Classic Rock News

Earlier this year, Eminem sampled Steve Miller Band’s ’80s classic “Abracadabra” for his track “Houdini,” and Miller says he’s amazed at how fast the song became a huge hit.

In an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, Miller says the release of the tune gave him “a lesson about what social media has done to the record business.”

“When I put out ‘Abracadabra’ in 1982, it became the #1 record in the world and that took about 12 months,” he says. “With Eminem, two days after we signed our agreement, he released ‘Houdini’ at 12:01 a.m. on a Friday. Within 30 minutes, 60,000 people had watched the video on YouTube. By 10 a.m. it was 3 million. Nearly 50 million people streamed it, worldwide, in just the first week.”

He adds, “I’d never seen anything like that. It was crazy, just instantly. So, that was a real lesson.” 

Miller describes Em as “very cool” and says of the collab, “It feels good that a whole other group of people are listening to my music (through Eminem) and digging it.”

Miller is currently the special guest on the Journey/Def Leppard Summer Stadium tour. The tour hits San Francisco on Wednesday.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

During the first U.S. leg of their M72 tour in 2023, Metallica uploaded a video of fans being offered free passes to the exclusive Snake Pit section of the crowd, only to turn them down without realizing what they were saying no to. A year later, it appears people haven’t learned their lesson.

In a sequel video filmed during their current U.S. leg, a Metallica employee walks around the venue trying to give away Snake Pit wristbands, which give fans access to the part of the crowd right next to the stage. Some people skeptically accepted, while others just flat out ignored the offer. A number of fans, though, recognized the Snake Pit passes immediately and took them with great excitement.

“Just a reminder that if someone approaches you with Snake Pit passes… take them!” Metallica says.

Metallica’s tour continues Friday in Seattle.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour is set to launch a solo tour this fall in support of his upcoming solo album, Luck and Strange, and it seems he’s changed his mind about whether he plans to play any Pink Floyd songs on the trek.

Gilmour previously suggested in an interview he didn’t want to “revisit the Pink Floyd of the ’70s” on the tour, but it sounds like that’s no longer the case. 

“One has to wake up to reality once in a while,” he tells Rolling Stone. “I think I will be doing one or two things from that time, but it just seems so long ago.”

He adds, “I know people love them, and I love playing them. I’ll be doing ‘Wish You Were Here,’ of course I will. And some of the things that started with me anyway.” 

Gilmour also noted it’s “quite likely” the set will include “Comfortably Numb,” but probably not “Money” “if that’s your reason for coming.”

Gilmour also seems to be backtracking on previous comments he made suggesting Luck and Strange was the best album he’s made since Pink Floyd’s 1973 classic The Dark Side of The Moon.

“It’s a flip statement, really,” he says. “I mean, it’s not like Dark Side the Moon is even my favorite album. I think I prefer Wish You Were Here.”

He adds, “Anyway, it feels to me like it’s the best thing I’ve done in more or less my living memory, because some of those things feel like they were someone else, back in those eons ago.”

Gilmour will release Luck and Strange on Sept. 6. He’ll launch his solo tour on Sept. 27 in Rome, Italy, with U.S. dates kicking off Oct. 25 in Los Angeles. A complete list of dates can be found at davidgilmour.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Looks like Tom Petty fans have something to look forward to.

The late rocker’s official Instagram account just teased that they have some big news to share and folks will be finding out soon.

“We’ve been working on something really special for a long time for the core Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers fans,” the post reveals. “We’ve dropped a few clues along the way, but we think you’ll be delighted at what’s to come this fall.” 

The Petty website also launched a countdown to the announcement, which appears to be coming on Friday. 

Petty passed away in 2017 at the age of 66. An all-country Petty tribute album, Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty, was released earlier this year.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, Aug. 26, 1970 …

Electric Lady Studios, a recording studio commissioned by Jimi Hendrix, opened in New York’s Greenwich Village. It was the first commercial studio owned by an artist.

Planning for the studio began in 1968. It was constructed specifically for Hendrix, who died just three weeks after its opening. 

The studio went on to be a go-to spot for musicians, with artists such as John Lennon, David Bowie, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and more recording there.

A new documentary about the studio, Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision, opened in August in New York City.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Bruce Springsteen is turning 75 in September, and he wants fans to know that he has no plans to slow down.

During his show in Philadelphia Friday night, The Boss addressed any suggestion he and the E Street Band may be considering retiring.

Fan-shot footage posted to social media shows Bruce telling the crowd, “We’ve been around for 50 f****** years, and we ain’t quitting! … We ain’t doing no farewell tour bulls***! Jesus Christ! No farewell tour for The E Street Band!”

He also added, “Farewell to what? Thousands of people screaming your name. Yeah I want to quit that.”

As for the Philly concert, the second of two shows at Citizens Bank Park, Bruce treated fans to “My Love Will Not Let You Down” and “Waitin’ On A Sunny Day,” which marked the first time he performed both songs in the U.S. since 2016, as well as plenty of classics, like “Born To Run,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Thunder Road,” “Glory Days” and more.

