Classic Hits

Queen‘s Brian May and Fleetwood Mac‘s Mick Fleetwood are among the artists paying tribute to the late Booker T. and the M.G.’s guitarist Steve Cropper, who passed away Wednesday at the age of 84.

May, who appeared on Cropper and his band The Midnight Hour‘s 2024 album Friendlytown, wrote on Instagram, “We sadly lost one of the great original guitar heroes last night. Steve Cropper was and always will be an inspiration to all of us who bend electric guitar strings to this day.”

“I was fortunate to meet and work with this genial and generous human being – and we all made sure he heard the words that left him in no doubt of the energy we all felt flow from him, and the debt we owed him,” he noted.

Mick Fleetwood called Cropper a “trailblazing musician” and an “incredible human being.”

“I was blessed to have known and shared the stage with many times,” Mick wrote. “The world of music has lost a shinning gem.”

And Dan Ackroyd, who worked with Cropper in the Blues Brothers, called the guitarist “a musical giant,” adding, “The Blues Brothers would not exist without him. It was an honor to have shared studios and stages with ‘The Colonel’.”

Other musicians who paid tribute to Cropper include The Kinks’ Dave Davies, retired Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale and guitarist Joe Bonamassa.

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Grateful Dead has earned a new Guinness World Record.

The band’s most recent Dave’s Pick, Dave’s Picks Vol. 56: Rainbow Theatre, London, England – 3/20/81 & 3/21/81, debuted at #25 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it their 66th top-40 album. That earns them the Guinness record for the most top-40 albums charted on the Billboard 200.

The Dead have been the sole record holder for the most top-40 albums since February 2024, when they earned their 59th top-40 album with Dave’s Picks, Volume 49: Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford U., Palo Alto, CA  – 4/27/85 & 4/28/85. Prior to that they were in a tie for the record with Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley.

“This Guinness World Records title is something that no one could have anticipated 60 years ago when the Grateful Dead began,” David Lemieux, Grateful Dead legacy manager and archivist, said in a statement. “But the record demonstrates the dedication, passion, and loyalty of the massive legion of Dead Heads, as well as the consistent quality of the Grateful Dead’s recorded output and archival activities over the past six decades.”

The Guinness record caps off a big year for The Dead, who celebrated their 60th anniversary in 2025. The year included a celebration of The Dead as the MusiCares Person of the Year; three shows in San Francisco by Dead & Company; and the release of their first official greatest hits compilation, Greatest Hits, as well as a 60-CD collection, Enjoying The Ride.

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Yes has released a new track from their upcoming super-deluxe reissue of 1973’s Tales from Topographic Oceans.

The latest is a newly remastered single version of “The Remembering (High the Memory),” which cuts down the album’s 20-minute song to just under three minutes.

Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Edition), dropping Feb. 6, will be released as a package of 12 CDs, two LPs and a Blu-ray. It includes a newly remastered version of the album, along with several new mixes by producer Steven Wilson, including a Dolby Atmos mix. It will also include rarities, and previously unreleased studio and live recordings.

Tales from Topographic Oceans, Yes’ sixth studio album, was the first to feature drummer Alan White, who had replaced Bill Bruford. Frontman Jon Anderson came up with the idea for the album after reading a footnote in Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. The album featured four songs, all of which were at least 18 minutes in length, taking fans on a “four-part musical journey through ancient Hindu scriptures.”

The album went on to hit #1 in the U.K. and was a top-10 hit in the U.S.

Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Edition) is available for preorder now.

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On This Day, Dec. 4, 1980…

A little over two months after the death of their drummer John Bonham, Led Zeppelin released a statement announcing their breakup.

“We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend, and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were,” read the statement.

The surviving members of Led Zeppelin – Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones – reunited three times following the split.

The first reunion happened in 1985 at Live Aid in Philadelphia, while the second occurred on May 14, 1988, at the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary concert, with Bonham’s son, Jason Bonham, behind the drum kit.

The third and final reunion took place Dec. 10, 2007, at the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert at the O2 Arena in London, again with Jason Bonham behind the drum kit.

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Yusuf/Cat Stevens postponed the North American book tour supporting his memoir, Cat On The Road To Findout, in September due to visa issues. At the time, he had expressed hope that the tour could be rescheduled, but he’s now announced that it’s not going to happen.

“Unfortunately, my North American book tour is officially cancelled,” he said in a statement. “Unpredictably, and befuddling to us all, the actual visa finally got delivered after the last scheduled date of the tour had passed.”

“I know how disappointing this must be for those of you who were looking forward to the book tour. My agent and team explored every possible avenue, but it was all beyond our control,” he added. “I’m grateful for your patience and your support and I hope something new may be put together in the future, in better and brighter circumstances. Peace and love, always.”

Those still holding tickets for the tour will be notified about refunds.

Cat On The Road To Findout arrived in October. The tour, Cat on the Road to Findout: An Evening Of Tales, Tunes, and Other Mysteries, was supposed to kick off Oct. 2 in Philadelphia.

