Classic Rock 93.9

Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony says it’s been a while since he’s been in touch with the band’s original front man, David Lee Roth.

In a video recently posted to YouTube of a Q&A at a Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp that took place in March, Anthony says it’s been “quite some time” since he’s spoken to Roth.

He says that the last time they talked was when there was a discussion about “a possible reunion thing,” with Anthony saying Roth and Alex Van Halen called him from manager Irving Azoff’s office “some years back” asking what he thought about doing reunion with Joe Satriani on guitar.

He says, “And that was probably the last time I talked to Dave. That was, you know, God, I don’t know, about a few years ago now.”

But it sounds like Anthony doesn’t hold any ill will toward Dave, although he does describe him as “kind of a crazy guy.” 

“It’s hard to explain Dave. We don’t have enough time,” he says. “I mean, I don’t have anything against Dave. And I’ve said this in the past to different people, whatever, that if the chance ever came up or whatever, I would definitely be willing to jam with him or whatever.”

But Anthony hasn’t given up playing Van Halen music. He’s set to join the band’s other lead singer,  Sammy Hagar, on The Best of All World Tour, where they plan to delve into the Van Halen catalog. The tour, which also features Satriani and drummer Jason Bonham, kicks off July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at redrocker.com.
 

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E Street Band guitarist Stevie Van Zandt will soon be honored by his hometown.

The New Jersey Hall of Fame and Middletown Township are partnering to name a street after the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame guitarist and his brother — playwright, actor and director Billy Van Zandt — in their hometown of Middletown, New Jersey.

The dedication of Van Zandt Way is set to happen April 26 at 11 a.m. with Stevie and Billy in attendance, along with Middletown Mayor Tony Perry and special guest speaker Brian Williams, who is also a Middletown native. 

Stevie Van Zandt is currently on tour with Bruce Springsteen, with their next show happening April 21 in Columbus, Ohio. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net. 

Stevie is also the subject of a new documentary, Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple, directed by Bill Teck, which will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival on June 8.
 

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The solar eclipse may not have washed away the rain, but it did push Soundgarden‘s “Black Hole Sun” to #1 on a Billboard chart.

The Superunknown single saw an increase of 34% in streams and 166% in downloads following the April 8 celestial event. As a result, “Black Hole Sun” became the first Soundgarden song to conquer the Hot Hard Rock Songs tally, which has been around since 2020.

The eclipse also led to streaming bumps for The Beatles‘ “Here Comes the Sun,” Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Bad Moon Rising” and, of course, Bonnie Tyler‘s “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”

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Allman Brothers Band has paid tribute to founding member Dickey Betts, who passed away Thursday at the age of 80.

“With deep sadness the Allman Brothers Band learned today that founding member Dickey Betts has passed away peacefully in his home in Sarasota, Florida, following a period of declining health,” reads a statement signed by Allman Brothers Band, Family, and Crew.

“Dickey wrote quintessential Brothers songs including ‘Blue Sky,’ ‘Rambling Man,’ ‘Jessica,’ ‘In Memory of Elizabeth Reed’ and many others,” it continues. “His extraordinary guitar playing alongside guitarist Duane Allman created a unique dual guitar signature sound that became the signature sound of the genre known as Southern Rock.”

The statement goes on to mention the many things Dickey was passionate about, including music, songwriting, fishing and boating, noting, “Dickey was all in on and excelled at anything that caught his attention.”

With drummer Jaimoe now the last surviving founding member of the group, the statement remembers all of the other members of the band and crew who are now gone.

“Betts joins his brothers, Duane Allman, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks and Gregg Allman, as well as ABB crew, members Twiggs Lyndon, Joe Dan Petty, Red Dog, Kim Payne and Mike Callahan in that old Winnebago in the sky touring the world taking their music to all who will listen,” it reads. “Play on Brother Dickey, you will be forever remembered and deeply missed.”

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Elton John‘s 1974 album, Caribou, turns 50 this year, and a special sky-blue vinyl edition of the album, including a second disc of bonus tracks, will be available on Record Store Day April 20. But fans can watch never-before-seen footage of Elton’s first live performance of one of the album’s big hits, “The Bitch Is Back,” right now.

In 1974, Elton became director of his favorite football team, Watford FC. In order to give the team a financial boost, he staged a benefit concert at the team’s home field, Vicarage Road, marking the first time a concert ever took place there. Tickets cost one pound — the equivalent of about 15 bucks today — and Elton took the stage wearing a yellow and black outfit inspired by the team’s nickname, the Hornets.

During that show, which drew 40,000 fans, Elton sang “The Bitch Is Back” — a full two months before its parent album, Caribou, was released in June; the single didn’t come out for another three months. When it did, it hit the top five on the Billboard Hot 100. The album’s first single, “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me,” had reached #2.

Fun fact: “The Bitch Is Back” got its title from something Bernie Taupin‘s then-wife, Maxine, would say whenever Elton was in a bad mood or throwing a tantrum.

