STONES & SPRINGSTEEN: Top Tours
The Rolling Stones had the highest-grossing North American tour and sixth worldwide this year with $235 million according to Pollstar, the concert industry publication. Bruce Springsteen
was fifth on the worldwide list with $251 million, but it wasn't enough for them to crack the Top 10 on the North American chart. Metallica was ninth on the worldwide chart with $179 million.
THE BEATLES: Turkey Toppers
The Beatles sold the most singles in the '60s when singles were king. So, with sales of individual songs instead of albums being more popular again, it's no surprise that they had the top-selling single last month on Black Friday's Record Store Day with their seven-inch vinyl single of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” backed with ”I Saw Her Standing There.” Their three-inch vinyl release of “All My Loving” was the fifth best-seller.
Other big-sellers that day included:
·Pearl Jam - “Waiting for Stevie (Live)” b/w ”Wreckage (Live)” vinyl
·Stevie Nicks – white-colored seven-inch vinyl of her latest single, “The Lighthouse”
·U2 – black and red vinyl edition of How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb
·Van Halen – red double vinyl of Live in Dallas 1981
·Ramones – red vinyl Greatest Hits
·Grateful Dead – four-vinyl LP set, Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT 5/5/77
CHILI PEPPERS, PEARL JAM, WHO: All-Star Jam at Corporate Gig
Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers and star producer Andrew Watt brought their covers act, Smith & Watt Steakhouse, to the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York Thursday night. The concert was a private holiday party for the investment firm Eldridge Industies, and the company must have had pretty big budget for the stars that showed up:
·Ex-Allman Brothers Band singer-guitarist Warren Haynes led them through "Whipping Post."
·Elvis Costello sang a cover of The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" and his own "Pump It Up."
·Billy Idol covered The Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant" and did his own "Dancing With Myself" and "Mony Mony."
·Iggy Pop sang his songs "The Passenger," "Search and Destroy" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog," plus a cover of "Louie Louie"
·Eddie Vedder covered Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "The Waiting," did Pearl Jam's "Corduroy" and "Better Man" and closed out the night be leading all the musicians through Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World."
·And Roger Daltrey did a set of Who songs — "Pinball Wizard," "The Real Me," "I Can't Explain," "I'm One," "The Seeker," "Baba O'Riley" and "My Generation."
SOUNDGARDEN: Nude Dragons Rock Seattle
Soundgarden members Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd and Matt Cameron played together for the first time in three years Saturday night at The Showbox in Seattle. They were billed under the name Nude Dragons, the same name they used when they did their first reunion gig with the late Chris Cornell at the same venue back in 2010. The last time the three remaining members played was at a Brandi Carlile concert in Quincy, Washington in 2021.
Their vocalist for the six-song set was Shaina Shepherd (no relation to Ben). They played “Hunted Down,” “Outshined,” “Flower” and “Beyond the Wheel.” Then they were joined by Duff McKagan of Guns n' Roses, who duetted with Shania Shepherd on “Kickstand” and the MC5 cover “Kick Out the Jams." Watch video of the set on YouTube. The Soundgarden set closed the annual SMooCH benefit concert, which raises money each year for Seattle Children’s Hospital.
METALLICA, PEARL JAM: Help at Helping Hands Show
Metallica got a few helping hands at their Helping Hands Concert & Auction Friday night at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles. The group did an acoustic set and an electric set. For the acoustic set they were joined by multi-instrumenatlist Avi Vinocur and keyboardist Henry Salvia for all five songs and opening act SistaStrings for the last two songs of the set. They debuted a cover of Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Away From Home," did their first ever acoustic take on "If Darkness Had a Son" and broke out "Low Man's Lyric" for the first time since 1998.
The electric set saw them unveil a new arrangement of "Fuel," play "The Unforgiven II" for the first time in nine years and be joined by Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament for "Hit the Lights."
The show also included an opening set from Sammy Hagar with Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani and Kenny Aronoff. A pro-shot video of the event will premiere on YouTube Thursday.
Hagar hitched a ride back to L.A. for the show Thursday aboard Chad Kroeger from Nickelback’s private jet as his own had mechanical issues.
EDDIE VAN HALEN: From Genesis to Eruption
Apparently Brian May wasn't the only British guitarist Eddie Van Halen recorded with.
Mike Rutherford of Genesis tells Planet Rock he recorded with Eddie in the mid-'80s, and he has the tapes. "I think Eddie heard a song from my second solo album [1982’s Acting Very Strange], which I sang – God knows how I thought of this! – and he rang me up and said, ‘Will you do some writing?’ I mean, my voice for God’s sake!”
So Rutherford headed to Los Angeles and Eddie said to come by his studio at 1:30.
"I thought, ‘Well, that’s going to work for me, a little lunch.’" But Eddie meant a.m. "He starts at nighttime and works through the night. I just couldn’t really do that.” But he did, adding, "We had some sessions. We wrote some songs. Bits. I’m not quite sure… I can’t find the tape. Quirky stuff, but it was fun to do..." And, not knowing where the tape is means he has no plans to release the recordings. “I’ve got two boxes of cassettes. I’m not sure I’m mad enough to go through them! Lots of cassettes... “But it was fun. I mean, he was a great player. We did some good time (in the studio) but it’s that starting at 1:30-2 a.m. in the morning. It’s not my mode!”
