Led Zeppelin scored their first U.K. #1 with their second studio album, Led Zeppelin II.
The album, produced by guitarist Jimmy Page, featured such Zeppelin classics as “Whole Lotta Love,” “Thank You” and “Ramble On.”
The album spent one week in the top spot, but remained in the Top 10 for 54 weeks and in the Top 100 for 129 weeks. In the U.S. it also hit #1, spending seven weeks on top.
Led Zeppelin II went on to be certified 12-times Platinum, and has been ranked on several critics lists of the best albums of all time.
In 2014 the album was reissued, with the deluxe and super deluxe edition coming with bonus material, including alternative takes, backing tracks and a previously unreleased instrumental track, “La La.”
The Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 4, featured some standout performances, but if producers had their way there would have been another huge act in the lineup.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Grammy executive producer Ben Winston reveals that while Dua Lipa opened the show, they initially wanted The Rolling Stones to kick off the festivities.
“It was either going to be The Rolling Stones doing ‘Angry’ or Dua Lipa,” he says. “That’s what I was thinking. I tried — I had a conversation with the Stones. It didn’t work out this time.”
The Stones’ “Angry,” from their recent album Hackney Diamonds, was nominated for Best Rock Song, but wound up losing to boygenius‘ “Not Strong Enough.”
As for one of the other iconic moments in the show, Joni Mitchell‘s performance of “Both Sides Now,” Winston says it was almost a year in the making.
“Brandi Carlile said to me, about six months before the last Grammys, ‘Joni’s performing again a little bit; she’s gonna do a few festivals with me. Do you think maybe we could get her to sing at the Grammys?’” he said. “And I was like, ‘Wow, that would be amazing.’”
Nothing really came of it until he saw Joni perform at the Hollywood Bowl in October and decided he needed to make it happen. And in the end, Winston says Joni had a great experience.
“She enjoyed the adulation she got,” he says. “She sat there on this throne in her dressing room. People came to greet her — Olivia Rodrigo came and paid her respects.”
In addition to her performance, Joni won a Grammy for Best Folk Album for Joni Mitchell at Newport Live. It was her 11th Grammy win.
A stage adaptation of Prince’s Purple Rain is expected to wind up on Broadway, but before it hits the Great White Way, it will make its debut in Prince’s hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The musical’s pre-Broadway premiere is expected to take place in the spring of 2025, at Minneapolis’ historic State Theatre.
Producer Orin Wolf is behind the show, which will be using Prince’s original music. Two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is on board to write the book, and Tony Award nominee Lileana Blain-Cruz is set to direct.
“Prince talked about adapting Purple Rain for the stage for years. It’s only fitting that we launch this world premiere musical version in the city where it all began, Prince’s hometown, Minneapolis,” said L Londell McMillan, chairman of The NorthStar Group, and Larry Mestel, founder & CEO of Primary Wave Music. “We’re very excited for the creative team to be inspired by the Minneapolis sound and the unparalleled and unique spirit of the city that Prince inspired.”
Released in July 1984, Purple Rain starred Prince as The Kid, a talented but troubled musician who escapes his abusive home life through his music. It also followed his budding romance with an aspiring singer, played by Apollonia. The film grossed close to $70 million in the United States.
The soundtrack was Prince’s first #1 and spent 24 weeks on top of the chart, thanks to such hits as “When Doves Cry,” “I Would Die 4 U,” the title track and “Let’s Go Crazy.”
Sammy Hagar is fighting to close down an unauthorized franchise of his Cabo Wabo Cantina restaurant in Hollywood, California.
Lawyers for the former Van Halen frontman’s company, Red Head Inc., filed a lawsuit in January claiming franchisee Robert Azinian opened a new Cabo Wabo location in December 2023, despite having his licensee deal with the company terminated.
“The Cabo Wabo brand is highly distinctive and has achieved recognition with the consuming public as being associated with premium quality goods and services,” read the original suit. “Every day that the Cabo Wabo Cantina at the new Hollywood location continues to operate under the ‘Cabo Wabo’ brand, it soils the name, reputation, and goodwill that Red Head has developed.”
In new documents filed earlier this month, the lawyers have asked the court to grant an injunction to stop Azinian from using the Cabo Wabo name, or Hagar’s name and likeness, for the restaurant.
