Classic Rock News

Paul McCartney has reacted to the news that the German company Höfner, known for making guitars and basses, has filed for bankruptcy.

McCartney, a longtime user of the Höfner 500/1 violin bass, posted on Instagram that he was “sad to see Höfner go out of business.”

“They have been making instruments for over 100 years, and I bought my first Höfner bass in the sixties. I have loved it ever since,” he wrote, next to a black-and-white photo of him holding one of the company’s basses. “It’s a wonderful instrument to play: lightweight, and it encourages me to play quite freely. It also offers pleasing variations in tone that I enjoy.”

Finally, McCartney noted, “So, commiserations to everyone at Höfner, and thank you for all your help over the years.”

McCartney’s original Höfner bass was returned to him in 2024 after being missing for 50 years. He purchased the bass in Hamburg, Germany, in 1961 and used it to write such Beatles classics as “Love Me Do” and “She Loves You.”

After it was returned to McCartney, he played it for the first time at his December 2024 concert at London’s 02 Arena, the same show where he reunited with his Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr.

In September, it was announced that the story of how the bass was found will be the subject of the new documentary The Beatle and the Bass, with McCartney appearing in the flick. So far there’s no word on where or when the film will be released.

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Journey’s Jonathan Cain has opened up about his future with the band.

In November, Journey announced their Final Frontier farewell tour, which kicks off Feb. 28 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The announcement came weeks after Journey’s Neal Schon said Cain had “announced his farewell to Journey.” Cain later clarified that he “remains an active member” of the band and had only “expressed plans to retire at a later time.”

In a recent appearance on The 700 Club, the 75-year-old Cain discussed what he says will be his final tour with the band, and why he’s decided he’s ready to hang it up.

“It’s time for me, at my age. I wanna live my life, you know, and the road just is so consuming and it just seems like a good time to get off, for me,” he explained. “And I just love our fans, and I wanna do it in a proper farewell, to say goodbye. So it should be a lot of fun.”

The farewell won’t be for a while, though, with Cain noting that the tour is expected to last two years.

He added, “We’ll get to see the fans one more time, and I’ll get to say thank you and I’m grateful.”

So far Journey has confirmed dates through July 2 in Laredo, Texas. A list of dates can be found at JourneyMusic.com.

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Bruce Springsteen has landed on President Barack Obama’s list of his favorite music of 2025.

Obama picked Springsteen’s “Faithless” for this year’s list, a song from The Boss’ Tracks II: The Lost Albums box set, which featured seven previously unreleased albums.

“Faithless” is the title track from a previously unreleased film soundtrack for a movie that never got made. The 11-song album was recorded between Springsteen’s Devils & Dust tour in November 2005 and the April 2006 release of We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, his album dedicated to the music of folk singer Pete Seeger.

Along with his favorite music, Obama shares his favorite books and movies of the year. You can check out his lists now via his Facebook.

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The Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards turned 82 on Thursday, and his bandmates took to social media to send him their best wishes.

The band’s official Instagram account shared a carousel of photos of Keith over the years, captioning it, “Today we celebrate @officialkeef on this special day! Happy Birthday, Keith – gold rings on you.”

Frontman Mick Jagger shared a photo of them smiling onstage together, writing, “Happy birthday Keith, love Mick,” while Ronnie Wood posted several pictures and paintings of Keith, with the caption, “A very happy 82nd birthday to @officialkeef!”

Even the late Charlie Watts’ social media accounts marked Keith’s birthday, posting video of Keith singing onstage with the caption, “Happy birthday @officialkeef! Keith said of Charlie, ‘To me, Charlie Watts is the foundation of it all because that’s what I work off of, and we’ve been doing it all our lives.’”

Keith, meanwhile, took to social media to shout out another important milestone in his life — his anniversary. The rocker and wife Patti Hansen got married on Keith’s 40th birthday in 1983. He wrote on Instagram, “Happy Anniversary, Patricia! I love you more each day!”

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KISS recently received the Kennedy Center Honors at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., but it was without founding guitarist Ace Frehley, who passed away in October.

Frehley knew the band had been chosen for the honor, and his bandmate Peter Criss aka Catman tells Billboard that Frehley was “so excited” about it.

Criss said it was “really hard” for him to be at the ceremony without Frehley, sharing that in a conversation they had before his passing, Frehley expressed his thrill at getting the honor.

“He was like, ‘Wow Cat, I can’t believe we’re getting this award!’” Criss said. “I haven’t heard him that excited for a while. He was getting ready to tour again, working on his new album[.] … He was really up.”

Criss said that when the band was at the White House, “I got to sit next to Ace’s empty chair, where his medal was.” He noted, “I’m still mourning over him. I can’t believe he’s gone. We were extremely close. It’s been very hard.”

As for how Criss felt about being recognized by the Kennedy Center, he told the mag, “It was great. It was an honor.”

And while there has been controversy surrounding President Donald Trump and the changes he made to the Kennedy Center, Criss said he’s “not a political guy” and that he was just proud to be at the White House.

