Classic Rock News

Blondie recently paid tribute to their late drummer Clem Burke on what would have been his 71st birthday, and they are continuing their tribute by telling fans about a cause that was important to him.

“In honor of Clem’s birthday this past week, we are highlighting the Clem Burke Drumming Project, which explores how drumming enhances physical, cognitive, emotional, and mental health,” they wrote on Instagram. The post explains that the organization’s goal is “to focus on initiatives that use drumming to support developmental and behavioral therapy, coping skills, and emotional expression for individuals of all ages.”

“Clem’s mission was to bring drums off the stage and into the lives of those who need them most,” the post continued. “If his lifelong work has inspired you, consider donating to fund research, outreach and programs that promote emotional expression, coping skills, and developmental growth.”

Posted on Giving Tuesday, the band also shared a link where fans can donate to the organization.

The Clem Burke Drumming Project was founded in 2008. Burke passed away on April 6 following a private battle with cancer.

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Pearl Jam has announced a new photo book chronicling the band’s Dark Matter tour.

Titled React/Respond, the book includes over 125 images taken by photographer Geoff Whitman, who joined Eddie Vedder and company on the road throughout the international trek.

“Whitman joined the band for this run, starting out by immersing himself in the crowd to capture the shows exactly as fans experienced them—energetic, and in the middle of it all!” Pearl Jam shares. “As the tour moved forward and his relationship with the band developed, he gained further access to backstage and behind-the-scenes moments. Even with that expanded access, Whitman kept the fan perspective at the center of his work, letting it guide how he documented each night.”

The “Even Flow” rockers add, “The photographs in this collection bring those viewpoints together, blending the immediacy of the crowd with a growing look behind the scenes to present a genuine, dynamic record of the Dark Matter tour.”

React/Respond is due out in April and is available to preorder now.

The Dark Matter tour supported Pearl Jam’s 2024 album of the same name. It launched in May 2024 and concluded in May 2025.

Nearly two months after the tour wrapped, longtime drummer Matt Cameron announced that he was leaving Pearl Jam.

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Aerosmith and Yungblud are ready to give fans some more music.

After releasing the collaborative EP One More Time on Nov. 21, Aerosmith has revealed they’re releasing a new take on one of the EP’s tracks, “Wild Woman,” featuring a guest singer.

“A “Wild Woman” feature coming soon,” they wrote on Instagram. “There was a cowgirl who loved this song so much that we had to add her on! Can you guess who?”

The post doesn’t name the cowgirl, but it includes a photo of a Western hat that seems to be hinting that it’s Lainey Wilson. The hat looks like the Charlie 1 Horse hat that’s part of the company behind Lainey Wilson’s collection.

Yungblud commented on Aerosmith’s post, writing, “Let’s ride,” which could also be a Lainey clue: She recorded a song called “Let’s Ride!” with The Wiggles for their March 2025 album, Wiggle Up, Giddy Up – With Friends!

So far, there’s no word on when Aerosmith and Yungblud will be releasing the new take on “Wild Woman.”

One More Time is the first collaboration between Aerosmith and Yungblud. It debuted at #9 on the Billboard 200 Album chart.

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Dave Grohl is celebrating his birthday with a Foo Fighters benefit concert.

The Foos will play the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Jan. 14, the same day Grohl turns 57. The show will benefit Hope the Mission and Los Angeles Mission.

“What better way to spend my 57th birthday than making a bunch of noise with a bunch of friends for a good cause,” Grohl says in a statement. “This ain’t just a big a** rock show, it’s a big a** party with a heart. Turn up the volume, turn up the hope, but most of all….TURN UP.”

Tickets will only be available in-person at the Kia Forum box office starting Sunday at noon PT; lining up begins at 8 a.m. PT. There is a four-ticket limit per person, and all tickets must be purchased with a physical credit or debit card.

If you plan on lining up for tickets, the Foos ask that you bring a donation item in support of Hope the Mission and Los Angeles Mission, such as socks and underwear and bagged or boxed pasta. A full list of of items can be found on FooFighters.com.

The Foos will launch a full 2026 U.S. tour in August.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea will release a new solo album in 2026.

The currently-untitled record sees Flea, as a press release puts it, “returning to his first instrument and musical love, the trumpet.”

The first preview of the album, a seven-minute track called “A Plea,” is out now. It features Flea on trumpet, electric bass and vocals, alongside an ensemble of jazz instrumentalists and vocalists.

Flea describes “A Plea” as a “yearning for a place beyond, a place of love, for me to speak my mind and be myself.”

“I’m always just trying to be myself,” Flea says. “I don’t care about the act of politics. I think there is a much more transcendent place above it where there’s discourse to be had that can actually help humanity, and actually help us all to live harmoniously and productively in a way that’s healthy for the world. There’s a place where we meet, and it’s love.”

