Classic Rock News

The music world is paying tribute to veteran Los Angeles rock DJ Jim Ladd, who passed away December 17 at the age of 75. The news was confirmed by Sirius XM, where Ladd hosted a show on their Deep Tracks channel. 

Ladd was the inspiration behind Tom Petty’s 2002 track “The Last DJ,” and the late rocker’s Instagram page shared a tribute: “Tom respected and admired Jim Ladd and considered him a friend.” It added that Ladd’s “insights into rock and roll were priceless.” 

The Doors also paid tribute to Ladd, with John Densmore sharing, “There wasn’t a more soulful spinner of music. The songs he played were running through his blood, he cared so much for rock n’ roll.” Robby Keiger added, “He was the best friend in radio The Doors ever had.” 

And Peter Frampton called Ladd a “good friend” and “a champion of great music,” describing him as a “special man with a huge passion for music.”

In other tributes, Steve Van Zandt called Ladd’s passing a “huge loss,” while Grace Slick noted that Ladd’s “curiosity and care could be felt in each of his broadcasts.” Stephen Stills said talking to Ladd “was always a pleasure,” while George Thorogood & The Destroyers wrote they were “deeply saddened” to hear about Ladd’s passing, noting, “You are already missed.”

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On This Day, December 19, 2012 …

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason opened his wallet to save the London music store where he bought his first drum kit. The store, Foote’s, was about to go out of business, so Mason provided the funding it needed to continue.

“One of my great memories of being a young, budding drummer was going to the original [Foote’s] … and buying my very first kit for £7.50,” he told Britain’s ITV news.

Unfortunately, the store closed down in 2022 after more than 100 years in business.

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A new book is set to give fans some insight into the creative process of some of today’s most legendary artists. 

Icons of Rock — In Their Own Words features interviews with huge rock stars like Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Ringo Starr, conducted by Jenny Boyd. Boyd was married to Mick Fleetwood in the late ’70s and is the sister Pattie Boyd, who was married to Clapton and The Beatles‘ George Harrison. 

The book promises “an intimate insight into how some the world’s greatest musicians and producers created some of their greatest work.” It’s based on interviews Boyd did for her Ph.D. dissertation 30 years ago, portions of which were previously featured in the 1992 book Musicians in Tune. The new book has Boyd sharing the complete interviews, with each artist getting a chapter.

Other musicians featured in the book include Fleetwood, Don Henley, Steve Winwood, Stevie Nicks and Joni Mitchell, along with Harrison and other musicians who have passed, like David Crosby, Warren Zevon and Christine McVie, who Boyd dedicates the book to.

“I had spent the last twenty-something years surrounded by talented musicians and had watched them playing their instruments and creating songs,” Boyd writes in the book’s introduction. “I was immersed in their world and had witnessed their creative process first hand … it always left me wondering what it must feel like to be so creative.”

Icons of Rock — In Their Own Words will be released February 13. Boyd will launch the book at the upcoming 50th anniversary NYC Fest for Beatles Fans, which takes place February 9-11.

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U2 has wrapped up their U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency for 2023 and they’re looking back on what’s transpired so far.

The band shared some highlights from the residency on Instagram, set to the 2005 How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb track “City of Blinding Lights,” writing, “See you in 2024…#U2UVSPHERE.”

One person who was there to see U2 wrap up 2023 last weekend was E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt, who shared video of the view from his seats. “U2. F****** amazing,” he wrote, giving credit to James Dolan, CEO of Madison Square Garden, which owns the Sphere, for his “taste, his vision, his creativity, and HIS BALLS!”

U2 launched U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere at The Venetian in September and will wrap the residency on March 2, after 40 shows. A complete list of dates can be found at u2.com.

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Julian Lennon is setting the record straight on any suggestion that he and his brother, Sean Lennon, don’t get along. 

Julian is the son of John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, and Sean is the son of John and Yoko Ono. The subject of their relationship comes up in an interview with Esquire magazine, in which Julian talks about how neither he nor his brother wanted to go to the Get Back premiere back in 2021.

“He felt overwhelming pressure. And I didn’t particularly want to go. But he said he felt obligated to go, so because I love him so much I said, ‘Listen, I’m coming with you. We’ll face the demons together,’” he says. “And it’s funny because there’s always been, especially in the U.K. press, ‘Lennon Sons Feuding,’ this, that. We’ve never had a fight in our life. It’s such bull.”

Julian said he’s shared “lots of happy pictures” of him and his brother to show that love. “This was important for me and for the peace and for family, because there has been friction, no question, in the past between everybody,” he says. “But we’re all getting a bit older, and as we get older we lose people and we realize now what’s most precious in life.”

And that love extends not only to Sean and Yoko, but Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and all The Beatles‘ children. Julian says “it’s a big old, weird family. But as they say, families are always a bit screwed up.”

