Classic Rock 93.9

Just when you thought The Rolling Stones had received every honor they possibly could, there’s a brand new one: “The World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band” has been immortalized by the U.K.’s Royal Mint.

The Mint has struck a commemorative coin celebrating the Stones’ 60th anniversary. On one side, it shows a silhouette of the band performing live, along with their name in the font they used in 1973 and “’62-’22,” indicating the year they were founded through the present. On the other side is a portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September.

The coin’s designer said that in creating the image, she wanted to “use iconic shapes so you could tell from the silhouettes who the band members were and an energetic crowd so you could feel the excitement of being at a gig.”

The silhouettes depict Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood, late drummer Charlie Watts and bass player Bill Wyman, who left the band in 1993 and was never officially replaced.

You can order the coins in a variety of formats, including a silver-colored five-pound coin for around 18 bucks and a limited-edition one in color that costs about 29 bucks. 

The prices only go up from there, all the way to a coin that contains five ounces of gold and costs more than $15,000. There are only 50 of those available, so order now.

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A whole host of musicians have contributed items to a new silent auction to raise money for the ASCAP Foundation, which supports American creators. The auction includes items from such artists as Richie Sambora, Sammy Hagar, Chicago, Quincy Jones, Paul Williams, The Hooters’ Eric Bazilian and more. 

Items up for bid include an autographed Fender guitar from Sambora; two house seats for MJ the Musical and a signed Quincy Jones book; personalized message and signed memorabilia from Hagar; signed photographs of Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend and The Rolling Stones, taken by Bazilian; two tickets and backstage passes to a 2023 Chicago concert; handwritten song lyrics of your choice from Grammy winner Williams; and two tickets to the Songwriters Hall of Fame gala in June.

The online auction runs from now until December 16 on Charity Buzz. Click here for the complete list of auction items.

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Christine McVie‘s death at the age of 79 has been shocking for her Fleetwood Mac bandmates. Stevie Nicks posted a lengthy, handwritten tribute to the woman she called “my best friend in the whole world” on Wednesday. Now, former Fleetwood Mac member Lindsey Buckingham has, like Nicks, penned a handwritten tribute to the late singer, songwriter and keyboardist.

On Instagram, Buckingham, who teamed with McVie for a collaborative album and tour in 2017, wrote, “Christine McVie’s sudden passing is profoundly heartbreaking. Not only were she and I part of the magical family of Fleetwood Mac, to me Christine was a musical comrade, a friend, a soul mate, a sister.”

“For over four decades, we helped each other create a beautiful body of work and a lasting legacy that continues to resonate today,” he adds. “I feel very lucky to have known her. Though she will be deeply missed, her spirit will live on through that body of work and that legacy.”

In April of 2018, Buckingham was fired from Fleetwood Mac and replaced by former Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and ex-Crowded House frontman Neil Finn.  That fall, the band launched its An Evening with Fleetwood Mac tour without Buckingham.  The tour, which ended in November of 2019, was McVie’s final one with the band before her death.

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Warren Haynes’ 31st annual Christmas Jam is sold out, but folks without tickets will still be able to enjoy it. The event is now set to be livestreamed in 4K on Volume.com.

This year’s Christmas Jam is the first time it’s happening in three years. The livestream ticket, which costs $29.99, includes the main concert, happening December 10 at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina, along with the pre-Jam on Friday at The Orange Peel. 

Artists on this year’s bill include Phil Lesh and Friends, featuring Haynes, John Scofield, Rob Barraco and John Molo; Tyler Childers; Gov’t Mule; Brothers Osbourne; and Dinosaur, Jr.

Proceeds from this year’s Christmas Jam will benefit Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity and BeLoved Asheville.

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Elton John recently announced he’s adding one more date to his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour — his final tour ever — and fans think it’s going to be a pretty huge festival gig. 

Elton kicked off the speculation when he shared a tease on his Instagram Story, “One final date to announce…,” followed by another post that read “Rocket Man is incoming.”

According to NME, fans on social media were quick to guess he was teasing an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival. BBC’s Glastonbury Twitter feed seemed to support, if not outright confirm, the speculation. 

“We caught a stunning shot of @glastonbury on our webcam yesterday. Click the link below and hit ‘best shots’ to take a look…,” they tweeted. When fans click the link they are met with a webcam shot of the festival’s Pyramid Stage, with a rocket flying above it, an apparent reference to the Rocket Man.

