Classic Rock 93.9

Patti Scialfa is getting recognized by her home state. The rocker and wife of New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen is among this year’s inductees to the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

Scialfa, who grew up in Deal, New Jersey, is actually being inducted for the second time, this time for her individual achievements. She was previously inducted in 2012 as a member of the E Street Band.

Springsteen is already a member of the NJHOF, having been inducted with the inaugural class in 2008. Scialfa’s E Street bandmates Steven Van Zandt and Max Weinberg were also inducted individually, in 2017 and 2022, respectively. 

As for this year’s class, other inductees include singer Tony Orlando, The Sopranos creator David Chase, football star Tiki Barber and more. The induction ceremony will take place October 29 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

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Alice Cooper is giving fans another preview of his upcoming album Road, which drops August 25. The rocker just released his latest single, “White Line Frankenstein” featuring a guitar solo by Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello.

“’White Line Frankenstein’ is a monster that we created. It’s a truck driver who’s been out there a long time. He’s the king of the road. He doesn’t live in a house. He lives in that truck,” Cooper shares. “In the song, this surreal tough guy is driving on white lines for his whole life. So, ‘White Line Frankenstein’ would be his CB handle. It’s monstrous and definitely a stage song.”

Cooper is giving fans even more chances to hear him play the track. He’s just extended his time on the road, adding a set of October dates to his 2023 North American tour. The new shows kick off October 4 in St. Augustine, Florida, wrapping October 23 in Paso Robles, California. They will be followed by three Halloween Hootenanny shows with Rob Zombie, set for October 25, 26 and 28. 

Up next, Cooper will be the special guest on the Mötley Crüe/Def Leppard Stadium Tour in Syracuse, New York, on August 5. A full list of Cooper dates and ticket information can be found at alicecooper.com.

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On This Day, July 19, 1986…

Genesis landed their first and only #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Invisible Touch,” the title track of the band’s 13th studio album.  

The tune was the first of five consecutive Top 5 singles from the band; the others being “Land of Confusion,” and “Throwing it All Away,” which both went to #4, and “In Too Deep” and “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight,” which both went to #3.

Interestingly, the week “Invisible Touch” was at #1, Genesis’ former frontman Peter Gabriel was just behind them at #2 with “Sledgehammer,” which eventually went to #1 a week later.

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One of Joe Strummer’s iconic final concerts is going to be released later this summer.

Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros: Live at Acton Town Hall is a recording of Strummer’s November 2002 London benefit concert for striking firefighters. It featured a surprise reunion of Strummer and his former The Clash bandmate Mick Jones — their first performance together in almost two decades.

The concert wound up being one of Strummer’s final shows — and his last in London — as he passed away a month later. It featured performances of The Clash tunes “Bankrobber,” “White Riot” and “London’s Burning” as well as early version of songs that would later appear on 2003’s posthumous album, Streetcore.

Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros: Live at Acton Town Hall was previously released as a limited edition Record Store Day exclusive in 2012. The new remastered reissue, coming August 15, is being released on CD for the first time ever and as a special edition two-LP clear vinyl set featuring never-before-seen show photos and new liner notes. Both are available for preorder now.

Here is the track list for Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros: Live at Acton Town:

“Shaktar Donetsk”
“Bhindee Bhagee”
“Rudie Can’t Fail”
“Tony Adams”
“(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais”
“Mega Bottle Ride”
“Get Down Moses”
“Police and Thieves”
“Cool ‘N’ Out”
“Police On My Back”
“Johnny Appleseed”
“Coma Girl”
“I Fought The Law”
“Bankrobber” (featuring Mick Jones)
“White Riot” (featuring Mick Jones)
“London’s Burning” (featuring Mick Jones)

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Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top are getting ready to hit the road on The Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour, and Skynyrd frontman Johnny Van Zant can’t wait.

“Those guys have been friends of ours for just multiple years … I’m looking forward to getting back out on the road with ’em,” Van Zant tells ABC Audio. “You know, you go out on the road sometimes with people and you don’t really know ‘em. But for us to get together with ZZ, we’re friends. It’s going to be a family reunion.”

Guitarist Rickey Medlocke feels the same way, adding that it’s a great time for both bands to be out together: Skynyrd’s celebrating the 50th anniversary of their debut album, (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd), while ZZ Top celebrated the milestone back in 2019.

