Classic Rock News

Tony Iommi has been rocking for a long time, but not for nearly as long as the fossil that’s been named after him.

As previously reported, a team of scientists announced last month that they’d discovered a 469 million-year-old fossil, which they deemed Drepanoistodus iommii in honor of the Black Sabbath legend. Now, in a video for Westside BID in his hometown of Birmingham, England, Iommi has shared his reaction to the news.

“It was a real shock to hear that a fossil’s been named after me,” Iommi says. “I’ve had a bit of abuse from my friends about it who’ve enjoyed calling me an old fossil, but I think it’s great, a real honor.”

“This has to be the weirdest thing that’s ever been named after me,” he adds. “But I’m really proud of it.”

The clip also features Iommi posing with a photo of the fossil on the Black Sabbath Bridge in Birmingham, as well as a video call with scientist Mats E. Eriksson, a member of the discovery team.

“I wanted to thank Mats and his team in person for being such brilliant fans,” Iommi says.

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Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant‘s new collaborative album with acclaimed country-bluegrass artist Alison Krauss, Raise the Roof, got its release today. Coinciding with its arrival, the duo has announced plans for a 2022 tour, their first outing together in 12 years.

Plant and Krauss have confirmed 10 U.S. dates, kicking off June 1 in Canandaigua, New York and running through a June 16 concert in Atlanta. Those shows will be followed by a European trek that’s mapped out from a June 26 performance in London’s Hyde Park through a July 21 date in Berlin.

Tickets for the U.S. concerts go on sale to the general public on Friday, December 3, while a series of pre-sale offers will be available starting Monday, November 29.

Check out the duo’s tour schedule and buy tickets at PlantKrauss.com.

As previously reported, Plant and Krauss will celebrate Raise the Roof‘s release today with a special livestream performance that’s set to premiere at both Robert’s and Alison’s YouTube channels starting at 1 p.m. ET. It will feature the debut performances of several of the album’s songs from Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville.

The duo also is scheduled to appear tonight on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Saturday on CBS Saturday Morning.

Raise the Roof is Plant and Krauss’ second joint album, following 2007’s Grammy-sweeping Raising Sand. The record is primarily a covers collection paying tribute to “legends and unsung heroes of folk, blues, country and soul music,” although it does include one original called “High and Lonesome” that Plant co-wrote with producer T Bone Burnett.

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Mick Rock, the celebrated rock photographer whose famous images grace the covers of albums by David Bowie, Lou Reed, Queen and many others, died Thursday at age 72.

Rock’s passing was announced in a statement posted on his social media pages.

“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share our beloved psychedelic renegade Mick Rock has made the Jungian journey to the other side,” the message begins. “Those who had the pleasure of existing in his orbit, know that Mick was always so much more than ‘The Man Who Shot The 70s.’ He was a photographic poet — a true force of nature who spent his days doing exactly what he loved, always in his own delightfully outrageous way.”

Early in his career, Rock shot the cover photo for ex-Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett‘s solo album The Madcap Laughs, and soon after he became Bowie’s official photographer. Among the his famous images of Bowie include the cover for his 1973 album Pin-Ups. Mick also directed some of David’s early music videos, for such songs as “Life on Mars,” “Jean Genie” and “John I’m Only Dancing.”

One of Rock’s most iconic pics is the photo of Reed featured on the cover Lou’s 1972 album Transformer. Mick’s photos also appear on such well-known albums as Queen’s Queen II, Iggy and the Stooges‘ Raw Power, The Ramones‘ End of the Century and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts‘ I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.

A documentary about Mick’s life and work, Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock, was released in 2016.

The message announcing Rock passing also described him as a “man fascinated with image, [who] absorbed visual beings through his lens and immersed himself in their art, thus creating some of the most magnificent photographs rock music has ever seen.”

