Classic Rock News

Cyndi Lauper is one of this year’s inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, along with indie rockers The White Stripes, British rockers Bad Company, the late Joe Cocker, grunge pioneers Soundgarden, rap duo Outkast and “The Twist” singer Chubby Checker. But it turns out she has an unexpected connection to Bad Company.

“That was the first song I sang as the lead singer, at a place called the Boardy Barn,” Cyndi recalls. The Boardy Barn was a legendary venue in New York’s Hamptons.

“I played in front of 5,000 people. Had a heart attack, but it didn’t matter,” she tells ABC Audio of the 1974 gig. “It was a gigantic place that was kind of half outdoor/indoor, and there were nickel beers. So I was singing a Bad Company song, and now Bad Company will be inducted in the same time [as me].”

To be specific, the song she sang was “Can’t Get Enough,” a top five hit in 1974. Bad Company, fronted by acclaimed singer Paul Rodgers, also scored with hits like “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy” and “Feel Like Makin’ Love.”

“I just thought it was serendipitous that we’d be in the same place [at the induction ceremony],” Cyndi notes, adding that Rodgers “was always a great rock singer.”

But looking back, Cyndi says Bad Company’s lyrics left something to be desired.

“I mean, when you think of songs like, ‘Feel Like Making Love,’ and you listen to the lyrics, you’re like, ‘If you were with a guy and he was like, ‘O.K., I feel like making love!’ how would you feel about that?” she laughs. “Somehow, in the ’70s, that was sexy!” 

The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction will stream live on Disney+ Nov. 8.

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The new documentary Hung Up On A Dream delves into the history of the ’60s band The Zombies, including their breakup, reunion and 2019 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The band broke up after the release of their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle, which didn’t gain recognition until years later, thanks to the classic track “Time of the Season.” The Zombies frontman Colin Blunstone tells ABC Audio the breakup happened because members of the band were broke, but looking back he wishes they could have continued.

“I would have liked to have seen what we would have recorded next,” he says, “because I just felt the band had turned a corner and the songwriting on Odessey and Oracle is wonderful.”

The film brings the band back to Abbey Road Studios, where they recorded the album, and director Robert Schwartzman says it was important for the story.

He notes, “To have the chance to take the guys back to where they made that album … was a way to get in and get out of the story and help shape it.”

For Colin, it was a very “emotional” being there with his bandmates — Rod Argent, Chris White and Hugh Grundy — as the “memories were flooding back.”

The Zombies’ influence is felt in the film, with several artists talking about being fans, and Schwartzman says one of the coolest was Post Malone. He notes, “To see him just kind of like a fanboy with Colin and Rod was really cool.” 

Colin says he’s “always surprised” to hear that another musician is a fan: “The thought that these huge artists have been influenced in any way by us … it’s quite a difficult concept for me to get my head around.”

Event screenings of Hung Up On A Dream are taking place through Wednesday, before the documentary opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday. 

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Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis is the latest coffee entrepreneur.

The rocker just launched a new coffee in a can brand, JOLENE, with his friend Shane Powers, and they’ve teamed with Live Nation to bring the beverage to venues across the country.

“Shane shouted at me down the sidewalk ‘Let’s do something!'” Kiedis shares. “I shouted back ‘how ’bout coffee?’ He said ‘done.’ And so began the adventure of putting a high-quality spin on a can of coffee. Now it’s time to put on some aprons and serve the world some delicious coffee. Simple and fun.”

JOLENE, described as “a coffee with a pulse, built to move with the rhythm of live entertainment and meet the ambition of those living life to the fullest,” will be available in two flavors: Black, described as a “bold cold brew,” and White, which is “a smooth oat milk latte.”

Music and coffee fans will be able to drink JOLENE at Live Nation amphitheaters across 23 states. It will also be available online and at retailers in New York and Los Angeles.

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The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger is producing a new film about jazz legend Miles Davis, and the cast has just been announced.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Damson Idris, best known for starring in John Singleton’s Netflix drama Snowfall, has been cast to play Davis. French actress Anamaria Vartolomei, who recently appeared in the film Mickey 17, will play French singer/actress Juliette Gréco.

The film follows a 22-year-old Davis on a trip to Paris in 1949, where he falls for Gréco. Per the description, “what begins as an intimate affair blossoms into a profound connection between two young artists — just before they became cultural legends.”

Jagger has been producing films since he started his company Jagged Films in 1991. He also co-produced the 2014 James Brown biopic Get On Up.

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The 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead will be celebrated with three Dead & Company concerts at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced on social media.

“We have some really big news. Dead & Co., three shows, August 1, 2 and 3, right here in the city that is the home of the Grateful Dead,” Lurie shared on social platform X. “What better way to celebrate? We’ll see you out here in August.”

