It Might Get Loud: The 10 Loudest Rock Bands of All Time

Volume can be a musician’s friend or foe.

Playing six-string in a straight-up rock or country band with a drummer who hits like a kicking mule, a bassist with severe hearing loss and a keyboard player or rhythm guitarist who turns up to 11 is like shouting in the midst of a tornado – pointless and painful. It’s even worse if you’re also the singer. On the other hand, if your band is called something like Nihilistic Death By 10,000 Taloned Demons, it’s likely a dream come true and you’re probably the loudest member.

This story is about groups for whom high-level volume was or is a badge of courage – a scientifically measurable gauge of power and intensity. Any volume measured at more than 85 decibels (dB) is considered dangerous and can potentially cause hearing loss or damage, like the permanent ringing known as tinnitus. For our list of the 10 loudest bands of all time, we’re only considering performers whose volume has checked in at an eardrum-rampaging 115 dB and above.

Our list of volume-drunk champions:

Motorhead

The exact dB levels of concerts by these punk-fueled granddaddies of speed and thrash metal – the sonic foundation of groups like Metallica and Napalm Death – is not published, but there are so many anecdotal tales of their outrageous displays of howling volume that they’ve earned their place on this list in spades and aces. Motorhead titled their third album Everything Louder Than Everyone Else… ’Nuff said.

The Who

These days The Who don’t seem terribly dangerous, with Pete Townshend wielding his Gibson SJ-200 as often as he hefts an electric axe. But in 1976 they earned a place in The Guinness Book of World Records for achieving a measured 126 dB roughly 100 feet from stage at the Valley, a London sports arena, touring behind The Who By Numbers.

MC5

According to their manger John Sinclair, Detroit’s MC5 were so loud they practiced with their Marshall 4x12 cabinets face-down flat on the ground, with the speakers firing straight into the floor. “Kick Out the Jams” wasn’t just a song to this influential pre-punk outfit; it was their manta. Part of that balls-out-all-the-time attitude was raw volume pushed to the maximum. Another part was sheer endurance. When they played at the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago to protest the war in Vietnam, their set lasted eight hours.

AC/DC

In the early 1980s these Aussie maniacs were hell bent on becoming the world’s loudest band, fueled in large part by Angus Young’s Gibson SG-powered wall of amps. During the Back in Black tour, the group turned in a series of concerts at a whopping 130 dB. Complaints from promoters, however, moved the group to drop things down a few notches to the mere bone-crunching volume they play at today.

My Bloody Valentine

These modernist art rockers from Dublin use volume as a tool for creating fireworks and swirls within their textural guitar sound. Live, their feedback spikes and eddies of pitch-bent notes create an intoxicating and occasionally disorienting effect which is even more mesmerizing than it is painful to the naked ear. Expect no kindness from a group named after a 1981 Canadian slasher flick that was compelled to cut nine minutes of gore by the Motion Picture Association of America before it could be released the theaters.

Deep Purple

This might sound like urban legend, but The Guinness Book of World Records crowned Deep Purple the world’s loudest band after a 1972 concert at London’s 3,000-seat Rainbow Theater that rendered three fans unconscious with the intense pressure created by 117 dB of sound in an enclosed space. As Robert Ripley said, “Believe it or not!”

Led Zeppelin

Writer David Krebs made the case in Rolling Stone that Led Zeppelin’s live performances of “Whole Lotta Love” were the loudest on stage in 1970. But the year before that, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has already proven Zep’s big sound credibility by measuring a performance of “Heartbreaker” at 130 dB.

Manowar

These metal mongers from New York State are literally the band that broke the record on volume. After they scored Guinness’ recognition for the loudest musical performance at 129.5 db in 1984, they claim to have reached or exceeded that level again in 1994, but this time the famed book of records refused to acknowledge that accomplishment. Guinness had stopped including a category for world’s loudest band, supposedly because of the dangers of hearing damage caused by record seekers.

Leftfield

How loud must a group be to bring the roof down? For British electronica excessives Leftfield, the answer was an excruciating 137 dB in June 1996 at South London’s Brixton Academy, where chunks of plaster and dust began raining on their dance-crazed audience.

KISS

Thirty-six-years into their career KISS were still making headlines and defying gravitas. During a 2009 concert in Ottawa the group was reportedly clocked at 136 dB and were forced to turn down after police responded to complaints from neighbors in the area around the sports arena.

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Wilco Take on <em>Popeye</em> in New Music Video

Wilco are going Gorillaz. Kind of. In the alt-rock band’s latest music video for “Dawned on Me,” the Chicago gents joined up with King Features to get animated beside Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto and the whole Popeye crew. Watch the Darren Romanelli-directed video at the bottom of the page.

Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche recently checked in with the Los Angeles Times blog to talk about his experience replacing Wilco’s original drummer, Ken Coomer, in 2001. “Those guys at that point would be in the studio at 5 a.m., and then I had my first drum lesson at 7 a.m. out in the suburbs, so I was getting no sleep,” he explained. “When they asked me to join, I had no expectations of anything. I thought, ‘Here’s this band, and I don’t even know if I’m the right fit.’

“I was wary of touring that much, and I thought the fans would hate me because I replaced Ken. Then the label dropped us. The future was pretty uncertain. People always say, ‘That must have been so crazy,’ but you know what? Not really. It was a functional situation. It was business as usual. This is how bands are. There’s usually a couple freaks and there’s a lot of drama and things don’t always go the way you want them to go. Worst-case scenario, we would have been on an indie label.”

Ever want to get Wilco’s live guitar sound? Check out our feature with tips on how to rock out like Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline.

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Beatles Song Gets Makeover by the Flaming Lips and Wilco’s Nels Cline

It’s no secret that the Flaming Lips are big Beatles fans. If you recall, late last year the alternative group posted a psychedelic cover of The Beatles’ track “I Am the Walrus” on YouTube, and the patterned rendition has scored over 100,000 hits to date.

Now, the Lips are getting into Beatles-mania all over again and putting their stamp on the Beatles’ nugget “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” which they played live during their New Year’s Eve 2012 show in Oklahoma City.

George Salisbury – director and graphic designer for the Flaming Lips – recently tweeted a link to the fresh Lips cover. Coupled with Wilco guitarist Nels Cline on stage, the Flaming Lips serve up an authentic interpretation of The Beatles’ landmark, except for the small fact the song is a whopping 17-plus minutes long.

The Flaming Lips’ landmarks are all over the performance with tippy lighting that washes the stage with vibrant colors and the band’s knack for playing sugary melodies mixed with scorching noise blitzes.

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10 Backing Bands Who Propelled Their Leaders to Fame and Glory

Waylon Jennings once said, emphatically, that nothing is more important for a solo artist than having his or her own band. Oftentimes such bands fly beneath the radar, but occasionally a backing group attains near-legendary status. Below are 10 groups whose contributions were indispensable in boosting the careers of the artists they backed.

The Spiders from Mars (David Bowie)
David Bowie has employed extraordinary bands through the years, but none has matched the explosive chemistry of The Spiders from Mars. Led by the immensely talented Mick Ronson, the Spiders provided the rocket fuel that propelled Bowie to the pinnacle of early ’70s glam rock. From 1970’s The Man Who Sold the World through 1973’s Pinups, the group’s contributions were indispensable.

The Band (Bob Dylan)
It’s hard to believe that some fans jeered when Bob Dylan, backed by a group dubbed, simply, The Band, made a transition to a more electric sound in 1965-66. As demonstrated by the brilliant body of work they crafted following their tenure with Dylan, The Band was as talented an ensemble as Dylan could have hoped for. “Songwriting-wise, when you get right down to it, Bob pretty much showed us how it’s done,” Levon Helm later said. “When the crowds were booing him, and people were telling him, ‘You don’t need these guys,’ it would have been real easy for him to say, ‘Yeah, you’re right.’ But he never got shaky or unsteady. He was fantastic.”

