Green Day jabs at Elon Musk while playing in mogul’s home country

January 21, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

On Jan. 19, Green Day called out Elon Musk on his home turf.

As footage posted on social media shows, when the band performed their first concert in South Africa Sunday in Johannesburg, Billie Joe Armstrong changed the lyrics of “American Idiot” from “I’m not part of the redneck agenda” to “I’m not part of the Elon agenda.” Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa.

Green Day and Musk are decidedly not fans of each other. The billionaire criticized the band for singing “I’m not part of a MAGA agenda” during their Dec. 31, 2023 performance on New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, accusing them of going from “raging against the machine to milquetoastedly raging for it.”

Bass player Mike Dirnt responded, “Elon Musk actually is the machine. I can’t take anything else from that. He’s not shy about saying stupid s*** on the internet. Whatever.”

Dirnt noted, “The song’s 20 years old, and we’re Green Day. What did you expect?”

Ringo Starr hopes to spread ‘joy’ with new country album, ‘Look Up’

January 21, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Ringo Starr recently released the new country album Look Up, co-written and produced by T Bone Burnett. It features 11 songs, with special guest appearances by Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, Lucius, Larkin Poe and Alison Krauss.

This isn’t Ringo’s first foray into country music, and he recently told reporters that he loves the genre because it’s “emotional music.”

“I’m quite an emotional person myself,” he said, joking that “in the ’50s, every country song was either the wife left, the dog’s dead or I need some money for the jukebox.”

And it seems for Ringo, one of the emotions he hopes to convey with the record is joy, especially with all the turmoil in the world.

“I think there’s always a need for music and there’s always a need for joy,” he said, noting music has a wide reach because it “translates into every language. It’s just peace and love.”

And for Burnett, there’s no better person to bring that joy than Ringo.

“I’m fond of saying that nobody in the world has generated more goodwill than Ringo Starr in my lifetime,” Burnett said, although he suggests that Ringo’s music is often thought of as “lighthearted” but it’s so much more.

“I’ve been spending the last couple of months listening to everything he’s recorded ,or that’s out that he’s recorded, and there’s a lot of very deep, serious stuff in there,” he said. “I mean, Ringo has paid his dues.”

Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake guitarist John Sykes dies

January 20, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

British guitarist John Sykes, a member of both Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake, has passed away at the age of 65. His death was announced in a post on his official Facebook page.

“It is with great sorrow we share that John Sykes has passed away after a hard fought battle with cancer,” read a message on the site. “He will be remembered by many as a man with exceptional musical talent but for those who didn’t know him personally, he was a thoughtful, kind, and charismatic man whose presence lit up the room.”

“He certainly marched to the beat of his own drum and always pulled for the underdog,” the post continued. “In his final days, he spoke of his sincere love and gratitude for his fans who stuck by him through all these years.”

Finally, it noted, “While the impact of his loss is profound and the mood somber, we hope the light of his memory will extinguish the shadow of his absence.”

Sykes joined Thin Lizzy in September 1982, after having teamed with the band’s frontman Phil Lynott to co-write the track “Please Don’t Leave Me.” He continued to play with the different incarnations of the band following Lynott’s 1986 death, and eventually left the group in 2009.

Sykes joined Whitesnake in 1984 and appeared on their sixth studio album, Slide It In, which was released the same year, and became a commercial success for the band. He also co-wrote several songs on the followup, 1987, including hits “Is This Love,”and “Still of the Night.” The record became the band’s most commercially successful album, although Sykes and his other bandmates were let go by frontman David Coverdale before the album’s release.

Photographer Danny Clinch raising funds for hurricane victims with Dave Matthews, Warren Haynes prints

January 20, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Photographer Danny Clinch is helping to raise money for victims of the country’s recent natural disasters.

The Transparent Clinch Gallery has just launched a new fundraiser that will benefit the Soulshine Fund, helping those in Florida and Western North Carolina who were impacted by hurricanes Helene and Milton.

The gallery is offering up three different 8-by-10 fine art photography prints taken by Clinch at the Soulshine Benefit concert in November at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The show featured performances by Warren Haynes, Dave Matthews, Trey Anastasio, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Nathaniel Rateliff and more.

The photos include a shot of all the performers onstage together, as well as one of Matthews, Trucks and Haynes backstage, and a portrait of Matthews and Haynes together.

The fundraiser will run until Jan. 25, with proceeds benefiting such organizations as Habitat for Humanity, Manna Asheville, Arts AVL and more.

The gallery is also running a second fundraiser to help the victims of the California wildfires, with a photo of John Mayer’s guitar and amplifier overlooking the Los Angeles skyline. It’s being offered in three options: 8-by-10 signed by Clinch, 8-by-10 signed by Clinch and Mayer, and 11-by-14 signed by both. Proceeds from that fundraiser will be donated to CORE and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Pasadena.

More information can be found at transparentclinchgallery.com.

Rod Stewart reunites with former bandmate at his surprise 80th birthday party

January 20, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Rod Stewart turned 80 on Jan. 10, but the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is still celebrating.

After Rod and his family celebrated together on a cruise, Rod’s wife, Penny Lancaster, threw him a party on Jan. 18 to allow his friends to mark the milestone with him. One of the guests was Ron Wood, current Rolling Stones guitarist and Rod’s former bandmate in The Faces.

Wood posted photos on his Instagram posing with Rod and their wives and goofing around at the event, captioning the photos, “Really fun night celebrating Rod’s 80th!”

Rod said in an interview last year that he and Wood, along with another member of The Faces, drummer Kenney Jones, were working to record some new material.

Wood’s wife, Sally, also posted photos but revealed the party was a surprise.

