Classic Rock 93.9

The Who infamously sang, “I hope I die before I get old” in their hit “My Generation.” But luckily for music fans, that wish hasn’t come true for frontman Roger Daltrey, who’s celebrating his 80th birthday on March 1. 

In 1959, Daltrey founded a band called The Detours, with a changing lineup that only became permanent in 1964, after the band had changed their name to The Who and Keith Moon joined as drummer. Daltrey, Moon, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle went on to sell over 100 million records worldwide.

Daltrey launched a solo career in 1973, releasing eight solo studio albums, and dabbled in acting, with roles in film and on TV. He also published his memoir, Thanks a Lot Mr. Kibblewhite: My Story, in 2018.

As a member of The Who, Daltrey was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. He received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2008. He was also appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services to music, entertainment and charity in 2004.

Daltrey is also well known for his extensive charitable work, including his patronage of the United Kingdom’s Teenage Cancer Trust and its U.S. counterpart, Teen Cancer America. In fact, he recently announced that after 24 years he’ll be stepping down as host and curator of the annual Teenage Cancer Trust charity shows.

Before that he’ll keep on rocking for the charity, with The Who set to headline two shows, March 18 and 20, at London’s Royal Albert Hall.  

And Daltrey’s time as curator will be celebrated at the same venue on March 24 with Ovation, a Celebration of 24 Years of Gigs for TCT, featuring guests Robert Plant with Saving Grace, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Stereophonics’ Kelly Jones and Paul Weller.

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The Black Crowes are gearing up for the release of their new album, Happiness Bastards, and they’re giving fans a chance to preview it early.

Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson just announced a string of listening parties, happening March 14 at indie record stores across the country. The parties will feature giveaways and give fans a chance to purchase the album early.

The Black Crowes gave fans their first taste of Happiness Bastards, their first album of new material in 15 years, with the release of “Wanting and Waiting” and then followed that up with the track “Cross Your Fingers.” The album is available for preorder now.

They’ll hit the road on the Happiness Bastards tour starting April 2 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee. A complete list of dates can be found at theblackcrowes.com.

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After a more than 50-year career, Foghat is still rocking out onstage, and now they are giving fans at home a taste of their live show.

The band will release Slow Ride – Live in Concert, a new CD/DVD, on April 5, featuring a 1999 Texas concert recorded prior to Foghat co-founder Dave Peverett’s death in February 2000.

The concert features the band performing some of their classic tracks. They’re previewing the record with the release of a live performance of their iconic tune “Slow Ride.”

You can listen to the live “Slow Ride” now via digital outlets and watch the performance on YouTube.

Slow Ride – Live in Concert is available for preorder now.

Foghat released their latest studio album, Sonic Mojo, in 2023. They are currently on the road with their Sonic Mojo tour and are set to play Lynn, Massachusetts, on March 1. A complete list of dates can be found at foghat.com.

Here is the track list for Slow Ride – Live in Concert:

“Drivin’ Wheel”
“Somebody’s Been Sleepin’ In My Bed”
“Stone Blue”
“It Hurts Me Too”
“Rock Your House”
“Sweet Home Chicago”
“Angel Of Mercy”
“Fool For The City”
“I Just Want To Make Love To You”
“Slow Ride”

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Three cassette tapes featuring previously unheard audio from The Beatles is set to go up for auction in March.

The tapes, believed to have been made in 1966, are personal recordings made on drummer Ringo Starr‘s tape recorder, and feature 248 minutes of audio. On one of the tapes he’s heard describing them as “a talking record of our trip to Germany and Japan.” 

The audio includes the band talking about their set list for shows in Japan, clips of performances from their Budokan concerts, Ringo’s thoughts on the tours, a demo of Ringo performing The Beatles tune “Don’t Pass Me By,” a clip of manager Brian Epstein discussing how to get out of paying import taxes when purchasing items in Japan and more.

All three tapes are being auctioned off as part of Omega Auctions’ Beatles Collection auction. The sale is set to begin on March 26, with the estimated price for the cassettes between $12,000 and $25,000.

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A new U.K. poll finds that the majority of folks wish they could tickle the ivories just like Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.

The U.K. Express reports that a poll of 2,000 Brits, conducted by Trinity College London, finds that 53% of them wish they had learned how to play piano, with 32% of those folks picking Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” as the tune they wish they knew how to play. 

Elton John’s “Your Song” is close behind in second place, followed by John Lennon’s “Imagine,” with Adele’s “Someone Like You” and Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” rounding out the top five.

The almost six-minute “Bohemian Rhapsody” was the lead single off Queen’s 1975 album, A Night at the Opera, and went on to sell over 6 million copies worldwide. The track reached 2 billion streams on Spotify in December 2022.

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The first day of Elton John‘s much-hyped Goodbye Peachtree Road Christie’s auction, which featured items from his home in Atlanta, Georgia, brought in $8 million. But that was only the first day; it turns out the entire event pulled in more than $20 million.

