Classic Rock News

Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello will induct MC5 into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The influential proto-punk outfit is included in the 2024 class with the Musical Excellence Award. The honor comes after the 2024 deaths of band members Wayne Kramer and Dennis Thompson, who were the final surviving members of the classic Kick Out the Jams lineup.

Morello has long spoken of MC5’s influence on him and Rage, and guests on the band’s upcoming album, Heavy Lifting, due out Oct. 18. Following Kramer’s passing in February, Morello wrote, “Brother Wayne Kramer was the best man I’ve ever known.”

Morello is also returning to the Rock Hall induction ceremony for the second straight year, following Rage’s induction in 2023. He was notably the only Rage member to attend the event and gave a fiery speech encouraging any fans missing the “Killing in the Name” rockers to start their own band.

The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction takes place Oct. 19 in Cleveland and will stream live on Disney+.

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Lenny Kravitz is taking a trip down memory lane on social media, giving fans a tour of some of the places he lived while growing up in New York.

Back in September, Lenny took fans to the apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side where he lived with his parents, and now he’s giving folks a tour of Bed-Stuy Brooklyn.

“Here we are in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn on the corner of Troop and Kosciusko,” he says in a new video posted to social media, panning the camera to a home where he says he grew up with his grandparents.

“The house looks nothing like it did,” he says. “This was a single-family house that had a stoop and a little yard back here. It’s a trip to see all the changes.”

At one point the two girls who currently live in the apartment came out on their balcony and invited him up to see the place.

Lenny also gave a little tour of the neighborhood, sharing, “You got a taste of my old block. Bed-Stuy do or die.”

Next up, Kravitz is getting ready to head to Las Vegas. His five-night Blue Electric Light residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM kicks off Oct. 18. A complete list of dates can be found at lennykravitz.com.

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Joni Mitchell is set to headline two nights at the Hollywood Bowl, her first time playing the venue in 24 years, and it sounds like fans are in for some surprises.

The shows, dubbed Joni Mitchell & The Joni Jam, are happening Oct. 18 and Oct. 19, with Brandi Carlile among the artists joining her onstage. During an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Carlile teased fans with what to expect. 

“The tea I can spill is that I’ve spent these last five, six years in the passenger seat with Joan, and in this case I’m in the backseat,” she says. “She’s chosen to learn songs that I never heard before, that have been an incredible challenge for us all to learn.”

Brandi tells fans who will be attending that they can expect Joni to put on “a long show.” 

“She wants to give everybody a full-spectrum performance of who she really is and what her career has done,” she says, noting the concerts are “gonna be even crazier” than Joni’s previous shows at the Newport Folk Festival in 2022 and the Gorge Amphitheatre in 2023.

“I’m seeing her be inspired in ways I haven’t seen before,” Brandi adds. “And we’ve got some people that have joined the party that are just an inspiration to watch work.”

In addition to Brandi, previous Mitchell shows featured such special guests as Annie Lennox, Sarah McLachlan and Marcus Mumford.

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Personal items belonging to the late Fleetwood Mac star Christine McVie are set to go up for auction on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17. To celebrate the event, AXS TV will air a weekend of special Fleetwood Mac programming, including concerts, interviews and previews of the auction items.

The Fleetwood Mac weekend is happening Oct. 12 and Oct. 13. It will include showings of Fleetwood Mac-Live In Boston, recorded during the 2003 Say You Will tour; an episode of Classic Albums dedicated to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours; the documentary Stevie Nicks Wild At Heart; an episode of Rock Legends: Fleetwood Mac; and other concerts.

Plus, on Sunday AXS TV will air the special Property From The Life And Career Of Christine McVie, giving fans a preview of the collection up for grabs. 

The Christine McVie auction will feature over 650 McVie items from her London estate, including instruments, handwritten lyrics, clothing, jewelry and fine art. 

Julien’s Auctions is handling the auction, which will take place live at the Musicians Hall of Fame Museum at The Historic Municipal Auditorium in Nashville and online at www.JuliensAuctions.com.

Proceeds from the sales will be donated to MusiCares and other charities.

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Elvis Costello and T Bone Burnett are set to star in a new Audible series that will come with a companion album. 

The True Story of The Coward Brothers, written by Costello and directed by This Is Spinal Tap’s Christopher Guest, is a three-part scripted audio series that tells the satirical story of Henry and Howard Coward, two musical brothers, one English, one American. During the series, the brothers share tales of their career and of being duped by their manager while being interviewed for a radio show, hosted by Sterling Lockhart, voiced by This Is Spinal Tap’s Harry Shearer.

