Posts From Best Classic Bands Staff
Best Boxed Sets, Collections & Reissues of 2025
This year’s archival releases include rarities from Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead and others.
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McCartney, Queen, The Who Headline 4 Spectacular Nights in 1979
Over the course of 4 nights during the Christmas holiday, a Who’s Who of British rock stars performed to raise money for war-torn Cambodia.
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Emerson, Lake & Palmer ‘Welcome Back My Friends’ is Latest in Fan Memories Book Series
The 352-page softcover book, with hundreds of photos, includes anecdotal stories from 370 ELP fans.
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That Haunting Female Vocal On ‘Gimme Shelter’
When you hear “Rape, murder, it’s just a shot away” on this Stones classic, does it give you chills? It’s Merry Clayton, who was just 20-years-old at the time.
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Radio Hits of December 1970: It’s a Miracle
The first year of a new decade closed out with several future classics on the top of the charts, including one recorded three years earlier.
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Barry Manilow Diagnosed With Lung Cancer
The singer of such popular songs as “Mandy,” “Copacabana (At the Copa)” and “Looks Like We Made It” had just completed a Christmas charity concerts residency in Palm Desert, Calif.
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Chris Rea Dies, English Singer-Songwriter Was Known For His Husky-Gravel Voice
He charted dozens of singles in the U.K. His biggest U.S. hit was “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” which reached #12 in 1978.
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The Year’s Best Music Books
The year’s top music-related reads include bios and memoirs associated with the Beatles, The Band, Tom Petty, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Santana and others.
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Mick Abrahams, 1st Jethro Tull Guitarist and Blodwyn Pig Founder, Dies
The original Tull guitarist who left after one album to form Blodwyn Pig, died on Dec. 19, 2025, at age 82.
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Rainbow Gets ‘Temple of the King: 1975-1976’ 9-CD Box Set
The 2026 release is described as the most comprehensive collection of the opening phase of the classic hard rock band’s work to date.
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