Classic Hits

Despite the fact that all those involved have said that some kind of all-star tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen isn’t going to happen, the question keeps coming up. However, Eddie’s son Wolfgang Van Halen, the Grammy-nominated leader of his own band Mammoth WVH, says it’s his own existence that’s the ultimate tribute.

Speaking to The Messenger, Wolfgang says, “I view me just being alive and being in the music business as a tribute to my father every day.” But, he understands why people keep bringing it up.

“It’s out of love and how many people my father’s writing and playing touched around the world. But life isn’t written to have a happy ending — some things just suck,” he says bluntly. “And if I have to figure out how to have a life without my father in it, I think people can figure out how to live without Van Halen.”

“Dad’s not here, Van Halen doesn’t exist anymore as far as I’m concerned,” he adds. “The music and the legacy are there, and I’ll be here to push that forth, through things like dad’s guitar and amp company, and help in every single way.”

The fact that Van Halen “doesn’t exist anymore” is just fine with Wolfgang, who says he never understood the “animosity” in that band. As he puts it, “Maybe it’s just ’80s bands — there’s something about ’80s bands where it was the cool thing to be d***s.”

Still, Wolfgang notes that people constantly asking him about his dad is “very jarring, and it wears you out.”

“I can’t go online or do anything without somebody reminding me ‘Hey, knock, knock, your dad’s dead. Do you miss him?'” he says. “I feel like unless you’re in this position, nobody really understands it.”

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Robert Plant isn’t from Liverpool, but he’s received a special honor from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). The school was founded by Paul McCartney in 1995 in the same building as the ex-Beatle‘s former childhood school.

Plant visited LIPA in November for a session with the students, the BBC reports, and now, the legendary Led Zeppelin frontman has been made a companion of the school. The honor is given for “outstanding achievement” and “practical contribution to students’ learning.”

The BBC reports that at the graduation ceremony attended by about 330 students, Plant accepted the award — presented to him by McCartney — via video. He was one of nine notable people in arts and entertainment to receive the award this year.

Plant wrapped up his Raising the Roof tour with Alison Krauss in July. Starting August 24, in Slovenia, he’ll perform shows with his new group, Saving Grace, for which he provides vocals and harmonica. They toured the U.S. earlier this year.

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Paul McCartney has just announced dates for a new leg of his Got Back tour, which will hit Australia, marking the first time he’s toured there since 2017. In a new interview with Australian TV show 7.30 to promote the tour, Sir Paul reveals that his late Beatles bandmate John Lennon continues to be on his mind when he writes songs.

“John’s input was very important” when the two were writing songs together, McCartney remembers. Then, he admits, “These days, even when I’m writing [a] song, I will kind of check with him just mentally, y’know? ‘Does this suck, like I think it does? Right, let’s get rid of it, start again.’ …so I really miss that, and I know he missed [having songwriting] contact with me, too.”

Previewing the moment in his live show when he sings a “virtual duet” with Lennon on “I’ve Got a Feeling,” Paul says, “The first time I ever did it was very emotional. And it keeps being emotional. Because, you know, I’m singing with my old buddy again.”

McCartney also discussed Peter Jackson‘s 2021 Get Back documentary, which he says made him feel better about himself.

“It was really good for me, because I’d kind of worried, in the studio with the Beatles, I might’ve been too bossy,” he admits. “I had kind of ended up buying into this idea that, you know, poor old other three, and I’m just bossing them around.”

He adds, “But when I saw the film, I’m thinking ‘No, I’m not. It’s O.K. It’s just us in the studio, and I’m not bossing them, everyone’s kind of happy to work…’ so, it was a big relief for me. It just made me feel really good about that whole period.”

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A 21-year-old Robert Allen Zimmerman legally changed his name to Bob Dylan.  

In his book Chronicles, Dylan explained that he was inspired to change his name after he saw an article about jazz performer David Allyn and later some poems by Dylan Thomas. He considered the names Robert Allyn and Robert Dylan, before finally deciding on Bob Dylan.

Of course, Dylan went on to have massive success and is considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time.

He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1982, and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1997 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. He was also awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016.

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The Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band tour returns to North America later this month, and if you weren’t able to snag tickets when they first went on sale, there’s now another option to get them. While it may be costly, it’s all for a good cause.

The Boss has put several ticket packages up for auction on Charity Buzz. The packages are available for shows in Chicago; Philadelphia; Foxborough, Massachusetts; and East Rutherford, New Jersey. Bids are currently between $1,500 and $2,000, although it’s estimated they’ll go for $7,500. In addition to two tickets — either general admission or reserved, depending on the bidder’s preference — the packages also include passes to the E Street Lounge, if there is one at the venue.

Proceeds from the auctions will go to the Kristen Ann Carr Fund, which raises money and awareness of the little understood form of cancer called sarcoma. The Kristen Ann Carr Fund was founded in 1993 in honor of the daughter of Springsteen’s co-manager Barbara Carr and rock journalist Dave Marsh. She died of sarcoma in 1993 at just 21.

