#ultimate classic rock

[fuckyeahvanhalen86-95]

The iconic photo of Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth standing under the McDonald’s arches on a winter day has been installed in the place where it was taken.

Fans have become familiar with Richard Upper’s picture since it was shot during the two Van Halen members’ promotional tour of 1978. Upper had been sent to join them in a limousine as they capitalized on interest in the band’s debut album, released that year.

At the opening of a brand-new restaurant in the same location, Upper recalled the story, telling West Newsmagazine: “We were driving from KSHE down Watson and we saw the McDonald’s sign. We’re already hungry, and they said, ‘Let’s go, guys.’ So we did.”

He continued: “We got our meals and we were walking back to the limousine. I looked up at the sign and said, ‘Eddie, we can’t leave without taking a shot of this with you guys.’ So he’s rifling through his bag trying to eat ‘cause he’s really hungry, and he and David get perfectly right in the middle, under the sign, and I take a bunch of pictures. This was the best one.”

The current owner of the Crestwood franchise – national restaurant No. 71 – confirmed it was the first McDonald’s in St. Louis, in Missouri and possibly on Route 66 when it opened in August 1958. Nolan Ruiz explained that the original building had been replaced soon after Van Halen and Roth had visited. That building was recently knocked down to make way for a state-of-the-art establishment, with the famous picture on display.

He added that there was another point of local interest: “It’s how I met my wife and became the proud parent of four children.”

Watch A Short Documentary on the Van Halen McDonald’s Photo

Watch the Van Halen McDonald's Photo Unveiling

[krispyweiss]

Donald Fagan Reportedly Hospitalized; Steely Dan Drops off Eagles’ October Tour Dates

- Steve Miller and Vince Gill to fill in

Donald Fagen is hospitalized with an undisclosed illness, the Indianapolis Star reports, causing Steely Dan to drop out of the remaining October dates on the Eagles’ farewell tour.

Steely Dan is expected to rejoin the tour Nov. 2 in Atlanta.

There’s no word on what is ailing Fagen. Five members of the Eagles road crew, meanwhile, tested positive for COVID-19 before the band’s Oct. 9 show in Indiana, the newspaper reported.

The Dan last opened for the Eagles Sept. 20. Since then, Sheryl Crow (Oct. 5-6), Steve Miller (Oct. 9-10, 13 and 17) and Eagle Vince Gill (Oct. 15) have been tapped to warm up audiences, Ultimate Classic Rock reports.

Steely Dan is listed as the opener on the Eagles’ just-announced Jan. 5-6, 2024, tour stops in California. Neither group has commented on social media.

10/10/23

[rank-sentimentalist]

The Doobie Brothers have played to countless crowds over the years, but one of their most memorable gigs got its start on Jan. 28, 1978, when the band tried to do a nice thing for some high school students and ended up being bootlegged by a kid wearing a trench coat and a beret.

We're talking, of course, about the Doobies' two-part appearance on the ABC sitcom What's Happening!!, in which viewers discover that the band just happened to graduate from the Watts high school the show's characters attended, and they decide to give a concert on campus – but then the ever-bumbling Rerun (played by Fred Berry) ends up being strong-armed into secretly recording the gig.

. . .

Making that attempt at crossing over also turned out to have a positive result for the band. “I think our audience broadened and we connected more with the African-American community, having those R&B and blues sounds in our music," [Patrick Simmons] continued. "I think people were aware of our social viewpoint, that we really value all of a larger, multicultural social audience. So, doing that show for me was a joy in that regard — to be building what I thought was a bridge, at a time in television where those situation comedies were bridges between cultures."

And to this day, Simmons said that people still come up to him and quote the most famous line from the show, "Which Doobie you be?"

[rocknsoulhitmusicshow]

IN MEMORIAM: 2023 DEATHS

Those whom we have lost this year:

David Crosby

Jeff Beck

Lisa Marie Presley

Fred White

Barrett Strong

Ultimate Classic Rock's goodbye salute

[grand-line-shenanigans]

And the dance floor is filling up with blood

But oh lord, you've never been so in love

[deancasforcutie]

Representation for the stim every Classic Rock Neurodivergent has <3

[the-alan-price-combo]

this picture sleeve is a psychological need 🙏

[houseofcatwic]

[crepuscularpete]

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

AC/DC –You Shook Me All Night Long

[fuckyeahvanhalen86-95]

David Lee Roth detailed how he helped conceive the design for Eddie Van Halen’s iconic Frankenstrat guitar.

