Classic Rock News

Jon Bon Jovi and football have long gone hand in hand: He once owned Arena Football League champions Philadelphia Soul; he and others unsuccessfully tried to buy the Buffalo Bills in 2014; and he’s also a pal of Patriots owner Robert Kraft. So maybe it wasn’t so odd that he was seen at Notre Dame football training camp Sunday giving the first team a pep talk.

Jon, whose son Jesse Bongiovi once played for the Irish, gave the team some good advice, reports Notre Dame Insider. Senior lineback Jack Kiser told the publication, “Him being a Notre Dame parent, the first thing he said was, ‘Thank your parents.’ But then he just talked about, ‘Live in the moment. Don’t take this for granted. So, just enjoy every day, and the dog days of camp are not too bad.’”

Kiser also said that Jon reminded the players that never again will they “be around a group of 100 … guys that we consider our brothers, our closest friends.” Jesse, who was also there, echoed what his dad said and told the players, “Just keep those relationships going,” according to Kiser.

Jon also made a cameo in the video the team tweeted out, featuring the team attempting to sing “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

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Anthrax canceled the band’s show Monday in Dallas as a result of a “medical concern.”

The thrash metallers have been touring in celebration of their 40th anniversary alongside Black Label Society and Hatebreed, who still performed at the Dallas concert.

“We’ve waited so long to be able to celebrate our 40th anniversary,” guitarist Scott Ian said in a statement. “[We] are so disappointed that we won’t be able to do so [Monday] — frankly, it blows.”

Ian added, “Thank you for your support and understanding, and stay safe.”

The tour is set to continue Tuesday in Austin, Texas.

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Darryl Hunt, bassist for the Celtic punk band The Pogues, has died. He was 72.

In a tweet posted Tuesday, the “Fairytale of New York” outfit writes, “We are saddened beyond words. Our Darryl passed away yesterday afternoon in London.”

The post also quotes the lyrics “I know you want to hear me catch my breath/I love you till the end” from the 1996 Pogues tune “Love You ‘Till the End,” which was written by Hunt.

Hunt joined The Pogues in 1986, four years after the group formed. He played with them throughout their initial run, which ended in 1996, and rejoined the group for their reunion in 2001 and through their most recent show, which took place in 2014.

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A fresh run of episodes of the AXS TV investigative series Music’s Greatest Mysteries, which delves into some of the biggest myths and legends in music history, will premiere on Wednesday, August 24.

The first of the six new Music’s Greatest Mysteries episodes will include segments looking at the death of founding Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones and the curious similarities between two hit 1984 singles — Huey Lewis and the News‘ “I Want a New Drug” and Ray Parker Jr.‘s “Ghostbusters” theme.

Other episodes will feature segments about Pat Benatar‘s enduring rock ‘n’ roll romance, John Lennon‘s fascination and association with the number nine, the tragic death of Who drummer Keith Moon‘s chauffeur, and Led Zeppelin‘s connection with the occult, as well as stories about Quiet Riot, Kris Kristofferson and more.

A variety of experts and commentators will be featured on the new shows, including Quiet Riot bassist Rudy Sarzo, former MTV host Matt Pinfield, Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo, famous rock groupie and author Pamela Des Barres, Spin magazine founder Bob Guccione Jr. and many more.

The new episodes Music’s Greatest Mysteries will premiere weekly on AXS TV on Wednesdays through September 28.

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A few days ago, Elton John attended a preview performance of his new musical, The Devil Wears Prada, which is currently playing in Chicago on its way to Broadway. On Instagram, Elton told the cast and crew, “You’ve created something truly wonderful!” But at least one review doesn’t agree with him.

In its review of the show, Variety writes that the show needs to “get meaner,” calling it “an overly respectful and frankly miscalculated approach to its source materials.” According to Variety, the show, based on the book by Lauren Weisberger and the hit movie starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, “provides some serviceable entertainment but needs a hefty dose of guilty, edgy fun to boost its mild pleasures.”

