Classic Hits

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson has been named this year’s recipient of The National Guitar Museum’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Alex’s playing has inspired countless guitarists to push the boundaries of what the guitar can do,” HP Newquist, the executive director of The National Guitar Museum, shares. “It’s hard to even put his playing in a single category—calling him a ‘rock guitarist’ doesn’t begin to cover it. Catchy riffs, intricate instrumental passages, classical flourishes, jackhammer chords, brilliant tone … that’s just the start of what Alex does as a guitarist.”

Lifeson is the 15th recipient of the award and says he’s honored to be recognized.

“I fell in love with the guitar when I was eleven years old and continue my romantic affair to this day, sixty years later. It has been my voice, my lover and my partner on a lifelong journey, and we’ve never had a single argument,” he shares. “I’m grateful for this acknowledgement and fortunate to share the rewards that come with being a guitarist.” 

Previous Guitar Museum Lifetime Achievement Award winners include Jeff Beck, Eddie Van Halen, Buddy Guy, Tony Iommi, Bonnie Raitt and B.B.King.

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Interviews with artists including Paul Simon, Mick Jagger and Elvis Costello are featured in an upcoming documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live.

The film, titled Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music, will premiere Jan. 27 on NBC and will be available to stream the next day on Peacock. It’s codirected by The Roots‘ Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson.

“Everyone knows the most famous SNL appearances, whether it’s Elvis Costello, Prince or the Beastie Boys, but they’re the tip of a huge iceberg,” Thompson says. “The process of going back through the incredible archival footage was like being in a time machine, DeLorean or other. I’m so happy I went on the trip and now get to share it with everyone.”

Other musicians interviewed include Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Jack White, Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello, Paul Simon, Billie Eilish, and Blondie‘s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein.

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Looks like Bruce Springsteen fans have a lot to look forward to in 2025, including some previously unreleased material.

A year-end press release shared by The Boss’ reps hints at some possible archival releases in the year to come, noting that “2025 will include a look back at Springsteen’s storied recording career, featuring never-before-heard material.”

Of course, that’s not all Springsteen has planned for 2025.

Next year will also see Bruce and The E Street Band return to Europe for 16 shows. And Springsteen will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of his iconic album Born to Run, as well as the 45th of The River, the 30th of his solo album The Ghost of Tom Joad and the 20th of another solo album, Devils & Dust.

The release also notes that The Boss will “continue his involvement” in the film Deliver Me From Nowhere, about the making of his album Nebraska, starring Jeremy Allen White.

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We’re getting another look at the upcoming Led Zeppelin documentary, Becoming Led Zeppelin.

A new trailer for the doc has just been released, featuring archival footage, clips of new interviews with band members Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Robert Plant, and archival audio from their late drummer John Bonham. The clip is set to the Led Zeppelin classics “Good Times, Bad Times” and “Whole Lotta Love.”

“The first time we played together you could tell it was gonna be a good group,” Bonham says in the clip. “It was an electric atmosphere and that’d been what I’d been waiting for,” Plant adds.

Talking about producing the band’s first album, Page notes, “I wanted it to be something that they hadn’t heard before.” 

As for the band’s name, Jones reveals in the clip, “We were gonna be called Led Zeppelin and I thought, ‘That’s a terrible name,’ but I couldn’t come up with a better one so Led Zeppelin we were.”

Becoming Led Zeppelin first premiered as a work in progress at the 2021 Venice Film Festival. Sony Pictures Classics acquired the rights to the completed film in May. The movie, described as a “hybrid docu-concert film,” is the first officially sanctioned documentary about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group. 

Becoming Led Zeppelin is set to open exclusively in IMAX theaters on Feb. 7, with early access screenings in 18 markets starting Feb. 5. It will then hit theaters nationwide on Feb. 14.

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On This Day, Dec. 19, 2012 …

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason opened his wallet to save the London music store where he bought his first drum kit. The store, Foote’s, was about to go out of business, so Mason provided the funding it needed to continue.

“One of my great memories of being a young, budding drummer was going to the original [Foote’s] … and buying my very first kit for £7.50,” he told Britain’s ITV news.

Unfortunately, the store closed down in 2022 after more than 100 years in business.

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While Genesis has plenty of fans out there, it turns out their lead singer, Phil Collins, isn’t necessarily one of them.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is the subject of a new Drumeo documentary, Phil Collins: Drummer First, and in it he reveals how he really feels about the band that made him famous.

During the doc, Phil revisits the music he’s made with Genesis and on his own. Collins admits, “I’m not Genesis’ biggest fan, you know.”

“There’s stuff that I like, stuff I’m proud of – stuff that I’m less so,” he notes. “Sometimes it can be like people throwing bricks at you.”

As for how he felt about revisiting his musical career for the doc, he shares, “It’s been an interesting trip down a memory lane, some bits may be better than I thought, some bits aren’t as good as I thought.”

He adds, “I’ve been playing drums since I was 5, there’s gonna be dogs! There’s gonna be stuff you enjoy hearing back, and others not so.”

Specifically, Collins says he’s “not particularly fond of” the …And Then There Were Three period of Genesis, referring to the band’s 1978 album, particularly the song “Down and Out.”

