Classic Rock News

In addition to breaking multiple Billboard records, Foo Fighters‘ “Love Dies Young” has the honor of soundtracking the credits to the band’s new horror movie, Studio 666. As frontman Dave Grohl tells ABC Audio, the track was inspired by one of his personal favorite groups.

“I was basically trying to write a melody that was, like, a hard rock version of an ABBA song,” Grohl explains. “I think that’s as close as I’m ever gonna get.”

Grohl describes “Love Dies Young” as a “tortured love song,” with an ABBA-esque “structure” and “melody.”

“And the beat, it’s got that disco beat to it,” he says. “It’s basically an ABBA song with huge guitars.”

As for the track’s chugging riff, guitarist Chris Shiflett credits that to some goofing off in the studio.

W”e started doing that riff kind of as a joke, if I remember correctly,” Shiflett says. “We were sitting there tracking guitars, going into the ‘Eye of the Tiger’ thing or whatever, and then we were, like, ‘Oh wait, that’s kinda good!'”

Grohl adds, “If everyone’s in a good mood and laughing when you listen to something back, it’s probably a good idea to keep it.”

“Love Dies Young” is the current single off Foo Fighters’ 2021 album, Medicine at Midnight.

Studio 666, meanwhile, is in theaters now. It’ll be available on-demand beginning March 18.

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Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates has added a six-show second leg of dates in the Western U.S. to his recently announced spring solo tour featuring Todd Rundgren as opening act.

The new run kicks off May 12 in Seattle and also features concerts on May 14 in San Francisco; May 16 in Los Angeles; May 18 in Denver; May 20 in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and May 22 in Austin, Texas.

Tickets for the newly added shows go on sale to the general public this Friday, March 18, at 10 a.m. local time via LiveNation.com. Pre-sale tickets also will be available for most of the concerts. Visit LiveNation.com for more information.

As previously reported, Hall’s trek with Rundgren begins with an eight-date series of concerts that runs from an April 1 concert in Chicago through an April 16 show in National Harbor, Maryland, and includes stops at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and New York City’s Carnegie Hall on April 5 and April 14, respectively.

The tour coincides with the April 1 release of Hall’s first-ever solo compilation, BeforeAfter, a 30-track collection that features selections from all five of Daryl’s solo studio albums, as well as eight performances from his acclaimed TV/web series Live from Daryl’s House, six of which are previously unreleased.

The Live from Daryl’s House performances include duet between Hall and Rundgren on Todd’s 1978 hit ballad “Can We Still Be Friends.”

You can pre-order BeforeAfter now.

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Pearl Jam has announced the rescheduled dates for the band’s North American tour.

The outing, which was originally scheduled to kick off in March 2020 before being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will now launch May 3 in San Diego, and will wrap up September 22 in Denver. The itinerary includes an additional four stops along with the rescheduled shows.

Pluralone, the solo project of ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist and current PJ touring member Josh Klinghoffer, will be the tour’s opener.

Tickets will go on sale Tuesday, March 29, at 10 a.m. local time, exclusively via Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan platform. Registration is open now through Sunday, March 27, at 10 a.m. PT.

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit PearlJam.com.

Pearl Jam will be touring in support of their 2020 album, Gigaton.

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Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was featured in a new interview segment on CBS Sunday Morning over the weekend, and he shared some interesting news about new music that he and Mick Jagger have been working on for their band’s next album.

Richards revealed that he, Jagger and new Stones touring drummer Steve Jordan had been collaborating the previous week and “came up with some eight or nine new pieces of material, which is overwhelming by our standards!”

Jordan, who stepped in for longtime Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts when Watts became terminally ill last year, also plays in Richards’ solo band, The X-Pensive Winos, and was Keith’s main songwriting partner on the guitar legend’s three solo albums.

Richards noted about Jordan’s involvement in The Stones, “It’ll be interesting to find out the dynamics now that Steve’s in the band — it’s sort of metamorphosing into something else.”

Keith also discussed the passing of Watts, who played with The Rolling Stones for 58 years before his death at age 80 in August 2021.

“I think he’d been trying to keep [his illness] under the wraps for a while last year, so that [his death] came…as quite a shock,” Richards noted. “He had had a round with cancer a year or two before. And he beat that one. He just got hit with a double-whammy, bless his soul.”

As for whether the band discussed possibly not touring after Watts died, Keith said, “For a brief moment. I think Charlie wanted us to go on the road; he wanted the tour to happen. That’s my feeling, the last time I spoke to him.”

As reported earlier today, The Rolling Stones will launch a 60th anniversary tour with a European leg that kicks off June 1 in Madrid.

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Dolly Parton is taking herself out of the running for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The country legend, who was nominated for the first time for the Rock Hall honor this year, explained in a post on her social media sites that she wanted to be removed from consideration for induction.

“Even though I am extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I don’t feel that I have earned that right,” the music legend wrote Monday. “I really do not want votes to be split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out.”

However, Dolly doesn’t rule out being nominated again in the future. She goes on to say that releasing a rock album has been a dream of hers and that the nomination has “inspired” her to potentially record one “at some point in the future.”

“I do hope that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will understand and be willing to consider me again — if I’m ever worthy,” she continued. “I wish all of the nominees good luck and thank you again for the compliment. Rock on!”