“We’re excited about it, it seems like the fans are excited about it, and I think that it’s going to be a great combination for people to come out and celebrate both bands’ 50 years in existence,” he says.

And Van Zant is also particularly interested in seeing if fans will get decked out for the shows. He jokes, “I’m hoping that there will be some really sharp dressed, simple men that show up. Let’s see their outfits. Man, that’ll be great.”  

The Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour kicks off Friday, July 21, in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at lynyrdskynyrd.com.

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Dead & Company has been raising money for charity throughout their Final Tour, and now that it’s over, the totals are in — and they’re quite impressive. 

According to the voting rights nonprofit Headcount, the band raised $2 million over the course of the tour. Most of that money came from auctions of guitars, with more from their Participation Row. They also donated $2 from each ticket sold throughout the tour to charity. Since the band’s formation in 2015, they’ve raised over $4 million.

All money raised will be donated to causes important to the band, including HeadCount, as well as the environmental organization REVERB.

Headcount revealed that the final shows in San Francisco raised over $700,000 for the organizations. Some of that money came from the auction of an official tour guitar, which sold for $275,000, as well as a guitar memorializing the San Francisco concerts, which went for $238,000. 

Dead & Company announced in September 2022 that this summer’s tour would be their last. They wrapped the trek with a three-night stand, July 14-16, at Oracle Park.

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Neil Young is going to help the famed West Hollywood venue The Roxy celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Pollstar reports that Young is scheduled to headline a special performance at the venue on September 20, almost 50 years to the day after he first performed for the venue’s opening.

The club’s founder, Lou Adler, revealed the news of Young’s performance, sharing that the concert will be a benefit for two organizations: The Painted Turtle, a camp for children with serious medical conditions, and The Bridge School, which educates children with severe speech and physical impairments.  

So far there’s no word on when tickets will go on sale.

Young opened The Roxy with a three-night stand September 20-22, 1973. A recording of the concerts, Roxy: Tonight’s The Night Live, was released as a live album in April 2018.

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Mick Jagger is expanding his harmonica line. The Rolling Stones frontman just announced edition two of his harmonica line.

“I was blown away by the response to our first range of harmonicas!” Jagger shares. “I hope everyone has enjoyed playing their harps, and that more people are falling in love with my favourite instrument.”

According to the description, The Mick Jagger Series: Edition Two is a “meticulously designed harmonica that faithfully replicates the exact specifications used by Mick Jagger throughout his iconic career,” giving fans a chance to replicate “that unmistakable Jagger blues sound.”

Like the original, it is a collaboration with harmonica company Lee Oskar that features the signatures of both Jagger and Oskar and comes in a Jagger-branded case.

In addition to the single harmonica, a limited edition box set is available featuring three harmonicas in diatonic keys of C, A and G. Only 300 are available, and they come in a vegan leather case, with a hand-numbered printed art card. 

Both the harmonica and the box set are available for preorder now and will begin shipping on October 2.

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Yes is returning to the road this fall. The band, made up of Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison, Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen, have announced a new U.S. leg of their Classic Tales of Yes tour.

The trek has the band performing tracks from their 50-year catalog along with songs from their 2023 release, Mirror to the Sky. It will kick off September 24 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and wrap November 4 in Riverside, California.

“We’re putting together a great setlist covering the length and breadth of Yes’ career,” Howe shares, with Downes adding, “As always, we are committed to pushing new boundaries and are very excited to be performing another chapter in the rich legacy of the band.” 

Tickets for the new dates go on sale Friday, July 21. A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at yesworld.com.

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Some of today’s top musicians are opening up about their voices in a new book set for release this September. 

The Singers Talk – The Greatest Singers of Our Time Discuss the One Thing They’re Never Asked About: Their Voices features interviews with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Roger Daltrey, Chrissie Hynde, Michael Stipe, Brian Johnson, Dionne Warwick and more, all discussing one of the keys to what made them famous: their vocal chops.

Written by Jason Thomas Gordon, the lead singer and drummer for the Los Angeles-based rock band Kingsize, the book also discusses several famed voices that are no longer with us: Stevie Van Zandt talks about Little Richard, producer Butch Vig discusses Kurt Cobain, Nile Rodgers shares thoughts on David Bowie, Jimmy Iovine discusses Tom Petty and more.

The Singers Talk will be released September 5, with proceeds going to a good cause. All royalties will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which was founded by Gordon’s grandfather, famed entertainer Danny Thomas.

The Singers Talk is available for preorder now.

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