New illustrated Lemmy book featuring Dave Grohl, Ozzy Osbourne, Lars Ulrich & more announced

March 21, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

The life and stories of late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister will be told in a new illustrated book titled No Remorse.

Published by the comic book company Z2, No Remorse features over 20 written contributions from rockers including Dave Grohl and Ozzy Osbourne, who penned the foreword and afterword, respectively, as well as Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich, Slash, Pretenders‘ Chrissie Hynde, Jane’s Addiction‘s Dave Navarro and Twisted Sister‘s Dee Snider. Those stories will be accompanied by original work from comic book artists such as Dave Chisholm, Bob Fingerman, JayJay Jackson and Jim Mahfood.

“Anyone who ever crossed paths with Lemmy Kilmister left with a very unique experience and stories to share for a lifetime,” says Z2 President Josh Bernstein. “The outpouring of those stories from his friends and family, paired with some of underground art’s greatest illustrators, brings Lemmy and Motörhead roaring back to life on every page.”

No Remorse, which is being released in honor of Motörhead’s upcoming 50th anniversary, is available to preorder now. For more info, visit Z2Comics.com.

Styx bassist Ricky Phillips taking break from the road after two decades with the band

March 21, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Styx is saying goodbye to their bassist Ricky Phillips, who’s been with them for 20 years.

The rocker announced on Facebook that after 50 years of being in the music business, touring with the likes of The Babys, Bad English, Belinda Carlisle and more, he’s decided to to get off the road for a while.

“l’m taking a breather,” he writes. “My last 20+ years of touring and recording with my friends in Styx has come to an end. I am taking a break from the road.” He adds, “I’m not retiring, just taking a break.”

“I will truly miss the wonderfully-crazy and faithful Styx fans…whose smiling faces I often saw more than my own family,” Phillips continues.

And it sounds like Styx will miss him as well. They responded to Ricky’s post, sharing, “It was a joy to spend two decades with Ricky Phillips in Styx and we wish him all the best in his next adventure. He’ll always be a part of the Styx family and we’ll miss his presence on our stage and in our touring lives.”

So far, there’s no word on who’ll be taking Phillips’ place. Styx is set to play Wallingford, Connecticut, on March 22 and will kick off the Renegades & Juke Box Heroes tour with Foreigner on June 11 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A complete list of dates can be found at styxworld.com.

Dave Grohl debuts original song in honor of QotSA’s Josh Homme during benefit concert

March 21, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Dave Grohl performed at Josh Homme‘s Sweet Stuff Foundation benefit concert on Wednesday, March 20, in Los Angeles and debuted a new song that he wrote about his friendship with the Queens of the Stone Age frontman.

In fan-filmed video of the set, Grohl began by saying he wasn’t sure what to play for the show and that he even spent days trying to learn the Doja Cat song “Paint the Town Red.” Eventually, he gave up on that idea. “There are so many lyrics to that song,” he quipped, before deciding to come up with an original tune.

“I did something that’s maybe considered really, really uncool,” Grohl told the crowd. “I wrote a song that’s really genuine and earnest about my friend Josh … I thought, ‘I’m gonna write a song about him and embarrass him in front of all of his friends.'”

While the lyrics don’t mention a Them Crooked Vultures reunion — which Homme recently said is “Dave’s job” to get together — Grohl sings, “Whatever you need, I’ve got you, man.”

The Sweet Stuff Foundation assists musicians and other members of the recording industry dealing with illness or disability. Wednesday’s concert also featured performances by Beck, St. Vincent, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, The Kills, Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders, Eagles of Death Metal‘s Jesse Hughes, QotSA members Troy Van Leeuwen and Michael Shuman.

You can check out highlights from the night via QotSA’s Instagram Story.

Judas Priest’s ‘Invincible Shield’ hits #1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart

March 21, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Judas Priest has come roaring back to the top of the charts with their latest album, Invincible Shield.

The record debuts at #1 on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums chart, after moving 25,000 equivalent album units, 23,000 of which were in traditional album sales.

Invincible Shield is now the third Judas Priest album to land at #1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart, following 2014’s Redeemer of Souls and their last release, 2018’s Firepower.

The album also lands at #6 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart, at #4 on the Top Rock Albums chart and at #18 on the Billboard 200, making it their 13th top 40 album.

Judas Priest is currently on their Invincible Shield tour in the U.K. and Europe. They play London on March 21 and bring the tour to the U.S. starting April 18 in Wallingford, Connecticut. A complete list of dates can be found at judaspriest.com.

David Bowie’s ‘Ziggy Stardust’ journey explored in new box set coming in June

March 21, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

David Bowie’s creation of his famous character Ziggy Stardust is being explored in a new five-CD/Blu-ray audio box set, Rock ‘n’ Roll Star, due out June 14.

The discs will feature 29 unreleased tracks that show Bowie’s journey from February 1971 to the release of 1972’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Those tracks include early songwriting demos, rehearsals from Bowie’s home, BBC sessions, live performances, outtakes and alternative versions. Examples include an alternate take on “Lady Stardust” and an up-tempo cover of The Who’s “I Can’t Explain.”

There’s also a previously unreleased demo of “Ziggy Stardust,” which you can listen to now via digital outlets and on YouTube.

The Blu-ray will include the 2012 remaster of the original Ziggy Stardust album plus additional mixes from 2003. There will also be an alternate version of the album, Waiting in the Sky (Before the Starman Came to Earth), featuring recordings made at Trident Studios in December 1971. It features all the songs from the original album in an alternative running order along with four songs that were left off the record. This special album will also be available on vinyl for Record Store Day, April 20.

