Classic Rock News

On This Day, Nov. 11, 1972 …

Berry Oakley, bassist and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, was killed in a motorcycle accident in Macon, Georgia. He was only 24.

Oakley’s death occurred just three blocks from where fellow Allman Brothers Band member Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident one year prior, on Oct. 29, 1971. Duane also died at the age of 24.

Oakley played in guitarist Dickey Betts‘ band Blues Messengers prior to the 1969 forming of the Allman Brothers Band with guitarists Duane and Dickey, singer and keyboardist Gregg Allman, and drummers Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johanson.

Considered by some to be one of the best bass players of all time, Oakley was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 with the Allman Brothers Band.

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Paul Simon and singing partner Art Garfunkel have been estranged for years, but it sounds like their relationship may be on the mend.

In a new interview with the U.K. paper The Sunday Times, Garfunkel opened up about an emotional lunch they had together recently, which was one of the first times they’d been together in awhile.

“I looked at Paul and said, ‘What happened? Why haven’t we seen each other?’” Garfunkel shared. “Paul mentioned an old interview where I said some stuff. I cried when he told me how much I had hurt him.”

He added, “Looking back, I guess I wanted to shake up the nice guy image of Simon & Garfunkel. Y’know what? I was a fool!”

And in even happier news for Simon & Garfunkel fans, the two 83-year-old musicians are planning for more meetups in the future, although that doesn’t necessarily mean a reunion is in the works.

“Will Paul bring his guitar? Who knows,” Garfunkel said. “For me, it was about wanting to make amends before it’s too late. It felt like we were back in a wonderful place. As I think about it now, tears are rolling down my cheeks. I can still feel his hug.”

Simon & Garfunkel, known for such classic tunes as “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Homeward Bound” and “The Sound of Silence,” originally broke up in 1970, but reunited several times over the years. The last time they performed together was in 2010 at the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement tribute to The Graduate director Mike Nichols, where they performed their classic track from the film, “Mrs. Robinson.”

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Sammy Hagar spent his summer performing Van Halen songs on his The Best of All Worlds Tour with Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani, drummer Jason Bonham and keyboardist Rai Thistlethwayte, and it sounds like it won’t be a one-time thing.

Hagar tells ABC Audio that he is definitely up for doing the tour again.

“Because if we don’t, then those songs, nobody’s going to play ‘em. There is no one else to play those songs,” he says. “And I’d hate to see that stuff just fade out.”

Sammy says the trek was “one of the most successful tours I’ve ever had,” noting, “obviously those people want to hear those songs. So if they want to hear those songs, it ain’t about money, it ain’t about success and fame and fortune, it’s about I got to serve it to ’em because I wrote ’em.”

In addition to another tour, Sammy says he envisions recording new music with the band, sharing, “That’s the way I would like to continue it instead of just going until we die, you know, until it’s phased out.” 

“Joe and I’ve already written a song,” he says. “It’s really, really good. And the idea is to channel the Van Halen way of writing. Let Joe write some crazy, whacked out guitar music, and I’ll just write lyrics and sing to it.”

If and when another Best of All Worlds Tour happens, Sammy says he plans to add some Van Halen songs they didn’t get to play last time around, including the 5150 ballad “Love Walks In.”

“We couldn’t get it done on this tour,” he says. “It just didn’t come together. So we’ll figure that one out.” 

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On Nov. 8, The Rolling Stones received a Grammy nomination for Rock Album of the Year for their critically acclaimed 2023 release, Hackney Diamonds. Now the legendary band has issued a statement reacting to the nod.

“We are honored Hackney Diamonds has been recognized for a Grammy,” say Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood. “This past year has been a thrill to see our new music celebrated, especially when it comes to the heart and soul of what we’ve always been about—rock ‘n’ roll.”

“Rock music has been the epicenter of our lives for over 60 years, and Hackney Diamonds is not only a return to our roots, but also an evolution.”

Hackney Diamonds was The Stones’ first album of original material since 2005 and has sold over 1 million copies. The album’s first single, “Angry,” was nominated for the Best Rock Song Grammy last year. Hackney Diamonds featured guest appearances by Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga, Elton John, Paul McCartney and the Stones’ former bass player, Bill Wyman.

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The Grammys weren’t the only awards show to announce its nominees Friday. The concert trade publication Pollstar has also revealed its nominees for the 2025 Pollstar Awards.

Up for the Rock Tour of the Year prize are Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, Green Day, blink-182, Metallica and Coldplay. 

Coldplay is also nominated for the all-genre Major Tour of the Year prize, along with Noah Kahan.

Other nominees include Paramore and The Smashing Pumpkins for Support/Special Guest of the Year for opening for Taylor Swift and Green Day, respectively, Billie Eilish for Pop Tour of the Year, and Sleep Token for New Headliner of the Year.

Meanwhile, the Residency of the Year category includes U2, Dead & Company and Eagles‘ runs at the Las Vegas Sphere, and Billy Joel‘s residency at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, which concluded in July after 10 years.

The 2025 Pollstar Awards will take place Feb. 19.

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KISS fans are no doubt disappointed that the band’s live career has come to an end, but even the band’s Paul Stanley says he’s having trouble getting used to the idea.

In a preview of an upcoming interview on the Rock of Nations podcast, Stanley says that it’s been an “adjustment” for him to realize that, after 50 years, he isn’t going to be touring in the near future.