Photo: Nathalie Rock pic.twitter.com/I50ofDuO0r

— Mick Rock (@TheRealMickRock) November 19, 2021

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A top-secret David Bowie film project being put together by director Brett Morgen from thousands of hours of rare performance footage of the late rock legend is nearing completion, sources have confirmed to Variety.

Morgen, whose previous films include the 2012 Rolling Stones documentary Crossfire Hurricane and 2015’s Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, has been working on the as-yet-untitled Bowie movie for four years.

Variety reports that a source close to the production describes the flick as “neither documentary nor biography, but an immersive cinematic experience built, in part, upon thousands of hours of never before seen material.”

According to sources, in addition to directing, Morgen is involved in the writing, editing and production of the movie, which will focus on live performance footage. The filmmaker also is said to be considering releasing the film in IMAX theaters.

Bowie’s longtime producer Tony Visconti is serving as the movie’s music producer, while the Oscar-winning sound team that worked on the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody is mixing and designing the film.

Morgen personally acquired the rights to use the Bowie footage, and the project is being made with the full cooperation of David’s estate.

Variety notes that the film could possibly get its premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, which is scheduled kick off January 20, less than two weeks after the fifth anniversary of Bowie’s death and what would’ve been his 75th birthday.

Last month, Bowie’s estate launched a planned yearlong celebration commemorating the 75th anniversary of his birth. David was born on January 8, 1947, and died on January 10, 2016, at age 69.

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2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony took place on October 30 in at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, and a TV special featuring highlights of the event premieres this Saturday, November 20, on HBO and HBO Max.

Among this year’s honorees were The Go-Go’s, the first all-female band to play their own instruments ever to be inducted. Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock tells ABC Audio that getting to take part in the ceremony and the associated induction events was “just magnificent.”

Schock says it was exciting enough just finding out her band was going to be nominated, but “when you get there, your mind is blown by the enormity of it all.”

As she explains, “You’re there in front of all your peers, and it’s the industry recognizing you, basically, in a way that they haven’t [before].”

Schock says that the real focus of the event for her band was playing for their fans.

The Go-Go’s performed three of their biggest hits at the ceremony — “Vacation,” “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “We Got the Beat” — and Gina recalls, “[I]t was cool, because when we played, everybody stood up, everybody was dancing and everybody was singing. And it really was just an incredible feeling.”

Actress Drew Barrymore gave the induction speech welcoming The Go-Go’s into the Rock Hall. Schock says some questioned her why Barrymore was picked to honor the band, but Gina notes, “[T]here couldn’t be a better person inducting us, ’cause Drew’s like a real fan. She’s been a fan since she’s been a kid.”

Schock says another highlight for her was getting to meet Paul McCartney, who was on hand to induct the Foo Fighters.

Among this year’s other inductees were Todd Rundgren, Tina Turner, Carole King and Jay-Z.

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Alice in Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell is playing a special solo acoustic concert Thursday night at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. In the likely event you can’t attend the sold-out show, you’ll still be able to watch it for yourself.

The unplugged performance, which will feature acoustic renditions of songs off Cantrell’s new solo album, Brighten, will be available to watch starting December 1 via the streaming platform Moment House.

The show will also feature Cantrell telling stories behind the music, as well as a Q&A session.

For ticket info, visit MomentHouse.com/JerryCantrell.

Brighten, Cantrell’s first solo outing in 19 years, was released in October. Cantrell will launch a full, electric tour in support of the record in March 2022.

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Congratulations to Paul McCartney, whose new book, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, was chosen Barnes & Noble’s 2021 Book of the Year by the franchise’s booksellers.

After Barnes & Noble booksellers from around the U.S. nominated their top books of 2021, eight titles — among them The Lyrics — were picked for consideration by a selection committee that included the company’s CEO, James Daunt. The booksellers then voted and chose The Lyrics as Book of the Year.

“The Lyrics is an extraordinary book. It is stunningly beautiful and a masterpiece of book design,” says Daunt in a statement. “Paul McCartney has fashioned, through the explorations of his songs with the poet Paul Muldoon, a fascinating insight into his life and creative genius.”

