Classic Rock News

Chicago is sharing their take on a Beatles classic. The band just released their cover of “Magical Mystery Tour,” which has been part of their 2023 touring set list. 

The idea to cover the song came from founding member Lee Loughnane after hearing the tune in a store. After laying down the tracks with engineer Tim Jessup, he sent it to the other members of the band, who added their contributions to the tune. 

Chicago is set to spend quite a bit of 2023 on the road. Their next show is scheduled for April 7 in Windsor, Ontario, and they’ll return to the States April 11 with a show in Reading, Pennsylvania. The band has also just announced a one-night-only benefit concert on April 23 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, New York, with proceeds going to Musicians on Call. A complete list of tour dates can be found at chicagotheband.com.

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Metallica‘s Kirk Hammett has obtained a new, legendary guitar dubbed the “rarest of grails.”

The instrument is a factory black 1959 Les Paul Standard and was purchased from the company Carter Vintage Guitars. In an Instagram post showing off his latest axe, Hammett writes, “This is one unique, amazing sounding guitar.”

The guitar originally belonged to a jazz musician named Joseph Arena, who, as Carter Vintage explains, “wanted a black guitar to match his tuxedo.”

“But a Les Paul Custom was out of his price range so he opted to custom order for the [less] expensive Standard but with a black finish,” the story continues. “The guitar was ordered through Sam Ash in Hempstead, New York, and has stayed in the original family until now.”

The guitar is so special that Hammett says his famed Greeny guitar, a ’59 Les Paul once owned by late Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green, is “a little jealous.”

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Not only has Bruce Springsteen been a major influence on the music of countless artists, he’s also apparently a dietary inspiration for one musician in particular.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin reveals in a recent episode of the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast that he doesn’t eat dinner anymore because of a conversation he had with The Boss and his wife, E Street Band member Patti Scialfa.

During the podcast, O’Brien asked Martin what he’s learned from having dinner with his musical heroes. Martin replies, “What if I don’t actually have dinner anymore?”

“I stop eating at 4,” Martin shares. “I learned that from having lunch with Bruce Springsteen.”

Said lunch took place at the Springsteen residence after Coldplay played Philadelphia last year.

“I was on a really strict diet, anyway,” Martin recalls. “I was, like, ‘Bruce looks even more in shape than me!’ And Patti says, ‘He’s only eating one meal a day.’ So I was, like, ‘Well, there you go. That’s my next challenge.”

That means Martin will already be done eating by the time Coldplay takes the stage during their ongoing world tour, which hits the U.S. in September. Unless, of course, Jamie Lee Curtis gets her way and Coldplay starts playing shows at noon.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 

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The full lineup for Milwaukee’s annual Summerfest has just been announced, with over 100 acts booked for the festival, now in its 55th year. This year’s fest will take place over three weekends, June 22 to 24, June 29 to July 1 and July 6 to 8, with bands playing across 12 stages.

James Taylor and Sheryl Crow are set to headline a June 24 show at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater, while Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Styx, Cheap Trick, 38 Special, Night Ranger, Survivor, Soul Asylum and more are confirmed for the festival stages.

Tickets for Summerfest are on sale now. A complete lineup and concert schedule can be found at summerfest.com.

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On This Day, March 23, 1985…

Rocker Billy Joel married supermodel Christie Brinkley on a yacht in New York’s Hudson River. The two stars met in 1983 in St. Barts, and Brinkley later appeared in Joel’s video for “Uptown Girl” before they eventually wed. 

They welcomed their first and only child together, Alexa Ray, that December.

It was the second marriage for both Joel and Brinkley but it didn’t last. They divorced in August 1994, and both  went on to marry two more times. 

Joel has been married to current wife Alexis Roderick since 2015 and they have two daughters together, Della Rose and Remy Anne.

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John Fogerty is a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, with plenty of huge hits behind him, but even he questions his abilities sometimes — at least when it comes to playing guitar.

“I didn’t feel that I was a virtuoso on guitar,” Fogerty tells Guitar World of his Creedence Clearwater Revival days. “I did feel I knew how to get a sound out of my instrument, which was pretty important.” 