“Last night with @sirrodstewart @penny.lancaster @ronniewood celebrating Sir Rod’s 80th birthday ~ the most beautiful night,” she wrote. “Thank you @penny.lancaster for being the best surprise party organiser ever, we love you both.”

According to People, the party was also attended by Jools Holland, the former Squeeze keyboardist turned big band leader with whom Rod recorded his 2024 album Swing Fever.

Vivian Campbell misses Def Leppard show in Mexico due to cancer treatments

January 20, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Def Leppard returned to the stage Saturday, but they were without one of their key band members.

Guitarist Vivian Campbell did not perform at the band’s show at Feria Estatal De León in León, Mexico, and instead Phil Collen‘s guitar tech John Zocco filled in.

Fan-shot video posted to YouTube shows Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott telling the crowd that Campbell had to miss the concert because “he’s just recovering from some treatment for his cancer.”

Campbell revealed in June 2013 that he had Hodgkin’s lymphoma and had stem-cell therapy in June 2014. He later added that he was undergoing immunotherapy. He announced in 2023 that chemotherapy had been added to his treatments.

Def Leppard has several dates on the books for 2025. Their next show is May 15 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.

Bruce Springsteen makes surprise appearance at 25th anniversary Light of Day concert

January 20, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Bruce Springsteen hit the stage for the first time in 2025 Saturday night, making a surprise appearance at the 25th anniversary Light of Day concert at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey, the Asbury Park Press reports.

Springsteen made his first appearance of the night joining New York City punk fixture Jesse Malin onstage, performing Malin’s tracks “Broken Radio” and “Glitter in the Gutter.”

Malin, who had a spinal stroke in 2023 that left him paralyzed from the waist down, later shared photos from the evening on Instagram, noting the concert was “one for the books.”

Springsteen returned to the stage to join Willie Nile for a performance of “One Guitar” and then came back again for longtime friend Joe Grushecky’s set, with Grushecky introducing The Boss as “the real governor of New Jersey.”

During that set, Bruce performed “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and “The Promised Land,” as well as “Pink Cadillac” and “Savin’ Up,” a Springsteen-penned song originally recorded by the late E Street Band member Clarence Clemons, adding a joke about the “fake news” reported by Forbes that he is now a billionaire.

The Boss closed the show with an acoustic rendition of “Thunder Road.”

Springsteen has now performed at 12 Light of Day concerts, which raise money for Parkinson’s disease research. The last time he turned up at the annual benefit show was at the 20th anniversary show in 2020.

Early draft of Bob Dylan’s lyrics to ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ sells at auction for over $500,000

January 20, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

An early draft of Bob Dylan’s lyrics to “Mr. Tambourine Man” sold for $508,000 at the Celebrating Bob Dylan: The Aronowitz Archive, T Bone Burnett & More auction conducted by Julien’s Auctions over the weekend.

The typewritten lyrics came from the archive of the late music journalist Al Aronowitz and were expected to sell for between $400,000 and $600,000.

The auction included 60 Dylan items from the Aronowitz collection and brought in nearly $1.5 million.

Other items that sold during the auction include a signed original 1968 oil canvas painting done by Dylan, which went for $260,000, a Dylan owned and played 1983 Fender Telecaster, which sold for $222,250, and signed handwritten lyrics to “Blowin’ in the Wind,” which sold for $44,450.

“My family and I are thrilled with the auction,” Al’s son Myles Aronowitz shared. “These items were evidence of the unique and intimate place my father had in musical and cultural history with his good friend Bob Dylan, and all the other iconic artists of his day.”

On This Day, Jan 20, 1988: The Beatles, Bob Dylan are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

January 20, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

On This Day, Jan 20, 1988…

The Beatles and Bob Dylan were among the artists inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in a ceremony held in New York.

The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger inducted the band into the Rock Hall. George Harrison and Ringo Starr were on hand to accept the honor, along with Yoko Ono, Julian Lennon and Sean Lennon, accepting on behalf of John Lennon.

Paul McCartney did not attend, citing “still-existing business differences among The Beatles.”

Dylan’s induction was handled by Bruce Springsteen, and the night’s other inductees included
The Beach Boys, The Drifters, The Supremes and Ben E. King.

The night ended with an all-star jam that featured such songs as “I Saw Her Standing There,” “All Along the Watchtower,” “Twist and Shout,” “Stand By Me,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Barbara Ann,” “Blue Bayou,” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and more.

The Black Crowes, Graham Nash, added to FireAid benefit concert

January 20, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

More artists have joined the lineup of the FireAid benefit show, taking place Jan. 30 at two venues in Inglewood, California, the Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum.

The Black Crowes and Rock & Roll Hall of Famers John Fogerty and Graham Nash are now set to perform at the event. Nash’s addition sets up the possibility of a reunion with his Crosby, Stills & Nash bandmate Stephen Stills, who was already confirmed to perform at the show.

Other new additions include Stevie Wonder, Olivia Rodrigo, Alanis Morissette, and Silk Sonic’s Anderson .Paak, plus Gwen Stefani’s already announced participation has now turned into a performance with her band No Doubt. The last time No Doubt performed together was at Coachella last year, but that was their first show together since 2015.

As previously reported, the bill will also include Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell, Sting, Earth, Wind & Fire, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Pink, Katy Perry, John Mayer and Dave Matthews, Lady Gaga, Jelly Roll, Gracie Abrams and Tate McRae.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, Jan. 22, at noon PT via Ticketmaster. The show will be streamed via multiple platforms, including Max, Netflix, Paramount+, Prime Video and Apple Music, and will also be shown in select AMC Theatres in 70 U.S markets.

FireAid will raise money for those affected by the California wildfires and to support efforts to keep such disasters from happening again.

Visit FireAidLA.org for more information, or to donate.

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