Elton John says new Disney+ doc ‘Never Too Late’ ‘made me feel good about myself’

December 13, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Never Too Late, the new documentary about Elton John, premieres Dec. 13 on Disney+. Directed by his husband, David Furnish, and RJ Cutler, it features never-before-seen footage of Elton’s career and of his life today as a husband and father. It also details how he triumphed over adversity, abuse and addiction. However, he says revisiting his past via the film wasn’t always pleasant.

Asked if the documentary was difficult for him to watch at times, Elton told ABC News, “A bit, because I hadn’t seen a lot of that footage. But what it did [was], it confirmed in myself that those were great songs … I played well. We had a great band.”

Indeed, the doc points out that during one five-year period in the ’70s, Elton released 13 albums, seven of which hit #1.

“The records were amazing, and I tend to forget that because I don’t listen to the past — or my past, anyway,” Elton said. “So in that way, it made me feel good about myself and about what I did and what I composed and how I played.”

While Elton has retired from large-scale touring, he seems to be as in demand as ever. And despite the fact that he’s currently dealing the loss of his sight in one eye — which he hopes will be temporary — Elton says he feels he’s currently in a great place in his life.

“I’m so lucky. I’m the luckiest man in the world,” he gushed. “I’m so proud of the documentary. I’m so proud of what David and RJ have done. I’m proud of my sons. I’m proud of my attitude towards myself and what’s going on. I’m just very lucky and I’m very grateful.”

Lou Gramm on Foreigner’s ‘Agent Provocateur’: ‘It did some damage to our rock credibility’

December 13, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Saturday, Dec. 14, marks the 40th anniversary of Foreigner’s fifth studio album, Agent Provocateur, which was a huge hit for the band.

The album was a top-five hit, landing at #4 on the Billboard 200, and earned a triple Platinum certification by the RIAA. The record is best known for its hit ballad “I Want To Know What Love Is,” which spent three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 and became the band’s only #1 song.

But despite the success of “I Want to Know What Love Is,” Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm wasn’t particularly happy that it was the album’s first single, especially since the last hit from their previous album, 4, was another ballad, “Waiting for a Girl Like You.”

“I seriously think it did some damage to our rock credibility,” he tells ABC Audio. “There were comments in editorials about how some of our rock fans felt like we were letting them down.”

As for the album itself, Gramm says “there’s some great songs on there,” noting that some of them were “completely overlooked.”

He adds, “So, you know, I think it’s a very good album.”

But apparently the album didn’t damage their rock credibility too much, as Foreigner was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in October. Despite his feelings about the song, Gramm performed “I Want To Know What Love Is” with Kelly Clarkson during the induction ceremony.

Legal docs about Beatles breakup sell for over $11,000

December 12, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Legal documents pertaining to the breakup of The Beatles sold at auction on Thursday for over $11,000, according to the U.K. publication The Standard.

The U.K. auction house Dawsons handled the sale of the more than 300 pages of documents relating to the band’s official split in 1974. The pages, from advisers and legal reps, were discovered in a cupboard sometime in the last year, although the exact location of the find was not revealed.

When the auction was announced earlier in December, Denise Kelly, from Dawsons, described the documents as “fascinating,” noting, “I just couldn’t put them down until I had read every page.”

The docs were purchased by a private buyer. It was originally estimated that they’d sell for between $6,000 and $10,000.

Gibson unveils A Complete Unknown: The Collection, guitars inspired by the Bob Dylan biopic

December 12, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

The cast of the Bob Dylan film A Complete Unknown, including star Timothée Chalamet, perform all the music seen in the film, which amounts to more than 50 onscreen music performances. When it comes to guitars, they are playing Gibsons.

Gibson’s acoustic guitar luthiers worked with the film’s production team to provide historically accurate guitars for the movie, including two custom Gibson J-50s built for the movie to match Dylan’s original guitar, a 1947 model.

“As many Gibson acoustic guitars played a timely role in American music history our supportive mission was to carefully select the Gibson acoustics that Bob Dylan chose to play during his powerful presence in the 1960s,” Robi Johns, senior product development manager at Gibson Acoustic Guitars, shares. “To achieve this with historical accuracy, we also recreated a few of Bob’s acoustic guitars for the timeframe depicted in the movie.”

Now Gibson has debuted a new line of acoustic guitars inspired by the film. A Complete Unknown: The Collection is made up of nine guitars, including a Gibson SJ-200, considered the world’s most famous acoustic guitar, and a Johnny Cash SJ-200 Vintage Cherry Sunburst.

And fans can check out some of the Gibson guitars created for the film — they’ll be on display at the Gibson Garage Nashville from Dec. 19 through January.

A Complete Unknown hits theaters Dec. 25.

New photo book dedicated to the Grateful Dead coming in August

December 12, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

A new book about the Grateful Dead is coming out next year in time for the band’s 60th anniversary.

The Grateful Dead By Jim Marshall: Photos And Stories From The Formative Years, 1966–1977 will be released Aug. 5, featuring both color and black-and-white photos taken by rock ‘n’ roll photographer Jim Marshall, who has snapped more than 10,000 pictures of the band during his career.

