Chicago to perform on The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

November 1, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

Chicago is on board to help ring in the holiday season with a performance on The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Chicago, who has released three Christmas albums, is confirmed to perform on The Wondership by Wonder holiday float.

Other Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade performers include Cher, Bel Biv DeVoe, En Vogue, David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Pentatonix and the casts of the Broadway musicals & Juliet, Back to the Future: The Musical and Shucked.

Of course, there will also be plenty of floats and balloons. Seven new balloons will be making their debut, including Beagle Scout Snoopy, Kung Fu Panda’s Po and the Pillsbury Doughboy.

The parade kicks off Thursday, November 23, at 8:30 a.m. in all time zones, thirty minutes earlier than the usual start time. It’ll air on NBC and be simulcast on Peacock; an encore will telecast at 2 p.m ET/PT.

Mick Mars thinks John 5 was a “very, very wise choice” to replace him in Mötley Crüe

November 1, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

Mick Mars bears no ill will toward John 5 for replacing him in Mötley Crüe.

John joined the “Kickstart My Heart” outfit after Mars retired from touring in October 2022. Said retirement has since led to a lawsuit over a financial dispute between Mars and his now-former band, but that hasn’t affected his opinion of John 5.

“Well, I’ve never disliked John, I’ve always liked him and still do,” Mars tells Guitar World. “He’s been a really good friend of mine for a long time.”

Mars adds that he feels Mötley “made a very, very wise choice with John.”

While he’s no longer in Mötley Crüe, Mars just dropped his debut solo single, “Loyal to the Lie,” on Halloween. He’ll drop an album, The Other Side of Mars, on February 23.

Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne recreate Kanye West photo for Halloween

November 1, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne recreated a viral photo of Kanye West and Bianca Censori for Halloween.

The original photo showed Ye and Censori, who reportedly got married in January, walking down the street, with the former wearing a black mask obscuring his face while the latter held a purple pillow in front of her to cover her sheer outfit.

In their own picture, posted to Facebook, Ozzy dressed head-to-toe in black clothing, while an otherwise naked Sharon held a pillow.

Ozzy and Sharon previously teased the costume in an episode of The Osbournes Podcast.

On This Day, November 1, 1969: The Beatles hit #1 with ‘Abbey Road’

November 1, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

On This Day, November 1, 1969…

The Beatles topped the Billboard 200 album chart with Abbey Road. The album spent 11 weeks at #1 and a total of 490 weeks on the chart.

Abbey Road was the last album The Beatles recorded, although Let It Be was the last album they finished and released before their 1970 breakup. It featured the iconic cover of the band walking across the street in single file.

The album featured such classic Beatles tunes as “Here Comes the Sun,” “Come Together,” “Something,” “Octopus’ Garden” and more.

CMA Awards to pay tribute to Jimmy Buffett

November 1, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

The late Jimmy Buffett will be remembered at the 57th annual CMA Awards, airing live from Nashville, Wednesday, November 8, on ABC.

The show will pay tribute to the legendary artist with a performance featuring Buffett’s good friends Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Zac Brown Band and Coral Reefer Band member Mac McAnally.

Buffett and Jackson had a hit with the 2003 track “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere,” which spent eight weeks at #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, while Buffett and Chesney collaborated on the track “Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season.”

Buffett and Zac Brown Band did a CMT Crossroads together in 2010 and went on to collaborate several times, most recently in 2022 with a version of Zac Brown Band’s song “Same Boat.”

Buffett passed away September 1 at the age of 76 after a four-year battle with Merkel cell skin cancer, a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer.

Biography of The Beatles road manager Mal Evans coming in November

November 1, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

Anyone who watched the Peter Jackson-directed docuseries The Beatles: Get Back will be familiar with Mal Evans, who was The Beatles’ road manager and personal assistant from the early ’60s to their breakup. Well, fans are about to learn even more about him, thanks to the new book Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans, dropping November 14.

The book was written by Beatles scholar Dr. Kenneth Womack, using the memoir Evans wrote before his tragic death in January 1976. It recalls his days working for The Beatles, along with his take on their split and his life after the band broke up. It also contains letters written by The Beatles giving Evans permission to write his story.

“Sure, you can do your book,” reads Paul McCartney’s letter, “as long as you tell them how lovely I am.” John Lennon also offers up his approval, noting he’s “been dying to read your diary for the last thousand years.” He adds, “Make a buck, but don’t f*** it up.”

