Classic Rock News

Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck were good friends and collaborators, and now Clapton is getting ready to share one last collaboration. The three-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just announced he’s releasing a cover of the 1961 classic “Moon River” on Friday, May 12, describing it as a “new collaboration from Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck.” 

Before the official announcement, Clapton shared a snippet of the song on Instagram, along with a black-and-white photo of him and Beck with the caption “5/12.”

The collaboration is being released ahead of Clapton’s upcoming Jeff Beck tribute concerts, taking place May 22 and 23 at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The shows, dubbed A Tribute to Jeff Beck by Eric Clapton & Friends, will feature special guests Ronnie Wood, Joe Perry, Rod Stewart, ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons and more.

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Bonnie Raitt is giving fans a health update. In late April, the singer announced she had to postpone some May shows in order to deal with a “medical situation that requires surgery,” and it sounds like it all went well.  

“I want to thank you all for your beautiful, caring wishes for my speedy recovery,” Bonnie shared on social media. “Everything went really well. My healing is on track and I’m feeling better every day.”

As for her touring, she writes, “The band and I can’t wait to get back to playing in a few weeks. I’m so sorry we had to postpone our shows and apologize to those of you who won’t be able to join us for the rescheduled dates. I so appreciate your support and hope you can come see us another time.” 

Bonnie was forced to postpone four shows due to her surgery. Her next concert is scheduled for June 1 in Dublin, Ireland. A complete list of dates can be found at bonnieraitt.com.

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Ringo Starr doesn’t appear to be slowing down. The 82-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just announced a fall set of dates with his All-Starr Band, made up of Toto‘s Steve Lukather, Men at Work‘s Colin Hay, Edgar Winter, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart and Gregg Bissonette.

“Well, I love to play. I love an audience,” Ringo tells Pollstar about his upcoming tour. “This is a known fact. I love the audience, they love me. We have fun on tour. That’s what it’s all about.” He adds, “I don’t do this to be miserable. I have a lot of joy. I get a lot of joy and I just love doing it … and I’ll be doing a lot of peace and love in your city soon!”

The fall leg of the tour kicks off September 17 in Ontario, California, and wraps October 17 in Thackerville, Oklahoma.

Next up, Ringo is set to kick off the spring leg of the tour on Friday, May 19, in Temecula, California. A complete list of dates can be found at ringostarr.com.

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There’s some sad news for fans of the ’80s band Kix. While performing this weekend, the band’s frontman, Steve Whiteman, announced that the group is calling it quits. 

“I wanna make an announcement here. And it’s gonna be probably a little hard to get through, but I wanna do it anyway, ’cause we want you all to know,” he shared in video from the show posted to the band’s Facebook page. “We’ve decided that after 45 years of doing this, I think we’re gonna call it a career.”

He continued, “It’s been a long, long, long road. And my health is failing. (Drummer) Jimmy‘s [Chalfant] health is definitely failing. And we just decided we’re gonna finish up these dates through the summer.” 

Their current tour was originally set to end in Hinckley, Minnesota, but now they’ve decided to end their career with a September 17 concert at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, in Columbia, Maryland, which they’re calling KIX…Walkin’ Away, The Final Show.

On their website, Whiteman shared that the final show is “for our fans.” “We owe a lot to them for their never-ending support over our long 45-year career,” he writes. “It was tempting to just fade away and stop booking gigs and ride off into the sunset, but we wanted our fans to be part of a local farewell show and give them a chance to see the band one last time.” 

Tickets for the final show go on sale Tuesday, May 9, at 10 a.m.

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Metallica has premiered a live video for “Screaming Suicide,” a track off the band’s new album, 72 Seasons.

The performance was recorded during the first date on ‘Tallica’s world M72 tour, which kicked off April 27 in Amsterdam, and marked the live debut of “Screaming Suicide.”

You can watch the video streaming now on YouTube.

The M72 tour continues May 17 in Paris and comes to the U.S. in August. For each city on the tour, Metallica is playing two shows with completely unique set lists.

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Bailey Cypheridge is sharing fond memories of her biological father, the late Rock & Roll Hall of Famer David Crosby.

Bailey’s moms are Melissa Etheridge and her ex partner Julie Cypher, and they eventually revealed that Crosby was their sperm donor, something Bailey says she always knew. 

