Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash and AC/DC’s Brian Johnson teamed up Tuesday night for a performance at the inaugural Sky Arts Awards that took place at the Roundhouse in London.
Fan-shot footage shows the pair performing the Howlin’ Wolf track “Killing Floor,” the tune they recorded together for Slash’s solo blues album, Orgy of the Damned, which came out in May.
Johnson was one of the many guests who appeared on Orgy of the Damned. Others included Aerosmith‘s Steven Tyler, who played harmonica on “Killing Floor,” as well as Iggy Pop, The Black Crowes‘ Chris Robinson, Gary Clark Jr., ZZ Top‘s Billy F Gibbons, Bad Company‘s Paul Rodgers, Dorothy, pop star Demi Lovato and country star Chris Stapleton.
Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry is headlining a new campaign for British luxury eyewear brand Cutler and Gross’ latest line.
The new Cutler and Gross X The Great Frog collection, Gothic Realism, features six designs that come with sterling silver or 24K gold-plated emblems.
The campaign was shot at New York’s famous Chelsea Hotel, a haven for artists like Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Andy Warhol and more. A video for the campaign is soundtracked by Harry singing a haunting orchestral version of Blondie’s hit “Heart of Glass.”
During Sunday’s Sea.Hear.Now festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey, Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance during the set by Trey Anastasio Band, and now Trey is reflecting on the experience.
“When I was 14 years old, my 16-year-old sister Kristy took me to my first-ever concert: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Jadwin Gym in Princeton,” Trey wrote on social media. “Bruce blew the roof off the place … My young mind was utterly blown. I’ll never forget it as long as I live.”
Trey noted all the great songs Bruce played that night, like “Rosalita,” “Badlands,” “Spirit in the Night,” “Promised Land,” “Thunder Road” and “Jungleland,” adding, “The one song he didn’t play that night, though—my all-time favorite—was ‘Kitty’s Back’ from The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle.”
Well, Bruce made up for that by joining Trey for “Kitty’s Back,” with the Phish frontman noting, “Having the opportunity to play that song with Bruce on the beach in Asbury Park last Sunday was the honor and thrill of a lifetime.”
He added, “Thank you, Bruce, so very much. I can’t even describe how much it meant to me. Thank you!”
The wife of Queen guitarist Brian May is giving fans an update on his health.
In early September, May revealed on social media that he was recovering from a “minor stroke” that initially left him with no control over his left arm. While he called the incident “a little scary,” he assured fans that he was doing OK.
May’s wife, actress Anita Dobson, has provided an update, letting folks know that he is on the mend.
“He’s been told to rest. It’s hard to keep him resting, but he needs to, otherwise he won’t get well,” she told The Sun. “He’s doing great – he’s on the road, he’s doing really, really well. We’re very pleased.”
She adds, “I’m completely confident he’ll make a full recovery,” although she notes, “You have to take things slowly, chill a bit. He’s not that kind of animal!”
The Eagles have paid tribute to songwriter JD Souther, who co-wrote some of their best-known songs, including “Best of My Love,” “New Kid in Town,” “Heartache Tonight,” “Victim of Love” and “James Dean.”
Souther’s rep announced Wednesday that he had “passed away peacefully in his New Mexico home.” He was 78.
“We have lost a brother, a friend and a brilliant collaborator, and the world has lost a great songwriter, a pioneer of the Southern California sound that emerged in the 1970s,” the band shared on their website. “J.D. Souther was smart, talented, well-read, and in possession of a wicked sense of humor.”
They added, “He loved a good meal, a good movie, and a good Martini … and he loved dogs, adopting many, over the course of his lifetime.”
“We mourn his loss and we send our condolences to his family, his friends, and his many fans around the world,” they write. “He was an extraordinary man and will be greatly missed by many.”
Several other artists paid tribute to Souther on social media, including Graham Nash, who wrote about him on his Instagram Story, calling Souther an “inspiration to many musicians and a friend to many more.” Carole Kingalso remembered Souther, writing, “JD Souther was a friend, and so talented. We’ll miss him.”
Rocker Jimi Hendrix died after being found unconscious at London’s Samarkand Hotel. A coroner later ruled he died after asphyxiating on his own vomit after taking barbiturates.
Hendrix was only 27 years old when he passed, but he had already left his mark on the musical world, thanks to such songs as “Purple Haze,” “Hey Joe” and “The Wind Cries Mary,” and his classic album Are You Experienced? He was also well known for his live performances, including iconic sets at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.
