Classic Rock News

The Grammys are finally happening Sunday in Los Angeles and several of your favorite artists are in the running this year.

Ozzy Osbourne is up for four awards for his recent album Patient Number 9, including Best Rock Album, Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for the title track. He’s also nominated for Best Metal Performance for “Degradation Rules.” The Best Rock Performance nomination also gives the late Jeff Beck a nomination, since he performed on the tune.

Elvis Costello & The Imposters‘ The Boy Named If will compete against Ozzy for Best Rock Album, while Bryan Adams will also compete against Ozzy but in the Best Rock Performance category for “So Happy It Hurts.”

Bonnie Raitt is up for four awards, including Song of the Year for “Just Like That,” which is her first nomination as a songwriter. The tune is also up for Best American Roots Song, while the album Just Like That… is nominated for Best Americana Album and “Made Up Mind” is nominated for Best Americana Performance.

Competing against Raitt for Best Americana Album is Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ Raise the Roof. The album’s track “High and Lonesome” is in the running for Best American Roots Song, while “Going Where the Lonely Go” is up for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

The 65th annual Grammy Awards, hosted by Trevor Noah, air Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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Steven Van Zandt is teaming up with independent music publisher Primary Wave Music in a new deal that encompasses the E Street Band member’s music publishing and recorded music catalogs.

The multimillion dollar deal includes Little Steven’s name and likeness rights, as well as a stake in producer royalties. That will encompass his work with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, like “I Don’t Want To Go Home” and “This Time it’s For Real,” and with Bruce Springsteen on such albums as The River and Born in the U.S.A., and songs like “Hungry Heart” and “Dancing in the Dark.”

“Couldn’t be more excited to explore this partnership,” Van Zandt shares. “They have an incredible track record for being creative and proactive. Looking forward to seeing what kind of fun we can have with these songs I’m still really proud of.”

Van Zandt is currently on tour with Springsteen and the E Street Band. They play Atlanta, Georgia, Friday.

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Def Leppard spent last summer on tour with Mötley Crüe, and while you’d think there’d be a lot of partying going on behind the scenes, Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott says the threat of COVID kept that from being the case. 

“The safest way for us to keep that show on the road was just to avoid human beings as best we could,” he tells Classic Rock. “So all of us in Leppard traveled separately, which is the smartest decision we made. I didn’t stay in hotels. I lived on the bus, just me and Dale, my driver, in total isolation.“ 

He adds, “That’s the price of doing business in 2022. If we cancel a stadium show in Arlington, Texas at four in the afternoon, people will have travelled hundreds of miles and spent hundreds of dollars to get there. So we avoided contact, we tested every day, and it worked. We didn’t lose one gig.” 

And for all those who expected backstage to be one big party, Elliott notes, “You know, we act like children on stage but we’re actually quite responsible people when we need to be.”

And Elliott’s getting ready to do it all again. Their tour with Mötley Crüe relaunches February 10 and 11 in Atlantic City, before heading to Mexico City, Mexico, February 18. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.

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Mötley Crüe is ready to start their next chapter. The band just released the first official photo with new band member John 5. 

The black-and-white shot, taken by famed photographer Ross Halfin, is captioned “Ready to hit the road…#TheWorldTour 2023.” 

Mötley Crüe announced back in October that John 5, guitarist for Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, would be taking over for Mick Mars on tour. Mars announced earlier that month he would no longer be touring with the band due to his battle with the inflammatory disease ankylosing spondylitis, or AS.

The Mötley Crüe/Def Leppard tour relaunches February 10 and 11 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, before heading to Mexico City, Mexico, on February 18. A complete list of dates can be found at motley.com.

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Queen is out with the latest installment of their yearlong YouTube series Queen The Greatest Live. This week’s episode focuses on rehearsals for 1986’s The Magic Tour.

The 26-date Magic Tour, which hit stadiums in the United Kingdom and Europe, wound up being frontman Freddie Mercury’s final shows and had the band playing a set list that featured almost 30 songs. The episode gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at rehearsals for the songs “Tear It Up,” “I Want To Break Free” and “Now I’m Here.”

