Classic Rock News

Billy Joel was back at New York’s Madison Square Garden Friday night and Rolling Stone reports he took some time out of his residency to pay tribute to the late Jeff Beck, who died Tuesday at the age of 78.

“He was a musician that I always loved. He was the best. Jeff Beck just passed away…,” Joel told the audience at his 86th MSG show. “I couldn’t let the night go by without doing something by Jeff.”

Billy then performed the track “People Get Ready,” which Beck recorded with Rod Stewart for for Beck’s 1985 album, Flash.

He paid tribute to Beck again later in the evening after the night’s last song, “You May Be Right,” with the band playing a jam session that morphed into “Going Down,” a track that appeared on the Jeff Beck Group’s 1972 self-titled third album. Noted Billy, “we should have rehearsed this today.”

Following the news of Beck’s death, Billy posted a tribute to him on social media, calling him “one of my heroes,” and noting, “I was fortunate to meet him recently and I’m very grateful now that I was able to tell him how much I admired his musical skill. This is the end of an era.”

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In an interview with Consequence last year, KISS‘ Paul Stanley shared that he wanted to collaborate with Dave Grohl. Speaking now with ABC Audio, Stanley explains what interests him about working with the Foo Fighters frontman.

“It’s so fascinating to see somebody who his first brush with fame was to be the drummer in a band [Nirvana] that arguably he has eclipsed as the frontman,” Stanley says. “He’s a fascinating and very, very bright guy.”

Beyond being members of gigantic bands, Grohl and Stanley have another connection outside of the rock world.

“Our kids went to the same school,” Stanley says. “So drop-off in the morning meant seeing Dave and few other people.”

As for the status of a potential Stanley/Grohl collab — Stanley’s original comments came before the unexpected death of Foo drummer Taylor Hawkins last March — that’s still up in the air, but the Starchild remains optimistic.

“I would think at some point we’ll do something,” Stanley says. “It’s more, like, ‘Gee, that would be fun.'”

“We’re both busy, and there’s a mutual respect,” he adds. “Whatever happens beyond that is up for grabs.”

Grohl, meanwhile, is preparing to take Foo Fighters out on the road again for the first time since Hawkins’ death. The group is confirmed to headline this year’s Bonnaroo, Boston Calling and Sonic Temple festivals.

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We’re about to learn a lot more about the early days of The Police, thanks to Stewart Copeland. The drummer has announced that diaries he kept in the ’70s are being compiled for a new book, The Police Diaries, 1976-’79, coming later this year from Rocket 88 Books. 

Copeland shares the book will be “the truest account of the Police’s beginning and early days,” explaining, “It’s full of my original diary pages, hand-made poster designs, ragged accounts, callow observations and other scribblings of a proto-rock star, illuminated by hitherto unseen vintage photos from the deepest vaults. It’s a big, noisy book about one heckuva ride.” 

He’s also sharing some never-before-heard demos and recordings from that era of The Police, including the just-released “Clown’s Revenge.”

Fans can sign up now, which will allow them to be among the first to get the book — and also get a discount for it. There will also be an opportunity for fans to get their name in the book.

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Alice Cooper is hitting the road this spring. To celebrate Friday the 13th, the rocker just announced dates for his Too Close for Comfort tour.

The 11-date trek is set to kick off April 29 in Youngstown, Ohio, wrapping May 18 in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Presale tickets go on sale January 17 with the code SICKTHINGS; the general sale begins January 20 at 10 a.m. local time. Check out the complete list of dates here.

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As previously reported, Neal Schon recently indicated that Journey’s original keyboardist, Gregg Rolie, would be turning up at the band’s upcoming 50th anniversary tour. But his revelation may have been premature. In a post to their joint Facebook page, Neal’s wife, Michaele, shared that not everyone in the band is on board with Gregg’s return.

The post started off by noting how Jeff Beck’s death should make people realize how precious life is — then she brought up the tour.

“TWO BAND MEMBERS of the Journey current LINE UP ARE ‘adamant’ NO against Gregg Rolie to return,” she writes. “Life is so precious Neal and Gregg agree. Who wants to have that feeling, truly sad.” She added, “Everyone LOVES you Gregg ROLIE and respects who you are and ALL You have been and are to Journey,” noting, “Neal Schön and Gregg ROLIE will be somewhere Together at least one time this Year in Honor of what they began in 1972.”

The post comes amid major turmoil in the band, particularly between Schon and his bandmate Jonathan Cain. Cain recently made it known that he will be on the Journey tour, sharing a post from a ski trip and noting he was enjoying some time on the slopes before “hitting the road with Journey.”

The Journey 50th anniversary tour is set to kick off February 4 in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

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Disney+ has announced a new documentary about U2‘s Bono and The Edge.

