons.com.

60th anniversary of The Who celebrated with special merch collection

January 17, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

The Who is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year with a brand-new line of merch with British clothing company Modfather.

The Who x Modfather Clothing 60th Anniversary Collection features several T-shirts, including one with a 60th anniversary logo and one featuring the cover of 1973’s Quadrophenia. There’s also a black tee paying homage to The Who’s Tuesday night shows at The Marquee Club in 1964 and an Acid Queen shirt, celebrating The Who’s Tommy.

The collection also includes two scarfs, an umbrella and two slipmats for turntables.

“Modfather Clothing was born from a passion for classic Italian scooters & British subcultural style,” The Who shared on Instagram. “Music has and will always be at the heart of everything they do.”

The line, with items ranging in price from $19 to $76, is available now at TheWho.com.

The Who — Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon — released their debut album, My Generation, in December 1965. They’ve gone on to sell over 100 million records worldwide and are considered one of the most influential bands in rock ‘n’ roll. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2008.

Sting, Ringo Starr pay tribute to the late director David Lynch

January 16, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Sting and Ringo Starr are among the musicians paying tribute to director David Lynch, whose death was announced Thursday.

Sting shared a photo on Instagram of him and Lynch on the set of the 1984 movie Dune, which Lynch directed, sharing, “David was a modern giant of the avant garde. I am so proud to have worked with him on the first Dune movie. Rest in peace.”

Ringo also shared a photo of him and Lynch on social media, with the message, “God bless David Lynch, peace and love to all his family.”

And Graham Nash posted a tribute on his Instagram Story, sharing a black-and-white photo of the director and writing, “Rest in Peace to this one of a kind soul.”

Lynch, the Oscar-nominated director of films including Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, and co-creator of the cult drama series Twin Peaks, was 78.

New Lollapalooza book due out in March

January 16, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Having already gotten the docuseries treatment, the history of Lollapalooza is now being told through a different medium.

A new book called Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock’s Wildest Festival is due out March 25. It’s written by Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour, who also authored the ’80s metal book Nöthin’ But a Good Time.

Readers can expect interviews with artists including Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, Tool, The Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, Patti Smith, Alice in Chains and Metallica, as well as Lolla founder/Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell. Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil penned the foreword.

The Lollapalooza docuseries premiered in 2024 on Paramount+.

Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart, Sting among the artists playing FireAid

January 16, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart and Sting are among the artists confirmed to play FireAid, a benefit concert to raise money for those affected by the California wildfires and to support efforts to keep such disasters from happening again.

The concert will take place Jan. 30 at the Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum, both of which are in Inglewood, California.

Other artists on the bill include Joni Mitchell, Stephen Stills, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Earth, Wind & Fire, Billie Eilish and FINNEAS, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Jelly Roll, Gwen Stefani, Pink, Tate McCrae, Gracie Abrams and Lil Baby, along with Dave Matthews and John Mayer playing together for the first time.

More artists and special guests will be announced at a later date, as will the lineups for each venue.

Tickets for the concerts go on sale Jan. 22 at noon PT.

For those who can’t attend in person, FireAid will broadcast and stream live via a number of different platforms, including Apple Music and Apple TV+, Max, Netflix, Paramount+, Prime Video, YouTube and select AMC movie theaters.

Visit FireAidLA.org for more information.

Peter Frampton to take part in Duane Eddy tribute concert

January 16, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Peter Frampton is one of the artists set to pay tribute to the late guitar legend Duane Eddy at a special tribute concert at the Opry House in Nashville.

Titan of Twang: A Celebration of Duane Eddy is taking place April 13, with a lineup that also includes Vince Gill, Joe Bonamassa, Steve Earle, JD McPherson, Molly Tuttle and Jim Lauderdale.

Tickets for the show go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m.

Eddy, who passed away April 30, 2024, had 15 top-40 singles throughout the late ’50s and early ’60s, with his breakthrough being the 1958 instrumental track “Revel Rouser,” which peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became his first Gold record.

Other hits include: “Peter Gunn,” the Henry Mancini-composed instrumental for the TV series of the same name, “Cannonball,” “Moovin’ ‘N’ Groovin’” and “Because They’re Young.”

Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh earns $1 million a year from MTV’s ‘Ridiculousness’

January 16, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Devo’s biggest hit single may be the 1980 track “Whip It,” but it turns out it isn’t the group’s biggest moneymaker.

According to Rolling Stone, that distinction goes to the tune “Uncontrollable Urge,” from their debut album, Q. Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, because a cover of the track is used as the theme song to the MTV series Rob Dyrdek’s Ridiculousness.

The show is aired on the network so often that Mark Mothersbaugh, Devo’s lead singer and main songwriter, earns an estimated $1 million a year from its use, the rocker’s wife and manager, Anita Greenspan, tells the mag.

“I’ve written so many other songs for films and television shows,” Mothersbaugh says. “I would’ve been shocked [years ago] if you told me this is the one that would become this prime source of income.”

Among those other songs Mothersbaugh is referring to are the themes for Pee-wee’s Playhouse and Rugrats, as well as scores for several Wes Anderson films.

Greenspan adds that it’s “ironic” they make so much money from MTV, noting that in the early days of the network it aired a lot of Devo, before the network stopped playing them.

“[The videos] were subversive, they didn’t like them and wouldn’t play them anymore,” she says. “Now ‘Uncontrollable Urge’ is easily the most-played song on MTV, so [Devo] wins.”

James Taylor announces annual July 4 holiday shows at Tanglewood

January 16, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

James Taylor has announced his annual Independence Day shows at Tanglewood, in the Berkshire area of Massachusetts.

Taylor and his All-Star Band just announced they’ll play the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts, on July 3 and July 4; the Fourth of July show will end with a fireworks display for the holiday. Both shows will feature special guests Tiny Habits.

This certainly isn’t the first time Taylor has played Tanglewood. In fact, this year marks 51 years since Taylor first took the stage at the venue. Last summer, in honor of his 50th anniversary, he was awarded the Tanglewood Medal, in recognition of his career and long standing support for the venue.

Proceeds from the July 4 show will be donated to support Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937.

Tickets go on sale Jan. 29 at 10 a.m. ET.

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