Thomas Earl Petty entered this world on this day in 1950 in Gainesville, Florida. His father worked on the set during the Ocala, Florida filming of the Elvis Presley film Follow That Dream in 1961, giving Tom the chance to meet Presley, an encounter that started the Young Petty on a musical path of his own.  Seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show sealed the deal for young Tom. "I had been a big fan of Elvis. But I really saw in the Beatles that here's something I could do. I knew I could do it. It wasn't long before there were groups springing up in garages all over the place." Tom started playing bass, quit high school and joined a band at 17.  He switched to guitar, getting lessons from future Eagles member Don Felder, and formed a band named Epic, which morphed into Mudcrutch and inluded Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell before adding Ron Blair and Stan Lynch and becoming the Heartbreakers.

Other Noteworthy Classic Rock events on October 20 include...

1945 Ten Years After’s Ric Lee born.

1951 Foreigner's Al Greenwood born.

1964 French Rolling Stones fans riot at the end of the group's first concert in Paris at the Olympia.

1973 Steve Miller Band releases The Joker.

John Lennon releases Wedding Album.

1976 Led Zeppelin movie The Song Remains The Same premiers in London.

1977 Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, his sister, Cassie, and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s road manager killed when tour plane crashes in Mississippi.

1979 Bob Dylan plays Saturday Night Live.

1986 Billy Idol releases Whiplash.

1987 INXS releases Kick.

1990 Steve Miller Band does Special Olympics benefit concert at Cotton Bowl in Texas.

1994 Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young guest with Bod Dylan during his concert at the Roseland in New York City.

1998 Aerosmith releases A Little South of Sanity, Black Sabbath releases Reunion.

2008 AC/DC releases Black Ice.

2017 Bob Seger undergoes surgery to address herniated disc that caused remaining 2017 tour dates to be cancelled...

This weekend, Austin City Limits, the long running PBS series, puts the spotlight on performances Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble did on show before his tragic death. Stevie Ray Vaughan: 30 Years On marks the 30th anniversary of the post concert helicopter crash in 1990 that claimed the life of the Lone Star state guitar legend at age 35.  Stevie Ray's brother Jimmy Vaughn said ACL filmed some of Stevie's best performances.  Anyone lucky enough to catch him in concert during his all too short career can attest t

o his jaw-dropping greatness, so this special should indeed be special. Here's a taste of what's in store.

R.I.P. one of the monster guitarists of our and any other's lifetimes. Eddie Van Halen lost his battle with throat cancer today. News of his passing was passed along by his son and VH bassist Wolfgang on Twitter, who wrote, "I can't believe I'm having to write this, but my father Edward Lodeijk Van Halen has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning."

John Fogerty's homebound family band started posting songs online early on in the pandemic. On November 20th, the CCR veteran will release an album of 12 songs he recorded with his two sons and his daughter. Revived versions of five Creedence songs and five tunes from his solo albums are in the mix, along with versions of Bill Withers' Lean On Me and Steve Goodman's City Of New Orleans. The Cover of the Fogerty's Factory album cover will be an updated recreation of the 1970 Cosmo's Factory CCR release.

MORE JOHN FOGERTY INSIGHTS

Only a few Keith Richards guitars have ever been available for fans to take ownership of and the pedigree of one being auctioned by Nate D. Sanders makes it one collectors will covet. The custom made Fender Ted Newman Jones put together for the Rolling Stones guitarist was used on the Some Girls album sessions and on the band's 1978 tour. Keith can also be seen playing it in the videos for Miss You and far Away Eyes as well as in the Some Girls: Live in Texas '78 concert film.
The opening minimum for the rosewood bodied Telecaster with a maple neck and a Richards' signed inscription on it when it was privately sold to a radio exec is $1.2 million.

MORE KEITH RICHARDS INSIGHTS

Eric Clapton fans can look forward to a 50th Anniversary, expanded edition version of the Derek & The Dominos Layla and Assorted Other Love Songs double album. The November 13 release features 4 lps, 4 sides of which include a number of song versions on vinyl for the first time.

