July 9, 1995 – Jerry Garcia performs his last concert with the Grateful Dead at Chicago’s Soldier Field.  At the time, no one knew this would be Garcia’s last show, even Garcia himself.  Although he’d been clean for several years, Garcia had returned to using drugs to ease some physical ailments.  He died exactly one month later at … Continue reading CDJ Today: July 9 in Classic Rock →

December 15, 1977 – The Sex Pistols are refused entry into the U.S. two days before their scheduled appearance on Saturday Night Live. Johnny Rotten is denied because of drug convictions, Paul Cook and Sid Vicious because of “moral turpitude” and Steve Jones because of his criminal record. Elvis Costello fills in for them, but then gets banned from the … Continue reading CDJ Today: December 15 in Classic Rock →

November 10, 2002 – On the Simpsons episode “How I Spent My Strummer Vacation,” Homer spends a week at a Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp run by big name recording artists including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz, and Brian Setzer.  The first rule of the camp: There are no rules! Second rule: No outside … Continue reading CDJ Today: November 10 in Classic Rock →

I recently watched the new docu-series Laurel Canyon.  If you enjoyed Echo in The Canyon (which I thought was extraordinary), Laurel Canyon is a great follow-up.  It’s a two-part television documentary and gives a much broader view of that legendary Laurel Canyon music scene. It includes many more artists than Echo and I learned a … Continue reading Laurel Canyon, The Byrds, Elvis Costello and My Rickenbacker Guitar →

Ringo Starr will have a little help from his friends as he celebrates his 80th birthday virtually today. The Beatles drummer will be joined by former bandmate Paul McCartney, the Eagles’ Joe Walsh, Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper and Dave Grohl, Gary Clark Jr., and Sheila E. for a YouTube streamcast beginning at 8pm ET Tuesday … Continue reading Ringo Starr to Celebrate 80th Birthday with Virtual Concert Featuring Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh and More →

The nominations for the 2020 Grammy Awards have been announced and Chris Cornell, Tony Iommi, The Cranberries and Tool are among those whose work is being considered. Tool’s long-anticipated LP Fear Inoculum has garnered the group two nominations. The album’s title track is being considered for Best Rock Song with the song “7empest” picking up … Continue reading 2020 Grammy Nominees Include, Chris Cornell, Tony Iommi, Tool and The Cranberries →

Helios Console (Image: Bonhams Auctions) A significant piece of rock music history is going up for auction next month. Bonhams Auction House has revealed that they will be taking bids on a console which was used to record portions of Led Zeppelin’s IV including “Stairway To Heaven.” This unique console is actually an amalgamation of … Continue reading Studio Desk Used to Record Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” Going Up For Auction →

Bruce Springsteen, Joan Jett and Elvis Costello are just a few of the familiar faces to appear in Darlene Love’s new music video for “Forbidden Nights”. E-Street Band member Steven Van Zandt also appears, as well as Paul Shaffer, Bill Murray, Dave Letterman and more. The song is featured on Love’s new album, Introducing Darlene … Continue reading Springsteen, Joan Jett and More Appear in Darlene Love’s Video →

Tom Petty, Steve Miller and Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart are among the performing songwriters nominated for the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year. The organization’s list of those being considered was released Wednesday, and also includes Elvis Costello, Steve Winwood, Cat Stevens, Vince Gill, Cyndi Lauper, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Gloria Estefan, Toby Keith … Continue reading Tom Petty, Steve Miller and Heart Among Songwriters Hall of Fame Nominees →

U2 will release their new song “Ordinary Love” for Record Store Day‘s Black Friday event. The single will be released on 10″ vinyl and is limited to just 10,000 copies. Watch the lyric video for “Ordinary Love” > Each year, Record Store Day takes advantage of the busiest shopping day of the year to offer … Continue reading U2 to Release ‘Ordinary Love’ for Record Store Day’s Black Friday →