WNEW | Where Rock Lives

WNEW Rock News: Stewart to Release Sequel to Classic Song

In the mid 1970's, Rod Stewart recorded what became an underground classic, The Killing of Georgie (Parts I and II), a song about a gay man who was beaten to death on a city street. It was believed that a sequel existed but when Stewart's next album, Footloose and Fancy Free, hit the streets, the song didn't show up. Now it looks as thought the rumors of a Georgie sequel are confirmed, as it will be released as part of a new boxed set called The Rod Stewart Sessions.

The song is called Innocent (The Killing of Georgie Part III) and is one of 63 tracks that were discovered in the Warner Bros. vaults by producers Andy Zax and Cheryl Pawelski

Other rare cuts include the demo of Maggie Mae plus alternate versions of Sailing and Tonight’s the Night. The big box of Rod will be released on September 29.

McCartney to Play on the Roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater on Letterman TONIGHT

Paul McCartney will make his first visit to the 'Late Show with David Letterman' tonight.

The legendary musician, who, as part of The Beatles, made his U.S. television debut at the Ed Sullivan Theater on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' 45 years ago, returns to that very stage to sit down for an interview with Letterman and will perform later in the broadcast, reportedly on the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater!

McCartney will begin an exclusive series of shows across the United States, beginning July 17 at CitiField in New York City, and then heading to Washington, D.C., Boston, Atlanta, Tulsa and winding up in Dallas on Aug. 19.

Make sure to come back to WNEW.com on Thursday to see the performance in its entirety.

UPDATE: Watch the exclusive online only live performance from Paul McCartney including "Coming Up", "Band on the Run", "Let Me Roll It", "Helter Skelter" and "Back in the USSR", songs not aired on Letterman last night.

WNEW Rock News: Springsteen Adds Tour Dates

While Aerosmith dates are dropping off the calendar faster than CD sales are falling into the tank, major tours from the likes of Bruce Springsteen are going strong.

The Boss' dates at Giants Stadium are going to be the last music dates at the near-ancient venue but they won't be the last dates of the tour, as was originally planned. The Springsteen camp announced yesterday that 25 additional dates will be added to the tour -- including New York, Philly and DC -- and his rumble through the US will run through a November gig in Milwaukee. On sale dates start as early as July 27th for the Philly shows and can be found here.

Here's an oldie but goodie!

WNEW Rock News: More From Daryl's Place

Perennially cool white-soul poster boy Daryl Hall continues to hang with the other cool kids on his "TV" show, Live From Daryl's House.

Currently rolling is his jam session with Parachute and, starting tomorrow, you can tune in and see the groovy young cat's from Plain White T's hang with Daryl. Along with doing Hey There, Delilah, they cover Daryl's tune, So Close, as well. And don't forget to check the archives to see him with Company of Thieves and Robby Krieger, among others.

Before you go, take a sip from the fountain of youth with this one from 1983:

WNEW Rock News: Open Mouth, Insert Checkbook

Never one to watch his mouth when there's an opportunity to put his foot in same, Oasis brother Noel Gallagher recently cost himself and his band over £1,000,000 for a comment he made at a recent concert.

Having endured technical problems throughout much of the band’s gig in their Manchester hometown, Gallagher announced to 70,000 fans that “This is a free gig. Anybody who has kept their ticket will get a refund”.

He found the next day that fans took him seriously and, since that time, 20,000 of the 70,000 have taken him up on the offer. The band is hoping to sway others from cashing their refund checks by offering them a souvenir check issued by ‘Oasis Bank of Burnage’, named after the area of Manchester where they grew up (but underwritten by a real bank and considered legal tender).

The Gallagher brothers are hoping most fans will consider the souvenir worth more than its £45 value.

Let's play a classic and maybe generate a few more dollars in record sales for the Gallagher boys.

WNEW Rock News: New Guitar Hero Tracks Announced

Guitar Hero today confirmed two dozen rockin’ tracks which will be featured on Guitar Hero 5’s massive 85-song on-disc set list. From the legendary folk rock sounds of Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” to the thumping drums of Coldplay’s “In My Place”; indie darling Vampire Weekend’s memorable “A-Punk” to the Beastie Boys’ rock/hip-hop hit “Gratitude,” the game features the widest variety of today’s rock hits and classic tunes from some of the biggest names in music. Numerous bands are also making their music video game debut -- Band of Horses, Darkest Hour, Elliott Smith, John Mellencamp, Rose Hill Drive, The Bronx, Tom Petty and Vampire Weekend. Prior to its public release, Wolfmother’s first single off their upcoming album 'Cosmic Egg', “Back Round,” is now available for free digital download exclusively at gh5.guitarhero.com.

