Classic Rock News

Journey keyboardist and songwriter Jonathan Cain has just released a new EP titled Oh Lord Lead Us, the latest in a series of Christian music projects he’s put out in recent years.

The six-track collection includes the title track, which was issued as a single in July, and a tune called “Blue Thunder” that was inspired by Cain watching a storm roll by while at his home in Florida.

“It just hit me that there was a powerful conversation that God was having with the whole neighborhood,” Cain explains to American Songwriter. “The lightning hits and the thunder comes right after it; and the way it rolls, it feels like the sound waves roll, really, across the land. You can feel the earth kind of shake.”

A lyric video for “Blue Thunder” got its premiere at AmericanSongwriter.com.

The EP also features “Something Greater,” a song named after and inspired by a book by his wife, pastor Paula White-Cain.

Cain is planning to release a new full-length solo album soon.

Meanwhile, Jonathan’s song “Oh Lord Lead Us” will serve as the theme song for a new series Rockin on Heaven’s Door that will debut in December on the Pure Flix faith-based network. Cain also will appear on the debut episode of the series, which will feature various musicians discussing their spiritual beliefs.

Cain also is planning a songwriting event and a Christmas concert, with details to be announced soon.

As previously reported, Journey will be performing a series of Las Vegas concerts in December, including a six-show residency at The Theater at Virgin Hotels, a special symphonic performance on December 18 in Vegas at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Here’s the EP’s full track list:

“Oh Lord Lead Us”
“Pray to the Father”
“Worship Our Way”
“Beautiful Thunder”
“Something Greater”
“No One but You Jesus”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

When a lot of people didn’t know where their next paycheck was coming from, Billy Joel made sure his band did. 

During a recent interview, Joel revealed that he made sure the money kept flowing for his band members during the COVID-19 pandemic, even though live shows were shut down. 

“I did pay them full salary for a year,” Joel told Howard Stern on Stern’s satellite radio show. “I have a great band, I’m so happy to have them on stage.”

The “Piano Man” went on to explain that he wanted to express his appreciation for the team that stuck by him through all these years, even when he had some financial issues of his own. 

“I don’t do as many gigs as I used to do…back in the day when I had some money issues, I wasn’t able to take care of the band the same way I am now. I wasn’t able to compensate them…and I wanted to take care of the band,” said Joel.

Joel is set to kick off an 11-stop tour on November 5, starting in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

2021 just keeps on getting better for Elton John. After scoring his first number-one single in his native U.K. in nearly 20 years with “Cold Heart” two weeks ago, his latest album, The Lockdown Sessions, has debuted at number one on the Official U.K. Albums Chart.

The Lockdown Sessions, which features Sir Elton singing with everyone from Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks and Charlie Puth to Miley Cyrus, Eddie Vedder and Lil Nas X, is Elton’s first chart-topper in Great Britain since 2012.

On Instagram, a delighted Elton writes, “This album is all about the capacity for music to bring people together to form new friendships and connections. And right now I couldn’t feel more connected to my amazing fans in the U.K. who made this happen.”

He continues, “When I started collaborating with some of my favorite artists at the start of the pandemic, I couldn’t have dreamt in my wildest dreams it would lead to a number one album. I am so proud of what we have created and thrilled that it has connected with our fans to such a degree. It shows the spirit of collaboration and togetherness that can still happen in the most trying circumstances.”

Elton’s songwriting partner Bernie Taupin didn’t co-write any of the tunes on The Lockdown Sessions — with the exception of “Cold Heart” — but he still jumped into Elton’s comments section to write, “Yea buddy congratulations.”

Elton’s last #1 U.K. album was 2012’s Good Morning to the Night, which featured dozens of his old hits remixed and spliced together by Australian dance duo Pnau, the same team who similarly put together “Cold Heart.”

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Paul McCartney apparently is now claiming that he wrote the opening lines to the classic 1967 Beatles song “A Day in the Life,” which previously had been attributed to the late John Lennon.

The Daily Mail reports that in McCartney’s upcoming book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, he claims that when he wrote the lyrics “He blew his mind out in a car/ He didn’t notice that the lights had changed,” he was thinking about Guinness heir Tara Browne, who was killed in a 1966 car crash.

