Classic Rock News

The 50-year career of George Thorogood & The Destroyers is being celebrated by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with a Legends of Rock exhibit.

Launching Tuesday, December 12, the exhibit will feature wardrobe, instruments, gear and more from the band’s half a century career.

Some of the items featured in the exhibit include: Thorogood’s Gibson ES-125TDC electric guitar and his custom faux snakeskin jacket, the late Hank Carter’s Selmer Super Action Series II alto saxophone, the Checker Marathon roof sign from the taxi the band drove during their 50 States/50 Dates tour, and a speaker that was part of the band’s original P.A. system.

“For the past fifty years, we’ve spent nearly every night making music,” Thorogood shares. “According to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, we were also making history. Our heart and soul have been in this since day one; rock fans recognize that. The band and I are enormously humbled by this honor.”

The new exhibit follows a series of other 50th anniversary celebrations, including a sold-out November event at the Grammy Museum that featured a conversation with the band and a live performance.

George Thorogood & The Destroyers launched their live career with a show at The University of Delaware’s Lane Hall on December 1, 1973.

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On This Day, December 12, 2012… 

12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief was held at New York’s Madison Square Garden to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, which struck portions of the Northeastern United States, the Caribbean and the Mid-Atlantic in late October 2012. 

The concert featured performances by Bruce Springsteen, The Who, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, The Rolling Stones, Roger Waters with Eddie Vedder, Coldplay with R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe and more.

Paul McCartney closed the show, where he was joined by the surviving members of Nirvana, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and touring guitarist Pat Smear, for their first performance together in 18 years.

The concert was broadcast live in the U.S. on a variety of networks, including HBO, AMC, and a documentary, DVD and CD of the concert was also released.

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A new book about the late Derek and the Dominos drummer Jim Gordon is due out in February, and it already has some superstar fans. 

Drums & Demons: The Tragic Journey of Jim Gordon by Joel Selvin was made with the cooperation of Gordon’s family. It focuses not only on his music career, but also his mental illness, which led to him being incarcerated for the murder of his mother.

Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart describes Gordon as “one of the rare players who danced on the edge and knew the secrets,” noting that after reading the book he “stared slack-jawed out at space trying to come to grips with this amazing, tragic story.”

“Joel’s book is a fascinating, well-written period piece describing the L.A. session scene in the ‘70s,” Pete Thomas, drummer for Elvis Costello & the Attractions, shares. “Most drummers have gone a bit off the rails at some point in their careers but sadly things went very wrong for Jim. Joel describes this aspect of Jim’s life in a very thoughtful and sympathetic way.”

Drums & Demons: The Tragic Journey of Jim Gordon will be released February 27. It is available for preorder now. 

And for fans who want to get a taste of Gordon’s drumming, a new Spotify playlist is available featuring highlights of his work, including Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations,” John Lennon’s “Power to the People,” Eric Clapton’s “After Midnight” and Gordon Lightfoot’s “Sundown.”

Gordon passed away behind bars on March 13 at the age of 77.

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The estate of the late Ramones frontman Joey Ramone has teamed with the Sweet Relief Music Fund for an auction of clothing and memorabilia to help raise money for D Generation frontman Jesse Malin’s medical care.

Malin suffered a spinal stroke in May and is currently unable to walk. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, he reveals that he’s undergoing treatment in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which includes physical therapy and stem-cell treatment.

The auction features several items of clothing worn by Joey, including band T-shirts of The Who, Soundgarden and Murphy’s Law and a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt, plus a Joey Ramone poster and vinyl pack.

The auction is now live, with bidding open until December 21.

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Poison frontman Bret Michaels is set to team with country star Chris Janson for a new episode of CMT Crossroads. 

CMT Crossroads: Bret Michaels & Chris Janson will feature the pair collaborating on each other’s songs, including Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” “Talk Dirty To Me” and “Your Mama Don’t Dance,” and Chris’ “Fix a Drink,” “Good Vibes” and “Buy Me A Boat.”

“CMT Crossroads with my friend Chris Janson was a bucket list and nothing but a good time,” Michaels shares. “We brought nothing but hits and an absolute game-changer of fun, big energy and what may be the biggest, rowdiest & most good-time lovin’ fans.” 

Janson adds, “This Crossroads is pure rock and roll. What a blast to do this with a hero and friend, Bret Michaels. Two good buddies, having nothing but a good time, literally. Tune in, and turn it up!”

CMT Crossroads: Bret Michaels & Chris Janson airs Wednesday, December 20, at 9 p.m. ET on CMT.

For more information, visit cmt.com.

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Paul McCartney is celebrating the third anniversary of his solo album McCartney III with a special limited edition reissue.

McCartney III — 3×3 Edition will be released Friday, December 15, in three randomly distributed configurations, each featuring a different multicolored vinyl and unique special extra volume. 

