Classic Rock News

The first trailer for the upcoming official David Bowie documentary film Moonage Daydream has debuted at Bowie’s official YouTube channel.

The promo features a variety of clips of Bowie performing live during different periods throughout his career, as well as segments from some of his music videos and films. It includes a voice-over of Bowie saying, “All people, no matter who they are, wish they’d appreciated life more. It’s what you do in life that’s important, not how much time you have … or what you wish you’d done. Life is fantastic.”

The trailer’s arrival comes just in advance of Moonage Daydream‘s premiere, which, according to Variety, is taking place tonight, May 23, at the Cannes Film Festival’s “Midnight Screenings” section.

As previously reported, Moonage Daydream was written and directed by Brett Morgen and is the first film to be officially sanctioned by Bowie’s estate. The movie is described as “a sublime kaleidoscopic experiential cinematic odyssey that explores Bowie’s creative, spiritual, and philosophical journey.”

Moonage Daydream includes previously unseen footage and performances, as well as unheard music, and will feature Bowie’s own narration. The film includes 47 musical tracks, mixed from the original recordings. Bowie’s longtime friend, collaborator and co-producer Tony Visconti is serving as the musical producer of the project.

According to the caption for the trailer on YouTube, Moonage Daydream will get its premiere in cinemas worldwide in September.

Billboard recently reported that the movie will get its TV premiere on HBO and HBO Max in the spring of 2023.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Even back when Harry Styles was in One Direction, his resemblance to a young Mick Jagger was often mentioned. He’s since played on that resemblance, portraying the Rolling Stones front man on Saturday Night Live and allegedly taking inspiration from Jagger’s ’70s-era outfits. However, Jagger doesn’t really think he and Harry have much in common at all.

Asked by The Times of London if he feels that he’s inspired Harry, Jagger said, “I like Harry — we have an easy relationship,” but points out, “I mean, I used to wear a lot more eye makeup than him. Come on, I was much more androgynous.”

Jagger goes on to say, “And he doesn’t have a voice like mine or move on stage like me; he just has a superficial resemblance to my younger self, which is fine — he can’t help that.”

While Jagger may insist he was “much more androgynous” than Harry, the legendary singer never wore a dress on the cover of Vogue.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Guns N’ Roses‘ scheduled headlining set at Florida’s Welcome to Rockville festival over the weekend was canceled due to extreme weather.

In a tweet following the announcement, guitarist Slash called the cancellation a “massive disappointment.”

“We were really looking forward to the show,” Slash wrote. “But the weather had other ideas. We sympathize with all you guys who got rained out along with us, it f***ing sucks. Another time, sooner than later!”

Welcome to Rockville, which takes place in Daytona Beach, was besieged by bad weather throughout the festival. Before GN’R got canceled Saturday, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported that Friday’s schedule was also cut short by weather, forcing sets by Korn, Skillet and Breaking Benjamin to be scrapped, as well.

For U.S. GN’R fans, the cancellation is especially tough, given Welcome to Rockville was the only announced stateside date on the band’s calendar for 2022. The “Welcome to the Jungle” legends are set to return to the road in June for a European tour, followed by trips to South America, Mexico and Australia later in the year.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

As Yes prepares to launch a tour of U.K. and Ireland next month celebrating the 50th anniversary of their classic album Close to the Edge, the prog-rock legends’ have announced that longtime drummer Alan White wn’t be taking part in the trek because of “current health issues.”

A message on Yes’ social media pages explains, “Alan was really looking forward to playing live again preparing to celebrate 50 years with Yes, having joined the band for the July 1972 Close to the Edge Tour, coming full circle in 2022. Alan’s close friend Jay Schellen will be taking on drumming duties in Alan’s place.”

Schellen has regularly joined Yes on the road since 2016, either playing alongside White or filling in for him.

The upcoming leg of Yes’ Album Series Tour 2022 kicks off June 15 in Glasgow, Scotland, and is scheduled through a June 29 show in Cork, Ireland. The shows will feature the band performing Close to the Edge in its entirety, followed by a set of other memorable songs from Yes’ back catalog.

The concerts will include a high-definition video wall with a presentation directed by longtime Yes artist Roger Dean. Dean also will accompany the band on tour, and an exhibition of his work will be on display at each show.

Released in September 1972, Close to the Edge became Yes’ highest-charting album ever on the Billboard 200, peaking at #3. The record as made up of three long musical pieces — the title track, “And You and I” and “Siberian Khatru.”

Yes also will be bringing the Close to the Edge anniversary trek to Japan for four shows in September.

