Classic Rock 93.9

Elton John and Brandi Carlile are headed to Saturday Night Live in April.

The artists will be the musical guests for the April 5 episode of the NBC late night comedy sketch show, with Jack Black serving as host.

Elton and Brandi’s SNL appearance comes one day after the release of their new collaborative album, Who Believes in Angels? It features the already released tunes “Swing for the Fences,” the title track and the Oscar-nominated “Never Too Late.”

And the pair will be all over the airwaves that weekend. Over on CBS, they’ll premiere the special An Evening with Elton John and Brandi Carlile April 6 at 8 p.m. ET, featuring performances from their March 26 concert at London’s Palladium Theater.

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Ozzy Osbourne has shared a tribute to the late Randy Rhoads on the 43rd anniversary of the guitarist’s death.

In a Facebook post, the Prince of Darkness calls Rhoads “quite possibly the best composer & musician that I have ever met in my life.”

“He came into my life like a bolt of lightning and as such he was gone again,” Ozzy writes. “I consider my self one of the luckiest men alive to have not only met him but also I had the great honor of being able to work with him. I will cherish the time I spent with him till the day I die.”

He concludes,  “LONG LIVE RANDY RHOADS. LONG LIVE ROCK N ROLL. I LOVE YOU ALL.”

Rhoads played on Ozzy’s first two solo albums, 1980’s Blizzard of Ozz and 1981’s Diary of a Madman, contributing to classics including “Crazy Train” and “Mr. Crowley.” He died March 19, 1982, in a plane crash at just 25 years old.

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ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons is the latest artist speaking out in support of Joe Cocker getting into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Gibbons, who was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2004, says in a statement that Cocker’s nomination this year is “good news in view of the monumental recordings released and amazing performances delivered over the course of his lengthy career.”

Gibbons said he met Cocker when he appeared at ZZ Top’s Rompin’ Stompin’ Barn Dance & B.B.Q. back in 1974. 

“Suffice it to say Joe was one of a kind, the very embodiment of rock and roll in terms of talent and spirit,” Gibbons adds. “Let’s get him inducted!”

Gibbons’ statement follows Paul McCartney’s public support for Cocker’s induction. The Beatles legend released a letter calling Cocker “a great man and a fine singer whose unique style made for some fantastic performances,” noting “he deserves to be amongst such illustrious company” in the Rock Hall.

Cocker, who passed away in 2014, has been eligible for the Rock Hall since 1989; this is his first-ever nomination.

Fan voting for the Hall of Fame is open now, and inductees will be announced in April. The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction is set to take place in Los Angeles this fall, although an exact date has yet to be announced.

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Lenny Kravitz and ZZ Top are among the artists booked to play this year’s Sea.Hear.Now festival, happening Sept. 13-14 in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

ZZ Top is on the bill for Sept. 13, which will be headlined by Hozier and also feature UB40, Alabama Shakes, Trombone Shorty and LCD Soundsystem. Lenny will play Sept. 14, which features headliners blink-182, along with 4 Non Blondes, Sublime, TV on the Radio and Public Enemy.

A ticket presale kicks off Friday at 10 a.m. ET, with any remaining tickets going on sale to the general public starting at 11 a.m. ET. A complete lineup can be found at seahearnowfestival.com.

Sea.Hear.Now launched in 2018. Last year’s festival was headlined by New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

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Billy Corgan keeps on cherub rocking as he and his wife, Chloé Mendel, have welcomed their third child.

As the Smashing Pumpkins frontman tells People, Mendel gave birth to a baby girl named Juno on Tuesday.

“My wife, Chloé is doing well and recovering, and baby Juno is happy, healthy, and nursing with gusto,” Corgan says. “We are so touched by all the kind wishes of support and love, and thank those who helped Chloé and baby have such a safe, and peaceful, home birth.”

Corgan adds that Juno’s older siblings, 9-year-old Augustus and 6-year-old Philomena, are thrilled and “can’t wait till she’s old enough to play.”

