Classic Rock News

John Waite is the subject of a new documentary titled John Waite — The Hard Way, which will premiere on December 6 via a variety of on-demand streaming services.

The film will also be released on DVD and Blu-ray at Amazon.com.

The documentary features candid interviews with the 1980s pop-rock star shot during the COVID-19 shutdown, while the singer was dealing with the isolation and inability to tour because of the health crisis.

The movie looks at Waite’s whole career, from his years fronting the pop-rock group The Babys, to his successful solo career, to his work with the supergroup Bad English — which also featured Journey‘s Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain — and beyond.

The documentary includes rare archival footage and photos, as well as interviews with award-winning songwriter Diane Warren, guitarist Neil Giraldo and many others. The movie also features footage of Waite touring with Ringo Starr‘s All Starr Band and his collaboration with acclaimed country/bluegrass artist Alison Krauss.

“Opening the front door at the crack of dawn in my boxers to a film crew signified how the documentary would go,” says Waite about the making of the movie. “It’s an unvarnished take on my life, just the cold, hard truth.”

You can check out a trailer for John Waite — The Hard Way now on YouTube.

Meanwhile, Waite has a couple of U.S. headlining gigs in late October that will be followed by a series of dates opening for Christopher Cross next month. Check out his full schedule at JohnWaiteWorldwide.com.

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The trailer has been released for the upcoming documentary Let There Be Drums!, which features such famous musicians as The Beatles‘ Ringo Starr, The Police‘s Steward Copeland, and The Grateful Dead‘s Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart.

As its title suggests, Let There Be Drums! spotlights “the world’s greatest drummers” as they “reflect on the art of drumming and how it has shaped their lives.”

In one segment of the trailer, which is streaming on YouTube, Ringo says, “My dream was to play drums, and you know where I ended up … in the best band in the land.”

Other musicians featured in the film include Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith, Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, ex-Guns N’ Roses drummers Matt Sorum and Steven Adler, Green Day‘s Tre Cool and in what’s thought to be his last filmed interview, late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.

“The second I sat on the drums, it was like a bolt of lightning went through my body,” Hawkins says in the trailer. “I’ll never forget that day.”

The documentary was directed by Kreutzmann’s son, Justin Kreutzmann.

Let There Be Drums! is set to premiere in theaters, and via Amazon and Apple TV, on October 28.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers continue to add to their Billboard chart record with their latest single, “Tippa My Tongue.”

The track has hit #1 on the Alternative Airplay ranking, extending the “Californication” group’s total of leaders on that particular tally to 15. Having already set the record for most Alternative Airplay #1s in the chart’s 34-year history, the Chili Peppers now have a three-song lead over Green Day, who has the second-most Alternative Airplay leaders with 12.

“Tippa My Tongue” is the lead single off RHCP’s upcoming album Return of the Dream Canteen, due out this Friday. Return of the Dream Canteen is the second Peppers albums of 2022, following April’s Unlimited Love, which also spawned a #1 Alternative Airplay single in “Black Summer.”

Along with “Tippa My Tongue,” Return of the Dream Canteen features the song “Eddie,” which is a tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen.

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Here’s wishing a very happy 75th birthday to the Red Rocker himself, Sammy Hagar.

In celebration of the milestone, Hagar will be playing the third and final show of his annual Birthday Bash concert series on Thursday night at his Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Hagar first found rock stardom in the early ’70s as the lead singer of Montrose. After leaving the band in 1975, Sammy forged a successful solo career that saw him score such hits as 1982’s “Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy” and 1984’s “I Can’t Drive 55.”

Hagar found even greater success when he joined Van Halen in 1985, replacing founding frontman David Lee Roth. Sammy appeared on four chart-topping albums with the group before exiting Van Halen in 1996.

Since then, Hagar has toured and recorded with his longtime backing band The Wabos, the supergroup Chickenfoot — featuring ex-Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani — and, most recently, The Circle, which also features Anthony, plus drummer Jason Bonham and Wabos guitarist Vic Johnson. If that wasn’t enough, Hagar is a business mogul whose interests have included Cabo Wabo Tequila and the Sammy’s Beach Bar & Grill franchise.

Hagar’s latest album, which was recorded with The Circle, is titled Crazy Times and was released last month.

As previously reported, AXS TV is celebrating Sammy’s 75th birthday with a 24-hour programming block that kicked off Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. During the marathon, 41 episodes of Hagar’s AXS TV show Rock & Roll Road Trip will be shown.

In between episodes, AXS TV is airing special content that includes birthday wishes from some of Sammy’s friends, among them Sebastian Bach and Foreigner/Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson.

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The fall U.S. leg of Judas Priest‘s 50 Heavy Metal Years Tour gets underway Thursday night in Wallingford, Connecticut.

The treks begins about two months after guitarist Richie Faulkner underwent his second heart operation in less than a year, to correct a complication that developed following the life-saving surgery he had in September 2021 after suffering a near-fatal aortic aneurysm at the end of the band’s performance at the Louder than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky.

Priest frontman Rob Halford notes that Faulkner had the follow-up operation just a few days after the band finished its European summer trek, and he marvels at how quickly the 42-year-old guitar slinger has recovered and is ready to hit the road again.

“[He’s] got the turbo double-barrel scars,” Halford tells ABC Audio. “[I]it’s just remarkable. He’s a remarkable man, in terms of his strength, his physical and mental strength, to deal with the second procedure. And of course, the great news is that … it worked out really well.”

Reflecting on how Faulkner has handled the health scare, Rob says, “[It’s] definitely a very, very powerful story. Full of metal. You know, full-on metal — resilience, determination, not holding anything back. Just full-on heavy metal power of … putting the horns up and getting on with it.”

