Classic Rock News

The late Charlie Watts’ huge collection of books went up for auction at Christie’s on Thursday, September 28, and brought in some big bucks.

According to The Independent, The Rolling Stones drummer’s first-edition copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 classic The Great Gatsby earned the highest bid of the day, over $276,000.

Meanwhile, a first edition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s Sherlock Holmes tale The Hound Of The Baskervilles, featuring a personal message from the author, set a new record. It sold for over $261,000, a record for the sale of a printed book by Doyle. It had been previously held by a 2022 sale of The Sign of Four, which went for $201,600.

Another record was set with the sale of an “exceptionally rare” edition of Agatha Christie’s 1932 mystery collection The Thirteen Problems. It went for just over $74,000, higher than the previous record for the sale of a Christie book, a 2021 sale of The ABC Murders, which went for over $58,000.

These sales were just a few of the several books previously owned by Watts that went up for auction, along with jazz memorabilia he collected over the years. There is also an online auction of Watts items happening until Friday, September 29.

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ZZ Top‘s Billy F. Gibbons has announced dates for the 2023 edition of The Jungle Show, which he describes as the “ultimate Texas Blues event of the season.” 

This year’s run will return to Antone’s in Austin, Texas, with the shows happening December 27, 28 and 29. The lineup features Jimmie Vaughan, Sue Foley, Mike “The Drifter” Flanigin and Chris “Whipper” Layton. 

Gibbons and his pals have been holding The Jungle Show since 2016. Tickets for the 2023 edition are on sale now at antones.com.

Until then, Gibbons and ZZ Top will be on the road for the month of October. Their next set of tour dates kick off October 5 in Auburn, Washington. A complete list of dates can be found at zztop.com. 

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The Rolling Stones have treated fans to another preview of their upcoming album Hackney Diamonds, releasing the gospel-infused “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” which features vocals by Lady Gaga and keyboards by Stevie Wonder.

In a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, frontman Mick Jagger calls Gaga a “really great singer,” noting, “I’d never heard her sing quite that style before. Not exactly.”

The Gaga and Wonder contributions were recorded in Los Angeles. Jagger tells Lowe, “We did it live in the room and that was a great experience, her just coming in the room and her just opening up and seeing her bits and feeling her way and then getting more confident.”

You can listen to “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” via digital outlets and on YouTube.

“Sweet Sounds of Heaven” is the second single released off Hackney Diamonds, following “Angry.” The album is the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers’ first album of original material in 18 years.

Hackney Diamonds, which drops October 20, is available for preorder now.

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Former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle has assembled an all-star lineup of artists to join him on his brand new album, Anthems – Honoring The Music Of Lynyrd Skynyrd, dropping February 2, 2024.

The 13-track album features performances of such Skynyrd classics as “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Gimme Three Steps,” “Simple Man,” “Free Bird” and more, with guest appearances by Dolly Parton, Sammy Hagar and Warren Haynes, along with country stars Ronnie Dunn, Chris Janson, Billy Ray Cyrus and others.

“This project has been a year in the making, but when the fans hear it they will understand why it took so long,” says Len Snow, president of Get Joe Records, which is releasing the album. “Artimus is legendary within the Southern Rock space. The music that Lynyrd Skynyrd made will always live as a part of rock history. This album honors that music and gives Artimus a way to honor his former bandmates.”

Pyle is set to drop the first single from the record on October 20, which is the 46th anniversary of the plane crash that took the lives of Skynyrd frontman Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and four others, and injured Pyle, guitarist Gary Rossington and other members of the band.

Anthems – Honoring The Music Of Lynyrd Skynyrd is available for preorder now. Here is the album’s track list:

“I Know A Little” – Michael Ray
“Sweet Home Alabama” – Ronnie Dunn
“Simple Man” – Sammy Hagar
“Needle And The Spoon” – Lindsey Ell
“The Ballad Of Curtis Loew” – Chris Janson
“Workin’ For MCA” – Lee Brice
“That Smell” – Jerrod Niemann
“Gimme Three Steps” – Marty Raybon
“Call Me The Breeze” – Billy Ray Cyrus
“Saturday Night Special” – Warren Haynes
“The Hunt” – Artimus Pyle Band
“What’s Your Name” – LOCASH
“Freebird “- Dolly Parton

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On This Day, September 28, 1968…

The Beatles’ non-album single “Hey Jude” began a nine-week run at #1 on the Billboard Hot 10. It was the longest run at #1 for any Beatles single.

