Classic Rock News

Fifty years ago today, on June 16, 1972, David Bowie released his classic fifth studio album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, one of the defining recordings of the glam-rock era.

The record was a loose concept album focusing Ziggy Stardust, a character Bowie created as an alter ego that was an androgynous bisexual alien rock star, and his mythical backing group, The Spiders from Mars.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars peaked at #5 on the U.K. albums chart in 1972, while in the U.S. it initially only reached #75 on the Billboard 200. After Bowie’s death in 2016, the album enjoyed its highest chart position in the U.S. — #21.

Only one single was released from the Ziggy Stardust album, “Starman,” which reached #10 on the U.K. singles chart, although it only peaked at #65 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100. The album did feature several other classic Bowie songs, including such enduring tunes as “Moonage Daydream,” “Ziggy Stardust” and “Suffragette City.”

Bowie and his real band — guitarist Mick Ronson, bassist Trevor Bolder and drummer Mick “Woody” Woodmansey — took on the personas of Ziggy and The Spiders from Mars in concert, and toured together for about a year and a half. Then, at the end of a July 3, 1973, show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, David dramatically declared onstage that the group had just played its last gig.

In 2020, Ziggy Stardust was ranked #40 on Rolling Stone‘s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list.

In honor of Ziggy Stardust‘s 50th anniversary, a new mix of Bowie’s historic 1972 performance of “Starman” on the U.K.’s Top of the Pops TV show was released as a special streaming single today.

Here’s the full Ziggy Stardust track list:

Side One
“Five Years”
“Soul Love”
“Moonage Daydream”
“Starman”
“It Ain’t Easy”

Side Two
“Lady Stardust”
“Star”
“Hang On to Yourself”
“Ziggy Stardust”
“Suffragette City”
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”

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Country-rock pioneer Richie Furay, a founding member of both Buffalo Springfield and Poco, has released his new cover of Marc Cohn‘s 1991 hit “Walking in Memphis” as an advance track from his upcoming covers album, In the Country.

The song is available now via digital formats, and Furay has also debuted a music video for the tune on his official YouTube channel.

As previously reported, In the Country is due out on July 8 and is made up mainly of Furay’s interpretations of various well-known country songs.

Among the tunes featured on the 12-track collection are renditions of such country chart-toppers as Keith Urban‘s “Somebody Like You,” Garth Brooks‘ “The River,” Alabama‘s “I’m in a Hurry and I Don’t Know Why” and Lee Ann Womack‘s “I Hope You Dance,” as well as notable crossover hits like “Walking in Memphis” and John Denver‘s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

The album includes guest contributions from Vince Gill, John Berry, ex-Chicago singer/bassist Jason Scheff, and longtime Eagles bassist and former Poco member Timothy B. Schmit.

The digital version of In the Country features two bonus tracks — new renditions of the 1969 Furay-penned Poco tune “Pickin’ Up the Pieces” and George Strait‘s 1992 chart-topper “I Cross My Heart.” You can preorder the album now.

Furay is in Nashville this week, and his schedule includes a concert Thursday at the City Winery; his first performance at the historic Grand Ole Opry on Friday; and a special in-store appearance Saturday at East Nashville’s Vinyl Tap record shop, where he will be signing vinyl copies of In the Country in conjunction with Record Store Day.

Visit RichieFuray.com to check out his full concert schedule.

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The new Everly Brothers compilation Hey Doll Baby gets its release this Friday, June 17. To celebrate that album’s arrival, a star-studded streaming concert event will premiere this Sunday, Father’s Day, at 4 p.m. ET on the famed duo’s official YouTube channel.

The event, dubbed “Hey Doll Baby Festival: Celebrating the Lives & Music of The Everly Brothers,” will feature new and archival performances by Paul Simon with wife Edie Brickell, Graham Nash with Stephen Stills‘ son Chris, The Grateful Dead‘s Bob Weir with The Black Crowes‘ Chris Robinson, Carly Simon with son Ben Taylor, Eurythmics‘ Dave Stewart with Evanescence‘s Amy Lee, founding Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers members Mike Campbell and Stan Lynch, The Bangles‘ Susanna Hoffs with Semisonic‘s Dan Wilson, Chris Isaak, Jakob Dylan and more.

Also making appearances during the livestream will be the late Phil Everly‘s son Jason and the late Tom Petty‘s daughter Adria Petty, who curated the Hey Doll Baby album.

