Classic Rock News

On This Day, March 14, 1991…

R.E.M., billed under the pseudonym, Bingo Hand Job, headlined the first of two secret acoustic shows in London as part of a promo tour for their seventh studio album, Out of Time.

The band’s 18-song set list included performances of several songs from the album, including “Losing My Religion,” which became a top 5 hit, plus “Radio Song,” “Low” and “Belong.” The also performed “World Leader Pretend” and “You Are Everything” from Green, “Fall on Me” from Life’s Rich Pageant and more.

An album featuring performances from the two shows was released on vinyl for Record Store Day in 2019.

Out of Time peaked at #1 in both the U.S. and the U.K., and went on to sell more than 18 million copies worldwide.

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One of Bob Dylan’s earliest recordings just sold at auction, bringing in almost $40,000.

The demo, circa 1961, was recorded live at New York’s Gaslight Café and was produced by Dylan’s first manager, Terri Thal. It was sold through the Boston-based RR Auction for $39,325, almost twice the original estimate of $20,000.

The tape features six tracks: Dylan originals “Man on the Street,” “He Was a Friend of Mine,” “Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues” and “Song to Woody,” plus two covers.

The recording was part of a larger Dylan-themed auction that brought in over $1.1 million.

Other items snapped up the auction include a Hohner Marine Band harmonica that was played during Dylan’s infamous 1966 world tour, in which he was called “Judas” for playing electric guitar; it sold for $19,456. Handwritten and signed lyrics to “All Along the Watchtower” sold for $61,599, a stage-worn “Nudie” suit that Dylan purchased for his Rolling Thunder Revue collaborator Bob Neuwirth sold for $54,206, and a Dylan original mixed media painting, titled “Cassandra,” was snapped up for $79,539.

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Little Feat is dropping a new album in May.

The group will release Strike Up the Band on May 9, featuring the new single “Too High To Cut My Hair,” written by Fred Tackett.

“‘Too High To Cut My Hair’ is based on a true story where (Fred) and his wife Patricia were in a hotel room in New Orleans,” Little Feat’s Bill Payne shares. “Fred had asked for a trim, but decided that she was too high to cut his hair. And then he thought, ‘oh my god, what a title!’”

He adds, “People love the humor in our records, a cherished entree to those when they find it. So I’m happy this song displays that humor, and in full.”

The band brings that same sense of humor to the video for the song, which stars Lilly Winwood, daughter of Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Steve Winwood, as a drunk hairdresser who fails at giving each member of the band a haircut.

“Too High To Cut My Hair” is available now.

Strike Up the Band is the follow-up to Little Feat’s 2024 album, Sam’s Place, which was their first new album in 12 years.

Little Feat will support the album with the new Strike Up The Band tour, which kicks off May 5 in Rutland, Vermont. A complete list of Little Feat dates can be found at LittleFeat.net.

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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell is set to release his new memoir, Heartbreaker, on March 18. In a new Guitar Player interview he opens up about his relationship with Petty and discusses the rocker’s 2017 death.

Petty died of an accidental drug overdose; he had been self-medicating to deal with pain he was suffering from hip problems. Campbell says he never confronted Petty about his drug use because that wasn’t the type of relationship they had.

“With Tom, it was like ‘Your private life is yours, and mine is mine,’” Campbell shares. “I can see what you’re doing, but out of respect for you, I’ll trust you’ll do the right thing. If you need me, call me.”

He says he doesn’t think confronting Petty would have done anything anyway, explaining, “[T]he thing with Tom was, you could say that and he would just look at you like, ‘But I’m Tom Petty. I’m going to do whatever I f****** want. Get out of my face.’”

Campbell says he doesn’t torture himself over what he could have possibly done to save Petty, noting, “My conscious is clear because Tom knew that I knew, and Tom knew that I wasn’t forcing him and getting in his face about it.”

“We had this invisible understanding, and I didn’t have to confront him for him to know how I felt about it,” he says. “So I have no second thoughts about it. I don’t beat myself up like that.”

Campbell’s Heartbreakers bandmate Howie Epstein died of a drug overdose in 2003, a year after he was kicked out of the band for substance issues. Campbell says of his late bandmates, “I miss them … but I did all I could.”

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Neither Elton John nor Brandi Carlile appear in the video for their latest collaborative single, “Swing for the Fences,” from their forthcoming joint album, Who Believes in Angels? Instead, the video casts two young male actors to create what a press release calls “a dynamic and emotional exploration of sensuality and liberation.”

The clip starts off with a young man alone in a carpeted room, turning on the song, which Brandi describes as “an anthem for young gay kids out there,” and dancing frantically in front of a mirror. He looks out the window and sees another young man across the street, who waves to him.

Eventually, the guy outside rings the doorbell; the other guy lets him in and then they do a sensual dance together before ending up in bed, sharing a kiss.

Director Xavier Dolan says the video shows “a young person claiming his power and pride through music and dance, especially at a time where some people, some very powerful people, are trying to weaken and rescind that power, and tame that pride.”

Elton says in a statement that after he and Brandi recorded “Swing for the Fences,” “we all just felt this massive sense of joy and euphoria … it just sounded great.”

Who Believes in Angels? is out April 4.