The Heartbreakers (Tom Petty)
Tom Petty has released the occasional solo album, but over the course of 30-plus years he’s never strayed from The Heartbreakers for very long. Mike Campbell, whose lead guitar work dovetails perfectly with Petty’s jangly style, summed up the band’s relationship with Petty perfectly in a 2009 interview with Music Radar. “Keeping a band together is more work than anybody will ever tell you," Campbell said. “But if you have something special, a bunch of guys who play well together, and a brilliant singer and writer who's truly unique, you owe it to yourself and your fans to keep going.”

The Revolution (Prince)
The Revolution forever will be known as the band that helped shape Prince’s 1984 tour de force, Purple Rain. A multi-racial, multi-gender ensemble patterned after Sly and the Family Stone, The Revolution brought a more rock-centric, psychedelic component to Prince’s trademark funk and R&B. Although The Revolution were credited on just three Prince albums, it was their contributions that pushed their legendary frontman to superstar heights.

Booker T. & The M.G.’s (Various)
No band played a bigger role in shaping the sound of Southern soul music than Booker T. & The M.G.’s did. As the house band for Stax Records, the group – which included Steve Cropper on guitar – served as the instrumental force on recordings by Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and countless other R&B greats. Not insignificantly, Booker T. & The M.G.’s were also one of R&B’s first multi-racial groups. Fittingly, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

The Experience (Jimi Hendrix)
Bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell often get short shrift when it comes to considerations of the role they played in shaping Jimi Hendrix’s music. As the backbone of one of rock’s earliest power trios, Redding and Mitchell put down the rhythmic foundation upon which Hendrix could soar. Engineer Eddie Kramer once told Rolling Stone that Hendrix would “yell and scream” at Redding and Mitchell if they didn’t get things just right. Fortunately, the two got things “just right” nearly all the time.

The Attractions (Elvis Costello)
Teaming with Elvis Costello beginning with his second album, This Year’s Model, The Attractions put manic fervor into Costello’s brilliantly crafted songs. Often centered on surf-rock blasts of Hammond organ that teetered on the edge of mayhem, The Attractions’ music evoked thoughts of Booker T. & The M.G.’s on steroids. Members of The Attractions continue to play with Costello as part of his current touring band, The Imposters.

The Wailers (Bob Marley)
The original Wailers consisted, of course, of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. However, it’s the band Marley put together in the wake of the original Wailers’ demise that became reggae’s tightest and most exciting ensemble. The band’s legendary prowess was in part attributable to Marley’s skills as a bandleader. “Bob was very strict, and very disciplined,” Rita Marley once said, in an interview with Gibson.com. “He would make sure every note, and every sound, was as perfect as it could be. It was like, ‘Let’s do the absolutely best we can, and after that we can laugh, and have a smoke.’”

The E Street Band (Bruce Springsteen)
Few bands have sported more talent than the illustrious team that’s backed Bruce Springsteen – for the most part – since 1972. Unfortunately, the group has suffered tragic losses in recent years, with the deaths of both organist Danny Federici and saxophonist Clarence Clemmons. In live shows, quite rightly, Springsteen is known to praise the group with lavish, often funny introductions of each band member.

Crazy Horse (Neil Young)
Neil Young has always charted his own course, making albums that often flagrantly confounded expectations. Whenever he’s wanted to make aggressive, no-holds-barred rock and roll, however, he’s nearly always turned to Crazy Horse. “My work with Crazy Horse stands alone,” Young once said, in an interview with Performing Songwriter. “I’ve made rock and roll records with other people – I did ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ without them – but that’s a different kind of thing. Working with Crazy Horse opens the door to something cosmic, something I can’t do with anybody else.”

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Metallica, U2 and The Beatles are Good for the Brain!

Feeling blue? Crank up some Metallica, and you’ll feel better in no time!

In a her latest book, Your Playlist Can Change Your Life: 10 Proven Ways Your Favorite Music Can Revolutionize Your Health, Memory, Organization, Alertness and More, Columbia University professor Galina Mindlin asserts that rocking out to songs with a certain number of beats per minute can generate specific mental states, such as productivity and relaxation, according to DNAinfo.com.

Lo and behold, Metallica’s hard-rocking tunes fall into that category.

“It’s [about] how music affects you – how it can improve your memory, how it can relieve anxiety, enhance your mood, how we can use playlists for specific tasks,” Mindlin said. “Using music with certain frequencies, you really can create the desired state of mind.”

As for other jams that might lift your mood, Your Playlist Can Change Your Life lists sample playlists, but Mindlin warns that selecting specific songs is a very personal experience. “What’s right for you might not be right for someone else,” she said. “Some people love the classical genre, but some people get excited by pop. The idea is to activate as many brain areas as you can.”

One sample playlist lists songs with 100 to 130 beats per minute for “achieving high alertness when you need to focus on an important work project,” according to DNAinfo.com. Some of those sample songs include “Pride (In the Name of Love)” by U2, “Lady Madonna” from the Beatles, “Goodbye Earl” by the Dixie Chicks and “Don’t Phunk with My Heart” by the Black Eyed Peas. What’s your feel-good jam?

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Motörhead Release ‘Motör-Bag’ Package

Motorhead are putting out a limited-edition package that may contain all the motormadness any fan could want. The Motor-Bag is available online via www.merchdirect.com/Motorhead and is limited to 4,000 copies worldwide. You get a Motorhead  messenger bag, and inside you will get two double-vinyl LPs of live shows not available anywhere else. You also get a laminate pass and a piece of The World is Yours 2010-11 stage backdrop, mounted and numbered.

The tracklistings for The World is Yours discs are…

(Manchester Apollo, U.K. Nov. 16, 2010)

Side A
“We Are Motorhead”
“Stay Clean”
“Be My Baby”
“Get Back In Line”
“Rock Out”

Side B
“Metropolis”
“Over the Top”
“One Night Stand”
“The Thousand Names of God”
“I Got Mine”

Side C
“I Know How to Die”
“The Chase Is Better Than the Catch”
“In the Name of Tragedy”
“Just 'Cos You Got the Power”

Side D
“Going to Brazil”
“Killed by Death” (with Nina C. Alice)
“Ace of Spades”
“Born to Raise Hell” (with Michael Monroe)
“Overkill”

(Best Buy Theater, New York, Feb. 28, 2011)

Side A
“We Are Motorhead”
“Stay Clean”
“Get Back In Line”
“Metropolis”
“Over The Top”

Side B
“One Night Stand”
“Rock Out”
“The Thousand Names Of God”
“I Got Mine”

Side C
“I Know How To Die”
“The Chase Is Better Than The Catch”
“In The Name Of Tragedy”
“Just ‘Cos You Got The Power”

Side D
“Going To Brazil”
“Killed By Death” (feat Doro and Todd Youth)
“Ace Of Spades”
“Overkill”

Just in case you thought Lemmy and Co. were shy, they recently launched their own Motorhead shiraz wine and Motorhead vodka. They’ve also got their own Warpig and Ace of Spades jewellery rings. Motorhead tour the U.S. with Megadeth in February.

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Joe Satriani Releases 3D Movie <em>Satchurated</em>

Guitar shredder Joe Satriani is releasing a 3D concert movie to theaters. Satchurated was filmed live on “The Wormhole Tour” in support of Satriani’s most recent studio album Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards, at the Metropolis in Montreal on December 12, 2010.

The movie Satchurated will be the first 3D theatrical concert movie release with 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound. The movie is directed by award-winning filmmakers Francois and Pierre Lamoureux, who have directed and/or produced concert films and music documentaries for Rush, The Who, Slipknot, Deep Purple and others.

 A CD release is also due in March.

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New Blink-182 Album Already in the Works

Although Blink-182 have been on a break since their summer tour, and the release of their new record Neighborhoods, the band have designs on their next record. Bassist Mark Hoppus said that while guitarist Tom DeLonge has been touring with side project Angels and Airwaves, he’s been putting together new songs.

“I’m sure these will all be Blink songs at the moment,” Hoppus told Kerrang! “I don’t have any plans to write songs with anybody else right now. If I do, it’ll be a collaboration or a one-off thing, but everything I’m writing right now is for Blink-182.”

Hoppus said that the songs are in the early stages and likely will change plenty when the entire band begins working on them.