The second leg of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band’s North American tour kicks off with a two-night stand at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, August 9 and 11. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.com.

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Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh is remembering the late Pee-wee Herman creator Paul Reubens, who passed away July 30 after a secret battle with cancer. He was 70.

Mothersbaugh wrote the theme song and music for Reuben’s hit show Pee-wee’s Playhouse, which had a huge effect on Mothersbaugh’s career.  

“I’d never done a TV show before,” he tells Yahoo Music. “That took me into the world of film and television and video games. It totally changed the trajectory of my career.” 

Mothersbaugh, who did not know about Reubens’ battle with cancer, described him as someone who “always had a good personality and a good heart.” 

“It’s just shocking and sad that he’s gone,” he says. “I really didn’t expect it. We’d even been talking about working on an animated version of Pee-wee’s Playhouse.”

Mothersbaugh met Reubens at the Groundlings when the rocker was dating former Saturday Night Live star Lorraine Newman. They first collaborated on the 1980 cult film Pray TV, which starred Ruebens and featured Devo. Mothersbaugh was originally approached to do the music for the 1985 movie Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, although a Devo tour kept him from doing it. He got a second chance with the Pee-wee CBS TV show, and it was an experience that was perfect for him. 

He notes, “Maybe with a different television show, I might have said, ‘I never want to do this again!’ But it was such an ideal, perfect situation.”

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Picking the greatest anything is certainly open for debate, and that is likely to be the case with the results of Total Guitar’s recent poll, which aimed to pick the greatest acoustic song of all time.

Topping the list is Led Zeppelin’s 1971 classic “Stairway to Haven,” which some may argue isn’t completely acoustic. Only the four-minute intro features an acoustic guitar, with the remaining half electric.

Coming in behind “Stairway to Heaven” is Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here,” followed by the Eagles’ “Hotel California,” neither of which are completely acoustic either.

The two songs rounding out the top five are more traditional acoustic numbers: Eric Clapton’s 1992 release “Tears In Heaven” at four, followed by The Beatles’ 1968 song “Blackbird.”

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Queen + Adam Lambert has added new dates to their Rhapsody Tour, which will keep them on the road through 2024. 

The new dates will bring them to Japan next February, kicking things off in Nagoya on February 4, Osaka on February 7 and Sapporo on February 10; the trek wraps with two shows in Tokyo on February 13 and 14. The concert in Sapporo is the band’s first time in the city since Queen’s Hot Space Tour in October 1982.

“We are so excited to be returning to Japan, the country that has always held a special and most honored place in our hearts,” Roger Taylor shares. “This may be the last time…who knows? We promise to bring a very real spectacular for you to enjoy!”

There will be a presale lottery from August 10 to October 6 for Japanese residents only, with presale for overseas fans running from October 7 to October 25. The general onsale starts October 28.

Queen + Adam Lambert will bring the Rhapsody Tour to North America starting October 5 in Baltimore, Maryland. A complete list of tour dates can be found at queenonline.com.

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Lynyrd Skynyrd is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, and they are marking the milestone with a brand new box set. 

The Southern rockers will drop FYFTY on October 13, a four-CD/digital set featuring 50 tracks spanning all eras of the band. It will include such classics songs as “Simple Man,” “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Gimme Three Steps,” as well as more current tracks like “Last Of A Dyin’ Breed” and “Last Of The Street Survivors.”

The set also features several live tracks taken from the band’s 1987 tribute tour. One of those songs is a previously unreleased live recording of the classic “Free Bird.” There’s also a previously unreleased live recording of “Gimme Three Steps” from the band’s November 2022 concert, which was the last with their late guitarist Gary Rossington, who passed away in March. 

Along with all the music, FYFTY will feature a 40-page booklet with opening notes written by director Cameron Crowe and liner notes from Detroit rock journalist Gary Graff. 

FYFTY is available for preorder now.

Lynyrd Skynyrd is currently on their Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour with ZZ Top. The tour hits Greenwood Village, Colorado, on Monday, August 7. A complete list of tour dates can be found at lynyrdskynyrd.com.

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On This Day, August 1, 1942…

Jerome John “Jerry” Garcia was born in San Francisco, California.

Co-founder of the legendary rock band the Grateful Dead, Garcia was the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist for the group, and for many he was their de facto leader.

The Grateful Dead came to prominence during the counterculture of the 1960s, and went on to be one of the most beloved rock bands, especially among fans who would follow them across the country.

The Dead only had one Top 40 single throughout their career, 1987’s “Touch of Grey,” but their touring success was immeasurable, and they were one of the highest-grossing touring acts for decades. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Garcia struggled with diabetes later in life, and also struggled with addiction. He passed away from a heart attack on August 9, 1955, at the age of 53.

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