And there’s even more Evans info to come. Womack is working on a second edition of Evans’ memoir, to be published in 2024, which will contain never-before-seen photos of The Beatles, one of which is believed to the last picture ever taken of McCartney and Lennon together.

People shares the first look at the photo, which Evans took in March 1974 during a recording session for Lennon’s album Rock ‘n’ Roll. People also has an excerpt from the book, recounting Lennon’s time in Los Angeles recording the album, as well as Evans’ decision to finally resign from The Beatles and the band’s reaction.

Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans is available for preorder now.

Grateful Dead teams up with British soccer club for new merch line

October 31, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

The Grateful Dead is getting into English football aka soccer for us American folks.

The band is sponsoring the Forest Green Rovers, a little-known club that plays in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, outside of London. The band’s green skull logo now appears on a new merch line of team T-shirts, hoodies, shorts and more, all made by the U.K. sustainable clothing line I Dress Myself.

While it may seem like an unlikely pairing, it seems the band and the team are very like-minded when it comes to saving the environment. The Dead has spent decades promoting environmental causes, and the Green Rovers have similar values. They have adapted several sustainable practices, so much so the United Nations and FIFA named them “the world’s greenest football club.”

“For us, it’s a perfect match,” Dead archivist and legacy manager David Lemieux tells Billboard. “Forest Green Rovers is a team that really follows Grateful Dead values, which is to say that we’re both conscious of the world around us and we want to make sure that we leave it a better place than when we arrived.”

He adds, “We love to partner with cool people, cool companies and cool organizations who are trying to make a positive difference.”

The Grateful Dead/Forest Green Rovers merch is on sale now.

Metallica’s James Hetfield announces ’Messengers’ book signing in Detroit

October 31, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

Metallica frontman James Hetfield has announced another signing for the upcoming book Messengers: The Guitars of James Hetfield.

The event takes place on November 11 at Third Man Records Cass Corridor, the Detroit location for Jack White‘s label. Metallica is playing Detroit’s Ford Field on November 10 and 12.

Hetfield previously announced a signing taking place in St. Louis on November 4 in between ‘Tallica’s shows in the Missouri city on November 3 and 5.

Messengers is set to be officially released on November 21. The 400-page book includes photos of Hetfield’s personal guitar collection alongside passages on what each instrument means to him.

Alice in Chains’ Jerry Cantrell reflects on playing national anthem at Seahawks game

October 31, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

Alice in Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell rocked the national anthem ahead of his hometown Seattle Seahawks victory over the visiting Cleveland Browns on Sunday, October 29.

In an Instagram post reflecting on the experience, Cantrell writes, “What a great weekend, got to play the national anthem before the Seahawks game.”

“Hawks brought home the W at the end of a slugfest with the Browns,” he adds. “Very proud to have been a part of the festivities. Thank you Seattle!”

Perhaps NFL teams should look into bringing rock artists in to sing the national anthem more often. In addition to Cantrell’s Seahawks grabbing a win, the Denver Broncos were victorious over the Kansas City Chiefs after Anthrax‘s Joey Belladonna sang the anthem at that game.

Foreigner to headline Rock the Block car auction kickoff concert

October 31, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

Foreigner is set to headline Arizona’s first-ever Rock the Block concert, which will open collector car auction house Barrett-Jackson’s 2024 Scottsdale auction.

The concert will take place Friday, January 19, at Auction Arena at WestWorld of Scottsdale, with tickets on sale starting Wednesday, November 1.

“We are thrilled to introduce the inaugural Rock the Block as an exciting way to kick off our world-renowned Scottsdale Auction in January,” said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson. “This unique blend of live classic rock and automotive excellence underscores our commitment to providing an unparalleled experience at Barrett-Jackson. We look forward to welcoming fans and enthusiasts for this unforgettable occasion in the auction arena.”

Barrett-Jackson’s 2024 Scottsdale Auction is happening January 20-28, featuring about 1,900 collectible cars, trucks and SUVs. More info on the auction and concert can be found at barrett-jackson.com.

In the meantime, Foreigner still has a few more dates left on the 2023 leg of their farewell tour. Their next show is happening Wednesday, November 1, in Johnson City, Tennessee. A complete list of dates can be found at foreigneronline.com.

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