Classic Rock News

On This Day, January 19, 1993…

The classic Fleetwood Mac lineup of Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie and John McVie reunited for the first time in six years to perform at President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration gala.  

The band performed their classic Rumours track “Don’t Stop,” which had been used as Clinton’s campaign song.

Other performers at the gala included Elton John, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson and Aretha Franklin. 

The classic Fleetwood Mac lineup would wind up reuniting again in 1997 for a live filmed concert, The Dance. It spawned a live album of the same name, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts, and an arena tour followed. The lineup continued to work together until 2018, when Lindsey Buckingham was fired from the group.

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Queen continues to delve into the live performances from the 21st century, highlighting a Roger Taylor-penned ballad in the latest episode of their weekly YouTube series, Queen the Greatest Live.

This week’s clip features footage of a 2005 performance of Taylor’s “These Are the Days of Our Lives,” from a Queen + Paul Rodgers show. 

Taylor wrote the song in the late ’80s as frontman Freddie Mercury was ill, something only those in the Queen camp knew. He previously shared that the song was inspired by the adventures he and Mercury had experienced when they were young men. 

“I was sitting at home in a rather reflective mood and I did know that Freddie was ill, and I think it came out of that slightly melancholic mood,” Taylor previously told Absolute Radio. “I guess I was trying to put an optimistic slant on it in a way –those were the days then. And these are the days of our lives – today is more important than yesterday.”

“These Are The Days Of Our Lives” appeared on Queen’s 1991 album, Innuendo, and the video for the song wound up being the last one Freddie made before his death in November of that year.

Queen fans can catch another classic live performance by the band on screens this weekend. Queen Rock Montreal, a concert film featuring a show from their November 1981 stand at the Montreal Forum, is in IMAX theaters from now until January 21. A complete list of theaters and ticket information can be found at queeninimax.com.

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Earlier this week, fans spotted Green Day in disguise busking at a New York City Subway station alongside Jimmy Fallon. The bit officially aired during NBC’s The Tonight Show on Thursday, January 18.

The performance began with Fallon and Billie Joe Armstrong duetting on a cover of Bad Company‘s “Feel Like Makin’ Love.” They then removed their cartoonish wigs and fake mustaches and beards to reveal their true identities and launched into the Green Day classic “Basket Case.”

The Tonight Show also shared a YouTube exclusive video with extra songs from the subway set, including “Look Ma, No Brains!” and “Dilemma” — songs off the new Green Day album, Saviors — as well as “American Idiot.”

Saviors, Green Day’s first album since 2020’s Father of All…, is out now. It also includes the lead single “The American Dream Is Killing Me.”

Along with releasing Saviors, Green Day has premiered the video for the album cut “Bobby Sox,” which you can watch streaming now on YouTube.

Green Day will support Saviors on a massive world tour. The U.S. leg, which will also feature The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and The Linda Lindas on the bill, launches in July.

Along with songs from Saviors, Green Day will be playing their albums Dookie and American Idiot in full on each night of the tour. Dookie is celebrating its 30th anniversary, while American Idiot is turning 20.

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The last time Eurythmics‘ Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox performed together was at the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, but music fans now have another chance to hear their iconic songs live: Stewart’s Eurythmics Songbook, which is set to open for Bryan Adams on his So Happy It Hurts tour. 

Stewart tells ABC Audio the idea to take the band’s catalog on the road was sparked by Chic’s Nile Rodgers after he invited Stewart to perform Eurythmics songs in London with a series of special guests.

Stewart says he thought, “Why not have some fun and do that?” But adds, “I didn’t know how the audience was going to react.” Luckily, they “went nuts,” and he had so much fun he decided to expand on the idea. 

Stewart is joined by three female singers for the shows, and while you’d think Lennox’s voice wouldn’t be easy to replace, Stewart says it wasn’t much of a challenge.

“Fortunately for me, we made all different styles,” he says of Eurythmics. “We were like chameleons.”

Fans who see the shows can expect to hear some different reinterpretations of Eurythmics songs, but Stewart says he and Annie used to do that, as well. Regardless, “the song always comes through.” 

But playing all his old songs does make him feel weird sometimes, with Dave sharing it’s because “part of me is like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is like from all that time ago.’ And the other part of me is … totally in the moment with all these new players.” 

Dave Stewart’s Eurythmics Songbook’s stint on Adams’ tour begins Saturday, January 20, in Billings, Montana. For a complete list of dates go to davestewartent.com.

