Classic Rock News

Jimmy Fallon first began his role as host of NBC’s The Tonight Show 10 years ago in February 2014. In an interview with Variety, he picks some of his favorite Tonight Show moments over the past decade, including a performance with Metallica.

Fallon specifically recalls when the metal legends joined him and The Tonight Show house band, The Roots, for a rendition of “Enter Sandman” played on classroom instruments, including a xylophone, toy clarinet and kazoo.

“They come off as such a tough band with a tough-guy vibe, and really they are just kind of sweethearts, and really, they just wanted to have fun,” Fallon says.

Metallica will be playing their regular instruments on the upcoming 2024 leg of their M72 tour, which comes to the U.S. in August.

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Def Leppard has announced a deluxe edition of their classic album Pyromania, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.

Frontman Joe Elliott executive produced the new reissue, which drops April 26, and went deep into the band’s archives to uncover unheard demos that are featured on the release.

“A labor of love and I loved every minute of it !!” Elliott shares, noting combing through the vaults to find old demos was a “journey only few of us are lucky enough to take.”

The 40th anniversary edition of Pyromania will be released as a four-CD + Blu-Ray box set featuring the original album and a full disc of those unheard demos, including “Photograph – Rough Mix Version (Unfinished Vocal),” which will be released March 1.

Additionally, the box set includes two live shows, one recorded in Los Angeles and another in Dortmund, Germany, as well as a Blu-Ray featuring an Atmos mix of the album, 5.1/Stereo and instrumental mixes and five promo videos. There’s also a book delving into the history of the album and a collection of photos taken by famed photographer Ross Halfin.

In addition to the box set, the Pyromania reissue will be released digitally, as a one-LP half-speed master and on two-LP black vinyl and two-LP colored vinyl. All formats are available for preorder now.

Released January 1983, Pyromania featured such hit songs as “Photograph,” “Rock of Ages” and “Foolin,” and reached number #2 on the U.S. Album charts. It sold 6 million copies in 1983 and went on to be certified Diamond by the RIAA for selling over 10 million copies.  

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The Kinks’ Dave Davies is taking issue with Guitar World magazine after they posted an article claiming rock producer Eddie Kramer confirmed the long-held rumor that Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page played guitar on the band’s hit “You Really Got Me.”

“I met Jimmy while he was working with the Kinks in the early ’60s when they were doing ‘You Really Got Me,’” he reportedly said. “I know the Davies brothers will say otherwise, but I recall seeing Jimmy coming in and doing an overdub on that song. There’s some contention about that, but that’s how I remember it.” 

Davies later took to social media to shoot down the suggestion, noting Kramer insists he never made those comments.

“I demand an immediate retraction from @GuitarWorld and @guitar I spoke to @EdKramerTweets yesterday and he denies ever saying that @JimmyPage played on @theKinks YRGM,” he wrote. “I played all the guitar parts on YRGM Ed Kramer told me yesterday he was misquoted.”

He added, “I’m so tired of reporters getting it wrong.” 

Rumors that Page appeared on the song have been circulating for years, but both Davies and Page himself have denied them.

“You Really Got Me,” the third single The Kinks ever released, hit #1 in the U.K. It was the band’s breakthrough hit in the U.S., peaking at #7 on the chart. It was covered by Van Halen on their 1978 self-titled debut.

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R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe has donated some handwritten lyrics to help raise money for a good cause.

The rocker has contributed a signed lyric sheet for the track “Nightswimming” to the Art for Gaza auction. The money raised is going to Doctors Without Borders.

The auction is set to run until March 2 at 12 p.m. ET. The initial estimate for the sale was between $1,000 and $1,200, but the current bid has already surpassed that. Bids can be placed at bid.whytes.ie.

“Nightswimming” was the fifth single off R.E.M.’s eighth studio album, 1992’s Automatic for the People. It featured a string arrangement by Led Zeppelin‘s John Paul Jones.

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ZZ Top‘s Billy F Gibbons has recruited some musician friends for a cover of blues legend Jimmy Reed‘s classic track “Baby What You Want Me To Do.”

The performance teams up Gibbons with the BFG’s — Haim’s Danielle Haim on drums, guitarist Matt Sweeny and Tim Montana on maracas — to help show off Fender’s Vintera II Series.

The clip features Gibbons on the Vintera II ’70s telecaster in Vintage White, with Sweeney on the Vintera II ’60s telecaster in Fiesta Red.

Fender’s Ventiera II Series is available at fender.com.

In other Gibbons news, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just announced a trio of shows in Hawaii this May. The rocker will headline The Blue Note Hawaii in Honolulu May 17-19, with tickets set to go on sale Friday, March 1, at 10 a.m.

Gibbons and ZZ Top have a busy 2024 ahead of them. They are set to play West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 2 and kick off a new leg of the Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd starting March 8 in Savannah, Georgia. A complete list of shows can be found at ZZtop.com.

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John Fogerty wants his fans in Australia to know that he did not cancel a planned appearance at Country Fest Queensland.

The festival is scheduled to happen March 30-31, with the promoter announcing Fogerty’s cancellation on Tuesday, February 27, due to “unforeseen circumstances” and offering refunds to fans who didn’t want to attend due to the lineup change.

But in a post on Instagram, Fogerty says his cancellation was news to him. 

