American singer-songwriter John Denver the Mountain Man is renowned for his contributions to rock, country, and folk music. Denver started playing music in the early 1960s, found success with folk ensembles, and finally went solo, becoming one of the most admired acoustic performers of all time. With more than 300 tracks recorded under his name, Denver has sold more than 33 million records globally.

Denver’s music was characterized by themes of nature and rural life in general, as well as sometimes expressions of resentment at the metropolitan lifestyle, singing along with his love of music and other personal hardships. Denver was more than just an artist; he was also a political activist and a humanitarian who spoke up for the welfare of indigenous peoples and the environment. He primarily concentrated on sustainability and conservation initiatives, viewing the significant global hunger problem as an urgent threat that must be eliminated.

Here is John Denver’s last public concert before he died in a horrific plane crash on October 12, 1997, in honor of his achievements and morals.

The musical quartet Crosby, Still, Nash, and Young is perhaps one of the greatest to have ever performed together. Even while they may be well-respected as individual artists in their own right, their collective musical ability still pales in comparison.

They first published “Down By The River,” a song by Neil Young, on their 1969 album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. The song, which is regarded as one of Young’s greatest, has long been a part of his vibrant iconography. However, Young’s side project, CSNY, delivers one of the song’s greatest performances.

The band as a whole is in the zone, and everything is working. We won’t guess on how much marijuana the band consumed beforehand, but we can state that they perform as a unit to offer the Music Scene audience a memorable evening. Even though it is just four minutes long, the performance packs a punch. It is just as disorienting and jazz-inspired as the original record, but it reaches crazy even more adorably.

It shines with the kind of emotional intensity that can only be produced by this ensemble, as you can see in the performance below.

Chris Martin, the lead vocalist of Coldplay, is adamant that cooperation is the key to creating a successful band. It may be safe to claim that. The band’s vocalist was adamant that their commitment to cooperation was the reason they had managed to remain a unit for more than 20 years without experiencing significant issues.

Chris, however, wasn’t the only one who adhered firmly to the maxim; several of the most well-known rock bands, like U2 and R.E.M., also stressed the need of cooperating and sharing equally in publication rights. This line of reasoning was so successful that even when R.E.M. ultimately decided to break up, it wasn’t because of interpersonal conflicts but rather because they were going to burn out creatively.

In light of the rockers who successfully embraced cooperation, it might also be important to remember that some other musicians weren’t as enthusiastic about the issue. A few icons have cherished having complete control over their performances and managing the creative platform on their own.

Kurt Cobain used to operate the band like it was a one-man show, and while he encouraged his comrades to submit fresh ideas, the singer frequently would go along with the songs he’d written and arranged by himself. For instance, Nirvana’s former guitarist, Jason Everman, recently recounted this. Kurt didn’t seem to be a big fan of the idea of working in a team.

Kurt Cobain likely believed that he would continue with the same creative process—reluctantly soliciting his bandmates’ suggestions while he crafted his next riff or lyrics—even after Everman left Nirvana and Chad Channing was substituted as the drummer.

Although Dave, the new drummer on the block, seemed to be a guitar prodigy, it didn’t take him long to start creating his own riffs and sharing them with the class, perhaps asking, “Hey, I’ve got a new piece, want to try it out?”

Well, Grohl presumably spoke those comments on a certain day when the band was recording the song that would become “In Utero,” and he said that he had a guitar riff he wanted Cobain and Krist Novoselic would listen to. Dave was confident he had nailed it after performing for his bandmates.

Kurt, on the other hand, disagreed, describing the rocker’s riff as “the most cliche, grunge Tad riff” ever and feeling that it lacked genuineness. The vocalist opted not to express her displeasure with Dave’s new melody in public and finally consented to work on the riff in order to save Grohl’s feelings.

Cobain was astounded by the development of the song when they began to work on it collectively. And so, ‘Scentless Apprentice,’ a song that both foreshadowed Kurt’s untimely death and was inspired by his all-time favorite novel, was formed. Kurt Cobain first disliked the song, but once the three Nirvana friends began to jot down the words together, it turned out to be something special, and the song eventually became the first Nirvana composition to earn songwriting credits from every member.

