Classic Rock 93.9

Scorpions are paying tribute to their former drummer James Kottak, who passed away at the age of 61. 

“Very sad news … our dear friend and Drummer for 20 years James Kottak has passed at the age of 61,” the band wrote on Facebook on Tuesday, January 9. “James was a wonderful human being , a great musician and loving family man.” Calling him their “brother from another mother,” the band said he “will be truly missed. … Rock‘n Roll Forever RIP James.”

Kottak joined the German hard rock band in 1996, replacing original drummer Herman Rarebell. Kottak was the group’s longest serving drummer, playing with the band until his firing in 2016.

Prior to joining Scorpions, Kottak was an original member of another German hard rock band, Kingdom Come. He was with the band from 1987 to 1989, and rejoined them in 2018.

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The Oscars take place in March, and Elton John has confirmed he will host his annual Academy Awards Viewing Party, which raises money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Elton started holding these parties in 1992, and they’ve since raised tens of millions of dollars for the foundation, which aims to destigmatize AIDS, fund treatments and find a cure.

“The countdown is on again for our biggest night of the year, #EJAFOscars!” Elton posted on Instagram. The event will take place on March 10 in West Hollywood and will be co-hosted by Tiffany Haddish, Neil Patrick Harris and Harris’ husband, David Burtka. 

In addition to food and musical performances, which will be announced later, the event usually features a silent auction of one-of-a-kind experiences and luxury goods. And as Elton’s post notes, “Every contribution on this special night fuels our mission to end HIV stigma and spread greater love and compassion across the globe.” Last year’s event alone raised $9 million.

And since Elton has teased that he’s releasing a new album this year, perhaps he’ll treat attendees to some of the songs?

The 96th annual Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air live coast to coast on March 10 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Judas Priest just dropped the video for “Panic Attack,” the first single from their upcoming album Invincible Shield, which is due out March 8.

The clip features performance footage from the band’s gig at October’s Power Trip Festival in Indio, California. It was during the festival that Judas Priest first surprised fans with the news about Invincible Shield, the band’s first new album since 2018’s Firepower.

Invincible Shield is available for preorder now.

Following the album’s release, Judas Priest will kick off a U.K. and European tour starting in Glasgow, Scotland, on March 11. They launch a U.S. tour on April 18 in Wallingford, Connecticut. A complete list of dates can be found at judaspriest.com.

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Robert Plant has taken to social media to offer some birthday wishes to his former Led Zeppelin bandmates Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, who both celebrated their birthdays in January.

The birthday post came as Page celebrated his milestone 80th on Tuesday, January 9, while Jones celebrated his 78th earlier in the month, on January 3.

“It’s never too late, Happy Birthday John and Happy Birthday Jimmy,” he wrote next to an archival band photo, “here’s to the wonderful dancing days,” a reference to the 1973 Houses of the Holy track “Dancing Days.”

It’s been over 15 years since Plant, Page and Jones performed together as Led Zeppelin. Their last performance took place December 10, 2007, at the Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert in London. They were backed on drums by Jason Bonham, son of their late drummer John Bonham, who passed away in September 1980. The group disbanded shortly after his death.

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Mötley Crüe is getting ready to share something with fans next week. The rockers posted a mysterious tease on Instagram, featuring a collage of black and white archival photos with “soon…” written in red.

They reiterated the “soon” tease in the caption, adding, “1/17/2024,” so whatever they’re planning to reveal is coming on Wednesday. 

Could it be that Mötley Crüe fans will finally get some new music from the band? They first announced they were making new music back in April, when they revealed they were once again working with Dr. Feelgood producer Bob Rock. Then, in December, bassist Nikki Sixx confirmed new tunes would be out in 2024.

If they do release new tracks, it will be the first new music from the band since 2019, when they released the soundtrack to their Netflix series The Dirt, featuring three new songs.

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We’re getting our first look at the upcoming documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, which chronicles the making of the all-star charity single “We Are The World.”

Netflix has just released a trailer for the film, featuring archival footage of artists like Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and more in the studio. There are also clips of new interviews from Richie, Springsteen and others.

“The greatest artists of a generation came together to save some lives,” says Richie, who co-produced the film and co-wrote the song with Jackson. “But we only had one night to get this right.”

