Classic Rock 93.9

Foo Fighters are performing at an upcoming benefit concert being held in Washington, D.C.

The show takes place March 5 and will support Power to the Patients, a nonprofit that’s dedicated to “fighting for a more affordable, accessible, and equitable healthcare system through true price transparency.”

“When we were asked by Power to the Patients to help raise awareness of the need for transparency in healthcare pricing, we immediately said yes,” Foo Fighters say. “People suffering from illness and injury shouldn’t have to worry about being bankrupted by surprise charges for their treatment.”

Other artists that will be in attendance include Jelly Roll, Fat Joe, Chuck D, Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean and Lainey Wilson.

The concert will be a private event. For more info, visit PowertothePatients.org.

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The solo career of The Who’s late bassist John Entwistle will be the subject of a new CD box set coming in May. 

The Ox Box Set, dropping May 10, will feature Entwistle’s six solo albums — 1971’s Smash Your Head Against the Wall, 1972’s Whistle Rymes, 1973’s Rigor Mortis Sets In, 1975’s Mad Dog, 1981’s Too Late the Hero and 1996’s The Rock — with each CD containing bonus tracks made up of outtakes, demos and early versions of songs. The set will also include a 28-page booklet. 

Also on May 10, three of Entwistle’s solo albums will be reissued separately on 140g colored vinyl. Smash Your Head Against the Wall will be released on green vinyl, its first vinyl release since 1981. Whistle Rymes will be released on red vinyl, its first time on vinyl since 1973, and Rigor Mortis Sets In will be released on orange vinyl, becoming its first vinyl release since 1974.

Both the box set and the individual colored vinyl releases are available for preorder now.

This isn’t the first time Entwistle’s solo career has been the subject of a new release. Back in November, all six albums, including bonus tracks, debuted on digital services.

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AC/DC celebrated the 50th anniversary of their very first show in December, and now, they’re dropping some special vinyl releases.

The band is set to release their catalog on limited edition gold colored vinyl, starting March 15 with nine albums; further releases are expected later in the year. 

The first set of gold vinyl releases include: Back in Black, Highway to Hell, The Razors Edge, Powerage, For Those About To Rock (We Salute You), High Voltage, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheep, Who Made Who, which was the 1986 soundtrack to the Stephen King film Maximum Overdrive, and the double live album, Live.

Each gold vinyl, available for preorder now, will come with a 12×12 album, album-specific print and AC/DC 50 artwork.

AC/DC recently announced they’ll be hitting the road on the Power Up tour. It kicks off with a two-night stand in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on May 17 and 21. So far, no U.S. dates have been announced.

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On This Day, February 20, 1974…

Steely Dan released their third studio album, Pretzel Logic, which was the last to feature the full lineup of Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, Denny Dias, Jim Hodder and Jeff “Skunk” Baxter. Future albums would be recorded by Becker, Fagen and hired studio musicians. 

Pretzel Logic was a top 10 hit for Steely Dan, peaking at #8 on the Billboard 200.  It featured the hit single “Ricki Don’t Lose That Number,” which was the highest charting single of the band’s career, hitting #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The album went on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA. 

Steely Dan, which these days consists of Fagen and a group of touring musicians, is still out on the road. They are currently opening for the Eagles on their Long Goodbye Tour, which hits Hollywood, Florida, on March 1 and 2.

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Eddie Vedder performed with noted grunge enthusiast Post Malone during a charity concert on Saturday, February 17, benefiting the Pearl Jam frontman’s EB Research Partnership organization.

During the event, Post joined Vedder for an acoustic rendition of PJ’s “Better Man.” The pair also performed a cover of Tom Petty‘s “I Won’t Back Down.”

Malone has previously covered “Better Man” on his own and has also put his spin on another grunge classic, Alice in Chains‘ “Them Bones.” Additionally, he famously performed a Nirvana covers set in 2020.

You can watch footage of the Post/Vedder “Better Man” collaboration via the EB Research Partnership’s Instagram Story. Malone also posted a video of a him rehearsing a cover of another Tom Petty song, “American Girl,” backstage with Vedder on his Instagram.

EB Research Partnership, which Vedder co-founded with his wife, Jill, endeavors to find a cure for epidermolysis bullosa, a rare genetic disorder that causes painful skin blisters.

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The story of The Beatles is about to be told on the big screen in a big way.

Sony Pictures just announced that Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes is on board to direct not one, but four movies about The Beatles, each one told from the point of view of a different band member.

The films mark the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted a studio the rights to the life stories of band members Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison, and their legendary catalog of music. 

“I’m honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies,” Mendes, best known for such films as American Beauty and Skyfall, shared in a statement.

