Classic Rock News

Back in April, former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar released the song “Encore, Thank You, Good Night,” revealing that the tune was inspired by a dream he had about his late bandmate Eddie Van Halen. Well, now Van Halen’s other lead singer, David Lee Roth, has weighed in on it.

Fan shot footage posted to YouTube shows that during a concert in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, earlier this month, Roth seemed to mock Hagar’s dream, revealing that he too got a visit from Eddie’s ghost.

Calling Hagar “one of my esteemed colleagues” with a “great voice,” Roth joked, “I don’t know what the odds are, but last night the ghost of Eddie Van Halen visited me at the f****** hotel room. I was watching the weather report and he came in and he was laughing. His f****** ghost was laughing.”

“I said, ‘What did you do now?’ He said, ‘Dave, Dave … Dave, you know that song I gave Hagar?’ I said ‘What now?’ He said, ‘It’s actually [Iron Butterfly’s hit] ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida’ backwards. Don’t f****** tell him,'” Roth continued, tongue in cheek.

Roth said after laughing and sharing a cigarette together, he let Eddie know how he felt about him.

“I hugged my brother Ed, and I said, ‘Man, do I f****** miss you.’ And he said, ‘I miss you too, Dave,'” Roth shared. “He said, ‘But you know what? You should still go to hell.’ And I said, ‘Save me a seat.'”

Roth is set to bring his tour to Gary, Indiana, on Tuesday. A complete list of dates can be found at DavidLeeRoth.com.

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On This Day, Aug. 18, 1986…

Bon Jovi released their third studio album, Slippery When Wet, which wound up being a huge breakthrough for the band.

The album, produced by Bruce Fairbairn, spent eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard Albums chart, and was the band’s first #1 album.

It produced two #1 singles, “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ on a Prayer,” both of which were written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child. The album’s third single, “Wanted Dead or Alive,” was a top-10 hit, peaking at #7 on the Hot 100.

Slippery When Wet would go on to be Billboard’s top-selling album of 1987, and has since been certified 15-times Platinum by the RIAA.

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The premiere date for a BBC documentary on the late Ozzy Osbourne has been postponed.

The film, titled Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, was set to air Monday, but has been moved to an as-yet unannounced date. In a statement, the BBC says, “The film has moved in the schedules and new transmission details will be confirmed in due course.”

Coming Home follows Ozzy’s return home to England after long living in the U.S. leading up to the big Back to the Beginning concert on July 5, which marked his and Black Sabbath‘s final live performance. Ozzy died just over two weeks later, on July 22.

“Filmed over three years, [Coming Home] captures the extraordinary roller-coaster of their lives as Sharon [Osbourne] and Ozzy attempt to complete their long-held dream of moving back to the UK, Ozzy heroically battles to get fit enough to perform, and the family deal with the dramatic consequences of his ill-health,” a press release reads.

Coming Home was originally planned as a documentary series called Home to Roost, which was first announced in 2022. Details of the standalone doc were announced on Aug. 7.

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Ronnie Rondell, Jr., the American stuntman who appeared on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1975 album Wish You Were Here, has died.

An obituary announcement posted online reveals that Rondell passed away Aug. 12, at the age of 88.

The cover of Wish You Were Here, from design studio Hipgnosis, was photographed by Aubrey “Po” Powell, and featured two businessmen shaking hands, one of which was Rondell, who was set on fire.

In addition to the Wish You Were Here cover, Rondell appeared in TV and movies, including 1974’s Blazing Saddles, 1987’s Lethal Weapon and 1994’s The Crow.

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John Fogerty and his bandmates in Creedence Clearwater Revival did not break up on the best of terms in the ’70s. The acrimonious split resulted in a rift between John and his brother and bandmate, Tom Fogerty, which lasted until Tom’s death in 1990.

“We certainly were estranged,” John tells People, noting that things were so bad between them that at one point Tom sided with Fantasy Records exec Saul Zaentz, the owner of John’s old label, who also owned the royalties to the CCR catalog.

Tom actually called Zaentz his “best friend” once, which John says was “like a dagger in my heart at the time.”

“But many, many years after that, long after Tom had passed away, I actually made it a point in my own consciousness to forgive Tom for all of that,” John tells the mag. “If he’d gotten a chance to survive, I think he would’ve come to the place where we’d say, ‘All that stuff’s crap,’ and let it go.”

He also thinks they may have suggested making music together again, which would have helped them heal and “realize our much stronger bond as brothers.”

“We didn’t get that chance, but I feel that, at least on my side of it, I’ve felt happy and positive toward Tom,” John adds. “The idea of meeting him in the afterlife would be a very joyful thing.”

John, who regained the rights to his music in 2023, is set to release the new album Legacy: the Creedence Clearwater Revival years, on Friday. The album was recorded with his sons Shane Fogerty and Tyler Fogerty and features rerecorded takes on CCR classics.

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The Who kicked off their The Song Is Over North America Farewell Tour Saturday in Sunrise, Florida, treating fans to a song they’ve never played live before.