With a run time of seven minutes and 11 seconds, “Hey Jude” also set a new record for the longest song to top the chart.

Paul McCartney famously wrote “Hey Jude” for John Lennon’s son Julian, during John’s separation from his first wife, Cynthia.

The song, which was the first release on the band’s new Apple Records label, also topped the chart in several other countries, including the U.K., Australia and Canada.

It was inducted into the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.

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The late Tina Turner’s legendary solo career is being celebrated with a new box set.

Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, dropping November 24, will feature 55 Turner songs, including such classics as “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” “Private Dancer,” “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome),” “The Best” and more.

It will also feature Tina’s collaborations with such artists as David Bowie, Bryan Adams, Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart, along with the 2020 Kygo remix of her signature tune “What’s Love Got To Do With It.” Additionally, the set will include a new version of the 1996 track “Something Beautiful Remains,” which has been reworked by her longtime collaborator Terry Britten and renamed “Something Beautiful.”

The set will mark the first time all of Turner’s singles have been compiled in one collection. It’s being released digitally and as a three-CD or five-LP set. There will also be a 12-track vinyl version, with all versions featuring a foreword by Adams.  

Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll is available for preorder now.

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After years on HBO, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is airing someplace new in 2023.

This year’s event will stream live from Brooklyn, New York, on Disney+ starting Friday, November 3, at 8 p.m. ET. A broadcast special featuring highlights from the show will premiere January 1, 2024, on ABC.

“This historic live stream on Disney+ and special on ABC is a testament to the diverse sounds and enduring power of rock and roll,” says John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “Over the last three decades, the annual live Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction has become music’s highest honor, celebrating the artists who’ve defined generations and changed music forever.”

The 2023 Rock Hall inductees include Rage Against the Machine, Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott, George Michael and The Spinners. Additionally, Chaka Khan, Al Kooper and Bernie Taupin are being inducted with the Musical Excellence award, while DJ Kool Herc and Link Wray will be honored in the Musical Influence category. The late Don Cornelius is the recipient of the industry Ahmet Ertegun Award.

Additionally, the Rock Hall has announced the first wave of performers for the 2023 ceremony, including Crow, Nelson, Elliott and Khan, as well as Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Dave Matthews, H.E.R., Chris Stapleton, St. Vincent and New Edition.

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Paul Rodgers, frontman of such classic bands as Free and Bad Company, recently released the new album Midnight Rose. But what folks might not know is that he recorded it following a major health scare. Four years ago, Rodgers suffered several strokes, and while it was a long recovery, he says making the album helped get him through it. 

“Well, it feels like being born again, actually, it’s absolutely great,” Rodgers tells ABC Audio. “I was sort of incapacitated, I guess. I hate to admit that, but it’s true. And I had to take it step by step. And everything I did was like a progress, was a step in the right direction.”

He says even the recording was part of the healing process, noting that when he started singing and playing guitar again he decided to return to the studio and see what would happen.

What happened was Rodgers was able to finish his first album of original solo material in 25 years. He shares that besides his health, it took this long because he had been busy with his solo tours, as well as touring with Bad Company and Queen.

“I kept all my ideas to myself,” he says of that time. “So when I got to when we were all in lockdown and I’d had this stroke, it was an opportunity to rest, recuperate, etcetera, and reevaluate the music that I had.”

And now that it’s out, Rodgers is hoping fans will find Midnight Rose uplifting.

“I learned from the blues that sometimes if you’re sad, it’s very good to get it out of your system by singing about it, by expressing it,” he says. “And I hope all of the above is the case with this album.” 

Midnight Rose is available now.

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A new book is set to explore feminism and rock ‘n’ roll from the point of view of several well-known female rockers.

She’s a Bad**: Women in Rock Shaping Feminism, from music journalist Katherine Yeske Taylor, features interviews with a host of famous female rockers, including Heart’s Ann Wilson, The Go-Go’s Gina Schock, The Runaways‘ Cherie Currie, Joan Osborne, X‘s Exene Cervenka, Breeders‘ Tanya Donelly, Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray and Joan Osborne.

In the book, the artists open up about the challenges they’ve faced being a woman in the music business, sharing how they overcame their struggles and what improvements they feel still need to be made. As the description notes, “Their stories prove that promoting feminism—either through activism or by living example—is undeniably bad***.”

She’s a Bad**: Women in Rock Shaping Feminism will be released January 16. It is available for preorder now.

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