The post promised “more details coming soon.”

San Francisco and the Grateful Dead have been synonymous with each other since the beginning. The jam band was founded in the City By the Bay in 1965 by Jerry Garcia, Bobby Weir, Phil Lesh, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Bill Kreutzmann, with drummer Mickey Hart and lyricist Robert Hunter joining the group in 1967.

Dead & Company — Weir, Hart, John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane — also have a tie to the city. They wrapped their Final Tour with three nights at San Francisco’s Oracle Park in 2023. They returned to live performing with their Dead Forever residency at the Sphere Las Vegas in 2024 and currently have three more shows of their 2025 Sphere stand, happening May 15, 16 and 17.

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A new festival named after ground zero for punk rock in New York City has been set for this September.

The CBGB Festival, named after the legendary club on New York’s Bowery where many punk and new wave legends got their start, will take place Sept. 27 at Under the K Bridge Park in Brooklyn. The lineup features Iggy Pop — doing his first New York show in more than a decade — as well as Jack White, the Sex Pistols, Johnny Marr, The Damned, Melvins, Lunachicks and Marky Ramone, as well as current acts like The Linda Lindas.

You can register for a presale now at CBGBFEST.COM. Presale tickets go on sale May 15 at 10 a.m. ET; the general sale begins May 16 at 10 a.m. ET.

New York residents under 25 will be eligible for a “Young Punk” discounted GA ticket, which you can get in person only at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on May 17 at noon. The limited batch of tickets will cost just $73 — a reference to 1973, the year CBGB opened. There are only 350 tickets available, in a nod to the capacity of the original club.

And speaking of Sex Pistols, the reunited punk icons have added more dates to their upcoming U.S. tour, including Riot Fest, taking place Sept. 19-21 in Chicago, and a Las Vegas show at the Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort on Oct. 17. The band’s lineup includes original members Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock, as well as singer Frank Carter. A complete list of dates can be found at SexPistolsFeaturingFrankCarter.com.

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John Mellencamp is teasing fans with a new album coming next year.

The rocker shared a clip on Instagram of him reading lyrics to a song called “Eternity,” noting it would be featured on his “upcoming 2026 album ‘Orphan Train.'”

“There will surely come a time when every crime and every sign of corruption will be washed away and we will join in and share the enlightenment we find there from now until eternity,” John says in the clip. “Our time will slip away and the years and the days like the sun will shine a ray of a little bit of brightness on our face from now until eternity.”

“Eternity, eternity just waiting now for you and for me,” he adds.

Mellencamp didn’t give an exact date for the release of Orphan Train. It will be his first album since 2023’s Orpheus Descending, which was his 25th studio album.

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Foreigner is set to play the season 27 finale of NBC’s The Voice, airing May 20 at 9 p.m. ET.

The band is expected to play a medley of their greatest hits, including “Feels Like The First Time,” “Juke Box Hero” and “I Want To Know What Love Is.”

It was recently announced that a new musical, Feels Like The First Time – The Foreigner Musical, directed by Rent’s Adam Pascal, will have its world premiere at Long Island University’s Little Theatre in April 2026. The show, featuring the band’s greatest hits, is set to have workshops and staged readings this fall.

Foreigner recently completed a tour of South America, for which they were joined by original frontman Lou Gramm. They are set to kick off a U.S. tour on June 11 in Highland, California. A complete list of dates can be found at Foreigneronline.com.

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On This Day, May 12, 2017…

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of their #1 album The Joshua Tree, U2 kicked off a world tour in Vancouver, Canada.

The tour had the band playing the 1987 album in order in its entirety, which included the live debut of the track “Red Hill Mining Town.”

The tour hit North America, Europe and South America, and then U2 came back in 2019 to bring the tour to Oceana and Asia.

The 2017 leg grossed $317 million and was the highest grossing tour globally, selling more than 2.71 million tickets from 51 shows.

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Pearl Jam’s music has played a significant role in the HBO zombie apocalypse series The Last of Us, and now the band is leaning into that collaboration.

The Seattle rockers have just released a new four-song EP, titled The Last of Us, featuring songs “inspired by the show,” with all the tunes appearing on the drama.

The 12-inch EP includes studio versions of “Future Days,” from 2013’s Lightning Bolt, and “All or None,” from 2002’s Riot Act, as well as a live version of “Future Days” recorded at the Ohana Festival, and “Present Tense (Redux),” a new version of a track that appeared on 1996’s No Code.

The EP will come on 45 RPM colored vinyl described as “clear with black smoke,” and is available for purchase through Pearl Jam’s website, while supplies last. It is also available via digital outlets.

Pearl Jam has long been connected to The Last of Us universe. “Future Days” was featured in the 2020 The Last of Us Part II game, while “All or None” featured on soundtrack for show. 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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