Classic Rock News

While some people lose their appetite after someone dies, Eddie Van Halen’s family apparently didn’t have that problem. Speaking to People, his ex-wife, actress Valerie Bertinelli, revealed that they ordered a pizza after the rocker passed.

“I didn’t want to believe it was happening. Even while it was happening, I wasn’t believing it was happening,” Bertinelli says of the guitarist’s October 2020 death.  

She says that after he passed away, the family, which included son Wolfgang Van Halen and Eddie’s brother and bandmate Alex Van Halen, decided to honor him with a meal of his favorite food.

“I forget who suggested it, but we were like, ‘Should we have pizza?’ … Because he couldn’t eat, and the last thing Ed really wanted was pizza,” she says. “He loved pizza and burritos, so we had pizza in his hospital room.”

She adds, “I hope people don’t think that’s morbid.”

While Valerie and Eddie had been divorced since 2007, she says there was still so much love between them when he died.

“He knew how much I loved him,” she says. “I knew how much he loved me. The last words he said to me and to Wolfie were, ‘I love you,’” adding, “Ed was very giving with his heart. He wore it on his sleeve.”

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Geezer Butler has announced a live event during which he’ll discuss his 2023 memoir, Into the Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath—And Beyond.

The show takes place on May 22 in Englewood, Colorado. Attendees will see comedian and established metalhead Brian Posehn interview the Sabbath bassist about the book. Butler will also be taking part in an audience Q&A and signing copies of Into the Void.

“I can’t wait to see how the evening unfolds, as Brian is both incredibly funny and a super-passionate rock fan!” Butler says. “It’s a rare opportunity for us to come face to face with fans and answer some of their burning questions!”

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 12. For more info, visit Butler’s Instagram.

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Ringo Starr is ready to drop some new music.

The Beatles drummer announced that the new song, “February Sky,” will be released Friday, April 12, giving fans their first taste of his new EP, Crooked Boy.

Crooked Boy includes four original tracks, written and produced by Linda Perry, who wrote two songs that appeared on Ringo’s 2021 EP, Change the World. 

“Linda made me a great EP – she produced it in her studio and then sent me the tracks and I added the drumming and my vocals,” Ringo shares. “’February Sky’ is great – very moody – but since Linda wrote these specifically for me – it of course has to have a positive peace & love element.”

Crooked Boy will be released on limited-edition marble vinyl for Record Store Day on April 20. That will be followed by a digital release on April 26, with the black vinyl and CD versions dropping May 31.

Fans who just can’t wait until April 20 to hear Crooked Boy will have a chance to preview it earlier at a fan listening event at Amoeba Music in Hollywood on April 18. They will also be selling a special red vinyl seven-inch single of the track.

Here is the track list for Crooked Boy:

“February Sky”
“Gonna Need Someone”
“Adeline”
“Crooked Boy”

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Sammy Hagar took part in a tribute to the late Toby Keith at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 7, and took to social media after his performance to reflect on the experience.

“I was so worried that I wasn’t going to make it through the performance emotionally. It was hard for me working up to it,” Sammy writes on Instagram about his performance of “I Love This Bar.” “When I hit the stage with Toby’s wonderful band that I played with many times over the years, the audience, energy, enthusiasm, and love that filled that building (turned) every tear of sadness into joy.”

He adds, “It was a beautiful experience to say the least, so proud and honored to have been invited.”

Toby’s family was on hand for the tribute, which also included performances by Brooks & Dunn and Lainey Wilson. Sammy said he got to spend a few days with the family, sharing, “We all miss that bigger than life, wonderful man, Mr. Toby Keith. A.k.a. #BigDogDaddy.”

Toby Keith passed away in February after a two-year battle with stomach cancer.

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Nikki Sixx is setting the record straight about the sound of Mötley Crüe‘s new music.

The rocker previously shared on X, formerly Twitter, that the band would be releasing new music soon, describing it as “a powerful cross between country and hip hop,” much to the disappointment of many fans online.

Well, it turns out the whole post was a joke, and Sixx is blaming the media for spreading the misinformation.

“Media running with a joke about new Motley Crue music just shows how they can be unprofessional and irresponsible,” he writes. “But they probably just saw an opportunity for clickbait to sell ads. This stuff always makes me laugh.”

“Anyway. Our new music is actually kinda reggae EDM. But with a bit of Dylan,” he adds, referring to Bob Dylan.

Mötley Crüe first teased they were back in the studio last April, revealing they were once again working with Dr. Feelgood producer Bob Rock. Then in December, Sixx confirmed new tunes would be out in 2024. So far, there’s no word on when exactly fans will finally hear those new tunes.

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Bruce Springsteen wrapped his two-night stand at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum with a show that included four tour debuts and one special guest, Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. 

