Classic Rock 93.9

Last Friday, a collaborative album titled California Gold that Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford recorded in 1978 with one-time Derek & the Dominos member Bobby Whitlock got its release via digital formats.

Clifford produced the 10-track collection, and co-wrote all the songs with Whitlock, while legendary Booker T & the MG’s bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn lent his talents to about half the album.

Clifford tells ABC Audio that the album came together at a time when looking to put together a new band, and Dunn suggested that he contact Whitlock, who sang well and played Hammond B3 organ.

“[Duck] introduced me to Bobby, and we hit it off and started writing songs, and that worked really well,” Cosmo recalls. “We had a good writing team and wrote very easily.”

Clifford continues, “The collaboration was a perfect one. [Bobby] had what I didn’t and I had what he didn’t … [A]nd so we got songs together that we thought would represent us.”

Other musicians who contributed to California Gold included former Graham Central Station guitarist David Vega, another guitarist named Mike O’Neill and bassist Tom Miller.

“It’s a good record,” says Cosmo. “And it has kind of a combination of Delaney & Bonnie [with whom Whitlock previously played] and Creedence and some old blues guys.”

He adds, “I listened to it again … [and] it’s like I’m listening to somebody else … And I’m going, ‘Wow, these guys are pretty good. I wonder who they are. Oh, that’s us.'”

Clifford explains that the album initially got shelved because before the project was completed, Dunn wound up joining The Blues Brothers, while Whitlock decided to move away from the Bay Area.

Cosmo says he recently rediscovered the recordings while “doing a little spring cleaning” trough his archives.

Here’s California Gold‘s track list:

“Good Times”
“Get Down Fever”
“It Ain’t Like Mama Told Me”
“Turn the Beat Around”
“On Hold Again”
“Purple Mountain”
“It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn”
“Do or Die”
“I’m Happy Just Being Alive”
“Rollin’ On”

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Late blues legend John Lee Hooker‘s acclaimed 1989 studio album, The Healer, which featured guest appearances by Santana, George Thorogood, Bonnie Raitt and others, will be reissued October 28 on CD and vinyl after years of being out of print.

The Healer became Hooker’s highest-charting album ever on the Billboard 200, peaking at #62. The record kicks off with the title track, which was co-written by Carlos Santana, and features musical contributions from the guitar legend and his band.

Thorogood appears on a version of “Sally Mae,” a song that was originally released as the B-side of Hooker’s 1948 debut single, the R&B chart-topping “Boogie Chillen’.”

Raitt is featured on an updated rendition of “I’m in the Mood,” a song that reached #30 on the Billboard pop singles chart in 1951. The Hooker-Raitt duet wound up winning a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Blues Performance category.

Other artists featured on The Healer include Robert Cray, Canned Heat, Los Lobos and acclaimed blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite.

The Healer is available for preorder now, while special merchandise can be purchased exclusively at JohnLeeHooker.com.

Hooker was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. He died in 2001; while his actual age was disputed, he was believed to be 88.

Here’s the full track list of The Healer:

“The Healer” — with Carlos Santana & The Santana Band
“I’m in the Mood” — with Bonnie Raitt
“Baby Lee” — with Robert Cray
“Cuttin’ Out” — with Canned Heat
“Think Twice Before You Go” — with Los Lobos
“Sally Mae” — with George Thorogood
“That’s Alright” — with Charlie Musselwhite
“Rockin’ Chair”
“My Dream”
“No Substitute”

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Sammy Hagar & The Circle have released a third advance track from their forthcoming studio album Crazy Times, an expanded and updated version of “Funky Feng Shui,” which first appeared on their 2021 record, Lockdown 2020.

To accompany the song, which is available now via digital formats, Hagar and his band have debuted its music video on the Red Rocker’s official YouTube channel.

The cartoonish clip features Sammy and his bandmates — bassist Michael Anthony, drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Vic Johnson — playing the song on a Hollywood street while a giant woman in a tight-fitting red dress looms over them.

Regarding the making of the video, Hagar says, “[It] was a blast because the Director kept screaming ‘Just remember there’s gonna be a 50 foot woman stepping over you guys while you’re performing’ – ha ha! I love this song and this video is more fun than a frog in a glass of milk.”

