Report: Billy Joel not planning to retire despite health challenges

May 27, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Despite Billy Joel‘s recent medical diagnosis, he has no plans to put his piano in storage.

Sources tell People that Billy, who announced on May 23 that he’d been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, is “not ready to retire.” A source adds, “He is happiest while performing. Music is, has been and will always be his life. He’s not ready to retire.”

Another source tells People that Billy, 76, is “not retiring and hopes to be able to resume performing as his recovery progresses.” The Piano Man has canceled all his scheduled performances through 2026, including co-headlining shows with Sting, Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, NPH is a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance. It’s considered to be a treatable condition.

Billy’s wife, Alexis Roderick Joel, wrote on Instagram Sunday, “Thank you for the outpouring of love and support. We are so grateful for the wonderful care and swift diagnosis we received. Bill is beloved by so many, and to us, he is a father and husband who is at the center of our world. We are hopeful for his recovery. We look forward to seeing you all in the future.”

Billy and Alexis share two young daughters, Della and Remy. His adult daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, wrote on Saturday, “We love you and we got you, Pop! I just wanted to thank you all for the beautiful outpouring of love and support amid the recent news of My Father’s health diagnosis.”

“My Dad is the strongest and most resilient man I’ve ever known… and he’s entirely committed to making a full recovery with ongoing physical-therapy treatments,” she added. “The genuine care, empathy, and concern from everyone means so much to him.”

Joe Walsh bringing annual VetsAid concert to his Kansas hometown

May 27, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Joe Walsh has announced the date and location for the 2025 edition of his annual VetsAid charity concert.

The Eagles guitarist will bring the show to his hometown of Wichita, Kansas, on Nov. 15. He posted on Instagram, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like …”

Information about this year’s lineup and tickets has not yet been announced.

The 2024 edition of VetsAid was supposed to take place at UBS Arena in New York, but was canceled due to “circumstances beyond organizers’ control.” It was supposed to feature performances by Walsh, Post Malone, Toto, country star Eric Church and Kool and the Gang.

Previous VetsAid lineups have included Stephen Stills, Jeff Lynne‘s ELO, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Nine Inch Nails and The Breeders.

Walsh launched the VetsAid concert in 2017, with the shows raising money for charities that help veterans.

Bruce Springsteen pays tribute to early manager Carl Virgil ‘Tinker’ West

May 27, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Bruce Springsteen has paid tribute to one of his early managers, who recently passed away.

The New Jersey rocker shared a post about Carl Virgil “Tinker” West, who was the manager of Springsteen’s late ’60s/early ’70s band Steel Mill, which also included E Streeters Stevie Van Zandt and Danny Federici.

In his post, Springsteen calls Tinker “one of the most important people of my young life.”

“In 1970 when I had nothing, nowhere to live, was broke with nowhere to go, he recognized my talent and took me in,” Springsteen writes. “We lived together in one tiny room of his Wanamassa, New Jersey Challenger Eastern Surfboard Factory. His mattress was on one side of the room and mine was six feet away on the other.”

Springsteen calls Tinker a “natural born misanthrope” and recalls their times driving across the country together, noting, “He also insisted I, without skills or license, drive my share. That’s how Tinker taught you something. He just made you do it.”

Springsteen writes that after he found fame, “Tinker asked me for exactly nothing.”

“He was forever alone, working, off the grid and independent,” he shares, “I was always satisfied when I would be the recipient of Tink’s highest compliment. ‘Springsteen, you don’t f*** around.'”

“No, I didn’t and neither did Carl Virgil West,” Springsteen adds, recalling the last time they saw each other, in the hospital as Tinker was dying from throat cancer. “I hung out for a while, he pulled me close and his voice raspy and nearly gone whispered ‘We sure had some adventures didn’t we?’ I answered ‘we sure did.'”

“When I was about to leave, I saw something I never thought I’d see in this life or the next,” Springsteen concludes the post. “He cried. I loved him.”

Zak Starkey says he was ‘retired’ not fired from The Who

May 27, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Former The Who drummer Zak Starkey is setting the record straight about where he stands with the band.

After being fired from The Who in April following their March Royal Albert Hall shows, and subsequently rehired, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey announced on May 18 that Starkey, son of The Beatles‘ Ringo Starr, had once again been let go. But in a new post on Instagram, Starkey is now suggesting that he wasn’t actually fired.

He started off the post by writing, “NOISE&CONFUSION!!!!” and then tried to clarify what happened between him and the band.

“I had a great phone chat with Roger at the end of last week which truly confused both of us!!!” he writes. “Rog said I hadn’t been ‘fired’…I had been ‘retired; to work n my own projects.”

