Classic Rock 93.9

Despite Pete Townshend‘s status as one of the most revered rock guitarists on the planet, not many of his fellow legends took to social media on Monday to wish The Who rocker a happy 80th birthday. But one who did is an artist who’s even older than Pete and arguably even more iconic: Bob Dylan.

Dylan, 83, cheekily wrote on social platform X, “Happy birthday Pete. Who’s the new boss? Is he like the old boss? Have you met him yet? Say hello to Roger.”

The message refers to The Who’s classic song “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” written by Townshend, in which Roger Daltrey sings, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”

Townshend and Dylan aren’t particularly known for being friends, but Townshend did name-check Bob during The Who’s recent press conference. While discussing the fact that he’s not able to do what he used to do, Townshend said, “But when we look at artists like the Stones, like Bruce Springsteen and other, much older artists like Bob Dylan, one is inspired, in a sense, to think what could we do that would be new and different?”

Meanwhile, Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood did acknowledge Pete’s milestone, as did Billy Idol and, more generically, Eric Clapton.

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After revealing that his memoir, Cat on the Road to Findout, will arrive Oct. 7, Yusuf/Cat Stevens has announced a book tour of North America.

Cat on the Road to Findout: An Evening Of Tales, Tunes, And Other Mysteries will begin Oct. 2 in Philadelphia and travel to Chicago, Boston, Toronto, New York City, San Francisco and LA. Each event will feature the artist speaking in-depth about his memoir and performing unplugged versions of his biggest hits. The events will also incorporate Stevens’ personal art, illustrations, photos and film.

Tickets for the tour will be available via a presale May 21 at 10 a.m. local time; you can register at Stevens’ website. Additional presales run through the week. The general sale begins May 23 at 10 a.m. local time via LiveNation.com.

The book will recount Stevens’ rise to fame thanks to songs like “Wild World,” “Father and Son,” “Peace Train” and “Morning Has Broken.” It will also cover his conversion to Islam, his humanitarian work and his subsequent return to music.

Stevens says in a statement, “Having passed through the exhaustingly complex maze of everyday material life, ascending the dizzying heights of wealth, recognition, and artistic achievements, I think I’ve got a few things to share. … Now I have written a book which explains what I’ve learned and the stories along the way.”

“That doesn’t make me a teacher, but more of a potential specimen for those who are searching and pursuing happiness on all sides of the divide. Believe me, folks, it’s out there!”

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Ahead of their Run for Your Lives tour, Iron Maiden is asking you to put your phones away.

The metal icons have posted a statement asking fans “not to excessively film the concerts on their phones or tablets” during the tour.

“We really want fans to enjoy the shows first hand, rather than on their small screens,” says Maiden manager Rod Smallwood. “The amount of phone use nowadays diminishes enjoyment, particularly for the band who are on stage looking out at rows of phones, but also for other concertgoers.”

“We feel that the passion and involvement of our fans at shows really makes them special, but the phone obsession has now got so out of hand that it has become unnecessarily distracting especially to the band,” the statement continues. “I hope fans understand this and will be sensible in severely limiting the use of their phone cameras out of respect for the band and their fellow fans.”

Smallwood adds that Maiden encourages attendees to “be ‘in the moment’ instead and be fully actively involved to enjoy each and every one of these classic songs in the spirit and manner they were first played.”

“So please respect the band, respect the other fans and have the time of your lives as you join your Maiden family by singing your heart out, rather than getting your phone out!!” Smallwood says. “It’s really not a lot to ask is it?”

The statement doesn’t make mention of phone-locking pouches, which have been used by artists including Jack White, Bob Dylan and Ghost, so it seems Maiden’s request is just that, instead of a requirement.

The Run for Your Lives tour, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of Maiden’s founding, launches in Europe on May 27. Openers include Halestorm and Avatar, depending on the date.

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Ray Manzarek, co-founder and keyboardist of The Doors, passed away at the age of 74. Earlier in the year, the rocker had been diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer.

Manzarek co-founded The Doors with Jim Morrison in July 1965. Drummer John Densmore joined in August of that year, followed by guitarist Robby Krieger.

The band released their self-titled debut in January 1967, containing future classics “Light My Fire” and “Break On Through (To The Other Side).”  “Light My Fire” has since been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, with the album chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2015.

The Doors went on to sell over 34 million records worldwide and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Manzarek released his memoir, Light My Fire: My Life with the Doors, in 1998.

The Doors are in the midst of celebrating their 60th anniversary, which has included the first-ever digital releases of live recordings, as well as their first official book, Night Divides The Day: The Doors Anthology.

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Steve Miller will be receiving an award named after late, legendary guitar pioneer Les Paul, which is appropriate, considering that Miller was Paul’s godson.

On June 9 in Nashville, The Les Paul Foundation will present Miller with the Les Paul Spirit Award, in partnership with Gibson Gives, the charity division of the Gibson guitar company. The event will take place on what would have been Les Paul’s 110th birthday.

The award is presented to someone who “exemplifies the spirit of the late, great Les Paul through innovation, engineering, technology and/or music.” The award comes with a grant to the honoree’s charity of choice from The Les Paul Foundation.