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The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger is one of the executive producers behind an upcoming two-part documentary on the Godfather of Soul James Brown, which is set to debut in February on A&E.

James Brown: Say it Loud, which also counts The Roots’ Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter as executive producers, delves into the life, career and legacy of Brown, featuring exclusive interviews and previously unseen archival footage.

Jagger and Questlove are both interviewed in the doc, along with Brown’s children Deanna, Yamma and Larry Brown, plus Bootsy Collins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, LL Cool J, Chuck D and others.

“He was brilliant,” Jagger says in a preview of the doc. “He took all these influences and combined them and then he created, almost singlehandedly, this other groove.”

James Brown: Say it Loud, directed by Deborah Riley Draper, airs Monday, February 19, and Tuesday, February 20, at 8 p.m. on A&E.

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Joe Walsh’s annual VetsAid charity concert took place last November, and it raised a lot of money to help veterans organizations based in, or with operations on the ground in, Southern California.

The Eagles guitarist announced that VetsAid has handed out a total of $260,000 in grants, including $30,000 grants to six organizations: CreatiVets, Children of the Fallen Patriots, TAPS, Foundation for Women Warriors, Veterans Legal Institute and Veterans Village of San Diego.

In addition, $15,000 grants went to Shelter to Soldier and Vets Community Connections, while $10,000 grants went to Fisher House Southern California, HunterSeven Foundation, Honor Flight San Diego and Cal-Diego PVA, and $5,000 grants went to Zero8Hundred and Navy Marine Corps P.R.O.U.D. Foundation.

The 2023 VetsAid took place November 12 in San Diego, California, featuring performances by Walsh, Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Stephen Stills, The War on Drugs, The Flaming Lips and Lucius.

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Graham Nash is remembering his late Crosby, Stills & Nash bandmate David Crosby on the first anniversary of his death. 

“Hard to believe it’s been a year since David passed. It feels like a long time and no time at all,” Nash writes on Instagram. “Today I’ll be thinking of all of the good times we shared together. The not-so-good too because it was all part of being human with each other and loving one another.”

“I miss you, David. We all do,” he added.

Crosby passed away on January 18, 2023, at the age of 81. Although no official cause of death was ever announced, Nash revealed in an interview that Crosby died while battling COVID-19.

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KISS may have stopped touring, but it looks like Gene Simmons can’t give up life onstage.

The rocker’s solo act, the Gene Simmons Band, is booked to headline Summer Breeze Brazil, a São Paulo festival taking place April 26-28. The festival features a lineup of hard rockers that includes Anthrax, Sebastian Back and Killswitch Engage.

The show will be Simmons’ first live performance since KISS wrapped their touring career with a two-night stand at New York’s Madison Square Garden, December 1 and 2. While the band has given up the road, they haven’t called it quits for good: They announced that a KISS avatar show will premiere in 2027.

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The lineup for the 2024 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival has been announced, and while The Rolling Stones were already revealed as the May 2 headliners, they aren’t the only big name on the bill.

The festival is set to take place over two weekends, April 25 – 28 and May 2 – 5, with a lineup that also includes Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Bonnie Raitt and George Thorogood & The Destroyers, as well as Heart, Earth, Wind and Fire and The Beach Boys.

In addition, the late Jimmy Buffett, who played Jazz Fest numerous times throughout his career, will be celebrated with a special set featuring his longtime backup band, the Coral Reefer Band. 

Other artists on the bill include Foo Fighters, Chris Stapleton, The Killers, Hozier, Vampire Weekend, Greta Van Fleet, Queen Latifah, Widespread Panic and Trombone Shorty.

Weekend passes and VIP packages are on sale now, with single day tickets set to go on sale in February. More information and the complete lineup can be found at nojazzfest.com.

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A classic concert from The Who is getting its first audio release. Live At Shea Stadium 1982, which originally was released on DVD and Blu-ray back in 2015, is coming out on CD and as a three-LP set for the first time on March 1.

The album captures the band’s October 13, 1982, show, which was the second of two nights at the former home of the New York Mets.

The concert was in support of the band’s 10th studio album, It’s Hard, and featured songs from the record, in addition to such The Who classics as “Pinball Wizard,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “My Generation,” “Who Are You,” “Baba O’Riley” and more.

Next up for The Who, they’ll play two shows, March 18 and 20, at London’s Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Lead singer Roger Daltrey is also playing a Teenage Cancer Trust concert on March 24, a show that includes Robert Plant with Saving Grace, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Stereophonics’ Kelly Jones and Paul Weller.

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