“Funky Feng Shui” began as a jam that Hagar and The Circle would play backstage to warm up before shows. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Sammy and the band remotely recorded an abbreviated version of the tune that wound up on their Lockdown 2020 collection. Hagar completed the song while working on Crazy Times, and he and The Circle then recorded the extended version for the new album.

As previously reported, Crazy Times, which can be preordered now, will be released on CD and via digital formats on September 30, while standard black-vinyl and limited-edition red-vinyl LP versions will follow on October 28.

Prior to “Funky Feng Shui,” Hagar and the band released two other advance tunes from the album — the title track and a cover of Elvis Costello‘s “Pump It Up” — along with companion videos.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

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Following Queen Elizabeth II‘s death Thursday at age 96, Sir Paul McCartney issued a brief statement paying tribute to the monarch. But now the rock legend has penned a lengthy homage looking back at all the times he met the queen.

In the message, which was posted on his official website, McCartney starts by noting, “I feel privileged to have been alive during the whole of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. When I was 10 years old I entered an essay competition in Liverpool and won my division for my essay about the British Monarchy so I have been a fan for a long time.”

He also recalls watching the queen’s 1953 coronation on a black-and-white TV.

Sir Paul says he met Queen Elizabeth “eight or nine times,” adding that “each time she impressed me with her great sense of humour combined with great dignity.”

The first time McCartney met the queen was in October 1965, when The Beatles received the Member of the Order of the British Empire honor.

One of the most memorable occasions, according to Paul, was in 1997 on what he describes as “a very proud day for me” — receiving his knighthood.

“I felt very honoured to be offered a Knighthood and of course it would have been rude to turn it down!” he says.

Other meetings took place in 2002 and 2012, respectively, when Paul performed at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

McCartney recalls that the last time he saw Queen Elizabeth in person was in 2018, when she presented him with the Companion of Honour medal.

As Sir Paul recalls, “I shook her hand, leaned in and said, ‘We have got to stop meeting like this,’ to which she giggled slightly and got on with the ceremony.”

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Ozzy Osbourne has premiered the video for “One of Those Days,” the Eric Clapton-featuring song off his brand-new solo album, Patient Number 9.

The clip mixes live action and animation as the Prince of Darkness takes a strange journey through a world of skeletons and creepy forests. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.

“One of Those Days” contains the lyric that Ozzy previously told Classic Rock magazine he thinks will “cause s***”: “It’s one of those days that I don’t believe in Jesus.” In fact, Ozzy considered changing the words after Clapton said he wasn’t “sure” about the lyric but ultimately decided to keep it.

Patient Number 9, Ozzy’s 13th solo effort, is out now. Along with Clapton, it includes guest contributions from Jeff Beck, Black Sabbath‘s Tony Iommi, Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready, Black Label Society‘s Zakk Wylde, Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo and late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.

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After playing a September 4 warm-up show in Bangor, Maine, Aerosmith officially kicked off its 50th anniversary celebrations on Thursday with their long-delayed concert at Boston’s Fenway Park.

Over 38,700 people attended the event, setting a record for the most tickets ever sold for a concert at the historic ballpark. The show had originally been scheduled for September 2020, but was postponed and then pushed back again to this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a recap by The Patriot Ledger, Aerosmith played a 20-song set that included plenty of classics and some deep cuts. Near the end of the show, singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry appeared atop the stadium’s “Green Monster” section and performed “Dream On.” They then rejoined the band to finish the concert with renditions of “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way.”

A five-minute fireworks display brought the festivities to a close.

The night before the concert, Tyler paid a visit to 1325 Commonwealth Ave. in Boston’s Allston neighborhood, which served as the band’s home base during their early years. Special Aerosmith-themed projections were flashed on that building and at a few other Beantown locations before and after the concert.

You can check out photos of Tyler visiting the “Aerosmith Apartment,” and of the projections, on the band’s social media pages.

The band will now launch its latest “Deuces Are Wild” Las Vegas residency Wednesday, September 14, at Dolby Live at Park MGM. Tickets for the shows can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com. For more info, visit ParkMGM.MGMResorts.com.

