Classic Hits

March 28 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Led Zeppelin’s iconic album Houses of the Holy, the band’s fifth studio album and the first to not feature an eponymous title.

Houses of the Holy featured such Zeppelin classics as “The Song Remains the Same,” “The Rain Song” and “Dancing Days.” Interestingly, the record’s title track didn’t make the album and later appeared on 1975’s Physical Graffiti.

“The sound of it is so much more interesting than any other Zeppelin album because they had more time to play around with it,” Jason Hanley, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s VP of education and visitor engagement, tells ABC Audio about Houses of the Holy. “It was their moment to push those boundaries a little bit.”

Hanley notes that Zeppelin “always sort of diverted people’s expectations in a way.”

“If (1971’s) Led Zeppelin IV became the blueprint of what Zeppelin could sound like, Houses of the Holy is a different record and it takes it in a new direction,” Hanley says. “They just kept upping the ante each time.”

Houses of the Holy went on to be a huge success for Led Zeppelin and was certified Diamond by the RIAA for over 10 million albums sold. In addition, it has made several lists as one of the greatest albums of all time.

“This album was their moment to experiment, and have fun and do something different. And because of that it’s become one of the great iconic records of rock ‘n’ roll,” Hanley says.  

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Sammy Hagar & The Circle are coming to Las Vegas. The band is set to play the Pearl at the Palms Hotel on July 15, with The Circle made up of former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Vic Johnson and drummer Jason Bonham. 

Hagar tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal that fans who come to the show should expect to hear his numerous hits, as well as some classic Van Halen songs. 

“Michael and I will feature what we call, ‘The Other Half,’ with a lot more Van Halen, even a few early songs,” Hagar explains. “We debuted this band in Cabo at my birthday bash, years ago, and it makes all the sense in the world that there is no one out there supporting the Van Halen catalog, which has some of the greatest rock songs ever written.” 

Tickets for the show go on sale Friday, March 31, at 10 a.m. local time.

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Def Leppard is back with the fourth installment in their tour diary, sharing behind-the-scenes footage of their shows in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Hollywood, Florida.

“This is the last South American show, Buenos Aires, Argentina,” frontman Joe Elliott says in the clip. “It’s been a blast. Absolute blast.” 

Before the Buenos Aires concert, guitarist Vivian Campbell predicts it will be the “best audience yet.”

“Not that the previous audiences have been anything but spectacular, but Buenos Aires, I have a strong suspicion,” Campbell says. “It doesn’t change how we play. We always try our best, regardless. We always give at least 11%, sometimes 12.”

And it’s good they like Buenos Aires, because they got stuck there. After taking off in their joint Def Leppard/Mötley Crüe jet, they had to return because of mechanical problems. They wound up stuck in the airport lounge for about seven hours before they finally left the airport. 

The clip also features footage from off and on the stage during their show in Hollywood, Florida, including Rick Savage warming up backstage, and a drum duet between Rick Allen and Mötley’s Tommy Lee.

“It was a really good way to finish off a month away from home doing this whole South American kinda expedition as it were,” Elliott says of the show. “Absolutely very exciting, especially at this stage in our career to be able to do something like this is absolutely astonishing.”

Next up the tour hits the U.K., with the first show May 22 in Sheffield, England. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.

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David Lee Roth made his return to performing last week, taking the stage at a private corporate event in Las Vegas.

According to Consequence, the former Van Halen frontman joined the all-star cover band Royal Machines at a party for Home Depot at the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, where he performed the Van Halen classic “Panama.”

Royal Machines is made up of musicians Billy Morrison, Mark McGrath, Donovan Leitch Jr., Chris Chaney and Josh Freese, and they were joined by Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens. The event also featured special appearances by Idol, Run DMC’s Darryl McDaniels and Linda Perry.

It’s been a while since we saw Roth onstage. In 2022 he was supposed to headline a residency in Las Vegas, which were to be his last shows before retiring from performing. He wound up canceling them.

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Sunday night’s American Idol featured a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, and we’re not talking about judge Lionel Richie.

In case you missed it, contestant Kaya Stewart came out to audition with an original song and got some help from her father, Eurythmics star Dave Stewart, on guitar. The pair performed “This Tattoo,” a song Kaya wrote with her dad.

