Classic Rock News

On This Day, November 14, 2006… 

Led Zeppelin and Rod Stewart were among the inductees who entered the U.K. Music Hall of Fame, which honored musicians of all nationalities for their lifetime contributions to music in the United Kingdom

The ceremony took place at Alexandria Palace in London, with Queen’s Roger Taylor inducting Zeppelin and guitarist Jimmy Page on hand to accept the award.

Stewart was inducted by U.K. artist James Morrison, who performed “The First Cut Is the Deepest” and “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy. He accepted his award via satellite from Los Angeles.

Other inductees that year included Bon Jovi, Prince, Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, James Brown and Dusty Springfield, with The Beatles producer George Martin receiving an honorary membership.

The 2006 ceremony was the last one to be held.

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Foo Fighters are releasing their But Here We Are track “The Glass” as a single alongside a cover of the song recorded by Grammy-winning R&B artist H.E.R.

The joint release will premiere on digital outlets this Friday, November 17. It’ll be available as a vinyl single on December 29.

H.E.R. previously joined the Foos to play “The Glass” during Dave Grohl and company’s performance on Saturday Night Live in October.

But Here We Are, the first Foo Fighters album to follow the March 2022 death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, was released in June. It also includes the lead single “Rescued.”

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AC/DC fans want to help the rock band get to #1 for their 50th anniversary.

Back in 2013 for the band’s 40th anniversary, the Facebook fan group AC/DC We Salute You launched a campaign to get the classic AC/DC single “Highway To Hell” to the top of the U.K. chart, ultimately getting it to #4. Now in honor of the half-century milestone, they are trying again.

“We’re going to choose another track and see if we can get 3 places higher for their 50th anniversary,” they write. “Are you in?”

Not long after posting their new mission, a new public Facebook group, AC/DC for Christmas No. 1, launched with the aim of getting the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers the illustrious Christmas chart topper in the U.K. And the group quickly began to take off, now reaching over 1,000 members. 

The page notes, “What better way to celebrate AC/DC’s 50th anniversary than to stick them on top of the Christmas Tree!”

So far the Facebook group hasn’t chosen the song they want to focus on for the #1, but fans have already shared their thoughts. Among the suggestions: “Hells Bells,” “Long Way to The Top” and “Thunderstruck.”

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Judas Priest is getting ready to share another track from their upcoming album, Invincible Shield, which drops March 8. 

The band revealed on Instagram that they’ll drop “Trial By Fire” on Friday, November 17, treating fans to a short snippet of the tune.

This will be the second Invincible Shield song the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have shared. The first single, “Panic Attack,” was released in October.

Judas Priest surprised fans with news of Invincible Shield during their set at Power Trip in Indio, California, in October. It will be their first new album since 2018’s Firepower.

Invincible Shield is available for preorder now.

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John Mellencamp is set to join Steve Earle at Earle’s ninth annual John Henry’s Friends Benefit, taking place December 3 at Town Hall in New York City.

The event will feature performances by Mellencamp and Earle, as well as other special guests. Proceeds from the evening will benefit The Keswell School, an educational program for children and young adults with autism spectrum disorder. 

“The John Henry’s Friends concerts are obviously a labor of love for myself as well as an expression of the generosity of all the performers who have suited up and showed up over the years,” says Earle. “I’m especially grateful for this year’s new friend, John Mellencamp and our other guests which we will announce shortly.”

Tickets for the concert are on sale now.

Previous editions of the John Henry’s Friends Benefit featured performances by Bruce Springsteen, David Byrne, Graham Nash and Lucinda Williams.

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Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler is featured on the just-released live covers album from Zac Brown Band.

From the Road, Vol. 1: Covers features 13 performances recorded in various iconic venues over the past 10 years, including the band’s August 9, 2015, show at Boston’s Fenway Park, where they were joined by Tyler for the Aerosmith classic “Sweet Emotion.” 

The album also features Zac Brown Band’s takes on such classics as Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” The Who’s “Baba O’Reily,” Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” and The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” and “With a Little Help From My Friends,” although the latter is Joe Cocker‘s take on the song.

