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Ronnie James Dio with drummer Vinny Appice in 2007. He had reunited with his former Black Sabbath bandmates to tour and record as Heaven and Hell in the years prior to his death.

The Metal Magic of Ronnie James Dio Shines in Posthumous Autobiography

By Bob Ruggiero

Aug 19, 2021

When Ronnie James Dio—announced in 2009 that he had stomach cancer, it certainly gave him an impetus to complete the autobiography that he’d been working on for a while. He’d already had a sizable chunk of the manuscript written down in what his widow Wendy Dio said was his “beautiful...

Black Crowes co-founders/brothers Chris & Rich Robinson put aside their differences to celebrate their debut record and reunite for a tour.

Last Night: The Black Crowes and Dirty Honey at The Woodlands Pavilion

By Bob Ruggiero

Aug 15, 2021

When it hit record store shelves in February 1990, the Black Crowes’ debut album Shake Your Moneymaker somehow seemed both familiar and out of place. The Georgia quintet’s overall sound was unapologetically a throwback to the bloozy boogie bands of the ‘70s like the Rolling Stones, the Faces and Black...

The Box Tops' front line in 2021: Gary Talley, Bill Cunningham, and Rick Levy.

The Box Tops Deliver a Letter to Houston

By Bob Ruggiero

Aug 9, 2021

In many rock, blues, and country songs, written letters do not bring good or welcome news to the recipients. They usually carry messages about the death of a loved one, a dumping by a romantic partner, demands for payment or threats of retribution. But in 1967’s “The Letter” by the...

Ellen Foley onstage - a place she's eager to get back to.

Ellen Foley Comes Out Fighting and Remembers Meat Loaf & Jim Steinman

By Bob Ruggiero

Jul 29, 2021

While her place in pop culture and rock history is secured as Meat Loaf’s duet partner on the epic “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” Ellen Foley is just as importantly a multi-hyphenate entertainer whose long resume includes credits in movies, television, musical and theatrical roles on and off Broadway, and...

George Harrison and Eric Clapton perform together at the Concert for Bangla Desh in August 1971 at Madison Square Garden.

Classic Rock Titans and Friends: Harrison and Clapton

By Bob Ruggiero

Jul 27, 2021

One of rock and roll’s most enduring friendships was between George Harrison and Eric Clapton. From December 1964 when they first crossed paths during a Beatles Christmas show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon (Clapton was playing with the Yardbirds) up to Harrison’s 2001 death, the pair shared recording studios, concert stages,...

Foghat today: Bryan Bassett, Charlie Huhn, Roger Earl, and Rodney O'Quinn.

Foghat Celebrates 50 Years of Fast Licks and Slow Rides

By Bob Ruggiero

Jul 26, 2021

Roger Earl was all of 12 years old when he went through an experience that his tsk-tsking mother said affected his mental condition. That may have been true, but it also set him on a life and career path that, at age 75, he wouldn’t have traded for anything. “There...

BROS and Sheepdogs: Ewan and Shamus Currie.

There's Harmony and Humor with the BROS Currie on Side Project

By Bob Ruggiero

Jul 2, 2021

It’s a well-worn trope—albeit one that seems to be true—that rock and roll brothers in the same band will battle and break up. Ask the Everlys, Gibbs, Wilsons, Fogertys, Davies, Robinsons, or Gallaghers. Hell, even the Dorsey brothers had a bitter feud with competing big bands back in the day...

Warrant today: Steven Sweet, Joey Allen, Robert Mason, Erik Turner, and Jerry Dixon.

Warrant Brings Houston a Special Slice of Cherry Pie—Plus Eddie Trunk!

By Bob Ruggiero

Jun 22, 2021

To his listeners across the country on various radio shows and a podcast—but most prominently his daily Trunk Nation program on SiriusXM—Eddie Trunk is an Oracle of All Things Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Add Prophet to the list, since something he’s been saying nearly since the pandemic started has...

The Police (Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers, Sting) were the biggest success of bands managed by Mlles Copeland.

Miles Copeland Remembers the Police, Go-Go's, Bangles, and Timbuk 3 in New Memoir

By Bob Ruggiero

Jun 11, 2021

Miles Copeland II was a longtime CIA operative in the Middle East and involved in all sorts of secretive spy missions from the 1940s through the ‘60s. And his son—Miles A. Copeland III—often had to use similarly delicate skills and negotiating tactics, only in the world of rock and roll...

Dennis DeYoung rocks into recording retirement, but is ready to hit the road again next year.

Dennis DeYoung Wraps Up Recording Career with Nostalgic - Yet Timely - 26 East Vol. 2

By Bob Ruggiero

Jun 10, 2021

He thought he was done making new music. Finito. End of the Road. When Dennis DeYoung released what he was calling 26 East last year, he fully expected it to be his final studio album in a long and storied career that stretched back to 1972 with the first Styx...

