In an age where pop, hip hop, and alternative music rule the radio airwaves, there does not seem room for good, old fashioned rock and roll. However, this has not stopped numerous hard rock bands from going on tours and coming out with new tunes. Aging rock band Van Halen, reunited with former singer David Lee Roth, and toured North America this past summer. Stopping in Chicago, Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale, and a number of other cities, it was the first time the original Van Halen lineup had been together since 1985.Among other bands coming out with new material, or are at least rumored to be, are AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. AC/DC, an Australian blues style band, has not put out a new album since 2000. However, they have recently put out a new record entitled Black Ice that was released October 20 of this year. “Rock n Roll Train,” a single off of the Black Ice album had already been released and was commonly played on radio weeks before the album came out. AC/DC is currently on their North American tour and has already played in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Boston.
Led Zeppelin, on the other hand, has already toured the UK, and is rumored to be recording new material, although without lead singer Robert Plante. A North American tour would likely gross huge amounts of money. The Rolling Stones also have rumors of a new album. Rumors started while the Stones were finishing up their concert album Shine A Light, which was released in April of 2008. Lead guitarist Keith Richards stated, “I think we might make another album. Once we get over doing promotion on this.”
Although many bands from the 70′s and 80′s eras are coming out with new material, that does not necessarily mean it is as successful as it was back then. For example, AC/DC’s 2000 album Stiff Upper Lip has sold around 1,000,000 units worldwide. While this might seem like a large number, Back in Black, AC/DC’s 1980 album sold over 42 million copies worldwide.
Although still popular, it is not hard to see that although these bands might not want to go away, there popularity is slowly decreasing.
By Kevin Maras, sports editor