According to the description, the movie tells “the untold story of how the global hit ‘We are the World’ almost didn’t happen! 46 of the biggest pop music stars had only one night to turn chaos into magic.”

Released in March 1985, “We Are The World” raised more than $63 million for a newly formed organization called United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa) to help with the famine crisis in the region. The song, produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian, went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for a month.

The Greatest Night in Pop will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, which takes place January 18–28 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. It will debut January 29 on Netflix.

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Ozzy Osbourne guests on a new song from longtime Billy Idol guitarist Billy Morrison.

The track, “Crack Cocaine,” is included on Morrison’s upcoming album The Morrison Project, due out April 19. “Crack Cocaine” also features Tommy Clufetos, who plays drums in Ozzy’s solo band, and Morrison’s Billy Idol bandmate Steve Stevens.

Ozzy and Morrison talk more about the collaboration in the latest episode of The Osbournes Podcast, which is out now. In between, Ozzy also mentions that he’s done with surgery after undergoing several operations to address a fall he suffered in 2019.

“When I came out of the [last] surgery, I said to Sharon, ‘Whatever I’m gonna be at right now, that’s it, I can’t have any more surgery,'” Ozzy says. “I had seven surgeries in five years.”

Other guests on The Morrison Project include Idol, Slipknot‘s Corey Taylor, Steve Vai, Mötley Crüe guitarist John 5 and Linda Perry. Much of the record was co-written by Jeordie White, aka ex-Marilyn Manson bassist Twiggy Ramirez.

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The Rolling Stones are set to head out on the road in April on their Hackney Diamonds tour, but ahead of the trek, they are giving fans the taste of a classic show from their past, thanks to a new live release.  

The Rolling Stones Live At The Wiltern features the recording of a rare intimate show during The Stones’ 2002/2003 Licks World Tour. The trek was in support of their 40 Licks compilation album, which celebrated the group’s 40th anniversary. 

The concert took place November 22 at the 2,000+ capacity Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. It featured performances classics “Start Me Up,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Brown Sugar” and “Honky Tonk Women” as well as rarities like “Stray Cat Blues,” “No Expectations” and their cover of “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love,” featuring the song’s co-author Solomon Burke.

The Rolling Stones Live At The Wiltern will be released March 8 in a variety of formats, including a DVD/two-CD set, a Blu-ray/two-CD set and a two-CD set. It will also be released digitally and as a three-LP vinyl set in three variants: black, gold and an Amazon exclusive black and bronze swirl.

Here is the track list for The Rolling Stones Live at the Wiltern:

CD1:
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
“Live With Me”
“Neighbours”
“Hand of Fate”
“No Expectations”
“Beast of Burden”
“Stray Cat Blues”
“Dance, Part 1”
“Everybody Needs Somebody To Love” (with Solomon Burke)
“That’s How Strong My Love Is”
“Going To A Go-Go”
“Band Introductions”

CD2:
“Thru And Thru”
“You Don’t Have To Mean It”
“Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”
“Rock Me Baby”
“Bitch”
“Honky Tonk Women”
“Start Me Up”
“Brown Sugar”
“Tumbling Dice”

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Red Hot Chili Peppers are headlining Bonnaroo 2024, taking place June 13-16 in Manchester, Tennessee.

The bill also includes Cage the Elephant, who is playing a show for the first time since frontman Matt Shultz was arrested for and pleaded guilty to gun charges in 2023, Maggie Rogers, Brittany Howard, Interpol, Gary Clark Jr., The Mars Volta, Taking Back Sunday, Grouplove and Milky Chance. Post Malone and producer Fred again.. will headline as well.

Additionally, the annual Bonnaroo SuperJam will be inspired by emo and the music of Dashboard Confessional.

A ticket presale begins Thursday, January 11, at 10 a.m. CT.

For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit Bonnaroo.com.

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On This Day, January 9, 1976…

Queen topped the U.K. singles chart with “Bohemian Rhapsody,” from their #1 album A Night at the Opera. 

The almost six-minute long operatic tune, written by frontman Freddie Mercury, was Queen’s first #1 single, and it spent nine weeks on the top of the chart.

The song was rereleased in 1991 following Mercury’s death and returned to the #1 spot. In 1992, after it was included in the comedy blockbuster Wayne’s World, “Bohemian Rhapsody” returned to the chart again and peaked at #2 in the U.S.

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