He notes, “Haven’t heard it for ages but I mean it’s, uh, it’s a period piece.”

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Grateful Dead has announced details of the next release in their Dave’s Picks bootleg series.

Dave’s Picks Vol. 54, coming out May 1, will feature the band’s March 26, 1973, concert at the Baltimore Civic Center, which is one of the longest concerts the band played that year. The 31-song show stands out for its second-set jam, which included such songs as “He’s Gone,” “Truckin’,” “Weather Report Suite Prelude,” “Jam,” “Wharf Rat,” “Me And Bobby McGee,” “Eyes Of The World” and “Morning Dew.” 

It will be followed by a Vol. 54 bonus disc, featuring a March 31, 1973, concert in Buffalo, New York.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead and the 14th year of the Dave Pick’s series. Those who sign up for a subscription get four numbered, limited-edition releases throughout the year, along with the bonus disc.

The first release for 2025 will be an Oct. 27, 1976, concert at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati.

Preorder for the subscription is open now at dead.net.

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Ed Norton stars as folk legend Pete Seeger in the new Bob Dylan movie A Complete Unknown, and he realizes many people may not know how influential Seeger was to music.

In an interview with IndieWire, Norton says he hopes the film is “an opportunity to put a light on this period and how amazing these artists were and get reconnected to them,” and that’s particularly true for Seeger, who Norton doesn’t believe is as known as he should be.

As an example of that, Norton shares a story about the reaction Her director Spike Jonze had when he heard Norton was playing Seeger.

“He was like, ‘Wow, are you doing the music yourself?’ I said yes. And he goes, ‘Are you doing “Night Moves” and “Against the Wind” and “Old Time Rock & Roll”?’” Norton says. “I’m like, ‘Pete Seeger, not Bob Seger!’ And he was like, ‘Wait, who is Pete Seeger?’”

Seeger penned such songs as “If I Had A Hammer” and “Where Have All The Flowers Gone.” He was such an important figure in music that in 2006 Bruce Springsteen did a whole album, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, dedicated to Seeger’s music. And Norton says he’s not surprised.

“Bruce, to me, he’s 100 percent, no question whatsoever, the Pete Seeger of our generation and our time,” Norton says. “He’s the guy who really actually took up the mantle.” 

He adds, “And I’d argue more than anyone, since Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen has been the troubadour of the working man and also an unapologetic deployer of music toward political progressive humanism. He’s a force. Bruce has long been one of the deacons in the Pete Seeger church.” 

A Complete Unknown opens Dec. 25.

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Bangles frontwoman Susanna Hoffs has teamed with Elvis Costello to release a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Connection” in celebration of Stones guitarist Keith Richards‘ 81st birthday on Wednesday.

“I did the Keith part,” Hoffs shares in a press release. “We both wanted to do the Keith part, but I won!”

She notes of the collaboration, “I had the great honor of singing with Elvis at a couple of his shows, and it was a lifelong dream to record a song together.”

“Connection,” from The Stones’ 1967 album Between the Buttons, was written mostly by Keith but is credited to him and Mick Jagger. Hoffs says it’s one of her favorite songs by the band.

“I love Keith—his smile, his swagger, his songwriting—the way he moves on stage, as if his guitar is a part of his body and together they meld with the music and the emotion of the song,” she shares.

“Connection” is available now via digital outlets.

And Susanna isn’t the only one marking Keith’s birthday; his bandmates all posted birthday wishes on social media. 

“Today we celebrate the one and only @officialkeef on his birthday!!” read a post on the band’s Instagram. “Happy Birthday Keith wishing you the best day.” Meanwhile, Jagger shared a throwback photo of the two of them, writing, “Happy birthday @officialkeef! Love Mick,” and Ronnie Wood shared a video of them playing guitar together with the message “Soul brother. Happy birthday Keith.”

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Brenda Lee‘s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time ever in 2023. This year it’s sitting at #2. But there’s a lot more to Brenda Lee than just that one song, which you’ll find out by watching her PBS American Masters documentary, Brenda Lee: Rockin’ Around, which is streaming now.

Lee, 80, signed a record deal at age 11 and scored dozens of hits in the rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll, pop and country fields. In the ’60s, only Elvis, The Beatles and Ray Charles charted more singles than she did — in fact, the Beatles once opened for her. She’s sold over 100 million records worldwide, and is the first woman to be inducted into both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

But unlike many child stars, Lee never had any substance abuse issues, nor was she taken advantage of by the adults around her. Explaining how she avoided that, she tells ABC Audio, “I had people around me — from the record label to my great manager, to my precious, precious mother and my family — that truly cared.”

“And the most important part was, I loved what I did. So it wasn’t work to me. And nobody exploited me and nobody made me do anything. It was always my decision.”

These days, most people know Lee for “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” which she recorded at age 13. Why does she think the 1958 tune is so enduring?

“Well, first of all, it’s a good song,” she tells ABC Audio. “It’s well written. It’s catchy. And … it’s just fun. You don’t have to sit down and analyze it. You either like it or you don’t. And I never thought that would be my signature song … but it is.”

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