Classic Rock News

The career of legendary drummer Carl Palmer is being celebrated with a new career-spanning box set.

Carl Palmer Fanfare for the Common Man will consist of three CDs of music from Palmer’s various bands, including the Carl Palmer Band; Emerson, Lake & Palmer; and Asia. There will also be a Blu-ray, The Rhythm of Life, featuring a Palmer-narrated documentary, as well as live performances and behind-the-scenes footage from throughout his career.

But that’s not all. The box set also comes with a 200-page Palmer autobiography that’s filled with some of the rocker’s personal photos.

Carl Palmer Fanfare for the Common Man will be released April 5. It is available for preorder now.

Palmer is currently on tour with his Return of Emerson, Lake & Palmer show, which has him and his band playing alongside rare footage of his late bandmates Keith Emerson and Greg Lake. The tour hits Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, February 15. A complete list of dates can be found at carlpalmer.com.

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Rod Stewart is joining artists like The Beach Boys, Cher, Linda Ronstadt, Stephen Stills and The Beach Boys on the roster of Iconic Artists Group, which acquires and manages the rights to artists’ music and brands. Iconic’s CEO is music industry veteran and manager Irving Azoff.

Rod has sold the rights to his recordings to Iconic, as well as his interest in his music publishing and other rights. Financial details of the deal were not announced, but sources tell the Wall Street Journal that the figure is close to $100 million.

In a statement, Rod said, “This year marks my 60th year in the music industry. The time is right, and I feel fortunate to have found partners in Irving and his team at Iconic that I can entrust with my life’s work and future musical legacy.”

Azoff added, “We are thrilled to welcome one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters of our time, Rod Stewart, to the Iconic family.”

Rod’s new album, Swing Fever, is out on February 23.

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On This Day, February 15, 1979…

At the 21st annual Grammy Awards, Billy Joel won Record and Song of the Year for the love song “Just the Way You Are.”

The track, written for Joel’s first wife and former manager, was the second single off his fifth studio album The Stranger, and was his first U.S. Top 10 single, with the tune peaking at #3. It was also his first gold single.

Over the course of Joel’s career, he has won five Grammy Awards and was awarded a Grammy Legend Award in 1991.

On February 4, 2024, Joel returned to the Grammys to perform “Turn the Lights Back On,” his first new single in 17 years, as well as the classic “You May Be Right.”

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Pearl Jam‘s tour announcement just got a bit sweeter.

The Las Vegas-based shop Pinkbox Doughnuts has announced a new signature treat inspired by the grunge rockers. The Pearl Jam Dark Magic doughnut features a white frosted shell, raspberry jam and chocolate whip, and also includes “dark matter” sprinkles, named after the band’s just-announced upcoming album.

You can grab a Pearl Jam Dark Magic doughnut on February 23 at one of seven participating Pinkbox stores. One random doughnut at each location will be filled with a pink ticket, which will win the buyer a pair of tickets to Pearl Jam’s show in Las Vegas on May 16.

For more info, visit PinkboxDoughnuts.com.

The album Dark Matter drops April 19. Pearl Jam will launch a North American tour May 4 in Vancouver.

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This year marks the 50th anniversary of David Bowie’s eighth studio album, Diamond Dogs, and the milestone is being marked with a new vinyl release.

The record is set to be issued as a limited-edition 50th anniversary half-speed mastered LP and picture disc, both from the original master tapes. They will be released on May 24, 50 years to the day of the original album’s release. 

The news was announced on the 50th anniversary of the Diamond Dogs‘ first single, “Rebel Rebel,” which reached #5 in the U.K. and went on to become a classic Bowie track. 

Diamond Dogs was a commercial success for Bowie, going to #1 in the U.K. and #5 in the U.S. It was certified Gold by the RIAA.

The limited-edition 50th anniversary release of Diamond Dogs is available for preorder now.

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Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen and his wife, Lauren Monroe, are putting on a concert in New York City in March to benefit the city’s firefighters.

The couple’s Raven Drum Foundation is behind the special show taking place March 14, at The Cutting Room, with the pair scheduled to perform a special set featuring Monroe’s original music.

