Dave Lifton

The town of Port Chester, N.Y., located 35 miles north of New York City, may seem like an unusual place for a famous rock venue, but the Capitol Theatre boasts a history few stadiums can match. The long-dormant theater re-opened last night (Sept. 4) with a performance by Bob Dylan.

It’s well-known that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is an avid Bruce Springsteen fan. In 2010 he tried to get his home state’s most famous rocker to play at his inaugural ball, but wound up getting a tribute band instead. Most recently, he asked Springsteen to perform at a new casino in Atlantic City.

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.

It would appear that Elton John and Madonna have made up in the latest round of their long-running feud. According to the British tabloid the Sun, the two exchanged pleasantries while coincidentally having dinner at the same fancy restaurant in the south of France. Nice work if you can get it, as the old song goes.

Pop singer Michelle Branch, best known for a string of hits between 2001 and 2004, has decided to tackle the Rolling Stones‘ ‘Play with Fire.’ The original version, which was No. 66 on our recent list of the Top 100 Rolling Stones Songs, was the B-side of their 1965 hit ‘The Last Time.’

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.

Epping, N.H. can no longer be described as a “sleepy little town,” mainly because nobody has been able to get to sleep thanks to Joyce Coffey. The 53-year old woman was arrested three times in one day earlier this week for blasting music, which included AC/DC‘s ‘Highway to Hell,’ according to the Union Leader.

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.

Veteran keyboardist Chuck Leavell, who has worked with such big names as the Allman Brothers Band, Eric Clapton and John Mayer, recently spent a week in Paris with old friends. That might not seem like news until you realize that he wasn’t hanging out at the Eiffel Tower, but in a recording studio, and the old friends were the Rolling Stones.

Yesterday (Aug. 31) Eddie Van Halen took some time out from his recuperation to issue an update on his health. Van Halen recently spent three weeks in the hospital after needing emergency surgery for diverticulitis.

The life of a rock n’ roller may be grueling, what with all the constant travel, long hours in the studio and non-stop partying, but, as Duff McKagan found out, it’s nothing compared to mountain climbing. The former Guns N’ Roses bassist recently risked his life attempting to scale Mt. Ranier, which has an elevation of 14,409 feet, and wrote about the experience in his column at Seattle Weekly. R

A new trailer promoting TBS’ upcoming coverage of the 2012 Major League Baseball postseason features Bruce Springsteen‘s ‘Land of Hope and Dreams.’ The clip intersperses baseball highlights with footage of Springsteen and the E Street Band performing the song.