Classic Rock News

John Mellencamp is ready to give fans some insight into his song lyrics.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is releasing the new lyric book John Mellencamp: The Songbook: 50 Years of Song and Poetry on Sept. 29.

According to the description, the book, featuring a foreword by Stephen King, has Mellencamp “opening his archives and tracing his evolution as both a songwriter and poet—spanning every era of his storied career.” It pairs the lyrics to his iconic songs with previously unseen personal photographs, handwritten drafts, notes and more.

John Mellencamp: The Songbook: 50 Years of Song and Poetry is available for preorder now. The rocker and his publisher, Rizzoli New York, plan to donate a portion of the proceeds from presales during the month of April to support Farm Aid. April preorders will also be entered into a raffle for a signed copy of the book.

Next up for Mellencamp, the rocker will launch his Dancing Words Tour — The Greatest Hits on July 10 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The tour will have him playing a set filled with biggest hits, as well as tracks he hasn’t performed live in nearly a decade, like “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute To 60’s Rock),” “I Need a Lover,” “Wild Night” and “Ain’t Even Done With the Night.”

A complete list of dates can be found at JohnMellencamp.com.

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On This Day, April 13, 1974 …

Paul McCartney and his band Wings hit #1 with their third studio album, Band on the Run.

The album included two hit singles, the title track and “Jet.” It went to #1 in the U.S. and the U.K. and remains McCartney’s most successful non-Beatles album.

The cover featured McCartney, his wife, Linda McCartney, and guitarist Denny Laine posing as escaped convicts alongside actors James Coburn and Christopher Lee, British boxer John Conteh, U.K. broadcasters Michael Parkinson and Clement Freud, and English entertainer Kenny Lynch.

McCartney celebrated the 50th anniversary of the album by reissuing it in February 2024.

A documentary about McCartney’s post-Beatles career, including the formation of Wings, debuted on Prime Video in February. He also looked back at his time in Wings in the book Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run, which came out in November.

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The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde is giving fans an update on the band’s next album.

In a new letter posted on social media, Hynde tells fans that she’s been enjoying spring, but also keeping busy, revealing that she and Pretenders guitarist James Walbourne “have been meeting up daily and putting songs together for the next Pretenders album.”

“This is the fun part… well apart from recording and touring,” she writes.

In a previous post in March, Hynde said the album was “provisionally called Outlaw,” and that the band had planned to start recording it “in the next couple of months.”

Pretenders’ last tour wrapped in May 2025, and Hynde notes in the letter that she is “starting to miss” getting to play live.

“We are thinking of doing some shows next year,” she writes. “I miss seeing you regulars.. even though I may have unwittingly offended you by asking you to move a couple rows back so I could see the locals,” a reference to an October 2025 post in which she seemed to suggest she was sick of seeing the same fans in the front row time and time again.

“I hope you’ve gotten over it and forgiven me.. no offence was intended.. but when we travel for months on end, it’s necessary to keep things fresh by seeing new faces upfront.”

She then tells longtime fans, “you know I love you, and can always find you in the audience, and I’m always looking for you.”

So far there’s no word on when the new Pretenders album will be released. They released their last album, Relentless, in 2023.

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A woman who has allegedly been stalking former Fleetwood Mac member Lindsey Buckingham and is believed to have thrown an unknown substance on the singer-guitarist has been arrested, according to police.

Michelle Dick, 55, was arrested without incident in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Saturday and is currently being held at the Allen County jail pending extradition to California, police said.

She is facing six felony charges and one misdemeanor charge for alleged stalking, battery and assault of Buckingham on March 25 in Santa Monica, California.

Dick is accused of throwing an unknown substance on him and damaging his vehicle before fleeing the area.

Sources told ABC News at the time that the woman is known to law enforcement from previous incidents.

Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac with his then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks in 1975, and the couple became part of Fleetwood’s best-known lineup, along with drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie and singer-keyboardist Christine McVie.

Buckingham was a member of the group from 1975 to 1987 and from 1996 to 2018.

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Billy Corgan made his Coachella debut Saturday, joining alt-pop artist sombr onstage for a rendition of the classic Smashing Pumpkins song “1979.”

In introducing Corgan, sombr asked the crowd, “Coachella, is it cool if I bring some f****** rock royalty on the stage right now?”

“Coachella, I want you to make the most noise for this person,” sombr continued. “It’s their first time ever appearing at Coachella.”

Corgan then took the stage to the opening riff of “1979” while giving double metal horns. While his mic was having issues at the beginning of the song, the problem was eventually fixed and he sung along with sombr while strumming his guitar.

Corgan will be headlining a festival when The Smashing Pumpkins play Lollapalooza 2026, taking place July 30 to Aug. 2 in his hometown of Chicago.