Here’s the band’s full Fenway Park set list, according to Setlist.fm:

“Back in the Saddle”
“Same Old Song and Dance”
“Rag Doll”
“Mama Kin”
“Remember (Walking in the Sand)” (Shangri‐Las cover)
“Stop Messin’ Around” (Fleetwood Mac cover)
“Cryin'”
“Hangman Jury”
“Seasons of Wither”
“Toys in the Attic”
“Livin’ on the Edge”
“The Other Side”
“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”
“Love in an Elevator”
“Draw the Line”
“Dude (Looks Like a Lady)”

Encore:
“Dream On”
“Sweet Emotion”
“Walk This Way”

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Pearl Jam performed a cover of The Beatles deep cut “Her Majesty” during their show in Toronto on Thursday.

A hidden track off Abbey Road, the original “Her Majesty” lasts just 23 seconds and features tongue-in-cheek lyrics, such as “Her Majesty is a pretty nice girl/But she doesn’t have a lot to say.”

Pearl Jam’s rendition of “Her Majesty” came just hours after news broke that Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, had died at age 96. Vedder made no specific mention of the queen when introducing the song, telling the crowd only, “This is just a little one I’m gonna borrow from Paul McCartney.”

You can watch fan-shot footage of the performance posted to YouTube by user mfc172.

Both McCartney and fellow living Beatle Ringo Starr shared tributes to Queen Elizabeth II following the news of her passing.

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A new series of videos set to four classic Beach Boys songs from the mid-1960s launched Friday with the premiere of 1965’s “Barbara Ann.”

Watched together, the four videos tell the story of a high school romance between surfing-obsessed Helena and her classmate Lucas, an aspiring photographer who just moved into town. All of the clips include clever references and nods to The Beach Boys.

The “Barbara Ann” clip specifically follows Helena as she daydreams about surfing while sitting in class and then making her way home from school. We’re also briefly introduced to Lucas, whom Helena passes on her bicycle.

The other three videos, which will be set to “Don’t Worry Baby,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “God Only Knows,” will debut on the band’s official YouTube channel at noon ET, respectively, on Saturday, September 10; Friday, September 16; and Saturday, September 17.

The “Don’t Worry Baby” visual will share Lucas’ back story, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” will focus on his and Helena’s romance, and “God Only Knows” will look at where their relationship is at as the school year ends.

The videos were directed by Andrew Litten, who’s worked with Earth, Wind & Fire, Anderson .Paak and Pusha T, and were filmed in South Africa with local actors.

“A recurring theme throughout The Beach Boys’ music is the feeling of being young and in love,” explains Litten. “Their most iconic songs were written when they were between the ages of 15 to 21, so there’s this exciting view on life that’s immortalized in their lyrics. I wanted to do the same with the music videos by capturing the spontaneity and playfulness of being a teenager, fantasizing about the future, pursuing new passions, and falling in love.”

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Rod Stewart, who received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2016, is not only mourning the loss of the monarch but also of a close family member.

On Instagram, Sir Rod wrote, “It has been a devastating 48 hours. We lost my brother Don on Tuesday at 94 and today we have all lost Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at 96.”

He added, “The Queen has been an unwavering presence throughout my life and a great unifier. A shining star that will never fade in our hearts and souls. What a privilege it was to perform for her. My deepest sympathies to the Royal Family. God save the King.”

Rod met and performed for the queen multiple times: his most recent performance was at her Platinum Jubilee this past summer. Ahead of that concert, he told the BBC, “She’s been so much part of my life, almost like a sister, you know?”

At the time he also said he “loves” the newly minted monarch, Charles, and joked that his wife and the then-prince had “a thing going on.”

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Wolfgang Van Halen is marking the anniversary of one of his father’s most iconic musical contributions with his own version.

The son of the late Eddie Van Halen tweeted a video of him shredding Van Halen‘s famed instrumental “Eruption” on the same guitar his dad used to record the original.

While the video was filmed in 2015, Wolf’s sharing it now in honor of it being the 45th anniversary of “Eruption’s” first recording in 1977. The song was later released on Van Halen’s 1978 self-titled debut album.

Wolf, who played bass in Van Halen starting in 2006, hasn’t performed much of his dad’s music since Eddie passed away in October 2020, instead focusing more on his Mammoth WVH solo project. However, he did jam the Van Halen songs “On Fire” and “Hot for Teacher” during last weekend’s Taylor Hawkins tribute concert.

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