Chris M. Junior

When it comes to Rush‘s recent wave of TV and movie exposure — most notably the 2009 big-screen comedy ‘I Love You, Man’ — Alex Lifeson admits he and band mates Geddy Lee and Neil Peart “still scratch their heads over this whole thing.”

Led Zeppelin‘s John Bonham was always a drummer’s drummer, and more than 30 years after his death, “Bonzo”s beats are still leaving their mark on percussive musicians.

In the past, Deep Purple often looked no further than each other when it came to selecting a producer. But for their forthcoming studio effort, guitarist Steve Morse and company have recruited someone with an impressive resume: Bob Ezrin, best known for his work with Kiss, Alice Cooper and Pink Floyd, among many other legendary rock bands.

When Tom Cruise starred in ‘Risky Business,’ he only had to lip-sync the Bob Seger classic ‘Old Time Rock & Roll.’ But in the upcoming big-screen version of the Broadway hit ‘Rock of Ages,’ Cruise actually sings hits by Guns N’ Roses and Def Leppard — and those renditions are part of the movie’s soundtrack, due June 5.

Since about 2005, Jackson Browne has been no stranger to the solo acoustic format, not only hitting the road for guitar/piano shows but also releasing two stripped-down concert collections of fresh and familiar material. This summer, Browne will launch his latest solo acoustic tour, and the 20-date trek is scheduled to begin July 14 in Charlotte, N.C. and wind up Aug. 15 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Blues music has always been important to Robert Plant, and the same can be said of Clarksdale, Mississippi. Not only has Plant been there more than once to explore its deep blues history, he and fellow Led Zeppelin legend Jimmy Page honored the city by naming their 1998 joint studio effort ‘Walking Into Clarksdale.’ Clarksdale is where Plant will be in August when he headlines the 25th anniversary

When you’ve toured as much as the Rolling Stones, it can be really hard to differentiate one show from another. But the band’s gig on Dec. 18, 1981, in Hampton, Virginia — now available as ‘Hampton Coliseum (Live 1981),’ the second official Stones concert bootleg — was certainly memorable for Keith Richards and Mick Jagger.

Before Rob Halford became Judas Priest‘s frontman, Al Atkins held the position in the band’s prefame years. And even though Atkins didn’t sing a note on Priest’s first two albums, 1974′s ‘Rocka Rolla’ and 1976′s ‘Sad Wings of Destiny,’ he made his presence felt as a co-writer of ‘Victim of Changes,’ among other songs. Had Atkins remained a member of Priest, surely the course of the band’s history

A year ago, Slash was in Texas rocking out with pop stars the Black Eyed Peas and Usher as part of the Super Bowl XLV halftime show. This past weekend, he was a good 2,000-plus miles away from Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis — and for good reason. The former Guns N’ Roses guitarist was in Los Angeles wrapping up his second solo studio album, which is slated for a May 22 release on Slash’s own Dik

When Frank Zappa parted ways with Verve Records in 1968, he knew what was best for his career moving forward, and that was starting his own label.

As the lineup for the 2012 Experience Hendrix tribute tour has expanded, so has the number of dates for the annual concert trek honoring the late, great Jimi Hendrix. This year’s edition is now up to 21 dates, including recently added concert stops in Florida and Colorado, plus a second show in Austin, Texas.

Since early 2011, there’s been plenty of talk about a star-studded Ronnie James Dio tribute album. Well, it looks like 2012 will be the year it finally arrives. And the list of artists lined up to honor the late solo singer and onetime Black Sabbath and Rainbow frontman is quite impressive: Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Ian Gillan (Deep Purple), Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead) and Dave Grohl (Nirvana an