Starkey says he then told Roger that his projects were done and that he “was completely available for the foreseeable future.” He noted, “Rog said ‘Oh!’ and we kind of left it there- On good terms and great friends as we have always been.”

Finally, he shares, “Gotta love these guys. As my mum used to say ‘The mind boggles!!!’ XXX”

The Who revealed that Scott Devours, drummer of Daltrey’s solo band, would be taking over behind the drum kit for their upcoming The Song Is Over North American Farewell Tour, which kicks off Aug. 16 in Sunrise, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at TheWho.com.

On This Day, May 27, 2017: Allman Brothers Band frontman Gregg Allman dies

May 27, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

On This Day, May 27, 2017…

Gregg Allman, frontman and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, died at his home in Richmond Hill, Georgia, after a battle with liver cancer. He was 69.

Allman Brothers Band was founded in 1969 with Gregg and his brother Duane, as well as Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe. They released their self-titled debut that year.

They went on to be considered one of the pioneering Southern rock bands and were particularly known for their touring career, which included long shows filled with extended jams.

Gregg, who was married seven times, including a four-year marriage to Cher, was responsible for penning many of the band’s most popular songs, including “Whipping Post,” “Melissa” and “Midnight Rider.”

Rod Stewart surprised by his children at 2025 American Music Awards

May 27, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Rod Stewart received a heartwarming surprise at the 2025 American Music Awards when five of his eight children appeared onstage to help present him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

On Monday night, the British rock legend was honored ahead of his upcoming tour. His children — Kimberly, Ruby, Renee, Sean and Liam — joined forces for the surprise tribute, with Ruby revealing their affectionate nickname for him.

“Tonight we are here as the biggest and most loving fans of our father, Sir Rod Stewart, or as we all know him, Papa Stew,” she shared.

Clearly moved, Rod embraced his children on stage and expressed his shock during his acceptance speech.

“I am absolutely flabbergasted. I didn’t know they were here — my children,” he told the audience. Renee and Liam are Rod’s children with his second wife, Rachel Hunter. Kimberly and Sean are Rod’s children from his first marriage to Alana Stewart, while he shares Ruby with his ex-girlfriend Kelly Emberg.

Reflecting on his decades-long career, Rod said, “When I started singing in the early ’60s, well before all of you lot were here, the reason I got into it [was] because I had this burning ambition to sing. It’s all I wanted to do. I didn’t want to be rich or famous, and here I am a few years later, picking up this wonderful award.”

Dressed in a white tuxedo jacket and pinstripe trousers, Rod took the stage to perform his 1988 hit “Forever Young,” marking his first American Music Awards performance since 2004.

As previously reported, Janet Jackson was also recognized at the event, receiving the prestigious Icon Award, while Billie Eilish did a clean sweep, winning all seven categories she was nominated in.

What’s Billy Joel’s prognosis? One expert says his condition is ‘treatable and reversible’

May 27, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

After postponing all his concerts in March due to surgery, Billy Joel shocked fans on Friday when he canceled all those shows outright and announced he’s been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus. But the good news is that a full recovery is likely.

Billy’s condition is an abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid deep within the brain, according to the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. It can lead to problems with walking, bladder control, and thinking and reasoning.

Dr. Leah Croll, a neurologist at Maimonides Health, tells ABC News that the condition is “treatable and reversible,” depending on the cause and the patient’s situation. It can either be treated permanently by surgically inserting a tube in the brain for fluid drainage, or managed with medication and physical therapy.

Croll adds, “For Billy Joel, there would not necessarily be any reason to expect something other than a full recovery. We can’t be certain … there’s so many factors that go into a recovery, but in general, people do very well with this.”

The statement on Billy’s Instagram page noted that his condition had been made worse by concert performances, leading to “problems with hearing, vision, and balance.” It went on to say, “Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period.”

Croll explains why performing right now is a bad idea.

“Doing taxing physical activity is going to put stress on the brain, and it’s going to make those symptoms come out more,” she says. “Because the brain can’t compensate as well as it normally does when it’s devoting so much energy to a performance.”

Billy’s canceled shows included headlining stadium dates with Sting, Stevie Nicks and Rod Stewart.

Stan Lynch on his new album with The Speaker Wars: ‘It will always feel like a success to me if I’m having fun’

May 27, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Former Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch‘s new band, The Speaker Wars, is set to drop their self-titled debut album on Friday, and Lynch tells ABC Audio the project started when he was set up on a “blind date” in Nashville with singer/songwriter John Christopher Davis.

