Classic Rock News

On This Day, Aug. 19, 1967 …

The Beatles landed another #1 single with “All You Need Is Love,” a non-album track that represented Britain in the TV program Our World, the first live global, multi-satellite TV show.

When they signed on for Our World, The Beatles were asked to contribute a song with a positive and universal message.

They performed the track on the show with a prerecorded backing track, and were joined by The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, The Who’s Keith Moon and others, who sat on the floor and sang along to the chorus.

“All You Need Is Love” also went to #1 in several other countries, including the U.K., Canada, Australia, Austria, New Zealand and Sweden.

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Bruce Springsteen has paid tribute to journalist Charles Cross, founder of the Bruce fanzine Backstreets, who passed away Aug. 9 at the age of 67. 

“Here on E Street, we’re saddened over the passing of Charles Cross,” The Boss wrote on Instagram. “As the founder of Backstreets, Charles created a wonderful magazine and positive community that gave our fans the chance to connect through their stories, ideas and shared experiences.”

He added, “We’re grateful to him for bringing conversations and insights around our music to so many. He was an exceptional journalist, publisher, thinker and facilitator, and he will be missed.”

Bruce also paid tribute to Cross during his concert Sunday in Pittsburgh. Fan-shot footage posted to YouTube shows the rocker dedicating the track “Backstreets” to Cross, noting, “His great writing and his influence and his help in communicating between our band and our fans will be sorely missed.”

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Deep Purple recently launched their =1 More Time tour, and after releasing the brand new album =1 in July, longtime bassist Roger Glover says there’s a challenge to creating a set list with old and new songs that will please everyone. 

“It’s a huge problem,” he tells ABC Audio, noting they usually need to play several songs from their 1971 album, Machine Head, which doesn’t leave much room for new songs. 

“Machine Head was such an iconic moment and produced a lot of the, the songs that, you know, we play to this day,” he says of the album, which features their biggest hit, “Smoke on the Water.” He adds that because they focus a lot on those songs in concert, they’re constantly hearing from fans who say, “Oh, you don’t play stuff of the new, you don’t play this, you don’t play that.”

Glover says this tour will likely feature several songs from =1, but notes that it’s not as simple as just plugging the tracks into the set list.

“The way we’ve designed the show, it has a pattern to it, has a shape,” he says. “And so songs have to sort of fit into that shape.”

He adds, “You don’t want to sort of leave the audience with a downer and, you know, you want some kind of climax, because that’s what it’s all about, climaxing.”  

Deep Purple’s =1 More Time tour, with special guest Yes, hits Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday. A complete list of dates can be found at deeppurple.com.

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Legendary musician Tony Levin, best known for working with King Crimson and Peter Gabriel, is set to release the new studio album Bringing It Down to the Bass on Sept. 13.

The album, Levin’s seventh solo effort and his first since 2007, is described as being semi-autobiographical, having themes taken from his musical life. It features guest appearances by King Crimson’s Robert Fripp,  Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy and more.

Levin is previewing the record with the title track, which is out now.

Levin says the album “could have been done a long time ago,” but he ran into a problem of being too busy, noting that’s “a very good problem to have.”

“I have a lot of touring and that’s what I love to do, playing live,” he adds. “It just didn’t give me much time at home to work on finishing the album that I’ve been working on for five or six years.”

Bringing It Down to the Bass will be released digitally and on CD, double vinyl and Blu-Ray, which features a variety of mixes, including Dolby Atmos and hi-res stereo audio. It is available for preorder now.

And speaking of playing live, Levin is set to hit the road with Adrian Belew, Steve Vai and Tool drummer Danny Carey on the BEAT tour, celebrating King Crimson’s ’80s-era music. The tour kicks off Sept. 12 in San Jose, California.

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Twisted Sister‘s Dee Snider and Poison‘s Bret Michaels are among the rockers remembering Great White frontman Jack Russell, whose death at age 63 was announced on Thursday.

Snider took to social media to pay tribute to Russell and noted how he was unfairly blamed for the 2003 Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island during the band’s show, which killed 100 people and injured 230.

“This man was vilified for a situation out of his control and tortured by the memories,” Snider wrote. “He was not evil. And man could he sing!”

Michaels also shared a tribute to Russell, writing, “To my friend Jack Russell, such an amazing voice. May you rest in peace.”

Ratt’s Stephen Pearcy shared a memory of playing with Russell in the early days, writing, “R.I.P brother Jack. We started a long time ago when we use to play at Gazzarris on the Strip circa 1980-81. Mickey Ratt and Dante Fox, crazy shows, we’d talk crazy dreams.”

And Night Ranger’s Jack Blades called Russell “A unique and amazing singer,” adding, “I had the privilege of producing Great White’s ‘Cant Get There From Here’ album. Jack lived at my ranch for a couple of months during those sessions. A true rock spirit. Free of pain now and soaring in the Heavens.”

A statement shared on social media Thursday revealed that Russell “passed peacefully” surrounded by his wife, son, cousin and two friends. His cause of death was revealed as Lewy Body Dementia and Multiple System Atrophy. He had announced his retirement from touring due in July.

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Paul McCartney fans are getting their first look at the upcoming documentary Paul McCartney and Wings – One Hand Clapping with the debut of the first trailer for the film, which will be released in theaters beginning Sept. 26.