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A member of Billy Joel‘s extended family has assured fans that the man she calls “Uncle Billy” is fine, despite the fact that he’s postponed several concerts for health reasons.

Sailor Brinkley-Cook, the daughter of Billy’s ex-wife Christie Brinkley, tells US Weekly, “He’s doing great. He’s totally healthy and it’s just some things that he has to deal with.”

Brinkley-Cook, 26, notes the Piano Man is “really upset” about having to reschedule the shows, adding, “So, I’m excited for him to be able to get back [onstage].”

Billy announced on Tuesday that he was moving the shows so he could “recover from recent surgery” and “undergo physical therapy.” He said in a statement, “While I regret postponing any shows, my health must come first.”

He added, “I look forward to getting back on stage and sharing the joy of live music with our amazing fans. Thank you for your understanding.” 

The postponed shows included concerts with Stevie Nicks and Sting, solo appearances and shows in the U.K.

When Billy and Christie wed in 1985, it was the second marriage for both. They divorced in 1994; they share a daughter, Alexa Ray, and remain very close. Sailor is Christie’s daughter with her fourth husband, Peter Cook, who she married in 1996. She also has a son, Jack, with her third husband, Richard Taubman.

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Sammy Hagar is paying tribute to the fan who coined his infamous nickname, the Red Rocker.

Hagar posted some photos on Instagram of him with fan John Pruner, who recently passed away, sharing that they met in 1976 after a concert in Seattle, when Sammy was on tour supporting his Red album.

“The next morning, I was checking out of the hotel and John pruner the man in these photos, stopped me and asked for an autograph on the newspaper review of the concert,” he writes. “he asked me to sign it. ‘the Red Rocker’ that was the beginning of being the Red Rocker.”

“John became maybe the first redhead before the fans became redheads,” Sammy adds. “He followed me around the country showing up everywhere. I got to know him well.”

Sammy says that after Pruner told him he had paid to see over 100 Sammy shows, he decided to hook him up.

“I said you will never pay to see me again and gave him the golden lifetime all access pass,” he says. “That was well over 100 shows ago.”

Hagar writes that Pruner had health issues for over a decade, but they didn’t keep him from attending shows whenever he could.

“We will miss you, John pruner and the show will go on without you,” Sammy concludes his post. “I know you wouldn’t have it any other way. Rest in peace my friend and be sure to give eddie a big hug from me,” referring to his former Van Halen bandmate Eddie Van Halen.

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Longtime David Bowie producer Tony Visconti is sharing details of the final conversation he had with Bowie before his January 2016 death from liver cancer.

“He said, ‘I’ve got something to tell you.’ And he was whispering to me on the phone,” Visconti tells the New York Post. “I said, ‘I can’t hear you. Speak up!’ He goes into another room, and he says, ‘I’m going to be a grandfather.’”

Bowie’s son with ex-wife Angie Bowie, director Duncan Jones, had been expecting his first child. The child was born after Bowie’s death and was named Stenton David Jones after the rocker.

Visconti also shares that despite being ill, Bowie had already been thinking about his next record.

“He told me that he was going to make another album he started writing,” Visconti says. “And I said, ‘Oh, I can’t wait to hear,’ and he goes, ‘Yeah, well, right after we get over the holidays, we’ll get together, and I’ll let you hear the music.’ But that was the last time I ever heard from him.”

Bowie’s final album, Blackstar, which was produced by Visconti, was released on Jan. 8, 2016, his 69th birthday. He died two days later.

“I don’t like to think about him dying at all, because, you know, he’s so vibrant, and he’s still alive in spirit and his music,” Visconti shares. “Generations are going to grow up and rediscover him, his records will keep selling and selling, and young kids will discover and be inspired by him.”

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The Tom Petty estate continues to unearth treasures from the late rocker’s vault, and they’re once again sharing their finds with fans.

The Petty Legacy archives has just released a newly restored video of Petty and the Heartbreakers performing a cover of “Wild Thing,” made famous by The Troggs. The clip, recorded in 1982 at The Record Plant in Los Angeles, was originally filmed for the French TV program, Houba Houba.

In addition to studio footage, the clip includes never-before-seen footage from the 1983 documentary Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party, directed by Cameron Crowe, which is now streaming on Paramount+.

The cover of “Wild Thing” was also included on the deluxe edition of Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1982 album Long After Dark, which was released in October.

And if you want more Petty music, Heartbreakers Beach Party: The Soundtrack has just been released to digital outlets. It features 35 songs from the movie, along with tracks from Long After Dark (Deluxe Edition).

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In August of 2024, Rod Stewart was supposed to perform the 200th show of his Las Vegas residency, Rod Stewart: The Hits, at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, but it was canceled after he came down with strep throat. On Wednesday, Rod returned to Vegas and finally got to perform that milestone 200th show — as he kicked off his new residency at the Colosseum, The Encore Shows.

According to People, Rod’s achievement was celebrated onstage with a gold record, presented to him by a Caesars executive.  A tray of his signature Wolfie’s Whisky was also brought out, and Rod did a shot right then and there.

Rod’s new Encore Shows are scheduled to run through June 8, but it could be extended. The setlist is slightly different from The Hits residency, which ran from 2011 to 2024. In addition to all his biggest songs, Rod also performed his popular 1971 album cut “Mandolin Wind,” as well as some different cover songs, like “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.

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