Rutherford and his band, Mike + The Mechanics, will tour early next year. They have two dates in South Africa on January 30th and February 1st followed by UK dates in March through mid-April before going to Germany and Austria for 13 dates through early April.
PETE TOWNSHEND: Plan B
With Roger Daltrey not wanting to record another Who album, Pete Townshend has some ideas for what he wants to do next. He tells Variety, “I’m still a conceptualist; I still want a story to hang the music on. “For me it’s about pencil sketches, poems, song lyrics, playing with the latest electronic toy, doing books. It’s about all kinds of things. I may have 10 years left to work, but I work very, very slowly, so one thing I’m trying to do is speed things up a bit...
“So I may dump a couple of the projects that I’ve been working on for a long time and I may decide just to do a one-man show.” Townshend's last album was Psychoderelict in 1993, and The Who's last one was 2019's WHO.
AC/DC: Johnson Duets With Lady Gaga
Brian Johnson sings an AC/DC classic with Lady Gaga on a new surprise holiday epsiode of Carpool Karaoke on Apple TV+. Gaga and host Zane Lowe pick up Johnson, and he takes the wheel, appropriately enough, for a version of "Highway to Hell." You can watch part of the performance on X. During the segment, Gaga reveals that she was an extra in AC/DC's "Stiff Upper Lip" video. She tells Johnson, "I was 17 and I was an extra in the back. I was headbanging and they were, like, 'Hmmm. Don't headbang. We want it to be modern.' And I was, like, 'No. There's only one move that I can do.'"
Pink Floyd Rock Fans' Top Tattoo Choice
Rock music and tattoos apparently go together like the "dark side of the moon" and "another brick in the wall." A new study by a Swiss tattoo shop says Pink Floyd is the number one tattoo choice for rock fans. The tattoo artists at L-L Tattoo in Bern, Switzerland used data from Google Keyword Planner to determine the number of global searches related to bands and tattoos. Pink Floyd topped the list with an average of 13-thousand global searches per month.Only two other bands averaged at least ten-thousand searches per month. Guns N' Roses is second with ten-thousand-675, just ahead of German alt-metal band Rammstein with ten-thousand-558 searches per month.Also in the top ten are Metallica in fourth place, Nirvana in fifth and Iron Maiden in ninth.
Kevin Cronin Is Sad REO Speedwagon Is Over
Kevin Cronin has shared his disappointment while speaking with “Billboard,” over the end of REO Speedwagon. “This is sad, and I would do anything in my power to continue [as] REO Speedwagon. I never quit the band. I never will quit the band. I just got outvoted and…have to stop calling it REO Speedwagon at the end of this year,” he shares. Despite the dissolution, he is optimistic about performing under his own name, debuting as Kevin Cronin on January 25th and joining the “Brotherhood of Rock” tour next summer. The final show under the REO Speedwagon name will take place on December 21st in Las Vegas.
1977's "Rumours" Top Rock Album Of 2024
The Billboard Year-End Top 200 album chart is out and the highest-charting rock album isn't even in the top 30. If that's not depressing enough for rock fans, the highest-charting rock album of 2024 came out in 1977. Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" comes in at number 34 in the year-end album chart.None of the 29 rock albums in the year-end top 200 are from 2024 and Rumours is one of only five albums by rock artists that aren't greatest hit collections. Only three other rock albums -- all greatest hits albums -- finished in the top 50: "Diamonds" by Elton John at number 35, Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Chronicle: Their 20 Greatest Hits" at number 40, and Queen's "Greatest Hits" at number 47.
Zakir Hussain, Who Played With Rock Icons, Dead At 73-Years-Old
Zakir Hussain, the tabla player known for collaborations with George Harrison, Van Morrison, and Mickey Hart, passed away at 73-years-old. He reportedly passed due to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. “His prolific work as a teacher, mentor and educator has left an indelible mark on countless musicians. He hoped to inspire the next generation to go further. He leaves behind an unparalleled legacy as a cultural ambassador and one of the greatest musicians of all time,” his family shares in a statement. His work spanned collaborations with rock, jazz, and film. He won four GRAMMYs over his career, including winning the first ever GRAMMY for Best Global Music Album when it was introduced, for his 1991 album “Planet Drum,” which he made with Mickey Hart.
IN OTHER NEWS
Steve Perry has released a yule log video for his Christmas album The Season 3. Among the songs you’ll hear while watching the log burn are “The Christmas Song,” “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Silver Bells,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” “Let It Snow,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Auld Lang Syne.” You’ll find it on YoutTube.
The Cover-Ups, the covers band that features Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, their touring guitarist Jason White and two members of their crew, are back to performing since Green Day has a bit of a touring break. Their first gig of 2025 is at London’s O2 Islington Academy on January 15th.
Zakk Sabbath, the Black Sabbath tribute band led by onetime Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde, postponed two shows over the weekend because Wylde lost his voice. Saturday's show in Little Rock, Arkansas has been rescheduled to January 15th and Sunday's show in New Orleans has been rescheduled to January 14th. The tour is set to resume Tuesday in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Gene Simmons has posted a video of his son, Nick, and Paul Stanley’s son, Evan, singing Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence.”