The timing of the appearance certainly could work with Elton’s schedule. Glastonbury is set to take place the weekend of June 21 to 25 and right now there is a gap in his schedule during that time. He has a June 18 show set for Glasgow, Scotland, then a break until a show in Paris June 25.

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It sounds like we may be getting some new music from Blondie, if you believe Johnny Marr. During an appearance on The Lineup with Shaun Keaveny podcast, the former The Smiths guitarist revealed he’s written a new song for the band. 

Johnny previously wrote the song “My Monster” for Blondie and he now shares, “I’ve written another new one for the new, current record that they’re recording,” adding, “I don’t know whether it will end up on the album, you never know. But they seemed to really like it.”

Johnny says hearing Debbie Harry singing his lyrics is “a new level of wow for me because they are my lyrics, Debbie’s singing my lyrics.”

The new song is called “Spectral Eyes,” but Marr says “they took so long recording it” he recorded it himself as a B-side on a 7-inch. He adds, “I wasn’t about to put it on an album, just in case.”

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Apparently, The Smashing Pumpkins are to the ’90s what Cheap Trick was to the ’70s.

According to Variety, Pumpkins guitarist James Iha plays on an updated version of the That ’70s Show theme for the upcoming sequel series That ’90s Show.

The song, titled “In the Street,” was originally released by the band Big Star in 1972. It was adapted for That ’70s Show when the sitcom premiered in 1998; Cheap Trick’s version was used as the theme starting in the second season.

Variety reports that Iha is also the composer on That ’90s Show.

That ’90s Show will premiere January 19 on Netflix. Set in 1995, it stars returning actors Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp reprising their roles as Red and Kitty Forman, whose house is once again invaded by teenagers when their granddaughter Leia comes to visit.

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Personal items from the late Christine McVie will go up for auction as planned this weekend, with proceeds from the sale benefiting the Recording Academy charity MusiCares.

Following the news of McVie’s death at age 79 on Wednesday, Julien’s Auctions announced they will move forward with the auction on Saturday. “We worked with the legendary Christie McVie and her team for the past year in curating a world class auction set to take place on December 3 celebrating her amazing life and career and supporting her charity MusiCares,” they shared.

They add, “It was important to Christine that MusiCares, a charity close to her heart to help other musicians in need, would greatly benefit from her auction,” noting, “It is now our mission to make this auction a fitting tribute to the legacy of one of the greatest singers and musicians of our time.” 

The auction includes a variety of Fleetwood Mac items, but McVie-specific items include: a 1960s stage-played Hammond B-3 Organ, a stage-played Yamaha C3 Baby Grand Piano, a Rumours photo-matched album cover-worn dress and a pair of black, lace-up combat boots she wore to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2019 and throughout the 2018/2019 Fleetwood Mac Tour. 

Click here for info on the complete collection.

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Next year marks the 50th anniversary of George Thorogood‘s first show, so he and his band, The Destroyers, are celebrating the milestone with a new tour. Thorogood just announced dates for the Bad All Over The World 50 Years of Rock tour, with dates set in the U.S. and Canada. 

The tour kicks off with an appearance on the Rock Legends Cruise X in February, before launching March 17 and 18 in Lincoln City, Oregon. The last U.S. show has Thorogood hitting Las Vegas’ Pearl Theater at the Palms Casino Resort on March 25.

“From that very first show, we’ve stayed true to ourselves and the music we love,” says Thorogood, referring to their first gig, which was on December 1, 1973, at the University of Delaware. “We’ve decided to celebrate our first half-century by throwing the biggest and baddest rock party ever.”

After the Vegas show, the tour heads to Canada for Thorogood’s first shows there in three years. Dates are confirmed through May 17 in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

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This year’s Bowl for Ronnie charity bowling tournament, held in honor of late metal icon Ronnie James Dio, raised over $72,000 for cancer research.

The annual event made its return last month after a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the rockers who participated were Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello, Tenacious D‘s Jack Black, Theory of a Deadman frontman Tyler Connolly and Lita Ford.

The team featuring former Judas Priest vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens won first place.

Proceeds from Bowl for Ronnie benefits the Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, which was founded following Dio’s death from stomach cancer in 2010.

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