Classic Rock 93.9

Bob Seger may love that “Old Time Rock and Roll,” but apparently, he loves a little country too. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer was in Nashville Sunday, October 22, to help induct Patty Loveless into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Patty was visibly shocked as the rock legend stepped onstage to perform her hit “She Drew a Broken Heart” in her honor. He’s such a fan, he’d previously traveled to her home in Georgia to add her background vocals to his project.

“I’m a little p***ed off. I just found out I have to follow Bob Seger,” Vince Gill, who’s currently performing on tour with the Eagles, quipped before singing a bit of Seger’s signature song. Vince went on to do Patty’s “Lonely Too Long” before officially welcoming her into the Hall of Fame, calling her both the “little sister I always wanted to sing with” and “perhaps the most authentic voice I’ve ever heard.”

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Sammy Hagar brought a little ’90s alt rock to his show in Hammond, Indiana, on Friday, October 20.

The former Van Halen frontman was playing a gig with his band The Circle, made up of Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Vic Johnson, when he surprised fans by bringing out The Smashing Pumpkins’ frontman Billy Corgan. 

Video posted to Sammy’s Instagram account shows the band starting off with a bit of the Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream track “Cherub Rock” before moving on to the Van Halen classic “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love.”

“What a surprise to meet/jam with @BillyCorgan last night – one talented dude brought even more fun than we were already having,” Hagar shared. Bonham also posted video from their rehearsal backstage, writing, “What a great night we had last night !!!”

Sammy Hagar & The Circle bring their tour to Detroit, Michigan, Monday, October 23. A complete list of dates can be found at redrocker.com.

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While some rock fans would’ve died to witness The Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds release show in New York on Friday, October 20, music producer Tony Visconti didn’t think they were worth the wait.

In case you missed it, Visconti, best known for his work with David Bowie, shared his frustrations in a post on Facebook, revealing he waited so long for The Stones to take the stage, he simply left.

“Got tickets for the ‘private’ or ‘secret’ Rolling Stones show at Racket. Ticket said doors open at 8 pm. Stood outside in the cold windy night until 8:40,” he wrote. “Got inside and waited and waited, standing room only. The DJ was deafening, on top of that people came up to me and were screaming in my ears, attempting a conversation.”

He then noted, “I looked at my date who told me if I wanted to leave she would go with me. It was 9:30 now and the DJ was cranking it even louder. I thought, f*** it, I saw the Stones so many times back in the day with a better line up, even one gig with Brian Jones and Bill Wyman.”

Visconti says security guards warned him he wouldn’t be able to go back inside once he left, to which he replied, “thank God.”

He concluded, “Went back home, turned on Roku and watched Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein. Now that was good!” 

Meanwhile, that very loud DJ turned out to be Questlove, who commented about Visconti’s post. “Dog, the fact that I offended Tony Visconti in such a rock & roll fashion is prolly one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received in my 40 years as a professional musician,” he wrote.

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KISS is on the final leg of their End of the Road tour, and they just received quite an honor from the city of Cleveland.

Cleveland.com reports the rockers were given the city’s first Music Keynote to the City, with October 22, 2023, the same night KISS headlined Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, being declared KISS Day. 

KISS members Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer were at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to receive the honor, but Gene Simmons sat out the festivities because he reportedly needed to rest.

City Councilman Brian Kazy shared that the band was being honored because they “never really forgot Cleveland,” noting that since their very first show in the city, KISS has “performed once every 624 days in the Greater Cleveland area, which means the guys behind me have never forgotten the people in front of them.”

“We’ve always felt this was a home away from home,” Stanley shared in accepting the honor. “I’m very humbled after 50 years to be here and to receive awards and do another sold out show. It’s been amazing, and thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, you’ve been awesome to us.”

KISS’ End of the Road tour hits Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, October 23. They’ll play their final shows December 1 and 2 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. A complete list of dates can be found at kissonline.com.

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Robert Plant recently busted out a Led Zeppelin classic for the first time in 16 years. While performing at a benefit concert put on by former Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor, the rocker decided to play the iconic “Stairway to Heaven,” Rolling Stone reports.

While Plant has performed Zeppelin tunes like “Going to California” and “Whole Lotta Love” on tour, the last time he performed “Stairway” was December 10, 2007, at the Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert in London, which was also the last time Zeppelin members Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones performed together. They were backed on drums by Jason Bonham, son of their late drummer John Bonham.

Fan-shot footage of the new “Stairway to Heaven” performance can be found on YouTube.

The benefit concert, An Evening with Andy Taylor and Special Guests, took place Saturday, October 21, at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire, England. The money raised is going to The Cancer Awareness Trust, where Taylor, who is battling stage 4 prostate cancer, has been undergoing lifesaving, targeted treatment.

