Classic Rock News

Jerry Allison, the longtime drummer and last surviving original member of the late Buddy Holly‘s backing group The Crickets, died Monday at the age of 82.

Allison’s death was announced in a post on Holly’s official Facebook page.

“Our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Jerry ‘JI’ Allison, drummer in The Crickets, one of Buddy’s very closest friends, and the inspiration to drummers for decades since, who passed away today,” the note read.

The message continues, “JI was a musician ahead of his time, and undoubtedly his energy, ideas and exceptional skill contributed to both The Crickets, and rock n’ roll itself, becoming such a success. Buddy is often heralded as the original singer-songwriter, but JI, too, wrote and inspired so many of the songs that would go on to be eternal classics.”

Holly formed The Crickets in early 1957 with Allison, Niki Sullivan on rhythm guitar and Joe B. Mauldin on bass. Allison is credited with co-writing two of Holly’s most enduring tunes, “That’ll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue,” which peaked at #1 and #3, respectively, on the Billboard pop singles chart.

After Holly’s February 1959 death in the tragic plane crash that also took the lives of The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, Allison played with various lineups of The Crickets for decades.

Allison also co-wrote the song “More than I Can Say,” which The Crickets recorded after Holly’s death in 1959, and later became a hit for Bobby Vee in 1961 and Leo Sayer in 1980.

Allison also became an in-demand session musician who lent his talents to recordings by The Everly Brothers, Vee, Johnny Burnette, Eddie Cochran, Johnny Rivers, Paul McCartney, Waylon Jennings, Nanci Griffith and many others.

Allison was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Crickets in 2012. Holly had been inducted separately in 1986.

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“Hold Me Closer,” Elton John‘s new collaboration with pop superstar Britney Spears, won’t be released until this Friday, but we now have our first taste of the track.

On TikTok, Elton posted a 14-second snippet of the song, which features Britney’s voice singing the chorus of Elton’s 1972 hit “Tiny Dancer” — “Hold me closer tiny dancer/ Count the headlines on the highway” — paired with Elton’s original vocal over a dance beat, with some “woo-hoos” in the middle.

The song has a vibe similar to Elton’s 2021 hit “Cold Heart,” which featured his original vocals from his 1989 song “Sacrifice,” paired with Dua Lipa singing the chorus of his 1972 hit “Rocket Man” and part of his 1983 single “Kiss the Bride.”

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Eddie Vedder has announced a new pair of solo concerts, taking place October 5 in Paso Robles, California, and October 7 in Las Vegas.

As with his solo tour earlier this year, the Pearl Jam frontman will be joined by his backing band The Earthlings, which features Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, ex-RHCP guitarist and current PJ touring member Josh Klinghoffer, longtime Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney, guitarist and producer Andrew Watt and folk singer-songwriter Glenn Hansard.

Notably, the shows take place on the same nights as dates on Jane’s Addiction’s upcoming tour with The Smashing Pumpkins. That seemingly confirms that original bassist Eric Avery is back in Jane’s in place of Chaney after the band teased his return last week.

Tickets to the Vedder concerts go on sale this Friday, August 26, at 10 a.m. local time via the Ticketmaster Verified Fan platform. You can register for a chance at tickets now through Tuesday, August 23, at 5 p.m. PT.

Members of Pearl Jam’s Ten Club will also have access to a presale. For all ticket info, visit PearlJam.com.

The new shows will follow Vedder’s headlining solo performance at his Ohana Festival, taking place September 30 to October 2 in Dana Point, California. The Ohana lineup also includes Jack White, Stevie Nicks, Pink, St. Vincent and Brittany Howard.

Vedder will be supporting his new solo album, Earthling, which was released in February.

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Before he shredded Metallica‘s “Master of Puppets” in the Upside Down, Joseph Quinn was rocking to Nirvana.

The actor, who plays the Dungeons & Dragons-loving metalhead Eddie Munson in the latest season of Stranger Things, tells Metal Hammer that the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” outfit was his “first proper band obsession.”

“I was obsessed with Kurt Cobain and had all of his posters in my wall,” Quinn reveals. “It’s kind of cliché, but it’s true.”

