Canadian hard rock veterans HELIX recently inked a a licensing deal with EMI in Canada for the release of their new acoustic album, “Smash Hits Unplugged”. Two songs from the effort will be released to radio: “That Day is Gonna Come” (rock radio) and “Dream On” to Hot AC (hot adult contemporary).

An extremely rare 1978 local news report from the first Texas Jam festival has been published online to promote the Melodic Rock/Heavy Metal themed auctions of eBay seller EliteWorks. The 32-year old segment is centered on Van Halen’s stunning performance from their very first tour and showcases the earliest known live footage of the band.

In another interesting ALICE COOPER story, he tells Detroit Free Press that he’d probably not be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Class of 2011 if it weren’t for his made-in-Detroit history. “We weren’t about peace and love; we were too abrasive for L.A.,” said Cooper, who was born Vincent Furnier in Detroit, but grew up mostly in Arizona before he and his band headed back to metro Detroit in the 1970s and developed their heavy, classic rock sound. “We thought the whole world should be about Ferraris, switchblades and blondes and it was in Detroit that people were screaming for us to turn it up. And we did,” said Cooper, who talked to the Free Press on Wednesday while rehearsing for his annual Phoenix-based Christmas Pudding concert with members of his classic lineup including drummer Neal Smith, Michael Bruce and Dennis Dunaway. Cooper and his bandmates will be inducted into the Rock Hall during a ceremony March 14 at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City. “I am so proud to say I’m from Detroit, but more than that — it’s where we belong,” he said. “When I heard bands like THE STOOGES, MC5 and TED NUGENT’s AMBOY DUKES, we were among kindred spirits. It was a brotherhood. And outsiders, although they may take a step backward when they see us, they definitely respect Detroit artists.”

ALICE COOPER owes JIMI HENDRIX his career – because the guitar legend introduced the shock rocker to his longtime manager The rock legend has been represented by Shep Gordon since the 1960s – and it was only because of Hendrix that the pair met in Los Angeles, launching Cooper’s band’s career. He told Britain’s Daily Express: “My manager for the last 40 years has been Shep Gordon. In the late Sixties, Shep met Jimi at an L.A. hotel pool with (soul band) THE CHAMBERS BROTHERS. When Jimi asked Shep what he did he replied he didn’t know yet. Jimi replied: ‘Are you Jewish? You should be a manager.’ “One of The Chambers Brothers then said, ‘There’s a rock band living in our basement and they need a manager.’ If Jimi hadn’t been sunbathing that day who knows where we all might have ended up?” The ALICE COOPER BAND will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with his band March 14.

TESTAMENT is gearing up to record their tenth studio album. According to Chuck Billy: “We’re working on it right now. We’re still in the writing process. It’s gonna be what it’s gonna be. We definitely want it in the root and in the vein of the last record. We felt very positive about the last record. If we can just write ten more songs as if we were writing “The Formation of Damnation” still. I would love to put some more elements of blast beat drumming in the new stuff, like in The Gathering.”

MR. BIG‘s new studio album, entitled What If…, will be released on February 8th, via Frontiers Records. The European release of the album will be on January 21st also by Frontiers Records. What If… is Mr. Big’s first all original album since the reunion of the four original members, Eric Martin, Paul Gilbert, Billy Sheehan and Pat Torpey back in early 2009. Guitarist Paul Gilbert comments: “This is the first Mr. Big album I have been a part of, since 14 years and it was done in a snap. It was fun and we had really a good time in making this one.” What If… tracklisting includes: ‘Undertow’ ‘ American Beauty’ ‘Stranger In My Life’ ‘Nobody Takes The Blame’ ‘Still Ain’t Enough For Me’ ‘Once Upon A Time’ ‘As Far As I Can See’ ‘All The Way Up’ ‘I Won’t Get In My Way’ ‘Around The World’ ‘I Get The Feeling’ ‘Unforgiven’ (exclusive bonus track for Europe / North America – not on vinyl edition). The DVD will include the videoclips of ‘Undertow’ and ‘All The Way Up’ plus a documentary “Making of” the album including interviews and exclusive behind the scenes features of the four members.