He's undeniably one of the greatest singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists in rock and roll history, but Paul McCartney's solo albums can be hit-and-miss, to put it diplomatically. 'Off the Ground,' which was released in Feb. 1993, was a case in point, featuring many of the lyrical and melodic elements that are McCartney's strengths, but somehow not quite coming together. The result was an album that was quite simply not among McCartney's best.
The progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake and Palmer were never really notable for their restraint, either in the complexity and execution of their music, or in their over-the-top live shows. Keyboardist Keith Emerson was a particularly flamboyant live performer, but his onstage antics could have cost him his career on Feb. 2, 1973, when he injured his hands in an accident involving pyrotechnics.
In a tragedy hauntingly reminiscent of the incident that killed more than 100 fans at a Great White concert in 2003, 233 people were killed early Sunday morning (Jan. 27) after fire swept through a nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil.
Texas-based blues rockers ZZ Top and the progressive metal group Queensryche are among the acts confirmed to appear at this year's Sturgis Rally concert at the Buffalo Chip Music Festival. Billed as the "largest music festival in motorcycling," the annual event features a mix of classic rock and country acts. This year's rally takes place Aug. 2-11 in South Dakota.
In 1969, terror and paranoia swept through the film and music communities of Los Angeles after actress Sharon Tate, Hollywood hairstylist Jay Sebring, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, aspiring screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski and 18-year-old Steven Parent were brutally murdered in a house on Cielo Drive. In a bizarre twist to an already sensational story, the Beatles' 'White Album' wound up being played in court during the subsequent murder trial of Charles Manson, who claimed to have planned the killing spree because of messages he believed were buried in the music.
The lineup for the 2013 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival has been announced, and two of the most legendary acts in classic rock are slated to perform this year. Fleetwood Mac and Billy Joel will both appear at JazzFest, which takes place over the course of two weekends, April 26-28 and May 2-5.
In a race that wasn't even particularly close, and for the second year in a row, Guns N' Roses have won the honors for Tour of the Year in the 2012 Ultimate Classic Rock Awards, as decided by our annual readers poll.
The February 2013 New Music Releases mostly aren't actually "new" in the truest sense of the word. But don't get discouraged -- It's going to be a month focused on a number of important archival releases, remasters and deluxe editions of albums from some of our favorite classic rockers
Former Styx front man Dennis DeYoung hasn't been an active member of the group he helped found since 1999, but he still makes his living by playing their greatest hits. DeYoung's current solo band is geared toward recreating the classic Styx sound as closely as possible, and the singer, songwriter and keyboardist has revealed that he is hoping to re-stage the superstar rock group's most successful tour for an upcoming DVD release.
Legendary guitarist Steve Howe has quit the classic rock supergroup Asia, the band have confirmed.
