Classic Rock News

John Fogerty was honored earlier this week at the BMI/NAB Dinner in Las Vegas with the BMI Board of Directors Award, which celebrated the impact of his five-decade career.

Mike O’Neill, President & CEO of BMI, shared that Fogerty is “what it means to be a living legend,” calling him a “groundbreaking singer, songwriter and guitarist responsible for some of the best known, most beloved and distinctive rock songs of the 20th century.”

In accepting the award, Fogerty showed off a notebook from 1967, with the first lines written in it being “Proud Mary,” which just eight months later was turned into a song that became a future classic.

The evening also featured a performance by the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, who was joined by sons Tyler and Shane for “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” “Fortunate Son” and “Proud Mary.”

Next up, Fogerty is set to hit the road on his Celebration Tour, which kicks off April 27 in Uncasville, Connecticut. A complete list of dates can be found at JohnFogerty.com.

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Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen is paying tribute to Jeff Beck in a new interview with Guitar World.

“Jeff Beck has always been one of my idols because he’s unique. No-one sounds like him, no-one plays like him, and you’ve got to respect that more than anything else,” Cpllen says of Beck, who passed away in January. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him. No-one was able to get anywhere close to that.” 

Collen goes on to praise the days of the Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart singing, noting they “could have been a huge band.”

“They were supposed to play Woodstock, but Jeff had to fly home, so they never got to do it,” Collen says, noting that Beck went on to launch a successful solo career and Stewart went to Faces. Collen adds, “so everyone gained from them not doing Woodstock, even though if they’d done it they could’ve been as big as Led Zeppelin.”

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Mötley Crüe has been booked to perform during this year’s NFL Draft Concert Series. The three-day event takes place April 27-29 in Kansas City, Missouri, in conjunction with the 2023 NFL Draft.

The Crüe is booked to play on April 28, with the concert series lineup also featuring Fall Out Boy on April 27 and Thundercat on April 29. 

All the performances will stream via the NFL’s website, Facebook page and YouTube channel. Additionally, clips from the shows will be televised as part of ESPN and NFL Network’s draft coverage.

For more info, visit NFL.com.

The news comes as Mötley Crüe recently revealed they in the studio with new guitarist John 5 and Dr. Feelgood producer Bob Rock. The band is also dealing with a very public lawsuit with ex-guitarist Mick Mars and is set to hit the road again with Def Leppard for a European and U.K. tour, kicking off May 22 in Sheffield, England. 

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Extreme has released two new songs, titled “Banshee” and “#Rebel.”

The tracks will appear on the “More Than Words” outfit’s upcoming album, Six, due out June 9.

You can listen to “Banshee” and “#Rebel” now via digital outlets, and watch their accompanying videos streaming now on YouTube.

Six, the aptly titled sixth Extreme studio effort, also includes the previously released single “Rise.”

Extreme will launch a U.S. tour in support of Six beginning August 2 in Portland, Maine. Living Colour will also be on the bill.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, April 21, at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit Extreme-Band.com.

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Elton John testified remotely before the U.S. Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday morning, urging the committee to continue to fund the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

The plan, known as PEPFAR, was founded in 2003 by President George W. Bush. The Hill reports that in his testimony, Elton credited it with saving some 25 million lives and urged Congress to extend and fund the program for the next five years.

“I am boundlessly grateful for the bipartisan cooperation that has been the hallmark of PEPFAR for two decades now,” he told lawmakers, noting that the plan has been “enthusiastically supported by four presidents and 10 Congresses, and consistently championed by the generosity of the American people.”

“The PEPFAR platform has not only transformed HIV into a chronic disease for tens of millions, it has been leveraged to fight [COVID-19] and made countries far better prepared for whatever viral nightmare comes next,” Elton noted. “But we are not done yet.”

He continued, “We need to keep our foot on the accelerator,” adding, “By extending PEPFAR for another five years and fully funding it, together, we can continue the march toward ending AIDS for everyone everywhere and leave no one behind.”

