Classic Rock 93.9

Def Leppard has jumped on the viral “Of Course” TikTok trend, where folks share stereotypes about their professions, race, gender and more.

In a post on Instagram, each member of the band shares what they seem to think is an obvious fact about the group. It starts off with bassist Rick Savage, who says, “We’re Def Leppard and of course we’ve played with Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and Queen.”

The band teamed up with Taylor for a 2008 episode of CMT Crossroads, while they preformed with Miley at the September 2022 Los Angeles tribute concert for the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins and with Queen at the 1992 Freddie Mercury tribute concert in London.

Savage was followed by guitarist Phil Collen, who shared, “Of course we play three continents in a day,” referring to their October 23, 1995, shows in Morocco, England and Canada. Drummer Rick Allen, who lost his arm in a 1985 car accident, shared a fact about himself, noting, “Of course I play drums with my feet,” while guitarist Vivian Campbell added a crack about their longevity, sharing, “Of course we’re your mother’s favorite band.” 

Def Leppard’s frontman, Joe Elliott, wraps up the video by noting, “We’re Def Leppard, of course, we’re playing stadiums this summer. All summer.”

That stadium tour he’s referring to is the band’s upcoming co-headlining tour with Journey, which kicks off July 6 in St. Louis. The tour also features special guests Steve Miller Band, Heart and Cheap Trick. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.

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The planned film about Bruce Springsteen’s effort to make his 1982 solo album, Nebraska, is now one step closer to happening. 

It was just announced that 20th Century Studios and Disney have come on board to produce the film, Deliver Me From Nowhere, based on Warren Zanes‘ book Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska. 

It was previously reported The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White was the front-runner to star in the film; a press release confirms that he is in talks to star in the picture, which will be written and directed by Scott Cooper, with Springsteen and his manager Jon Landau involved.

“Warren Zanes’ Deliver Me From Nowhere is one of the best books ever written about Bruce Springsteen and his music,” Landau said in a statement, adding about Cooper, “We think he’s the perfect filmmaker for the job.”

Cooper said in the press release that Springsteen had a profound impact on him and his work.

“I once read that Nebraska is an album that moves you to the marrow of your bones. I couldn’t agree more,” Cooper said. “Warren Zanes’ wonderful telling of this chapter in Bruce’s life is ripe for cinematic adaptation.” He notes, “This film has the potential to be a transformative cinematic experience, offering audiences a window into the soul of Bruce Springsteen and the universal truths that bind us all together.”

Nebraska, released on September 30, 1982, featured 10 acoustic songs Springsteen originally recorded as demos on a four-track recorder. Springsteen had planned to rerecord the songs with The E Street Band but instead opted to release it as a solo acoustic record. It featured such songs as “Atlantic City,” “Johnny 99” and “State Trooper.”

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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John Fogerty has added a second leg of dates to his summer Celebration tour.

Like the already announced first leg, which kicks off June 2 in Simpsonville, South Carolina, the new shows will feature George Thorogood & The Destroyers, as well as Hearty Har, which features Fogerty’s sons Shane and Tyler.

The new dates will launch August 2 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and hit such cities as Cleveland, Memphis, Santa Barbara and San Diego before wrapping September 11 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

A ticket presale begins Tuesday, April 9, with tickets going on sale to the general public starting Friday, April 12, at 10 a.m.

Fogerty launched the Celebration tour back in April 2023, marking his first tour since regaining the worldwide rights to the songs he wrote for Creedence Clearwater Revival. A complete list of dates can be found at johnfogerty.com.

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 It was recorded on March 20, but Monday night PBS stations nationwide will air Elton John & Bernie Taupin: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The star-studded event featured artists from several genres coming together to perform songs by Elton and Bernie.

During the special, you’ll see Elton sing “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,” “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” and “Your Song,” as well as these performances:

Metallica, “Funeral for a Friend”/”Love Lies Bleeding” — and you can watch a preview now on Instagram

Charlie Puth, “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”

Maren Morris: “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues”

Annie Lennox, “Border Song”

Garth Brooks, “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” and “Daniel”

Brandi Carlile, “Madman Across the Water” and “Skyline Pigeon”

Billy Porter, “The B**** Is Back” — and you can watch a preview on Elton’s Instagram

Joni Mitchell, Annie Lennox and Brandi Carlile, “I’m Still Standing” — with lyric changes made by Joni with Elton and Bernie’s permission

American Idol contestant Jacob Lusk of the band Gabriels, “Bennie and the Jets”

According to Billboard, interviews with Elton, Bernie and past recipients Carole King, Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan and Paul McCartney are also included in the special. Check your local listings for details.

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While some people lose their appetite after someone dies, Eddie Van Halen’s family apparently didn’t have that problem. Speaking to People, his ex-wife, actress Valerie Bertinelli, revealed that they ordered a pizza after the rocker passed.

“I didn’t want to believe it was happening. Even while it was happening, I wasn’t believing it was happening,” Bertinelli says of the guitarist’s October 2020 death.  

She says that after he passed away, the family, which included son Wolfgang Van Halen and Eddie’s brother and bandmate Alex Van Halen, decided to honor him with a meal of his favorite food.

“I forget who suggested it, but we were like, ‘Should we have pizza?’ … Because he couldn’t eat, and the last thing Ed really wanted was pizza,” she says. “He loved pizza and burritos, so we had pizza in his hospital room.”