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Booker T. and the M.G.’s guitarist Steve Cropper died Wednesday at the age of 84. The news was confirmed on Cropper’s Facebook page, which noted he “died peacefully in Nashville.”

“Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched millions of lives around the world,” read the statement. “While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music. Every note he played, every song he wrote, and every artist he inspired ensures that his spirit and artistry will continue to move people for generations.”

Booker T. and the M.G.’s was the house band for the legendary label Stax Records, with Cropper playing on iconic recordings like Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man” and Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay,” which he co-wrote and produced. He also produced many Stax recordings, and co-wrote songs like “In The Midnight Hour” with Wilson Pickett, and “Knock on Wood” with Eddie Floyd.

After leaving Stax in 1970, he went on to work with artists like Rod Stewart, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, The Jeff Beck Group, Peter Frampton and others. Cropper was also the lead guitarist in the Blues Brothers, fronted by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, and appeared in the two Blues Brothers movies: 1980’s The Blues Brothers and 1998’s Blues Brothers 2000.

Despite his departure from Stax, Cropper continued to record and tour with Booker T. and the M.G.’s, and they released their last album, That’s the Way It Should Be, in 1994.

Cropper launched his solo career with the 1969 album With a Little Help From My Friends. He released his most recent album, 2024’s Friendlytown, with his band The Midnight Hour. It featured guest appearances by ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons and Queen’s Brian May.

Cropper, nicknamed “The Colonel,” won two Grammy awards and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as a member of Booker T. and the M.G.’s. In 2005, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

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In celebration of his 50th anniversary as a member of The Rolling Stones, Ronnie Wood recently released a new art collection, Paint it Black, and says his goal was to capture the feeling of him and his bandmates — Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the late Charlie Watts — performing live.

“I wanted to capture the energy of Mick, Keith, me, our late friend Charlie, and the thousands of live shows we’ve been so lucky to play together,” Wood, who painted the artwork from memory, tells Rolling Stone. “I wanted the fans to see what I see when we’re onstage — music and art as one.”

He adds, “My hope is the Stones fans can feel the music when they look at these paintings.”

Reflecting on his tenure with The Stones, Wood says it’s “hard to believe” it’s been 50 years.

“What a joy. I was already chuffed with the bands I’d played in before ’75. But joining the Stones — that felt like coming home,” he says. “I still get a kick out of being a Stone, and it keeps me out of trouble — sometimes.”

Ronnie Wood’s Paint it Black collection is available now.

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Jimmy Buffett was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024 in the Musical Excellence category, and even though he passed away in 2023, it turns out he was still able to attend the ceremony.

Kenny Chesney and James Taylor performed in honor of Buffett at the induction. In a recent interview with Howard Stern, Chesney revealed that he and guitarist Mac McAnally, a member of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, snuck some of the “Margaritaville” legend’s ashes into the ceremony.

“We were sitting back there warming up, trying to figure out our parts and stuff, and Mac comes up to me and he goes, ‘Look at this,’ and it was a small urn. He had Jimmy’s ashes in his coat pocket,” Chesney said. “So Jimmy’s ashes were in Mac McAnally’s coat pocket onstage with us as he was getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”

Turns out, it was Buffett’s daughter Savannah Buffett who gave McAnally the ashes.

“So even after he passed, Jimmy found a way to join the party,” Chesney added.

Buffett passed away Sept. 1, 2023, after battling a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer.

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Duran Duran has teamed with the company We Are Rewind for a new one-of-a-kind cassette player.

The WE-001 Duran Duran Special Edition features chrome details for ’80s nostalgia, and comes with an exclusive reissue of the band’s 2000 album, Pop Trash, on cassette. It also features a 12-hour rechargeable battery and Bluetooth that allows for connections to modern headphones. It even comes with a pencil, for any tricky rewinding needs.

“Duran Duran always had a look, a sense of style and control of how they looked and how they sounded and their association with cassettes is clear,” We Are Rewind founder and CEO Romain Boudruche says. “We’re delighted to work with the band and help music fans connect with the value of music and physical media in an age of streaming.”

The We Are Rewind Duran Duran cassette player is available for preorder now.

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Former Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm has revealed that he has a new solo album coming out next year.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer made the revelation during an appearance on the Kyle Meredith with… podcast, sharing that he worked on it with former Foreigner bassist Bruce Turgon. Gramm said, “He helped me write songs for my upcoming solo album, which is being released in March.”

Gramm said he’s been working on the album for over two years.

“I have been looking through my backlog of songs that were great songs, but were unfinished and didn’t make it to the cut on my records, and went back and finished some of them. And they’re awesome songs,” he explained. “So I’m taking some new songs that were written and some of the older songs that deserve to be on the album. I finished ’em up, polished ’em up, and they’re on the album. So it’s a little conglomerate of past and present.”

Gramm added that he expects the first single to be out in early February, noting the album “rocks hard.”

Gramm is set to play some select dates with Foreigner in December, starting with a two-night stand at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York, on Wednesday and Thursday. A complete list of dates can be found at Foreigneronline.com.

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