In 1993, while talking with Michael Azerrad, Dave came up with the song. Cobain recounted this and how, despite his initial displeasure with the drummer’s enthusiasm to record the phony riff, he had approved the recording because he didn’t want to discourage his bandmate. Kurt, however, came to the conclusion that perhaps collaboration wasn’t so awful after all when the band began writing the lyrics, and he was finally pleased that his efforts had transformed Dave Grohl’s unimpressive riff into a terrific song.

‘Scentless Apprentice’s’ origins, in the words of the rocker:

“It [Dave’s riff] was such a cliché grunge Tad riff that I was reluctant to even jam on it. But I decided to write a song with that just to make [Grohl] feel better, to tell you the truth, and it turned out really cool.

I think most of the reason that song sounds good is because of the singing style and the guitar parts I do over the top of the basic rhythm. But hell, that was great.”

It helped Cobain realize his bandmates could also come up with creative ideas, so perhaps working with them wasn’t as intimidating after all, the frontman said, noting that the song became a great piece because of his singing style and guitar overdubs.

Jeff Lynne never had any reservations about the Traveling Wilburys. George Harrison and Lynne were the driving forces behind the famed classic rock combo, each having carefully chosen their perfect bandmate. Harrison selected Bob Dylan, while Lynne went for Roy Orbison. The final configuration of the band was established when Harrison went to Tom Petty’s house to grab one of his guitars.

While talking with Rolling Stone, Lynne said some things about the initial formation of WIlburys, “One night while we were recording [Harrison] said, ‘We should form a group.’ I said, ‘Who should we have in it?’ He said, ‘Bob Dylan.’ I’m going, ‘Bloody hell.’ I never expected that answer.”

“And then I said, ‘Can we have Roy Orbison?’ He said, ‘Great, I love Roy.’ It was a marvellous time. I thought to myself, ‘Wow, I should have been doing this years ago.’”

The quintet collaborated to make Vol. 1, their debut album, in 1988. Lynne was extremely happy that Orbison was engaged because the singer of “Only the Lonely” was one of Lynne’s great boyhood heroes. Lynne said, “When I was a kid, I loved the plaintive songs of Del Shannon and Roy Orbison. They wrote songs that were really sad and those were the best. I thought I was writing those sort of songs. People tell me the song gives them a boost, but I never dreamed I was doing that for anybody.”

Tragically, Orbison passed away just two months after the album’s release, undermining the band’s popularity as songs like “Handle With Care” and “End of the Line” became radio smashes. The passing of Orbison hit Lynne especially deeply because she and Harrison were co-producing the singer’s comeback album, Mystery Girl.

George Harrison eventually gathered the soldiers to start production on a second LP, Vol. At that moment, Lynne was glad to participate but saw that Orbison’s absence in the group was felt. Jeff explained, “We did a second album after Roy died, but I could have done without it. Roy was just too big a part of the original group.”

“We never played any concerts, though George had some whack ideas about how we’d do this tour. His first idea was that we’d rent an aircraft carrier and then we’d just fly to different ports and let everyone climb onto the aircraft carrier and have a listen to us. The next idea was we’d do it on a train. We’d pull into a station and drop a stage and play for the people that came to see us at the station. But we never got around to either of them. Everyone else had their own tours.”

Greta Van Fleet will embark on a global tour in support of their new album, Starcatcher.

The band will begin its U.S. tour on July 24 in Nashville, three days after the record is made available, with stops in Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Boston along the way. On September 23, they will play their penultimate domestic show in Cleveland before departing for Europe and the United Kingdom. The tour will then come to an end on December 6 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Over the course of the run, Greta Van Fleet will be backed by musicians including Kaleo, Surf Curse, Mt. Joy, and Black Honey. The sale of tickets will begin on April 21.

Starcatcher, which was produced by Dave Cobb and recorded at RCA Studios in Nashville, came naturally to the band. The record reflects our viewpoint and captures who we are as a band and as musicians, according to guitarist Jake Kiszka, who added in a prior press release:

“We didn’t really have to force or be intense about writing, because everything that happened was very instinctual. If anything, the record is our perspective, and sums up where we are as a group and individually as musicians.”

Greta Van Fleet will open for Metallica on two nights of their global tour, scheduled for September 20 and 27 in Mexico City.

