Classic Rock News

Disney World has announced the last date of operation for the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster featuring Aerosmith.

It was previously reported that Aerosmith’s video intro for the ride, which featured Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, had been removed in order for construction to start on a Muppets revamp of the roller coaster. Disney World’s website has since revealed that the last day of operation for the ride will be March 1.

It was announced in November 2024 that Aerosmith was being replaced by The Muppets on the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando. When The Muppets take over the ride, guests will go on a search for the Electric Mayhem crew, who go missing ahead of a gig headlining a big Hollywood concert.

The decision to change the ride came after Disney decided to replace Muppet Vision 3D with Monsters Inc. land. It will mark the first time Jim Henson‘s lovable characters are the focus of a Disney ride.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (then named Disney-MGM Studios) in July 1999. It started with the band in the studio before taking off to a concert, and bringing the riders along with them. It featured iconic tunes from the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, including “Walk This Way,” “Love in an Elevator” and “Sweet Emotion.”

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A documentary on Grammy winner Billy Preston is coming to theaters in February.

Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It was directed by Emmy winner Paris Barclay and premiered at South by Southwest. It’s set to open Feb. 20 at the Film Forum in New York City, with plans to release it in select theaters in North America sometime in 2026.

“We are more than thrilled that the soul of Billy Preston will be reborn thanks to our friends at Abramorama — and in the theater, where everyone can experience it,” said Barclay. “His story has reverberated with festival audiences, in part because we illuminate Preston’s brilliance — and also because it has so much to say about the world we live in today.”

The film will give fans insight into the six-decade career of the legendary singer and keyboardist, known for such hits as “Nothing From Nothing,” “Will It Go Round in Circles” and “Space Race.” He also co-wrote and recorded the classic “You Are So Beautiful,” which became a hit for Joe Cocker.

Preston, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, is also known for his association with other artists like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton and Aretha Franklin.

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The second episode of the three-part YouTube series looking back at Freddie Mercury’s debut solo album, Mr Bad Guy, has just been released.

Archival footage of Mercury’s 1985 interview with journalist David Wigg looks at the Queen frontman’s approach to songwriting, with Mercury noting “the actual structure of the melody comes easy to me, it’s the lyrical content I find hard.”

“I like to write nice little catchy tunes, but in terms of the lyrical content it’s difficult. So I have to work on that part of it,” he says. “I’m not a poet and I hate writing lyrics anyway. I wish somebody else could do it.”

Mentioning Elton John’s songwriting partner, he jokes, “I wish I had a Bernie Taupin, but I’m not like that. I like to do it all myself, I’m a greedy b****.”

He later says that all his songs are about “emotion and feeling.”

“I’d love to write songs about something totally different, but they all seem to end up in a very emotional and tragic way,” he says. “Maybe I’m a very tragic person. I don’t know why, but there’s an element of humor at the end. I’m a very loving person, you know.”

The video also features footage from the Dante-inspired music video for the album’s second single, “Made in Heaven.” At one point in the clip Wigg asks Mercury, who died in 1991, if he thinks he’s going to heaven.

“No, I don’t want to,” Freddie says, joking, “Hell is much better. Look at the interesting people that you’re going to meet down there.”

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Slash and his Conspirators bandmate Myles Kennedy are featured on a new cover of U2 and B.B. King‘s collaborative 1989 single, “When Love Comes to Town.”

The cover is part of blues rocker Joe Bonamassa‘s King tribute album, B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100. It also features blues singer Shemekia Copeland, who handles King’s vocals while Kennedy sings Bono‘s parts.

“We knew early on we wanted to include this U2 song in an effort to span the breadth of B.B.’s entire career,” says producer Josh Smith. “It turned into such a standout.”

B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100 is due out Feb. 6.

The most recent Conspirators album is 2022’s 4, though a new record is in the works. Slash also teamed up with Kennedy and company for a cover of “Feel Like Makin’ Love” for a Bad Company tribute album. 

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Rock stars including Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder, Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slash and Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses and Yungblud all performed at a private company party Thursday at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York.

The night’s house band was Smith & Watt Steakhouse, which features RHCP drummer Chad Smith and producer Andrew Watt.

You can watch footage of a Yungblud-fronted cover of The Rolling Stones‘ “Start Me Up” via the Smith & Watt Steakhouse Instagram.

A company employee also posted footage from the concert on Instagram, which included Bruno Mars singing Nirvana‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” 

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On Dec. 10, 2007, the surviving members of Led Zeppelin — Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones — reunited for their first concert together in 19 years at the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert at London’s O2 Arena. And Page is now reflecting on the experience.

