October 11, 1999 – Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe is released on $5000 bail after being arrested for inciting the crowd to attack a security guard at a North Carolina show. He is charged with “assault and inciting a riot with ethnic animosity” and later sentenced to 18 months probation after pleading “no contest” to the charges. October 11, 1983 … Continue reading CDJ Today: October 11 in Classic Rock →

March 16, 1992 – A Metallica show at the Orlando Arena goes horribly wrong when fans dangle an usher by his ankles from the balcony.  Luckily, he was pulled to safety. The band paid $38,000 to repair and clean damaged seats after the rowdy concert. But, everyone ended up happy (well, maybe not the dangling usher) when it was revealed … Continue reading CDJ Today: March 16 in Classic Rock →

February 25, 1980 – Bob Seger releases his 11th studio album Against the Wind. The album sells five million copies in the U.S. and wins two Grammy Awards. February 25, 2003 – Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd undergoes emergency heart surgery. The guitarist has a successful bypass operation in Atlanta after a routine screening finds him to be suffering from coronary artery disease. Rossington is … Continue reading CDJ Today: February 25 in Classic Rock →

April 30, 1976 – Keith Moon from the Who pays nine cab drivers to blockade both ends of the street where he is staying in a NYC hotel.  He proceeds to throw the contents of his hotel room out the window.  Now that’s metal! April 30, 2008 – At the Coachella music festival, a giant inflatable pig floats away during Roger Waters‘ set. … Continue reading CDJ Today: April 30 in Classic Rock →

One of the coolest things that happened working closely with so many great musicians while I was at Columbia Records was talking music with them and especially talking guitar with all the great players I met. The most fascinating thing was the discovery that at the end of the day, after all the fame, all … Continue reading Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll – Now At The Met in New York! WOW!! →

As Billy Gibbons prepares for the release of his forthcoming solo project, the ZZ Top guitarist has released a second Muddy Waters cover from the album, this time of “Standing Around Crying”. Gibbons told Ultimate Classic Rock that the song’s cadence called to mind “the rhythm of choppin’ that wood,” inspiring the vintage lumberjack footage featured … Continue reading Hear Billy Gibbons’ New Muddy Waters Cover ‘Standing Around Crying’ →

This previously unreleased recording was the first ever studio session by the group Jimi Hendrix would christen as his Band Of Gypsys. It was recorded at the Record Plant in New York, April 22, 1969. Hendrix, Cox & Miles shared a love for the blues as this driving, uptempo reworking of “Mannish Boy” by Muddy … Continue reading Hear Jimi Hendrix’s Unreleased Cover of a Muddy Waters Classic →

Would you feel any different listening to a Gordon Sumner record, or rocking out with Chaim Witz? Check out these rock stars that changed their name and see how many you know! Click on the plus sign next to each name to reveal the artist’s stage name! 30 Stuart Leslie Goddard Adam Ant 29 Martyn … Continue reading 30 Rock Stars That Changed Their Name →