Classic Rock 93.9

On This Day March 21, 1994…

Bruce Springsteen added an Oscar to his trophy case, winning the Academy Award for “Streets of Philadelphia,” which he wrote for the Tom Hanks movie Philadelphia. The tune was one of two tracks from the movie to be nominated, the other being “Philadelphia,” by Neil Young.

Philadelphia was one of the earliest mainstream films to deal with the HIV/AIDS crisis, and won Hanks an Oscar for Best Actor.

“Streets of Philadelphia” also won five Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year. It peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking The Boss’ 12th and, to date, last top-10 single.

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Bobbi Kelly Ercoline, whose photo appears on the cover of the soundtrack to Woodstock, has died at the age of 73. The news was announced on Facebook by her husband, Nick Ercoline, who was just her boyfriend when the iconic picture of them wrapped in a blanket was taken at the concert.

“She lived her life well, and left this world in a much better place. If you knew her, you loved her. She lived by her saying, ‘Be kind,’” Ercoline wrote. “She didn’t deserve this past years nightmare, but she isn’t suffering from the physical pain anymore and that brings some comfort to us.” 

According to Rolling Stone, Bobbi and Nick were just 20 when they decided to go to the festival, which was about an hour from Middletown, New York, where they lived. They had only been dating a few months at the time but wound up marrying two years later, and stayed married for 54 years. 

The soundtrack, Woodstock: Music From the Original Soundtrack and More, was released May 11, 1970. It features performances by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Who, Joe Cocker, Joan Baez and more.

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Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band continue to add shows to their North American tour. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers added a second North American leg last month, and now they’ve added two more dates to the trek. The new shows include Springsteen’s return to San Diego, with a December 2 show at Pechanga Arena. 

Plus, due to overwhelming demand, they’ve added a second show at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on August 26.

The Gillette show is one of several multiple night stands on Springsteen’s 2023 schedule. Others include two nights at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena and San Francisco’s Chase Center, as well as three nights at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium over Labor Day Weekend.

Bruce and the E Street band bring their tour to Buffalo, New York on Thursday. A complete list of tour dates is posted at brucespringsteen.net.

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Lots of folks seemed to be obsessed with vinyl these days, and that includes plenty of musicians who are about to share their love in a new AXS TV series launching next month. 

Vinyl Obsession, the latest addition to the network’s Sunday Night Rocks lineup, follows musicians to Grimey’s Record Shop in Nashville. They’ll talk about their career and influences, and pick out five vinyl albums that have had the most impact on them. 

The eight-episode series kicks off April 2 at 8:30 p.m. ET, with STYX’s Tommy Shaw and Headbanger’s Ball host Riki Rachtman. Future episodes feature John Oates, ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons, Joe Bonamassa, Billy Sheehan, The Go-Go’s bassist Kathy Valentine and others.

Also premiering April 2 at 8 p.m. ET is the sixth season of The Top Ten Revealed, with the latest season featuring such rock stars as Alice Cooper, Sebastian Bach, Dee Snider, Lita Ford and John Oates.

And at 9 p.m. ET Sunday Night Rocks will air a variety of classic concerts, kicking off with Nirvana: Live at the Paramount, followed by Journey: Live In Houston 1981 – The Escape Tour, Queen: Live At Wembley and AC/DC: Live At The River Plate Buenos Aires.

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Pink Floyd continues to celebrate this year’s 50th anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon, and has just shared a new video looking back at the groundbreaking tour in support of the album.

The clip looks at the first-ever use of their large circular screen at the back of the stage, and their surround sound system. It features commentary from Roger Waters, as well as Aubrey Powell of album cover design company Hipgnosis, and Ian Emes, who did the animation for the “Time” sequence for the Dark Side tour. 

There’s also an interview with Jill Furmanovsky, who shot the majority of the photos on the tour. Those photos are included in the new book Pink Floyd — The Dark Side of the Moon: 50th Anniversary, which is included in the 50th anniversary box set, available now.

“Floyd were unique at the time, they were breaking all these boundaries technically. It was a totally immersive experience,” she shares. “It was a really good time for the band. Everyone was in their prime. They seemed to be enjoying all of it.”

