Classic Rock News

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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David Byrne is the latest artist to perform for NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series, although his performance was far from tiny.

The Talking Heads frontman brought over a dozen performers with him for the four-song performance, including backup singers and musicians playing the guitar, cello, saxophone and more.

Byrne’s performance included two songs from his latest album, Who Is the Sky? — “Everybody Laughs” and “Don’t Be Like That” — along with two Talking Heads tracks, “(Nothing Burt) Flowers” and “Life During War Time.”

Byrne is currently on tour in support of Who Is the Sky? He kicks off two nights at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre on Tuesday. U.S. dates wrap with a two-night stand in Miami, Florida, on Friday and Saturday. 

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Elton John‘s holiday song “Step Into Christmas” was released way back in 1973, but it has finally been certified Platinum by the RIAA.

“Step Into Christmas” has re-entered Billboard‘s Holiday Airplay chart every year over the past decade and has returned to the U.K. singles chart every year since 2011. Last year, a new video was created for the song, starring Cara Delevingne as Elton.

Elton has posted a video poking fun at how ubiquitous “Step Into Christmas” becomes each holiday season: In it, he’s in his kitchen, and every time he opens something — a drawer, the oven, a cabinet, the refrigerator — the song starts playing, prompting him to scream in horror.

In other Elton news, Monday, Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day, and he’s announced in an email to fans that all donations to his Elton John AIDS Foundation will be tripled on this day.

“I lost hundreds of friends to AIDS. I built a chapel in my home so I’d never forget them. But the real danger is that the world has already forgotten,” he writes. “Every single minute, someone dies of AIDS-related causes. This is happening right now. On our watch.” 

“It’s not because we lack the tools … What’s missing is the global attention and political will, but I’ve seen compassion move mountains before, and I believe it can again,” he notes. “You’ve stood by me for decades, and this World AIDS Day, I’m asking if you will stand with me and my Foundation to ensure no one is left behind.”

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Ozzy Osbourne‘s charity paintings for the organization Save the Chimps are going up for display at the Spectrum Miami art fair. 

The paintings were created by the late Prince of Darkness and completed with brushstrokes from the chimp residents of the Save the Chimps sanctuary. The pieces went up for auction on July 17, just days before Ozzy’s death on July 22. 

“I paint because it gives me peace of mind, but I don’t sell my paintings,” Ozzy said at the time. “I’ve made an exception with these collaborations as it raises money for Save the Chimps, a sanctuary for hundreds of apes rescued from labs, roadside zoos and wildlife traffickers.”

Spectrum Miami takes place Wednesday through Sunday, coinciding with Ozzy’s birthday on Dec. 3. The fair will be offering limited-edition prints, as well as scarves and T-shirts displaying the artwork.

“Chimps are our closest relatives in the animal world, and I’m proud of Ozzy for summoning the energy to support them during his last months, despite his health challenges,” Sharon Osbourne says in a new statement. “The original paintings raised much needed funds for the sanctuary, and the prints, scarves and t-shirts will give even more fans the opportunity to help.”

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Styx and Chicago are teaming up for a new summer tour.

The bands have announced dates for The Windy Cities Tour – All The Hits…Your Kind of Tour. It’s set to begin July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida, and wrap Sept. 6 in Los Angeles.

“We are excited about the summer tour,” Chicago’s trumpeter Lee Loughnane says in a statement. “Chicago has never toured with Styx before so it’s going to be a lot of fun, we’re looking forward to it.”

“In my early days of live performing I had several mentors who were kind enough to let me join in and play with them despite not being able to read charts,” adds Styx singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw. “By the time Chicago released their first album, I had enough experience to begin learning their amazing music on my own. Now, the idea of Styx touring with Chicago is a major thrill all on its own. We can’t wait to spend the summer with them!”

Various ticket presales will begin Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m. local time.

A complete list of dates can be found at styxworld.com and chicagotheband.com.

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On This Day, Dec. 1, 1944…

John Paul Densmore, drummer of the rock band The Doors, was born in Los Angeles, California.

Densmore co-founded The Doors in 1965 along with frontman Jim Morrison, guitarist Robby Kreiger and keyboardist Ray Manzarek. They released their self-titled debut in 1967, which featured their breakthrough single “Light My Fire.” Both the album and the song were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

The Doors released six studio albums and in addition to “Light My Fire,” are known for such classic tunes as “L.A. Woman,” “Riders on the Storm,” “Break on Through (To the Other Side),” “Hello, I Love You” and more.

Following the 1971 death of Morrison, Densmore has been the member of the band to veto any attempts to license The Doors’ music for commercial purposes. He even went to court to protect the use of the band’s name and music. Densmore also teamed with the Morrison estate to stop Kreiger and Manzarek from touring under The Doors’ name.

Densmore was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Doors in 1993.

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