A heads-up and a thumbs up for this benefit to raise funds to assist the behind the scenes people in the touring business that are feeling the paindemic the pandemic is causing financially. Thanks to the ranks of great guitarists enlisting to be in the lineup of this streaming benefit Thursday, September 17!

David Coverdale has been soldiering through this pandemic with dual bilateral hernias. We're happy to pass along word that the Whitesnake front man was finally able to undergo surgery and is on the mend.

“I love the emotional nature of Letter To You,” says Springsteen. “And I love the sound of the E Street Band playing completely live in the studio, in a way we’ve never done before, and with no overdubs. We made the album in only five days, and it turned out to be one of the greatest recording experiences I’ve ever had.”

Letter to You includes nine recently written Springsteen songs, as well as new recordings of three of his legendary, but previously unreleased, compositions from the 1970s, “Janey Needs a Shooter,” “If I Was the Priest,” and “Song for Orphans.” Springsteen is joined on Letter To You by Roy Bittan, Nils Lofgren, Patti Scialfa, Garry Tallent, Stevie Van Zandt, Max Weinberg, Charlie Giordano and Jake Clemons. The album was produced by Ron Aniello with Bruce Springsteen, mixed by Bob Clearmountain and mastered by Bob Ludwig. Letter To You is Springsteen's first time performing with the E Street Band since The River 2016 tour.

Todd Rundgren's next album Space Force won't drop until 2021, but he gives us an idea of what his musical direction is in this preview track titled Espionage. Judging from early reactions, fans are on the fence about it.

Ozzy Osbourne stuck a fork in the idea he'd participate in any future Black Sabbath concerts. Speaking with Rolling Stone, Ozzy said hed had regrets over the fact Drummer Bill Ward had been prevented from participating in the group's recent farewell tour. Tony Iommi has lobbied for one final concert in the future. Asked about it, Ozzy said, "Not for me. I'm done" and added he did not have "Slightest interest" in being involved.

Ozzy has been battling Parkinsons but maintains he's working out daily with determination so he'll be able to perform with his own band once the Covid pandemic subsides and concerts become possible, telling RS, "I haven't done my last gig yet. Even if it's just to do one gig, I will do a gig. And then I will have finished my job."

MORE OZZY OSBOURNE INSIGHTS

The Rolling Stones rolled out a video for All The Rage, a previously unreleased track included on the expanded re-release of Goat's Head Soup.

All kinds of rumors about AC/DC's future have been churning around over the last several months. Joe Walsh didn't get Brian Johnson to divulge anything specific that would be music to the ears of the Thunder Down Under's fans, but Brian does sound like he plans to be back on stage in 2021.

Songs For While I'm Away, a rock doc about Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott, will hit screens in Ireland this fall. The film tells his life story largely in his own words and also includes interview clips from several prominent musician fans of his work and lasting influence.

Graphic courtesy of joestrummer.com

Bruce Springsteen and Bob Weir are in the lineup of musicians paying tribute to Joe Strummer Friday (8/21) in a benefit for Save Our Stages, an organization dedicated to helping live music venues unable to host live concerts during the pandemic. The lineup of musicians also includes Tom Morello, Josh Homme Albert Hammond Jr., Dropkick Murphys, Lucinda Williams. Joe Ely and many more. The streaming event launches 8/21 at 3pm eastern.

Come Together done by Lzzy Hale, Linda Perry, Slash, Gilby Clark, Mike Garson. Its A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'N' Roll)  by Lzzy Hale, Robin.

Seven songs from the final concert Duane Allman performed with the Allman Brothers Band will be released in October on an album titled The Final Note. The concert took place in Owings Mills, Maryland just twelve days before the legendary guitarist lost his life in a motorcycle wreck in Macon, Georgia on October 29th, 1971. He was just 24.

