28 Rockers on Tour in Both 1974 and 2024
· Ultimate Classic RockRock 'n' roll and longevity used to be mutually exclusive. Now it's practically part of the job description.
In the genre's early days, most critics expected its leading artists to flame out or disappear after a few short years. Surely nobody anticipated a band like the Rolling Stones to endure the rigors of the road for six decades.
Incidentally, the Stones aren't on our list of Rockers on Tour in Both 1974 and 2024. But that's only because they stayed off the road in 1974. Several other rock icons have demonstrated a similar longevity, packing venues for a half-century and beyond.
Most of them simply don't know any other way of life. Veteran road warriors like Bruce Springsteen, Alice Cooper and ZZ Top are still logging thousands of miles a year with the same fervor they had in their youth.
Others are in a much more comfortable and lucrative touring position now than they were in 1974. Artists like Journey, Judas Priest and Scorpions were still finding their footing and trying to make a name for themselves back then. Now they've become bonafide legends and continue to pack theaters, arenas, and in some cases, even stadiums around the world.
Of course, half a century on the road takes its toll, and some artists have found other ways to perform while shortening the distance between gigs. Billy Joel has shattered records over the course of his Madison Square Garden residency, while acts like Santana and Styx have enjoyed successful stints in Las Vegas in recent years.
No matter how they do it, the most important part is these artists are still performing — proving skeptics wrong and giving fans what they want. Read on to learn about 28 Rockers on Tour in Both 1974 and 2024.
Alice Cooper
The Alice Cooper Band concluded their Billion Dollar Babies tour with a handful of Brazilian dates in March and April 1974. Cooper — the frontman — will be back at it in 2024, blazing through Europe before returning to the U.S. for more Freaks on Parade tour dates with Rob Zombie.
Billy Joel
Billy Joel had yet to become a superstar in 1974, playing clubs, colleges and theaters in support of that year’s Streetlife Serenade. He’s in a radically different place 50 years later, continuing to sell out his Madison Square Garden shows and plotting a handful of U.S. stadium dates that variously feature Sting and Stevie Nicks.
Blue Oyster Cult
Blue Oyster Cult logged more than 130 shows in 1974 to promote their beloved third album Secret Treaties. They’ll bring their quasi-psychedelic hard rock to more audiences in 2024, with a handful of U.S. dates scheduled through July.
Bob Dylan
In 1974, Bob Dylan reunited with his old musical compatriots in the Band to stage his first tour in eight years. The arena trek was one of the largest of its era and spawned the live double album Before the Flood. Dylan is still on the road half a century later, extending his Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour into 2024.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band toured constantly in their early days, logging more than 130 shows in 1974 to promote The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle and to make ends meet while recording Born to Run. Safe to say the Boss enjoys much more financial stability these days, but that hasn’t kept him off the road. He and the E Street Band have a slew of world tour dates booked throughout 2024.
Chicago
Chicago embarked on an extensive, 70-plus-date tour in 1974 in support of that year’s Chicago VII. They’ve got close to that many shows on their 2024 itinerary, including headlining dates, a Vegas residency and a co-headlining run with Earth, Wind & Fire.
Deep Purple
Deep Purple released two major albums in 1974 — Burn and Stormbringer — which they supported by touring Europe and North America extensively. They’re still (space) truckin’ in 2024, with Australian and European dates booked through August.
Eagles
Eagles logged 70 shows in 1974 in support of their third album On the Border. Fifty years later, they’re still packing arenas on their Long Goodbye Tour, which is expected to last until at least 2025.
Eric Clapton
After languishing in the throes of heroin addiction for years, Eric Clapton returned to the studio and the stage with 1974’s 461 Ocean Boulevard and its accompanying tour. Sixty-one years into his touring career, Slowhand is still at it, with a series of European, Brazilian and Mexican dates lined up for 2024.
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad notched a gold album and a No. 1 hit with 1974’s Shinin’ On and its lead single “The Loco-Motion,” and that success buoyed them on a U.S. tour that spring. Fifty years later, they’re still coming to our towns and helping us party down, with several dozen U.S. dates booked throughout 2024.
The Guess Who
The Guess Who was on the downswing by 1974, releasing two unsuccessful albums (Road Food and Flavours) and playing roughly two dozen shows throughout North America. The 2024 version of the group is essentially a cover band, but it still tours under the Guess Who moniker — although classic-era members Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings have sought to end that, filing a false advertising lawsuit against the new lineup in late 2023.
