Classic Rock News

On This Day, March 6, 2000…

Eric Clapton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, his third time being inducted into the prestigious institution. Clapton was the first and is still the only musician to be inducted into the Hall of Fame three times. 

Clapton was previously inducted into the Hall of Fame as a member of The Yardbirds in 1992, and then again in 1993 as a member of Cream.

While Clapton is the only artist to be inducted three times, several have been inducted twice, including all four members of The Beatles, all four members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Stevie Nicks, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Jeff Beck, and Dave Grohl.

The nominees for the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame were recently announced, with Peter Frampton, Foreigner and Lenny Kravitz among this year’s nominees. Inductees will be announced in April. 

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Billboards and projections appeared this week in different cities around the world with a message: “2024 is going to be LEGENDARY …,” followed by the URL BonJoviForever.com.

If you visit that website, you’ll find a countdown clock set to run out around Thursday of next week. You can also sign up for updates. 

So what is Bon Jovi teasing? Jon Bon Jovi has spoken about making a new album, so perhaps it’s a new song, an album announcement, a tour or both.

If it’s new music, it’ll be the band’s first release since the album 2020, which featured the hit “Do What You Can.” If it’s a tour, it’ll be the band’s first since 2022. Since then, Jon has had to have major reconstructive surgery on his vocal cords and has been doing rehab to get his voice back into shape.

2024 is a significant year for the band: It marks the 40th anniversary of their self-titled debut album. They also have a Hulu documentary, Thank You, Goodnight, streaming April 26. It will have its premiere at South by Southwest on March 14.

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If you’re “Still Standing,” you might as well do it in fresh, clean socks — and Elton John can help you with that.

The Rocket Man has teamed up with the brand Happy Socks for the Elton John Special Edition Collection. There are eight pairs to choose from, or you can get gift boxes with three or six pairs each. The various designs are inspired by Elton’s glasses, platform boots and piano keys, as well as his iconic 1975 Dodger Stadium outfit.

There are also designs that specifically refer to Elton’s songs, such as “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man” and “The B**** Is Back” — the perfect thing to wear while you’re walking down the Yellow Brick Road. But in what’s surely a missed opportunity, there aren’t any “Crocodile Rock” socks.

The prices range from $18.95 to $23.95 each, and they’re available now at HappySocks.com or via Elton’s official website.

The socks prove that Elton fans have an endless opportunity to buy Elton-branded stuff. On his website, you can get everything from Christmas ornaments to mugs to action figures, as well as apparel from multiple eras of his career.

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Bruce Hornsby has had many highlights throughout his career, but in an interview with Music Radar he reveals one of his favorite things he’s ever done is join the Grateful Dead.

Discussing the artists he’s worked with in the past, he shared, “But the collaboration I had most fun with was joining the Grateful Dead.” 

“That whole scene … the fans, playing one song for a couple of hours, the people I met, the body of work that those guys created. OK, it might not be on a par with The Beatles, but it’s pretty darn close,” he said.

Hornsby initially performed with the Dead whenever he and The Range would open for them, but started filling in regularly when they were between keyboardists in the early ’90s.

“And the great thing was that they simply sat me down and said, ‘play whatever you want,’” he said. “There were no rules, no funny looks if you came in at the wrong place. There was no ‘wrong place!’ It was pure music and it was wonderful.” 

He added, “Man, I wouldn’t trade my time with the Dead for anything.” 

And while Hornsby had lots of fun touring with them, he didn’t have the kind of hallucinogenic fun some may associate with the band. 

“I knew the score. Bear Stanley [the Dead’s live sound engineer, who was known as The Acid King] was still with them and he was wandering around backstage, dropping a little of this and that into the Kool-Aid,” he said. “But I took Bear to one side and told him, ‘Look, this ain’t my thing. You dose me and I’m outta here.’”

He noted, “He was true to his word. Not that it stopped the rest of the guys having a ball up there!”

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Former Yes frontman Jon Anderson has announced a new North American tour with the cover group The Band Geeks. 

The trek, dubbed Yes Epics, Classics, And More, will feature Anderson performing songs from throughout his career, including tracks from the Yes catalog. Anderson also plans to add some new songs he’s been working on with The Band Geeks, with an album of those new tunes expected out in late summer.