“It’s really too early to tell. At the moment all I’ve got is a bunch of chord progressions and ideas,” he said. “It’s more me playing my guitar and coming up with little ideas and melodies. By the time it goes to Tom and Travis [Barker] and we work on it as a band, who knows what it will sound like.”

The band have a European tour planned this summer.

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Etta James Album Sales Leap 378% Following Death

Sometimes you don’t know what you have until it slips away. That seems to be the case with the late Etta James’ soulful songs. As reported by Billboard, James scored her highest-charting album ever on the Billboard 200 chart this past week with The Best of Etta James – 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection, which rose from #162 to #46 with 8,000 copies sold, as reported by Nielsen SoundScan. That’s up 149% over the preceding week. Until now, the R&B/blues crooner had never surpassed #68 on the pop album charts, when At Last hit that spot in 1961.

According to Billboard, for the week ending Sunday (January 22), James’ total catalog of albums moved 30,000 units. That’s a 378% increase over the week before, when her albums sold just over 6,000. James also entered the Billboard 200 chart at #59 with her 1997 greatest hits set, Her Best, selling 7,000 copies, which is up 4,226% from the week before. At Last! the album hit #96 on the chart with 5,000 units sold, up 907%.

“At Last” is likely James’ signature tune, although she wasn’t the original singer. That song was James’ highest-charting of the week, pushing 63,000 downloads, with a weekly gain of 1,361%. For the week, James' catalog of songs sold a total of 118,000 downloads – with over half of those “At Last's” numbers – for an overall gain of 1,091%.

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Alice Cooper Featured on New EP by His Son’s Band

Runaway Phoenix, a hard rock band fronted by Alice Cooper’s son, has released their first EP. Titled, simply, The E.P., the 6-song disc features Alice himself as a guest on the opening track, “Tug of War.”

Formed in 2002, the Phoenix, Arizona-based group describes their sound as “AC/DC meets The Yardbirds who slept with Led Zeppelin who had an illegitimate love child.” Other influences cited by the band include The Who, Neil Diamond, Audioslave and, of course, Alice Cooper.

Dash Cooper, who handles lead vocal duties for the group, isn’t the only member of the Cooper clan who’s entered the entertainment business. Actress/singer Calico Cooper has been a guest on several of her father’s albums, and has long been an integral part of his stage show. Calico’s younger sister, Sonora Cooper, is said to have similar aspirations.

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Guitar Hero III World Tour

Joe Walsh Finishes New Album, Still Hates Government and Computers

Joe Walsh is done with his new solo album, Analog Man. It is set for a release in May or June and will be his first solo set since 1992’s Songs for a Dying Planet.

In a new interview with the San Diego Reader about the upcoming album, Walsh seems more concerned with technophobia and the state of the union. Of the album title, he says: “I just decided I better get with it. After all, it is the digital age. Back when it was all analog, we used to go in the studio, and studios had knobs. We used to turn knobs and say, let’s see what this does. Now, we have a mouse. We [the members of the Eagles] spend hours yelling at our computers. My son comes in and he says: Dad, you’re really stupid.

“I was at a Lakers game last night, and everybody there was texting. Now and then they’d look up and check the score.”

Walsh also ranted about the current situation in the U.S. “First of all, there is no more money. We have spent it all. Why is everybody waiting for things to get better? They’re not gonna get better, and that’s screamin’ at me. Thirty thousand vets are comin’ home and nobody gives a s--t.”

More Walsh talk at the San Diego Reader including memories of a rare Gibson Les Paul.,

More Joe Walsh:

The World According to Joe Walsh

10 Great Guitar Outros

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This Day in Music: January 27th

Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.

Born on this day:
1918, Elmore James, blues guitarist and singer
1944, Nick Mason, drums, Pink Floyd
1946, Nedra Talley, vocals, The Ronettes
1951, Brian Downey, drums, Thin Lizzy
1957, Janick Gers, guitar, Iron Maiden
1961, Gillian Gilbert, keyboards, New Order
1968, Mike Patton, vocals, Faith No More
1968, Tricky, rapper
1969, Michael Kulas, vocals, James
1971, Lil Jon, producer, rapper

1956, Elvis Presley’s single, “Heartbreak Hotel,” was released by RCA Records, which had just purchased Presley’s contract from Sun Records for $35,000. The song sold 300,000 copies in its first week and would eventually sell over a million, becoming Elvis’ first gold record.

1961, Frank Sinatra played a benefit show at Carnegie Hall in New York City for Martin Luther King Jr.

1971, David Bowie arrived in the U.S. for the first time. He couldn’t play live because of work permit restrictions, but attracted publicity when he wore a dress at a promotion event.

1972, American gospel singer Mahalia Jackson died in Chicago of heart failure and diabetes complications at age 60. Known as the “Queen of Gospel Music,” she recorded over 30 albums.

1973, “Superstition” gave Stevie Wonder had his second #1 single in the U.S., 10 years after his first #1. For more on this story, see This Day in Music Spotlight.

1977, The Clash signed to CBS Records in the U.K. for ?100,000.

1980, Def Leppard played the first of two nights at The Marquee, London. Tickets cost ?2 ($3.40).

1984, Madonna made her first appearance in the U.K. when she appeared on C4 TV music program The Tube, performing “Holiday.” The show was broadcast live from the Hacienda Club in Manchester.

1994, Oasis made their London live debut when the played at King’s Cross Water Rats. The gig was by invite only.

1996, Babylon Zoo started a five-week run at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “Spaceman,” the fastest-selling single by a debut artist in the U.K. (420,000 copies in six days). The song was used for a Levi Jeans TV commercial. The single also went to #1 in 23 other countries.

2002, Beach Boy Brian Wilson played the first of four sold-out nights at The Royal Festival Hall, London.

2006, Gene McFadden, R&B vocalist and songwriter, best known as half of the Philly soul team McFadden & Whitehead, died of cancer at the age of 56. The duo had the 1979 hit “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now,” which sold more than 8 million copies and was nominated for a Grammy Award.

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No Jethro Tull on <em>Thick as a Brick</em> Tour?

Jethro Tull singer and flautist Ian Anderson is honoring the 40th anniversary of the album Thick as a Brick by playing the entire album live in concert. It’s the first time the progressive rock epic has been performed live in its entirety since 1972, according to Ultimate Classic Rock.

However, the tour is credited to Anderson as a solo artist and not Jethro Tull as a band. The frontman recently explained why he decided to present the Thick as a Brick tour this way.

“Back in 1972, when I tried to play Thick as a Brick live on stage in the USA, it turned into the tour from hell,” he said. “I decided never to do that again.”

According to Anderson, some members of the audience would “hoot and whistle” during the quieter moments. The experience disheartened the singer to the point that he didn’t even want to be in a rock band anymore, although he ended up soldiering on with Jethro Tull.

Now, he’ll play Thick solo because “the audiences that I attract as Ian Anderson have come to listen to the music and have the sensitivity to keep quiet at the appropriate moments.”

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A History of Gibson Electric Guitars

Hulk Hogan Almost Joined Metallica?

Professional wrestling legend and reality TV star Hulk Hogan was nearly a member of Metallica. The Hulkster revealed in an interview with The Sun that he used to be a good buddy of drummer Lars Ulrich.

“I used to be a session musician before I was a wrestler,” he said. “I played bass guitar. I was big pals with Lars Ulrich and he asked me if I wanted to play bass with Metallica in their early days but it didn’t work out.”

In the interview, Hogan also discussed that he’s a big fan of The Stone Roses.

“I love the Stone Roses,” he said. “They’re getting back together, right? That’s cool man. I used to work out to some of their songs.”

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This Day in Music: January 26th

Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.