In addition to the music, the box set will come with two books: a 112-page book with detailed liner notes, rare photographs, memorabilia and more, as well as a 36-page reproduction of Bowie’s personal notebooks from the Ziggy Stardust era.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Star! is available for preorder now.

Listen to Ozzy Osbourne sing on new Billy Morrison song, “Crack Cocaine”

March 21, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Ozzy Osbourne guests on a new song from Billy Idol guitarist Billy Morrison called “Crack Cocaine.”

The track marks the first new music to feature the Prince of Darkness since his 2022 solo album, Patient Number 9. It’s available now via digital outlets and also features Morrison’s Idol bandmate Steve Stevens.

“When Steve and I wrote the music, it was clear to both of us that it was classic Ozzy — that ONLY Ozzy could sing this one,” Morrison explains. “Once he threw his vocal down, it was obvious that it could never have been anyone else.”

Ozzy, Morrison and Stevens all appear in the accompanying “Crack Cocaine” video, as does Paris Jackson. You can watch that now streaming on YouTube.

“Crack Cocaine” will appear on Morrison’s upcoming solo album, The Morrison Project, due out April 19.

Artists salute Elton John & Bernie Taupin at Gershwin Prize ceremony

March 21, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

The Library of Congress awarded Elton John and Bernie Taupin the prestigious Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at a ceremony held in Washington, D.C., on March 20, where their songs were performed by acts as wide-ranging as Metallica, Garth Brooks, Joni Mitchell, Annie Lennox, Brandi Carlile and Charlie Puth.

The Gershwin prize is presented for influence, impact and achievement in popular music. According to The Washington Post, at the ceremony, Elton talked about how honored he was to be given a distinctly American award. “When I grew up as a little boy in suburban London, the only good music that I heard was American,” he said. “British music sucked.”

“I’m so proud to be British, and to be here in America to receive this award because all my heroes were American,” he continued, adding that America has been “responsible for everything that I love in my musical life.” For his part, Bernie said, “Everything I’ve written emanates from this country … I have an American heart, an American soul.”

While Elton performed several songs himself — including “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” and “Your Song” — the night mostly consisted of the night’s guests performing Elton and Bernie’s catalog for an audience that included a number of prominent U.S. representatives and senators.

Metallica started the show with “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding.” The whole show will air on PBS on April 8 at 8 p.m. Other performances included:

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

Joni Mitchell, Annie Lennox and Brandi Carlile: “I’m Still Standing”

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

Annie Lennox: “Border Song”

Garth Brooks: “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word”

Billy Porter: “The B**** Is Back”

Charlie Puth: “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me.”

Jacob Lusk of Gabriels: “Bennie and the Jets”

New book to explore the music of Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground

March 21, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

The music of Lou Reed will be the subject of a new book coming this spring.

Sweet, Wild and Vicious: Listening to Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground is author Jim Higgins’ look at the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s catalog of music. In it, he shares “descriptions, details, analysis and appraisals” of the music Reed made from the ‘60s until his death in 2013.

“Jim Higgins takes the reader on a long walk through one of the most complicated, controversial and influential of rock oeuvres in terms that are, in turn, scholarly, hip, informative and personal,” says Trouser Press’ Ira Robbins. “The unstated goal of books like this is to make you go back and listen anew to records you thought you knew front to back; Sweet, Wild and Vicious achieves that and more.”

Sweet, Wild and Vicious: Listening to Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground will be released in paperback and eBook on April 19; it’s available for preorder now.

Lou Reed’s music is also being celebrated with an upcoming tribute album, The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed, which will be released on vinyl for Record Store Day on April 20, with CD and digital release happening the same day. It features covers of Reed tunes by the likes of Keith Richards, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Rufus Wainwright, Rickie Lee Jones and others.

John Lennon convinced Paul McCartney to keep an important lyric in “Hey Jude”

March 20, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Paul McCartney has revealed that if it wasn’t for John Lennon, he may have changed a key lyric in the classic Beatles tune “Hey Jude.”

During the latest episode of the McCartney A Life in Lyrics podcast, the rocker shared that the line, “The movement you need is on your shoulder” wasn’t initially supposed to be in the song.

McCartney explains that he originally put the line in as a placeholder but was convinced to keep it in after he performed the song for Lennon and Yoko Ono.

“I turn around to John, ‘Don’t worry. I’ll change that,'” he shared. “And he looked at me and said, ‘You won’t, you know? It’s the best line, innit?'”

“Hey Jude” was inspired by McCartney’s relationship with Lennon’s son Julian Lennon and was written after John left his wife and Julian’s mom, Cynthia, for Yoko Ono.

The song went on to be a Beatles classic, spending nine weeks at #1, which at that time tied a record for the most weeks in the top spot.

The Who’s Pete Townshend to talk ‘Tommy’ on ‘The Tonight Show’

March 20, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

The Who’s Pete Townshend is set to make an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, March 26.

The rocker will be on the show to promote Tommy the Musical, which is set to open at Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre on March 28. The episode will also feature a performance from the musical.

This version of Tommy, directed by the musical’s original director, Des McAnuff, debuted at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre in June and features a brand new staging with a cast of 28 and a nine-piece band.

Based on The Who’s 1969 album and 1975 film, the original production of Tommy opened at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California, on July 1, 1992. It opened on Broadway on April 22, 1993, and closed on June 17, 1995. Tommy won five Tony Awards, including Best Direction for McAnuff and Best Original Score for Townshend.

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