In addition to celebrating the birth of a new baby, Corgan is celebrating 30 years since the birth of the Pumpkins’ landmark 1995 album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness with a run of shows at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House in November.

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Ringo Starr’s kids are sick of hearing him talk about retirement, because they know he has no plans to follow through.

“Sometimes when I finish a tour, I’m like, ‘That’s the end for me.’ And all my children say, ‘Oh, dad, you’ve told us that for the last 10 years.’ And they get fed up with me,” the 84-year-old rocker tells People. 

Ringo has three children with his late ex-wife Maureen.

“I do feel, ‘Oh, that’s got to be enough,’ and then I get a phone call: ‘We’ve got a few gigs if you’re interested.’ Okay, we’re off again!”

And Ringo, who released the new country album Look Up in January, is ready to be off yet again.

He’s set to kick off a new tour with his All-Starr Band — Toto’s Steve Lukather, Men at Work’s Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart, Gregg Bissonette and Buck Johnson — June 12 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Dates are confirmed through June 25 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

They’ll also return to Las Vegas this fall, with dates at the Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort starting Sept. 17 and wrapping Sept. 24.

A complete list of dates can be found at RingoStarr.com.

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The Cure‘s Robert Smith is following in the footsteps of The Who‘s Roger Daltrey to curate the Teenage Cancer Trust lineup.

Based in the U.K., Teenage Cancer Trust supports young people who’ve been diagnosed with cancer. Each year it hosts a series of charity gigs at London’s Royal Albert Hall, which were curated by longtime patron Daltrey for 24 years before he announced he was stepping down from the role in 2024.

Teenage Cancer Trust has announced that Smith will be the guest curator — or, as the organization punnily suggests, the “Cure-ator” — for the 2026 shows.

“We cannot wait to see who he brings to the lineup,” Teenage Cancer Trust says.

In the meantime, the 2025 Teenage Cancer Trust gigs begin March 24 and include two performances from The Who, plus Sex Pistols with Frank Carter and James Arthur.

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It’s been years since Queen has released any new material, but that could be changing. In a new interview with Mojo, guitarist Brian May suggests that new music from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band is not out of the question.

“I think it could happen,” May tells the mag. “Both Roger (Taylor) and I are constantly writing and coming up with ideas and doing things in our studios.”

He adds, “I could have the beginnings of a Queen song right there in front of me now. It’s just whether the idea reaches maturity or not. It’s whether that seed can grow.”

Queen released their final album, Made in Heaven, in 1995, four years after the death of frontman Freddie Mercury. It used vocals recorded before Mercury’s death combined with new music recorded by the surviving members of the band.

In 2022 they also released the single “Face it Alone,” featuring Mercury vocals recorded 30 years earlier.

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On This Day, March 19, 1962…

A 20-year-old Bob Dylan released his self-titled debut album, produced by John H. Hammond for Columbia Records.

The album only featured two original Dylan tunes, “Song for Woody,” dedicated to folk singer Woody Guthrie, and “Talkin’ New York.” The rest of the album was filled out with folk standards and traditional songs.

While the album was barely noticed when it was first released, the eventual rise of Dylan’s career brought renewed interest in the record, eventually reaching the top 20 in the U.K.

The early days of Dylan’s career were recently depicted in the biopic A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet. It received eight Oscar nominations, including one for best picture.

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Grateful Dead are not only known for their great music, but also for their live shows — and in the early ’70s, those included their infamous Wall of Sound. Now a new book is exploring that sound system.

Loud and Clear: The Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound and the Quest for Audio Perfection, from writer Brian Anderson, will be released June 17. It delves into the story and evolution of The Dead’s iconic speaker system, culled from interviews Anderson did with hundreds of people — including roadies, managers and fans — who were involved with the band and the Wall of Sound’s construction.

The original Wall of Sound was designed in 1973 specifically for the Grateful Dead by their sound engineer Owsley “Bear” Stanley. It reportedly consisted of over 600 speakers, and was three stories high and 100 feet wide.

It was used during the band’s 1974 concert tour, but it’s huge size became an issue and was last used during a show in October 1974.

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