Born on this day:
1943, Jean Knight, R&B singer
1948, Corky Laing, drums, Mountain
1951, David Briggs, guitar, Little River Band
1953, Lucinda Williams, singer-songwriter
1955, Eddie Van Halen, guitarist
1958, Anita Baker, R&B singer
1961, Tom Keifer, vocals, guitar, Cinderella
1963, Andrew Ridgeley, guitar, vocals, Wham!
1970, Kirk Franklin, gospel singer
1980, Brian Fallon, guitar, vocals, The Gaslight Anthem
1986, Matt Heafy, guitar, vocals, Trivium

1961, Elvis Presley was at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” It was the singer’s sixth U.K. #1. The single included a spoken passage loosely based on Shakespeare.

1965, During The Rolling Stones tour of Australia and New Zealand, guitarist Keith Richards had his shirt torn off after 50 fans invaded the stage during the gig at The Town Hall in Brisbane.

1970, John Lennon wrote, recorded and mixed his new single “Instant Karma” all in one day.

1977, Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green was committed to a mental hospital following an incident when he threatened his accountant Clifford Adams with an air rifle when he was trying to deliver a ?30,000 ($51,000) royalty check to him. For more on this story, see This Day in Music Spotlight.

1980, Prince made his TV debut on American Bandstand.

1986, Allen Collins, guitarist from Lynyrd Skynyrd, crashed his car, paralysing him from the waist down and killing his girlfriend Debra Jean Watts. Collins had survived a plane crash in 1977 that killed other band members.

1989, American singer Donnie Elbert died of a stroke at age 52.

1991, Cher made a special video for the troops involved in Desert Storm during the gulf war. Cher’s Video Canteen featured Janet Jackson, Paul Simon, Van Halen and Bonnie Raitt.

1991, Queen had their second U.K. #1 with “Innuendo.” It was the third-longest #1 song of all time behind The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and Simple Minds’ “Belfast Child.” The flamenco guitar solo on the track was performed by Yes guitarist Steve Howe.

2003, Billy Joel was airlifted to a hospital after his car smashed into a tree. The singer lost control of his Mercedes S500 and skidded for 100 yards before crashing. The accident happened in The Hamptons, New York.

2004, John Lydon was one of 10 contestants to take part in the latest I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here U.K. TV show set in the Australian outback. The former Sex Pistols singer was seen by 11 million viewers on the first night covered in bird seed being pecked by giant ostriches. Lydon was paid ?25,000 ($42,500) to appear in the show, but walked off the jungle set after four days.

2007, The Rolling Stones topped the U.S. music rich list for the second year running after making $150.6 million in 2006. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were second in the poll with a combined fortune of $132 million and American country band Rascal Flatts appeared third, having earned $110.5 million in the past year.

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Bachman & Turner Featured in Upcoming Will Ferrell Movie

Canadian rock legends Bachman and Turner have landed roles in a new movie starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. The classic rockers will appear and perform in Dog Fight, a film being directed by Jay Roach (Austin Powers), according to Winnipeg Free Press.

In the film, Ferrell and Galifianakis play North Carolina congressional candidates battling for the same seat. Guitarist Randy Bachman and bassist Fred Turner show up to play their hit “Takin’ Care of Business” at the winner’s celebration rally.

“It was really hard work, long days and about 200 people on set,” the band’s manager Gilles Paquin said. “But it’s one of the biggest movies of the year and it’s great positioning for the band.”

The movie also stars John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd and Dylan McDermott, and is due to be released later in 2012.

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This Day in Music: January 28th

Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.

Born on this day:

1927, Ronnie Scott, jazz musician
1968, Sarah McLachlan, singer songwriter
1980, Nick Carter, Backstreet Boys

1956, Elvis Presley (with Scotty Moore and Bill Black), made his first national television appearance on the Dorsey Brothers’ Stage Show. It was the first of six appearances on the show and the first of eight performances recorded and broadcast from CBS in New York City. After the success of their first appearance, they were signed to five more.

1965, The Who made their first appearance on U.K. TV show Ready Steady Go! To project the desired image, the hand-picked audience consisted only of teens dressed in the current mod fashion.

1968, Jim Morrison of The Doors was arrested and charged with public drunkenness after harassing a security guard at a Las Vegas adult movie theater.

1983, British Rock and Roll singer Billy Fury died of heart failure. He was known for the 1961 U.K. #3 single “Halfway to Paradise,” plus 25 other Top 40 U.K. singles. His We Want Billy (released 1963, with The Tornados) was one of the first live albums in British rock history. Played rock ’n’ roller Stormy Tempest in the film That’ll Be the Day alongside David Essex and Ringo Starr.

1984, Frankie Goes to Hollywood started a five-week run at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “Relax.” BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read expressed, on air, his distaste for both the record’s suggestive sleeve and its lyrics. He announced his refusal to play the record, not knowing that the BBC had decided that the song was not to be played on the BBC anyway. Produced by Trevor Horn, the song remained on the chart for 48 weeks.

1985, the recording took place for “We are the World,” recorded by USA for Africa, the American equivalent of Band Aid. Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, the song featured an all-star cast including Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Daryl Hall, John Oates, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Perry and Bob Geldof.

1990, Paula Abdul started a 10-week run at #1 on the U.S. album chart with Forever Your Girl. Abdul spent 64 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 before hitting #1, making it the longest time for an album to reach the #1 spot.

1994, Paul and Linda McCartney attended the premiere of Wayne’s World II in London. The couple then went on to Hard Rock Cafe, where the film’s star Mike Myers presented them with a check for LIPA (the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) for ?25,000 ($42,500) from the sale of Linda’s vegetarian burgers.

2000, Saxophonist and bandleader Thomas “Beans” Bowles died of prostate cancer at age 73. He played on many Motown sessions including Marvin Gaye’s, “What’s Going On,” Martha and the Vandellas’ “Heat Wave” and The Supremes’ “Baby Love” and wrote the melody for Stevie Wonder’s “Fingertips - Pt. 2.”

2003, H-Town singer Keven Conner was killed in a car crash in Houston at age 28. Conner died when an SUV ran a red light and crashed into the car he was a passenger in, which had just picked him up from the recording studio.

2005, English drummer and singer-songwriter Jim Capaldi died of stomach cancer at age 60. A member of Traffic and a solo star, he also worked with Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and George Harrison. For more on this story see today’s This Day in Music Spotlight.

2007, Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture was at #1 on the U.S. album chart. The movie musical, based on the history of Diana Ross and the Supremes, featured Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose and Keith Robinson.

2009, Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboard player Billy Powell died at the age of 56 of a heart attack in Florida. Powell called police saying he was having trouble breathing and emergency services tried to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead an hour later. Powell had missed a doctor’s appointment on the day before his death; the appointment was for a checkup on his heart.

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AC/DC Comeback Delayed by Illness

In a new interview with U.S. radio show The Cowhead Show, AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson says the band’s new album plans have been delayed by illness. The singer revealed: “One of the boys is a little sick and I can’t say anything, but he’s getting better. He’s doing wonderful. Full recovery fully expected.”

Johnson says that he expects the band to go back into the studio later this year to start working on a follow-up to 2008’s Black Ice.

“It’s a wonderful thing when we get in a room. Whenever the boys get back together, I get all excited. The boys, after a while, pick the guitars up, Phil [Rudd] will make his way to the drums, Cliff [Williams] will pull his bass out and then all of a sudden this noise comes out and I sit there with just this big old grin on my face.”

Johnson’s reference to “one of the boys” suggest it is either Angus or Malcolm Young that is currently unwell.

More AC/DC:

Influences & Inspirations: AC/DC

Life Story of AC/DC’s Bon Scott Becomes a Play

The Gibson SG: 50 Essential Facts

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Top 10 Stories of the Week in Music News

It’s been another exciting week in the crazy world of rock and roll. Sharon Osbourne hosted a rock and roll roast of Gibson favorite Zakk Wylde. Ozzy couldn’t be there because Black Sabbath are busy on their new album and, despite the news for Tony Iommi’s illness, still plan on being at the Download festival this summer. Eddie Vedder planned a tour and Judas Priest released a career-spanning box set. Neil Young said he likes Mumford & Sons and Queen’s axe hero Brian May worked with rapper Dappy. Oh, and AC/DC got their own jukebox. Now that’s rock and roll!