The frontman recently shared a painting titled “Big Wave,” which fans apparently thought bore a resemblance to Van Halen’s signature red, white and black Fender Stratocaster. On Friday, Roth uploaded a video to YouTube in which he explained that the similarities were not coincidental.

"We've been getting a lot of cards and letters — digitally, so to speak — in regards to [the fact] that there's similarities between my work and the stripes on Eddie's guitar, and that's because it's my work," Roth began. He then reminisced about walking into band practice circa 1975 or 1976 with a roll of gray duct tape, black electrician’s tape and blue art tape, all of which would prove instrumental in the design of the Frankenstrat.

Roth said Van Halen’s guitar was originally white and “eerily reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix.” He suggested the guitarist implement an “expanding linear pattern” to differentiate his axe from that of Hendrix, whose 1970 death was still fresh in people’s minds.

“We laid it down and kaboom. Within like four minutes, I laid it out,” Roth continued. He said the “little squiggle” on the guitar body came from the black electrician’s tape, which quickly pulled as Van Halen worked up a sweat while performing “five 45-minute sets a night.”

To combat the pulling of the tape, Van Halen instead opted to “spray paint [the guitar] and pull the tape, like pin-striping a low-rider,” creating a “half-tone version” of the body akin to a negative of a photograph. “Essentially — I say with a great big sense of humor — I invented coffee, they invented a cup,” Roth joked.

The singer said Van Halen later added colors to the Frankenstrat and recalled stopping at a “famous truck stop” in San Bernardino, Calif. “I came back with one of those little bubble convex mirrors and a couple little red reflectors and said, ‘Cherry on top,’” he remembered.

Roth said Van Halen’s guitar tech, Rudy Leiren, gave each version of the burgeoning Frankenstrat a name. “The very first name, I don’t recollect. It may well have been Frankenstein,” he said.

The singer also said his former bandmate "developed an industry" with his guitar design. “Eddie was way better at business than I have ever been,” Roth confessed. “They started an industry. It’s not just a franchise. It’s a way of thinking [about] guitar. It’s one of the most recognizable symbols of all time in the sport in this regard here.”

Roth made sure to emphasize that his idea for the Frankenstrat was merely a kernel, which Van Halen brought to fruition. “Somebody somewhere said, ‘Wouldn’t it be easier…’ which is Latin for, ‘Spray paint the motherfucker and pull the tape,’” he joked. “That design wouldn’t have gone anywhere without Eddie sending it and giving it the shape and shine that it did. I’m just proud to have been part of it. The first part.”

[repurposedmeatlocker]

Ok this keeps on coming up. I hate to bitch about it but what is with all these people blocking me??? I'm exaggerating. It is not a whole lot, but these are people I interacted with amicably in the past on here and deadass idk what I did to warrant a block unless they just found me annoying? Not that it matters at all tbh, but I'd be lying if it didn't kind of just leaves a bad taste in my mouth : /

[krispyweiss]

Paul Stanley Admits KISS’ Second Farewell Tour is Not Actually Farewell

- “We're far from done,” Starchild says

KISS already lied its way through one farewell tour. Turns out the band’s been lying through another.

Paul Stanley finally admitted the truth about his group’s End of the Road tour, which the band’s website calls “the final tour ever.”

“We’re far from done,” the self-described Starchild tells Ultimate Classic Rock.

“I'd like to say that this is the end of the road, but they keep paving more road.”

Stanley said he’d also be OK with KISS touring with no original members, as one of the two versions of Yes does.

But Stanley does have his limits.

“I'm not saying there should be a copy of me,” said the man whose band features copies of Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.

12/16/22

[blackros78]

[sortanonymous]

I've watched and adored Encanto, Wolfwalkers, Across the Spider-Verse, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. All absolutely incredible animated films that I'm sure will be held up as classics even 20 years from now.

With that said, Nimona is frankly a good step above all of them and my choice for animated film of the decade so far (at least for what I've heard of). An absolutely stellar film on every level. Do yourself a favor and watch it all on YouTube these next few days!

Does it stand a chance at the Oscars? Absolutely not, especially since even the Annies were dominated by Spider-Man. But it would absolutely deserve to. (And again, I adore Spider-Verse and still think it's 100% worthy of the Oscar on its own. It's basically the reverse of the Puss in Boots vs. Pinocchio situation last year. They're both masterpieces, only this time the slightly better masterpiece is almost certainly gonna get left in the cold.)

[qsmb2012]

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