The tour is set to kick off May 30 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, hitting such cities as Chicago, Boston, Denver and Phoenix. The trek wraps August 16 in Thousand Oaks, California. Carl Palmer will appear as special guest on four dates with his The Return of Emerson, Lake & Palmer show in which he performs alongside footage of his late bandmates Keith Emerson and Greg Lake.

This isn’t Anderson’s first tour with The Band Geeks. They toured the U.S. together in 2023.

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Billy Idol is set to headline the Project Pabst festival, happening July 27-28 at Waterfront Park in Portland, Oregon. Idol will headline opening night of the festival, with Big Thief confirmed for closing night. 

The festival, sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, also features Violent Femmes, T-Pain, Gossip, Manchester Orchestra and others.

Tickets for Project Pabst are on sale now. More info and a complete lineup can be found at projectpabst.com.

Project Pabst is one of several festivals Idol has on his schedule this year. He’s also set to play Sunfest in West Palm Beach, Florida, on May 3, and the Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 5. A complete list of Idol dates can be found at billyidol.net.

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Bob Dylan is currently on his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, but apparently, not all concertgoers are loving the experience. In fact, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer got heckled by a fan at his concert Friday, March 1, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 

In fan-shot footage posted to YouTube, you can hear a member of the audience share their two cents, shouting to Dylan, “Play something we know.”

But Dylan didn’t seem to care too much about the heckler’s opinion. He actually ignored the comment and continued on with his next song, “When I Paint My Masterpiece,” which he performed to the tune of “Putting on the Ritz.” 

The fan never got their wish; the set list was absent of any Dylan hits, as has been customary on his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour.

Dylan is set to kick off a two-night stand in Clearwater, Florida, March 5 and 6. He has Rough and Rowdy Ways tour dates confirmed through September 17 in Buffalo, New York. A complete list of dates can be found at bobdylan.com.

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Fender is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Stratocaster with an all-star performance of “Voodoo Child” by Jimi Hendrix, who was known for playing the Stratocaster and was often seen performing with his signature off-white Strat.

Guitarists performing in the tribute include Chic’s Nile Rodgers, Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, Jimmie Vaughan and Biffy Clyro’s Sam Neil.

“One of the fascinating nuances about Jimi was that his guitars weren’t just instruments to him, but extensions of him…part of his persona,” Janie Hendrix, Hendrix’s sister and Experience Hendrix CEO, shares. “He communicated a different vibe through each guitar and that’s what made him select certain instruments for certain songs.” 

She adds, “If you listen to songs from Are You Experienced you feel the electricity of his Strat that he played in live performances, bringing that unmistakable surge created by Jimi through that extension of himself. It’s a thrilling thing to see and hear.” 

The video is part of a new 70th anniversary celebration campaign launch for the Stratocaster dubbed “Forever Ahead of Its Time.” It will include Strat Sessions, featuring performances and conversations with guitarists; Icons of the Strat, a portrait series honoring legendary Strat players; and more. There will also be a new line of 70th anniversary Stratocaster models.

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Dave Grohl has teamed up with Epiphone for a new signature guitar.

The Dave Grohl DG-335 combines elements of the Gibson ES-335 and Trini Lopez guitars, and comes in the same pelham blue finish that anyone who’s seen Foo Fighters live will recognize.

You can order yours now for $1,299 via Epiphone.com.

Grohl will be rocking his own DG-335 on Foo Fighters’ upcoming U.S. tour, which will begin in May with a run of one-off headlining shows and festival sets. It will then hit stadiums in July.

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Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band got their start in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and now, they are returning to headline the city’s annual beachside music festival, Sea.Hear.Now.

The festival is set to go down September 14-15, with The Boss headlining closing night.

Noah Kahan will headline opening night, with The Black Crowes, Trey Anastasio Band, Kool & The Gang, Norah Jones, 311, The Hives, The Revivalists and more also on the bill.

Fellow New Jersey natives The Gaslight Anthem are also set to perform ahead of Springsteen on Sunday, which sets up the possibility for an onstage collaboration. The two artists have performed together in the past, and Springsteen has appeared on the Gaslight song “History Books,” the title track from their most recent album.

A presale for tickets begins Thursday, March 7, at 10 a.m. ET, with tickets going on sale to the general public one hour later at 11 a.m. ET. More information on tickets and the complete lineup can be found at seahearnowfestival.com.

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