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Queen’s Brian May wants fans to know the band is not responsible for their label, Universal Music, taking down YouTube videos of their recent Rhapsody tour with Adam Lambert. 

The guitarist shared a post from a fan account, which revealed that Universal and YouTube “are now coming for everyone who posts concert videos of Queen and Adam,” noting that most of their concert videos have been deleted. But apparently this was news to May.

“i’ve been watching this for a few days, and I’m very concerned,” May writes, sharing that he’s having management investigate “if there is a reason for Instagram and Universal suddenly becoming so Draconian.” 

“The decision to take these videos down certainly hasn’t come from us, the band,” he explains.

May then offered up Christmas wishes to his fans.

“In common with many of you, I don’t find it easy to come up to the level of frenetic joyfulness that is portrayed in the media as requisite for this time of year,” he writes. “But let’s all look around us, and look for ways to make other people’s Christmases as Jolly as possible. Apart form anything else, it’s good therapy!”

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The Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards turned 80 on Monday, December 18, and he received loads of well-wishes from his bandmates.

The official Rolling Stones Instagram account shared a video montage featuring footage of Richards over the years, with the clip kicking off with Mick Jagger singing “Happy Birthday” to the rocker. 

“Happy birthday to the one and only @officialkeef!” reads the post’s caption. “Wishing you the most special of days Keith! Keep on rockin.” 

Mick also posted his own birthday message with a smiling photo of him and Keith and the caption, “Happy birthday @officialkeef ! Love Mick,” while Ron Wood shared several photos of them together, writing, “Happy 80th birthday @officialkeef!”

Keith’s birthday was also acknowledged on the late Charlie Watts’ Instagram page, with several photos of the bandmates together.

“Wishing Keith Richards a very happy 80th birthday today!” reads the caption, which goes on to share a quote Charlie said about Keith, calling him “the most interesting, the most different of us all.”

“He’s a man of vision, and one of the few people who hasn’t really changed over the years,” the post continues. “Wherever he goes, whatever he does, he’s always Keith.”

Meanwhile, Richards used his Instagram page to wish his wife, Patti Hansen, a happy anniversary, sharing a photo from their wedding day and writing, “For Patricia, Happy 40th Anniversary! I love you. Keith.”  

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Bob Dylan quietly released an album of studio outtakes earlier this month, but good luck trying to get your hands on it.

Rolling Stone reports that a limited number of copies of Dylan’s 50th Anniversary Collection 1973 were released to random record stores in Europe, in order to comply with European “use it or lose it” copyright laws, which say that after 50 years, any sound recordings can become public domain if they aren’t used.

The latest album of outtakes is from the Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid soundtrack sessions. While some fans have been searching record stores trying to find a copy, others are heading to eBay, with the few available copies going for as much as $500. 

This isn’t the first time Dylan has released an outtakes album to comply with European copyright laws. He previously released an 18-disc set featuring outtakes from Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. He’s also released other limited-edition CDs to European stores without any announcement.

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Fans of Faces should get ready to hear some previously unreleased music next year.

In an interview with Mojo, Faces specialist Rob Caiger reveals that the band — Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and Kenney Jones — plans to kick off a reissue campaign next year, with plenty of material from their vaults.

Caiger put together Faces’ recent Record Store Day release, Had Me A Real Good Time… With Faces Live In Session At The BBC 1971-1973. Since 2020 he’s been looking through the surviving members’ personal archives, and working with the estates of the late Ian McLagan and Ronnie Lane. He says there are plenty of photos and songs to include on remasters.

“When I say there’s a wealth of unreleased material – there’s a wealth of unreleased material,” Caiger shares. “You can only fit so much on an LP and singles. There’s rehearsals, outtakes, unreleased songs, session multitracks, you name it. It was a joy and a privilege, really.” 

He adds that Wood actually “has the most incredible, organized archive,” noting that lots of the stuff is on tape so “this stuff has never leaked out and no-one’s heard it, that’s why it’s exciting.”

And it sounds like the surviving members are excited by what’s in store. “The guys are signing off on everything, and it doesn’t come out unless they say so,” Caiger says. “They’re absolutely engaged, enthusiastic and totally into it. If you’re going to do this, this is the one time to do it properly.”

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Nikki Sixx doesn’t seem to be clamoring for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to induct Mötley Crüe.

In a social media post, the bassist shares that he thinks “people get too worked up” about the Rock Hall.

“If you get in that’s cool and if not, it’s not a big deal,” Sixx writes. “It’s not some elite club that defines you.”

“It’s an award,” he continues. “None of us hopefully make music just for awards. I do like the idea of jamming with other musicians at the ceremony.”

Mötley Crüe’s been eligible for induction since 2006.

While he may not be preparing a Rock Hall acceptance speech anytime soon, Sixx has been working on new music with Mötley, which he recently teased would be released in 2024. The band will close out 2023 with a New Year’s Eve concert in Palm Springs, California.

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