Classic Rock News

Joe Cocker is the latest rocker to have his life turned into a film.

Movie producer Lisa Saltzman has acquired the movie rights to a biography called Joe Cocker: With a Lot of Help from His Friends, written by Mark Bego. The book is due November 17 and is the first one that’s been written about the late rocker since his death in 2014.

“Joe Cocker’s story is one of ambition, talent, attainment, debilitating self-esteem, self-destruction, redemption, and finally joy, set in the most exciting and colorful era of popular music. Joe was a unique talent,” says Saltzman. 

She adds, “He lived a bigger-than-life existence, and the film … will show the high points, the low points, the frustrations, crippling battles with his demons, and finally the exhilaration of a life successfully lived.”

The movie is set to be called Joe Cocker: With a Little Help From My Friends, after his iconic cover of The Beatles song and his debut album. It’s not clear if Saltzman will get the rights to Cocker’s music, which also includes songs like “You Are So Beautiful,” “Up Where We Belong,” “You Can Leave Your Hat On,” “Delta Lady” and “Feeling Alright.”

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Elton John’s classic holiday tune “Step into Christmas” turns 50 this year: It was released on November 23, 1973. To celebrate the milestone, a new digital seven-track EP called Step into Christmas has just hit streaming services.

In addition to the 2017 remastered version of “Step into Christmas,” the EP also includes an alternate version of the song Elton sang on The Gilbert O’Sullivan Show in 1973, as well as the song’s original B-side, “Ho! Ho! Ho! (Who’d Be a Turkey at Christmas).”

Other holiday songs on the collection include Elton’s duet with Joss Stone, “Calling It Christmas,” from his 2005 Starbucks compilation album, Elton John’s Christmas Party, and a live version of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” recorded live on December 22, 1973, at London’s Hammersmith Odeon.

The final two tracks are songs that aren’t really about Christmas: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” from Elton’s 1982 album, Jump Up!, and “Cold As Christmas (In the Middle of the Year),” from 1983’s Too Low for Zero.

Elton’s online store also has a selection of holiday merch, including a “Step into Christmas” Christmas sweater and a variety of Christmas ornaments — plus lots of other merch for that Elton fan in your life.

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The upcoming auction of memorabilia, instruments, wardrobe and other items owned by the late ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill just got bigger.

A series of new, iconic items have been added to the sale, which is taking place December 7-9 online and in Dallas. The bass guitar Hill played in ZZ Top’s “Gimme All Your Lovin‘” and “Sharp Dressed Man” videos is now up for grabs and is estimated to bring $15,000 to $20,000. Hill’s custom bass shaped like ZZ Top’s Eliminator hot rod, previously displayed at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, is expected to fetch $40,000 to $60,000.

A conceptual bass guitar made of found objects and parts that were scavenged, and featured in the videos for “Rough Boy” and “Give It Up,” is estimated sell for $10,000 to $15,000. Also up for grabs: animation cells from the 2007 episode of the animated series King of the Hill, in which Dusty played Hank Hill’s cousin.

As previously reported, the auction will feature nearly 1,200 lots, with the highlight being the famous fur-covered bass that Hill played in ZZ Top’s “Legs” video. That’s expected to sell for between $80,000 and $120,000.

A portion of the auction proceeds will be donated to the Recording Academy’s charitable foundation, MusiCares. Fans can check out the items up for bid during special Juliens’ exhibitions, happening at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York’s Times Square November 20-26 and in Dallas November 29-December 7.

More information on the items up for auction can be found at julienslive.com.

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The new trailer for Inside Out 2 is going off the rails with some help from Ozzy Osbourne.

The sequel to the 2015 animated Disney/Pixar film reintroduces us to the mind and emotions of Riley, led by Amy Poehler‘s Joy. However, as Riley enters her teen years, a demolition crew storms Riley’s internal “control room” as Ozzy’s solo classic “Crazy Train” blares in the background.

When the chaos is over, we meet a new emotion: Anxiety, voiced by Stranger Things star Maya Hawke.

Inside Out 2 opens in June.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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You oughta know that Alanis Morissette is going on tour, and she’s bringing along Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.

Morissette’s Triple Moon tour, which also features rising country star Morgan Wade, will kick off June 9 in Phoenix, Arizona, and is right now set to wrap up August 10 in Inglewood, California. 

In a statement, Morissette says, “I am inspired and heartened and feel giddy inside to be going on this upcoming summer tour with Joan and Morgan and all our teams. Can’t wait to see you, can’t wait to perform!”