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Legendary musician Randy Bachman is cleaning out his closet.

The rocker, founder of such bands as The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, is auctioning off over 200 guitars from his personal collection through Julien’s Auctions.

Included in the Music Icons auction is Bachman’s 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, known as “The American Woman Guitar,” which he used to create the iconic riff in their classic tune “American Woman.” It is estimated to sell for between $200,000 and $400,000.

Other guitars in the auction include a 1955 white Fender Stratocaster used in the 1975 music video for “Roll on Down the Highway,” with an estimated price of $100,000-$200,000; a 1968 Fender Hardtail Stratocaster, which was Bachman’s main stage and recording guitar in BTO, with an estimated price of $20,000-$40,000; and Bachman’s first guitar, a 1957 sunburst Harmony H1215 acoustic archtop, with an estimated price of $600-$800.

Julien’s Auctions’ Music Icons auction of The Randy Bachman Collection is happening Wednesday, May 29, and Thursday, May 30, live at the Hard Rock Café in New York. Special exhibitions to view the items will be held at the Hard Rock from May 22-28. More info can be found at juliensauctions.com.

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Allman Brothers Band founding member Dickey Betts has died at the age of 80, according to a post on his official Instagram page.

“It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that the Betts family announce the peaceful passing of Forrest Richard ‘Dickey’ Betts (December 12, 1943 – April 18, 2024) at the age of 80 years old,” read the statement. “The legendary performer, songwriter, bandleader and family patriarch passed away earlier today at his home in Osprey, FL., surrounded by his family.”

“Dickey was larger than life, and his loss will be felt world-wide,” the statement continued. “At this difficult time, the family asks for prayers and respect for their privacy in the coming days.”

Betts co-founded Allman Brothers Band in 1969 along with brothers Duane and Gregg Allman, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johanson, releasing their self-titled debut that year. They went on to be considered one of the pioneering Southern rock bands and were particularly known for their touring career, which included long shows filled with extended jams. 

In addition to playing lead guitar in the band, Betts wrote and sang lead on several songs, including “Ramblin’ Man,” their only top 10 hit, and “Blue Sky.” He also composed the band’s well-known instrumental tunes, including “Jessica” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”  

Over the years, the Allman Brothers Band went on hiatus, while Betts concentrated on other projects, including a solo career and forming other bands, like Great Southern, Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks and the Dickey Betts Band. 

Betts was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Allman Brothers Band in 1995. He was officially ousted from the band in 2000 and never played with them again.

With Dickey’s death, 79-year-old drummer Jaimoe Johanson is the last living Allman Brothers co-founder.

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Sting, Deep Purple and Lenny Kravitz are among the artists booked to play the 2024 Montreux Jazz Festival, happening in Montreux, Switzerland, from July 5 – 20.

Deep Purple will headline the stage by the lake on July 8 with Alice Cooper. The booking seems quite fitting considering the band’s iconic tune “Smoke on the Water” was actually inspired by the 1971 fire that burned down the Montreux Casino; the title’s a reference to smoke from the fire spreading over Lake Geneva.

Sting, meanwhile, will headline the same stage on July 17, with Kravitz headlining the night prior on July 16.

Other artists booked for the stage by the lake include Duran Duran on July 20 and The Smashing Pumpkins on July 7, with Dionne Warwick playing the Montreux Casino on July 9. A complete lineup can be found at montruexjazzfestival.com.

Tickets for the festival go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 19.

The Montreux Jazz Festival is the subject of a new documentary, They All Came Out To Montreux, which will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival on June 5-16 in New York City. The doc features appearances by artists like Sting, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, Prince, Aretha Franklin and more.

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Fans of Joni Mitchell are getting the chance to hear her music like they’ve never heard it before.

Rhino is set to release a remastered version of Mitchell’s 2022 The Asylum Albums (1972-1975) box set as part of their Quadio series. The four albums in the set — 1972’s For the Roses, 1974’s Court and Spark, 1974’s Miles of Aisles and 1975’s The Hissing Of Summer Lawns — have been given Quadrophonic, Hi-Res Stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes.

The set includes cover art of a painting by Mitchell as well as an essay by singer Neil Young, who shares, “Joni’s music is so deep and transporting. She comes right from the source.” He adds that all four albums are “classics in my book.”

The Asylum Albums (1972-1975) [Quadio] is available now as a four Blu-ray disc set.

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On This Day, April 18, 1992… 

Def Leppard hit #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart with their fifth studio album, Adrenalize.

The album was the first one Def Leppard recorded following the death of guitarist Steve Clark; they recorded it as a four-piece. It was also their first album since 1980’s On Through the Night that was produced by someone other than Robert “Mutt” Lange, who at the time was busy working with Bryan Adams.

Adrenalize spent five weeks on top of the chart, thanks to songs like “Let’s Get Rocked,” which hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album went on to be certified triple Platinum by the RIAA.

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