Classic Rock 93.9

On this Day, March 16, 1954…

Nancy Wilson, one-half of the rock duo Heart, was born in San Francisco, California.

Nancy and her older sister Ann, along with Roger Fisher and Steve Fossen, formed Heart in 1973, and were later joined by Michael Derosier and Howard Leese, releasing their debut album, Dreamboat Annie, in 1975, which featured future Heart classics “Crazy on You” and “Magic Man.”

The group went on to sell over 35 million records, and landed two number one singles, “These Dreams” and “Alone,” along with Top 40 singles “Barracuda,” “What About Love,” “Never,” “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You,” and more.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.

Nancy and sister Ann also formed the acoustic group Lovemongers, which released the EP Battle of Evermore in 1992, and the full-length album Whirlygig in 1997. Nancy also released several solo albums, the most recent of which, You and Me, came out in 2021.

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Def Leppard is going orchestral. The band is set to release a brand new album, Drastic Symphonies, featuring some of their classic tunes reimagined with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The album features audio from the original recordings, combined with the Royal Philharmonic’s performance,  plus new vocals and guitars. It features reworked versions of Def Leppard songs like “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Hysteria,” “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak,” “Love Bites” and more, including the just-released version of “Animal.”

“Def Leppard has always enjoyed veering off the expected path … So, when the offer to revisit some of our back catalogue with the Royal Philharmonic was presented to us, we all jumped at it,” frontman Joe Elliott shares. “Although we’re far from the first band to ever do this, working directly with an orchestra at Abbey Road on some of our more orchestrated songs seemed too good of an opportunity to pass up.” 

Drastic Symphonies will be released May 19 on CD, two-LP black vinyl, limited two-LP colored vinyl, limited two-LP picture disc, CD/Blu-ray (Atmos) and digitally. It is available for preorder now.

Here’s the track list for Drastic Symphonies:

“Turn To Dust”
“Paper Sun”
“Animal”
“Pour Some Sugar on Me (Stripped version)”
“Hysteria”
“Love Bites”
“Goodbye For Good This Time”
“Love”
“Gods Of War”
“Angels (Can’t Help You Now)”
“Bringin’ On the Heartbreak”
“Switch 625”
“Too Late for Love”
“When Love & Hate Collide”
“Kings Of the World”
“Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” (vinyl & Atmos versions only)

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The Zombies are set to kick off a short run of U.S. dates this week, and according to frontman Colin Blunstone, there will be more than just older folks in the audience.

“We’re really, really fortunate in that our fan base goes right across the ages,” Blunstone tells ABC Audio. “So that when we play, and especially in America, there’ll be people there in their teens and then it goes right through the ages to people who followed us from the ’60s.” 

He loves the spectrum of fans that come to the shows. “It really, really, really adds an energy,” he says. “Our fanbase really does lift us.” 

The 77-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer says his favorite thing about touring is “the hour and a half, hour and three quarters onstage,” noting “it really lifts your spirits to play with a band that they’re all wonderful musicians.”

And just because The Zombies have been around since ’60s, and he and bandmate Rod Argent are in their 70s, doesn’t mean they are taking it easy onstage.

“I know that some bands from the ’60s tend to go through the motions, but we don’t take any prisoners,” he says. “We’ve often said there’s more energy on the stage now than there was in 1964 when we were teenagers.” (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)

The Zombies tour kicks off Saturday in San Antonio, Texas. A complete list of dates can be found at thezombiesmusic.com.

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Jim Gordon, a top session drummer who played with some of rock’s biggest acts, including Derek and the Dominoes, Joe Cocker and George Harrison, died Monday from natural causes at California Medical Facility in Vacavillle, California, after a long incarceration and lifelong battle with mental illness, publicist Bob Merlis confirmed on Wednesday. Gordon was 77.

Gordon was a member of The Wrecking Crew, a group of Los Angeles session musicians who played on hundreds of pop hits in the late 1960s, including Glen Campbell‘s “Gentle on My Mind” and The Beach Boys‘ influential album, Pet Sounds. As a member of Eric Clapton‘s band Derek and the Dominos, he was credited with co-writing the group’s 1970 classic “Layla.” He was also a member of Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen group, as well as Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, and he was one of the main drummers on George Harrison’s 1970 album All Things Must Pass.

Gordon’s other credits include songs and albums by John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Traffic, Steely Dan, Seals & Crofts and Carly Simon. Gordon’s drum solo on the Incredible Bongo Band’s version of “Apache” is one of the most sampled drum breaks in hip-hop history.

However, Gordon also had a history of mental illness. While touring with Cocker in 1970, he assaulted his then girlfriend, singer Rita Coolidge. In 1983, Gordon bludgeoned and then stabbed his 72-year-old mother to death, claiming that voices told him to do so. A year later, he was officially diagnosed with schizophrenia and sentenced to 16 years to life in prison. He was up for parole multiple times, which was denied. 