According to the band’s multimedia collaborator Simon Lupton, it’s apparent the video featured in the episode wasn’t official and the band probably didn’t know it was being recorded. He notes, “Although it would have been very much frowned upon at the time, it now gives us a rare and fascinating insight into the rehearsal process,” calling the video footage a “rare gem.”

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Monday, February 6, would have been Bob Marley’s 78th birthday, and to celebrate the milestone the Marley Family is giving fans a present – new vinyl. 

The Marley Family, along with Tuff Gong and UME, will release 12 limited-edition Bob Marley vinyl LPs on March 24. Each release will be numbered and pressed at Tuff Gong International headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica.

The releases will include nine original studio albums, including Uprising, Burnin’ and Natty Dread, along with two live albums and the reggae compilation Legend. The album Catch A Fire is being released in its original Jamaica-recorded version, without the overdubs and mix added by Island founder Chris Blackwell. The vinyl will have two extra tracks from the Jamaica sessions.

All albums are available for preorder now.

But that’s not all. The latest edition of the web series Fashion Icon focuses on Marley’s influence on the fashion world and the evolution of his style throughout his career. The episode, which is out now, is narrated by Cedella Marley and talks with members of the Marley family, including Ky-Mani Marley, Rohan Marley and Skip Marley, as well as Chuck D and others.

Finally, the Bob Marley birthday celebration will be held at the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, Jamaica, Monday and will be streamed live on the Tuff Gong TV YouTube channel. It’s set to feature several Jamaican entertainers, along with tributes from Tyrone Downie and Jo Mersa Marley of The Wailers.

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Former British rock star Gary Glitter is a free man. The BBC reports that Glitter, best known for his hit “Rock & Roll (Part 2),” was released from prison on Friday. He’d been serving a 16-year sentence for various sexual offenses against minors.

Glitter was released after serving only half of his sentence at a prison on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. His fixed-term sentence meant he’d automatically be freed halfway through.

Glitter, born Paul Gadd, was sentenced back in 2015 on charges involving three young girls between the ages of 10 and 13. Those charges included attempted rape, unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and four counts of indecent assault.

But while Glitter’s out of jail, he isn’t completely free. He will be monitored by probation officers, with a Ministry of Justice spokesperson noting he’ll “face some of the strictest license conditions.” He will also have to wear a GPS tracker.

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The iconic 1973 Iggy & the Stooges album Raw Power has been reissued in honor of its upcoming 50th anniversary.

The digital-only package includes newly remastered editions of the album’s original mix, done by the late David Bowie, as well as Iggy Pop‘s updated 1997 mix. You’ll also find the Georgia Peaches live album, recorded during a 1973 show in Atlanta, as well as the digital premiere of the Rare Power collection of outtakes, alternate mixes and rehearsal audio.

Additionally, the reissue will be accompanied by a Dolby Atmos mix of “Search and Destroy,” which Iggy declares, “Sounds like you’re standing on stage with the Stooges, being a part of things.”

Originally released on February 7, 1973, the highly influential Raw Power is a seminal album of proto-punk and helped pioneer the burgeoning punk scene.

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Foo Fighters have added another festival set to their 2023 schedule.

Dave Grohl and company will headline Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival, taking place July 28-30. The bill also includes The Strokes, Weezer, Alanis Morissette and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit FujiRockFestival.com.

Foo Fighters are headlining a number of festivals this year, including Bonnaroo, Boston Calling and Sonic Temple, as part of their live comeback following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last March. There’s no word yet on who will play drums with the Foos for the shows.

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On This Day February 3, 2008…

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers headlined the halftime show at Super Bowl XLII in Phoenix, Arizona, which saw the New York Giants take on the New England Patriots. 

In just over three minutes, the band rocked crowd at University of Phoenix Stadium with a set that included such classics as “American Girl,” “I Won’t Back Down,” “Free Fallin’,” and “Runnin’ Down a Dream.” The show was a warmup to the band’s world tour, which kicked off later that year.

The Giants won the game 17 to 14.

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