1. Sharon Osbourne Hosts Zakk Wylde Roast

2. People ‘Just Want Dirty Stories’ About Jim Morrison, Says Ray Manzarek

3. Eddie Vedder Plots Spring Tour

4. Rihanna to Sing with Coldplay at Grammys

5. Metallica-Inspired Art Exhibition to Open in L.A.

6. Black Sabbath Still Set for 2012 Download Festival

7. Judas Priest to Release Career-Spanning Box Set

8. Brian May Guests on New Dappy Single

9. AC/DC Score Their Own Pinball Machine

10. Neil Young is a Mumford & Sons Fan

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Johnny Marr: Guitarist and Bag Designer

The hugely influential guitar Johnny Marr has used his artistic skills to create three backpack designs for charity.

According to a report in the Daily Express, Morrissey’s sparring partner in The Smiths has designed three pop art bags for a fundraising drive by the Designers Against AIDS Education Center in Antwerp, Belgium.

The bags will be sold as part of an online auction this March.

Still in demand as a guitarist, Marr has enjoyed lending his creativity to different pursuits, including designing a limited edition line of Ray-Ban sunglasses.

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Iggy Pop Named Ambassador for Record Store Day 2012

Iggy Pop has agreed to take on the role of official ambassador for Record Store Day 2012. Set to take place on April 21, Record Store Day celebrates the virtues of independent record store establishments, and is marked by special shows and one-day sales events.

In a prepared statement, Pop said, “I got my name, my musical education and my personality all from working at a record store during my tender years. Small indie shops have always been a mix of theater and laboratory. In the ’50s and ’60s the teen kids used to gather after school at these places to listen free to the latest singles and see if they liked the beat. You could buy the disc you liked for 79 cents and if you were lucky meet a chick. Clerks in these places became managers (like Brian Epstein), label heads (Jac Holzman) and Faces on album covers (like me).”

To read Pop’s statement in its entirety, visit the official Record Store Day website.

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Disney Takes Inspiration from Joy Division?

The Walt Disney Company has drawn the ire of some Joy Division fans for using the band’s iconic Unknown Pleasures album cover as the basis for a T-shirt design featuring Mickey Mouse.

But Disney is free to use the image since the original cover is in the public domain and was never actually owned by Joy Division. It was taken from the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy. It depicts CP 1919, the first radio pulsar ever detected (in July 1967 by Jocelyn Bell Burnell).

Factory Records co-founder Peter Saville told The Guardian last year that the image was the only time the band gave the label an album cover suggestion. “They gave me the title too but I didn’t hear the album,” Saville said. “The wave pattern was so appropriate. It was from CP 1919, the first pulsar, so it’s likely that the graph emanated from Jodrell Bank, which is local to Manchester and Joy Division. And it’s both technical and sensual.”

According to the Disney site selling the T-shirt (which is sold out online but still available in Disney parks): “Inspired by the iconic sleeve of Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures album, this Waves Mickey Mouse Tee incorporates Mickey’s image within the graphic of the pulse of a star. That’s appropriate given few stars have made bigger waves than Mickey!”

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Ex-Judas Priest Guitarist to Build a Luxury Hotel

K.K. Downing, who left the veteran metal band Judas Priest last April, is embarking on an ambitious project to build a hotel on his sprawling estate in England.

According to the Shropshire Star, Downing has proposed a 63-room hotel with pool, spa and restaurant be built on his 320-acre Astbury Hall estate.

Downing said: “I am speaking to various corporations about investment and I’m optimistic we can start pushing through with the plans for development this year.

“The next step is putting together all the costing of everything, which includes the golf, practice areas and purpose built clubhouse – as well as the hotel, leisure and spa facilities.

“I’m 60 years old now so I really want to get things completed – that’s always been the endgame.”

The former rock star explained that this is a very personal project, not just a business venture, saying, “I have spent most of my own personal fortune on this. It’s been hard work but also rewarding and enjoyable to see it grow and grow, but I’m now keen to speed up the process.”

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Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Announce Tour

The Boss is back with a vengeance in 2012. He’s releasing a new album. He’s giving the keynote address at South by Southwest. And now, he’s announced he’ll be hitting the road for a string of U.S. dates with the E Street Band, according to Rolling Stone.

Bruce Springsteen and pals will begin a 19-date tour on March 18 at Phillips Arena in Atlanta. The trek will wind its way up the East Coast, including multiple dates in New Jersey and at Madison Square Garden, before hitting New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and wrapping up May 2 in Newark. The group will tour Europe in the summer and return for another North American trek in the fall.

It will be the first E Street Band tour without saxophonist Clarence Clemons, who died last year. There’s no word on if Clemons spot in the group will be filled by another player. Springsteen’s new studio album, Wrecking Ball, will be released on March 6.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band tour dates:

March 18 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
March 19 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
March 23 – Tampa, FL – Tampa Bay Times Forum
March 26 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
March 28 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
March 29 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
April 1 – Washington, DC – Verizon Center
April 3 – East Rutherford, NJ – Izod Center
April 4 – East Rutherford, NJ – Izod Center
April 6 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
April 9 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
April 12 – Detroit, MI – The Palace of Auburn Hills
April 13 – Buffalo, NY – First Niagara Center
April 16 – Albany, NY – Times Union Center
April 17 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
April 24 – San Jose, CA – HP Pavilion
April 26 – Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
April 29 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
May 2 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center

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This Day in Music: January 25th

Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.

Born on this day:

1915, Ewan MacColl, folk singer-songwriter
1931, Stig Anderson, ABBA producer
1938, Etta James, singer
1954, Robert Finch, vocals, KC and the Sunshine Band
1955, Terry Chimes, drums, The Clash
1956, Andy Cox, guitar, The Beat, Fine Young Cannibals
1981, Alicia Keys, singer-pianist

1960, The original cast recording of The Sound of Music started a 16-week run at #1 on the U.S. album chart.

1967, The Beatles made a last-minute remix of “Penny Lane” before the pressing of their next double-A-sided single “Strawberry Fields Forever”/“Penny Lane.” Both songs were originally intended for forthcoming album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

1971, Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane gave birth to a daughter, naming her God. She was later re-named China. For more on this story, see This Day in Music Spotlight.

1975, The Carpenters went to #1 on the U.S. singles chart with their version of The Marvelettes’ 1961 hit “Please Mr. Postman.”

1978, Joy Division made their live debut when they played Pips in Manchester, England.

1983, The Allman Brothers Band’s bassist Lamar Williams died of lung cancer at age 34. He joined the band in 1972 after the death of original bassist Berry Oakley.

1984, Yoko Ono donated ?250,000 ($425,000) to Liverpool old people’s home Strawberry Fields.

1986, Manager Albert Grossman died of a heart attack while flying on Concorde from New York to London. He managed Bob Dylan (between 1962 and 1970), Peter, Paul and Mary, The Band, Janis Joplin and Todd Rundgren. Grossman built the Bearsville Recording Studio near Woodstock in 1969, and in 1970 he founded Bearsville Records.

1992, The inaugural Big Day Out festival took place at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney. Acts appearing included, Nirvana, Beasts of Bourbon, Box The Jesuits, Celibate Rifles, Cosmic Psychos, The Clouds, Club Hoy, Died Pretty, Falling Joys, The Hard Ons with Henry Rollins Hellmen, Massappeal, The Meanies, Smudge, Sound Unlimited Posse, Ratcat, The Village Idiots, Violent Femmes and Yothu Yindi.

2008, British Sea Power’s keyboard and cornet player Phil Sumner ended up in the hospital after being knocked unconscious when he attempted a stage dive. The crowd at Leeds Irish Centre failed to catch him when he jumped off a 12-foot PA system, landing head first. A spokeswoman for the band said: "The impact knocked him out straight away. He was unconscious for three minutes and there was a lot of blood.”

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Acoustic and Electric Guitar - How They Stack Up Against Each Other

Mary Ford’s SG Sells for $90K on <em>Pawn Stars</em>

The Pawn Stars were lucky enough to pick up a piece of history on a recent episode of the reality series. Mary Ford’s nephew came into the shop to deal a cream, 1961 Gibson SG that once belonged to the singer and, of course, her famous ex-husband Les Paul.