The trailer features archival footage of McCartney and Wings in the studio, backed by a performance of “Soily.” 

The documentary follows the band during recording sessions that took place in August 1974 at Abbey Road Studios. The sessions were for a video documentary and possible live album, although the album itself was only recently released back in June. The doc features interviews with the band, as well as contributions from the creative team behind the album. 

It also includes the previously unreleased Backyard Sessions, with footage showing McCartney performing tracks from his catalog on acoustic guitar.

Tickets for Paul McCartney and Wings – One Hand Clapping are on sale now.

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Eagles frontman Don Henley is celebrating the 40th anniversary of his sophomore solo album, Building The Perfect Beast, with a new vinyl reissue.

The album is being released Oct. 4 as a two-LP set for the first time, remastered from the original analog tapes. The release will feature the tune “A Month of Sundays” on vinyl for the first time. Previously the track was only available on CD, cassette and digitally. 

And speaking of digitally, the new remastered version of the album is now streaming on all digital outlets.

Released Nov. 19, 1984, Building the Perfect Beast was a commercial success for Henley and has been certified triple Platinum by the RIAA. It hit #13 on the Billboard 200 Album chart and featured two top-10 hits, “The Boys of Summer,” which went to #5, and “All She Wants To Do Is Dance,” which peaked at #9. The album also featured two songs that landed in the top 40, “Sunset Grill” and “Not Enough Love in the World.” “The Boys of Summer” earned Henley a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.

The 40th anniversary vinyl of Building the Perfect Beast is available for preorder now.

Next up on Henley’s schedule, he and the Eagles will launch a new residency at the Sphere Las Vegas on Sept. 20. A complete list of dates can be found at eagles.com.

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U2 is getting close to wrapping their U2 to Love and Only Love – Deep Dives and B-Sides digital series and has now shared the second to last installment, this time dedicated to the All You Can’t Leave Behind track “Walk On.”

The latest playlist includes a remastered single version of “Walk On,” along with two newly remastered live recordings of “Where The Streets Have No Name” and “Gone,” both from a concert in Boston, as well as a remastered live performance of “Stay (Far Away, So Close)” from a show in Toronto. 

Launched in April, U2 to Love and Only Love – Deep Dives and B-Sides is a series of 12 newly remastered collections, made up of songs that until now were only available on vinyl, CD or cassette. Previous collections focused on such songs as “Discothèque,” “Staring at the Sun,” “Last Night on Earth,” “If God Will Send His Angels,” “Please,” “Mofo,” “Sweetest Thing,” “Beautiful Day,” “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” and “Elevation.”

The ”Walk On” playlist is now streaming on most digital outlets.

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The 50th anniversary of the Ramones live debt at the New York rock club CBGB is being celebrated with some new vinyl releases. 

Rhino has teamed with Vinyl Me, Please to feature the New York punk rock band in a variety of new pressings, including highlighting 1977’s Rocket to Russia as their September 2024 Essentials Record of the Month. The reissue will be pressed on what’s being described as 180g “Gabba Gabba Hey” vinyl, made with lacquers cut from master tapes, and comes with an art print of the band.

But that’s not all. Vinyl Me, Please will also release a 40th anniversary edition of the Ramones’ 1984 release Too Tough To Die as their September Rock Record of the Month, releasing it on 180g Blue Cloudy vinyl, while a limited-edition pressing of 1978’s Road To Ruin, pressed on Orange Cloudy vinyl, will also be available. 

Those interested in getting their hands on one of these Ramones vinyls will need to sign up at vinylmeplease.com by Aug. 30.

The Ramones’ Aug. 16, 1974, debut at CBGB was the first time all four members of the band – lead singer Joey Ramone, bassist Dee Dee Ramone, guitarist Johnny Ramone and drummer Tommy Ramone — were onstage together. They went on to play CBGB about 70 times throughout the course of their career, with the band’s legacy forever linked to the club.

And this isn’t the only way the anniversary is being celebrated. As previously reported, on Friday and Saturday the New York City Ferry will be running specially curated Ramones-themed commutes to Rockaway Beach, the area of Queens made famous in the band’s song of the same name.

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The solo career of Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale is being celebrated with a new box set coming this fall.

Into The Light: The Solo Albums will feature Coverdale’s three solo releases — 1977’s WhiteSnake, 1978’s NorthWinds and 2000’s Into The Light. The set will include two versions of each album: a remixed version, which offers a “more dynamic sonic experience,” and a remastered version featuring the classic sound.

“The remixes are modern, using new technology to squeeze the best out of them,” Coverdale shares. “Truly exciting to revisit and take care of any technical ‘issues’ I had with the tracks all those years ago.”

The set also includes some unreleased demos that went on to appear on Whitesnake albums, along with early demos Coverdale recorded in his teens. Plus both NorthWinds and WhiteSnake have been resequenced, with NorthWinds getting some new arrangements and additional tracks.

And fans are getting the first preview of the set with the release of a new mix of the Into The Light track “Midnight Blue,” which is now available via digital outlets. 

The six-CD collection, dropping Oct. 25, will come with a 60-page book that includes a new interview with Coverdale, along with rare photos and detailed liner notes. Also being released on that day is a double vinyl edition of Into The Light.

Both the CD set and the Into The Light vinyl are available for preorder now.

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