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Here’s some exciting news for fans of The Who. Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Pete Townshend just confirmed to The Sun that he is working on a new rock opera.

The project, which will follow Townshend’s other rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia, will be based on his 2019 debut novel, The Age Of Anxiety. 

“I am still developing the score and recording the music,” he says. “I am also working on a documentary about the project, from its inception in 2007 until today.”

But fans have a bit of a wait before they actually hear anything. Townshend notes, “I’m probably two years off completing it, at which time I hope to perform it with a full opera and a cast of guest singers.”

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Bruce Springsteen released his 12th studio album, Letters to You, his first with The E Street Band since 2014.  

Inspired by the death of a former bandmate, it’s a meditation on regret, aging and death. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, making Springsteen the first act to have at least one new, top-five charting album in each of the last six decades. It was also his 21st top-five album. 

Letters to You was recorded over five days at Springsteen’s home studio in New Jersey, with three of the tracks, “If I Was a Priest,” “Janey Needs a Shooter” and “Song for Orphans,” originally written for Springsteen’s 1973 debut, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.

Due to the pandemic, Springsteen was unable to tour on the record. He finally launched a new tour in February, 2023, with several Letters to You songs played during the set. Springsteen was forced to postpone the remainder of the tour to 2024 in order to deal with peptic ulcer disease.

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Rocker Bret Michaels has a new dog named … Bret Michaels.

The Nebraska Humane Society shared on Facebook that the Poison frontman just adopted a six-year-old husky, named Bret Michaels, who was actually a hero.

The organization explained that a trio of kittens was recently brought in and one immediately needed blood to treat flea anemia.  Cats need specific blood types and couldn’t wait for other cats to be tested. Luckily, dog Bret Michaels had recently had bloodwork done so they knew he was a match and after the first transfusion the kitten was doing better.

The Humane Society then shared in an update that dog Bret Michaels has found a home with the rock star, who loved hearing about the pooch’s story.

“One phone call later and guess who’s gonna be living the rock star life from here on out? That’s right! Bret Michaels (the man) is adopting Bret Michaels (the dog)!,” they wrote, adding, “We can’t wait to see how he thrives in his new home, we just hope it doesn’t get too confusing when someone tells Bret Michaels to fetch!”

On Instagram, rock star Bret Michaels posted a photo of both his dog namesake and the kitten, Roses & Thorn (likely after the band’s hit “Every Rose has Its Thorn”) noting, “It takes a village of awesomeness & now I have a new mission…to find an incredible home for the kitten!”

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Foghat is gearing up for the release of their new studio album, Sonic Mojo, and they’re giving fans yet another preview of what to expect. The band has released the third single from the record, “I Don’t Appreciate You,” written by drummer and founding member Roger Earl.  

“This song was written about the most obnoxious people in our lives, but in the most polite-ful way,” Earl shares. “And as our lead singer Scott Holt says when he announces the song onstage, ‘It is the most polite F/U song you will ever hear!’”

You can listen to “I Don’t Appreciate You” now via digital outlets and watch the video you YouTube.

Sonic Mojo, Foghat’s first new album in seven years, is due out November 10 and the band will be celebrating with two record release shows. The first is happening November 12 at The Iridium in New York City, followed by a November 17 show at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, California. 

Foghat has several other concerts on the books for 2023; even after more than 50 years with the band, the 77-year-old Earl wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’m going to roll till I’m old and rock till I drop,” Earl tells ABC Audio. “I love what I do and I play in a great band. And when I can’t play anymore, I guess that’s when it’ll end.” 

A complete list of Foghat dates can be found at foghat.com.

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Fresh off the release Hackney Diamonds, The Rolling Stones‘ first new album of original material in 18 years, frontman Mick Jagger showed off his comedy skills with a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live on Saturday, October 21, featuring host and musical guest Bad Bunny.

Jagger appeared in two sketches. The first revolved around the taping of a Latin soap opera, in which Punkie Johnson was cast even though she didn’t speak Spanish. Jagger, in a white suit and fake mustache, popped in at the end to break up a fight between brothers Bad Bunny and SNL cast member Marcello Hernández by slapping them around.

In the second, Jagger played “Sister Kevin,” a man posing as a nun to sleep with the other nuns, although throughout the sketch it was implied that Bad Bunny was the imposter.

Lady Gaga, who performed with The Stones at their Hackney Diamonds record release party on Thursday, October 19, also made a surprise appearance on the show, introducing Bad Bunny as musical guest. Plus, Pedro Pascal turned up during the monologue and in a sketch.

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