Journey
Journey was still a baby band in 1974, playing roughly 20 U.S. shows before they even released their debut album the following year. The band is a much different — and much more popular — beast in 2024, with plans to complete a slew of arena dates on their ongoing Freedom Tour before embarking on a co-headlining stadium jaunt with Def Leppard.
Judas Priest
Judas Priest was a little-known quantity in 1974, touring rigorously throughout their native England in support of their debut album, Rocka Rolla. The Metal Gods are heading out to the highway once again in 2024, storming the U.S. and Europe in support of their new album, Invincible Shield.
Kansas
Kansas released their self-titled debut album in 1974 and promptly embarked on a U.S. tour to support it. They’re celebrating 50 years together on their ongoing Another Fork in the Road Tour, with U.S. dates booked through May.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd played a whopping 130-plus shows in 1974 in support of their sophomore album, Second Helping. The Street Survivors will hit the road with ZZ Top on the co-headlining Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour, with 36 dates booked from March through November.
The Marshall Tucker Band
The Marshall Tucker Band played over 100 U.S. shows in 1974 in support of a pair of new albums, A New Life and Where We All Belong. Apparently, the road is exactly where they belong, as the Southern rock kingpins have a slew of U.S. dates lined up for the remainder of 2024.
Peter Frampton
Peter Frampton was a tireless road warrior from the start, and in 1974 he was hard at work promoting his third album, Somethin's Happening. The guitar hero embarked on his Finale Tour in 2019, but five years later he’s still on the road as part of his aptly titled Never Ever Say Never Tour.
Queen
Queen played more than 70 shows in 1974 — including their first U.S. dates — to support Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack, released eight months apart. Fifty years later, Brian May and Roger Taylor are keeping the band alive with help from Adam Lambert, and they’ll play a handful of Japanese dates in February 2024.
REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon toured North America extensively throughout 1974 in support of their fourth album, Lost in a Dream. Fifty years later, their dreams have come true, and they’re hitting arenas and amphitheaters throughout the U.S. in 2024 — first with Rick Springfield, and later with Train.
Santana
Carlos Santana was busy touring throughout 1974 with both his namesake band and Mahavishnu Orchestra’s John McLaughlin. The guitar hero doesn’t log as many miles these days, but he’s still keeping busy in 2024 with a residency at the House of Blues in Las Vegas.
Scorpions
Scorpions were still several years away from becoming a household name in 1974, touring almost exclusively in their native Germany to support their sophomore album, Fly to the Rainbow. They’re rocking fans all over the world like a hurricane in 2024, continuing their Las Vegas residency before embarking on a tour of the Middle East and Europe.
Steely Dan
For a band that famously loathed touring, Steely Dan has been doing it for a long time. The 1974 Pretzel Logic tour marked the jazz-rock legends’ final trek until 1993, but they’ve been on the road almost every year since then. They’re currently supporting Eagles on their Long Goodbye Tour and will headline a handful of international dates starting in late May.
Steve Miller Band
Steve Miller Band was riding high in 1974 off the success of the previous year’s The Joker, playing several dozen shows throughout the U.S. Miller will cover plenty of ground in 2024 on a U.S. stadium tour opening for Journey and Def Leppard.
Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks was still fighting to make herself heard in 1974, playing clubs throughout the U.S. as one-half of Buckingham Nicks. She has since parted ways with her other half and scaled up her performances exponentially, playing U.S. arenas, stadiums and festivals throughout 2024.
Styx
Styx toured minimally in 1974, promoting a pair of albums — 1973’s The Serpent Is Rising and 1974’s Man of Miracles — that failed to make a substantial impact on the charts. They’re in a much more comfortable position in 2024, playing a series of headlining theater shows before embarking on a run of amphitheater dates with co-headliners Foreigner this summer.
Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren toured extensively in 1974, primarily with his progressive rock outfit Utopia while also logging a handful of solo dates. He shows no signs of slowing down, with three Australian dates in February 2024 and an extensive U.S. run booked for the spring and summer.
Van Morrison
Van Morrison had a busy touring schedule in 1974, playing more than 90 shows across North America and Europe. At the moment, his 2024 calendar only consists of two back-to-back February dates in his native Belfast, but seeing as he played nearly 50 shows in 2023, that could change.
ZZ Top
ZZ Top reaped the fruits of their labor in 1974, touring arenas in support of their breakthrough third album Tres Hombres. The Texas trio is still kicking half a century later — albeit with Elwood Francis replacing the late Dusty Hill on bass — with three dozen co-headlining dates with Lynyrd Skynyrd booked through September.