According to setlist.fm, the 31-song set kicked off with the Nebraska track “Open All Night,” marking not only the song’s tour debut, but the first time Bruce has performed it since 2014. Later in the show, Springsteen took a sign request from the audience, performing The River track “Sherry Darling,” which was another tour debut.

Morello came out to join Springsteen for two songs: “American Skin (41 Shots)” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” both of which were tour debuts. It was the first time Bruce played “American Skin” with the E Street Band since 2017 and his first time playing “Tom Joad” with the band since 2016.

This isn’t the first time Morello has played with Springsteen. In fact, in 2013, he toured with The Boss on the Wrecking Ball tour, filling in for guitarist Steven Van Zandt, who was busy filming his TV show Lilyhammer. Morello is also quite familiar with “Tom Joad,” having covered it with Rage for their 2000 album, Renegades.

Springsteen and the E Street Band are now heading to the East Coast, with their next show happening April 12 in Uncasville, Connecticut. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net. 

In other Springsteen news, The Boss made another Curb Your Enthusiasm cameo, this time on the series finale, which aired Sunday, April 7. The episode had Larry David on trial for violating Georgia’s Election Integrity Act, with The Boss testifying that Larry “maliciously” gave him COVID, which happened in last week’s episode.

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On This Day, April 8, 1975…

Aerosmith released their breakthrough album, Toys in the Attic, which featured future Aerosmith classics “Walk This Way,” “Sweet Emotion” and the album’s title track.

The album was the band’s third studio release, and it peaked at #11 on the Billboard Album chart, their highest charting album at that time.

Toys in the Attic went on to be certified nine-times Platinum by the RIAA.

“Walk this Way” was the second single from the album; it peaked at #10 on the chart in 1977 but saw renewed popularity when it was covered by Run-DMC for their 1986 album, Raising Hell. Aerosmith’s appearance on the cover helped the song hit #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first hip-hop single to reach the top five.

Both versions of the song have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

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KISS recently announced they’ve sold their music catalog, as well as their brand name and likeness rights, to Swedish entertainment company Pophouse. But Gene Simmons wants fans to know this doesn’t mean he and bandmate Paul Stanley will no longer be in control of what happens with the band.

“Nothing is being handed off,” the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer tells ABC Audio. “A mother may give birth to a child, but you never stop being a mother whether the child gets married or not.” He adds, “I’m proud to say that Paul and I have met kindred spirits in Pophouse. Creative dynamic visionaries, really.”

Pophouse is the company behind ABBA’s Voyages hologram show. It will be the company developing KISS’ upcoming avatar show, planned for 2027, and Simmons is confident fans will be blown away by the final product.

“Let me just say that we are at the forefront and are going to be doing things that are already in development, like nothing people have ever seen or heard,” he says. “You won’t believe, I’m telling you, no hype. You won’t believe what’s going to happen.”

And despite KISS saying goodbye to the road in December, Simmons insists there’s still a lot more fans can expect from the band. 

“I mean, the end of KISS is the beginning of KISS,” Gene says, noting that embracing all this technology is going to be a big part of keeping the legacy alive for old and new fans. 

He explains that the plan is to use artificial intelligence to “control and keep intact our personas,” sharing, “You don’t want the beginning of KISS in this new world to become something unrecognizable to what it originally was.”

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Loverboy is giving fans another preview of their upcoming live album, Live in ’82. 

The band just released “Lady Of The 80’s,” along with a live video of the track, recorded at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. This is the second track they’ve released from the album, following a live performance of “Turn Me Loose.”

You can listen to “Lady of the 80’s” via digital outlets and watch the video on YouTube. 

Live in ‘82 will be released June 7 as limited-edition CD + Blu-ray and LP + DVD sets. The footage has been restored from Loverboy guitarist Paul Dean‘s personal archive of 16mm film.

Loverboy’s Live in ’82 is available for preorder now.

Loverboy is set to hit the road this summer as a special guest on Sammy Hagar’s The Best of All Worlds tour, which kicks off July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of Loverboy dates can be found at loverboyband.com.

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Mötley Crüe fans have been anxiously awaiting new music ever since the band first teased they were back in the studio last April. Well, now Nikki Sixx has given fans a hint about what to expect, and some are a bit confused.

Sixx took to X, formerly Twitter, to give fans an update on their new tunes, sharing, “New Crüe coming up right around the corner. People who have heard it say it’s a powerful cross between country and hip hop.”

With the word “rock” not in the description, several fans started to question what they were reading, with one commenting, “April fools was the other day Mr Sixx!”

Others came right out and voiced their unhappiness with the reveal. As one noted, “Who is asking for that? I want something that sounds like Motley Crue! If I want county & hip hop I’ll listen to Beyoncé (I won’t).” 

In the meantime, Mötley Crüe is set to return to the road in May. They’ll kick things off with a two-night stand in Atlantic City, New Jersey, May 3 and 4. A complete list of dates can be found at motley.com.

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