The album is a 17-track collection that features newly remastered versions of classic songs mixed with some lesser-known tunes by the sibling duo of Phil and Don Everly. The compilation was assembled by Adria Petty, who worked closely with the families of both late Everly brothers. Jason Everly contributed track-by-track commentary to the liner notes, while Don also took part in the project prior to his death in August 2021.

You can preorder Hey Doll Baby now.

Meanwhile, Gibson has just released a new limited-edition signature Everly Brothers acoustic guitar based on the matching SJ-200 models that Phil and Don recorded most of their memorable hits with, including “Bye Bye Love,” “Wake Up Little Susie” and “All I Have to Do Is Dream.”

Priced at $7,999, the guitar is available now at Gibson.com and EverlyBrothers.com.

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Ozzy Osbourne was released from the hospital Tuesday after undergoing what his wife, Sharon, deemed a “major operation.”

That’s according to Page Six, which published photos of the metal legend leaving the Los Angeles facility in a wheelchair. The tabloid adds that Ozzy “stood up” from the wheelchair and got into his car under “his own power with guidance from a hospital attendant.”

Sharon first shared news of Ozzy’s surgery during an episode of her U.K. talk show The Talk last week. She added that the procedure was “really gonna determine the rest of [Ozzy’s] life.”

In a tweet Tuesday, Sharon wrote that Ozzy was “doing well” and “on the road to recovery.”

“Our family would like to express so much gratitude for the overwhelming amount of love and support leading up to Ozzy’s surgery!” Sharon wrote. “Your love means the world to him.”

Ozzy, 73, told Classic Rock magazine in an interview published in May that he was “waiting on some more surgery” on his neck. Ozzy suffered a fall in 2019, which aggravated injuries he sustained in a 2003 ATV accident.

Beyond that, Ozzy has been battling a number of health issues over the past few years. Prior to the 2019 fall, he was hospitalized with a bad case of pneumonia, and in early 2020, he revealed he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

In April of this year, Ozzy tested positive for COVID-19.

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Good news from Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, who says he’s recovering well after testing positive for COVID-19, which forced the band to postpone two shows on its current SIXTY tour of Europe.

“Thank you all so much for your well wishes and messages the last few days,” the 78-year-old rock legend writes in a message posted on his social media pages. “I’m feeling much better and can’t wait to get back on stage next week!”

Jagger also reveals that the first of the postponed shows, a June 13 concert in Amsterdam, “has been rescheduled for July 7,” adding that a new date for the postponed June 17 gig in Bern, Switzerland will be announced “ASAP.” The Rolling Stones also posted details about the new Amsterdam date on their social media sites.

The next scheduled concert on The Stones’ 60th anniversary tour is a June 21 show in Milan, Italy.

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After announcing the performers for the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert in London, Foo Fighters have now revealed the lineup for the Los Angeles show.

The LA bill includes many artists who are also booked for the London performance, including Queens of the Stone Age‘s Josh Homme, Queen‘s Brian May and Roger Taylor, Rush‘s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Jane’s Addiction‘s Chris Chaney, Wolfgang Van Halen, The Police‘s Stewart Copeland, producer Mark Ronson and drummer/producer Omar Hakim.

Additionally, the lineup features a number of acts exclusive to the LA date, including Miley Cyrus, Joan Jett, Alanis Morissette, KISS‘ Gene Simmons, Mötley Crüe‘s Nikki Sixx, Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith, The Struts‘ Luke Spiller, Rage Against the Machine‘s Brad Wilk and Weezer‘s Pat Wilson.

Artists including Liam Gallagher and Chrissie Hynde of Pretenders are exclusive to the London lineup. Comedian Dave Chappelle will also be making a “special appearance” in the London show.

The guests will be “playing the songs that Taylor loved and created, with and alongside his FF brothers Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee,” a press release says.

As previously reported, the concerts will take place September 3 at London’s Wembley Stadium and September 27 at LA’s Kia Forum. Tickets to both shows go on sale this Friday, June 17 at 9 a.m. local time. Proceeds will benefit charities in the U.K. and U.S. chosen by the Hawkins family.

For more info, visit FooFighters.com.

Hawkins died on March 25 at age 50.

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Foo Fighters have announced the first performers who’ll appear at the upcoming Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts.

As previously reported, the two shows in London and Los Angeles will feature Hawkins’ “bandmates and his inspirations playing the songs that he fell in love with, and the ones he brought to life.”

