Classic Rock News

A lot has been written about The Beatles, but apparently there are even more goodies to discover about the iconic band, and a new book hopes to help folks do that. 

St. Martin’s Press just announced All You Need Is Love: An Oral History of The Beatles, by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines, which will be released April 9, 2024. 

The book was compiled from never-before-seen interviews with Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, that happened between 1980 and 1981 for the authors’ previous Beatles book, 1983’s The Love You Make.

The book also uses interviews from family members, friends and business associates, as well as ex-wives Cynthia Lennon, Pattie Boyd (George’s ex) and Maureen Starkey (Ringo’s ex). 

All of these interviews promise to reveal plenty of new info about the legendary band, including the definitive reason why they broke up.

All You Need Is Love: An Oral History of The Beatles is available for preorder now.

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Urge Overkill drummer John “Blackie Onassis” Rowan has died.

The band confirmed the news in a Facebook post that reads, “Urge Overkill is saddened to report that Blackie has passed away. Please respect our privacy at this time.”

“We are sending much love to his family and all his fans,” the post continues. “We know he will be missed.”

Urge Overkill is known for their cover of the Neil Diamond song “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon,” which was memorably featured on the soundtrack for Pulp Fiction. They also notched ’90s alternative radio hits in “Sister Havana” and “Positive Bleeding” in between touring with Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

Following their ’90s run, Urge Overkill reunited in 2004, though without Rowan. He remained absent from the group over the past 20 years, during which they released two albums, 2011’s Rock & Roll Submarine and 2022’s Oui.

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The Turtles singer Mark Volman is getting ready to release his new memoir, Happy Together, on June 20. He reveals in the book that back in 2020 he was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, the same disease comedian Robin Williams had.

“I remember slurring, and I wasn’t sure what was going on,” Volman tells People of the first symptoms he experienced. “My brain wandered. I’d go off track. It made no sense.” 

People who live with LBD can experience hallucinations, and Volman says his included seeing Civil War soldiers outside his house, and faces in the furniture and appliances. He also experiences tremors.

While the life expectancy is typically about eight years following diagnosis, Volman isn’t letting it slow him down and is even taking part in The Turtles’ annual Happy Together music fest. He says he’ll travel by bus for the tour, noting, “it’s the safest place for me to be. I can’t get lost or hurt.”

LBD can be debilitating, and even led Williams to take his own life in 2014, but Volman, who manages his condition with medications and exercise, isn’t ready to give up. 

“I got hit by the knowledge that this was going to create a whole new part of my life. And I said, ‘Okay, whatever’s going to happen will happen, but I’ll go as far as I can,’” he says. “The challenges of this world affect everybody, and it’s been kind of fun being on the other side of a challenge like this and saying, ‘I feel good.’”

He adds, “My friends are here. I’m still here. And I want people to connect with me.”

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Many fans were upset when The Police broke up in 1986, and while they did reunite for a tour in 2007, it sure sounds like guitarist Andy Summers wishes they could have made more music.

In an interview with Loudersound, Summers says he felt a “huge sense of loss” when the group disbanded, and he felt something similar when they went their separate ways after the reunion tour.

“If it was up to me I wouldn’t have let it go. It’s an interesting subject, and to do [it] with fragility, frailty, ego and all that,” he shares. “I thought we could have gone on and played for years. We could have made some great new records.” 

He adds, “It’s sad. We could have done more, but it wasn’t to be. One of the greatest bands of all-time got short shrift, I’m afraid to say.”

Of course, The Police’s legacy continues with their songs, and Summers notes, “That’s why it’s one of the greatest bands in history. The songs won’t go away.”  

Andy just announced dates for his The Cracked Lens + A Missing String solo tour, which combines his music and photography. It kicks off July 21 in Beverly, Massachusetts. A complete list of dates can be found at andysummers.com.

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John Mellencamp is giving folks a little insight into what went wrong in his relationship with Meg Ryan.

In an interview with Esquire, Mellencamp admits, “I love Meg Ryan. I went with her for ten years.” But, he says, “She doesn’t love me so much. She’s a great girl. I’m just a s***** boyfriend.” 

He also recalls a time when they first started dating and tried to step outside their celebrity life, where things are often done for you.