The newspaper points out that Lennon had once said that Browne “was in my mind when I was writing that verse,” while McCartney was quoted as saying in a 1997 biography that when the song was being written, he envisioned the lines being about “a politician bombed out on drugs who’d stopped at some traffic lights and didn’t notice that the lights had changed.”

Paul then added that the lyrics had been attributed to being about “Tara Browne, which I don’t believe is the case.”

The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present will be published this Tuesday, November 2. A new video trailer promoting the book has been posted on McCarntey’s official YouTube channel that shows clips of Paul chatting with British comedian and podcast presenter Bob Mortimer about different aspects of the book and his career.

Topics Sir Paul touches on in the trailer include writing songs with Lennon, and forgetting the lyrics to “Blackbird” while he was performing at New York’s Grand Central Station in 2018. The video also captures McCartney checking out the new exhibit focusing on his book that will be opening at the British Library in London on November 5.

You can pre-order The Lyrics now.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A new video has been released for the mash-up duet version of Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy‘s song “Hellraiser.”

The animated clip starts with the two rock legends playing an arcade game together at the late Motörhead frontman’s beloved Rainbow Bar and Grill in Los Angeles when aliens start invading. Somehow, things get even stranger from there.

“I’m so glad we were able to honor my dear friend Lemmy with this duet and now the video,” Ozzy says. “We immortalized him with a clip of the two of us being together, hanging out and getting into some trouble as we so often did.”

You can watch the “Hellraiser” video streaming now on YouTube.

The original “Hellraiser” appears on Osbourne’s 1991 solo album No More Tears, and is one of four songs off the record co-written by Lemmy. Motörhead then recorded their own version of “Hellraiser” for 1992’s March ör Die.

The duet version, which combines Ozzy’s and Lemmy’s vocals from their respective recordings, is included on the 30th anniversary reissue of No More Tears, which was released in September.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

AC/DC‘s “Thunderstruck” video has officially struck one billion views on YouTube.

The clip is the first AC/DC video to reach the milestone. It’s also one of the few ’90s videos to hit the one billion views marks, along with Nirvana‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Metallica‘s “Nothing Else Matters,” Guns N’ Roses‘ “November Rain,” The Cranberries‘ “Zombie,” 4 Non Blondes‘ “What’s Up,” and Whitney Houston‘s “I Will Always Love You.

The “Thunderstuck” video, which was uploaded to YouTube in November 2012, captures a live performance of the song, which was the lead single from AC/DC’s 1990 album The Razors Edge. It memorably features a unique, close-up angle of Angus Young‘s guitar playing.

“Our video for Thunderstruck just passed a billion views on YouTube,” AC/DC tweeted in response to the news. “Thank you fans!”

AC/DC released their latest album, Power Up, last November. It reunites the surviving members of the band’s classic Back in Black lineup, and is dedicated to their late guitarist, Malcolm Young.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Duane Allman, the co-founder and masterful slide-guitar player of The Allman Brothers Band.

Allman was killed in a motorcycle crash in Macon, Georgia, a few months after the group released its classic live album At Fillmore East. He was 27.

At the time of his passing, Duane had established himself as one of rock’s most highly regarded guitarists. Prior to The Allman Brothers Band’s formation, Duane played with his brother Gregg in a number of groups, including The Allman Joys and The Hour Glass, the latter of which released two studio albums.

In 1968, Duane began working as a session musician at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and went on to perform on recordings by artists including Aretha Franklin, Laura Nyro, Wilson Pickett, Otis Rush, Percy Sledge, Boz Scaggs and Delaney & Bonnie.

The Allman Brothers Band were formed in 1969 and released their self-titled debut album that year. Combining rock, blues and jazz, the group quickly became known for their captivating concerts, which included extended jams that showcased the guitar interplay between Duane and Dickey Betts.

The band’s second album, Idlewild South, was released in September 1970 and broke into Billboard 200’s top 40. That year, Duane also contributed slide guitar to the only studio album by Eric Clapton‘s short-lived band Derek & the Dominos, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.

The Allman Brothers’ breakthrough album was At Fillmore East, which was released in July 1971 and reached #13 on the Billboard 200. It’s widely considered one of the greatest live rock albums of all time.