Greta Van Fleet, 2023 World Tour Dates

July 24 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena *
July 27 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena *
July 28 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center *
July 31 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena *
Aug. 2 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Arena *
Aug. 4 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena *
Aug. 5 – Portland, OR @ Veterans Memorial Coliseum *
Aug. 8 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena *
Aug. 10 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Kia Forum *
Aug. 12 – Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena *
Sept. 3 – St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center †
Sept. 6 – Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena †
Sept. 8 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena †
Sept. 11 – Washington DC @ Capital One Arena †
Sept. 12 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden †
Sept. 15 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden †
Sept. 16 – 17- Asbury Park, NJ @ Sea Hear Now Festival 2023
Sept. 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center †
Sept. 22 – Indianapolis, IN @ Gainbridge Fieldhouse †
Sept. 23 – Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse †
Nov. 6 – Hamburg, Germany @ Sporthalle ^
Nov. 8 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Ziggo Dome ^
Nov. 9 – Paris, France @ Accor Arena ^
Nov. 12 – Brussels, Belgium @ Forest National ^
Nov. 14 – London, UK @ OVO Arena Wembley ^
Nov. 16 – Dublin, Ireland @ 3Arena ^
Nov. 19 – Manchester, UK @ AO Arena ^
Nov. 20 – Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro ^
Nov. 26 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Forum +
Nov. 28 – Munich, Germany @ Zenith +
Nov. 30 – Bologna, Italy @ Unipol Arena +
Dec. 3 – Barcelona, Spain @ Sant Jordi Club +
Dec. 4 – Madrid, Spain @ WiZink Center +
Dec. 6 – Lisbon, Portugal @ Campo Pequeno +
* with Kaleo
† with Surf Curse
^ with Mt. Joy
+ with Black Honey

We are thrilled to announce the Starcatcher World Tour with special guests @officialkaleo, Surf Curse, @MtJoyBand, & @BLACKHONEYUK: https://t.co/3O3U4d45iM

Tickets available Friday at 10AM local time. Join the Electric Tomb for early access: https://t.co/f6dtmymwkH pic.twitter.com/fRgcVBMEQ8

— Greta Van Fleet (@GretaVanFleet) April 18, 2023

Here’s a factoid that will have you on the edge of your seat, just when you think you know everything there is to know about Dire Straits and its mysterious vocalist Mark Knopfler. Despite the fact that Dire Straits are often associated with rock and roll, Mark Knopfler once collaborated with a country music legend which resulted in not just an enduring relationship but also a guitar lick that was later stolen.

Mark Knopfler sat down with Guitar magazine in 1993 to share memories of his time recording the album “Neck And Neck” with legendary Chet Atkins. The project was undertaken by Knopfler, who was already well-known in the music business, purely out of a passion for music and the opportunity to collaborate with Atkins. Through their mutual love of the instrument, the two guitar masters developed a special friendship, with Knopfler expressing his respect for Atkins and his almost limitless repertoire of guitar licks.

In this interview, Knopfler revealed a fascinating incident that occurred when they were dating. He acknowledged that he had ‘stolen’ a specific guitar lick from Atkins and had incorporated it into a Dire Straits song named ‘When It Comes To You’ from the group’s 1991 album ‘On Every Street.’ However, how did this little-known fact come to light, and what inspired this ingenious heist?

When Knopfler acknowledged that he had stolen a Chet song’s guitar lick for the song “When It Comes To You,” he wasn’t just admitting to a little instance of musical theft. Instead, he emphasized the significant influence playing with Atkins had on his development as a musician. Being with Chet taught Mark the value of maintaining one’s individuality and allowed him to take in new concepts without compromising his own.

Regarding the tune for which he nicked a lick from a Dire Straits song, Mark Knopfler said:

“As soon as you play with Chet [Atkins], you realize you might as well forget trying to do Chet’s thing, so I didn’t have to practice especially for it – I just tried to be myself. Playing with Chet was a tremendous privilege because you could steal things and make them your own.

There’s a little lick on ‘When It Comes To You’ that I stole from him – we were playing around in open tuning one day, and he played this great lick. He showed it to me, and I stuck it right into that song. One of the great things about Chet is he’s got piles of these little licks. If you’re recording with him, I would just wait around until he comes up with something and then learn it from him.”