Hendrix was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 with his band The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
And Hendrix fans will soon learn more about him. It was recently announced that the first full length documentary on the rocker is in the works, helmed by The Greatest Night in Pop director Bao Nguyen.
The Rolling Stones are celebrating the first anniversary of their latest album, Hackney Diamonds, by announcing a special vinyl release.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are set to drop a two-LP blue splatter effect vinyl edition of Hackney Diamonds, which will feature the original album, along with seven live tracks recorded during the band’s album release concert at Racket in New York in October 2023.
Hackney Diamonds (Anniversary Edition) will be released Dec. 6 and is available for preorder now.
Released Oct. 20, 2023, Hackney Diamonds was The Stones’ first album of new material in 18 years. It featured guest appearances by Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. It debuted at #1 on the U.K. chart and at #3 in the U.S.
John David “JD” Souther, solo artist and co-writer of many hits for the Eagles, has died. According to his rep, he “passed away peacefully in his New Mexico home.” He was 78.
Born in Detroit, Souther moved to LA in the late ’60s and formed Longbranch Pennywhistle with Glenn Frey. That band made one album, but after Frey formed the Eagles, Souther went on to co-write some of their best-known songs, including “Best of My Love,” “New Kid in Town,” “Heartache Tonight,” “Victim of Love” and “James Dean.” He also co-wrote Don Henley‘s 1990 hit “The Heart of the Matter.”
As a solo artist, Souther scored hits with “You’re Only Lonely” and “Her Town Too,” the latter a duet with his friend James Taylor. Souther also worked extensively with Linda Ronstadt, a former girlfriend, recording the duets “Prisoner in Disguise,” “Sometimes You Can’t Win” and “Hearts Against the Wind” with her and writing songs that she recorded, including “Faithless Love” from Heart Like a Wheel.
With former Byrds member Chris Hillman and Poco‘s Richie Furay, Souther was part of The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band, which released two albums in 1974 and 1975. He provided vocals for songs by Don Henley, Christopher Cross, Dan Fogelberg and Roy Orbison, among others.
Souther also had an acting career, appearing in the TV shows thirtysomething, Nashville and Purgatory, and in the movies Postcards from the Edge, My Girl 2 and Deadline. He wrote the theme song for the TV series Anything But Love.
In 2013, Souther was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His final album of original material, Tenderness, came out in 2015. He had planned to tour with Karla Bonoff starting Sept. 24; the tour will now be canceled. Donations in his honor can be made to Best Friends Animal Society.
To coincide with the upcoming deluxe edition of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers‘ 1982 album, Long After Dark, the Petty estate has released a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the video for the album’s biggest single, “You Got Lucky.”
“I wanted [‘You Got Lucky’] to have this Ennio Morricone/Clint Eastwood Western feel,” Petty explains in the video. “So when we went to write the movie, I really just wanted an excuse to go play around in the desert.”
Petty notes that he knew he didn’t want to lip-synch in the video, so they opted instead to make a little movie, which he describes as a “science fiction Western.”
“When we made the ‘You Got Lucky’ film, it was a huge MTV track, though we hadn’t seen MTV at that time,” he says. “So I didn’t try to adhere to the song or anything. I just thought we’d go for a vibe. Some kind of feel that was fun.”
“You Got Lucky” was a top 40 hit for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, peaking at #20. It went on to become a fan favorite.
The new deluxe edition of Long After Dark will feature the remastered original album, plus 12 bonus tracks, among them Petty’s versions of his songs “Never Be You” and “Ways to Be Wicked,” which were previously recorded by Rosanne Cash and Lone Justice, respectively. Other additional tracks were taken from sessions for French TV.
Grateful Dead’s Bobby Weir is putting his stamp on the second annual Dead Ahead Festival.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is curating the five-night fest, taking place Jan. 9-13, 2025, at Moon Palace Resort in Riviera Cancún, Mexico.
The festival is set to include three nights of collaborations from Weir, Sturgill Simpson, Rick Mitarotonda, Jeff Chimenti, Oteil Burbridge, Don Was and Jay Lane. In addition, Brittney Spencer and Grace Bowers are expected to sit in, with Brandi Carlile billed as a “very special guest.”
Plus, Oteil & Friends will perform two full sets, one of which will celebrate the Jerry GarciaBand, while Simpson will have his own set, along with Trampled By Turtles, Joy Oladokun and Neal Francis.
A presale for past attendees of Dead Ahead and Dead & Company‘s Playing in the Sand festival starts Friday at 12 p.m. ET, with all-inclusive packages going on sale to the general public Monday at 12 p.m. ET.