Blackberry Smoke is: Preston Holcomb, Richard Turner, Brit Turner, Charlie Starr, Brandon Still, Benji Shanks, and Paul Jackson.

Blackberry Smoke Have Georgia On Their Minds

By Bob Ruggiero

Jun 3, 2021

Like pretty much all active touring and recording musicians during the past nearly 15 months, Charlie Starr found himself at home a lot more than usual. And also like a lot of musicians, the Blackberry Smoke vocalist used the forced quarantine as a time to write new music. But he...

G.T.O.s Pamela Des Barres and Miss Mercy, with friend Ricky Klampert, at Marlon Brando's house, 1968.

Mercy, Mercy, She: A Famous Groupie's Wild Child Story

By Bob Ruggiero

May 31, 2021

In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Mercy Fontenot was anything but a shrinking violet. In her alter ego as “Miss Mercy” — sporting distinctive raccoon eye makeup and dressed in layers of flowing gypsy clothes of lace, leopard prints, and feathers (usually purchased at local thrift shops) — she...

Styx Rocks Again While Heading (on Purpose!) into a Crash

By Bob Ruggiero

May 27, 2021

It’s 8:30 a.m. in Houston when Lawrence Gowan calls from his home in Toronto, Canada, which is a decidedly un rock-and-roll time for an interview. And even more so when the singer/keyboardist for Styx says he’s been up since 6:30 a.m. EST, already completed another interview, and run down the...

Comedian/SiriusXM DJ Jim Florentine is Your Man in Heavy Metal (even though he's got a Nirvana T-shirt here...)

Spinning Records and Banging Heads With Metal Midgets Host Jim Florentine

By Bob Ruggiero

May 18, 2021

It’s the day after the announcement of Performer inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Class of 2021. And per usual, social media is lit up with fans’ very, very strong opinions of who got in that should have, or got in that shouldn’t have, or who didn’t...

Maria Muldaur and Tuba Skinny: Barnabus Jones, Max Bien Kahn, Jason Lawrence, Greg Sherman, Muldaur, Shaye Cohn, Craig Flory, Todd Burdick, and Robin Rupuzzi.

Maria Muldaur and Tuba Skinny Get Happy Together in New Orleans

By Bob Ruggiero

May 6, 2021

It was a couple of years ago when Maria Muldaur was shopping for clothes at a favorite store when she heard “the most beautiful vintage jazz” of the ‘20s and ‘30s playing over the speakers. And though she couldn’t peg the artist, the interest of the woman who’s been called...

Night Ranger Wants You to Know: You Can Still Rock in Houston

By Bob Ruggiero

May 6, 2021

As live concerts slowly start up again and bands cautiously plot summer and fall tours, it may be hard to tell who will be more excited: those standing in front of the stage, or those on it. For Jack Blades, singer/bassist for classic rockers Night Ranger, their upcoming Houston show...

Danny Zelisko Promotes His Own Backstage Story in Memoir

By Bob Ruggiero

May 4, 2021

In a career spanning 45+ years as a concert promoter, Danny Zelisko estimates that he’s put on about 12,000 shows around the country. But the average entertainment consumer likely doesn’t know what a “concert promoter” does any more than what the tasks of a “recording engineer” or “key grip” are...

Van Halen at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on September 25, 2015

10 Most Intriguing Songs Van Halen Covered In Their Club Days

By David Rozycki

May 3, 2021

10 Most Intriguing Songs Van Halen Covered In Their Club Days.

Graham Russell (L) and Russell Hitchcock, aka Air Supply

Graham Russell on Gardening and a Bountiful Crop of Air Supply Hits

By Jesse Sendejas Jr.

Apr 29, 2021

Graham Russell knows a thing or two about planting a seed, nurturing it and watching it grow into a lush source of sustenance. Whether it’s literally growing the food he eats or producing a bumper crop of music for the world’s nourishment, he’s got a green thumb. Russell is guitarist,...

Ten Years After today: Colin Hodgkinson, Ric Lee, Chick Churchhill, and Marcus Bonfanti.

Ric Lee Still Drumming Away 55 Years After

By Bob Ruggiero

Apr 12, 2021

For more than a year now, musicians unable to play live shows have been forced to use virtual venues, performing everything from solo acoustic shows filmed with a shaky iPhone to full-blown professionally shot band concerts on large stages. It also means that Ric Lee, drummer for classic rockers Ten...

Classic Rock Corner

The Violent Femmes' Reissue and Return to the Road

John Mellencamp's Life of Roots, Rock and Rebellion

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