According to setlist.fm, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers performed the Who’s Next track “Going Mobile,” with Pete Townshend’s brother, guitarist Simon Townshend, handling lead vocals. It marked the first time The Who had ever played the 1971 song live in concert.

“Going Mobile” was part of four straight songs from Who’s Next, with the band performing “Bargain.” “Love Ain’t For Keeping” and “Behind Blue Eyes” right before it. Later in the concert they also played “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “The Song Is Over,” and “Baba O’Riley,” from the same album.

The set was filled with a whole host of other Who classics. They opened with “I Can’t Explain,” and also played tracks like “Who Are You,” “I Can See For Miles,” “Pinball Wizard,” “My Generation,” “You Better You Bet,” “The Real Me,” “Eminence Front,” and more.

According to USA Today, while the band did work through some technical difficulties during the show, Roger Daltrey noted it would make the gig more memorable. 

“You’ll never remember the perfect show,” Daltrey said after an issue before “You Better You Bet.” “You’ll remember the f***-ups.”

They also joked about their drummer drama, referring to the fact that they they fired, then re-hired, then fired drummer Zak Starkey earlier this year. When introducing new drummer Scott Devours, the drummer for Daltrey’s solo tours, Townshend joked, “I have no idea who he is.”

The Who’s The Song Is Over North American Farewell tour hits Newark, New Jersey, on Tuesday, with dates confirmed through Sept. 28 in Las Vegas. A complete list of dates can be found at TheWho.com.

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The legendary Talking Heads have teamed up with Welcome Skateboards for a once in a lifetime collaboration.

The skateboard company has just launched a limited-edition merch collection celebrating the band’s debut album, Talking Heads: 77. The line includes two graphic tees and a custom skateboard deck, with all items featuring early shots of Talking Heads taken by the late photographer Mick Rock.

“We’ve always been inspired by artists who disregard rules and create new genres, and Talking Heads are the epitome of that,” said Jason Celaya, founder of Welcome Skateboards. “This collaboration is a nod to the creative rebellion that Talking Heads brought to the music world.”

The Talking Heads X Welcome collaboration is currently available online and at select skate shops worldwide.

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Paul McCartney’s photography exhibit is hitting another city this year.

Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm is set to debut at Nashville’s Frist Art Museum on Nov. 6 and run through Jan. 26, 2026.

Eyes of the Storm features more than 250 photographs taken by The Beatles legend between 1963 and 1964, giving fans insight into his point of view during the height of Beatlemania.

The exhibit debuted in June 2023 at London’s National Portrait Gallery and has since been shown at museums in Virginia; New York; Portland, Oregon; Osaka, Japan; San Francisco; and Ontario, Canada. Select photos were also on display at an art gallery in Beverly Hills, California.

Timed tickets to the Frist showings will go on sale Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. local time for Frist members. The general sale begins Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. local time.

McCartney is getting ready to head out on a new North American leg of his Got Back tour this fall. The tour kicks off Sept. 29 in Palm Desert, California. A complete list of dates can be found at PaulMcCartney.com.

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Eagles founding member Bernie Leadon is set to release his first solo album in over two decades.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will drop Too Late To Be Cool on Oct. 10, with all songs on the album written by Leadon and produced by Glyn Johns.

“I love this album. We took time to make sure the songs were in good keys for my voice,” Leadon shares. “The three piece band and myself were all sitting in the same room, or where we could see one another well. Many were first, or very early takes. I even sang live on about three songs.”

He adds, “I hope you all enjoy it. Hope you find something that sticks with you, in a good way. I’m so grateful we can all still do this.”

To coincide with the announcement, Leadon has released the album’s second single, “Just a Little,” to digital outlets. It follows the single “Too Many Memories,” for which he recently released a music video filled with archival photos of his life and career.

Too Late To Be Cool, which is available for preorder now, is Leadon’s first solo album since 2004’s Mirror.

While Leadon recently performed at the Country Music Hall of Fame, he’s set to make his first public performance in almost 10 years at the upcoming Americanafest, taking place Sept. 9-13. His last public performance was with the Eagles on 2105’s History of the Eagles tour.

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Neil Young is taking a stand against Meta’s use of artificial intelligence when it comes to children.

A post on Young’s Facebook page announced that he would no longer be using the social media platform, an apparent response to a Reuters article that revealed details of an internal Meta Platforms document that noted Meta’s chatbot functions were allowed to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.”

“At Neil Young’s request, we are no longer using Facebook for any Neil Young related activities,” read the post on Young’s Facebook page. “Meta’s use of chatbots with children is unconscionable. Mr. Young does not want a further connection with FACEBOOK.”

Young hasn’t made any other comments about his decision. It does look like Meta plans to change its policy, though, with spokesman Andy Stone telling Reuters the document is being revised. Stone says examples listed in it “were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed.”

Young is currently on his Love Earth tour with his band Chrome Hearts. The tour hits Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, on Friday. A complete list of dates can be found at NeilYoungArchives.com.

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