The three editions include a tri-color vinyl with the draft lyrics to “Pretty Boys,” a three-striped vinyl with a hand-drawn sketch of the album’s artwork and a swirl vinyl edition that comes with the draft lyrics for “The Kiss of Venus.” 

All three feature new cover art and a poster of a hand-sketched draft of the original artwork, done by Ed Ruscha.

McCartney III – 3×3 Edition is available for preorder now. 

McCartney III, released in December 2020, was the third album in the former Beatles‘ trilogy of solo releases, following 1970’s McCartney and 1980’s McCartney II. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer wrote, produced and performed all the instruments on the album.

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Rush’s Geddy Lee wrapped the North American leg of his My Effin’ Life book tour with an extra surprise for Rush fans. The rocker’s appearance at Massey Hall in Toronto on Thursday, December 8, featured a very special guest, his Rush bandmate Alex Lifeson.  

Fan-shot footage posted to YouTube shows Lifeson signing in for duty, with the crowd going wild with applause and cheers as his name appeared onscreen. 

According to the Canadian outlet The Globe and Mail, the pair chatted about their history, sharing stories of the band’s formation and their first meeting with drummer Neil Peart. They also briefly discussed Peart’s battle with cancer and the band’s final tour.

“Towards the end, it became sadder it was coming to a close,” Lifeson shared.

As for the big question of whether they plan to perform together again, they didn’t make any formal announcements, but they did suggest that it may happen at some point. 

While this was the final North American stop on the My Effin’ Life book tour, Geddy still has a few more stops to go. The tour hits Sheffield, England, on Wednesday, December 13.

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Warren Haynes hosted his 32nd annual Christmas Jam in Asheville, North Carolina, on Saturday, December 9, and fans were treated to a whole host of one-of-a-kind collaborations.

One of the highlights came when Haynes’ band Gov’t Mule teamed with Slash, Myles Kennedy and ZZ Top legend Billy F Gibbons for a nine-minute cover of the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic “Simple Man.” 

According to setlist.fm, Govt Mule’s set featured covers of Bad Company’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” AC/DC‘s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike,” Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” with Slash and Kennedy.

Gibbons joined the band for a set of ZZ Top covers, including “Sharp Dressed Man,” “La Grange” and “Blue Jeans Blues.”

Christmas Jam also featured performances by Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, Clutch and others, with proceeds from the concert benefitting Asheville Habitat for Humanity and BeLoved Asheville. Haynes took to Instagram to thank fans for their support.

“Christmas Jam Family, words cannot convey the heartfelt appreciation we hold for each of you, transforming this Christmas Jam into such a powerful experience,” he shared. “Your contribution to the Asheville community, through the meaningful efforts of @ashevillehabitat & @belovedasheville, will leave an indelible mark for generations to come.”

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Like a number of pop stars in the ’80s, Bryan Adams was friendly with Princess Diana. While he insists they were never more than friends, he says their relationship was one of the highlights of his entire life.

“We had a lot of really, really good conversations, I have to tell you. In fact it’s strange and surreal to think about,” Bryan tells the U.K. paper The Times. “I really, really liked Diana, she was an amazing woman and a super-great inspiration. Meeting her was truly one of the greatest things that ever happened to me.”

In 1984, Bryan wrote a song called “Diana,” in which he seemingly pleads with the princess to leave Prince Charles and run away with him. When he eventually met Princess Diana in real life, he mentioned that song, and she told him, “I’d like to hear it again.” He sent her a copy, she invited him to tea, and that’s how they became friendly.

When asked if he tried to “save” Diana, he replies, “Uh-oh,” gets quiet and then says, “Maybe, a bit.”

“When I first went round to [Kensington Palace] she wasn’t, like, ‘I really need to talk to somebody,’ and you don’t bulldoze into someone’s life wanting to know everything in the first ten minutes,” he explains. “It was, ‘Let’s have a cup of tea.’ But later the more friendly we got the more I learnt what was really going on [in her life]. ”

He notes that he stopped performing “Diana” after her death in 1997 out “of respect to her and her boys.”

Bryan will kick off a new U.S. tour in January. He just released the Live at the Royal Albert Hall box set, which documents the three shows he performed at the legendary London venue last year.

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Earlier this year, Metallica announced For Whom the Band Tolls! — a competition for college and high school marching bands. Now, the metal legends have unveiled the contest’s finalists.

For the competition, schools across the U.S. submitted videos of their marching bands performing renditions of Metallica songs. A panel of professional judges has selected five finalists in five different categories: Division 1 college, Division 2 and 3 college, and small, medium and large high schools. The Metallica members will pick a winner in each category.

The Division 1 college winner will earn $75,000 in musical instruments and equipment. Metallica will award the Division 2 and 3 college winners with $40,000 in prizing, and $15,000 for the winner of each high school category.

Additionally, you can cast your vote for your favorite college and high school entries. Whichever ensembles get the most votes will win the “fan favorite” prize of $10,000.

For more info, visit MetallicaMarchingBand.com.

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