Therefore, a borrowed lick that appeared in a Dire Straits song came from an apparently innocent jam session between two musicians. It’s hardly surprise that the rocker was anxious to pick Atkins’ brain because the country legend was one of Mark’s biggest sources of inspiration.

As this story draws to a close, it’s important to reflect on the influence that partnerships like the one between Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins may have on an artist’s creative process. The concepts and playing styles shared by these two guitar legends not only improved their individual performances, but also had a profound impact on the music they produced.

Jethro Tull vocalist Ian Anderson recently reflected on the late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister when talking about the usage of umlauts in the title of their new album, “RökFlöte,” for Finland’s Chaoszine. Anderson discussed how Lemmy’s interest in the military and fighting, as well as his demeanor, may have erred on the unhealthier side of normal.

Lemmy Kilmister was renowned for his unusual singing voice, manner, and musical philosophy, yet he had interests outside of the performing arts. He was fascinated by German military uniforms, and he gathered Nazi artifacts because he thought they were attractive. However, suspicions of Nazi connections resulted from this. Ian Anderson claims that Lemmy’s interest in that era is tied to the use of umlaut in Mötley Crüe.

Anderson talked about the significance of the umlauts in “RökFlöte” and how they linked to Lemmy’s usage of an umlaut in the name of Motörhead throughout the conversation. He asserted that the usage of umlauts in “RökFlöte” is justified. Lemmy famously referred to the umlaut in Motörhead as the “Nazi dots,” and Ian reflected that if he did so now, he would likely face criticism for it.

Ian Anderson stated the following in an interview with Finland’s Chaoszine:

“If you’re going to bring an umlaut into the world in a rock album — not just one but two in the title alone — then you’ve gotta be sure of your ground. And it’s, to me, kind of important that there’s a real reason for those umlauts, partly because ‘Rök,’ in old Icelandic, is spelled with an umlaut, a word meaning ‘destiny,’ and ‘Flöte’ in the German language has an umlaut over the ‘O’.

So they are legitimate; they are correct — unlike Motörhead or Mötley Crüe. There are those sorts of use of the umlaut, which is suggestive of something that has to do with an era of history that I think we should put behind us. We shouldn’t forget it, but we shouldn’t be, in some way, showing any infatuation with that world today.

Lemmy once referred to the umlaut in Motörhead, he referred to it as the ‘Nazi dots.’ I mean, he did that many years ago — obviously, when he was alive — but if he were to do that today, he’d probably be finding himself vilified for some fascination with that Nazi era. Lemmy, in his simple way, was a bit of a historian about aspects of militaria and warfare, but it might have bordered on the unhealthy side of normal.”

Thus, Ian Anderson asserts that the usage of umlauts on Jethro Tull’s next album, “RökFlöte,” has a legitimate justification. He thinks that Mötley Crüe and Motörhead’s utilization wasn’t appropriate or acceptable. Lemmy Kilmister had previously claimed that Blue Oyster Cult was where Motörhead’s use of the umlaut came from, but Ian’s comments seem to contradict him.

One of the most admired lyric-writing collaborations in recent memory was formed by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The team of John at the piano and Taupin at the pen has produced one of music history’s most beloved libraries.

It appears that John isn’t always aware of the concepts behind the lyrics because Taupin (apart from a few hard years for the couple) writes the songs solely. In a recent interview, the two rock legends sat down to talk about the ideas that went into one of their most popular songs, “Rocket Man.”

Following their mutual acceptance of a songwriting ad, John and Taupin crossed paths in 1967. After waiting five years, the group successfully published “Rocket Man” to rave reviews.

John said, “‘Rocket Man’ was our first-ever number one record I think – and it was on the Honky Chateau record, It was a pretty easy song to write a melody to because it’s a song about space so it’s quite a spacious song.”

Then Taupin clarified where he got the idea for the lyrics in the first place.

He said, “It was actually a song inspired by Ray Bradbury from his book of science-fiction short stories called The Illustrated Man. In that book, there was a story called The Rocket Man, which was about how astronauts in the future would become sort of an everyday job… so I kinda took that idea and ran with it.”

John spoke out right away and said, “Do you know, I never knew that…”

Check out the moment, below.