It was announced in February that Parton was nominated for induction into the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class alongside Beck, Pat Benatar, Kate Bush, DEVO, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Judas Priest, Fela Kuti, MC5, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon and A Tribe Called Quest. The 2022 inductees will be announced in May.

Dolly has been a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame since 1999, and she also has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

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Mötley Crüe‘s long-awaited Stadium Tour is set to finally kick off this summer, and Nikki Sixx reveals that the set list will feature “some cool surprises.”

In an Instagram post, the bassist shares that he recently met up with drummer Tommy Lee to talk about the upcoming trek, which will mark the “Dr. Feelgood” outfit’s first live run together since playing their “final” show in 2015.

“Wait til you see the set list,” Sixx teases in the caption. “Hits, deep tracks and some cool surprises.”

He adds, “Look forward to seeing [vocalist Vince Neil] & [guitarist Mick Mars] and the whole crew at rehearsals soon.”

The Stadium Tour, which also features Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts on the bill, launches in June. The outing had originally been scheduled for 2020 before being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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This year’s edition of the ’70s Rock & Romance Cruise took place last month, and now details about the 2023 installment of the the star-studded seagoing music festival have been announced.

Among the veteran pop and rock acts slated to perform on next year’s cruise are former Eagles guitarist Don Felder, ex-Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, The Hollies, Foghat, Jefferson Starship, Bay City Rollers, Exile, Climax Blues Band and one-time Journey singer Steve Augeri.

The week-long event is scheduled to set sail from Miami on March 16 and will stop at Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic, on March 18; at San Juan, Puerto Rico, on March 19; and on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands on March 20, before returning to port on the March 23.

Other performers include Electric Light Orchestra spinoff group The Orchestra, and cover bands that play the music of Queen, The Bee Gees and more. Additional artists will be joining the bill in the coming months as well.

In addition to the many performances, the ’70s Rock & Romance Cruise will feature Q&A sessions and panel discussions with some of the artists, themed parties, wine tastings, trivia contests, game shows, karaoke, pool parties and more. Married couples also will have the opportunity to renew their wedding vows.

To book a cabin on the cruise, and to find out more information, visit RockandRomanceCruise.com or call 844-466-7625.

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Following their successful 2021 No Filter tour, The Rolling Stones are heading to Europe this year.

The SIXTY tour — in celebration of their 60th anniversary — will find the band playing stadiums in Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands.  They’ll also perform two shows in the U.K.: Their first show in Liverpool in more than 50 years, and two shows in London’s Hyde Park. 

Hyde Park, of course, has figured prominently in the Stones’ history ever since the free festival they played there in 1969, just two days after the death of founding member Brian Jones.

The tour, with Steve Jordan once again filling in for the late Charlie Watts on drums, gets underway June 1 in Madrid and wraps up July 31 in Stockholm.  It’ll boast “a spectacular new…production, including a massive stage, cutting edge lighting and state of the art video design,” according to a press release.

Last year’s No Filter tour, the band’s first one ever without Watts, who died in August of 2021. It was a huge success, filling stadiums across the U.S.

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Lynyrd Skynyrd has confirmed a new series of dates for the 2022 edition of the band’s Big Wheels Keep On Turnin’ Tour, which kicks off April 9 with a previously announced performance in Scottsdale, Arizona, as part of the 25th anniversary Arizona Bike Week event.

According to their official website, the Southern rock legends currently have 15 shows on their schedule, spanning through a September 23 concert in Reno, Nevada.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers’ will be joined by various support acts at select shows, including The Outlaws, ex-Eagles guitarist Don Felder, The Marshall Tucker Band and The Devon Allman Project.

The Outlaws will be supporting Lynyrd Skynyrd on June 3 in Crownsville, Maryland; June 4 in Wantagh, New York; July 1 in Gilford, New Hampshire; July 2 in Bridgeport, Connecticut; and July 3 in Bangor, Maine.

Felder will perform at the Gilford concert as well, and also will open Skynyrd on May 14 in Fresno, California, and July 9 in Syracuse, New York. The Marshall Tucker Band will support Skynyrd at a June 10 concert in Middletown, New York, and at the Bangor show along with The Outlaws. The Devon Allman Projct, a group led by the late Gregg Allman‘s oldest son, also will perform at the Wantagh concert.

Lynyrd Skynyrd launched its Big Wheels Keep On Turnin’ Tour in June of 2021. Last July, founding guitarist Gary Rossington underwent an emergency heart operation and has sat out most of the band’s concerts since then. Former Alice Cooper guitarist Damon Johnson has been standing in for Rossington; it’s not known if Gary will be playing with the band this year.

Check out Skynyrd’s full schedule at LynyrdSkynyrd.com.

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Eddie Vedder‘s Ukulele Songs is coming back to vinyl.

A reissue of the Pearl Jam frontman’s sophomore solo album will be released May 6, marking the first time the record’s been pressed to wax since its original release in 2011.

The collection will be available in Standard and Deluxe editions, both of which include all 16 songs from the original album. The Deluxe arrives in exclusive expanded packaging including a 16-page booklet and a lithograph.

Ukulele Songs, as the title suggests, found Vedder trading a guitar for Hawaii’s signature instrument to strum along to set of originals and covers. It was Vedder’s most recent full-length solo effort until this year’s Earthling, which was released this past February.

Vedder just wrapped up a solo tour in support of Earthing last month. He’ll return to the road with Pearl Jam for a European tour in June.

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