The hardcover book, curated by Amelia Davis and David Gans, is made up of over 200 photos, many of which have never been printed before.

According to the book’s description, fans will be able to “immerse themselves in the Grateful Dead’s formative years, from their humble beginnings to their rise to global stardom, the era when they developed their pioneering musical style and their legendary live performances.”

In addition to the pictures, the book will feature stories by five experts on music, photography and The Dead, as well as quotes and commentary, plus an afterword written by Grammy winner John Mayer, who’s a member of Dead & Company.

The Grateful Dead By Jim Marshall: Photos And Stories From The Formative Years, 1966–1977 is available for preorder now.

Duff McKagan, Jerry Cantrell & more playing 2025 Above Ground benefit concert

December 12, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses and Alice in Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell are among the artists playing the 2025 Above Ground benefit concert, hosted by Jane’s Addiction‘s Dave Navarro and Billy Idol guitarist Billy Morrison.

The bill also includes Idol, A Perfect Circle‘s Billy Howerdel, The Cars‘ Elliot Easton, Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads, Sugar Ray‘s Mark McGrath and Foo Fighters drummer Josh Freese. They will join Navarro and Idol in performing The Cars and New York Dolls‘ debut albums.

Above Ground 2025 takes place Jan. 25 in Los Angeles. It will raise money for MusiCares in support of mental health awareness and suicide prevention.

Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks releasing live album and DVD

December 12, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Former Yes lead singer Jon Anderson is set to release a new live album and DVD with his backing band The Band Geeks.

Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks Live – Perpetual Change is a recording of their concert at the Aracada Theater in St. Charles, Illinois, which took place during their 2023 summer tour.

As a preview of the release, Anderson has shared a performance of the Yes classic “And You And I.”

Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks Live – Perpetual Change will be released March 14 as a two-CD/DVD package and as a three-LP set. They are both available now for preorder.

Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks previously released the new studio album True in August. It was Anderson’s first new album since 2019’s 1000 Hands: Chapter One and his first with The Band Geeks, who he’s been touring with since 2023.

Billy Corgan thinks a Metallica song sounds ‘awfully close’ to a Smashing Pumpkins song

December 12, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Give Billy Corgan that which he desires, which is acknowledgement that the Metallica song “Fuel” may be a bit too reminiscent of The Smashing Pumpkins‘ “Tales of a Scorched Earth.”

“Fuel” appeared on Metallica’s 1997 album, Reload, while “Tales of a Scorched Earth” was released two years earlier on the Pumpkins’ 1995 record, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.

“If you listen to ‘Tales of a Scorched Earth’ and you listen to [‘Fuel’],” Corgan says on the Everblack Podcast. “I don’t think James [Hetfield] would rip anything off from me, but first time I heard that song, I was like, ‘That’s awfully close!'”

Corgan doesn’t have any hard feelings, though, and says he thinks Hetfield is “probably the greatest riff writer outside of maybe [Black Sabbath‘s] Tony Iommi.”

“James has written some of the greatest, most amazing riffs, and he’s still writing them,” Corgan says.

Actor Harris Dickinson comments on whether he’ll play John Lennon in Beatles films: ‘We’ll see’

December 12, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

While no official casting for Sam Mendes’ movies about The Beatles has been announced, the rumors continue to swirl, and now one of the actors mentioned as a possible candidate to play John Lennon has spoken out on the subject.

On the red carpet for his new movie Babygirl, actor Harris Dickinson neither confirmed nor denied his involvement in the project when asked by Variety.

“It would be amazing to do that,” he said. “I think the idea of Sam teaming up to do something like that would be incredibly exciting. Obviously, John Lennon is a very complex role, a pretty formidable force to try to do. It would be cool.”

When asked outright if he was on board for the films, he simply replied, “We’ll see.”

Mendes’ Beatles project was announced back in February, with the director revealing he planned to make four separate films, one for each member of the group — Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison.

As previously reported, Gladiator director Ridley Scott revealed in a talk with director Christopher Nolan at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles Tuesday that Paul Mescal would be doing one of the films; he’s rumored to be playing McCartney. In addition, Ringo recently let it slip in an Entertainment Tonight interview that Barry Keoghan had been cast to play him.

Sony Pictures is the studio behind the movies, and it marks the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted a studio the rights to the life stories of the band members and their legendary catalog of music.

Def Leppard booked for Milwaukee Summerfest

December 12, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Def Leppard is headed to Milwaukee this summer.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are set to headline Milwaukee Summerfest, playing the American Family Insurance Amphitheater on June 19, with special guest Tesla.

Def Leppard’s fan club, Rock Brigade, gets first access to tickets starting Monday, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Milwaukee Summerfest takes place over three weekends — June 19-21, June 26-28 and July 3-5 — with shows at a variety of venues across the city. So far a complete lineup has not been announced.

While Def Leppard hasn’t announced an official tour for 2025, they’ve slowly been confirming shows in several cities, including Atlantic City, New Jersey; Uncasville, Connecticut; and Springfield, Illinois. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.

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