“I was ready to celebrate with you all for my one and only show this year in Australia when the Country Fest Queensland blindsided me yesterday by canceling my appearance,” he shared. “It was posted that I would not be appearing due to unforeseen circumstances. Well, I can tell you, my friends, I was not the reason for the ‘unforeseen circumstances.’”

Fogerty insists, “I was ready to come down there and excited to celebrate getting my songs back with all of you.”

Country Fest Queensland was the only show Fogerty had scheduled for March. He still has a handful of European festival dates scheduled during the month of July. A complete list of shows can be found at johnfogerty.com.

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Paul McCartney is one of the many artists who feel that Foreigner should be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year.

As previously reported, producer Mark Ronson, who is the stepson of Foreigner’s Mick Jones, recently shared a star-studded video featuring Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Jack Black, Guns N’ Roses‘ Slash, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith and Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme explaining why they think Foreigner should be inducted this year. Apparently McCartney shares their opinion on the subject.

During an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Ronson debuted a video that McCartney sent to him for use in a for-your-consideration video, with Sir Paul saying, “Foreigner not in the Hall of Fame? What the f***?”

“I’ve never heard Paul McCartney curse,” Ronson noted. “He’s a knight! I don’t want to be the first person to ever post a video of Paul McCartney dropping the f-bomb.” 

But Foreigner apparently doesn’t have a problem with it because they shared the clip on social media with the caption, “A man of many words… @paulmccartney. All of your votes matter!” They also shared a link to the Rock Hall fan vote. They are currently in second place behind Ozzy Osbourne.

Fan voting is open until April 26, with inductees to be announced later that month. The ceremony, happening this fall in Cleveland, will stream live on Disney+, followed by a highlights special airing later on ABC.

McCartney is a two-time member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 1988 with The Beatles and again in 1999 as a solo artist.

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Model Pattie Boyd is giving fans some direct insight into her love triangle with rockers George Harrison and Eric Clapton, thanks to a new auction happening at Christie’s.

Boyd, who was married to Harrison from 1966 to 1977 and had an affair with Clapton, who she was later married to from 1979 to 1989, is auctioning off a host of personal items: handwritten lyrics, photos and jewelry, including two letters written by Clapton while she was still married to Harrison.

“I am writing this letter to you, with the main purpose of ascertaining your feelings towards a subject well known to both of us,” he writes in one letter. “What I wish to ask you is if you still love your husband? All these questions are very impertinent, I know, but if there is still a feeling in your heart for me… you must let me know!” 

Another letter is addressed to “Layla,” Clapton’s nickname for Boyd and the inspiration for his 1971 hit song.

“Why do you hesitate, am I a poor lover, am I ugly, am I too weak, too strong, do you know why?” he writes. “If you want me, take me, I am yours … if you don’t want me, please break the spell that binds me. To cage a wild animal is a sin, to tame him is divine. My love is yours.”  

“I’m happy to let go of these things which I have treasured and loved for so many years,” Boyd shares. “These items represent special moments in my life but now I think it’s time to move on and share what I have with others.”

The auction runs from March 8 to March 22 at Christie’s online. More info can be found at Christies.com.

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Earlier this month, Ozzy Osbourne spoke out after Kanye West used a sample of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” without permission, and he says he had a good reason to do so.

“Well, nobody else would f***** do it, did they?” he tells Rolling Stone.

Kanye used the sample on the song “Carnival,” which appears on the album Vultures with Ty Dolla $ign. Ozzy shared on social media that he refused to give Kanye permission for the sample “BECAUSE HE IS AN ANTISEMITE AND HAS CAUSED UNTOLD HEARTACHE TO MANY.”

Kanye eventually changed the song before it hit digital outlets, and Ozzy has no regrets about standing up to the rapper.

“With the current state of affairs, you don’t need anybody starting people on discrimination of any kind,” Ozzy says. “It’s wrong. It’s just wrong.”

“There’s enough f****** aggravation, and he shouldn’t say anything [like what he has],” he adds, noting, “It’s wrong if you don’t say anything about him. I don’t want any of my work in any shape or form to be associated with anything like that.”

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Eagles frontman Don Henley took the stand on Monday, February 26, to testify in the trial over stolen handwritten notes and lyrics to the band’s classic album Hotel California.

Glen Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinki are accused of trying to sell the handwritten notes, despite knowing they were stolen. Ed Sanders, an author who’d been hired to write an Eagles biography, originally stole them in the late 1970s.

According to Rolling Stone, during his testimony, Henley said he didn’t remember sending Sanders the lyric pads to use for the biography. He then added, “You know what? It does not matter if I had driven them across the country in a U-Haul truck and dumped them at his front door. He had no right to keep or sell them.”

Henley also testified about an arrest in 1980, which he called a “poor decision.” His lawyer brought up the incident, which appeared to be a preemptive move after the defense had indicated that they planned to bring it up.

Henley was arrested after a woman he had hired through a madam had a seizure in his home, and cops found drugs at his place. He pled no contest to contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Henley said he thought she was 20 or 21 but later found out she was 16 or 17. He wound up being sentenced to two year’s probation and paid a fine of $2,500. 

“I made a poor decision, which I regret to this day,” he said. “I have had to live with it for 44 years. I am living with it today in this courtroom. Poor decision.”

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