The band recently postponed a planned 2022 tour of mainland Europe until spring 2023. Yes will showcase its 1974 album Relayer on that trek.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The guitar that Kurt Cobain played in Nirvana‘s iconic “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video, a 1969 left-handed Fender Mustang with a Lake Placid Blue finish, sold for $4.55 million during Julien’s Auctions’ latest “Music Icons” memorabilia sale, held over the weekend.

The instrument was purchased by Indianapolis Colts owner and renowned music-memorabilia collector Jim Irsay‘s The Jim Irsay Collection after a bidding war with other participants live at New York City’s Hard Rock Café, online at JuliensAuctions.com and via the phone.

In commemoration of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Cobain family is donating some proceeds from the guitar’s sale and other Kurt-related items that were auctioned to Kicking the Stigma, an initiative launched by the Irsay family to raise awareness about mental health disorders.

“I am thrilled to preserve and protect another piece of American culture that changed the way we looked at world,” says Irsay. “The fact that a portion of the proceeds will go toward our effort to kick the stigma surrounding mental health makes this acquisition even more special to me.”

Meanwhile, a 1965 Dodge Dart that Cobain owned and drove was auctioned for $375,000.

Other historic instruments that sold during the auction, which was held May 20, 21 and 22, included Rush member Alex Lifeson‘s custom-built 1976 Gibson ES-355TD guitar, known as “Whitey,” and a 1964 Fender Jazzmaster guitar once owned by Jimi Hendrix. Both guitars sold for $384,000.

A variety of guitars owned by Lifeson were sold at the auction, including five others that fetched at least $112,000, among them a 1970 Gibson Les Paul electric model that Alex played on most of the band’s albums during the mid-to-late 1970s that sold for $224,000.

Visit JuliensLive.com for full details about the auction.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A star-studded and diverse roster of artists has contributed to a new album paying homage to the music of Eric Clapton.

The aptly titled A Tribute to Eric Clapton will be released on June 17 and can be preordered now on CD, as a limited-edition gold-vinyl LP and via digital formats. The album features renditions of a dozen of the guitar legend’s best-known songs, including tunes from his solo career and from his old bands The Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos.

Among the artists featured on the various tracks are Cheap Trick‘s Rick Nielsen, Molly Hatchet, ex-Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle, longtime Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre, Great White‘s Jack Russell, former Rainbow singer Graham Bonnet, ex-E Street Band keyboardist David Sancious, Arthur Brown, Pat Travers, The Stooges‘ James Williamson, one-time Thin Lizzy guitarist Snowy White, and former Paul Revere and the Raiders frontman Mark Lindsay.

In advance of the album, a cover of Clapton’s 1977 hit “Lay Down Sally” featuring veteran country star Sammy Kershaw and acclaimed session guitarist Albert Lee has been released via digital platforms.

Here’s the full track list for A Tribute to Eric Clapton:

“Cocaine” — Kirk Fletcher & Brian Auger
“Lay Down Sally” — Sammy Kershaw & Albert Lee
“I Feel Free” — Arthur Brown, James Williamson & Rat Scabies
“Sunshine of Your Love” — dUg Pinnick & Eric Gales
“Let It Rain” — Jack Russell & Sonny Landreth
“Wonderful Tonight” — Oli Brown
“Layla” — Molly Hatchet
“I Shot the Sheriff” — Pat Travers, David Sancious & Artimus Pyle
“For Your Love” — Mark Lindsay & Rick Nielsen
“Tears in Heaven” — Ana Popovic
“White Room” — Graham Bonnet & Snowy White
“Can’t Find My Way Home” — Shirley King & Martin Barre

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A soundtrack for the new series Under the Banner of Heaven, featuring original music from Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament and touring member Josh Klinghoffer, will be released in June.

As previously reported, Ament and Klinghoffer created the show’s score alongside Pearl Jam’s Gigaton producer Josh Evans and Fitz and the Tantrums drummer John Wicks.

“Banner was the perfect project to put to use an idea I’ve had for years — using the big room of my studio as an amplifier for a bunch of a low volume looper stations and composing and performing over tuned ambient beds,” Ament says. “It was truly a dream to put music to this incredible story.”

You can listen to three selections from the soundtrack now via digital outlets.

Under the Banner of Heaven, which airs via FX on Hulu, is a true crime drama based on the 2003 nonfiction book of the same name. It stars Andrew Garfield, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sam Worthington.

Ament, meanwhile, unfortunately tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week during Pearl Jam’s tour after drummer Matt Cameron also contracted the virus last week. As a result, Pearl Jam canceled their shows in Sacramento, California, and Las Vegas.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The new album Carry Me Home, featuring an archival live recording of late Band singer/drummer Levon Helm and gospel/soul legend Mavis Staples performing together with their respective solo groups, was released Friday, May 20, on CD and digital formats.

The album was recorded in the summer of 2011 at one of the popular Midnight Ramble events held at Helm’s barn and studio in Woodstock, New York.