The concert will also include an all-star jam featuring such well-known drummers as KISS’ Peter Criss, Bad Company’s Simon Kirke, Billy Joel‘s former drummer Liberty DeVitto, Widespread Panic’s Duane Trucks and more. The band will also feature Paul Shaffer and Will Lee from The Late Show with David Letterman. 

For the concert, Raven Drum Foundation has teamed up with the nonprofit Friends of Firefighters, an organization established after September 11, 2001, to provide active and retired FDNY firefighters and their families with free, independent and confidential mental health counseling and wellness.

“Friends of Firefighters aligns with our mission by offering mental health support and access to alternative medicine to NYC firefighters at no cost,” Allen and Monroe share. “We’re honored by our legendary artist community’s support for Raven Drum’s first event at The Cutting Room. We’re excited to play in New York, creating a fantastic night of music, strengthening our community bonds, and raising funds and awareness for this vital cause!”

Tickets for the concert are on sale now. VIP tickets are also available, which include a reception, artist meet and greet and an auction. Items up for grabs at the auction include Def Leppard summer tour tickets and meet and greet packages, as well as a fire helmet signed by actor Steve Buscemi.

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Van Morrison has been slowly adding some shows to his schedule, and he’s just announced two new dates in the U.S.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer announced a two-night stand at Bimbo’s 365 club in San Francisco, happening February 25 and 26.

Tickets for the two shows go on sale Friday, February 16, at 10 a.m. PT.

Morrison is on tour promoting his latest release, Accentuate The Positive, which has him covering some of his personal rock ‘n’ roll favorites.

In addition to shows in Ireland and the Netherlands, he’s also set to perform at the Sunset Cultural Center in Carmel-By-The-Sea, California, March 2 and 3 and at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California, February 28 and 29.

A complete list of dates can be found at vanmorrison.com.

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Def Leppard is getting ready to share a classic live concert with fans.

The band announced they will premiere their full 2022 Whisky a Go Go concert on their YouTube channel on Friday, February 16. The stream will begin at 10 a.m. PT and will be available for 24 hours.

The May 2022 concert saw the band play a rare club show, treating fans to such classic Def Leppard tracks as “Animal,” “Love Bites,” “Photograph,” “Rock of Ages,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and more.

Def Leppard is getting ready to hit the road again this summer. They’ll kick off a stadium tour with Journey July 6 in St. Louis, Missouri. The tour features special guests Steve Miller Band, Cheap Trick and Heart on select dates. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.

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Rod Stewart has released a new song and video from his upcoming album, Swing Fever, a collaboration with former Squeeze keyboard player Jools Holland.

The song is “Pennies from Heaven,” a standard first introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1936 movie of the same name. In the video, Rod, wearing sparkly shoes and a shiny blazer, sings the song with Holland’s big band, which includes another former member of Squeeze, drummer Gilson Lavis.

As they perform the upbeat tune, a couple comes out and dances the jive. Then Rod’s wife, Penny Lancaster, appears and begins dancing with the male dancer. The song ends with Rod’s arm around Penny, as confetti rains down and a banner reading “In Rod We Trust” is unfurled.

Swing Fever arrives February 23.

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Billy Joel is once again revisiting the albums from the first half of his career.

After releasing the box set The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 1. in 2021, Joel is now giving fans a chance to purchase those vinyl albums individually. They include 1971’s Cold Spring Harbor, 1974’s Streetlife Serenade, 1976’s Turnstiles, 1977’s The Stranger and 1978’s 52nd Street, plus his first live album, 1981’s Songs in the Attic.

He’s also releasing a previously unreleased concert, Live at the Great American Music Hall – 1975, which will be available for the first time outside the box set.

The double-LP features a June 1975 San Francisco concert from the Streetlife Serenade Tour, with performances of “New York State of Mind,” “Ballad of Billy The Kid,” “The Entertainer” and more.

The albums from The Vinyl Collection, Vol.1 will be released April 5 and are available for preorder now.

Joel followed up The Vinyl Collection, Vol.1 with the November 2023 release of The Vinyl Collection, Vol.2. It featured 1980’s Glass Houses, 1982’s The Nylon Curtain, 1983’s An Innocent Man, 1986’s The Bridge, 1989’s Storm Front and 1993’s The River of Dreams, along with the 2001 instrumental album Fantasies & Delusions and the three-LP live album Billy Joel – Live from Long Island.

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