Meanwhile, about halfway through the tour, on November 5, Judas Priest will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

“It’s going to be fun,” Halford declares about the event. “We’re gonna be red hot as it is with the roadwork.”

The U.S. tour runs through a November 29 show in Houston, and Priest then heads to Mexico and South America in December.

Check out the band’s full tour schedule at JudasPriest.com.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers, Elton John, The Rolling Stones and Foo Fighters are among the veteran rock artists who will compete for honors at the 2022 American Music Awards.

The Chili Peppers have received nominations for three awards — Favorite Rock Artist, Favorite Rock Song for “Black Summer” and Favorite Rock Album for Unlimited Love.

Elton is nominated for Collaboration of the Year for his Dua Lipa duet “Cold Heart” and for Favorite Touring Artist, making him the longest-recognized artist in AMA history: He was first nominated back in 1974, at the very first American Music Awards, for Top Pop/Rock Male.

The Rolling Stones are also in the running for the Favorite Touring Artist prize, while Foo Fighters scored a Favorite Rock Song nod for “Love Dies Young.”

Leading all nominees this year is Latin superstar Bad Bunny, with a total of eight.

Fan voting is open now at VoteAMAs.com and via Twitter in nearly all the award categories.

The American Music Awards air Sunday, November 20, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

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

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The previously unheard archival Queen track “Face It Alone,” which features the late Freddie Mercury on vocals and was recorded during the sessions for the band’s 1989 studio album The Miracle, has just been released as a digital download and via streaming formats.

In addition, a lyric video for the tune has premiered at Queen’s official YouTube channel.

“Face It Alone” serves as the lead single from an upcoming expanded reissue of The Miracle, dubbed The Miracle Collector’s Edition, which will be released on November 18. The recording was rediscovered during the process of putting the collection together.

“We’d kind of forgotten about this track,” admits Queen drummer Roger Taylor, “but there it was, this little gem. It’s wonderful, a real discovery. It’s a very passionate piece.”

The Miracle Collector’s Edition features five CDs, one vinyl LP, a Blu-ray disc, a DVD and a 76-page hardback book.

The CDs include a remastered version of the original 10-track album; a disc featuring early takes and versions, demos, in-studio conversations and unheard tracks; a CD titled Alternative Miracle that compiles extra tracks from The Miracle sessions, B-sides, extended versions and more; a disc of instrumental and backing tracks from the record’s 10 songs; and a CD of archival interviews with the band’s members.

The LP features an originally planned 11-track version of The Miracle, which features “Too Much Love Will Kill You” — a song that later appeared on Queen’s 1995 Made in Heaven album.

The Blu-ray and DVD contain promotional videos of five Miracle songs — “I Want It All,” “Breakthru,” “The Invisible Man,” “Scandal” and the title track — as well as archival interviews and features about the making of the clips and the album cover.

You can preorder The Miracle Collector’s Edition now.

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In addition to spreading the word of rock, AC/DC will soon be providing another educational service.

The Australian company Love Police Books has announced a new children’s book using the “Back in Black” rockers to teach the alphabet.

Titled The AC/DC AB/CD High-Voltage Alphabet, the book introduces each letter with an AC/DC-themed cartoon and a short poem, such as, “A is for Angus, who thinks it’s good luck, to wear a school uniform, and walk like a duck.”

High-Voltage Alphabet will be released November 11 and is available to preorder now.

If you’re looking for an AC/DC book aimed at an older demographic, frontman Brian Johnson is releasing his memoir, The Lives of Brian: AC/DC, Me, and the Making of Back in Black, on October 25.

In other AC/DC news, the Royal Australian Mint has announced a new series of coins commemorating the band’s 50th anniversary. Brothers Angus and Malcolm Young founded AC/DC in Sydney in 1973.

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A selection of instruments and other gear belonging to Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson will be available for purchase via Wilson’s shop at the Reverb.com online marketplace starting Wednesday, October 19.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will be selling more than two dozen items from her long career with Heart, including guitars, amplifiers and keyboards.

Among the guitars Wilson is selling is a late-1960s Gibson SG that she says has been one of her main guitars for playing the Heart classic “Barracuda” in concert. The instrument features a Bigsby vibrato bar, and the back of the body has two Marine Corps stickers affixed to it.

“It’s traveled really far with me. We’ve done a lot of stages and shows together … and you might recognize this Marine Corps symbol here that I used to flash at the end of ‘Barracuda,'” Wilson says. 

Other guitars that will be sold include a 1957 Fender Stratocaster, a Paul Reed Smith 12-string prototype electric guitar with a dragon inlay, a late-1970s David Petschulat Mini Les Paul that appeared on the cover of Heart’s Greatest Hits Live album, and a red-and-white TV Jones Spectrasonic model Wilson says she also frequently used to play “Barracuda” live.

A video of Wilson showing off and talking about the various guitars she’s selling has been posted on Reverb’s official YouTube channel.

The sale was organized by Wilson and Reverb in partnership with the DEFINITIVE Authentic company, which works directly with artists and other celebrities to help certify, preserve and exhibit their artifacts.

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Is Green Day planning something for the 25th anniversary of Nimrod?

The band’s 1997 album celebrates the milestone this Friday, October 14. In a tweet Tuesday, Billie Joe Armstrong and company teased the occasion, writing, “Someone’s got a VERY big birthday on Friday…any guesses who??!”

The tweet is also accompanied by an image featuring the Roman numeral for 25, XXV.

Nimrod is Green Day’s fifth studio album, which has been certified double Platinum by the RIAA. It spawned the singles “Hitchin’ a Ride” and “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” which, despite being originally written as a breakup song, has become a staple of high school proms and graduations.

Meanwhile, Green Day is set to headline the 2023 edition of Las Vegas’ When We Were Young festival on October 21 of next year.

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