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Tesla is extending their time in Sin City. The band just announced a new set of dates for their Las Vegas residency. 

The band has added five new shows, taking place September 29 and 30, and October 4, 6 and 7 at the House of Blues in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Presale tickets go on sale Tuesday, with the general sale set for Friday at 10 p.m. PT. 

Tesla is already set to return to Las Vegas this week, with shows happening Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The band also has several dates booked throughout the spring and summer. Their complete tour schedule can be found at teslaband.com.

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Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx is hitting back at an accusation the band performs with backing tapes on their tour.

As previously reported, the accusation was made by former Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice, who claimed that guitarist Mick Mars, who retired from touring with Crüe, was “unhappy” touring with the band because “basically, everything was on tape.”

A fan on Twitter asked Sixx about the accusations, and he didn’t hold back his feelings. “A washed up drummer speaking for our band without any of the facts is as ridiculous as bottom feeder media running with stories without fact checking,” he tweeted. “When you hear the truth it will be from us.” 

But Appice didn’t let Sixx have the last word. He was quick to respond, “At least this washed up drummer can play his instrument well who has pioneered heavy rock drumming and can educate others around the world on his instrument !!!”

Mötley Crüe is currently on a short break from their world tour with Def Leppard. Their next show is scheduled for May 22 in Sheffield, England. A complete list of dates can be found at motleycrue.com.

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Metallica‘s “Enter Sandman” still rung out during Virginia Tech’s opening game during the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, despite a rule preventing it from being played.

As The Roanoke Times explains, even though Virginia Tech was hosting the game at its home Cassell Coliseum, the NCAA defines tournament matches as “neutral,” meaning the arena isn’t allowed its “team-preferred music.” That includes “Enter Sandman,” which Virginia Tech usually plays during home games right before tip-off.

However, that didn’t stop the fans in the stands from singing the metal classic. In footage shared by The Roanoke Times, you can hear the crowd belt out the opening verse of “Enter Sandman” as the game begins.

By the way, Virginia Tech won their first two tournament games and advanced to the Sweet 16.

“Enter Sandman” will also be sung in stadiums across the globe when Metallica launches their M72 world tour, which begins in Europe in April before kicking off in the U.S. in August. They’ll be supporting their new album, 72 Seasons, dropping April 14.

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KISS’ Gene Simmons recently announced a chance for U.K. fans to record a song with him at Abbey Road Studios — for a price, of course. Well, now he’s offering U.S. fans a similar experience.

To coincide with KISS’ final shows ever at New York’s Madison Square Garden on December 1 and 2, Simmons is giving lucky fans a chance to join him at Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios December 4, 5 and 6.

For a little less than $6,000, a fan and a guest will get to spend the day in the studio with Simmons and record a song with him, which they’ll be able to take home. They’ll also get to hear Gene share stories about his career, snag some items from his personal KISS collection and take a photo with him. Plus Simmons will sign two of the purchaser’s personal items. 

Simmons notes that no musical experience is necessary to take part in this special package, but “if you play an instrument, we may use that in the recording.”

More info can be found at genesimmonselectricladystudios.com.

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Sir Rod Stewart was forced to press pause on the Australian leg of his tour due to an unexpected illness.

He took to Instagram Saturday to share a statement that his scheduled performance at Mt Duneed Estate in Geelong would not proceed as planned. The show was part of the venue’s A Day on the Green festival, where the singer was set to perform alongside Cyndi Lauper and Jon Stevens.

They, along with Stewart, shared the joint announcement from Live Nation, saying the show “will not go ahead, due to illness.”

The announcement, which was captioned with a broken heart emoji, also promised that fans would hear “a further announcement regarding the concert arrangements … early next week.”

Stewart explained why he had to pull out of the festival in a follow-up post. “I am absolutely downhearted that I’m disappointing my fans,” the statement began. It continued, “Late this morning I was advised that I have a viral infection and my throat is too irritated to sing.”

“I’m only human and sometimes get sick just like you do. My greatest joy is performing for you, so I’m doing everything I can to get on the mend and back on stage,” the statement closed.

So far no announcement has been made regarding his scheduled Tuesday show at AEC Arena in Adelaide.

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