In Variety’s opinion, the show “just never lets loose,” and in particular doesn’t give us enough of Prada’s iconic boss-from-hell Miranda Priestly, who in the movie and book treats her assistant Andy so terribly that we’re rooting for her to get out from under her thumb.

And while Elton’s score and its “pleasing, peppy pop sound” has “its moments,” Variety reports, “There’s a lot of work needed to replace the sincere and fairly dull songs … with songs that express the naked ambition, social irresponsibility and joyful artifice of the fashion industry.”

Variety suggests that Elton and the rest of the creative team need to “set niceness aside, and channel their inner Miranda Priestlys.”

Of course, Elton has written numerous hit musicals — The Lion King, Billy Elliott and Aida — so it’s unlikely one middling review will make much of a difference to him, though The New York Times isn’t thrilled with the show either. The musical is playing at Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre through August 21.

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Lamont Dozier, one-third of the legendary Motown songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, has died, his son announced on Instagram Tuesday. He was 81.

Lamont Dozier Jr. posted a photo of himself with his famous father and wrote, “Rest in Heavenly Peace, Dad!” Details of his death are not known at this time.

Dozier and brothers Eddie Holland and Brian Holland joined Motown in 1962 and wrote more than 200 songs for the label’s acts, helping to create the “Motown Sound.” Dozier and Brian worked as musical arrangers and producers, while Eddie focused on lyrics and vocal production. 

Together, the trio wrote 10 #1 hits, including The Supremes‘ “Where Did Our Love Go,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “Baby Love” and “Stop! In the Name of Love” and The Four Tops‘ “I Can’t Help Myself” and “Reach Out I’ll Be There.”  They also penned classic hits for Martha & The Vandellas, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye and The Isley Brothers.

In 1988 and 1990, Holland-Dozier-Holland were inducted, respectively, into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The trio left Motown in 1968 to form the labels Invictus and Hot Wax. In 1973, Dozier left the trio, recording albums as a solo artist and penning songs for others. Some of his later co-writes included the Phil Collins‘ smash “Two Hearts,” Alison Moyet‘s “Invisible,” Debbie Gibson‘s “Anything Is Possible,” and “Without You” by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle.

In a 2015 interview with The Guardian, Dozier explained why the songs the trio wrote were mostly empathetic toward women. “Women bought the records, to put it bluntly,” Dozier said. “They wanted music that talked about their feelings, but also … women raised me … I trusted women, and I still do.”

Fellow hitmaking songwriter of the ’60s Carole King tweeted, “Gerry [Goffin] & I respected Holland Dozier Holland over at Motown. Striving to keep up with them made us better songwriters. Rest In Peace and power Lamont Dozier.”

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Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi staged a mini Black Sabbath reunion Monday at the closing ceremony for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, a sporting event held in the metal legends’ hometown of Birmingham, England.

They took the stage together for the first time since Sabbath played their farewell show in 2017. The performance began with Iommi rocking the iconic “Iron Man” riff as Ozzy got the crowd pumped up, before transitioning into a rendition of “Paranoid.”

You can watch footage of the performance — which also featured Ozzy solo band members Tommy Clufetos and Adam Wakeman on drums and bass, respectively — via the Commonwealth Games Instagram.

In addition to the reunion with Iommi, the show marked Ozzy’s first live performance since he appeared on the 2019 American Music Awards alongside Post Malone and Travis Scott.

The Prince of Darkness had originally scheduled a tour for throughout 2019, which was postponed to early 2020 due to health issues before being pushed to later in the year after Osbourne suffered a fall and required surgery. Then, of course, came the COVID-19 pandemic, which has, so far, postponed Ozzy’s live dates to 2023.

Meanwhile, Ozzy and Iommi will reunite again on the former’s upcoming solo album, Patient Number 9, due out September 9. The two play together on songs called “Degradation Rules” and “No Escape from Now.”