Zac Brown Band’s From the Road, Vol. 1: Covers is available now.

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Bon Jovi is celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, and fans can now join in the celebration by playing a game of Monopoly. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are releasing a 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of the popular board game, which features highlights from the New Jersey rockers’ career, including legendary concerts all over the world.

The game comes with unique collectable tokens representing the band, including a 40th anniversary Heart & Dagger, the state of New Jersey, the Bon Jovi Skull logo, Jon Bon Jovi’s acoustic guitar, their Diamond Superman logo and the “Have A Nice Day” smirk.

Fans can also celebrate Bon Jovi’s anniversary with their 40th anniversary 2024 calendar featuring over 50 rarely seen or used images of the band, and a centerfold that covers highlights of Bon Jovi’s four-decade career.

Both items are available for preorder now. The Monopoly game is set to ship November 17, while the calendar will ship December 22.

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The Beatles are back on the charts. The legendary band’s new tune, “Now and Then,” debuted at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart this week.

The song, which debuted at #1 on the U.K. charts, uses vocals John Lennon recorded on a demo in the late ’70s, along with guitar the late George Harrison recorded in the mid-’90s, and new recordings from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.  

With the new hit, The Beatles extend their record for the most Hot 100 top 10s among groups, now with 35. The tune is now the band’s 72nd Hot 100 hit, which is the most hits among all bands who play their own instruments.

The last time The Beatles were in the Hot 100 top 10 was in 1996 with “Free as a Bird,” making the new chart placement the longest break between top 10s for any act with sole billing, at 27 years, 10 months and two weeks. 

The new song’s #7 debut comes 59 years, nine months and three weeks after The Beatles’ debut “I Want To Hold Your Hand” became their first charting single, landing at #1. Elton John previously nabbed the record in September 2022 when “Hold Me Closer,” his duet with Britney Spears, debuted in the top 10 51 years, seven months and three weeks after his first hit, “Your Song.” 

The Beatles have now also had a Hot 100 top 10 hit in four decades — the ’60s, ’70s, ’90s and 2020s — making them only the 13th act to do so. They are also only the second band to reach such a milestone, following Aerosmith.

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Billy Joel will end his residency at Madison Square Garden on July 25, with what will be his 150th career performance at the legendary venue. Now, he can boast that all 150 of those shows are sold out.

Billy’s first appearance at the Garden was December 14, 1978. In January of 2015, with the 13th show of his residency, he set a new record of most consecutive performances by an artist at the Garden. In July of 2015, when he played his 65th show at the Garden, he set another record: most lifetime performances there by any artist.

Banners in the rafters of the venue commemorate both of those records and are replaced each month with new numbers, as he continues to rack up additional performances.

Billy’s residency, which started in January of 2014, has sold close to two million tickets. The final dates of the run include November 22, December 19, January 11, February 9, March 28, April 26, May 9, June 8 and July 25.

Billy, however, is continuing to perform at other venues: He and Stevie Nicks will co-headline a show December 8 in Phoenix, and he’ll ring in the New Year at UBS Arena in Belmont, New York. He’ll travel to Tokyo for a one-off show next year, and he’ll also co-headline several shows with Sting.

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Bryan Adams is spending some more time on the road. The singer just announced new 2024 dates for his So Happy It Hurts tour, this time featuring special guests Dave Stewart’s Eurythmics Songbook.

The new leg features 31 dates, kicking off Saturday, January 20, in Billings, Montana. The trek will hit such cities as Austin, Anaheim, Milwaukee, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Newark and more, before wrapping March 20 in Syracuse, New York.

Adams will also be headlining two shows in Mexico — February 6 in Monterrey and February 8 in Mexico City — without Dave Stewart’s Eurythmics Songbook. 

A ticket presale for all U.S. dates kicks off Tuesday, November 14, at 10 a.m., with the general onsale launching Friday, November 17, at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at bryanadams.com.

The tour news comes as Bryan is getting ready to release Live at The Royal Albert Hall, a box set featuring recordings of his three-night stand at the famed London venue in 2022, where he performed one of his classic albums in its entirety each night. The set drops December 8 and is available for preorder now.

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