“This is much more difficult than being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Dave joked.

And it turns out Kaya didn’t necessarily need her dad’s star power, because her voice earned her a ticket to Hollywood.

American Idol airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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Talking Heads’ Tina Weymouth is sharing her feelings about the band’s former frontman, David Byrne.

“I recently described David Byrne as Trumpian, which didn’t go down well with everybody,” Weymouth shares with the U.K. Sunday Times. “What I meant was that, from my experience, everything with David is transactional – he will use you until he has no more use for you.”

She says when she and husband Chris Frantz were in the band with Byrne “he always seemed very insecure about himself,” noting he would “try to blame other people if things went wrong.” She explains, “Chris and I loved him dearly and we did our best to overlook these disastrous character flaws, but it seemed obvious that Talking Heads wasn’t going to last.”

And if Byrne is as happy as he’s said he is in interviews, Weymouth wonders why he refuses to refer to his former bandmates by their names and instead refers to them as “people he used to play with.”

“I’ve been around the block a few times and I’ve realized that people act like animals,” she offers. “Some are doves: beautiful and peaceful, like Chris. Unfortunately, some are sly foxes.”

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Eric Clapton is returning to North America this fall. The guitar great has announced dates for a short tour, featuring special guest Jimmie Vaughan.

The five-city tour kicks off September 8 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and hits Toronto, St. Louis and Minneapolis before wrapping September 16 in Denver, Colorado. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 31, at 10 a.m. local time.  

These five dates will be the only shows Clapton will be doing in North America in 2023. More info can be found at ericclapton.com. 

Next up for Clapton, he’s headlining a six-night stand at Budokan in Tokyo, Japan, starting April 15, followed by two Jeff Beck tribute shows at Royal Albert Hall in London, May 22 and 23.

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Billy Joel returned to New York this weekend for the 88th show of his Madison Square Garden residency and brought out a special guest for the occasion – ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons.

According to Stereogum, the two Billys joined forces for the ZZ Top tracks “La Grange” and “Tush,” with Joel telling the audience the experience was “a fantasy come true.”  

You can watch fan-shot videos of both performances on YouTube.

Joel’s next MSG residency show is set for April 22, and he’s inching ever closer to his milestone 100th show. He recently announced his 94th concert at MSG will take place September 10, with presale tickets set to go on sale March 29 at 10 a.m. ET and the general sale happening March 31 at 10 a.m. ET.

A complete list of Billy Joel tour dates can be found at billyjoel.com.

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On This Day, March 27, 1987 …

U2 filmed the video for “Where the Streets Have No Name,” the third single off their album The Joshua Tree. Inspired by The Beatles’ 1969 rooftop concert, U2 took to the roof of a downtown Los Angeles liquor store to perform the song. 

The production attracted more than 1,000 fans who gathered to watch the performance, prompting the police to try to shut them down — something the band was hoping for in order to add drama to the video.

The band actually performed an eight-song set during the video shoot, including four performances of “Where the Streets Have No Name.”

The video went on to earn U2 a Grammy for Best Performance Music Video.

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Madonna is taking a stand against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Tennessee and other states.

The Queen of Pop has announced an additional concert on her upcoming Celebration Tour: She’ll perform in Nashville on December 22. A portion of the proceeds from the show will go to trans rights organizations. Tennessee recently passed a bill restricting drag performances in public spaces or “in the presence of children.”

Addressing the more than 100 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that are currently before state legislatures nationwide, Madonna says in a statement, “The oppression of the LGBTQ+ is not only unacceptable and inhumane; it’s creating an unsafe environment; it makes America a dangerous place for our most vulnerable citizens, especially trans women of color.” 

She adds, “These so-called laws to protect our children are unfounded and pathetic.” She tells fans that she’ll “see you from the stage in Nashville where we will celebrate the beauty that is the queer community.”

In addition to the Nashville show, Madonna has added seven new tour dates: in Philadelphia, Sacramento, Palm Springs, Washington, D.C., Phoenix, San Francisco and Las Vegas. All those new dates will take place between December 2023 and January 2024.

Tickets — except for the Philly show — go on sale March 31 at 10 a.m. local time via madonna.com. Madonna’s fan club members have a presale on Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time. A presale for Citi cardholders begins Tuesday at 12 p.m. local time. 

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