Classic Rock
Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor Reveals Battle with Stage 4 Prostate Cancer
Duran Duran’s longtime guitarist Andy Taylor was absent from the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday after revealing he is suffering from stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer. In a letter read by Simon Le Bon during Duran Duran’s induction speech, Taylor explained that he was diagnosed “just over four years ago.” “I have the Rodgers and Edwards of doctors and medical treatment that until very recently allowed me to just rock on,” he wrote. “Although my current condition is not immediately life threatening there is no cure. Recently I was doing okay after some very sophisticated life extending treatment, that was until a week or so ago when I suffered a setback, and despite the exceptional efforts of my team, I had to be honest in that both physically and mentally...
Metallica, Def Leppard, Pete Wentz, Beach Boys Lead New Line of Graphic Novels
Vault Comics has announced Headshell, a fresh line of graphic novels from Metallica, Def Leppard, Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, The Beach Boys, Redman, and more. Longtime songwriter, producer, veteran music executive and publisher Richard Rudolph will head up strategy and artist relations for Headshell. The series “works with iconic recording artists to create unique graphic novels that resonate with artists and audiences,” according to a press release. “Headshell graphic novels present original stories inspired by artists’ careers and music, giving fans an all new way to connect with the artists and music they love.” Of the partnership, Lars Ulrich of Metallica said, “The team at Vault are pushing boundaries and are bold storytellers. We are excited to partner with them.” Advertisement Relat...
How to Get Tickets to Stevie Nicks and Billy Joel’s 2023 Co-Headlining Tour
Stevie Nicks and Billy Joel have announced the “Two Icons, One Night,” tour. Get tickets here, and read on for more details including pre-sale dates. What Is the “Two Icons, One Night” Tour? The name says it all: Two of the greatest musicians of their generation will share the stage. The 73-year-old Joel and the 74-year-old Nicks have so far announced three dates: March 10th at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA; April 8th at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX; and May 19th at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN. More may be on the way. One Live Nation executive said that the trek would ultimately comprise “five to seven shows.” Who Is Opening for Stevie Nicks and Billy Joel? Advertisement Related Video No openers have been announced. There’s a reason they didn’t c...
Sammy Hagar Says He’s Been Completely Cut Off by Alex Van Halen
Rumors of an all-star Van Halen tribute tour or concert have circulated since the 2020 passing of Eddie Van Halen. But recent remarks by one-time frontman Sammy Hagar insinuate that any such reunion — at least involving himself — remains a pipe dream. Hagar weighed in on the possibility of an Eddie Van Halen tribute in a new interview with SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk. After ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted revealed earlier this year that he was involved in initial talks regarding the possible tour, Hagar was asked if there had been any further developments in recent weeks, to which Hagar replied in the negative. “As far as I know, [there has been] nothing,” Hagar told Trunk [as transcribed via Blabbermouth]. “There was that talk everybody heard about Jason being the bass player and Joe S...
Stevie Nicks and Billy Joel Announce Co-Headlining Concert in Arlington, Texas
Stevie Nicks and Billy Joel have announced a co-headlining concert, and in a strange twist of fate, it takes place not in New York or Los Angeles, but in Arlington, Texas. The gig goes down April 8th at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium. Nicks announced the concert on Instagram with an image advertising “Two Icons” in “One Night,” but her caption suggests the Nicks/Joel bill may extend to more than one show. “Excited to hit the road with the amazing Billy Joel in 2023,” she wrote, before teasing, “More soon!” Check out her post below. Tickets to Nicks and Joel’s Arlington concert go on sale Friday, November 11th at 10:00 a.m via Ticketmaster, with a Live Nation pre-sale code taking place Thursday, November 10th (using access code HEADLINE). Advertisement Related Video In addition to the...
Bruce Springsteen Played Guitar for Clarence Clemons in the Hospital as He Passed Away
Bruce Springsteen made his debut appearance on The Howard Stern Show on Monday, where he sat down for a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour career-spanning conversation about his life and music. Springsteen also performed solo acoustic renditions of several songs, including “Rosalita,” “Blinded By the Light,” and “Tougher Than the Rest,” as well as a cover of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” At one point in the interview, Springsteen revealed that he played guitar in the hospital for Clarence Clemons as his longtime friend and bandmate passed away in June 2011. “I had a feeling he could hear me because he could squeeze your hand,” Springsteen recalled. “I took the hunch and brought the guitar and strummed ‘Land of Hope and Dreams.’” Despite turning 73 years old last month, Spring...
