Get ready to rock like it’s 1977
HOLMDEL, New Jersey — It’s more than a feeling: Many of the rock ’n’ roll bands that were huge in 1977 will comprise a big part of the summer-concert market 40 years later.
Queen, Foreigner, Boston, Aerosmith, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Billy Joel and Rod Stewart are among those launching major tours this spring and summer.
Concert-industry executives say nostalgia acts are still reliable sellers, with classic rock radio keeping their hits alive.
“The simple answer is that good music is still good music,” said guitarist Tom Scholz, who founded Boston and found immediate stardom with tracks that remain staples of classic rock playlists, including More Than a Feeling, Peace of Mind, Long Time and Don’t Look Back. “It’s pretty much still Boston, as long as I’m alive, as long as I can stand up and play.“
To get a feel for how long ago that was, 1977 was the year that Son of Sam was arrested in New York, when Star Wars and Saturday Night Fever packed theatres, and when the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, Elvis Presley, died.
It was the year Kiss neared the zenith of its popularity, with the Love Gun and Alive II albums. Fellow shock rocker Alice Cooper scored huge airplay with an unexpected orchestral ballad, You and Me. Rod Stewart was on every rock and pop station with Hot Legs, You’re in My Heart and I Was Only Joking, and scored the Billboard No. 1 song of the year in Tonight’s the Night.
It’s easier to list which songs on Joel’s 1977 album The Stranger weren’t major hits than to list the ones that were. And Foreigner followed Boston’s success to become the new overnight sensation with a debut album that sold four million copies, powered by classics such as Feels Like the First Time and Cold As Ice.
“I never could have imagined when I set out to create Foreigner 40 years ago that we’d still be touring around the world and performing the music we love all these years later,” said guitarist and founding member Mick Jones. “I can’t express the gratitude I feel when fans share stories of how our songs have been woven into their milestones and memories over the years.”
That’s a big part of why classic rock bands remain reliable draws on the circuit, said Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the concert-industry publication Pollstar.
“The audience that grew up on rock ’n’ roll are still rock ’n’ roll fans,” he said. “They still want to see these acts, whether they have a new record or not.”
Fans are forgiving of lineup changes. The original singers for Boston and Queen died, Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm left in 2003, and Kiss’s original lineup last toured in 2000.
Aerosmith is the most unlikely band of survivors, given its members’ history of drug use. Yet they’re still out there with all five original members.
“Anytime I can go see Aerosmith, I will go,” said Queen guitarist Brian May. “I love to take my kids to let them see what it was really like to be in a rock concert and have that spontaneity and danger and passion. It’s not mapped out; it’s all happening right in front of your eyes. It’s a live tradition and I’m proud to have been a part of that.”