“We were so f****** lost. We didn’t know how to do anything. I’ve never checked out of a hotel by myself,” he shares. “Her and I went to a grocery store, and they wanted our credit card, and we looked at each other and said, ‘Here it is,’ and they said, ‘No, you’ve got to put it in this thing,’ and we went, ‘Then what happens?’”

He adds, “We laughed at how stupid we are, so hard we cried. I think she’s learned how to do everything, and I’ve learned how to do nothing.”

Mellencamp and Ryan began dating in late 2010. They broke up and got back together several times before confirming their engagement in November 2018. They reportedly broke up for good in October 2019.

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The late Tina Turner will be honored on Broadway.

Deadline reports the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is set to dim its marquee lights for one minute in honor of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame legend on Wednesday, June 21, at 7 p.m. ET. The theater is where the musical of her life, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical, ran on Broadway.

The show originally debuted in London’s West End before coming to Broadway. It ran from 2019 to 2022, closing August 14, 2022, after 27 previews and 482 productions. It was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, with Tina portrayer Adrienne Warren winning Best Lead Actress/Musical. 

Turner passed away May 24 at the age of 83.

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Metallica has released a new EP titled The Amsterdam Sessions.

The four-track collection features renditions of the classics “Master of Puppets” and “Nothing Else Matters,” as well as the songs “Lux Æterna” and “If Darkness Had a Son” off the new ‘Tallica album 72 Seasons, recorded in Amsterdam ahead of the metal legends’ M72 world tour kickoff.

The Amsterdam Sessions is available now exclusively through Amazon Music. You can also watch the video for the “If Darkness Had a Son” performance streaming now on YouTube.

The M72 tour comes to the U.S. in August.

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Stevie Nicks’ solo career is being revisited with a new box set from Rhino.

Stevie Nicks Complete Studio Albums & Rarities will feature all eight of Nicks’ solo records — 1981’s Bella Donna, 1983’s The Wild Heart, 1985’s Rock a Little, 1989’s The Other Side of the Mirror, 1994’s Street Angel, 2001’s Trouble in Shangri-La, 2011’s In Your Dreams and 2014’s 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault — with many of them remastered from the original analog masters.

There will also be a Rarities album, with 23 non-album tracks, including songs that appeared on movie and TV soundtracks; three songs from her 1991 hits collection, Timespace; and her 2022 cover of Buffalo Springfield’s classic “For What It’s Worth.” It also includes the just-released “One More Big Time Rock and Roll Star,” which was the B-side to the Rock A Little single “Talk To Me.”

The box set will be released on July 28 in a variety of formats, including a 16-LP limited edition set, which will consist of 3,000 numbered copies, pressed on crystal clear vinyl. Three of the albums — Street Angel, Trouble in Shangri-La and In Your Dreams — are making their vinyl debut.

Stevie Nicks Complete Studio Albums & Rarities is available for preorder now.

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Alice Cooper has announced a new album called Road.

The follow-up to 2021’s Detroit Stories arrives August 25. Cooper recorded Road with his live bandmates, including returning guitarist Nita Strauss.

“For Road, I wanted the band to be involved in the foundation of all the songs,” the “School’s Out” rocker shares. “I only see these guys when we’re on the road. So, I wanted them to be as tight as they are for the show but on all new material. When you have a band this good, I believe in showing it off, and this is my way of doing so.”

You can listen to the lead Road single, the self-referential “I’m Alice,” now via digital outlets.

Cooper will be on tour this summer playing shows with Rob Zombie, as well as Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard.

Here’s the Road track list:

“I’m Alice”
“Welcome to the Show”
“All Over the World”
“Dead Don’t Dance”
“Go Away”
“White Line Frankenstein”
“Big Boots”
“Rules of the Road”
“The Big Goodbye”
“Road Rats Forever”
“Baby Please Don’t Go”
“100 More Miles”
“Magic Bus”

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On This Day, June 14, 1980…

Billy Joel landed at #1 with his seventh studio release, Glass Houses.

Influenced in part by new wave music, it featured, in Billy’s words, “bigger, louder, faster, shorter and punchier” material.

Four tunes off the album became Top 40 hits, including “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” which was Joel’s first #1 single. Other hits included “You May Be Right,” “Sometimes a Fantasy,” and Don’t Ask Me Why.”

Glass Houses remained on top of the charts for six weeks and went on to be certified seven-times Platinum by the RIAA.

It also earned Joel his fifth Grammy, winning Best Rock Male Vocal Performance.

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