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Streams of Pearl Jam‘s “All or None” jumped higher than a post-apocalyptic giraffe’s neck following its placement on The Last of Us.

According to a new report published by Spotify, “All or None” saw a 5,000% increase in global streams on the platform after it was featured in the seventh episode of the HBO series, which is based on the 2013 video game of the same name.

Spotify streams of other featured The Last of Us songs, such as Linda Ronstadt‘s “Long, Long Time” and Depeche Mode‘s “Never Let Me Down Again,” went up 4,900% and 520%, respectively, following their episodes.

By the way, “All or None” isn’t the only Pearl Jam song that’s intersected with The Last of Us universe. In the 2020 sequel game The Last of Us Part II, Joel teaches Ellie how to play the PJ song “Future Days” on the guitar.

Frontman Eddie Vedder also performed “Future Days” at the 2020 Game Awards, during which The Last of Us Part II won Game of the Year.

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David Byrne has contributed the music to comedian John Mulaney’s new Netflix comedy special.

John Mulaney: Baby J, which was recorded at Boston’s Symphony Hall in February, is set to premiere April 25. It will be his third comedy special for the streaming service, following 2015’s The Comeback Kid and 2018’s Kid Gorgeous.

This isn’t the first time Byrne and Mulaney have worked together. Byrne appeared in the comedian’s Netflix children’s special, John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch, which debuted in December 2019. 

The news comes just days after Byrne performed at the Oscars with Son Lux and Stephanie Hsu. His Everything Everywhere All At Once tune, “This Is A Life,” was nominated for Best Original Song. It lost to “Naatu Naatu” from the movie RRR.

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As previously reported, Roger Waters’ May 28 show in Frankfurt, Germany, was canceled by the local city council, which called Waters out for allegedly being “one of the world’s most well-known antisemites” and noted his support for boycotting Israel. 

In a statement to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, the Pink Floyd star’s management in London says he plans to take action, and has “directed his attorneys to immediately take all necessary steps to overturn this unjustified decision and ensure that his fundamental human right to freedom of expression is protected.” 

A concert in Munich has reportedly been canceled, as well, and the statement adds, “if left unchallenged, this blatant attempt to silence him could have serious and far-reaching consequences for artists and activists around the world.” 

They add the cancelations were “unconstitutional,” “unjustified” and based “on the false accusation that Roger Waters was anti-Semitic, which he is not.”

Waters’ This Is Not A Drill tour is set to hit Lisbon, Portugal, on Friday. A complete list of Waters’ dates can be found at rogerwaters.com.

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Creedence Clearwater Revival fans may want to make a stop at Los Angeles’ Rockaway Records. The store has just acquired what they say is the “world’s largest collection” of CCR memorabilia. 

The items in the collection include more than 500 concert posters and hundreds of concert tickets, as well as thousands of LPs, 45s, autographed items and more. There’s also a 1967 yellow label 45 under the band’s previous name, The Golliwogs — one of only six known copies. 

There’s also a John Fogerty-signed Fender Stratocaster, as well as RIAA Platinum and Gold plaques.

“What an amazing collection,” Rockaway Records’ Wayne Jonson shares, “especially the pre-Creedence stuff like a 1966 Golliwogs concert flyer and a Tom Fogerty & the Blue Velvets 45 from 1961!”

More information on the CCR collection can be found at rockaway.com.

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The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund has announced the Rock for Ronnie benefit concert in memory of the late Dio frontman.

The event will take place May 7 at Los Encinos State Historic Park in Los Angeles. It will include performances by bands including Dio Disciples, which features former Dio members; Steamroller, featuring former Whitesnake members; and the Van Halen cover band The Atomic Punks, before ending with an “all star band jam full of surprise appearances.”

For ticket info, visit DioCancerFund.org.

Dio passed away in 2010 from stomach cancer at age 67. The Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund was founded in his honor and also raises money for cancer research through the annual Bowl for Ronnie charity bowling tournament.

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Little Richard is the subject of a new documentary, and now we’re getting a first look at the film. 

A trailer has just been released for Little Richard: I Am Everything, which was directed by Lisa Cortés. The trailer features archival footage of the music icon, along with interview snippets from the likes of Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Billy Porter and director John Waters.

Not only does the film delve into Little Richard’s music history, the trailer makes it clear that it also touches upon Richard’s struggle to embrace his queerness, with the film interviewing several black and queer scholars. As the description notes, the film “tells the story of the Black queer origins of rock n’ roll, exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman” aka Little Richard.

Little Richard: I Am Everything, which had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, opens April 21.

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