The Huffington Post reports that Ford’s nephew also brought a bunch of documents to confirm the guitar’s authenticity – as well as Les’s famously unenthusiastic response to the SG. After standing firm on his asking price (reminding the buyers, “You’re getting history here”), the guitar sold for $90,000.

Pawn Stars airs Mondays on the History Channel. Check out the clip here.

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Extreme to Perform Classic Album Live

Boston rockers Extreme will perform their 1990 breakthrough album Pornograffiti in its entirety in Japan later this year.

The band quietly unveiled Japanese dates over the weekend on their official website.

They will play consecutive nights at the Tokyo Dome City Hall on April 16 and 17, and at Namba Hatch in Osaka on April 18. Although no other dates have been announced, it would be rather unusual for the band to go to all the trouble of re-learning all of the material for only three shows.

The album’s full title is Extreme II. Pornograffitti (A Funked Up Fairy Tale). It peaked at #10 on the Billboard 200, and included the song “More Than Words,” which hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991. The album’s other acoustic-based track, “Hole Hearted,” reached #4. But the majority of the album’s tracks were post-Van Halen rockers, including “He-Man Woman Hater,” which features intro and outro solos by Dweezil Zappa. At the time Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt also contributed to Dweezil’s solo album Confessions, including a ripping solo on a cover of the Bee Gees’ “Staying Alive.”

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Rolling Stones’ <em>Some Girls</em>: Sex & Drugs & Rock and Roll

The advent and cultural momentum of punk in the late 1970s provided a wild new lens through which all things – especially bands – considered “corporate” were viewed with leering distain. Ironically, even The Rolling Stones were not spared this fate despite having been punks a good decade before the term became a genre of music and style.

In a sense they invited the sneers of young listeners and critics with their 1976 album Black and Blue. Gibson Les Paul virtuoso Mick Taylor had left the band, taking part of its bluesy soul with him, and the album’s second single was “Hot Stuff,” a calculated attempt to cash in on the disco craze. The good news is that the slagging the Stones received from longtime fans and the media sparked a response from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards that restored the group to at least some of its former artistic glories.

And so they created 1978’s Some Girls, an album that was – like Black and Blue – varied compositionally, but honed close to the rock ’n’ roll bones that made The Rolling Stones great. “Shattered,” “When the Whip Comes Down,” “Lies” and “Respectable” (the latter featuring a three-guitar lineup of Richards, Jagger and then-new full-time Stone Ron Wood) all stomped hard, and while “Miss You” ventured back into disco territory, the song’s lyrics were far edgier than the pulpy “Hot Stuff.”

Jagger, in particular, stepped to the fore. Using New York City’s melting pot society for inspiration, he studied the punk and club culture and came away with lyrics about alienation – a theme Richards also explored with his “Before They Make Me Run,” which was sparked by the 1977 Toronto heroin bust that placed the prospect of a jail sentence at his feet – sex, sadomasochism, class and the spirit of old-school soul.

Another reason for Some Girls’ stripped-down sass was the back-to-basics strategy the Stones adopted for the sessions in Paris’ Pathe Marconi Studios. Eschewing the conglomerations of studio musicians that had played on their albums since 1968’s Beggar’s Banquet, the Stones cut all the basics live and played the tracks themselves with a few notable exceptions: Ian McLagen, a confederate of Wood’s from the Faces; blues harmonica player Sugar Blue; saxist Mel Collins and percussionist Simon Kirke.

The recording sessions ran from October 1977 through March 1978 and reportedly included up to 50 songs. Several of the leftovers would end up on the Stones’ next two discs, Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You. And engineer Chris Kimsey was summoned, returning to the position he held for Goats Head Soup and It’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll.

Some Girls’ album cover also took a cue from punk rock culture. The disc featured the band members in drag alongside a list of female celebrities that included Marilyn Monroe, Lucile Ball, Farrah Fawcett, Judy Garland and Raquel Welch, all of whom threatened legal action since proper clearances were never obtained, with Liza Minelli taking up the cause for her late mother Garland.

The disc’s first single, “Miss You,” was The Rolling Stones’ last #1 pop hit, getting dance club as well as radio play. It was a calculated effort on Jagger’s part that paid off commercially, but the rest of the album projected a sense of greater creative integrity. Some Girls reached #1 on the Billboard Top 100 Albums chart and began reaping praise in the media for its return to rock ’n’ roll form. Nonetheless, the disc’s creative stretch ran beyond rock with a cover of the Temptations’ “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)” and “Beast of Burdon” representing hard-core soul music, and “Far Away Eyes” a tongue-in-cheek approximation of country. “When the Whip Comes Down” is singular and improbable in the Jagger-Richards cannon. It’s the story of a gay man who comes to New York seeking his fortune and becomes a trash collector.

But Some Girls’ best-written rocker is hand-down the punk-fueled “Shattered,” an edgy love note to New York City’s gritty late ’70s soul. Jagger reportedly wrote the lyrics in the back of a Manhattan cab, and Richards’ stuttering rhythm guitar riff, with a hint of phase shifter, has the command of a snarling dog.

Some Girls went on to sell six million copies. The sequel, 1980’s Emotional Rescue, sold two million and ’81’s Tattoo You sold four million copies. Together, the trio of albums marked the final years of The Rolling Stones’ golden age of recordings.

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Which Beginner Electric Guitars Will Be a Perfect Match For Your Taste in Music

Neil Young to Release Two New Albums with Crazy Horse

Neil Young has confirmed that he’s completed a new album with Crazy Horse, and that a second album with the band is “in progress.” The veteran rocker said he hopes to release both discs this year.

Young made the revelation at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, were he and director Jonathan Demme are presenting Journeys, their latest concert documentary, which was filmed in Toronto in May 2011.

Members of Crazy Horse last recorded with Young on his 2003 album, Greendale. The last Young album on which the entire band was featured was 1996’s Broken Arrow. In a 2005 interview with Performing Songwriter, Young described his work with Crazy Horse as “cosmic,” and as something he treated with “a special kind of respect.” “My work with Crazy Horse stands alone, in its own way,” he said. “Sometimes it needs to be replenished, sometimes it needs to be revisited, and sometimes it needs to be left alone.”

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Coldplay to Lead British Invasion at The Secret Policeman’s Ball in New York

Coldplay are set to join Mumford & Sons as part of the lineup to be featured at this year’s edition of The Secret Policeman’s Ball. The British-based music and comedy festival will be staged at New York City’s Radio Music Hall on March 4.

The concert, which had its inception in 1976, benefits the human right group, Amnesty International. As reported by the Associated Press, Amnesty International spokesperson Andy Hackman said the organization wanted to present the event on a grander scale this year, to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the human rights group.

“That phrase, ‘human rights,’ has lost meaning in some ways,” Hackman said. “That’s why we want to demonstrate the power and the joy that free speech can bring to us all. It’s really just using these amazing, talented people to demonstrate the power [and] what a force of good free speech is.”

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Problems With Traditional Acoustic Guitar Construction

Sharon Osbourne Hosts Zakk Wylde Roast

Zakk Wylde was roasted at Guitar World’s Rock and Roll Roast at City National Grove of Anaheim on January 19.

Rolling Stone reports Wylde was targeted by Corey Taylor, Duff McKagan, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Chris Jericho and others. Taylor told Rolling Stone: “We’ve all known each other for a while, we all love each other. So let’s just rip the crap out of each other.”

Sharon Osbourne was happy to host the event and explained that she’s known Zakk for many years. She said: “I’ve known him since he was 18. He calls me ‘mom,’ and I feel like his mom. So I can be disrespectful, horrible, mean to him for two hours and get away with it.”

Since Ozzy was unable to make the event, because he’s busy working on the new Black Sabbath album, Sharon passed on his thoughts about Zakk. “Ozzy is very proud of Zakk – very, very proud. He’s proud of the man he’s become – he’s sober and fabulous.”

