Classic Rock News

The late David Crosby had assembled a new band and was preparing for a new show when he unexpectedly passed away in January — but now that band is going to honor him with a special concert.

Billed as Stand and Be Counted, the band, made up of Crosby’s son James Raymond, Stephen Stills’ son Chris Stills, guitarist Steve Postell, drummer Stevie Distanislao, guitarist Dean Parks and bassist Andrew Ford, with Lara Johnston and Ken Stacey on vocals, will play the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara, California, on August 20.

Before his death, Crosby had been rehearsing for a February 22 concert celebrating the Lobero’s 150th birthday. He had planned to perform a set of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young classics, which will now be performed by Stand and Be Counted, with some help from special guest Shawn Colvin.

Tickets for the concert are not on sale yet, but more information can be found at lobero.org.

Crosby passed away January 18 at the age of 81.

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Graham Nash will be honored later this year with the John Lennon Real Love Award from Theatre Within, which offers free workshops in creative expression and mindfulness for children, teens and adults impacted by cancer, as well as youth in crisis. 

“This is a very special award. I thank Yoko (Ono) and the Theatre Within for thinking of me,” the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer said in a statement. “Over many years, I watched John and Yoko ‘fight the good fight’ for many whose voices were not being heard, a fight that Yoko continues to this day. I’m proud to be associated with the many fine artists who were previously honored with the John Lennon Real Love Award.”

Previous recipients of the John Lennon Real Love Award include Natalie Merchant, Patti Smith, Ani DiFranco and Donovan.

Nash will be celebrated at the 43rd annual John Lennon Tribute on Saturday, December 2, at Town Hall in New York City. The event, the only Lennon tribute concert sanctioned by Ono, will feature a performance by Nash, along with Judy Collins, Rosanne Cash, Rita Coolidge, Marc Cohn and Shawn Colvin. 

Proceeds from the Tribute will benefit Theatre Within’s programs, which include the John Lennon Real Love Project songwriting program. Tickets go on sale July 22 at 12 p.m. ET.

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KISS members have achieved a lot over the course of their five-decade career, but for Gene Simmons, one of the things he’s most proud of is his relationship with bandmate Paul Stanley. 

“We continue to have this astonishing relationship, and I’ve always been so sad when [John] Lennon and [Paul] McCartney and [Mick] Jagger and [Keith] Richards started backbiting,” Simmons shared in an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored. “I mean, even Cain and Abel didn’t get along so well.”

He describes his relationship with Stanley as “this resilient sort of the ‘brother-I-never-had’ kind of thing.” Although they don’t agree on many things, he notes “there’s an abiding admiration and respect for the talent that he has that I will never have, and hopefully, the piece of the puzzle that I bring to it that he doesn’t have.” 

Simmons adds, “It works. You don’t know everything, and I don’t, and when you meet somebody that’s a kindred spirit, you can run and be bigger than you ever were.”

KISS is currently on the End of the Road tour and will play Rattvik, Sweden, July 12 and 13. The final KISS shows are set to happen December 1 and 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York. A complete list of dates can be found at kissonline.com.

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Billy White Jr., the designer of the Guns N’ Roses cross logo that appears on the cover of the band’s iconic 1987 debut album, Appetite for Destruction, has died.

The news was announced in an Instagram post by Slash, who writes, “RIP #BillyWhiteJr og designer of GNR cross logo.

The guitarist shares that White was a “long time friend of the band,” adding, “You will be missed.”

Bassist Duff McKagan responded to Slash’s post with a comment reading, “Ah…s***!”

The logo features each member of GN’R’s Appetite lineup — Slash, Duff, frontman Axl Rose, guitarist Izzy Stradlin and drummer Steven Adler — recreated as skulls situated on each point of the cross.

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The late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts amassed a huge collection of books and jazz memorabilia throughout his life, and now, some of those works are being auctioned off at Christie’s later this year. 

The auction, Charlie Watts: Gentleman, Collector, Rolling Stone – Literature and Jazz, will consists of over 500 items, including a first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby with inscriptions by the author, which is expected to sell for between $250,000 and $380,000.

Watts’ library also features a variety of first editions and works from such authors as George Orwell, Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle and James Joyce.

Additionally, the auction will have items from Watt’s huge jazz collection, including Charlie Parker’s Associated Musicians membership card, a pair of Parker’s DownBeat awards from 1952, an annotated printed score for George Gershwin‘s Porgy and Bess and more.

“Charlie Watts holds a unique position within music history and Christie’s is proud to pay tribute to his extraordinary achievements and multifaceted legacy,” Christie’s specialists Benedict Winter and Mark Wiltshire said. “Charlie built his collection of modern literature and jazz with passion, intelligence and dedication, and this two-part auction celebrates his distinguished collecting taste. We invite the public to join us in this rare opportunity to glimpse the very private world of this extraordinary musical genius.”

The auction will take place in two parts, with part one happening in person on September 28 at Christie’s in London; part two will happen online between September 15 to 29. Fans will be able to check out highlights from the auction from July 25 to 29 at Christie’s in Los Angeles, September 5 to 8 in New York and September 20 to 27 in London.

