Classic Rock
R.I.P. Ken Hensley, Original Uriah Heep Keyboardist and Songwriter Dies at 75
Ken Hensley, an original member of Uriah Heep, has passed away at the age of 75 following a short illness. The veteran musician played keyboards, rhythm guitar and sang in the legendary UK rock band during their ’70s heyday, and was their chief songwriter during that time. The news of Hensley’s death was reported by his brother Trevor, who wrote on Facebook, “I am writing this with a heavy heart to let you know that my brother Ken Hensley passed away peacefully on Wednesday evening. His beautiful wife Monica was at his side and comforted Ken in his last few minutes with us. He added, “We are all devastated by this tragic and incredibly unexpected loss and ask that you please give us some space and time to come to terms with it. Ken will be cremated in a private ceremony in Spain so please ...
Bruce Springsteen Is First Artist with a Billboard Top 5 Album in Each of Last Six Decades
Bruce Springsteen’s new album Letter to You will debut at No. 2 on the November 3rd edition of the Billboard 200. As Billboard confirms, this makes him the first artist to score a Top 5 album in each of the last six decades. Letter to You opens with 96,000 album equivalents sold, the best numbers The Boss has earned since 2014. It sold especially well on vinyl, with 18,000 LPs moved. That’s the second-most weekly vinyl sales of the year, following 26,000 copies of Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush. Including studio efforts, live albums, and greatest hits compilations, this is Springsteen’s 21st Top-5 release of his career. The others were 1975’s Born to Run (No. 3), 1978’s Darkness on the Edge of Town, (No. 5), 1980’s The River (No. 1), 1982’s Nebraska (No. 3), 1984’s Born in the ...
Axl Rose Poetically Urges Americans to Vote for a “Better World” in the “Face of Fear and Intimidation”
With Election Day upon us, Axl Rose is urging his fellow Americans to vote. The Guns N’ Roses singer posted a series of poetic tweets, listing the reasons why it’s so important to cast a ballot in the presidential election this year. While Rose doesn’t mention Donald Trump or Joe Biden by name, his social media posts over the past four years have been decidedly anti-Trump. In fact, the rock legend has repeatedly ripped apart Trump and his administration throughout the president’s entire term in the White House. Among his many takedowns of Trump, the GN’R frontman once called the president a “repulsive excuse for a person with a sick agenda.” The singer also lambasted members of Trump’s administration for seemingly discouraging social distancing during the pandemic. In a three-part twe...
The 5 Best Covers of David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World”
Very few were originally sold on The Man Who Sold the World, whether talking about David Bowie’s now-admired third album or the title track nestled near the back of that same recording. After a debut album of boyish, quirky pop juvenilia and a follow-up known mostly for the novelty of the future Starman’s first foray into outer space (“Space Oddity”), The Man Who Sold the World saw the English songwriter shift towards a harder brand of rock alongside producer Tony Visconti and future Spiders from Mars guitarist Mick Ronson and drummer Mick Woodmansey. Still, the departure gained Bowie little notice, and the title song itself did little to stand out at the time on the single-less album. It wouldn’t be until Bowie’s success two records later as Ziggy Stardust that critics and fans alike bega...
AC/DC Team Up with DC Shoes for New Footwear and Apparel Line
AC/DC have teamed up with DC Shoes for a new line of footwear and apparel. The merch launches this Saturday (November 7th), just in time for the legendary band’s upcoming album, Power Up, which arrives on November 13th. DC Shoes is known for its skate footwear, so it’s not surprising that the shoes are the highlight of the AC/DC collaboration. A handful of classic DC styles and silhouettes have been adorned with the band’s iconography. One style features the cover of Highway to Hell printed on the canvas area, while others boldly display the band’s logo. The shoes will retail for a suggested price of $55 to $75. In addition to the footwear, the AC/DC x DC Shoes partnership also features beanies, longsleeves, and more as part of the line, ranging from $25 to $75. As AC/DC were a staple musi...
Eddie Vedder on Losing Chris Cornell: “I Still Haven’t Quite Dealt With It”
Howard Stern can get anyone to talk — anyone — and Eddie Vedder was no exception. On Monday, the Pearl Jam frontman joined the veteran broadcaster for a spirited three-hour conversation chock full of stories both humorous and heartwarming. Things took a turn, however, when their dialogue shifted to the tragic passing of friend and colleague Chris Cornell. “I’ve had to be somewhat in denial,” Vedder explained. “One way I was even able to do it, and I don’t think I had a choice. It’s just like, I was terrified of where I would go if I allowed myself to feel what I needed to feel or what I instinctively wanted to feel or how dark I felt. Because I didn’t see him that often in the last 10 years, probably only like four, five times and usually at a gig or something, I just kind of–I still haven...