When Guitar Hero 5 ships on September 1, living-room rock stars will be able to rock any way they want, to the expansive set list including to these stellar tracks.

More tracks after the jump.

WNEW Rock News: The Heart of Summer

Word around the rock and roll water cooler is that icons Ann and Nancy Wilson and their band have not lost a step when it comes to live performances, even though they've been at it for better than 30 years. The latest incarnation of Heart, now two months into their current tour, have announced some additional dates.

The duo, who first hit the road in May, have added 11 more shows to their tour that includes a range of venues, including fairgrounds, arenas and casinos in 36 cities across the country. Tix can be found here.

In honor of the 30th anniversary of their multi-platinum Dog & Butterfly, they've unveiled a limited-edition plaque featuring a platinum-plated copy of the record. That little nick-nack can be purchased for just 150 smackers at their website.

WNEW Rock News: Too Many Drummers?

In a variation of the classic rehearsal-studio remedy for boredom -- let the drummer play someone else's instrument (usually poorly) -- Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney joins a new Ohio-based  "supergroup" called..here's a surprise: Drummer.

In this band, Carney plays bass, Teeth of the Hydra drummer Jamie Stillman plays guitar, Jon Finley (drummer of Beaten Awake) sings and plays guitar, Houseguest’s drummer Stephen Clements sits in on keyboards and vocals and Ghostman drummer Greg Boyd plays, well, drums.

The band will release their debut album Feel Good Together this fall on Audio Eagle Records. In the meantime, you can taste a track here.

WNEW Rock News: Jack White Delivered

If you're old enough to remember record clubs -- well, actually, I guess they still exist -- then you might find Jack White's new subscription plan of interest.

The White Stripes headpin and Raconteurs teammate will give hardcore fans a chance to stroll through The Vault at White's new label, Third Man Records.

The junk is free but for a mere 7 samoleans, you can get a premium subscription that entitles you to podcasts, blogs, photos, video diaries and the like. For 20 bucks a month, you get all that plus some limited edition t-shirts and vinyl.

It's like having Jack delivered to your door every month.

WNEW Rock News: Ozo On The Road

One of the most dynamic live bands in the current rock firmament, Ozomatli, has announced a busy summer tour listing, complete with a healthy dash of festival appearances. The LA-based crew of eight musicians will launch their stretch of US dates with a debut on July 11 in Oakville, California and will pretty much be in business through a Santa Barbara date in mid-September.

Meanwhile, the band is working on a new album at Jack Johnson's place in LA for Mercer Records, produced by Mars Volta knob-twiddler Robert Carranza.

"Our new music is filled with what could best be described as a sense of 'happy urgency,'" said a press release quoting guitarist Raul Pacheco. "There just seems to be a thread of calmness and maturity running through these songs that says, 'Do what you want in your life right now, there is no need to wait any longer.'"

If you haven't seen them, pick up some tickets here. And here's a taste of what you'll see:

WNEW Rock News: Summer Van Tour

Bristly rock and roll legend, Van Morrison, is stepping away from replaying the complete 1968 Astral Weeks album and getting back to his more typical live shows, conglomerations of old and new, spirited and temporal.

Van The Man will do a short tour around the US, starting in Boston on August 4th. Following August 6 & 7 dates in DC, he'll close out the brief run in Atlantic City.

Morrison recently scored a major triumph with his first studio set in four years, Keep It Simple. His 35th album over the course of his career, it dropped onto the Billboard chart at #10. It's a diverse set of 11 tunes, all composed, arranged and produced by Morrison, that paid heed to a variety of styles, including Celtic, jazz, folk, blues, country, soul and gospel.

Get tix and see a taste of the Astral Weeks tour at his website.

WNEW Rock News: Alice in Chains Back on the Road

One of the bands that defined the Seattle Sound back in the late '80's and early '90's, Alice in Chains, has announced they will do one US show later this summer in support of their first studio album in more than 10 years, Black Gives Way to Blue.

The iconic band will hit the stage with Kid Rock on July 18 at Detroit's Comerica Park before pulling up stakes and doing a string of dates with Metallica across Europe.

They'll get back to the US for a Pomona, CA show with Tool and Linkin Park on August 22 before dropping into DC to start an 11-city headliner on September 4th.

Tours dates here and some classic video below.