The committee’s chairman, Bob Menéndez (D-N.J.) praised Elton as someone who “use[s] their fame in a way that saves the lives of others.”

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Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider is thinking about breaking out his old makeup case. In a response to a tweet about Montana’s recent drag ban, Snider shared his desire to get back to his old Twisted Sister look.

The amended ruling bans “obscene performances” of “male or female performers who adopt flamboyant or parodic feminine personas with glamorous makeup and exaggerated costumes.” 

“You know I haven’t worn the Twisted Sister Makeup in many years,” Snider responded to the post, “but now I’m tempted to put it back on!”

Snider has already said that he plans to reunite Twisted Sister in 2024 for political rallies, especially since politicians keep using “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” but not in the way it was intended. This could mean the makeup will be back for those performances.

After urging the “true majority” of Americans to “fight back, push back, take control,” regarding the push for these bans, Snider shared a John Wick meme that read “People keep asking if I’m back. I’m starting to think I’m back.” He then noted, “I took off the @TwistedSisterny makeup more than a decade ago, but in light of the current stupidity in the USA it just might be time to start wearing it again!” 

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Queen has reached another milestone on YouTube. Guitarist Brian May revealed on social media that the video for the band’s track “I Want It All” has reached 100 million views on YouTube.

He captioned the post, “Thanks, folks, for giving us it ALL !!!”

“I Want It All” isn’t the first Queen tune to reach at least 100 million YouTube views. “We Will Rock You” has over 500 million, while “We Are the Champions” has over 200 million views and “Bohemian Rhapsody” has over 1.6 billion.

“I Want It All” was the first single off Queen’s 1989 studio album The Miracle. It reached number three on the U.K. singles chart, as well as the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.

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Metallica‘s run of videos continues with “Chasing Light,” a track off the band’s new album, 72 Seasons.

The latest clip finds the ‘Tallica members striking poses against a glitchy yellow and black background. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.

Since 72 Seasons dropped last Friday, Metallica has released a new video every day. They also put out visuals for the four pre-release tracks: lead single “Lux Æterna,” “Screaming Suicide,” “If Darkness Had a Son” and the title track.

Now with “Chasing Light,” only two 72 Seasons songs have yet to receive videos: “You Must Burn!” and the 11-minute “Inamorata.” The “You Must Burn!” clip premieres Thursday, presumably followed by “Inamorata.”

Additionally, Metallica is releasing every 72 Seasons video in American Sign Language, or ASL. The ASL edition of the title track is out now, and the remaining 11 videos will premiere April 25.

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On This Day, April 19, 2012… 

Levon Helm, best known as the drummer, singer and multi-instrumentalist for The Band, died at age 71 of throat cancer.  

Helm was featured on many of The Band’s classic tracks, including “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”

He was with The Band until their farewell performance on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976. The performance was later turned into the critically acclaimed documentary film The Last Waltz, directed by Martin Scorsese.

In addition to music, Helm dabbled in acting and appeared in movies like Coal Miner’s Daughter, The Right Stuff, Feeling Minnesota and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.

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Duane Betts, son of Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts, is set to release his debut solo album, Wild & Precious Life, on July 14. The first single from the record, “Waiting on a Song,” is out now.

The album was written in 2020 during the pandemic and has Duane reflecting on important things in his life, like his father, his soulmate, his journey to sobriety and more.

“We’re here for such a short period of time,” Duane shares. “We see people come and people go — people we love and people we miss. We’ve all lost loved ones, yet we’re still here. You really have to take advantage of your time and make the most of it.” 

Wild & Precious Life, recorded at Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks’ Swamp Raga Studio, features guest appearances by Trucks, Marcus King and Nicki Bluhm. It’s available for preorder now.

Here’s the track list for Wild & Precious Life:

“Evergreen”
“Waiting on a Song”
‘Forrest Lane”
“Colors Fade”
“Saints to Sinners”
“Stare at the Sun”
“Under the Bali Moon”
“Sacred Ground”
“Cold Dark World”
“Circles in the Stars”

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