Elvis Costello’s Aim Remains Remarkably True on Hey Clockface: Review
The Lowdown: English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello has about three dozen studio LPs under his belt (including collaborations), yet he’s never lost his inimitable knack for crafting scornful witticisms, tender ballads, catchy-as-hell rockers, and everything in-between. Likewise, his skill at working within multiple genres while both modernizing his sound and staying true to his distinguishing DNA is virtually unmatched by his peers or proteges. In other words, he’s always staked out his own path within the realm of popular music, and with Hey Clockface, he continues that legacy. It doesn’t rival his greatest LPs — not that anyone expects it to — but it’s a surprisingly wide-ranging and substantial venture that reveals how much creative spark and ability is still there after all these yea...
Gang of Four’s Jon King: “Hendrix Was a God to Us”
Kyle Meredith With… Gang of Four Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Gang of Four co-founder Jon King speaks with Kyle Meredith about the band’s new box set, ‘77-’81. The post-punk legend discusses being rejected by numerous record labels, their bleak ’70s British life, dealing with Nazis who attended their shows, and how their songs still speak to all of the same issues today. King also tells us about being influenced by Jimi Hendrix and funk music, touring with Public Enemy, being sampled by Run the Jewels, and having their music used in film and television, namely 13 Reasons Why, The Manchurian Candidate, and Marie Antionette. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in whic...
David Lee Roth Dedicates Previously Unreleased Song to Eddie Van Halen: Stream
David Lee Roth has unveiled a previously unreleased song called “Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bar and Grill” in dedication to his late bandmate Eddie Van Halen. The track was recorded several years ago with guitarist John 5 as part of a full album’s worth of material that was shelved. The song features John 5 on acoustic guitar as DLR reflects on his pre-fame days on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California. A still graphic accompanying the YouTube clip contains the words “Hey Ed, I’m gonna miss ya … See you on the other side.” Previously, Roth shared a photo of himself with Eddie Van Halen on Twitter, along with the caption, ‘What a long great trip it’s been.” Around six years ago, Roth and John 5 co-wrote and recorded an entire album, but it never saw the light of day. Last year, Roth pro...
The Rolling Stones Share First-Ever Live Performance of “Sympathy for the Devil”: Watch
The Rolling Stones’ legendary 1996 concert film Rock and Roll Circus documents the band’s last performance with their original lineup in 1968. Today, they’re sharing a coveted clip that didn’t make it into the movie: The Rolling Stones’ first-ever public performance of “Sympathy for the Devil”. Watch it below. Filmed during that December 12th, 1968 gig, the previously unreleased clip captures the raw energy of The Rolling Stones in their initial configuration with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Ian Stewart, and then bandleader Brian Jones. It’s sourced from a Dolby 4K restoration of the concert film that’s available online for the first time. The band had just dropped Beggars Banquet six days prior to this performance and were clearly riding high on that post-...
Cindy Blackman Santana: “Drums Drive Everything, But They Have to Be Musical”
Kyle Meredith With… Cindy Blackman Santana Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Legendary drummer Cindy Blackman Santana speaks with Kyle Meredith about Give the Drummer Some, an album that finds her singing lead for the first time. Together, they discuss the ways to make fun music with a message, tapping Metallica’s Kirk Hammet and Living Colour’s Vernon Reid to guest, and working with producer Narada Michael Walden. The former Lenny Kravitz drummer and now Santana member also weighs in on the freedom of making a record with the drums front and center in the mix, paying tribute to Miles Davis, and partnering with Yoko Ono and husband Carlos Santana to start SongAid. Kyle Meredith With...
Maya and Ethan Hawke Starring in New Film About Teen Trying to Lose Her Virginity to George Harrison
Maya and Ethan Hawke are joining the lineage of parent-child acting teams who share the screen. The daughter-father duo will headline the new movie Revolver, which is a fictional story centered around the very real incident of The Beatles making an unplanned stop in Anchorage, Alaska. On June 27th, 1966, The Beatles’ plane indeed landed in Anchorage, though there’s conflicting reports regarding why. Some say their flight got held up by a typhoon named Kit, but others claim it was a refueling stop that was delayed due to mechanical issues. When the Fab Four were forced to charter a bus to the nearby Anchorage Westward Hotel (now a Hilton), some Beatlemanics caught wind. Within hours, there were some 500 fans crowded outside the hotel. The whole ordeal lasted barely 12 hours, with The Beatle...