“It starts innocently enough, like most projects for me, everything in my life is pretty much friend- and joy-related,” he says. He notes that when he met Davis, “I just kind of fell for the guy.”

Lynch says their musical connection was there from the very beginning and it was Davis’ idea to make a record together.

“We walked in the room and he just had a lot of energy,” Lynch says. He explains that during the COVID-19 pandemic he kept thinking, “What am I going to do with my life?” And Davis suggested meeting up to make a record, although he didn’t realize he’d be playing drums on it.

Lynch, who has had a long career as a music producer, says, “I thought I was making his record. And then he kept saying, you know, get behind the kit. He is the burr in the saddle that made this happen, which is great.”

And while Lynch knows there’s no guarantee a record will be a hit, he tries to not get too worried about it.

“I’m always skeptical because I’ve gotten older. … The more I know, the more I know what can go wrong,” he says. “Either it will be a tremendous success or it won’t be. But it will always feel like a success to me if I’m having fun.”

The Speaker Wars’ self-titled debut album is available for preorder now.

American Music Awards 2025: The winners

May 27, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

The 2025 American Music Awards, hosted by Jennifer Lopez, took place Monday night in Las Vegas. Billie Eilish was the top winner, taking home seven awards. Here’s the complete list of winners:

Artist of the year: Billie Eilish

New artist of the year: Gracie Abrams

Album of the year: Billie Eilish, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

Song of the year: Billie Eilish, “Birds of a Feather”

Favorite touring artist: Billie Eilish

Favorite music video: Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile”

Favorite male pop artist: Bruno Mars

Favorite female pop artist: Billie Eilish

Favorite pop album: Billie Eilish, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

Favorite pop song: Billie Eilish, “Birds of a Feather”

Favorite male country artist: Post Malone

Favorite female country artist: Beyoncé

Favorite country duo or group: Dan + Shay

Favorite country album: Beyoncé, COWBOY CARTER

Favorite country song: Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen, “I Had Some Help”

Favorite male hip-hop artist: Eminem

Favorite female hip-hop artist: Megan Thee Stallion

Favorite hip-hop album: Eminem, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)

Favorite hip-hop song: Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”

Favorite male R&B artist: The Weeknd

Favorite female R&B artist: SZA

Favorite R&B album: The Weeknd, Hurry Up Tomorrow

Favorite R&B song: SZA, “Saturn”

Favorite male Latin artist: Bad Bunny

Favorite female Latin artist: Becky G

Favorite Latin duo or group: Julión Álvarez y su Norteño Banda

Favorite Latin album: Bad Bunny, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS

Favorite Latin song: Shakira, “Soltera”

Favorite rock artist: Twenty One Pilots

Favorite rock album: Twenty One Pilots, Clancy

Favorite rock song: Linkin Park, “The Emptiness Machine”

Favorite dance/electronic artist: Lady Gaga

Favorite soundtrack: Arcane League of Legends: Season 2

Favorite Afrobeats artist: Tyla

Favorite K-pop artist: RM

Collaboration of the year: Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, “Die with a Smile”

Social song of the year: Doechii, “Anxiety”

Christie Brinkley calls ex-husband Billy Joel ‘OUR piano man’ after brain diagnosis

May 25, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Billy Joel‘s ex-wife Christie Brinkley is showing support for the Piano Man following news of his recent brain diagnosis.

The supermodel, who shares daughter Alexa Ray with the legendary singer, posted a video on Instagram Saturday, one day after Joel revealed he had been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus.

In the clip, Brinkley’s daughter, Sailor Brinkley Cook — whom she shares with ex-husband Peter Cook — is seen singing Billy’s hit “You May Be Right” backstage as Billy looks on. She and her mom are also seen enjoying one of his concerts.

“Dear Billy, The whole Brinkley gang is sending you lots of love and good wishes for a full and speedy recovery,” Christie writes in the caption. “I was looking for some cute photos of you and Alexa to send you, when I came across this clip from a recent concert. It made me laugh ..but it also reminded me of all the joy you create, and all the sensational sing a longs you’ve lead.”

“You turn an arena of strangers into a living room full of friends as we all sway in unison,” she continued. “I’m sure I’m speaking for everyone in that room when I say please take good care of yourself, we all want you back in that white hot spotlight, you’re OUR piano man.’

Brinkley concluded, “We’re always in the mood for your melodies And we all hope you’re feeling alright! We Love You, the kids, me and a whole bunch of full arenas!”

Joel and Brinkley were married from 1985 to 1994.

On Friday, Billy shared that he was canceling his upcoming concerts due to his diagnosis. The condition causes an “abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid deep within the brain,” according to the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

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