August 1, 1981 – MTV begins airing music videos with the legendary opening, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Rock & Roll.”  That’s followed by the now familiar power-chord-fueled guitar riff theme. The first ten videos are: The Buggles “Video Killed The Radio Star”, Pat Benatar “You Better Run”, Rod Stewart “She Won’t Dance With Me”, The Who “You Better You Bet”, … Continue reading CDJ Today: August 1 in Classic rock →

June 27, 1994 – Aerosmith become the first major band to release a song, “Head First” (an unused cut from the Get A Grip Sessions), as a free download on the internet.  Download speeds at the time were so slow it took between 60 and 90 minutes to download the track, but ten thousand CompuServe subscribers still … Continue reading CDJ Today: June 27 in Classic Rock →

September 17, 1991 – Guns N’ Roses release both Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II on the same day because they think one double album of 30 tracks would be too expensive for fans.  Record stores open at midnight to frenzied purchasing and when the dust settles, each album sells more than 7 million … Continue reading CDJ Today: September 17 in Classic Rock →

September 14, 1984 – MTV debuts its first ever video awards show, hosted by Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler in New York at Radio City Music Hall. The Cars win Video of the Year for “You Might Think”. Among the Video of the Year nominees were Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and The Police “Every Breath You Take”. David Bowie wins … Continue reading CDJ Today: September 14 in Classic Rock →

September 13, 1991 – Geffen, Nirvana’s record label, throws them a party to celebrate the release of their forthcoming album, Nevermind, and the single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” at Re-bar in Seattle.  The band proceeds to tear down all of the Nevermind posters and then starts a food fight.  A bouncer ends up kicking the band out of their own party, but they hop in … Continue reading CDJ Today: September 13 in Classic Rock →

Pete Townshend has released a brand new single and video. Hear “Can’t Outrun The Truth” now in the player below. The video for “Can’t Outrun The Truth” features Townshend performing acoustic guitar, lap steel and violin, interspersed with scenes of dancer Seirian Griffiths portraying a young man during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.   The track … Continue reading Pete Townshend Releases New Single and Video ‘Can’t Outrun the Truth’ →

Roughly a thousand years ago, the elite class in Ireland began taking surnames that began with O’ — O’Sullivan, O’Brien, O’Connor —with the O’ translating to “grandson of.” Before we approach the complexities of “Baba O’Riley,” one of The Who’s — and, indeed, all of rock music’s — most lasting songs, it bears explaining the … Continue reading Classic Rock Landmarks: Baba O’Riley →

Tenacious D are back and honoring The Who with a new medley that includes some of the band’s best songs. Titled simply “The Who Medley”, the track includes such hits as “Pinball Wizard”, “There’s A Doctor” and “Go To The Mirror”. You can watch and listen in the player below. “The Who Medley” is out … Continue reading Watch: Tenacious D Release ‘The Who Medley’, Raise Funds for Gun Safety Organization →

At 12:01 AM on August 1, 1981, a truly groundbreaking change happened in the music industry when the fledgling cable network dubbed MTV signed onto the airwaves for the first time. Although the channel is now mostly devoid of actual music videos, MTV ushered in the dawn of the music video age, and created overnight … Continue reading 25 Interesting Facts About the Launch of MTV →

It’s rare that a live album becomes a driving force in a band’s career, but these rock albums all generated either hits, sales, or artistic recognition that changed the arc of the bands’ popularity and influence. In several cases, the bands/artists had not even been well-known in the U.S. prior to their live releases.  Although … Continue reading 12 Most Influential Live Classic Rock Albums of All Time →

To our generation the music meant everything.  We didn’t have computers, smartphones, and tons of cable TV shows to entertain us.  The music took center stage and the messages from that music helped shape our lives.  It is a generation of music lovers who not only knew the hits but who were also familiar with … Continue reading Remembering Leslie West →

Since 1959, all the way back when Domenico Modugno swept the Record of the Year and Song of the Year categories with “Nel Blu Dipinto Blu (Volare)” (in Italian no less!), the Recording Academy has awarded more than 8,000 Grammy Awards to a wide variety of artists.  The Beatles were the first rock band to … Continue reading You Won’t Believe This List of Rock Artists Who Have Never Won a Grammy →