The concert featured performances of various vintage gospel, soul, folk and blues tunes, along with renditions of Bob Dylan‘s “You Got to Serve Somebody” and The Band’s “The Weight.” Mavis famously sang the latter tune with her family group The Staple Singers and The Band in the classic 1978 concert film The Last Waltz.

The Woodstock show marked the last time that Mavis performed with Helm, who died of cancer at age 71 in April 2012.

Coinciding with Carry Me Home‘s release, a video capturing Mavis singing an impromptu version of the traditional gospel song “This May Be The Last Time” at Helm’s house with him and members of his band has been posted at the ANTI- Records label’s YouTube channel.

Mavis, who spent several days with Helm in Woodstock before the show, notes, “It never crossed my mind that it might be the last time we’d see each other. He was so full of life and so happy that week. He was the same old Levon I’d always known, just a beautiful spirit inside and out.”

To celebrate Carry Me Home‘s release, Mavis and Helm’s daughter, Amy Helm, will perform at a concert Friday night in Brooklyn, New York, and on Saturday at the Levon-inspired Dirt Farmer Festival in Accord, New York.

A vinyl version of Carry Me Home will be released on June 17.

Here’s the album’s full track list:

“This Is My Country”
“Trouble in My Mind”
“Farther Along”
“Hand Writing on the Wall”
“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free”
“Move Along Train”
“This May Be the Last Time”
“When I Go Away”
“Wide River to Cross”
“You Got to Move”
“You Got to Serve Somebody”
“The Weight”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

ZZ Top has released an updated live version of their enduring 1981 song “Tube Snake Boogie” as an advance digital track from their upcoming album, Raw, which is due out on July 22.

As previously reported, Raw was recorded in conjunction with the famed blues-rock trio’s 2019 documentary That Little Ol’ Band from Texas and is being released as a tribute to longtime bassist Dusty Hill, who died in July 2021 at age 72.

For the movie, ZZ Top’s classic lineup of Hill, singer/guitarist Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard played an intimate set of songs from their back catalog at historic Gruene Hall, known as “the oldest continually run dance hall in Texas,” which was filmed and recorded. That “raw” performance serves as the basis for the new album.

“Tube Snake Boogie” originally appeared on ZZ Top’s 1981 studio album El Loco and reached #4 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It has gone on to become a classic-rock radio staple.

Hill described “Tube Snake Boogie” as the ultimate “party song,” while Gibbons credited Beard’s drumming as the tune’s driving force, noting, “It really revolves around Frank’s opening, which is kind of surf-meets-jungle.”

You can check out a video of ZZ Top performing “Tube Snake Boogie” at Gruene Hall at the band’s YouTube channel.

Raw, which was produced by Gibbons, can be preordered now and will be available as a 180-gram vinyl LP, on CD and via digital formats.

Prior to the album’s release, ZZ Top will kick off a lengthy U.S. trek, dubbed the Raw Whisky Tour, on May 27 in San Diego.

Here’s the full track list of Raw:

“Brown Sugar”
“Just Got Paid”
“Heard It on the X”
“La Grange”
“Tush”
“Thunderbird”
“I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide”
“Legs”
“Gimme All Your Lovin'”
“Blue Jean Blues”
“Certified Blues”
“Tube Snake Boogie”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The latest edition of U.K. newspaper The Sunday Times‘ annual Rich List has just been unveiled and, as usual, Paul McCartney is ranked among the wealthiest musicians in his homeland and Ireland.

The former Beatles legend — whose wealth includes the fortune of his wife, American trucking heiress Nancy Shevell — remains at the top of the tally, with a net worth of about $1.1 billion. That’s an increase of about $56 million from the couple’s 2021 total.

In second place for a second straight year are Irish rock greats U2 with a collective net worth of $780 million. Elton John remains in fourth place with about $493 million.

Making the biggest jump in the top-10 rankings is ex-Police frontman Sting, who moves from a tie for ninth place in 2021 into the #5 spot, with about $400 million.

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger is #6 on the tally with $397 million, while his bandmate and songwriting partner Keith Richards is #7 with $378 million.

At #8 are late Beatles guitarist George Harrison‘s widow and son, Olivia and Dhani Harrison, with a net worth of $368 million, while ex-Fab Four drummer Ringo Starr follows at #9 with $356 million.

Other veteran artists further down on the list include Queen guitarist Brian May at #12, Rod Stewart at #13, ex-Pink Floyd singer/bassist Roger Waters at #14, Queen drummer Roger Taylor at #16, Eric Clapton at #17 and 1960s pop idol Tom Jones at #19. Late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts‘ widow, Shirley, and their family are #20 on the tally.

Check out the full list at TheTimes.co.uk.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.