She adds, “I hope people don’t think that’s morbid.”

While Valerie and Eddie had been divorced since 2007, she says there was still so much love between them when he died.

“He knew how much I loved him,” she says. “I knew how much he loved me. The last words he said to me and to Wolfie were, ‘I love you,’” adding, “Ed was very giving with his heart. He wore it on his sleeve.”

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Geezer Butler has announced a live event during which he’ll discuss his 2023 memoir, Into the Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath—And Beyond.

The show takes place on May 22 in Englewood, Colorado. Attendees will see comedian and established metalhead Brian Posehn interview the Sabbath bassist about the book. Butler will also be taking part in an audience Q&A and signing copies of Into the Void.

“I can’t wait to see how the evening unfolds, as Brian is both incredibly funny and a super-passionate rock fan!” Butler says. “It’s a rare opportunity for us to come face to face with fans and answer some of their burning questions!”

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 12. For more info, visit Butler’s Instagram.

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Ringo Starr is ready to drop some new music.

The Beatles drummer announced that the new song, “February Sky,” will be released Friday, April 12, giving fans their first taste of his new EP, Crooked Boy.

Crooked Boy includes four original tracks, written and produced by Linda Perry, who wrote two songs that appeared on Ringo’s 2021 EP, Change the World. 

“Linda made me a great EP – she produced it in her studio and then sent me the tracks and I added the drumming and my vocals,” Ringo shares. “’February Sky’ is great – very moody – but since Linda wrote these specifically for me – it of course has to have a positive peace & love element.”

Crooked Boy will be released on limited-edition marble vinyl for Record Store Day on April 20. That will be followed by a digital release on April 26, with the black vinyl and CD versions dropping May 31.

Fans who just can’t wait until April 20 to hear Crooked Boy will have a chance to preview it earlier at a fan listening event at Amoeba Music in Hollywood on April 18. They will also be selling a special red vinyl seven-inch single of the track.

Here is the track list for Crooked Boy:

“February Sky”
“Gonna Need Someone”
“Adeline”
“Crooked Boy”

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Sammy Hagar took part in a tribute to the late Toby Keith at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 7, and took to social media after his performance to reflect on the experience.

“I was so worried that I wasn’t going to make it through the performance emotionally. It was hard for me working up to it,” Sammy writes on Instagram about his performance of “I Love This Bar.” “When I hit the stage with Toby’s wonderful band that I played with many times over the years, the audience, energy, enthusiasm, and love that filled that building (turned) every tear of sadness into joy.”

He adds, “It was a beautiful experience to say the least, so proud and honored to have been invited.”

Toby’s family was on hand for the tribute, which also included performances by Brooks & Dunn and Lainey Wilson. Sammy said he got to spend a few days with the family, sharing, “We all miss that bigger than life, wonderful man, Mr. Toby Keith. A.k.a. #BigDogDaddy.”

Toby Keith passed away in February after a two-year battle with stomach cancer.

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Nikki Sixx is setting the record straight about the sound of Mötley Crüe‘s new music.

The rocker previously shared on X, formerly Twitter, that the band would be releasing new music soon, describing it as “a powerful cross between country and hip hop,” much to the disappointment of many fans online.

Well, it turns out the whole post was a joke, and Sixx is blaming the media for spreading the misinformation.

“Media running with a joke about new Motley Crue music just shows how they can be unprofessional and irresponsible,” he writes. “But they probably just saw an opportunity for clickbait to sell ads. This stuff always makes me laugh.”

“Anyway. Our new music is actually kinda reggae EDM. But with a bit of Dylan,” he adds, referring to Bob Dylan.

Mötley Crüe first teased they were back in the studio last April, revealing they were once again working with Dr. Feelgood producer Bob Rock. Then in December, Sixx confirmed new tunes would be out in 2024. So far, there’s no word on when exactly fans will finally hear those new tunes.

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Bruce Springsteen wrapped his two-night stand at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum with a show that included four tour debuts and one special guest, Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. 

According to setlist.fm, the 31-song set kicked off with the Nebraska track “Open All Night,” marking not only the song’s tour debut, but the first time Bruce has performed it since 2014. Later in the show, Springsteen took a sign request from the audience, performing The River track “Sherry Darling,” which was another tour debut.

Morello came out to join Springsteen for two songs: “American Skin (41 Shots)” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” both of which were tour debuts. It was the first time Bruce played “American Skin” with the E Street Band since 2017 and his first time playing “Tom Joad” with the band since 2016.

This isn’t the first time Morello has played with Springsteen. In fact, in 2013, he toured with The Boss on the Wrecking Ball tour, filling in for guitarist Steven Van Zandt, who was busy filming his TV show Lilyhammer. Morello is also quite familiar with “Tom Joad,” having covered it with Rage for their 2000 album, Renegades.

Springsteen and the E Street Band are now heading to the East Coast, with their next show happening April 12 in Uncasville, Connecticut. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net. 

In other Springsteen news, The Boss made another Curb Your Enthusiasm cameo, this time on the series finale, which aired Sunday, April 7. The episode had Larry David on trial for violating Georgia’s Election Integrity Act, with The Boss testifying that Larry “maliciously” gave him COVID, which happened in last week’s episode.

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