The artists who’ll be joining the Foos onstage at London’s Wembley Stadium on September 3 include Rush‘s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Queen‘s Brian May and Roger Taylor, The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde, Stewart Copeland of The Police, Liam Gallagher, Wolfgang Van Halen, Josh Homme, Mark Ronson, bassist Chris Chaney of Jane’s Addiction and Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, and legendary drummer/producer Omar Hakim, who’s worked with Foo Fighters, David Bowie, Dire Straits, Miles Davis, Journey, Kate Bush and dozens more.

Plus, Dave Chappelle will make a special appearance, and Hawkins’ cover band Chevy Metal is also on the bill.

The guests for the September 27 Los Angeles show at the Kia Forum will be announced at noon Wednesday. The charities that will benefit from both shows — chosen by the Hawkins family — will be announced shortly. For ticket information, join the Foo Fighters’ mailing list.

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Today marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the Steve Miller Band‘s 12th studio album, Abracadabra.

Powered by the chart-topping title track, Abracadabra peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and was the group’s last album to enjoy significant commercial success in the U.S. The song “Abracadabra” spent two nonconsecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September of ’82. The tune was only one of two tracks that frontman Steve Miller wrote on the album, along with “Give It Up.”

Steve Miller Band drummer Gary Mallaber co-wrote the album’s remaining eight songs, four of which in collaboration with Miller Band guitarist John Massaro.

“Cool Magic” and the aforementioned “Give It Up” were also released as singles, although they only reached #57 and #60, respectively, on the Hot 100.

“Abracadabra” is the Steve Miller Band’s final top-40 hit to date. Its popularity was bolstered by a music video that received heavy airplay on MTV.

The album, which was co-produced by Miller and Mallaber, has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales of over 1 million copies in the U.S.

Here’s the full Abracadabra track list:

“Keeps Me Wondering Why”
“Abracadabra”
“Something Special”
“Give It Up”
“Never Say No”
“Things I Told You”
“Young Girl’s Heart”
“Goodbye Love”
“Cool Magic”
“While I’m Waiting”

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Ringo Starr‘s first NFT collection was sold Monday, June 13, at an online sale hosted by Julian’s Auctions.

The “Ringo Starr NFT Collection — The Creative Mind of a Beatle” included a total of 20 NFTs based on five unique works of art created by the legendary Beatles drummer. All 20 NFT packages, each of which included an animated digital version of a Starr painting and a 25-by-25-inch canvas print of the same artwork signed by Ringo, were sold.

Winning bids spanned from $5,760 to $10,240, and the 20 packages sold for a cumulative total of $127,360. You can check out the full results at JuliensLive.com. As previously reported, most of the NFTs also incorporated a custom-made drum track played and recorded by Starr.

The paintings that served as the basis for the NFTs included self-portraits and colorful spin art pieces.

Those who purchased an NFT package will also be given access to a virtual gallery of Starr’s digital art, called RingoLand.

A portion of the proceeds raised by the auction will be donated to Ringo’s Lotus Foundation, which funds and supports charitable projects that focus on various social welfare causes.

In conjunction with reducing the carbon footprint associated with the creation of the NFTs, a donation was made to the CarbonFund.org climate-change organization.

Meanwhile, as announced Saturday, the last 12 concerts of the first leg of Ringo and his All Starr Band’s 2022 tour have been postponed until September after two members of the group — Edgar Winter and Steve Lukather — tested positive for COVID-19. The rescheduled dates are expected to be announced soon.

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Eddie Vedder has announced the lineup for the 2022 edition of his Ohana Encore festival, taking place October 8-9 in Dana Point, California.

As its name suggests, Ohana Encore is a companion to the Pearl Jam frontman’s Ohana Festival, which will be held the prior weekend, from September 30 to October 2.

Vedder himself will headline the first day of the Ohana Encore fest, along with Alannis Morissette, while The Black Keys and HAIM will top the bill on the second day. Other artists on the lineup include The Afghan Whigs, The Roots, Marcus King and Band of Horses.

Tickets to Ohana Encore go on sale this Friday, June 17, at 10 a.m. local time, with a pre-sale beginning Thursday, June 16, at 10 a.m. local. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit OhanaFest.com.

Vedder founded Ohana Festival in 2016. Ohana Encore made its debut in 2021.

The 2022 Ohana Festival lineup includes Vedder, Stevie Nicks, founding Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and his current group The Dirty Knobs, Jack White, Pink, St. Vincent and Brittany Howard. Tickets are on sale now.

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