A Citi presale will start November 14 at 10 a.m. local time via citientertainment.com. Fans who sign up for Morissette’s mailing list at alanis.com by November 15 will be able to access additional presales ahead of the general onsale date: November 17 at 10 a.m. local time at Alanis.com.

Earlier this year, Joan and the Blackhearts opened for Bryan Adams and released a six-track digital EP, Mindsets. The band also appears on Dolly Parton‘s all-star rock album, Rockstar, performing a duet of their 1988 hit “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” That album’s out November 17.

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The final date of KISS‘ End of the Road tour — and supposedly their final concert ever — will be available to fans who can’t make the trek to New York’s Madison Square Garden on December 2.

KISS: END OF THE ROAD will stream live worldwide exclusively on PPV.COM starting at 8 p.m. ET. It’ll also be available on PPV via cable and satellite operators in the U.S. and Canada. 

Tickets for the stream cost $39.99 in the U.S. and Canada, and $14.99 outside North America.

The End of the Road tour started in January of 2019. In 2021, the band predicted it would end in early 2023, but in 2023, they kept on adding shows, finally extending the trek into December.

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On This Day, November 9, 1967 …

The first issue of Rolling Stone magazine was published. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was initially released every two weeks. 

The first cover featured The Beatles’ John Lennon in a costume for the film How I Won the War. Artists featured on early covers included Tina Turner, The Beatles, Janis Joplin and The Doors. 

Although it started as a magazine mostly about music, in the ’70s it expanded to include political coverage, hiring writers like Hunter S. Thompson.

The magazine publishes numerous international editions and is also online.

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During his lifetime, John Lennon said some nasty things about Paul McCartney and his songs, but according to Paul, he’s the one John would turn to when he needed reassurance that he was truly talented.

In a new episode of his McCartney: A Life In Lyrics podcast, Paul discusses writing his 1982 song “Here Today,” which he describes as “a love song” to Lennon. In the course of the conversation, he says John was sometimes very insecure.

“I remember him saying to me, ‘Paul, I worry about how people are gonna remember me when I die.’ And it kinda shocked me. I said, ‘O.K., hold on. Just hold it right there. People are going to think you were great. You’ve already done enough work to demonstrate that.'”

“So I was like his priest, often,” Paul continues. “I’d have to say, ‘My son. You’re great. Don’t worry about,’ or whatever. And he would take it! It’d make him feel better.”

Also in the episode, Paul recalls the “Here Today” line: “What about the night we cried,” which he says was specifically inspired by an incident with John that took place in Florida in the sixties.

“In Key West, there was a hurricane coming and we had to lay low for a couple of days and for some reason, they chose Key West,” Paul explains. “So we were in our little motel room, so we got very drunk and cried about, y’know, I dunno — how we loved each other, or something, I dunno.”

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If can’t make it to San Diego to see Joe Walsh, Stephen Stills and Jeff Lynne‘s ELO perform at the VetsAid 2023 benefit concert on November 12, you’ll now be able to enjoy it online.

Joe Walsh is the driving force behind the VetsAid concerts, which raise money for charities that help veterans. It’s just been announced on Joe’s Instagram that the show will stream live on the Veeps platform November 12 at 5 p.m. PT. Tickets for the livestream cost $24.99, but it’ll be a one-time-only thing: After it airs live you won’t be able to rewatch it.

The concert, which takes place at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in San Diego, also includes The War On Drugs, The Flaming Lips and Lucius.

This year’s concert will specifically help organizations based in, or with operations on the ground in, Southern California. In the seven years Walsh has been holding the VetsAid concerts, the organization has given out $3 million in grants.

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One day, years in the future, a headbanger will be sitting on the British throne.

During his Earthshot Prize awards ceremony in Singapore this week, Prince William revealed the musical tastes of his sons, one of whom will inherit the throne one day. According to the U.K. paper The Express, Prince William told pop group OneRepublic that his youngest son, Prince Louis, is a big fan of their songs.

Then he revealed that his oldest son, Prince George, 10, is an AC/DC fan. After William, George is next in line for the throne, followed by William’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, 8, and then Louis, 5.

So did George get his love for AC/DC from his dad? In 2021, William called AC/DC’s song “Thunderstruck” “the best tonic for a Monday morning,” adding, “It absolutely wakes you up, puts your week in the best mood possible, and you feel like you can take on anything and anyone.”

William also once sang “Livin’ on a Prayer” at a party with Jon Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift — so there’s that.

Princess Charlotte apparently likes Shakira.

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