Eddie Vedder Joins The Who to Perform “The Seeker” at LA Benefit: Watch
Eddie Vedder joined The Who on stage at a private cancer benefit in Los Angeles over the weekend for an acoustic performance of 1970’s “The Seeker.” While introducing the performance, lead singer Roger Daltrey gave a disclaimer that he wouldn’t be doing the “very loud scream” on the song because he couldn’t “get my balls to drop any further at the moment,” so he would have to leave the audience to do the screaming. Nevertheless, Daltrey still hit some higher notes while trading vocals with Vedder. Watch the fan-shot footage below, along with a TikTok posted by Townshend’s wife Rachel Fuller of the musicians rehearsing for the performance. Advertisement Related Video “The Seeker” was first released as a single in March 1970 before appearing on The Who’s 1971 album Meaty Beaty Big and B...
Robert Fripp and Toyah Take on Black Sabbath’s “Children of the Grave” for Halloween: Watch
King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp and singer wife Toyah Willcox tackle the Black Sabbath classic “Children of the Grave” for the Halloween edition of their “Sunday Lunch” series. To enhance the Halloween vibe, Fripp dresses up as what we think is Lawrence of Arabia with large spiders on his head and shoulder, while Toyah sports a sheer top with a giant spider leg strategically placed across her chest. “Children of the Grave” is not the first time the married couple has taken on a Sabbath song. Back in the early stages of their “Sunday Lunch” series, they covered “Paranoid” with Toyah dancing wildly behind bars. It led to Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi telling Heavy Consequence, “They’ve gone mad, actually. I think this lockdown has drove them mental.” Advertisement Related Video In a recen...
Patti Smith’s “Rock and Roll N*****” Yanked from Streaming
“Rock and Roll N*****,” the closing A-side track of the Patti Smith Group’s 1978 album Easter, has quietly disappeared from streaming services, Rolling Stone was first to report, including the platforms Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music. “Rock and Roll N*****” attempted to move the epithet away from its racial context to describe anyone who is an outsider, including Jimi Hendrix, Jackson Pollack, Jesus Christ, and even “grandma.” “I was lost and the cost, and the cost didn’t matter to me,” Smith sings. “I was lost and the cost was to be outside society.” Neither Smith nor the song’s co-writer, guitarist Lenny Kaye, have offered comment on the decision. But Smith has been defending her use of the slur since the song’s release, writing in the Ea...
Jerry Lee Lewis, Rock Music Pioneer, Dead at 87
Jerry Lee Lewis, the rock and roll innovator whose career stumbled after his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin Myra Gale Brown, is dead at the age of 87. Lewis’ passing was announced on Friday, October 28th by his publicist, Zach Farnum of 117 Group. His death had previously been erroneously reported by TMZ and other outlets on October 26th. According to an accompanying obituary written by Rick Bragg, the musician “suffered through the last years of his life from various illnesses and injuries that, his physicians have often said, should have taken him decades ago.” Advertisement Related Video “He is ready to leave,” his seventh wife Judith was quoted as saying before his death in his home in Desoto County, Mississippi, just south of Memphis. A trailblazing pianist, Lewis helped popu...
Dolly Parton Is Trying to Reunite Robert Plant and Jimmy Page for Her Rock Record
Dolly Parton is attempting to reunite former bandmates Robert Plant and Jimmy Page to work on her cover of “Stairway to Heaven.” The former Led Zeppelin stars came together as Page and Plant in the 1990s, and last reunited in 2007. But in a new interview with Pollstar, Parton expressed a hope that she could get both of them on the same track for that rock and roll record she’s been talking about ever since her nomination for the Rock Hall of Fame. “When I got nominated, I thought, ‘Why not just go ahead and do it while the iron’s hot?’” Parton said of the album. “Maybe have some of the greats, the legends of rock ’n’ roll sing along with me. I’m gathering all that stuff and notifying a few people.” Advertisement Related Video Asked about her past covers of rock songs, she said, “...
The Beach Boys Share Unreleased Track “Carry Me Home” with Dennis Wilson on Vocals: Stream
The Beach Boys have today shared “Carry Me Home,” a longtime fan favorite written and sung by the late Dennis Wilson. Fifty years after it didn’t make the cut for the band’s album Holland, it’ll be included in their upcoming box set Sail On Sailor – 1972. “Carry Me Home” is a slow, piano-driven ballad, embellished with a pedal steel to give it a country flair. The tune holds an even heavier weight in the wake of Wilson’s passing in 1983: “Life/ Is meant to live/ And I’m afraid/ I’m afraid to die,” he sings along with short-time Beach Bot Blondie Chaplin. “It’s eerie listening back to this song after all these years,” Chaplin told Rolling Stone. “It’s how Dennis felt at the time. I see him struggling with his own worries. The voice is really sensitive, and you can feel the emotion...