According to JamBase, the recording was made by a young radio guy who'd brought a tape recorder to the concert to interview band members and decided to record some of the set on it. The cassette sat forgotten until recently when a friend asked him whether he still had it.

MORE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND INSIGHTS

With the irrepressible Joe Walsh unable to be on stage, the Eagles and James Gang veteran is taking to the airwaves to host a radio show to entertain fans. Here's what's known in the radio biz as a telescoped aircheck - just the talking segments of a recent show.

R.I.P. UFO bassist Pete Way who passed away Friday (8/14) due to serious injuries he sustained in an accident a couple of months ago. A statement about the 69 year-old musician's death read in part,
"His wife, Jenny, was at his side. Pete Way was a much loved and highly regarded figure among rock fans, critics and fellow musicians alike. Best known for his work with UFO, Pete’s energetic live performances were at the heart of the band’s countless world tours."

A Japanese electric guitar Jimi Hendrix used while backing Wilson Pickett, Sam Cooke and owned into his time touring with the Isley Brothers in the early 60's sold over the weekend for nearly four times its pre-auction estimate. GWS Auctions handled the sale that saw a top bid of $180,000 and a finals sale price of $216,000.

Join Together @ Home is the name Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend are giving the Who's six week series of streaming sessions on YouTube.  Each will include both live and previously recorded but seldom seen footage from the group. The Saturday (8/8) debut features a 1982 Who concert at Shea Stadium in New York City.  Charities the group has been instrumental in supporting for a long time will be beneficiaries of donations tied to the casts.

Roger Waters has mastered the art of recording remotely.  His most recen session feaures Vera / Bring the Boys Back Home.

Steve Holland, the sole surviving original member of Molly Hatchet, has died.  He joined the Jacksonville, Florida based band in 1974  after meeting fellow guitarist Dave Hlubek and remained with the group until 1983. No cause of death was announced, but Holland was saddled with a number of haelth problems in recent years.

The Rolling Stones ended a seven year touring hiatus with a triumphant come-back concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1989 that included appearances by Eric Clapton, Izzy Stradlin and John Lee Hooker. That Steel Wheels era concert gets released for the first time on September 25th.

Robert Plant has announced an anthology culled from his post Led Zeppelin solo career.  The 30 song, double disc  collection drops on October 2nd.

Joe Bonamassa' next solo studio album Royal Tea was inspired by his British heroes Jeff Beck, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and Cream. Recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, the album will be released on October 23rd.
 

Royal Tea brings Bonamassa full-circle. "This whole adventure," admits Joe, "was a bucket-list thing for me." This album reconnects the 43-year-old with the guitar-slinging kid from upstate New York, who stumbled across the best of British blues music in his dad's vinyl collection – whose influences have shaped him to be the player he is today. "I would have been about twelve years old, and it was the sound I heard in my head. Like, 'OK, I'm in. That's what I want to be'."

The ten original tracks on Royal Tea were co-written by Joe and a cast of homegrown notables including former Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden, ex-Cream lyricist Pete Brown and piano man Jools Holland. "Writing this record in London has done its job," reflects Bonamassa. "It really does sound inherently British. Bernie and I, we finish each other's sentences. We're cut from the same cloth." Bonamassa's long-standing producer Kevin Shirley and regular touring band flew in for the recording sessions, which included Anton Fig (drums), Michael Rhodes (bass) and Reese Wynans (keyboards).

Fleetwood Mac became a musical juggernaut with the release of the group's self-titled album in July of 1975 and Rumours in February of 1977, but the early years for the group included a number of solid albums that are overshadowed by the ones that followed. A new box set due September 4 will delve into those albums and include a number of bonus tracks and a 1974 studio concert. The studio albums with bonus tracks covered in the remastered recordings include The Play On (1969), Kiln House (1970), Future Games (1971), Bare Trees (1971), Penguin (1973), Mystery To Me (1973) and Heroes Are Hard To Find, and a live recording from the Record Plant in December, 1974.