Classic Rock 93.9

There are more than 60 artists playing on Mark Knopfler‘s all-star charity single “Going Home (Theme from Local Hero,” but now that the official video is out, you can see who is playing what, and when.

As the song plays, the name of each guitarist you hear appears on screen, starting with the late Jeff Beck. It was his final recording before his death in January 2023. The animated names come together and blend in digital animation, since many guitarists are heard playing simultaneously.

The song also features Ringo Starr and his son Zak Starkey on drums, Sting on bass, The Who‘s Roger Daltrey on harmonica and Journey‘s Jonathan Cain on keyboards.

Among the other artists you’ll hear on the song: The Who’s Pete Townshend, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton, Queen’s Brian May, Rush’s Alex Lifeson, Joan Jett, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, the Eagles’ Joe Walsh, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Joan Jett, Cheap Trick‘s Rick Nielsen, Dave Mason, Nile Rodgers, Mike Rutherford of Genesis and The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood.

“Going Home” is a remake of Knopfler’s own tune, which appeared in the 1983 film Local Hero. Credited to Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes, the song will raise money for the U.K.’s Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America. 

Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend founded TCA in 2012. It funds and develops age-specific facilities, programs and services for teenagers and young adults with cancer in hospitals across the country.

The single features cover art designed by legendary British pop artist Sir Peter Blake, known for his work on The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, two albums by The Who and more.

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On This Day, March 22, 1974 …

Eagles released their fourth studio album, On The Border, which was their first record to include guitarist Don Felder.

The album included such future Eagles classics as “Best of My Love,” sung by Don Henley, which was the band’s first #1 hit, and “Already Gone,” sung by Glenn Frey, which was a top 40 hit.

On The Border was a top 20 hit for the Eagles, peaking at #17, and went on to be certified double Platinum by the RIAA.

Felder appeared on four Eagles albums before getting fired from the group in 2001.

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Pearl Jam has shared a new song called “Running,” a track off the band’s upcoming album, Dark Matter.

The previously teased tune finds frontman Eddie Vedder declaring, “We left the f****** water running.” You can listen to it now via digital outlets.

“Running” marks the second cut to be released from Dark Matter, following the title track, which currently sits at #1 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.

Dark Matter, the follow-up to 2020’s Gigaton, drops April 19. You can hear it bit earlier, though, during the Dark Matter theatrical experience, which will take place in select cinemas around the world on April 16.

“Presented with the best cinematic technology, in Atmos where available, fans at the global cinema event will hear Dark Matter in its entirety twice, before it’s available anywhere!” Pearl Jam explains. “First in a dark cinema with just the music playing and then a second time experiencing the record with added visuals on screen during playback. A musical experience set to be unlike any other record premiere event.”

For the list of participating theaters and all ticket info, visit PearlJam.com/onenightonly.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

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These days, streaming services are all the rage, so that’s where many top artists — from Elton John to Taylor Swift — are taking their concert specials. But Billy Joel‘s upcoming TV special documenting his 100th residency concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden will be on good ol’ broadcast television — for one good reason.

“We wanted to reach as many people as possible in every economic and age demographic as we possibly can,” Billy’s agent, Dennis Arfa, tells Newsday of the decision to air the special on CBS.  Arfa notes, “It was time for people around the country and around the world to see what Billy’s accomplished.”  

As for Billy, well, he’s ambivalent about the whole deal. He tells Newsday, “I’m not usually a big fan of televised shows. You know, I signed up as a musician, not as a TV actor. I’m just not photogenic.”

On that note, Billy’s lighting director, Steve Cohen, 70, tells Newsday, “The hardest thing for Billy is to face the fact that this is what we look like now. I can’t tell Billy to look at himself and like what he sees. But it will be the best-lit version and the best-sounding Billy on camera.”

As for surprise guests at the concert, which is taking place March 28 and will air on CBS on April 14, Billy says he has no idea who’ll show up. “I’ve kind of stayed out of it,” he tells Newsday. “I like spontaneity. I don’t want everything all scripted.”

But despite the fact that Billy is wrapping up his Garden residency in July, capping it at 150 career shows at the famous New York venue, he stresses that he’ll keep on performing “unless I’m too decrepit to pull it off.”

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Lenny Kravitz is giving fans another preview of his upcoming album, Blue Electric Light, which drops May 24.

The rocker just released the second single from the record, “Human,” and tells ABC Audio the song is about living your truth.

“It’s about celebrating and trusting the process of life and being a human with all of the so-called mistakes and, you know, adventures of life,” he says. “We are here, you know, we’re spiritual beings having a human existence. We are here to learn and to find ourselves.”

In the chorus, Lenny sings, “I’m gonna live my truth in this life, I am not gonna live a lie,” and that’s certainly something he’s lived by throughout his career. He’s often talked about how, when he was starting out in the music business, he stood his ground and refused to sign with record labels that wanted him to change his sound, and even he is amazed he was able to do so at such a young age. 

