’70s rockers Cactus have returned with “The Little Red Rooster,” their newest single, featuring lead vocals from Twisted Sister legend Dee Snider as well as guitars by Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns.
The song appears on the band’s upcoming album, Temple of Blues II, which will be released April 3. UCR is pleased to present an exclusive premiere of the video for the track, which you can watch below.
“Cactus! The name conjures such amazing memories for me,” Snider enthused in a press release. “An inspiration for the rock I would play in the years to come. Can you imagine what it was like to ‘get the call’ that your heroes want you to rock with them? Mind-blowing! And now to be asked for second time!? What a treat to dig into a blues classic like ‘The Little Red Rooster’ with Cactus!!! Hell yeah!!”
“I knew Dee from the old days, when Twisted Sister were just hanging around Long Island, and they were nothing,” drum legend and Cactus mastermind Carmine Appice tells UCR in a new interview. “I had a drum studio at the time and different drummers that I taught, I played with them. When Twisted Sister started making it big in the ’80s, I knew them. I knew the drummer, A.J. Pero, I knew the whole band. They were all fans of mine, because Vanilla Fudge came out of Long Island as well. There was a mutual respect.”
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“It was such an honor to have Dee on the song and to have him in the video,” he adds. “Especially since he’s retired now.”
What to Expect From the New Cactus Album
Temple of Blues II features an all-star cast, including returning guests like Snider, plus Ted Nugent, Billy Sheehan, Bumblefoot and Pat Travers.
New to the fold for this second volume, Cactus welcomed in Guns, who guests on “The Little Red Rooster” alongside Snider, plus former Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse, legendary bassist Rudy Sarzo, vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick and many more.
In addition to Appice, the current lineup of Cactus features singer Ed Terry, guitarist Artie Dillon and bassist James Caputo.
Musically, they had an agenda. “We’re doing seven of the great Howlin’ Wolf and Willie Dixon songs,” Appice explains. “The first Temple of Blues album, we did pretty much all the cool Cactus songs. We only had three more left. So I said, ‘Let’s just do all the songs that I would have loved to done years ago, on this album.’ So that’s what we did. ‘The Little Red Rooster’ was one had a really cool groove.”
Watch Cactus’ ‘The LIttle Red Rooster’ Video Featuring Dee Snider and Traci Guns
The Western-themed video was created by Dominic Esposito and Deville Films. The filmmaker worked in collaboration with Appice, who had some specific ideas for the clip. Of course, there would be a rooster running around. Esposito suggested maybe they should eventually turn the rooster into a beautiful redhead. That triggered an additional thought from the drummer. “I said, ‘Let’s make it like a Frankenstein thing where the rooster goes into the box and sparks and smoke come out like a Frankenstein [movie]. You open the door and then it’s a beautiful redhead.”
The Legacy of Cactus
Appice sees both Temple of Blues albums as a good example of the impact that Cactus has made on musicians and bands from across multiple generations. “There were many different groups influenced by Cactus,” he says now. “You know, we did well in the ’70s. But we never had any hit records. We had albums instead of singles. And we left a legacy of the musicians that we influenced.”
Temple of Blues II will be released April 3 by Cleopatra Records. You can preorder the album in a variety of configurations from the label’s official website
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Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
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