Quinn also names Jimi Hendrix as one of his “guitar heroes,” sharing, “I was always very enamored with him.”

When it came to preparing to play Eddie, though, Quinn turned to the heavy stuff.

“I listened to Master of Reality by Black Sabbath over and over,” Quinn says. “Master of Puppets, as well, Slayer … all that kind of stuff. That was my way into that whole world, really. Black Sabbath were my guys, and Led Zeppelin, too, but I guess they’re less metal.”

Quinn’s performance of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” in the season 4 finale of Stranger Things led to renewed interest in the 1986 thrash classic, which made its first appearance on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart following the episode’s premiere. The season also made a resurgent hit out of Kate Bush‘s “Running Up That Hill,” which has run up all the way to the top five on the Hot 100.

Stranger Things season 4 is streaming now on Netflix.

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The 1990 Gretsch White Falcon guitar featured in the video for Foo Fighters‘ “Monkey Wrench” video is going up for auction.

While frontman Dave Grohl plays the guitar in the video, the instrument originally belonged to guitarist Pat Smear, who used it on the 1997 Foos album The Colour and the Shape.

The guitar will be sold by the U.K. auction house Gardiner Houlgate on September 7. It’s expected to fetch between 15,000 and 30,000 British pounds, which is between about $17,700 and $35,400.

The person with the winning bid will also receive a number of photographs, including one of Drew Barrymore holding the guitar.

The “Monkey Wrench” video currently has over 40 million views on YouTube. It’s notably the first Foos video to feature late drummer Taylor Hawkins.

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Robert Plant has long insisted that he has no interest in reuniting with Led Zeppelin, and in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, he again addressed the issue when it was suggested that fans of his old band would love to hear him sing with the group once more.

“Going back to the font to get some kind of massive applause — it doesn’t really satisfy my need to be stimulated,” explained Robert, who currently is touring the U.S. as a duo with acclaimed folk/bluegrass artist Alison Krauss in support of their 2021 album Raise the Roof.

When the interview asked if his reluctance to revisit his past glories “make you feel like an outlier among your classic-rock peers,” Robert responded, “I know there are people from my generation who don’t want to stay home and so they go out and play. If they’re enjoying it and doing what they need to do to pass the days, then that’s their business, really.”

Meanwhile, Plant celebrated his 74th birthday this past Saturday, August 20, and to mark the occasion, he got a surprise visit from his son Logan and Logan’s two children while performing with Krauss that night in Stateline, Nevada.

As seen in fan-shot video posted on YouTube, Logan and his kids wheeled out a birthday cake and some golden balloons as Robert chatted to the audience between songs during the show.

“This is my family,” Robert told the crowd. “They’ve come all the way from England to give me…a chocolate microphone.” He then blew out the candles, before Logan led the audience in a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday to You.”

Plant and Krauss’ tour continues Tuesday in Napa, California, and is scheduled to wrap up on September 12 in New York City.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Robert Plant has long insisted he has no interest in reuniting with Led Zeppelin. In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, he again addressed the issue when it was suggested fans of his old band would love to hear him sing with the group once more.

“Going back to the font to get some kind of massive applause — it doesn’t really satisfy my need to be stimulated,” said Robert, who currently is touring the U.S. as a duo with acclaimed folk/bluegrass artist Alison Krauss in support of their 2021 album Raise the Roof.

When the interviewer asked if his reluctance to revisit his past glories “make you feel like an outlier among your classic-rock peers,” Robert responded, “I know there are people from my generation who don’t want to stay home, and so they go out and play. If they’re enjoying it and doing what they need to do to pass the days, then that’s their business, really.”

Meanwhile, Plant celebrated his 74th birthday on Saturday, August 20. To mark the occasion, he got a surprise visit from his son Logan and Logan’s two children while performing with Krauss in Stateline, Nevada.

As seen in fan-shot video posted on YouTube, Logan and his kids wheeled out a birthday cake and some golden balloons as Robert chatted to the audience between songs during the show.

“This is my family,” Robert told the crowd. “They’ve come all the way from England to give me … a chocolate microphone.” He then blew out the candles, before Logan led the audience in a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday.”

