Dave Lifton

Here at Ultimate Classic Rock we always root for the underdog, and we love it when artists who have gone under-appreciated for years finally get their due, especially when it occurs in their lifetime. Today we learned of one such case when we saw the news that the French government has awarded the Legion of Honor to a little-known singer from Liverpool, England, Sir Paul McCartney.

Back in February, Paul McCartney pulled his entire solo and Wings catalog from streaming services such as Rhapsody and Spotify. However, he appears to have had a change of heart. Seattle Weekly is reporting that several of his albums are currently available to subscribers at two of the most popular sites around.

It’s known that before he was Eddie Money, Rock Star, he was Eddie Mahoney, New York Police Officer. Apparently things have gotten so bad in his singing career that he’s had to go back to a day job, running his own travel agency — and he’s loving it.

One of the greatest voices in rock history, Paul Rodgers, a founding member of both Free and Bad Company, will sing the national anthem at New York’s Citi Field on Sept. 10 before a baseball game between the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals.

Last year, the Rolling Stones offered the first official release of ‘The Brussels Affair,’ a much-bootlegged performance from their 1973 European tour, as a digital download. Yesterday (Aug. 29), the band announced that they are issuing the concert on vinyl in the form of three limited-edition box sets.

Long a vegetarian and supporter of animal rights, Queen guitarist Brian May has taken to the British press in an attempt to prevent an upcoming mass slaughter of badgers by the British government. In the Daily Mail on Sunday (Aug. 26), he penned an editorial against the plan, which is being carried out to stem an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in Somerset and Gloucester.

Drummers are the Rodney Dangerfield of rock. From jokes like, “What did the drummer get on his IQ test?” (answer: drool) to the mock tragedies that befell Spinal Tap’s myriad timekeepers, drummers get no respect. However, a new list shows that many of them are laughing all the way to the bank.

Artists are rarely the best judges of their own material. How many times have we cringed when a classic group we love releases a new album they claim is among their best ever? And how often are we privileged to hear outtakes that cause us to smack our heads, in disbelief that they were left off the original record?

A classic concert by the Who previously available only on bootleg will soon get an official release. ‘The Who Live in Texas ’75,’ a document of their Nov. 20, 1975 concert at the Summit in Houston, will be out on DVD and digital video on Oct. 9 — which, coincidentally, would have been bassist John Entwistle’s 68th birthday.

‘Magical Mystery Tour,’ the Beatles‘ 1967 made-for-TV film, will be released on DVD and Blu-ray worldwide on Oct. 8 and in North America on Oct. 9, which, coincidentally, would have been John Lennon’s 72nd birthday. The movie will also have a limited theatrical release on Sept. 27.

With music festival cruises being all the rage these days, it makes sense that there would be a cruise dedicated to the most popular group of all-time. In March 2013, the Cruise for Beatles Fans will sail from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. on the sea of green for a week-long floating celebration of all things John, Paul, George and Ringo.

We all have our fantasies about meeting our favorite rockers. They usually involve telling our heroes about how much their music has meant to us and gotten us through hard times. In turn, the rocker is so overwhelmed by the praise and asks us to join the tour as a member of the band’s entourage and you become best buddies forever.