The film, titled Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, finds the longtime bandmates returning to their hometown of Dublin, Ireland, while being interviewed by famed talk show host David Letterman.

“Recently, I won a radio contest,” Letterman says in a statement. “Winner gets to visit Dublin with Bono and The Edge (radio contest part not true, but I feel like a winner). They showed me around, introduced me to their musician friends, and performed some of their greatest songs in a small theater.”

“It’s a great tour,” Letterman adds. “Get in touch with them — I’m told there are still availabilities. I’m the luckiest man on the planet. (There are no availabilities).”

A Sort of Homecoming premieres on March 17, which is not only St. Patrick’s Day, but also the release date for U2’s upcoming album, Songs of Surrender, which features rerecorded versions of 40 of the band’s songs.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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The lineup for the 2023 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival has been announced, and it looks like it will be jam-packed with plenty of great music. 

The 52nd annual Jazz Fest is set to take place at the New Orleans Fair Grounds over two weekends from April 28 to May 7. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Steve Miller Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band and more are confirmed for the first weekend, with Dead & Company, Santana, Melissa Etheridge, John Hiatt and the Goners, Buddy Guy and others playing weekend two. 

Other artists on this year’s bill include Ed Sheeran, Lizzo, Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers and H.E.R.

Weekend passes are currently on sale, with single-day tickets going on sale in the coming weeks. More information on tickets and the complete lineup can be found here.

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Stevie Wonder has paid tribute to guitar legend Jeff Beck, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 78.

“He was a great soul who did great music,” Wonder told the Detroit Free Press. “I’m glad that I was able to meet him and have him in my life, giving some of his gift to my music.”

Wonder and Beck met in 1972 as Wonder was recording Talking Book, the follow-up to his classic Music of the Mind. They wound up working together on some tracks. 

“I really didn’t know too much about him,” Wonder said. “But then I heard him play in New York. We were working on ‘Lookin’ for Another Pure Love’ (in the studio) and I said to him, ‘Why don’t you play on this?’ He thought that would be great. He laid one part down, then another part and another part. It was just amazing.”

Wonder added, “It was just a wonderful thing, the whole deal. … It was great. He put his touch on it. It was just really cool.” 

This relationship led to both Wonder and Beck recording the classic “Superstition.” In fact, it was Wonder who encouraged Beck to record the tune, which appeared on the 1973 self-titled debut of Beck’s band Beck, Bogert & Appice.

Wonder’s version wasn’t supposed to be Talking Book‘s lead single, but the label insisted, and it wound up being released before Beck’s and went on to be a huge hit. While some have suggested it caused tension in their relationship, Wonder says that’s not true. In fact, the pair came together to perform it at a 2009 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concert.

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As previously reported, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were among the people who gathered together in Malibu earlier this week for a “Celebration of Life” for their Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie, who passed away in November. In an Instagram post Thursday, Mick shared the eulogy he wrote for her.

Calling it a “beautiful tribute to a wonderful woman and an incredible talent,” Mick first shared a poem he wrote for McVie after she passed away: “This is a day where my dear, sweet friend Christine McVie has taken flight. And left us Earthbound folks to listen with bated breath to the sounds of that ‘songbird.’ Part of my heart has flown away today … I will miss everything about you Christine McVie. Memories abound … they fly to me.”

Mick said he believes Christine “would have been truly amazed at all the attention and celebrations of her music around the world,” noting, “She is being remembered everywhere. Just as her song says, ‘I want to be with you everywhere,’ and she is.”

“It’s with a sense of gratitude and thanks to the Fleetwood Mac family that we are a part of … and losing such a magical component has sparked a celebration of what Christine means to us,” he concluded. “We all miss her as a family member, as a friend, an artist, a performer, and God knows, a writer of excellence. And those years sharing life together will always be remembered.”

Read the complete eulogy here.

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At November’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, the members of Duran Duran read a letter from their original guitarist Andy Taylor, revealing he has stage four prostate cancer. Now, in a new interview, he’s opening up about his cancer battle.

Talking to UK TV 5 News, Andy says he first realized something was wrong at age of 56 after experiencing an “arthritic sort of pain” while out jogging, and says he began to have these “symptoms, and didn’t recognize them for what they could be.” He then noticed “what felt like tumors” on his neck, and a biopsy revealed the cancer was stage four metastatic, which he called “a death sentence,” saying, “no one can be prepared” for that news.

The 61-year-old Taylor now hopes to encourage others to get tested, and suggests women, who he realizes comprise the bulk of the Duran Duran fan base, do their part to get their men to get tested, saying ladies should “give them a nudge, go get a test.” 

“Every minute is like an hour, every day is like a week,” Andy explains. “You really want to get the most out of life. And I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve had so much in terms of living the dream.”

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