The True Story of The Coward Brothers will debut on Audible Nov. 21, with Costello and Burnett releasing a 20-track companion album, The Coward Brothers, on the same day. It will feature the fictional duo’s forgotten hits, like “Pure Bubblegum,” “Like Licorice” and “World Serious.” The first song from the album, “Always,” is out now via digital outlets.  

The album will be released digitally and on CD, LP and limited-edition licorice red vinyl. There will also be a limited-edition pink bubblegum vinyl released Nov. 15 at Barnes & Noble.

This isn’t the first time the pair has used the name The Coward Brothers. In 1985 they released the tune “The People’s Limousine” under that moniker.

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Two Don Henley solo albums are getting the reissue treatment later this year.

Rhino is set to reissue the Eagles frontman’s 1982 debut solo album, I Can’t Stand Still, and 2015’s Cass County on Nov. 22, with both remastered from the original analog tapes.

Both albums will be available digitally, and on CD and vinyl, while Cass County will also be available as a 16-track deluxe version on CD and double vinyl.

Released in August 1982, I Can’t Stand Still was released while Henley was on hiatus from the Eagles. It featured the hit “Dirty Laundry,” which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Cass County, released in September 2015, is Henley’s most recent solo album and features collaborations with Mick Jagger, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Trisha Yearwood, Alison Krauss and others. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

Both are available for preorder now.

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Bruce Springsteen is set to attend two special screenings of his upcoming documentary, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Billboard reports that the film will be part of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Screening Series. Two special screenings being held in New York and Los Angeles, both of which will feature a conversation with Springsteen, his manager Jon Landau and the film’s director, Thom Zimny, moderated by RRHOF chairman John Sykes.

The screenings are scheduled for Oct. 15 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Oct. 21 at the David Geffen Theater at the Motion Picture Academy in Los Angeles.

“Bruce Springsteen is one of the great artists and storytellers of our time,” Sykes said in a statement. “With this film, we hear firsthand from Bruce about how music has shaped his life and learn the story behind how his legendary E Street Band continues to redefine the live music experience for over five decades.”

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band debuts Oct. 25 on Hulu and Disney+. Springsteen is also set to sit down for a conversation with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for the primetime special Bruce Springsteen: Backstage and Backstreets, airing Oct. 20 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC, streaming the following day on Hulu and Disney+.

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Lenny Kravitz and Bon Jovi have earned nominations for the 2024 MTV EMAs — the European version of the VMAs. 

Both are nominated in the Best Rock category, where they’ll compete against Green Day, Kings of Leon, The Killers, Coldplay and Liam Gallagher.

Last year’s MTV EMAs were canceled due to the outbreak of violence in the Middle East. This year, the ceremony will take place Nov. 10 in Manchester, England. 

Voting is now open at mtvema.com/vote.

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The Doors will celebrate their 60th anniversary next year, and they are kicking off the festivities early with some new releases.

The legendary band is launching the anniversary with a brand new logo and will follow that with a limited-edition six-LP set, The Doors 1967-1971, that features high fidelity audio vinyl of all six of the band’s original studio albums. The set, limited to 3,000 copies, will be released Nov. 22. It will come with rare photos and liner notes by Doors archivist David Dutkowski.

The Doors 1967-1971 will be available exclusively at thedoors.com and rhino.com.

The anniversary will also be celebrated with the Nov. 29 Record Store Day Black Friday release of The Doors – Live in Detroit, a four-LP set of the band’s May 8, 1970, concert at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan. 

Plus, The Doors anthology book, Night Divides The Day, is coming in January and is available for preorder now, with more announcements to come. 

Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek co-founded The Doors in July 1965, with drummer John Densmore joining in August of that year, followed by guitarist Robby Krieger.

The band released their self-titled debut in January 1967, containing future classics “Light My Fire” and “Break On Through (To The Other Side).” They went on to sell over 34 million records worldwide and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

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On This Day, Oct. 8, 1988 …

The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was the musical guest on the season 14 premiere of NBC’s  Saturday Night Live, where he debuted the solo single “Take it So Hard,” as well as the song “Struggle.” Both appeared on his debut solo album, Talk is Cheap.

It was his second time performing on SNL, but his first as a solo artist. He previously performed on SNL with The Stones in 1978.

The night’s host was Tom Hanks, who was hosing for his third time. 

Released earlier that month, Talk Is Cheap featured Keith backed by the band The Expensive Winos, which featured Steve Jordan, Waddy Wachtel, Ivan Neville and Charley Drayton.

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