Hagar’s lawyers argue that due to the unauthorized use of the name, the rocker’s company “has no oversight, control, or even visibility as to the quality” of the restaurant, in areas like staffing, décor and more, which is causing confusion with patrons.
Hagar opened the original Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in 1990, and has gone on to open several other locations across the U.S.
Bonnie Raitt has extended her 2024 tour into the fall.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just added over 30 new dates to her Just Like That… tour, with the fall leg kicking off September 6 in Prescott Valley, Arizona. The tour, featuring special guest James Hunter, includes multiple nights in Oakland, Portland and Seattle before wrapping November 25 in West Palm Beach, Florida.
A Bonnie Raitt fan club presale begins Wednesday, February 7, at 10 a.m, with tickets set to go on sale to the general public on Friday, February 9, at 10 a.m.
Bonnie will launch the spring leg of her Just Like That… tour on April 26 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A complete list of dates can be found at bonnieraitt.com.
Deep Purple is celebrating their classic album Machine Head with the release of a new Super Deluxe Edition, dropping March 29.
The set features new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes of the 1972 original album, courtesy of Dweezil Zappa. There’s also the 1974 quadrophonic mix and a new 2024 remaster of the original album.
The deluxe edition includes two live performances. The first was recorded on March 9, 1972, at the Paris Theatre in London. The second is a previously unreleased April 1971 concert at Montreux Casino in Switzerland, the same venue where Deep Purple had planned to record Machine Head before it burned down during a Frank Zappa concert. That fire inspired Deep Purple’s biggest hit, “Smoke on the Water,” which appeared on Machine Head.
To coincide with the new announcement, the first track from the new set has just been released: Zappa’s remix of “Smoke on the Water.” You can listen to it now via digital outlets and on YouTube.
Machine Head: Super Deluxe Edition will be released as a three-CD/LP/Blu-ray set. It is available for preorder now.
UB40 is heading back to the States for another tour this year.
The band just announced dates for their summer Red Red Wine tour, kicking off July 2 in New York City, with dates confirmed through August 11 in Melbourne, Florida, and more shows to be added. The outing will feature The English Beat, Maxi Priest, Inner Circle, Third World and Fastest Land Animal as special guests on select dates.
The Red Red Wine tour will follow the release of UB40’s brand new album, UB45, celebrating their 45th anniversary, on April 19.
“We’re excited to get back to the States again for our third year in a row, as we love coming to America,” UB40 guitarist Robin Campbell shares. “We can’t wait to play songs from our new album that we’re so very proud of, showcasing [lead singer] Matt Doyle’s vocals on the tracks. He’s brought a new lease of life to our music.”
Pre-sale tickets go on sale February 7 and 8, with the general onsale for most shows happening February 9. A complete list of dates can be found at ub40.global.
The Beach Boys will be hitting the road this year on what they’re calling their Endless Summer Gold tour.
The trek kicks off with a two-night stand in Honolulu, Hawaii, with dates running through September 23 in Nashville, Tennessee. The trek also features several festival appearances, including shows at New Orleans Jazz Fest, Stagecoach and Bourbon & Beyond.
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason, best known for his work with Traffic, will be the special guest on several of the tour dates, starting May 24 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Tickets for most shows go on sale Friday, February 9. More information and a complete list of dates can be found at thebeachboys.com.
In addition to the tour, the band is set to release their official book, The Beach Boys by The Beach Boys on April 2. Limited to only 500 copies, the book, complete with rare and iconic photographs, gives fans insight into the history of the band.
If you still haven’t caught Carlos Santana‘s Las Vegas residency, he’s giving you more time to do so.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just extended the dates for An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live, which will keep him at the House of Blues inside Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino through November.
In total, Santana has added 16 new shows to the schedule, starting September 25 and running through November 10.
Citi and fan presales kick off Wednesday, February 7, with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday, February 9, at 10 a.m.
The residency is now in its 12th year. Santana’s next set of shows are set to begin May 10. A complete list of shows can be found at santana.com.
The rockers just posted a huge tease on Instagram, sharing a video with an image of a lightning bolt and the tag line “Are You Ready” with their song of the same name playing in the background.
Most fans in the comments suspect the band is gearing up to announce a new tour, which will be AC/DC’s first tour since 2016.
AC/DC released their last album, Power Up, in 2020 but were unable to tour behind it due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They did return to the stage in October, headlining the Power Trip festival in Indio, California, alongside Metallica, Judas Priest and more.