Plant and Krauss’ tour continues Tuesday in Napa, California, and is scheduled to wrap up on September 12 in New York City.

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Former Fleetwood Mac singer/guitarist Lindsey Buckingham has announced plans for a new fall U.S. solo tour, which features 17 dates at venues throughout the Eastern U.S., as well as some gigs in the Midwest.

The outing kicks off October 26 in Bristol, Tennessee, and runs through a November 19 show in Augusta, Georgia.

Earlier this year, Buckingham canceled a trio of concerts at the end of his spring U.S. tour leg — including an April 30 performance in Louisville, Kentucky — because he and members of his touring party contracted COVID-19. Lindsey now has lined up a new show in Louisville, on October 27, but at a different venue.

The new U.S. tour takes place after Buckingham’s fall European trek, which originally was scheduled for late spring, but was postponed because Lindsey was still recovering from COVID at the time.

The forthcoming European outing is mapped out from a September 19 concert in Paris through an October 6 show in Dublin.

Visit LindseyBuckingham.com to check out Buckingham’s full schedule and for information about how to purchase tickets to the concerts.

Lindsey’s shows are in support of his latest solo studio album, a self-titled effort that was released in September 2021.

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The third episode of the new four-part Rolling Stones docuseries My Life as a Rolling Stone premieres on EPIX this Sunday, August 21, at 9 p.m. ET.

The new installment focuses specifically on Ronnie Wood. It features the longtime Stones guitarist discussing the high and low points of his long career, and his life as a member of the the iconic band.

In a preview clip from the episode, Wood and founding Stones guitarist Keith Richards recall how Richards once got into a fight with Wood over Wood’s use of crack cocaine during the group’s 1981 tour.

Richards remembers that he angrily knocked on the door to Wood’s hotel room, and when Wood opened it, Richards could smell the drugs and he proceeded to punch his bandmate, who fought back.

“We all fought into Ronnie’s room,” Richards recalls. “He tries to land one on me. The couch goes over. Ronnie’s about to fall out the window, so I grab him and then everything stops. And laughter. And that was that.”

Wood adds, “We laughed it off, and I went into the next room. There’s Mick [Jagger] and Charlie [Watts] …They’re playing some game on the floor, and I went, ‘Look at me, I’m covered in blood.’ And they just sort of went [to each other], like, “OK, right, it’s your move.”

As previously reported, the series, which was produced to coincide with the British rock legends’ 60th anniversary, is made up of four hourlong episodes, each focusing on a different band member. The first episode profiled Jagger, the second looked at Richards, while the final installment will focus on the late Watts.

In addition to new conversations with Jagger, Richards and Wood, My Life as a Rolling Stone features new interviews with many other noteworthy music artists.

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Earlier this week, Rush‘s Alex Lifeson visited the Gibson Garage, the Gibson guitar company’s flagship store in Nashville, for a special event, during which he announced that he was making a significant donation to two local charities.

Teaming up with Gibson Gives, the guitar maker’s charitable arm, Lifeson revealed that he was donating current and future earnings from sales of his recently released signature Epiphone Les Paul Axcess guitar to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and the Room in the Inn organization.

Monroe Carell hospital employs music therapists who work with in-need children and their families, using music to aid young people with chronic pain, physical rehabilitation, psychiatric symptoms, terminal illnesses and other issues.

Room in the Inn offers a variety of services for people experiencing homelessness, including meal programs, recovery from addiction and mental health issues, showers, telephone and computer access, transportation, laundry, legal help, health care and work skills training.

“I feel very fortunate that I am able to partner with Gibson Gives to support the important and never-ending work that both the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital and Room in the Inn supply for the needs of those who are less fortunate,” says Lifeson.

He adds, “It is heartbreaking to witness the struggles of a brave child battling an illness that shows no mercy or the destitute soul struggling with both homelessness and hopelessness. If we can lend a helping hand through our support to provide a reprieve for even a moment, then we have done our duty to the community.”

Also at the event, Gibson announced that it was donating guitars to both the hospital and the Room in the Inn.

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