“He was always a really cool presence in my life, even if we never meant to have that kind of parent-child relationship,” she tells People. “He was friends with my parents, he was their donor for me. I thought it was cool growing up, knowing who he was.”

Cypheridge is currently featured on the MTV/Paramount+ series Family Legacy, and she says it gave her some more insight into her family history.

“It’s special that I got to see some footage of him and my mom while I was working on this project,” she says. “It was really special for me to be able to see that and revisit those memories, especially because he passed away earlier this year.”

Crosby passed away in January at age 81, and Cypheridge says, “It’s been tough, missing him, but I think that it was really cool that I got the call, that I got to do this project before that happened.” 

She also shares that she has one very special memento of her family that she keeps in her bedroom: the cover of the Rolling Stone where her moms announced Crosby as her bio dad. “I just think it’s really cool thing to have that,” she says, joking, “I mean, I peaked in ’99. Can’t really top that.”

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On This Day, May 8, 1993 …

Aerosmith topped the Billboard 200 Album chart with their 11th studio album, Get A Grip, their first U.S. number one.

The album contained the hit songs “Living On The Edge,” “Crazy,” “Cryin’” and “Amazing,” with the success of the latter three aided by a trio of videos featuring Alicia Silverstone that got regular play on MTV. 

The cover of the album featured a cow with a nipple ring through its udder and the Aerosmith logo branded into it, which was deemed “the worst album cover ever” by one music critic. It also sparked backlash from animal rights groups, although the band insisted the image was produced digitally.

Get A Grip went on to sell over 20 million copies to become the band’s bestselling studio album worldwide.

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A new video for Motörhead‘s cover of the Metallica classic “Enter Sandman” is now streaming on YouTube.

The animated clip, in which a kid haunted by nightmares is saved by the power of rock ‘n’ roll, premieres Monday in honor of this year’s Motörhead Day, which is held May 8. If you don’t know why, trying singing “the eighth of May” to the tune of “Ace of Spades.”

Motörhead’s “Enter Sandman” cover was originally released in 1998. It’s long been exclusive to a CD compilation recorded for the now-defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Along with the video premiere, the “Enter Sandman” cover is now available via digital outlets for the first time. You can also preorder a limited edition vinyl single.

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Billy Joel was back at New York’s Madison Square Garden for the 90th show of his residency, and took some time out of the concert to pay tribute to singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, who passed away last week at the age of 84. 

Joel added a bit of Lightfoot’s 1974 classic “Sundown” to his set. “You might know him from the hit records he had,” Joel told the crowd, according to Rolling Stone, “I want to say ‘thank you,’ and rest in peace Gordon Lightfoot.” 

The rocker also performed his own Storm Front track “Downeaster Alexa” in honor of Lightfoot, noting “I was thinking of him singing this next song that I wrote.” 

Joel had already paid tribute to Lightfoot on social media, playing a bit of “If You Could Read My Mind,” and calling him “a lifelong musical hero of mine,” adding, “His songs were the heart of Canada. R.I.P.”

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Elton John’s songwriting partner Bernie Taupin will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year in the Musical Excellence category, and he’s honored to be chosen.

“I’m just happy that it’s happened, and at my age,” the 73-year-old tells Rolling Stone. “’Excited’ is not a word I tend to use too much, but I’m very appreciative of the whole thing. It’s nice to be in a club with so many legends and so much history.” 

The honor comes almost 30 years after Elton’s induction ceremony, during which he gave Taupin his trophy. Asked whether he would return the favor and give his to Elton, Bernie replied, “I never thought about that! Um … no!”

Next up for Taupin, he’ll release his memoir, Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton & Me, on September 12. Then it’s back to work with Elton. He says they have plans to make another album once Elton’s wrapped his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, although nothing’s solidified yet. He suspects they’ll be in the studio “by the end of the year.”

And while Taupin insists Elton is really saying goodbye to the road to spend more time with his family, he says he’s not done with performing altogether.

“The idea of sitting down and doing a residency, but letting people know you’re not going to hear ‘Crocodile Rock’ or ‘Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.’ You’re going to hear ‘I Feel Like a Bullet (in the Gun of Robert Ford)’ or ‘Amoreena.’ I think it would be incredibly liberating for him,” Taupin says. “He’s a born showman, but as long as it appeals to his family life, it’s possibly predictable.”

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