He added, “I’m proud to be an American, and only in America can four guys like us, from the streets, be in the White House getting such a great award.'”

The Kennedy Center Honors ceremony will air Dec. 23 on CBS.

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A new box set dedicated to the early years of Ritchie Blackmore’s band Rainbow is due out in March.

The Temple of the King 1975-1976, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band’s formation, is a nine-CD set that includes their debut album, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, and 1976’s Rising, as well as live recordings of concerts that took place in Germany in 1976.

The set also includes two discs of rare recordings, made up of band rehearsals, single edits and rough mixes. Many of these bonus tracks have never been released on CD before. There’s also a 24-page booklet that features rare photographs, memorabilia and liner notes.

The Temple of the King 1975-1976 will be released March 6 and is available for preorder now.

Blackmore formed Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple in 1975. The band also included Ronnie James Dio, who remained with the group until 1979, when he left to join Black Sabbath.

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A new short film about the making of The Beatles’ 1994 single “Free as a Bird” has just been released to YouTube.

Free As A Bird: A Song Reborn explores the making of the song that reunited Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr after 24 years. The trio used an unfinished John Lennon demo to create the tune.

The short film features never-before-seen footage from the studio sessions for the track, and sees the trio work on it with producer Jeff Lynne. They also talk about Lennon, and how they approached the song in his absence.

The making of “Free as a Bird” is also featured in the recently rereleased The Beatles Anthology, a restored and remastered version of ABC’s 1995 documentary that’s currently streaming on Disney+. The original series was made up of eight parts, but the new version has been expanded to include a ninth installment, which features more from the “Free as a Bird” sessions.

“Free as a Bird” went on to become a top-10 hit for The Beatles, their 34th in the U.S. The track also earned them a Grammy for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal.

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Two of Yes singer Jon Anderson’s solo albums are set to be reissued.

The artist’s label will rerelease Anderson’s 1997 album Earth Mother Earth and 2011’s Survival & Other Stories digitally and on CD and vinyl on March 27. Earth Mother Earth will be released on green vinyl and Survival & Other Stories on gold marble vinyl.

To coincide with the announcement, Anderson has released a new visualizer video for the Earth Mother Earth song “Time Has Come.”

The vinyl editions of both Earth Mother Earth and Survival & Other Stories are now available for preorder as part of the Record Store Day Essentials Program.

Anderson is set to hit the road in 2026 with The Band Geeks on the 10-show Yes Epics, Classics and More tour. The trek kicks off April 17 in Ridgefield, Connecticut, with stops in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It wraps on May 7 in Royal Oak, Michigan.

Anderson and The Band Geeks released their first album together, True, in August 2024; songs from the album will be included in the set, along with tracks from the Yes catalog.

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Paul McCartney released the solo album McCartney III, the third installment in a trio of solo albums on which he played most of the instruments himself.

The Beatle recorded the album at his Sussex studio while in lockdown due to COVID-19. 

McCartney III would go on to debut at #1 in the U.K. and #2 in the U.S. and earn Grammy nominations for best rock album and best rock song for “Find My Way.”

In 2021, McCartney released McCartney III Imagined, a remixed version of the album featuring reinterpretations, remixes and covers of songs from the original record. Collaborators included Beck, Dominic Fike, St. Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers, Damon Albarn and Josh Homme, among others.

McCartney, the Beatle’s debut solo record, was released in 1970. It was recorded during a period of estrangement with The Beatles following John Lennon‘s private departure from the group. McCartney II arrived in 1980.

In August 2022, McCartney released a box set titled McCartney I II III comprising all three albums from the series.

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The first-ever video for George Harrison’s “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)” was just released, directed by Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard. And it turns out he may not have gotten the gig if it wasn’t for some of his Hollywood friends.

Wolfhard explains how he got the job in a new interview with Vulture, revealing he was first introduced to George Harrison’s son, Dhani Harrison, through his Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire co-star Paul Rudd. He was then invited to visit George Harrison’s widow, Olivia Harrison, at her home, Friar Park. A year later he was talking music with Fred Armisen at a Hollywood party, which led Armisen to think of him for the job.

“I got a random text from Fred after a few days and he was like, ‘Hey, the George Harrison estate is trying to figure out a director for “Give Me Love,” but they haven’t found anyone yet. I threw your name in the hat.’ I was shocked,” Wolfhard says. “It was flattering enough that he even mentioned me. Then it was a coincidence that I already knew Dhani.”

Wolfhard says he’s been a George Harrison fan since he was introduced to his music by his mom when he was 6, noting he “wouldn’t have pursued performing at a young age in the same way” if it wasn’t for the rock legend. Wolfhard says the fact that The Beatles dabbled in more than just music “was a huge inspiration to me.”

“You don’t have to just be one thing,” he says. “George is a perfect example of that, who accomplished so much as a solo artist and as a person after the Beatles.”

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