“I still don’t intellectually understand how as a teenager with no money, you know, living in cars, on people’s floors, on couches and how I did that,” he says. “But it was a gut feeling.”

He adds, “That has taught me so much through my life about trusting that voice inside of you.”

Blue Electric Light, which also includes the previously released single “TK421,” is available for preorder now.

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Def Leppard has confirmed their appearance in the sequel to the 2023 Netflix film Bank of Dave.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers shared a photo on Instagram of them standing around a pool table, captioning the shot, “Having a blast on set for Bank Of Dave 2. Cannot wait for you all to see this one!”

Def Leppard appeared in the first Bank of Dave film, which told the real-life story of a working-class, self-made millionaire named Dave Fishwick, who tried to set up a community bank to help his town’s local businesses survive.  The band members played themselves performing at a charity fundraiser for the bank.

So far there’s no word on when Bank of Dave 2 will premiere.

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Paul Simon opens up about what caused the rift in his relationship with his former friend and musical partner Art Garfunkel in episode one of the two-part docuseries In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, airing on MGM+. 

“We were really best friends up until Bridge Over Troubled Water,” he shares, according to People. 
“[Afterward], it didn’t have the harmony of the friendship … that was broken.”

Simon contends that Garfunkel accepting a role in the 1970 film Catch-22 played a major role in the divide between them. Garfunkel expected Simon to write all the music for their next album while he was gone. But Simon was not on board with that, making him realize they had an “uneven partnership.”

When the film shoot lasted longer than the original six-month plan, Simon claims Garfunkel expected him to send him what he wrote so he could give his input. But Simon was unhappy with that arrangement, noting, “It was a recipe for the breakup of Simon & Garfunkel.”

And when they would perform “Bridge Over Troubled Water” Garfunkel got all the praise for his voice, and it upset Simon, whose main thought was, “I wrote that song.” 

“This is my oldest friend, and we experienced anonymity, and then great fame and success, and those things have their own pressure,” he said.

He later noted, “That was a good friendship. That was a real first friendship of somebody that got it. For me to turn into a person that I hope I never see again — that’s a long way.”

Episode two of In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon debuts March 24.

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REO Speedwagon and Three Dog Night are among the many acts booked to play this year’s Milwaukee Summerfest, which takes place over three weekends, June 20-22, June 27-29 and July 4-6.

REO Speedwagon will play the festival stage on June 28, while Three Dog Night is booked for June 20. 

Over 140 headliners are booked for the three weekends. The lineup also includes Mötley Crüe, Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs, Living Colour, Maroon 5, Goo Goo Dolls, Modern English, The Wallflowers, Extreme and Gin Blossoms. 

Tickets for Summerfest are on sale now. A complete lineup can be found at Summerfest.com.

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Forbes magazine recently reported that Journey’s classic track “Don’t Stop Believin’” was “officially the biggest song of all time,” and it’s gotten the band’s former frontman Steve Perry in a reflective mood.

In a post on Instagram, Perry, who left Journey in 1987, writes that the article left him “emotionally stunned.”  

“To be part of such a moment as this made me reflect on my parents,” he shares. “By that I mean, though I lost them both years ago, I was so happy for them because they are truly the reason this is happening.”

He adds “My dad was a singer and both of them were very musical. So on behalf of my Mom and Dad, I thank every one of you for so many years of support.”

Forbes‘ report claimed that “Don’t Stop Believin’” was the biggest song because it was recently certified 18-times Platinum by the RIAA. It shares the milestone with Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse),” which earned the same certification in May.

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Pearl Jam will soon be sharing another song off their upcoming Dark Matter album.

In a Facebook post published Thursday, March 21, the grunge rockers write, “The next track from Dark Matter arrives at midnight.” It’s accompanied by a 26-second preview of the tune.

If a Shazam of the clip is to be believed, the song is called “Running,” which is one of the Dark Matter tracks with an explicit rating. While it’s difficult to decipher all the lyrics given Eddie Vedder‘s sometimes hard-to-understand annunciation style, we did pick out an f-bomb in the tease.

Dark Matter is due out April 19. The title track, out now, is currently the #1 single on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.

Pearl Jam will launch a North American tour in support of Dark Matter in May, though the shows may be relatively shorter than the epic three-hour sets they’ve played in the past.

“Everyone’s almost 60 years old,” guitarist Stone Gossard tells Spin. “So if you want us to keep doing this, we can’t do it the same way we did over the last 10 years or so. The length is gonna be a little bit shorter in general, but there will still be a lot of variety and we’re still going to take chances. We just might do that in different ways.”

“It’s not going to be a marathon every night, because we just can’t do that,” he adds. “Ed and [drummer] Matt [Cameron] in particular are physically doing so much on stage.”

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