Zakk Wylde

Sharon Osbourne

Corey Taylor

Scott Ian

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Neil Young is a Mumford & Sons Fan

Neil Young may have criticized the sound quality of contemporary rock music in an interview with MTV News, but did express his admiration for two current acts. According to NME.com, the Canadian rocker said: “Mumford & Sons and My Morning Jacket are great bands. I love them both and I know them well. I feel good about saying that.”

So what’s Young’s issue is with sound quality in modern rock?

“I’m finding that I have a little bit of trouble with the quality of the sound of music today. I don’t like it. It just makes me angry. Not the quality of the music, but we’re in the 21st century and we have the worst sound that we’ve ever had. It’s worse than a 78. Where are our geniuses? What happened?”

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Eddie Vedder Plots Spring Tour

Pearl Jam frontman and ukulele enthusiast Eddie Vedder is planning a Spring tour of the Southern United States. The singer-ukulele player will play a string of dates starting April 11 in Las Vegas, according to Billboard.

Vedder also will promote 2011’s Ukulele Songs with a stop at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, before the tour wraps up on May 16 in Orlando. Glen Hansard, known for fronting The Frames and the Swell Season, will open the shows.

Of course, Pearl Jam also has plans to tour this year. The band has announced a summer European tour that begins in Manchester, U.K., on June 20.

Eddie Vedder tour dates:

April 11: Las Vegas (The Pearl)
April 13: Phoenix, Ariz. (Comerica Theater)
April 16: Albuquerque, N.M. (Kiva Auditorium)
April 19: Tulsa, Okla. (Brady Theater)
April 22: Houston, Tex. (Jones Hall for the Performing Arts)
April 25: San Antonio, Tex. (Lila Cockrell Theatre)
April 27: Austin, Tex. (Bass Concert Hall)
April 30: Dallas, Tex. (The Music Hall at Fair Park)
May 3: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
May 8: Jacksonville, Fla. (Moran Theater)
May 10: Clearwater, Fla. (Ruth Eckerd Hall)
May 13: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Broward Center for the Performing Arts)
May 16: Orlando, Fla. (Bob Carr Performing Arts Center)

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Al Green Reacts to President Obama’s Vocal Prowess

Al Green and several record company executives have commented on President Barack Obama’s performance of a snippet of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” at a campaign fundraiser at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

Al Green told Billboard.com, “I was thrilled that the President mentioned my name and that if he can get the economy going and do all that he wants to do, then we will ALL be together.”

Imran Majid Sr., director of A&R at Universal Republic Records, said: “The Apollo is a tough crowd to win over even if you’re the president. The fact that he was not booed off stage says to me he’s got a chance.”

Jacob Fain, director A&R at SonyATV Music Publishing ,chipped in with: “I was impressed with what I saw, but I’m really going to need a meeting before I decide if he has any true star power.”

Does the President of the U.S. have what it takes for a recording career?

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This Day in Music: January 24th

Brought to you by ThisDayinMusic.com.

Born on this day:

1939, Ray Stevens, singer-songwriter
1941, Neil Diamond, singer-songwriter
1941, Aaron Neville, singer
1947, Warren Zevon, singer-songwriter
1958, Jools Holland, keyboards, Squeeze
1967, John Myung, bass, Dream Theater

1953, Eddie Fisher was at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “Outside is Heaven.”

1958, Elvis Presley was at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “Jailhouse Rock.” It became the first-ever single to enter the chart at #1 and was Presley’s second U.K. #1. It went on to sell more than 4 million copies in the U.S. For more on this story, see This Day in Music Spotlight.

1962, Brian Epstein signed a management deal with The Beatles. Epstein was to receive 25 percent of the band’s gross earnings. The normal management deal was 10 percent.

1969, New Jersey state prosecutors issued a warning to U.S. record dealers that they would be charged with distributing pornography if they were caught selling the John Lennon/Yoko Ono LP Two Virgins. The front cover of the album showed the pair frontally nude, while the back cover showed them from behind. The album still managed to reach #124 on the U.S., but failed to chart at all in the U.K., where only 5,000 copies were pressed.

1970, James Sheppard, the lead singer from the Heartbeats and Shep and the Limelites, was found murdered in his car on the Long Island Expressway. The U.S. singer had been beaten and robbed. The Limelites reached #2 in the U.S. in 1961 with “Daddy’s Home.”

1976, Bob Dylan started a five-week run at #1 on the U.S. album chart with Desire, his third U.S. #1.

1979, The Clash released their first single in the U.S., “I Fought the Law” (written by Sonny Curtis of Buddy Holly’s Crickets).

1981, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith was hospitalized after being involved in a crash on his motorbike.

1992, Nirvana played their first-ever show in Australia at the Phoenician Club in Sydney.

1995, David Cole, producer and keyboardist in C & C Music Factory, died of meningitis at age 32. He produced music for Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin.

1998, Oasis went to #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “All Around the World.” It had the longest running time for a U.K. #1 with a total duration of 9 minutes, 38 seconds. It was one of the first songs to be written by Noel Gallagher, with the band rehearsing it as early as 1992.

2007, Record producer Dave Shayman (also known as Disco D) was found dead at his home in New York City. 26-year-old Shayman was famous for his production work on hip-hop records and was a rising star in the business. His death was being treated as a potential suicide after he was recently diagnosed with manic depression.

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Mark Tremonti Solo Album on the Way

Creed and Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti will release his debut solo album, All I Was, in the spring.

The album features Tremonti – an accomplished shredder, especially after hitting the woodshed with Rusty Cooley – on lead vocals as well as guitar, while Eric Friedman provides backing vocals, bass and guitar. Garret Whitlock handles the drums.

Tremonti has finished tracking the majority of his guitar parts, and mixing will begin in February. Tremonti recently told The Pulse of Radio the album would likely have a unique distribution model.

“We’re trying to do it different,” Tremonti said. “We’re trying to every month put out two songs with, you know, your ringtones, your T-shirts, with – I’m gonna do instructional DVDs and the other guys will do instructional stuff, tutorials on how to play the songs and whatnot. After six months we'll release the whole album, and if everybody downloads the songs along the way, they’ll get a signed copy of the whole record. We’ll do everything we can to make it appealing to people.”

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John Sykes Departs Mike Portnoy Project

Former Whitesnake guitarist and Gibson signature artist John Sykes has pulled out of his planned collaboration with ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy.

MelodicRock.com reports that no official reason has been given for Sykes’ departure, but it is understood that a new guitarist will be brought in to the project, along with a yet-to-be-named bass player.

Portnoy isn’t exactly looking for work at the moment. In addition to his current band Adrenaline Mob, the drummer also is working with guitarist Steve Morse, multi-instrumentalist Neal Morse of Spock’s Beard, Dixie Dregs bass player Dave LaRue and vocalist Casey McPherson (Alpha Rev, Endochine) in a new band called Flying Colors. An album is currently in the recording stage, and is due on March 27.

“This album has bits and pieces of what you’d expect from each of us,” Portnoy said. “The sum of all its parts led to brand new, unchartered territory for everyone involved.”

Flying Colors has an official website at http://flyingcolorsmusic.com/.

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Noel Gallagher Named ‘Godlike Genius’

Former Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher will be given the Godlike Genius Award at the 2012 NME Awards. The leader of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will be celebrated at the ceremony on February 29 at London’s O2 Academy Brixton, according to NME.

In response to the accolade, the guitarist/songwriter/vocalist said: “I would like to thank NME for bestowing upon me such a great accolade. I have dreamt of this moment since I was 43 years old. I accept that I am now a genius, just like God.”

Gallagher joins pretty amazing musical company. Previous winners of the Godlike Genius Award include 2011 honoree Dave Grohl, as well as The Clash, Paul Weller, The Cure and Joy Division.

“For the best part of two decades, the voice of one man has dominated the pages of NME more than any other. That man is Noel Gallagher,” NME editor Krissi Murison said. “Opinionated, intelligent, passionate and always hilarious – Noel walks and talks it better than any other musician out there, and it’s just one of the reasons why the British public loves him so dearly.”

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‘God’ Earned $6 Million Last Year

Guitar great Eric Clapton, affectionately dubbed “God” by guitar enthusiasts in the ’60s, may be a veteran but he’s still raking in the cash.