So far, there’s no word on when production will begin or who’ll be cast in each role. The studio promises an “innovative and groundbreaking” release for the films, which are due out in 2027.

While this is the first time The Beatles have supported a movie about the band, it isn’t the first time they have been depicted on screen. The 1994 film Backbeat chronicled the early days of The Beatles, and in 2009, Aaron Taylor-Johnson played Lennon in the film Nowhere Boy, which focused on the singer’s teenage years. 

The Beatles were also subject of the 2019 comedy Yesterday, about a struggling musician who wakes up after an accident and discovers he’s the only one in the world who remembers The Beatles.

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Van Halen‘s two frontmen, Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth, haven’t been holding back in the press about their feelings toward each other. And while they may not be friends, that hasn’t stopped Hagar from appreciating the music Roth made with Van Halen before he took over.

Van Halen’s sixth studio album, 1984, celebrated its 40th anniversary in January and Hagar has nothing but good things to say about it.

“I was a huge fan of that record,” Hagar tells ABC Audio, noting it made him realize Eddie Van Halen was a “genius.”

Sammy was particularly impressed by Eddie’s synthesizer work on “Jump,” Van Halen’s only #1 single, sharing, “You know, Eddie, I just I fell in love with Eddie with that.”

And Hagar says he was even a little jealous after the success of “Jump,” sharing that prior to its release he always felt he was on the same level as Van Halen.

“You know, I felt I was in competition until I heard ‘Jump’ and the song went, you know, it was such a big hit,” he says. “I just went, ‘Wow, they did it.’ I was mad, I was upset.” He does note that he got over it once Van Halen asked him to join the band. 

Roth left Van Halen after 1984 and was replaced by Hagar. They went on to have four #1 albums with him as frontman. 

And Hagar plans to celebrate his time with Van Halen and more during his upcoming The Best of All Worlds Tour, which kicks off July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at redrocker.com.

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Lenny Kravitz was honored Sunday night with the Music Icon Award at the 2024 People’s Choice Awards.

Kravitz talked about how when he first started out people offered him big deals but only if he changed his music, sharing he turned them down because he couldn’t do something “inauthentic.”  

“An icon, to me, is someone who inspires and teaches others to believe in themselves, and their direction, whatever that direction is,” he said. “It’s never been about how many records I sell, or how many awards I win. It’s not about trying to write hits, or being calculated or formulaic.”

He added, “It’s about enjoying and being grateful for the journey, and using the gifts that God gave you, and that journey goes how it goes. And it will continue, because I’m just doing me.”

After thanking his parents, Roxie Roker and Sy Kravitz, Lenny shared, “Music is about bringing us all together. And the whole reason I create and perform music is to amplify love … Love is the strongest power, and love will win. We are all one — one God, one people, one planet. Let love rule, y’all.”

Kravitz also performed a medley of tunes at the event, including “Fly Away,” “It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over,” “Let Love Rule,” “Are You Gonna Go My Way,” and “TK421” from his upcoming album, Blue Electric Light, dropping May 24.

Kravitz is a newly announced nominee for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2024. Inductees will be announced in late April, with the induction ceremony set to take place this fall in Cleveland. The ceremony is set to stream live on Disney+, followed by a highlights special airing later on ABC.

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Def Leppard has added another tour date to their already busy schedule.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are set to headline Spokane Arena on September 6, the first time they are playing Spokane, Washington, in seven years.

Tickets for Def Leppard Rock Brigade Concert Club members go on sale Tuesday, February 20, with the general sale happening Friday, February 23. 

The Spokane show is one of only a handful of solo Def Leppard dates on their schedule for 2024. They are due to hit the road with Journey starting July 6 in St. Louis, Missouri. The tour 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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Paul McCartney is back on the Billboard chart thanks to the 50th anniversary reissue of his Wings album, Band on the Run.

The reissue, which went to #1 on the Billboard 200 chart when it was released in 1974, returns to the same chart at #156 for the week ending February 17.

It has also landed in the top 10 on three other Billboard charts: the Top Album Sales chart, where it reenters at #5; the Vinyl Albums chart, where it debuts at #7; and the Tastemaker Albums chart, where it’s at #6. It also debuts at #37 on the Rock & Alternative Albums chart.

Overall, 8,000 copies of Band on the Run were sold in the U.S. in the first week of the anniversary edition’s release.

The 50th anniversary release of Band on the Run featured a half-speed remastered single LP vinyl of the original album, as well as a special two-LP vinyl set comprised of the half-speed remastered original album and an additional LP, Underdubbed Mixes Edition, featuring the album’s nine songs without any orchestral overdubs.

Band on the Run was the third album released by Paul McCartney & Wings and McCartney’s fifth post-The Beatles release. It featured such classic songs as the title track, “Jet” and “Bluebird.” 

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