Classic Rock News

There’s no doubt that artificial intelligence is changing the music industry. For one example, watch the video for Billy Joel‘s new song, “Turn the Lights Back On.” It uses what’s described as “groundbreaking technology” from a company called Deep Voodoo to transform Billy from the 74-year-old man he is today to the man he was in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. 

The video starts with a shot of the sheet music of “Famous Last Words,” the last song on Billy’s last pop album, 1993’s River of Dreams. It then shows him performing the song in the present day on an empty stage in a theater.

As he continues to sing the song, he suddenly transforms into how he looked in the ’70s, and then he turns into ’80s-era Billy, around the time of “Uptown Girl.” Next, he’s wearing shades and looks like he did in the early ’90s. As the clip ends, Billy is back to the way he looks now, and we see real-life footage of him through the years.

The video for “Turn the Lights Back On” was co-directed by Freddy Wexler, who also produced the song and co-wrote it with Billy, Arthur Bacon and Wayne Hector.

“Turn the Lights Back On” has returned Billy to the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts — as an artist, not just a writer — for the first time since 1998.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 18 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of KISS‘ self-titled debut album, which included such songs as “Strutter,” “Black Diamond” and “Deuce.” But while those songs may be KISS classics today, The Starchild Paul Stanley says those tunes didn’t exactly take off out of the gate. 

Stanley tells ABC Audio that it wasn’t until their 1975 live release, KISS Alive!, that fans started to really appreciate the tunes on their early records.

“KISS Alive! was really where those songs came to life,” he shares. “We were becoming well known for our live show, but our record sales didn’t reflect that until KISS Alive! … many of those songs from the first album have been staples in our concerts ever since.” 

While KISS just said goodbye to the road in December, they are far from over, with plans for a hologram show in 2027. And for Stanley, the idea of KISS still being around 50 years later is something he never could have imagined.

“There was no precedent for a band going much beyond five years,” he says. He notes that when they started out “music was still at a point where the audience outgrew it, or the musicians outgrew it.”

“At that point back then, to think of being a band for 50 years, you might as well think about breathing underwater. It was inconceivable,” he shares. 

KISS’ debut album wasn’t exactly a hit when it was first released in 1974. In fact, it only sold about 75,000 copies. It wasn’t until it was rereleased in 1997 that it was certified Gold by the RIAA.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Brian Wilson, co-founder of the Beach Boys, has been has been placed under a conservatorship, his longtime manager, Jean Sievers, confirmed in a statement to KABC-TV.

The statement says that the decision was made after Brian’s wife Melinda passed away, noting that Sievers and Wilson family representative LeeAnn Hard will be his co-conservators. 

“This decision was made to ensure that there will be no extreme changes to the household and Brian and the children living at home will be taken care of and remain in the home,” the statement reads.  It goes on to say that they will be under the care of Wilson’s housekeeper, Gloria Ramos, and “the wonderful team at the house who have been in place for many years helping take care of the family.” 

It adds, “Brian will be able to enjoy all of his family and friends and continue to work on current projects as well as participate in any activities he chooses.”

Brian announced on Instagram that his wife Melinda had passed away on January 30 at the age of 77, writing, “Melinda was more than my wife. She was my savior.”

The couple married in 1995 and adopted five children together. She was credited with helping separate Wilson from his former psychologist, Eugene Landy.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Joan Jett is one of the many female musicians featured in an upcoming Rock & Roll Hall of Fame exhibit titled Revolutionary Women in Music: Left of Center.

In addition to Jett, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with her band The Blackhearts in 2015, the exhibit will showcase artifacts and items related to such artists as Meg White, Natalie Merchant, Siouxsie Sioux, Liz Phair, Beyoncé, Pink, Queen Latifah, Ani DeFranco, Sleater-Kinney, Christina Aguilera and Suzanne Vega.

“As the saying goes, well-behaved women rarely make history — and revolutionary women have often used music and lyrics to take action, convey truth, and call for change,” says Shelby Morrison, the Rock Hall’s VP of curatorial operations. “For generations, women have fought against socially constructed gender norms to obtain equal social, political, and economic freedoms, and this exhibit, which has been decades in the making, will tell this story in a way that has never been done before.”

Revolutionary Women in Music: Left of Center will open March 8 at the Rock Hall’s Cleveland museum. On March 7, the Rock Hall will introduce the exhibit with an event featuring 2021 Hall of Fame inductee Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go’s, Garbage‘s Shirley Manson and Lisa Loeb.

For more info, visit RockHall.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

After being missing for more than 50 years, Paul McCartney’s long-lost Höfner has been found.

The Lost Bass Project has been searching for McCartney’s bass since 2018. Back in September it took the search global, determined to find the instrument, which has been described as “the most important bass in history.”

McCartney purchased the bass in Hamburg, Germany, in 1961 and used it to write such classics as “Love Me Do” and “She Loves You.” Initially it was believed to have last been seen in 1969, following the filming of Get Back, but a tip led to the discovery that it had actually been stolen in 1972 from a truck parked in Notting Hill, West London. 

On Wednesday McCartney announced on his website that the bass is finally back in his possession.

“Following the launch of last year’s Lost Bass project, Paul’s 1961 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar, which was stolen in 1972, has been returned,” the post reads. “The guitar has been authenticated by Höfner and Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved.”

“We are extremely proud that we played a major part in finding the Lost Bass,” The Lost Bass Project shared on its site. “It has been a dream since 2018 that it could be done. Despite many telling us that it was lost forever or destroyed, we persisted until it was back where it belonged.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

When Neil Young & Crazy Horse announced their upcoming tour, they revealed they’ll be releasing a new album, FU##IN’ UP. Well, now we know a little bit more about the record.