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The much-anticipated Power Trip festival is down a big name.

Ozzy Osbourne has dropped off the lineup, citing his continuing health issues. The performance was set to be his first full live performance since 2018 and his first since announcing his retirement from touring earlier in 2023.

“As painful as this is, I’ve had to make the decision to bow out of performing on Power Trip in October,” the Prince of Darkness says. “My original plan was to return to the stage in the summer of 2024, and when the offer to do this show came in, I optimistically moved forward.”

“Unfortunately, my body is telling me that I’m just not ready yet,” he continues. “I am much too proud to have the first show that I do in nearly five years be half-a**ed.”

Power Trip, which is being produced by the same team behind Coachella, was set to take place October 6-8 in Indio, California. The bill also includes fellow hard rock and metal titans AC/DC, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden and Tool.

As for who will be replacing Ozzy, the “Crazy Train” rocker teases, “They are personal friends of mine and I can promise that you will not be disappointed.”

“Above all, I want to thank my fans, my band, and my crew for their unconditional loyalty and continual support,” Ozzy says. “I love you all and I will see you soon.”

Ozzy has been besieged by health struggles over the past few years, including undergoing extensive surgery relating to a fall he suffered in 2019, which aggravated injuries he sustained in a 2003 ATV accident.

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Looks like Slash is jumping on the Barbie bandwagon. In a recent interview with Variety, producer Mark Ronson reveals that the Guns N’ Roses guitarist appears on the song “I’m Just Ken,” which Ryan Gosling sings in the film.

Calling Slash his “all time hero,” Ronson decided to take a chance and send him the track, noting, “It never hurts to ask.” Even though he thought it was “such a long shot,” he says Slash agreed to be on it.”

“I sent him the song and he was like, ‘This is a good song… cool, I’ll play on it,'” Ronson says. “He kills it, he plays the solo at the end and the rhythm parts. It’s wonderful.” 

As for Gosling’s performance, Ronson offered nothing but praise. “As he started to get warmed up, I was like, ‘Oh my god, this guy is gonna murder this song,’” he says. “And of course he would. He’s Ken. Who would understand this song better than him.” 

Barbie opens in theaters July 21; the soundtrack will be released the same day

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The Eagles recently announced their final tour, dubbed The Long Goodbye, and judging by recent comments from guitarist Joe Walsh, they really do expect it will be a long time before they hang it up for good. 

“We’re in our seventies, and we recognize that we can’t do this forever,” the 75-year-old Walsh tells Variety about their decision to launch a farewell tour, although he doesn’t sound quite ready to give up life on the road.

“I think people like B.B. King set an example, which is, there’s no reason to stop unless you can’t do it,” he continued. “And so we’re just announcing that we’re gonna just focus on playing quality shows and slow it down a little bit. And we’re gonna play till we can’t, or play till nobody comes, whichever comes first.”

He adds, “But they’re still coming, so why stop? That’s the only thing we know how to do.”

The Long Goodbye tour, with special guest Steely Dan, kicks off September 7 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. A presale starts July 12; the general onsale begins Friday, July 14, at 10 a.m. local time. The first set of dates can be found at eagles.com.

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Billy Joel is all for Fall Out Boy’s cover of “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

As previously reported, the rockers put their own spin on the 1989 hit, replacing the original’s lyrics with updated references to pop culture and world events over the last 34 years.

During an interview with BBC Radio 2, Joel says he welcomes Fall Out Boy’s sequel, especially since he didn’t particularly feel like doing one, himself.

“Everybody’s been wanting to know when there’s gonna be an updated version of it,” the Piano Man says. “‘Cause my song started in ’49, and ended in ’89 — a 40-year span. And everybody said, ‘When are you gonna do part two?’ … I said, ‘Nah, I’ve already done part one.”

He adds, “So Fall Out Boy, go ahead, great, take it away!”

Fall Out Boy released their “We Didn’t Start the Fire” in June, replacing references to Buddy Holly, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley with Kurt Cobain, Pokémon and “Tom DeLonge and aliens,” among many others.

The group may want to be careful if they ever plan to sing the song live, as Joel admits it isn’t an easy one to get through.

“Sometimes I’m watching people sing along hoping they’ll guide me because you get one word wrong and it’s a train wreck,” he said, noting he once messed it up in Toronto. “I forgot the words and then I just stopped the song, and the crowd made this noise like ‘ahhh,’” he explained, “so you know it’s like walking on a tightrope with that thing.”

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On This Day, July 10, 1965…

The Rolling Stones scored their first U.S. #1 single with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” from their fourth studio album, Out of Our Heads.

Guitarist Keith Richards, who famously wrote the track’s iconic riff in his sleep, didn’t think it was strong enough to be a single, but it’s since become one of the world’s most popular songs.

In fact, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, and in 2006 it was chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

Following “Satisfaction,” the Stones went on to have seven more #1 singles.

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