“There’s no way to give that up and not feel a sense of, if not lost, kind of disoriented,” he says. “It was time [to stop] and intellectually it made sense, but that doesn’t mean that emotionally it doesn’t play a part in it. So, yeah, being home … is normal. What’s not normal is I’m not going back out.”

“KISS remains. We’re so involved in what’s going on now and the future and this phenomenal, mind-boggling KISS avatar show,” he continues. “But, yeah, to not be up there — I see video from 10 months ago, 11 months ago and it almost seems like a lifetime ago, because I’ve kind of come to grips with not doing that again.”

Referring to the band’s planned avatar show, which will feature holographic representations of each member in makeup as their iconic characters, Stanley noted, “Star Child is forever — but me up there, that’s done.”

Incidentally, November marks the 51st anniversary of KISS signing their first record contract.

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Fans who missed U2‘s acclaimed residency at Sphere Las Vegas now have more chances to enjoy the concert film of the event.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film at Sphere Las Vegas, which has been running at Sphere since Sept. 5, has been extended to the end of February 2025. The final date is now Feb. 27; you can choose either a 7 p.m. or a 9:30 p.m. screening, depending on the day. Visit Ticketmaster for all the information.

Of course, the downside is that you have to go to Las Vegas to see the film — it’s only showing at Sphere, with tickets starting at $98.

As previously reported, the film, directed by U2 guitarist The Edge and his wife, Morleigh Steinberg, captures the band during their residency, which ran from September 2023 to March 2024. Over that time, the band played to 700,000 fans. The concert was shot with Sphere’s high-res camera system.

The Eagles are currently headlining a residency at Sphere that will run through March. There are rumors that an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz is being developed to play at the venue later next year.

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Ahead of the release of the box set focused on Queen‘s 1973 debut album, the band issued a 7-inch vinyl single of “The Night Comes Down.” The latest episode of the band’s Queen: The Greatest video series now focuses on the creation of that song.

According to a press release, the song, written by guitarist Brian May, is “perhaps the most enigmatic song in Queen’s five-decade catalogue” due to its “otherworldly instrumental,” “soul-baring lyric” and the fact that the band never performed it live.

May says in the video, “The song, actually, was about those moments when you’re not jolly. When you feel like you’ve lost it. When I look back at it, I was very young to be writing that stuff, but I did get depressed in those days.”

He adds, “It was always about relationships. And I had moments when I thought, ‘I’m in a great place, I can make music. I’m with great friends … everything’s great.’ And then, somehow, everything would fall apart, and then it’s like the night came down in my head. So that’s what it’s about. It’s not a jolly song.”

May then taught the song to singer Freddie Mercury, who he says “as always would make it his own and take it to the next level.”

May also digs up the original guitar he used to record the tune, a “very cheap” one he’d restrung with wire strings. That created a unique buzzy sound that he compares to “a sitar but warmer.” May says he used the guitar “all over” the first Queen album.

The Queen I box set, out now, comprises 63 tracks with 43 brand-new mixes, as well as alternative takes, demos and rare live tracks.

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Rock & Roll Hall of Fame drummer Kenney Jones, known for his work with The Small Faces, Faces and The Who, has revealed that his son Jesse has passed away.

On his official Facebook page, Jones, 76, wrote, “It is with a broken heart that I share the devastating news that my son Jesse has passed. I don’t have the words right now to fully express how I am feeling. But I want to thank you all for your kind wishes at this indescribably painful time and ask for continued love, respect and privacy as we try to navigate this profound loss as a family.“

Jones didn’t share the cause of his son’s death. Jesse was one of his six children from two marriages.

Jones is the only surviving member of The Small Faces, which morphed into Faces after their lead singer, Steve Marriott, left to form Humble Pie, and Rod Stewart and Ron Wood joined. The two bands were jointly inducted into the Rock Hall in 2012. In 1978, Jones replaced the late Keith Moon in The Who and played on their albums Face Dances and It’s Hard. 

In the early ’90s, after his stint in The Who, Jones formed The Law with Bad Company‘s Paul Rodgers; in 2001, he formed The Jones Gang. He’s also played with The Rolling Stones, Wings, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and the individual members of The Who.

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David Gilmour wants you to know that no, Pink Floyd did not design The Dark Side of the Moon to sync up with the movie The Wizard of Oz.

While appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote his new album, Luck and Strange, the guitarist was asked to clear up an age-old rumor: that the album was deliberately created to provide a soundtrack to the classic Judy Garland film. “No. I mean, I only heard about it years later,” Gilmour told Fallon.

“Someone said you put the needle — and you’ve got the film running somehow — and on the third roar of the MGM lion, you put the needle on for the beginning of Dark Side, and there’s these strange synchronicities that happen,” he continued.

Gilmour said he had tried it, though he didn’t really have to, considering how many people on the internet have done it for him.

“Now people have done the donkey work, the chore work and added it on YouTube,” he said. “You can watch bits and there are these strange coincidences. I’ll call them coincidences.”

Gilmour also denied the rumor that hearing himself cough on the song “Wish You Were Here” made him stop smoking. And he confirmed that before he joined Floyd, he indeed worked as a model — simply because it paid better than his regular job as a van driver.

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