August 5, 1975 – The first all-female hard-rock band is formed when producer Kim Fowley puts together The Runaways, featuring Joan Jett, future Bangle Michael Steele, and Lita Ford. August 5, 1994 – Billy Idol is rushed to St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, CA following a suspected overdose.  Earlier in the year, he had collapsed in convulsions outside the … Continue reading CDJ Today: August 5 in Classic Rock →

August 2, 1973 – Robert Zimmerman legally changes his name to Bob Dylan. His biographer Mark Epstein says, “He was a great fan of Matt Dillon, the sheriff of the television series Gunsmoke. In 1958, he confided to his high school sweetheart that he planned to devote his life to music, adding that ‘I know what I’m going … Continue reading CDJ Today: August 2 in Classic Rock →

July 7, 1980 – Led Zeppelin play their last show with the four original members in  West Berlin. They close the set with a 17-minute version of “Whole Lotta Love.”  Unofficially, the band labeled it the “Cut The Waffle” tour. July 7, 1968 – The Yardbirds disband after a gig in Luton, England. Jimmy Page, with outstanding touring obligations for the Yardbirds, assembles … Continue reading CDJ Today: July 7 in Classic Rock →

July 6, 1957 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time at The Woolton Church Parish Fete where The Quarry Men (featuring Lennon) were appearing.  McCartney impresses Lennon by playing Eddie Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock” and “Be-Bop-A-Lula” from Gene Vincent.  He also shows Lennon how to tune his guitar, something he’d been paying someone else to … Continue reading CDJ Today: July 6 in Classic Rock →

July 3, 1988 – The final Texxas Jam takes place at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas – it is now called the “Monsters of Rock.” The headliners are Van Halen, the Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica and Kingdom Come.  During Van Halen’s set, Sammy Hagar loses his voice and promises the crowd Van Halen will play a free concert in Dallas … Continue reading CDJ Today: July 3 in Classic Rock →

David Gilmour has announced his first US live shows in eight years in Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY in support of his new album Luck and Strange, to be released on September 6 on Sony Music.  The live shows in New York and Los Angeles will be Gilmour’s only concert appearances in North … Continue reading David Gilmour Announces First US Shows in 8 Years →

September 12, 2008 – Metallica release their 9th studio album, Death Magnetic.  The album is produced by Rick Rubin and is the band’s first album to feature bassist Robert Trujillo. It goes on to sell over two million copies in the U.S. September 12, 1966 – The first episode of The Monkees TV show debuts on NBC, preceding I Dream of … Continue reading CDJ Today: September 12 in Classic Rock →

Willie Nelson once told me, “Paul, fame is funny thing. Some people really want it, but when it comes, they can’t handle it.” Echoing Willie, in an interview talking about Brian Jones, Mick Jagger said, “Fame doesn’t sit comfortably on anyone’s shoulders. But some people’s shoulders don’t seem to fit it on at all.” The … Continue reading The Downside of Fame for Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, and More →

Pink Floyd today released a brand new single to help raise funds for humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine. “Hey Hey Rise Up” is the band’s first new original music since 1994’s The Division Bell album. You can watch the video for “Hey Hey Rise Up” in the player below. For the recording, David Gilmour and … Continue reading Pink Floyd Release Brand New Song for Ukraine Humanitarian Relief →

Amid a global surge in Covid-19 cases due to the omicron variant, Nick Mason and his band A Saucerful of Secrets have postponed their upcoming North American tour. “It is with great regret that due to the uncertainty surrounding the COVID pandemic, it has been decided to postpone the North American tour until later in … Continue reading Nick Mason & Saucerful of Secrets Postpone North American Tour →

Pink Floyd will release a re-mixed and updated version of their 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason next month. Remixed and updated from the original 1987 master tapes for The Later Years by Andy Jackson with David Gilmour, assisted by Damon Iddins, the album will be available on Vinyl, CD, DVD, Blu-ray and digitally … Continue reading Pink Floyd Announces Remixed and Updated ‘A Momentary Lapse of Reason’ in 360 Reality Audio →

A Pink Floyd exhibit which has been stationed in London for the past 4 years will head stateside this summer. The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains is scheduled to open in Los Angeles on August 3rd. The exhibition will remain at LA’s Vogue Multicultural Museum through November 28th. Their Mortal Remains is a chronological … Continue reading Pink Floyd Exhibition Heading to the States this Summer →