Classic Rock News

On This Day, April 22, 2020…

Bruce Springsteen, his wife Patti Scialfa and Jon Bon Jovi were among the artists who performed during the Jersey 4 Jersey virtual benefit, which raised money for COVID-19 relief.

Springsteen and Scialfa teamed for two acoustic performances, the Wrecking Ball track “Land of Hopes and Dreams,” and a cover of Tom Waits’ “Jersey Girl,” while Bon Jovi performed a new song, “Do What You Can,” and closed the night with “Living on a Prayer.”

The livestream raised almost $6 million for COVID relief. It also featured performances by Charlie Puth, Fountains of Wayne, whose co-founder Adam Schlesinger died due to complications from COVID-19, Halsey, Tony Bennett an SZA.

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Steely Dan is ready to close out the vinyl reissue series they launched back in November 2022, with a reissue of their 1976 album The Royal Scam.

The reissue will be released on June 6, marking the first time the album’s been available on vinyl in 45 years. It has been remastered from the analog tapes and will be released on 180-gram black vinyl, along with a limited-edition premium 45 RPM version on ultra high-quality vinyl. It will also be available to stream on digital services.

Released in May 1976, The Royal Scam was Steely Dan’s fifth studio album, and featured such songs as “Kid Charlemagne,” “The Fez,” “The Caves of Altamira,” and the title track. The album peaked at #15 on the Billboard chart, and was certified Gold by the RIAA.

All releases in Steely Dan’s reissue series have been personally overseen by Donald Fagan. It started with their 1972 debut, Can’t Buy a Thrill, which was followed by 1973’s Countdown to Ecstasy, 1974’s Pretzel Logic, 1977’s Aja, and 1975’s Katy Lied.

The Royal Scam is available for preorder now.

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Metallica is set to perform at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix.

The metal legends will take the stage on Yas Island to headline the day’s after-race concert on Dec. 6. Other after-race performers include pop stars Benson Boone and Katy Perry on Dec. 4 and Dec. 7, respectively.

For more info, visit AbuDhabiGP.com.

Metallica has also announced their first-ever show in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain, taking place Dec. 3. Tickets go on sale Thursday at 9 a.m. ET. 

You can also catch Metallica on their current North American tour, which continues Thursday in Toronto. 

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James Taylor is set to make an appearance on Sunday’s American Idol live show, where he’ll mentor this year’s contestants.

Taylor’s appearance will coincide with a special Rock & Roll Hall of Fame themed-show, in which the top 14 will perform songs from current members of the Rock Hall. In addition, the episode will feature the live announcement of the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees.

Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

This year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees include Bad Company, Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, The Black Crowes, Cyndi Lauper, Soundgarden, The White Stripes, Phish, Oasis, Chubby Checker, Mariah Carey, New Order/Joy Division, Outkast and Mexican rock band Maná.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-themed episode of American Idol airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

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Sammy Hagar is getting ready to share new music with fans.

The rocker is set to release the new single “Encore, Thank You, Good Night” on Friday, which he wrote with guitar great Joe Satriani.

The tune was inspired by a dream Hagar had about his late Van Halen bandmate Eddie Van Halen. It is described as “a celebration and expression of appreciation” of his time in Van Halen.

“This song is my final bow to that part of my life,” Sammy shares. “It’s not meant to be anything more than a thank-you — with love, with respect, and with one hell of a guitar solo.”

Satriani plays guitar on the tune, with Van Halen’s Michael Anthony on bass and Kenny Aronoff on drums.

“Joe was the perfect partner to help me shape the sound — he brought in that big, emotional, guitar-driven energy that feels like Eddie’s spirit but is entirely of Joe’s creation,” Sammy says. “With Michael Anthony’s thundering bass and stellar Van Halen-esque background vocals and Kenny Aronoff’s relentlessly powerful driving rhythms, the song really came together on all levels.”

“Encore, Thank You, Goodnight” is available for preorder now.

Next up, Hagar is set to headline the Stagecoach Festival’s Palomino Stage on Sunday, where he’ll premiere the video for the song. He’ll then kick off his Las Vegas residency, The Best of All Worlds Tour Stays in Vegas – The Residency, on April 30 at Dolby Live at Park MGM. A complete list of dates can be found at RedRocker.com.

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Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Patti Smith has paid tribute to Pope Francis, who passed away Monday at the age of 88.

Smith shared a photo on Instagram of a dandelion growing between some cobblestones, with the caption, “This is a little flower a dandelion humble yet strong. I saw it this morning and was moved.”