Growing up in Milwaukee, Miller’s parents were very close with Les Paul and his wife Mary Ford, who were frequent visitors to their home. Paul became Miller’s godfather, and encouraged him to pursue guitar after he heard six-year-old Steve playing on a recording his father had made.

“They had a very unique relationship which Les cherished,” says Michael Braunstein, the executive director of The Les Paul Foundation. “If Les were still alive today, Steve and he would be jamming at his house regularly. I am personally thrilled to be able to present Steve with this award because I know he exemplifies everything Les was about and wanted to accomplish.”

Meanwhile, The Steve Miller Band will kick off a run of shows Aug. 15 in Bethel, New York.

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Foo Fighters have announced a trio of new tour dates in Asia.

Dave Grohl and company will perform in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct. 2, and Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, on Oct. 7 and Oct. 10, respectively.

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

The newly added shows join the Foos’ previously scheduled performance at the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix on Oct. 4. That marked the first announced Foo Fighters concert since Grohl’s 2024 infidelity scandal. 

The Asia dates will also presumably mark the debut of the next Foo Fighters drummer in place of the departed Josh Freese. Freese, who’d joined the Foos in 2023 following the 2022 death of Taylor Hawkins, announced on Friday that he’d been let go from the band.

In other drummers-who’ve-played-with-Foo-Fighters news, Shane Hawkins, Taylor’s son, will be touring with his father’s cover band, Chevy Metal, beginning in July. Shane memorably joined the Foos during their 2022 tribute concert to Taylor in London for a rendition of “My Hero.” 

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It was announced in March that KISS‘ Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley would be performing together at the convention-like event KISS Army Storms Las Vegas, but Simmons says people are getting the wrong idea about what it is.

“There’s a mistaken notion that KISS is having a big Vegas event,” Simmons tells ABC Audio. “This [event] is completely because of the fans. … And we are going along for the celebration.”

In addition to Simmons and Stanley, KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer will be there, along with former KISS member Bruce Kulick and other acts. There could even be other members of KISS.

Simmons shares, “We’ve invited Ace and Peter, we don’t know if they’re going to attend or send greetings or anything,” referring founding members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.

Simmons stresses the performance they’ll be putting on is “not a KISS show,” saying it’s going to be “more conversational, like we were in their garage, at a local place … so it’s much more intimate.”

“I make the distinction because we promised … once we put on the last shows here in New York City at Madison Square Garden, afterwards we said we will never do a KISS show ever again,” Simmons explains.

He says they made their decision to stop touring, “Because you’ve got to have self-respect when you’re the champion of the world, and when you’ve been there and done that, go out when you are on top.”

KISS Army Storms Las Vegas will take place Nov. 14-16 at the Virgin Hotels. While Simmons and Stanley’s unmasked performance won’t be a KISS show, it will be the first time they’ve performed together since KISS’ final concerts at New York’s Madison Square Garden in December 2023.

More info on KISS Army Storms Las Vegas can be found at kissarmystormsvegas.com.

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Green Day has announced a tour of South America.

The “American Idiot” rockers will play shows in Colombia, Peru, Chile, Brazil and Paraguay in August and September.

“South America, you’ve been oh so patient now we’re here to make those dreams come true,” Green Day says. “We’re making our way down to you this August + September for what are going to be some truly epic shows!!”

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

Green Day will be supporting their latest album, 2024’s Saviors, on the tour. A deluxe edition of the record drops on Friday.

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In his classic song “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,” Elton John sang, “Now I know that rose trees never grow in New York City.” But London is another story.

An Elton John-branded rose will make its debut May 20 at London’s Chelsea Flower Show, organized by the Royal Horticultural Society, the U.K.’s leading gardening charity. The flower, created by Harkness Roses, is a hybrid tea rose with a pearly pink hue that intensifies to a cherry color.

For every potted rose bush sold, Harkness Roses will donate about $6.70 to The Elton John AIDS Foundation.

The rose is just one of many ways that Elton has raised money for his AIDS Foundation over the years. He’s also teamed with department stores, candle companies and makeup brands for special collections, and auctioned off his own belongings multiple times to benefit the charity. The proceeds from his 2021 Christmas single with Ed Sheeran also went to the foundation, and of course, his annual Oscar viewing party has raised millions for the cause over the years.

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A sculpture of Jim Morrison, which went missing from his Paris gravesite in 1988, has been found.

French police found the marble bust of the singer while carrying out a search in an unrelated fraud case. A photo on Instagram shows the sculpture much as it appeared when it disappeared: It’s covered in graffiti and is missing a piece of its nose.

According to the U.K. paper The Guardian, the sculpture was carved by a Croatian artist and placed on Morrison’s grave at Paris’ Père-Lachaise cemetery in 1981. Morrison died in Paris in 1971 at the age of 27.

As for who originally stole the bust, that’s never been determined, though there had been reports that two fans carried it away on a moped in the dead of night. In 1994, a Utah man and his nephew were arrested at the cemetery for trying to attach a bronze replica of the bust to Morrison’s headstone.

On Monday, the curator of the cemetery told a French paper that he wasn’t sure whether or not the bust will be returned. Morrison’s grave is the most visited at the famed cemetery, which contains 70,000 tombs. Years ago, a security guard had to be hired to stop visitors from smoking pot and even reportedly having sex at the grave.

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