In response to the prize, McCartney writes, “I’m beyond honored to receive this recognition. My team and I are extremely proud of The Lyrics and it means so much to us that you all like it as much as we do. Thank you to all the amazing team at Barnes & Noble in helping to launch the book.”

McCartney will be taking part in a conversation with Daunt about The Lyrics that will be streamed on Barnes & Noble’s official YouTube channel tonight at 7 p.m. ET.

As previously reported, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present profiles 154 songs that McCartney wrote throughout his career, along with featuring his commentary about each tune. The two-volume work also features handwritten lyric sheets, rare personal photos, drawings and rough drafts of songs.

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The long, strange trip of The Grateful Dead just got a little bit stranger with the news that Martin Scorsese has signed on to direct an as-yet-untitled biopic about the legendary jam band that will star Jonah Hill as the group’s late frontman, Jerry Garcia.

Sources tell Deadline that Hill is co-producing the project through his Strong Baby production company, and that surviving Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, and Garcia’s daughter, Trixie Garcia, are serving as executive producers.

The film’s script is being written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski — whose credits include American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson, the Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon and The People vs. Larry Flynt — along with Rick Yorn of LBI Entertainment.

The movie won’t be the first Grateful Dead-themed project that Scorsese has worked on. He also was an executive producer on the 2017 documentary Long Strange Trip that focused on the band’s history. Scorsese and Hill also previously worked together on Martin’s 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street.

Hill reacted to the news of the Grateful Dead biopic by posted a screenshot of the Deadline article on his Instagram page, along with praying hands and skull emojis.

 

 

 

 

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Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder has premiered a new song called “The Haves,” a track from his upcoming solo album, Earthling.

“The Haves,” which is available now for digital download, is the second track to be released from Earthling, following the September debut of the lead single, “Long Way.”

Along with the new tune, Vedder has announced the release date for Earthling: February 11, 2022. The album’s available for pre-order on physical formats now.

Earthling, which was produced by Andrew Watt — who has collaborated with Ozzy Osbourne, Elton John, Miley Cyrus and many others — is Vedder’s first solo album since 2011’s Ukulele Songs. He made his solo debut his soundtrack to the 2007 film Into the Wild.

For more Eddie content, the grunge icon just released a new audio project with Audible.com called I Am Mine. As part of Audible’s Words + Music series, I Am Mine finds Vedder telling personal stories from throughout his life in between exclusive performances of PJ and solo songs.

Meanwhile, you can catch all of Pearl Jam perform together on Thursday night’s Venture into Cures streaming concert, which will raise money for those affected by the rare genetic disorder Epidermolysis bullosa. For more info, visit VentureintoCures.org.

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Metallica will be taking over San Francisco next month to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

As previously reported, the metal legends are playing a pair of concerts in their hometown to mark the milestone, taking place December 17 and 19 at the Chase Center arena. Now, they’ve announced a series of events being held around the city that week to further enhance your Metallica experience.

Those events include various concerts featuring artists who contributed to the Metallica Blacklist tribute album, such as White Reaper and Kamasi Washington, as well as the bands OTTTO and Taipei Houston, which feature the sons of bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Lars Ulrich, respectively.

Additionally, acclaimed rock photographer Ross Halfin will be hosting signings and Q&As for his The Black Album in Black & White Metallica photo book. There will also be a Metallica-themed film festival, cover band shows, and tastings for the ‘Tallica’s signature Blackened Whiskey.

If were lucky enough to score a ticket to the 40th anniversary shows, you can upgrade to the “Takeover the 40th” plan, which will get you into every official, ticketed Metallica event. You’ll also receive a merch package including a poster, a signed set list and a souvenir laminate.

Tickets to all the extra Metallica 40th anniversary festivities go on sale this Friday, November 19, at 10 a.m. PT. For more info, visit Metallica.com.

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