“Farewell dear Pope Francis,” she added. “Nature and poetry and the suffering shall miss their champion.”

Pope Francis became the Catholic Church’s 266th pope on March 13, 2013, and was the first ever from Latin America. He was hospitalized for over five weeks beginning in February, and was released from the hospital and returned to the Vatican on March 23. Prior to his death, he made an Easter Sunday appearance from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

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There was a mini R.E.M. reunion in the band’s hometown of Athens, Georgia, on Sunday.

R.E.M.’s Peter Buck was headlining a show with Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ singer Kevn Kinney at the Rialto Room when Buck’s bandmate Mike Mills decided to join in on the fun.

According to a post on Instagram, Mills sang lead on a performance of R.E.M.’s Reckoning track “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville” and also accompanied the pair on bass for Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ songs “Fly Me Courageous,” “Honeysuckle Blue” and “Straight to Hell.”

The post notes, “It was an amazing night in Athens with a great crowd and fabulous set.”

R.E.M. later shared video of the “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville” performance, reminding fans that Peter and Kevin have another show at the Rialto on Thursday.

The performance comes less than two months after all the members of R.E.M. reunited in Athens at Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy’s show celebrating R.E.M.’s Murmur. All four members, including Michael Stipe and Bill Berry, performed the Reckoning track “Pretty Persuasion.”

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The late Tom Petty is featured in the new video for Snoop Dogg’s song “Last Dance with Mary Jane,” which reinterprets Petty’s classic track “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.”

The clip, directed by Dave Myers, celebrates Snoop’s love of marijuana, and features an animated Petty playing guitar and harmonica, and singing along to the hook of the song.

Snoop’s “Last Dance with Mary Jane” appears on his most recent album Missionary, which is his first collaborative album with Dr. Dre since 1993. The song itself, which also features Jelly Roll, opens with Petty saying “keep movin’ on” and includes Petty’s chorus playing over the hook.

Petty seemed to have predicted Snoop and Dr. Dre would use the song at some point. He once said in an interview, “The day Dre does ‘Mary Jane’s Last Dance’ he’s gonna have a big hit,” adding, “That one’s just waiting to explode … you need somebody like Dre to do it.”

Released in 1993, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” was recorded during the sessions for Petty’s album Wildflowers, but was released as part of his Greatest Hits album. It hit #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Petty his first top-20 hit.

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Like EA Sports, the grand prize winner of Metallica‘s marching band competition will also be in the game.

The metal legends have announced that the school that takes home the college Division 1 title will be included in a future edition of the EA Sports College Football video game series. They will get to record a rendition of a Metallica song for the game’s soundtrack, as well as the EA Sports College Football theme song.

The inclusion in EA Sports College Football will be in addition to the $50,000 in music equipment awarded to the first-place college Division 1 winner.

Metallica first launched their marching band competition, punnily dubbed For Whom the Band Tolls, in 2023. It’s divided into categories including Division 1 college, Division 2 and 3 college, and large-, medium- and small-sized high school.

The high school winners of the latest contest were announced in February. At the time, Metallica also said that they were extending the entry window for colleges because “an exciting new partner approached us with an opportunity for our collegiate competitors that we just couldn’t pass up,” which we now would guess was referring to EA Sports College Football.

For more info on For Whom the Band Tolls, visit MetallicaMarchingBand.com.

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Fan voting for the 2025 class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame closes Monday, and Billy Idol is making a case for why you should vote for him.

In a new interview with U.K. outlet The Independent, Idol, who is currently #3 in the fan vote behind Phish and Bad Company, argues that folks should vote for him “because I’m just f****** incredible.”

“It’s pretty amazing that I went from something like punk rock in England to mainstream success in the States,” he says. “I was not only involved in punk, I became a big part of the ’80s New Wave. And then I carried on making the music, living the rock ’n’ roll life.”

Idol continues his pitch by pointing out, “I’ve also gone beyond what people expect,” mentioning his 1993 album, Cyberpunk. “I didn’t stay in my lane. I took chances. Even coming to America, I had no idea I was going to do really well. And the risks I took worked.”

Finally he offers, “All of that shows an enterprising spirit – a spirit of rock ’n’ roll.”

The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees include Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Soundgarden, The Black Crowes, Chubby Checker, The White Stripes, Oasis, Mariah Carey, New Order/Joy Division, Outkast and Mexican rock band Maná.

This year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class will be announced later in April.

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