According to the Independent newspaper, Clapton has recently filed the accounts for his Marshbrook business, the company that runs his music and touring interests and the leasing of his luxury yacht (the six-bedroom Va Bene that can be rented for ?179,000 a week).

Marshbrook’s revenue was a cool ?12m ($18 million), thanks to an increase in touring revenue. Clapton paid himself ?3.98m ($6 million) for the year ending March 31.

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Mean Streets: A Van Halen Tour of the Sunset Strip

A few months ago, I, your intrepid reporter, camera in hand, delivered a tour of AC/DC-related locations in my adopted hometown of Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne is a beautiful city – it reminds many Americans of the best bits of San Francisco or Portland – and it’s utterly swelling with Oz rock history. It was a really fun article to write, and to reflect on a very, very famous band and its physical connection to a location that I find myself surrounded by every day.

But it’s not every day that I find myself in Los Angeles. That happens once a year for the NAMM Show. And with the new Van Halen album, A Different Kind of Truth, mere weeks away, I recently took the opportunity to hang out in L.A. for a few days and check out a few Van Halen historical sites before heading down to Anaheim for NAMM.

The first stop for any self-respecting Van Halenite is the Whisky A Go Go. This legendary nightclub literally gave birth to the go-go dancing craze, and it was here that the career of The Doors really took off – they were the Whisky’s house band for a while. The Whisky is one of several venues where Van Halen would play mostly covers, with the occasional original thrown in, and you can hear the influence of this period on the band’s later music in the form of tracks like “You Really Got Me” and “You’re No Good,” as well as about half of the Diver Down album. The Whisky was revisited by the band in its Sammy Hagar-led incarnation in March 1993, their first performance there in 15 years. This gig was immortalized in the form of a live video for the song “Dreams” to promote the band’s only official live album to date, Live: Right Here, Right Now, released a month earlier.

The most recent Sunset Strip venue to feature in Van Halen history is the Roxy Theater. Known as the location for much (but not all) of Frank Zappa’s Roxy & Elsewhere album, the Roxy was opened in 1973 and was the location where comedian Paul Reubens first introduced his Pee Wee Herman character. It’s also the site of live albums by Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, NOFX, Warren Zevon and more. Van Halen used the venue in late 2011 to film the video for their new single “Tattoo,” and, according to the Roxy’s blog, the band loved the venue so much that they stayed on to rehearse for their forthcoming tour. 

Some of the more prominent Van Halen-related Sunset Strip landmarks aren’t there anymore. The Starwood was on the northwest corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Crescent Heights Avenue. It opened in 1972 and closed down in 1981. In the nine years in between, it hosted bands such as Black Flag, The Go-Go’s, The Knack, FEAR, Motley Crue, Quiet Riot, The Runaways, The Ramones, AC/DC, Dokken, The Jam and many more. It was here that Van Halen ultimately became stars, when producer Ted Templeman and Warner Bros. executive Mo Ostin caught a Van Halen set and promptly signed them to the label.

Another legendary VH venue that no longer exists is/was Gazzarri’s. As anyone who has seen The Decline of Western Civilization 2: The Metal Years will know, this club was famous for its glam metal nights in the ’80s, as well as Van Halen’s residencies there in the late ’70s. Van Halen first played here in the mid-’70s, and David Lee Roth recounts many colorful encounters with charismatic owner Bill Gazzarri in his autobiography Crazy From the Heat. Gazzarri passed away in 1991 and the club closed its doors in 1993. A year later, the building was damaged in the Northridge earthquake, and was rebuilt as Billboard Live, which became the Key Club in 1998.

Though not particularly a part of Van Halen folklore, any tour of the Sunset Strip must include the Rainbow Bar & Grill. Found right next door to the Roxy, the Rainbow is where Joe DiMaggio met Marilyn Monroe in 1952, it’s the regular haunt of Lemmy from Motorhead, and virtually every Behind the Music includes an anecdote that begins with, “So I was drinking at the Rainbow one night and…” One particularly interesting external feature is the array of band names carved into the bricks with a nail by a Sunset Strip native named Rich Legg. According to this AENONFIRE article, Legg has the Rainbow’s permission to carve the names and logos, and some of the bricks are particularly well executed, including the Alice in Chains and Judas Priest logos. And of course Van Halen is there, stretched across two bricks – most bands only get one.

So after my little Sunset Strip visit, I turned and headed back towards my hotel, bidding a temporary farewell (I’m sure I’ll be back before I return to Australia in a few weeks) to the Van Halenized patches of the Sunset Strip. But as I looked back up the hill towards Sunset, one last site caught my eye. Black, white and red color combination, stripes… could it be…?

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NAMM 2012: Visiting the Gibson Booth

As I write this I’m sitting in a hotel room in San Diego, the day after the 2012 NAMM show wrapped up, taking a much-needed break after a foot-punishing four days of walking the halls, catching up with friends, putting faces to names and saying hello in person to artists I’ve only met over the phone. NAMM is an assault on the senses (especially if you stroll too close to the drum section!) but up on the third floor, away from the deafening din, you will find the Gibson room. Although I write articles for Gibson.com, I’m all the way over in Australia for the rest of the year, and not privy to news about upcoming products, so NAMM is an exciting opportunity for me to see what’s on the way, just as it is for everyone else.

Perhaps the biggest buzz of the 2012 NAMM Show was Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys stopping by the Gibson booth. Due to a packed schedule I was unfortunately unable to see it for myself, but grown men – jaded industry professionals who have seen it all – later turned misty-eyed when telling me of seeing and hearing Wilson.

The Epiphone Dave Navarro Signature Acoustic/Electric was on display, nestled proudly amongst the other, more traditional acoustics. It looked quite at home from a distance, but get closer and you’ll see some wonderful inlay work – custom mother-of-pearl “unicursal hexagram” design. Navarro’s guitar features a cutting-edge pickup and preamp system developed by Epiphone with Shadow of Germany which will no doubt be put to very good use playing the Jane’s Addiction anthem “Jane Says.” Naturally, Navarro stopped by to say hello to fans and to show off the new guitar.

On Saturday legendary folk singer and psychedelic pioneer Donovan – heck, he practically invented world music – showed up to meet fans. Donovan is working with Gibson to replace his prized Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, which was stolen from him. This was the very instrument that he used to write hits including “Sunshine Superman,” “Mellow Yellow” and “Hurdy Gurdy Man.”

One of my favorite NAMM sightings was the SG with Floyd Rose. Everything you always loved about an SG – dual humbuckers, thin mahogany body, devilish horns – but with the added sonic scope of a Floyd Rose tremolo bridge. The body is slightly wider than its fixed-bridge brother to allow more space for the tremolo block and bridge springs, and this is sure to fatten up the tone a little, too – a clever way of compensating for the slightly thinner sound many players hear when using a Floyd Rose-equipped guitar.

There were a pair of Gibson Modernes on show – great to see this model getting some love – and Zakk Wylde’s new Vertigo Les Paul. This is more like the design that Zakk actually wanted when his original “Grail” Les Paul was custom-painted. The Vertigo was perched right next to the new Ace Frehley “Budokan” Les Paul Custom, a reproduction of the legendary 1974 three-pickup Les Paul Custom used by the KISS guitarist in 1977.

Perhaps most exciting of all, though, was the pair of Robot-equipped Epiphone acoustics. This technology has been put to great use in an ever-increasing line of electric Gibson models, but it’s never before been seen in a production acoustic by either Gibson or Epiphone. Traditionalists will love the more dreadnaught-like version (below left), while those with a flair for the outrageous should check out the flashier version.

 

But perhaps most exciting of all is the Kirk Hammett Flying V. Modeled on Kirk’s own guitar, which he’s used extensively on stage and in the studio with Metallica, this guitar will be available in 50 aged and signed versions, each played by Kirk prior to final approval and with a leather-bound certificate of authenticity, and 100 aged pieces with the certificate. It never seemed to be around when I was at the Gibson booth and I’m just as excited to see one, as you no doubt are!

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