According to ArtandObject.com, the auction spanned two live sales and six online auctions, and earned $20.5 million. The live sales together brought in $14.5 million. Top sellers included artwork, photographs, Elton’s Bentley convertible, and Cartier and Rolex watches.

As for the online auctions, a jewelry-focused one brought in $1.7 million, while a 120-item collection of nude images, statues and gold crosses went for $1.1 million. Artwork and home decor brought in $1.3 million, and photographs of rock stars and celebrities brought in just under $588,000.

Meanwhile, a collection of all of Elton’s Versace-brand stuff, including clothing, furniture and jewelry, earned just under $575,000.

After owning it for more than 30 years, Elton sold the Atlanta duplex for more than $7 million in November. The reason he did so was practical: Now that he’s no longer on tour, he doesn’t need a central hub like Atlanta’s DeKalb-Peachtree Airport to fly in and out of.

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The Ronnie James Dio tribute concert Rock for Ronnie is returning in 2024.

The show will take place May 19 in Woodland Hills, California, and will feature performances by Quiet Riot, Lita Ford and others. It’ll raise money for the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, which was founded in Dio’s memory after he passed away from stomach cancer in 2010 at age 67.

“This is the ‘Year of the Dragon,’ which only comes around every 12 years, and anyone who knew Ronnie knows how much he loved dragons,” says Dio Cancer Fund founder and Dio’s widow, Wendy Dio. “It is our hope that this ‘Year of the Dragon’ special event will be supported by donations that will further our charity’s initiatives in cancer education and research for a cure for this terrible disease that has taken so many of our loved ones.”

For ticket info, visit DioCancerFund.org.

The Rock for Ronnie concert launched in 2023 and raised $50,000. Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund also hosts the annual Bowl for Ronnie charity celebrity bowling tournament.

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Neil Young has added another show to his summer schedule.

The rocker and his band Crazy Horse are set to play Ottawa Bluesfest, a nine-day festival that runs July 4-7 and July 10-14. Young will headline the July 11 show. 

Mötley Crüe and Nickelback are also set to headline the Canadian festival, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Other headliners include Maroon 5, Tyler Childers, Zac Brown Band, 50 Cent and Nas.

A ticket presale kicks off Friday, March 1, at 10 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public Saturday, March 2. More information, including a complete lineup, can be found at ottawabluesfest.ca.

Young & Crazy Horse recently announced dates for the Love Earth Tour, which launches with two nights in San Diego, April 24 and 25. The Canadian leg of the tour begins in Toronto on July 8, just a few days before their Bluesfest show. A complete schedule can be found at livenation.com.

They will also release the new album FU##IN’ UP on April 26, with a special clear vinyl two-LP limited edition dropping on Record Store Day, April 20.

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Judas Priest’s new album, Invincible Shield, comes out March 8, but they’re giving fans a chance to listen to it early.

The heavy metal rockers will debut the record on March 7 at global listening parties being held in metal bars in 30 cities around the world. Many of the parties will include Priest-themed cocktails, as well as special giveaways.

Judas Priest is also taking over Daytona Beach with a pop-up shop that will open during Daytona Beach Bike Week.

The shop will be located at Atlantic Sounds on International Speedway Boulevard and be open on Saturday, March 9, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event’s over 500,000 attendees will also get a chance to listen to the album as it is broadcast out of a custom Judas Priest military combat truck, described as “an invincible shield on wheels.”

In other Judas Priest news, the band has just shared the video for “The Serpent and the King,” the fourth single Priest has released from Invincible Shield, following “Panic Attack,” “Trial By Fire” and “Crown Of Horns.”

Invincible Shield is available for preorder now.

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While some songwriters may find themselves struggling to write tunes or finish a song, it seems that’s never really been a problem for Paul McCartney. 

In a new Q&A on his website, McCartney reveals that writer’s block is something he’s never really had to deal with.

“I don’t really get it. I’m quite lucky with that – touch wood!” he shares. “I hardly ever sit down and go, ‘I’m going to write’. It’s nearly always when I’ve got some time and there’s nothing else I particularly want or need to do.” 

He adds, “I can just sit down and noodle around with something because it’s come from my own desire and not somebody else’s, or of a requirement. It often comes reasonably easy.”

McCartney says he’s blessed that he’s never really felt stuck on a tune, sharing, “I sometimes tell the story of John (Lennon) and I having written just short of three hundred songs, and every time we sat down to write we came up with a song. Which is incredible!”

Writing comes so easily to McCartney that he says he sometimes has to stop what he’s doing to take note of a song idea that his come to him.

“I’ve got endless bits of paper stuffed in places, which one of these days I swear I’m going to get to!” he says. “But most things these days are written on my phone.”

He adds that luckily he’s his own boss and only gets concerned about writing if he’s on a deadline, noting,  “I can decide what I want to do and when I want to do it, and that helps with the writing.”

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