Bruce and the E Street Band launched the latest North American leg of their tour in early August. They are set to play Washington, D.C., on Sept. 7. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Legendary rock band the Grateful Dead will be the subject of a new Stanford Continuing Studies course this fall.

Did It Matter? Does It Now? The Music and Culture of the Grateful Dead is an eight-week course that kicks off Oct. 3, taught by David Gans, producer and host of the nationally syndicated Grateful Dead Hour.

The course will feature a variety of Dead-related guest speakers, including David Lemieux, Grateful Dead archivist and legacy manager; Dennis McNally, former Grateful Dead publicist and author of A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead; and Jesse Jarnow, producer/host of The Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast. 

According to the description, the course “will feature a collection of stories and conversations with scholars and historians, each offering facts and personal perspectives illuminating every aspect of the Grateful Dead culture.”

It will use music from live and studio recordings “to learn what makes the Dead’s music-making unique and explore the broad musical universe the band created in its 30-year history.” The course will also explore the band’s impact on society, art, literature, social change and more.

The description notes, “By the end of the course, students will have a well-rounded appreciation for the roots, struggles, and milestones that shaped the Grateful Dead’s trajectory, an understanding of their profound impact on music and culture, and insight into a legacy that still resonates deeply today.”

Registration for the course is now open.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Foo Fighters are making it known that they are not happy about Donald Trump using their hit song “My Hero.”

The tune, from the band’s 1997 album The Colour and the Shape, was played Friday as Trump brought out Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a rally in Arizona, and the band let it be known on social media that they did not approve the song’s use.

When an account posed the question, “Hey @foofighters did you let Trump use ‘My Hero’ to welcome RFK Jr. on stage,” the Foo Fighters official account replied “No.” And if anyone questioned what they meant, they later retweeted the post with the caption, “Let us be clear.”

A rep for Foo Fighters also tells Billboard in a statement, “Foo Fighters were not asked permission, and if they were, they would not have granted it,” adding, “appropriate actions are being taken.” They also indicated that any earned royalties from Trump’s use of the song will be donated to the Kamala Harris/Tim Walz campaign.

Foo Fighters are far from the first artist to oppose Trump’s use of their music. Neil Young has threatened to sue him for using “Rockin’ in the Free World,” and earlier in August, Beyoncé‘s camp threatened legal action when her song “Freedom” was used in an online video for Trump. The estates of both Tom Petty and Isaac Hayes have also been vocal about their opposition to Trump using their music.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Two reel-to-reel audio tapes featuring a soundboard recording of a Toronto Beatles concert may soon be up for sale. 

Billboard reports the owner, Piers Hemmingsen, a Toronto-based Beatles historian and author of The Beatles in Canada, is looking to sell the recordings, which were made at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens on Aug. 17, 1965. 

“I have never offered it for sale before,” Hemmingsen shares. “This is the best recording of any Beatles concert in Canada, if not North America, other than what was professionally recorded for The Beatles themselves.”

The reels include The Beatles’ full half-hour set, including performances of “Twist and Shout,” “Ticket To Ride,” “Help!” and “A Hard Day’s Night,” along with recordings of the day’s opening acts and venue announcements. 

Hemmingsen says he has a copy of the concert on cassette, strictly for listening purposes, and while he’d like to keep it, he’s willing to sell it, as well. He didn’t say how much he wants for the recording, but Dan Muscatelli-Hampson, of U.K.-based music memorabilia and vinyl specialists Omega Auctions Ltd., estimated to Billboard it could be worth between $60,000 and $80,000.

So far Hemmingsen hasn’t put the reels on the market and says he’d prefer to sell it to Apple Corps, so Beatles fans may one day hear it.

“You can’t sit on a thing like this,” he says. “You want to share it with the world. On the other hand, there’s a commercial value to it and the only people that can release it are Apple.”

Hemmingsen plans to use the money toward printing his next two Beatles books, The Beatles in Canada: The Evolution 1964-1970, due out in September, and a follow-up, The Beatles In Canada: The Origins of Beatlemania!

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

KISS is celebrating the 35th anniversary of their album Hot in the Shade with an all-new merch collection.

The line includes special limited-edition bundles; one features a 35th anniversary Hot in the Shade deluxe picture disc, along with a Hot in the Shade track list T-shirt, while another includes a limited-edition color vinyl with a hoodie.

The line also includes various T-shirts, a brown hoodie, tank top, hat, sunglasses and a bandana.

All are on sale now through the KISS store.

Released in October 1989, Hot in the Shade was the 15th studio album by KISS and came out during their non-makeup era. It was the final KISS album to feature drummer Eric Carr on all the songs. Carr was also featured on vocals for the song “Little Caesar,” the first time since 1981’s Music From The Elder that someone other than Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons handled lead vocals on a tune.

The biggest hit on the record was “Forever,” a ballad written by Stanley and Michael Bolton, which was a top 10 hit for the rockers.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.