The rocker shared pictures from the evening on Instagram, recalling how they were originally offered a 20- to 30-minute set, which wasn’t good enough for him.

“I thought, I wasn’t going to do that – we needed to do a full-length set, because the energy, power, synergy and synchronicity would build as the show continued,” he wrote. “We wouldn’t have been able to achieve that in 20 minutes. We would have always regretted the fact that we didn’t play another hour at least.”

“I just really wanted to go out there, play well, and show what we could do,” he added. “To stand up and be counted, so that people would leave the concert saying, ‘I expected them to be good, but I had no idea they could or would deliver like this.'”

In a separate post featuring video of their “Kashmir” performance, Page continued to reflect on the show.

“I felt the adrenaline rising as the evening approached. The euphoric tidal wave was overwhelming,” he wrote. “We had done the O2 and the response to it was so positive. The spirit of the band was shining.”

Jason Bonham, son of late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, backed the band behind the drum kit for the show, and he commented on Page’s second post.

“So grateful, I had the chance to play drums with you on so many occasions but this one was very special,” he wrote.

The O2 show was the last time all three surviving members of Led Zeppelin performed together.

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On This Day, Dec. 12, 2012 …

12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief was held at New York’s Madison Square Garden to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, which struck portions of the Northeastern United States, the Caribbean and the Mid-Atlantic in late October 2012.

The concert featured performances by Bruce Springsteen, The Who, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, The Rolling Stones, Roger Waters with Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder, Coldplay with R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe and more.

Paul McCartney closed the show, where he was joined by the surviving members of Nirvana — Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and touring guitarist Pat Smear — for their first performance together in 18 years.

The concert was broadcast live in the U.S. on a variety of networks, and a documentary, DVD and CD of the concert were also released.

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Lenny Kravitz is set to appear in the upcoming James Bond action adventure video game 007 First Light, from IO Interactive.

Kravitz will play the villain Bawma in the game, which will be a Bond origin story. Bawma is described as “the largest black-market dealer in the Western Hemisphere who’s as charismatic as he is unpredictable,” with the description adding, “He rose from nothing, broke free, and built his own Kingdom of Aleph.”

“The Bond franchise has such an incredible legacy in video games, so to step into it with a brand-new character like Bawma is amazing,” Kravitz said in a statement posted to IO Interactive’s website. “He’s magnetic and unpredictable, there’s danger in him, but also heart and purpose. He’s not just a man with power; he is a man who has to fight for every inch of it. Bringing that energy into 007’s world felt incredible.”

A just released trailer for the game highlights Kravitz’s appearance, with the villain’s likeness taken directly from the rocker’s iconic look.

007 First Light is due out March 27 and available for preorder now.

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Queen’s iconic #1 hit “Bohemian Rhapsody” has reached a new milestone on YouTube.

The video for the 1975 song has just surpassed 2 billion views on the site, making it the oldest song to ever reach such a milestone.

This has been a big year for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” as Queen celebrated the song’s 50th anniversary in October. To mark the occasion they released the single on transparent blue heavyweight 12-inch vinyl, as a 12-inch picture disc and as a blue cassette single.

The song is from Queen’s #1 album A Night at the Opera. It was the band’s first #1 single in the U.K., spending nine weeks on the top of the chart. The six-minute operatic tune, written by Freddie Mercury, was rereleased in 1991 following Mercury’s death and returned to #1.

In other Queen news … guitarist Brian May’s wife, Anita Dobson, revealed a bit of a tidbit about the future of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band, and it sounds like fans shouldn’t expect to see them out on the road anytime soon.

“They will do little bits and bobs, but they won’t do those big tours,” she told the U.K. outlet The Mirror. “We are all getting old.” 

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Blondie’s iconic track “Call Me” is featured in the first teaser trailer for the new Supergirl film.

Milly Alcock stars as the titular Supergirl/Kara Zor-El in the second film in the new DC Universe. The trailer starts off by showing Kara’s everyday world, as the Blondie track kicks in. 

The movie follows what happens “when an unexpected and ruthless adversary strikes too close to home,” according to the trailer’s official synopsis. “Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, reluctantly joins forces with an unlikely companion on an epic, interstellar journey of vengeance and justice.”

Blondie shared a post about the trailer in an Instagram Story. They also shared artwork by artist Butcher Billy that imagines Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry as Supergirl, as well as a video of Alcock being asked what she’s listening to. Her response? “Call Me” by Blondie.

Supergirl flies into theaters on June 26, 2026.

“Call Me,” produced and composed by Giorgio Moroder, with lyrics by Harry, originally appeared in the 1980 Richard Gere film American Gigolo. After being released as a single, it went on to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, spending six weeks in the top spot.

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