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It appears as though The Rolling Stones have released a new song, although not under the name The Rolling Stones.

Signs for a band named The Cockroaches recently began popping up in London with a QR code that took folks to a website run by Universal Music. The site included, among other things, a photo of a T-shirt that read “Who The F*** Are The Cockroaches?”

While the website remained a mystery, many fans pointed out that The Cockroaches was an alias the Stones would use in the ’70s when they wanted to play secret shows, which started speculation that new music was on the way.

Well, on Saturday, The Cockroaches released a new song, “Rough and Twisted,” which is only available as a white label vinyl in select record stores. The Cockroaches’ Instagram Story soon began sharing video of people playing the vinyl, and it’s clear that it’s Mick Jagger singing. Many of the shared videos have tagged The Rolling Stones.

As for how people found the record, the website for The Cockroaches includes a photo of the vinyl release, which displayed GPS coordinates when flipped over, presumably indicating where the record could be purchased.

Prior to the release, The Cockroaches did drop a teaser the song on their Instagram account, and in the snippet you can clearly hear Jagger’s voice.

The most recent official Rolling Stones release is the 2023 album Hackney Diamonds. According to the U.K. Times, “Rough and Twisted” is a precursor to an upcoming new Stones album, which is reportedly due out in July.

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David Lee Roth made a surprise appearance at Coachella Friday, turning up during pop star Teddy Swims’ afternoon set.

After Swims finished his song “Mr. Know It All,” the sound of a doorbell chimed, and Swims told the crowd, “I’ll get it. I wonder who it could be this time.” Swims then opened the door to Roth, shouting, “Oh my god it’s David Lee Roth from the best f****** band of all time, Van Halen.”

The pair then joined forces to perform Van Halen’s #1 song “Jump,” from their album 1984. Roth was all smiles during the performance, and towards the end of the song he even took a triumphant strut down the catwalk while twirling his mic stand. Once the song was over he left the stage through the same door he entered through.

“Touchdown, Coachella,” Roth later wrote on Instagram next to a picture of him hugging Swims on stage.

Roth was one of three guests Swims brought out for his Coachella set. He was also joined by Joe Jonas and Vanessa Carlton.

Roth is set to kick off a new tour on April 16 in Airway Heights, Washington, with dates confirmed through June 20 in Milwaukee. He’s also performing at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, on Aug. 7. A complete list of dates can be found at DavidLeeRoth.com.

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The first single off Paul McCartney’s upcoming solo album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, has put the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer back on the Billboard charts.

The tune, “Days We Left Behind,” has debuted at #22 on the Adult Contemporary radio airplay chart. It’s McCartney’s highest debut on that chart since the Wings track “With a Little Luck” debuted at #21 in 1978.

The rocker’s last appearance on the AC chart was back in October 2018, when “Come On To Me,” from his album Egypt Station, peaked at #10, becoming McCartney’s 19th solo top-10 single. His first appearance on the chart as a solo artist was in 1971 with “Another Day,” which peaked at #4.

But that’s not the only chart where “Days We Left Behind” is making its mark. The song also debuted at #7 on the Rock Digital Songs chart.

The Boys of Dungeon Lane will be released May 29. It is McCartney’s first solo album since 2020’s McCartney III.

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The Black Crowes are headed out on tour with country rock band Whiskey Myers this year, and ahead of the trek, the two bands have teamed up to record a cover of The Rolling Stones track “Star Star.”

“We had a blast getting together recently at Iron Cross Studios with Jay Joyce to cut this cult @therollingstones classic,” the bands wrote in a post on Instagram. Joyce is the producer behind The Crowes’ last two albums, 2024’s Happiness Bastards and their recent release, A Pound of Feathers.

“See ya on the road this summer on The Southern Hospitality Tour,” they added.

“Star Star,” written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, appeared on The Rolling Stones’ 11th studio album, 1973’s Goats Head Soup.

The Southern Hospitality Tour kicks off May 17 in Austin, Texas, and wraps Aug. 20 in Mountain View, California. A complete list of dates can be found at TheBlackCrowes.com.

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Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band have released two live performance videos shot during their current Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour.

The videos are for performances of “Streets of Minneapolis” and Prince’s “Purple Rain,” both filmed during opening night of the tour at Minneapolis’ Target Center.

The “Streets of Minneapolis” performance marked the first time Springsteen performed the protest song backed by The E Street Band. He released the tune in late January, noting it was written in response to what was happening in Minnesota, including the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

The Prince cover, performed in the late singer’s home state, was the first time Springsteen’s performed it live in over a decade. He dedicated the song to “the maestro.”

Springsteen and The E Street Band wrapped a two-night stand at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles Thursday, which included the tour debut of The River track “Two Hearts.”

The Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour hits San Francisco on Monday. A complete list of dates can be found at BruceSpringsteen.net.

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