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George Thorogood and the Destroyers‘ classic 1982 album Bad to the Bone, featuring the band’s signature tune of the same name, was released 40 years ago today.

The record, which was the veteran blues rockers’ fifth studio effort, only peaked at #43 on the Billboard 200, but went on to be certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 in the U.S. The album featured the band’s first two singles to break into the top 40 of Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, “Bad to the Bone” and a cover of The Isley Brothers‘ “Nobody but Me.”

Thorogood tells ABC Audio that when he wrote “Bad to the Bone,” “I wanted [people] to think Bo Diddley wrote it or Muddy Waters wrote it, ’cause I wanted to follow that theme. ‘Cause that’s what I grew up on.”

George says he’s recognized more for that song than anything else he’s done in his career.

“Now, when I meet people who weren’t even alive when ‘Bad to the Bone’ was out, I’ll say my name and they’ll draw a blank,” the 72-year-old rocker notes. “And I’ll go, ‘Well, you know, “Bad to the Bone.”‘ They go, ‘Oh, that’s who you are!'”

Thorogood says he was thrilled when he met his all-time guitar hero, Jeff Beck, and Beck knew who he was because of the song.

The Bad to the Bone album featured longtime Rolling Stones touring keyboardist Ian Stewart playing piano throughout the record.

Thorogood, who’s a huge Stones fan, recalls about getting to work with Stewart, “I said [to myself], ‘You got to be kidding me, George? You’ve gone beyond your dreams. You’re in the studio with Ian Stewart’…And he was fantastic.”

Here’s the Bad to the Bone album’s full track list:

“Back to Wentzville”
“Blue Highway”
“Nobody but Me”
“It’s a Sin”
“New Boogie Chillun
“Bad to the Bone”
“Miss Luann”
“As the Years Go Passing By”
“No Particular Place to Go”
“Wanted Man”

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Joe Walsh will visit The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for a weeklong musical residency this week.

The longtime Eagles guitarist will be sitting in with the CBS talk show’s house band, Stay Human, on all four new episodes airing this week, starting with Monday night’s program and running through Thursday.

Walsh posted a message about the residency on his social media sites that reads, “It’s going to be a rockin week full of surprises — can’t wait — see you tonight!!!”

Walsh’s Colbert residency follows weeklong musical appearances on the show by James Taylor last week and St. Vincent the week before.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights on CBS at 11:35 p.m. ET.

Meanwhile, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s other upcoming plans include a new two-week Canadian leg of the Eagles’ Hotel California Tour, which kicks off September 9 in Toronto, and the recently announced 2022 edition of his annual VetsAid benefit concert, which is scheduled for November 13 in Columbus, Ohio.

As previously reported, this year’s VetsAid show will feature a reunion of Walsh’s pre-Eagles band, the James Gang, as well as performances by Dave Grohl, Nine Inch Nails, The Breeders and The Black Keys.

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Alice Cooper will be celebrating Halloween weekend this year with The Original Misfits in the Lone Star State.

The shock rocker will join the reunited horror-punk icons — featuring original Misfits members Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only, along with longtime guitarist Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein — at an October 29 concert at Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas.

The Original Misfits will headline the event, which will feature Cooper as a special guest and The Distillers as the opening act.

Tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday, August 12, at 10 a.m. CT, with various presales available throughout the week. For all ticket info, visit AliceCooper.com and Misfits.com.

Danzig and Only reunited as The Original Misfits in 2016 — 33 years after the former left the group in 1983 — and have played a number of one-off shows since.

You can also catch the Misfits headlining Chicago’s Riot Fest in September, during which they’ll be playing their 1982 debut album, Walk Among Us, in honor of its 40th anniversary.

As for Cooper, the Dallas concert currently is the final date of a series of upcoming North American shows he has lined up this year. His itinerary kicks off September 7 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

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