He adds, “I think musicians, especially guitar players, tend to be a humble bunch because it’s sort of the Wild West. There’s always some guy louder and faster and going to call you out in the street. And it’s just a matter of a flip of a coin if you get bushwhacked.” 

But even though he believes “there were a lot of people running around that were better than me,” Fogerty was OK with that: “I felt very comfortable within my own band.”

The rocker says the important thing was that he and his CCR bandmates “were good together.”

“I didn’t think any of us was, let’s say, the best in the world, or even in our own country or our own state, at what we were doing,” Fogerty says. “To me, that didn’t matter. I thought it was much more important to sound good together.”

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March 23 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of ZZ Top’s eighth studio album, Eliminator, which went on to be the band’s most commercially successful album, peaking at nine on the Billboard Album chart.

The album, which used more synthesizers and drum machines than previous ZZ Top records, featured four hit singles: “Legs,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharped Dressed Man” and “TV Dinners.” “Gimme All Your Lovin’” peaked at two on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, with “Legs” and “Sharp Dressed Man” also making the top 10. “Gimme All Your Lovin’” also landed on the Billboard Top 40 chart.

The success of the album and the songs were helped by a series of hugely popular videos for “Legs,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’” and “Sharped Dressed Man.” They wound up in regular rotation on MTV, helping to attract a younger fan base.  

All three featured a trio of models, along with a red 1933 Ford coupe, like the one that appeared on the cover of the album, with the video for “Legs” marking the debut of the band’s spinning guitars, covered in white sheepskin. “Legs” went on to earn ZZ Top an MTV Video Music Award for Best Group. 

Eliminator was the first of the band’s albums to become a worldwide success and went on to sell over 11 million copies in the U.S. It has been certified Diamond by the RIAA.

And while ZZ Top lost member Dusty Hill in July 2021, they haven’t slowed down. They hit the road next month on a solo tour and will co-headline a tour this summer with Lynyrd Skynyrd, dubbed The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour. A complete list of tour dates can be found at zztop.com.

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Nabbing tickets to see Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band certainly wasn’t easy. For those who missed out, The Boss is now giving his fans a chance to win a trip to see him in his home state of New Jersey.

Springsteen has teamed up with Propeller for a new sweepstakes that helps raise money and awareness for The Ally Coalition, which works to better the lives of LGBTQ+ youth.

And the lucky winner and a guest will nab quite a grand prize: two tickets to The Boss’ April 14 show at the Prudential Center in Newark, along with airfare, hotel accommodations and ride-share credit. The winner will also take home a signed Fender American Original ’50s Telecaster guitar.

The deadline to enter is Tuesday, March 28, at 11:59 p.m. PT.

The Newark show is the final night of the first leg of the Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band tour. The trek hits Buffalo, New York, on Thursday.

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KISS may be ready to say goodbye to the road in December, but it’s not like they’ll be completely gone. In fact, we’re about to learn a whole lot more about their early years, courtesy of a new KISS biopic that’s in the works.

The news of the biopic was confirmed by the band’s manager, Doc McGhee, during an interview with The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn, in which he discussed things coming up for KISS once they retire from the road.

“We have a movie getting ready to be filmed … it’s a biopic about the first four years of KISS,” McGhee said. “We’re just starting it now. We’ve already sold it, it’s already done, we have a director. That’s moving along and that’ll come in ’24.”

As for those two final shows, taking place December 1 and 2 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, it sounds like fans who couldn’t snag tickets may eventually get a chance to see what went down. When asked if the shows would be filmed or recorded for a DVD or pay-per-view special, McGhee noted, “I’m sure we’ll come up with something. We want to do something very special. We’re working on it right now.”

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Foo Fighters and Green Day are among the headliners for Canada’s 2023 FEQ festival, taking place July 6-16 in Quebec.

Other headliners include Weezer, Imagine Dragons and Lana Del Rey, with the lineup also featuring Heart‘s Ann Wilson, Bad Religion, The Smile, Vance Joy and more.

For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit FEQ.ca.

Foo Fighters are also playing festivals including Bonnaroo, Boston Calling, Outside Lands, Louder than Life and Sonic Temple, as well as several headline shows in May and June. The performances are part of their live comeback following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last year.

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