Classic Rock News

Bruce Springsteen released his 12th studio album, Letters to You, his first with The E Street Band since 2014.  

Inspired by the death of a former bandmate, it’s a meditation on regret, aging and death. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, making Springsteen the first act to have at least one new, top-five charting album in each of the last six decades. It was also his 21st top-five album. 

Letters to You was recorded over five days at Springsteen’s home studio in New Jersey, with three of the tracks, “If I Was a Priest,” “Janey Needs a Shooter” and “Song for Orphans,” originally written for Springsteen’s 1973 debut, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.

Due to the pandemic, Springsteen was unable to tour on the record. He finally launched a new tour in February, 2023, with several Letters to You songs played during the set. Springsteen was forced to postpone the remainder of the tour to 2024 in order to deal with peptic ulcer disease.

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Rocker Bret Michaels has a new dog named … Bret Michaels.

The Nebraska Humane Society shared on Facebook that the Poison frontman just adopted a six-year-old husky, named Bret Michaels, who was actually a hero.

The organization explained that a trio of kittens was recently brought in and one immediately needed blood to treat flea anemia.  Cats need specific blood types and couldn’t wait for other cats to be tested. Luckily, dog Bret Michaels had recently had bloodwork done so they knew he was a match and after the first transfusion the kitten was doing better.

The Humane Society then shared in an update that dog Bret Michaels has found a home with the rock star, who loved hearing about the pooch’s story.

“One phone call later and guess who’s gonna be living the rock star life from here on out? That’s right! Bret Michaels (the man) is adopting Bret Michaels (the dog)!,” they wrote, adding, “We can’t wait to see how he thrives in his new home, we just hope it doesn’t get too confusing when someone tells Bret Michaels to fetch!”

On Instagram, rock star Bret Michaels posted a photo of both his dog namesake and the kitten, Roses & Thorn (likely after the band’s hit “Every Rose has Its Thorn”) noting, “It takes a village of awesomeness & now I have a new mission…to find an incredible home for the kitten!”

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Foghat is gearing up for the release of their new studio album, Sonic Mojo, and they’re giving fans yet another preview of what to expect. The band has released the third single from the record, “I Don’t Appreciate You,” written by drummer and founding member Roger Earl.  

“This song was written about the most obnoxious people in our lives, but in the most polite-ful way,” Earl shares. “And as our lead singer Scott Holt says when he announces the song onstage, ‘It is the most polite F/U song you will ever hear!’”

You can listen to “I Don’t Appreciate You” now via digital outlets and watch the video you YouTube.

Sonic Mojo, Foghat’s first new album in seven years, is due out November 10 and the band will be celebrating with two record release shows. The first is happening November 12 at The Iridium in New York City, followed by a November 17 show at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, California. 

Foghat has several other concerts on the books for 2023; even after more than 50 years with the band, the 77-year-old Earl wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’m going to roll till I’m old and rock till I drop,” Earl tells ABC Audio. “I love what I do and I play in a great band. And when I can’t play anymore, I guess that’s when it’ll end.” 

A complete list of Foghat dates can be found at foghat.com.

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Fresh off the release Hackney Diamonds, The Rolling Stones‘ first new album of original material in 18 years, frontman Mick Jagger showed off his comedy skills with a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live on Saturday, October 21, featuring host and musical guest Bad Bunny.

Jagger appeared in two sketches. The first revolved around the taping of a Latin soap opera, in which Punkie Johnson was cast even though she didn’t speak Spanish. Jagger, in a white suit and fake mustache, popped in at the end to break up a fight between brothers Bad Bunny and SNL cast member Marcello Hernández by slapping them around.

In the second, Jagger played “Sister Kevin,” a man posing as a nun to sleep with the other nuns, although throughout the sketch it was implied that Bad Bunny was the imposter.

Lady Gaga, who performed with The Stones at their Hackney Diamonds record release party on Thursday, October 19, also made a surprise appearance on the show, introducing Bad Bunny as musical guest. Plus, Pedro Pascal turned up during the monologue and in a sketch.

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The Rolling Stones’ new album, Hackney Diamonds, is out now. It’s the first record they’ve made without drummer Charlie Watts, although he does appear on the songs “Live by the Sword” and “Mess It Up.”

It’s been over two years since Charlie’s death, and in a new interview, Mick Jagger opens up about what he misses the most about his late bandmate.

“It’s a couple of years now, and I still think about Charlie a lot,” Jagger tells The Guardian. “I miss his laconic humor. His taste in music. His elegance. His don’t-care attitude – he didn’t get intense. Keith (Richards) and I get a bit intense.”