Duane also is featured on most of The Allmans’ hit 1972 album Eat a Peach, which was released about four months after his passing.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Go-Go’s are among the artists being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday in Cleveland, and drummer Gina Schock says she’s excited that the whole band will be taking part in the ceremony.

Schock tells ABC Audio that at one point, singer Belinda Carlisle wasn’t sure if she was going to make the event because of a scheduling conflict, which really upset Gina.

“When I heard she might not be able to make it, I was like, ‘You’re f***ing kidding me!'” Schock recalls. “[T]hen I just thought, ‘I’m gonna let it go. It’s gonna work out the way it’s supposed to.’ Belinda was freaked out, you know. Called me up in tears…[But] it all worked out…[A]ll five of us are gonna be on that stage playing Go-Go’s songs.”

Schock says the band will be performing three songs at the ceremony.

Drew Barrymore will be inducting The Go-Go’s at the event, and while Gina notes that the actress wasn’t necessarily the band’s choice to do the honors, she’s happy about it.

“[I]t couldn’t be better, because [Drew] is a real fan, and has been forever,” Schock says.

Meanwhile, Gina shared how she felt about some of the other artists being inducted alongside her group.

“I’m a huge fan of the Foo Fighters…What can I say? I love them,” she declares. “And Tina Turner, she’s an icon…[And] I was a Todd Rundgren fan for years…[H]e’s iconic in the business as a producer, songwriter, musician.”

As previously reported, this year’s other inductees include Carole King and Jay-Z in the main Performers category; Kraftwerk, Charley Patton and Gil Scott-Heron for Early Influence; and Randy Rhoads, Billy Preston and LL Cool J for Musical Excellence.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

With Halloween taking place this Sunday, we checked in with shock rocker Alice Cooper to find out what his plans are for the scary, spooky holiday, and found out some exciting news.

Cooper, who wrapped up his 2021 U.S. tour in support of his latest studio album, Detroit Stories, last week, tells ABC Audio, “I would love to be home with my grandkids, taking ’em trick or treating, except I’m gonna be in the studio in Nashville recording the next album.”

The 73-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer reveals he’s actually “already working on three different albums,” although he doesn’t share any specifics about the projects.

He adds, “I mean, to me, that’s what I was put on Earth to do, is to make records and entertain audiences, you know, and do my shows.”

Cooper says he has no plans to retire because he still feels he hasn’t come up with his best material, and he still loves performing for his fans.

Alice shares a story about how Bob Dylan responded when someone asked him when he was going to retire.

“[H]e goes, ‘I write songs, I sing songs for an audience. That’s what I do,'” Cooper says with a laugh. “It doesn’t matter how much money or anything like that…It has everything to do with, I haven’t written my best songs yet.”

Cooper adds, “Paul McCartney would tell you the same thing. He’d say, ‘I haven’t written my best songs yet, so I’m gonna go do another album.’ And as long as the audience is still there for me, I will keep going until they don’t show up anymore.”

Alice’s next scheduled performance will be in February 2022 on the Monsters of Rock Cruise, followed by a European tour kicking off in May.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Foo Fighters are headlining the 2022 editions of Lollapalooza Argentina and Brazil.

Dave Grohl and company will be joined on the lineups for both festivals by artists including Jane’s Addiction, The Strokes, Machine Gun Kelly and many others.

Lolla Argentina will be held March 18-20 in Buenos Aires, while Lolla Brazil takes place March 25-27 in São Paulo. For the full lineups and all ticket info, visit LollapaloozaAR.com and LollapaloozaBR.com.

Foo Fighters headlined the U.S. Lollapalooza in Chicago this past summer. The 2022 edition of that festival is set for July 28-31.

In other news, Foo Fighters are among the nominees for the 2021 American Music Awards.

The band, who will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this Saturday, will compete in the Favorite Rock Artists category against Machine Gun Kelly, All Time Low, Glass Animals and AJR.

The 2021 American Music Awards will take place Sunday, November 21 at 8 p.m. ET. The ceremony will broadcast live on ABC.

For the full list of nominees, visit TheAMAs.com.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.