You can watch the video for “A Plea,” which was directed by Flea’s daughter, Clara Balzary, streaming now on YouTube.

The most recent Chili Peppers album is 2022’s Return of the Dream Canteen, which marked their second record of that year, following Unlimited Love.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 



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On This Day, Dec. 2, 2012 …

Rockers Led Zeppelin were celebrated as Kennedy Center Honorees at a ceremony held in Washington, D.C.

Jack Black handled the intro, calling the band — made up of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and the late John Bonham — “the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band of all time.”

The tribute also featured several performances, including the standout “Stairway to Heaven” by Heart‘s Ann and Nancy Wilson, with Bonham’s son, Jason Bonham, behind the drum kit.

Also celebrating Led Zeppelin were Foo Fighters, who performed “Rock and Roll”; Kid Rock, who performed “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” and “Ramble On”; and Lenny Kravitz, who performed “Whole Lotta Love.”

KISS is among the 2025 Kennedy Center Honorees and will be honored at a ceremony on Dec. 7.

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Former Eagles guitarist Bernie Leadon has dropped a new video for “Too Late To Be Cool,” the title track of his latest solo album.

The video, which was shot in Nashville, has Leadon watching on as the young people around him appear to be moving in reverse. It also includes footage of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer driving a Ferrari around a race track.

“‘Too Late To Be Cool,’ is like lukewarm, indifferent, detached, uncaring, about what’s going on around us,” Leadon says. “Don’t take everything that we’re told as necessarily being true or accurate. Think for yourself, form your own opinion, and take no s***. But you can still be a nice guy.”

Leadon released Too Late To Be Cool in October. It was his first solo album in 21 years.

Next up, Leadon is set to ring in the new year onstage. The rocker will perform at the Keestone Resort Grand Theatre in Loretto, Tennessee, on Dec. 31.

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Eric Clapton has added a special U.K. show to his 2026 schedule.

The three-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is set to perform at the royal family’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, on Aug. 23. The show is billed as Clapton plus very special guests.

A presale for tickets begins Wednesday at 9 a.m. GMT, and fans need to register in order to take part. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday at 9 a.m. GMT.

Before the Sandringham show, Clapton will play several concerts in Europe, with his tour launching April 22 in Antwerp, Belgium. A complete list of dates can be found at EricClapton.com.

Clapton recently released a deluxe reissue of his 1989 album, Journeyman, featuring four new bonus tracks, three of which are from the original Journeyman recording sessions and have never been released before. The original album, which hit #1 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart, featured singles like “Pretending” and “Bad Love.” 

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Alice in Chains has a song called “Rooster,” but now the band is being asked to support a different kind of animal.

PETA has shared a letter requesting that the grunge rockers temporarily change their name to Betty in Chains to raise awareness for a circus elephant named Betty. The animal rights organization says that the 56-year-old Betty is forced to perform at hundreds of circus shows a year despite her advanced age and ongoing health problems.

“By the time grunge swept Seattle, Betty had already spent nearly twenty years suffering as a circus prop, and every day that passes with her being hauled from town to town and forced to perform brings her closer to the brink of death,” says PETA Senior Vice President of Communications Lisa Lange. “PETA is encouraging Alice in Chains to get loud for Betty with a temporary name change that reminds everyone to Stay Away from animal-abusing circuses.”

PETA previously asked Led Zeppelin legend Robert Plant to temporarily change his name to Robert Plant Wool to raise awareness for animal-free and plastic-free yarns.

One wonders if PETA also sent a letter about Betty to Cage the Elephant.

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If you’re looking to communicate both your love for Ozzy Osbourne and your distaste for Roger Waters in the same T-shirt, do we have good news for you.

The front of the shirt features the phrase “Ozzy Rules” printed over Rogers’ name and artwork modeled after the Pink Floyd The Wall album cover. The back includes an image of someone wearing an Ozzy T-shirt urinating a rainbow onto The Wall image while accompanied by the phrase “another p**** in the wall.”

The shirt is only available for 48 hours via the Ozzy web store.

As for why this shirt is a thing at all, you may recall that Waters caught flak for his comments on Ozzy following his death in July, in which he said the Prince of Darkness was “all over the TV for hundreds of years with his idiocy and nonsense.”

Ozzy’s son, Jack Osbourne, then shot back with a post reading, “Hey Roger Waters F*** You. How pathetic and out of touch you’ve become. The only way you seem to get attention these days is by vomiting out bulls*** in the press.”

Jack added, “My father always thought you were a c*** – thanks for proving him right.”

The Osbourne family further excoriated Waters in their latest episode of The Osbournes Podcast, their first since Ozzy’s death.

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