Regarding that intensity, Mick says he’s trying to be a bit more like Watts.

“I’m not as intense as I used to be,” he says. “I think about him when I’m playing, and what he would have played; whether he’d have liked this song, because I’d always bounce things off him. I’d be playing him the silly pop songs of the moment, and he’d love all that.” 

Losing friends is hard and Mick says it doesn’t get any easier the older you get. 

“But I hate to say this: as you get older, a lot of your friends die,” he says. “There’s a lot of people around your age, they’re dying all the time. I don’t have any friends older than me, only one. Apart from the band, all my friends are much younger.” He added, “It’s easier that way!”

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David Lee Roth has shared another new song. The former Van Halen frontman has released two versions of the song “The S*** that Killed Elvis” — an “unplugged” and a “technicolor” version.

Roth first mentioned the song in a 2013 Rolling Stone interview, noting it was part of a group of songs he recorded with guitarist John 5, now with Mötley Crüe, for a planned jukebox musical named Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bar & Grill.

The track is the second unreleased song Roth’s shared this month. On Friday, October 13, he released the tune “Manda Bala,” which translates to “send a bullet.”

And fans seem to be loving the new track. “Sensational! The Diamond gets better & better !” one fan commented, while another said it was “Catchy as s***.”

Another wondered if all this music is a tease of bigger things to come, writing, “Will we be seeing a new David Lee Roth album?”

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Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic look back at their days in Nirvana in an upcoming episode of Conan O’Brien‘s podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.

The conversation, which also features In Utero producer Steve Albini, will premiere Monday, October 23. You can check out a preview clip now via Billboard.

In the clip, Grohl reflects on how young he, Novoselic and Kurt Cobain were at the time of Nirvana’s explosion following the release of their 1991 album Nevermind.

“We were kids,” Grohl says. “So when you talk about the amount of time that’s gone by, to me it’s not even so much about the years, it’s about the experiences that just kind of led, one after another, going from three kids that were basically living or touring out of a van to then becoming a huge band.”

Grohl and Novoselic’s appearance on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend leads up to the 30th anniversary reissue of In Utero, which drops Friday, October 27. The expanded collection includes remastered audio of the original 1993 record, which would turn out to be Nirvana’s final studio album, along with B-sides and previously unreleased live recordings.

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The Black Crowes have shared one of the unreleased recordings from the upcoming box set celebrating their sophomore album, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. 

Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson have released their take on the Memphis soul classic “99 Pounds,” one of 14 previously unreleased recordings featured on the set. The original song was recorded by Ann Peebles and appears on her 1972 album, Straight From The Heart.

“I love Ann Peebles, she’s one of my favorite singers of all time,” Chris shares. “And that’s just a rad song … We always just tried to do different songs that we loved. I always thought it was cool to hip people to stuff they didn’t know and to artists they didn’t know.” 

You can listen to “99 Pounds” now via digital outlets and on YouTube.

The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion box set comes out December 15 as a four-LP and three-CD set, featuring unreleased studio recordings, rare B sides, a 1993 performance from Houston’s Sam Houston Coliseum and a newly remastered version of the original album.

Both come with a reproduction of the original 132-page promotional hymn book that came with the album, lithographs of classic images from the original album, photo sessions and more. 

It is available for preorder now.

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Post Malone has added another grunge cover to his repertoire.

The “Circles” star put his spin on Alice in Chains‘ “Them Bones” during a recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show. You can watch the acoustic-led performance, which also features a backing choir, streaming now on YouTube.

You may recall Post’s viral Nirvana covers set, which he performed virtually with Travis Barker during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s also covered Pearl Jam‘s “Better Man.”

Alice in Chains, meanwhile, recently wrapped a fall tour, which included shows opening for Guns N’ Roses.

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Van Morrison is giving fans another preview of his upcoming album, Accentuate The Positive, which drops November 3.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just released his take on Little Richard’s classic “Lucille,” turning it into a duet with blues musician Taj Mahal. The pair previously worked together on the song “How Can A Poor Boy,” which was featured on Morrison’s 2015 album Duets: Re-Working the Catalogue. 

You can listen to “Lucille” now via digital outlets and YouTube.

Accentuate the Positive, Morrison’s 45th studio album, has him covering some of his personal rock ‘n’ roll favorites, like the already released singles “Shakin’ All Over,” originally recorded by Johnny Kidd, and “Problems,” made famous by The Everly Brothers in 1958.

Morrison is set to celebrate the release of the new album with a series of concerts. He’ll headline three hometown shows at Limelight in Belfast, Ireland, November 3, 4 and 5, and two shows at London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, November 27 and 28. 

Accentuate the Positive is available for preorder now.

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