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Dave Grohl spoke about the one and only time he ever took drum lessons as a child in his book The Storyteller. It was with a jazz drummer who frequented the Washington, D.C., region, making it possible for Dave Grohl to convince him to visit his mother’s house in Northern Virginia as a teenager. Grohl quickly came to the realization that he would never be able to endure instruction after a brief struggle with his grasp on the sticks.

Instead, Grohl turned to his record collection to get all the information he need. Grohl revealed which band was the original mentor who taught him how to play the drums when he met down with Sam Jones for his YouTube series Off Camera.

Dave Grohl explained, “I never took lessons to play the drums. I learned how to do it on my bed, listening to f****** Rush record. Punk rock. I took one drum lesson. He’s like, ‘How do you hold your sticks? Yeah, you know that’s not how you’re supposed to hold them.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, I don’t have $30 an hour to sit there and re-learn everything that I’ve learned.”

He added, “The same with guitar: I took a couple of guitar lessons and then I wound up playing, and I play guitar the way I do it. I don’t know what any of the chords really are. I know the basic chords. But the way I look at a guitar is like a drum set. I look at the lower strings like they’re kicks and snares and I look at these [high strings] like they’re cymbals.”

By dissecting the key-chord structure of Foo Fighters’ “Skin and Bones” and playing the riff to “Everlong,” Grohl exemplifies his rhythmic approach to playing the guitar. He also compared his method of learning to how he assembles furniture.

He said, “You know, if I go to IKEA and buy a shitty f****** chair that I need to put together, I don’t really want to read the instruction. I kind of just want to figure it out. Because at the end of the day, when I’m sitting there in my shitty IKEA chair, I feel proud that IKEA didn’t tell me how to put it together.”

Watch Dave talk about music down below.

It’s hard to call anything The Rolling Stones have recorded “underrated.” The Stones have endured for more than 50 years as one of the most reliable rock and roll bands ever, creating classic after classic alongside their contemporaries like The Beatles back in the day. But if anyone can recommend the Rolling Stones album that deserves a bit more attention, it’s got to be Keith Richards.

Richards has been the quintessential rock & roll survivor throughout every decade, overcoming sorrow, drug addiction, and even prison time while continuing to play his guitar and smoke cigarettes. That does not imply that he enjoyed every period of The Stones, though.

Richards frequently discussed arguments he had with lead vocalist Mick Jagger in the late 1970s and early 1980s, disputes that frequently turned violent as heard on songs like “Had It With You.” Even though the dressed-up Stones may have been his lowest moment, it wasn’t until ten years later that he discussed the band’s turnaround.

Richards singled out the 1997 album Bridges to Babylon as a particular favorite while speaking about some of the most underappreciated works in his discography, stating to Much Music: “This one is the first one since maybe the early ’80s, late ’70s where it’s taken another step. (That) is actually pushing some boundaries again, for better or worst. I knew from the songs that we had a good album.”

Even while this may have been a far cry from The Stones’ heyday, it was still pushing the envelope of what they had previously accomplished. One of the first times The Stones began to embrace the zeitgeist of the 1990s was when they collaborated with the production team The Dust Brothers.

its attempts to fit in with the alternative culture in the 1990s did have its fair share of audible thuds, such the techno horror “Might As Well Get Juiced,” while having some good tracks that Richards acknowledges, including “Anybody Seen My Baby.” Richards acknowledged that this pushed boundaries for better and worse, but he wouldn’t alter the chemistry of the group at the time.

Richards was positive of the friendship among his fellow Stones while speaking about the connection between everyone in the band, adding, “I never had a problem (with the band) they are expert musicians, you know what I mean. I am always looking to make good records, I don’t want major hits. If one happens, great. But I’m just trying to put a good album out. (Also) make the best out of my friends. Even if they don’t like it at the time.”

Richards credits the sessions’ loose atmosphere, which captured the delight of gathering friends in a room to hammer at the finest melodies they can think of, for the record’s output, which fluctuated considerably throughout their time in the studio. Bridges to Babylon may have been a mixed bag from beginning to end, but it’s simple to see the band in the recording studio following their inspiration. According to Richards, “You’re not really thinking too much. You’re just doing it and after you think about it. When you’re doing it, it’s flowing. That’s what counts.”