The release has Young and his legendary band, currently made up of Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina, Micah Nelson and Nils Lofgren, sharing nine new recordings of old Young & Crazy Horse tunes. All the songs have been given new titles, with the exception of  “Farmer John,” a song originally recorded in 1959 by Don “Sugarcane” Harris and Dewey Terry and then covered by The Premiers in 1964.

“In the spirit it’s offered, we made this for the Horse lovers,” Young shares. “I can’t stop it. The Horse is runnin’. What a ride we have. I don’t want to mess with the vibe, and I am so happy to have this to share.”

A clear vinyl two-LP limited edition of FU##IN’ UP will be available on Record Store Day, April 20, and comes with a litho print. The black vinyl, CD and digital edition will be released April 26.

Young & Crazy Horse recently announced dates for the Love Earth Tour, which kicks off with two nights in San Diego, April 24 and 25. Tickets to the show come with a physical CD of the album. A complete list of dates can be found at livenation.com.

Here are the tracks on FU##IN’ UP:

“City Life”
“Feels Like A Railroad”
“Heart Of Steel”
“Broken Circle”
“Valley Of Hearts”
“Farmer John”
“Walkin’ In My Place”
“To Follow One’s Own Dream”
“Chance On Love”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ian Hunter released his guest-filled album Defiance Part 1 last April, and now, almost a year later, he’s ready to unleash Part 2.

The Mott The Hoople frontman will release Defiance Part 2: Fiction on April 19 — and just like with his last record, he’s enlisted some of his A-list friends for the project. 

Defiance Part 2 will once again feature the late Jeff Beck and the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, as well as Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, Stone Temple Pilots’ Dean and Robert DeLeo and Johnny Depp, who also created the album’s cover.

New guests on the album include Def Leppard’s Phil Collen, Queen’s Brian May, Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen and Tom Petersson, The Black Crowes’ Chris and Rich Robinson, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready and Matt Cameron, Lucinda Williams and Heartbreakers‘ Benmont Tench.

Hunter is giving fans their first preview of the record with the release of the new song “Precious,” which features Hawkins on drums, Elliott on background vocals and May on guitar. You can stream the song now via digital services and on YouTube.

And Hunter has plans for even more music, revealing he’s already hard at work on Defiance Part 3.

“I never initiated this,” Hunter says. “It just kind of just happened and it turned out great. So I’m going to write some more songs and we’ll see what happens again.”

Defiance Part 2: Fiction is available for preorder now.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Record Store Day has announced the list of exclusive releases for its 2024 event, taking place in independent record stores on April 20. Here are some of the offerings that will be available this year:

Two George Harrison albums, Wonderwall Music and Electronic Sound, will be released in limited Zoetrope picture disc pressings, part of a Dark Horse Records and Record Store Day partnership that plans to release Zoetrope picture disc pressings of the late musician’s entire catalog.

The Who is releasing the 1976 compilation The Story of The Who on colored pink and green vinyl. This is the album’s first official U.S. release, and the first time it’s been available globally since 1989.

Grateful Dead is releasing the live recording Nightfall of Diamonds for the first time on 180g vinyl. The four-LP set features a complete show from October 16, 1989, with performances of such songs as “Uncle John’s Band,” “Dark Star” and more. 

Plus, there will be two releases by The Rolling Stones. The band’s debut album, The Rolling Stones UK, is being released on 180g blue and black swirled vinyl in a special bespoke package. They will also release Live at Racket, NYC, a recording of their October 2023 Hackney Diamonds album release concert, previously only available as a bonus CD on the live edition of Hackney Diamonds. 

RSD 2024 will also feature exclusive releases from U2, The Beatles, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Yes, Def Leppard, Queen, Ramones, The Black Crowes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, David Bowie, Talking Heads and more, including a Lou Reed tribute album featuring newly recorded covers from Keith Richards, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and others.

For the full list of releases and participating stores, visit RecordStoreDay.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

You can now bring Mötley Crüe home sweet home in action figure form.

The toy company Super7 is releasing plastic recreations of Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, Tommy Lee and Mick Mars, complete with “the infamous makeup, the big hair, and the stage image that defined Mötley Crüe in the 1980s.”

Each figure stands 3.75 inches tall and costs $20. You can also buy a four-pack featuring all members for $80, which may be the closest thing you’ll get to a reunion of the classic Mötley lineup nowadays — the band’s been involved in legal action with Mars following the guitarist’s 2022 retirement from touring, which ultimately led to his departure from the group.

To buy your own Mötley Crüe action figures, visit Super7.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Queen has announced a special Record Store Day release of the track “Cool Cat,” a B-side from their 10th studio album, Hot Space.

The tune, written and performed solely by Freddie Mercury and John Deacon, will be released as a limited-edition, 7-inch pink vinyl for Record Store Day, April 20, with a previously unreleased instrumental version of the song on side B. It will be the first time the tune’s ever been released as a single. 

“Cool Cat” has recently seen a resurgence thanks to its appearance in an ad for Amazon Prime, which was directed by Olivia Wilde. The clip features a young girl who is inspired by images of Mercury to embrace her own unique style. 

Originally released in 1982, “Cool Cat” was the B-side to “Las Palabras De Amor,” which was a top 20 hit in the U.K. Both songs appeared on Hot Space, which also featured the hit tracks “Under Pressure” and “Body Language.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.