Classic Hits

ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons has confirmed a story that the band members were once offered $1 million to shave off their iconic beards.

In an interview with Jay Mohr’s Mohr Stories podcast, Gibbons said it’s true that they were offered the money to shave their beards for a Super Bowl commercial. When asked if it was razor company Gillette, Gibbons confirmed that it was, but noted, “They deny it.”

“It was a million dollars per man,” Gibbons said, before revealing why they turned down the money. He explained that they went to their publicist Bob Merlis with the offer, and he was the one who gave them a reason to reconsider.

“He said, ‘The money’s good, you might as well consider doing it, but I’m not so sure you guys — any of you guys — know what’s under there,’” Gibbons said. “So we passed. We passed, and our fans loved it. Word got out.”

Gibbons and ZZ Top have a busy 2026 ahead of them. Gibbons kicks off a tour with the BFG Band on Jan. 20 in Napa, California. Then ZZ Top will hit the road on the Big One! tour starting March 21 in Abilene, Texas. They are also headlining the Dos Amigos tour with Dwight Yoakam, which consists of 15 shows starting March 26 in Brookings, South Dakota.

ZZ Top is also bringing their the Big One! tour to Europe, which will be their first European tour in two years. The trek starts June 13 in Estonia.

A complete list of ZZ Top dates can be found at ZZTop.com.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Billy Joel shocked fans on Jan. 2 when he took the stage — for the first time since his brain condition diagnosis — to perform with a Billy Joel cover band in Wellington, Florida. The singer in that cover band is now speculating that the Rock & Roll of Famer is working toward a return to the stage.

Tony Monaco, lead singer of the tribute band Turnstiles, tells Spin.com that he had no idea Billy was coming to their gig until he, his wife and his daughters showed up backstage and Billy said “maybe” he’d be interested in sitting in with the band.

According to Tony, Billy suggested they do “New York State of Mind” together, despite the fact that, as he told Tony, “I haven’t sang in months and I don’t play piano much lately.” When the time came for the song, Billy was nowhere to be found. Soon afterward, Tony says, he saw Billy making his way to the stage.

“I was excited, but now I didn’t know what we’d play,” Tony said. Billy suggested “We Didn’t Start the Fire,”  followed by “Big Shot,” which thrilled the audience.

“He’s not 100%, but his voice was strong, and I do think he’s going to come back,” Tony concluded.

“He may not do it on such a grand scale or get up from the piano too much, but I know he wants to play again and hasn’t shut the door on doing so. I’m not so sure that this wasn’t a little testing of those waters.”

Billy, 76, announced in May that he’d been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, which causes hearing, vision and balance problems. He canceled all his concerts.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Peter Frampton took to Instagram Tuesday to mark the 50th anniversary of his iconic live album, Frampton Comes Alive!

“I can’t believe today’s the day. It’s now been 50 years since Frampton Comes Alive! was released. Wow, 50 years,” he said. “Thank you all for helping it become such a huge phenomenal success,” he added, before joking, “probably time to buy a new one anyway.”

Frampton Comes Alive! helped launch the now-Rock & Roll Hall of Famer to stardom, with the album becoming one of the bestselling live albums of all time. It features live performances of now-iconic Frampton tunes like “Show Me the Way,” “Baby, I Love Your Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do,” which all became top-15 hits.

Frampton Comes Alive! was the first live album to really make an impact, and in an interview with ABC Audio, Frampton said he was very proud of what the album did for both him and “music in general.”

“They say that it changed everything because of the massive sales for not a studio album. The biggest-selling album at that time for a couple of years there, and not even biggest-selling live album, biggest-selling album,” Frampton said. “We surpassed Tapestry, Carole King‘s wonderful album.” 

Frampton Comes Alive! would go on to become Frampton’s only #1 record, spending 10 nonconsecutive weeks in the top spot. In 2020 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Elton John has announced some details of his annual Elton John Aids Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party.

The party will be held Oscar night, March 15, at West Hollywood Park, hosted by Elton and his husband, David Furnish, as well as actor Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, David Burtka.

“EJAFOscars has always been about more than films, it’s about coming together to change lives,” reads a post on Elton’s Instagram. “We’re excited to return this March to bring heart and purpose to Hollywood’s biggest night.”

Elton has not revealed the evening’s entertainment, although he is asking for input from fans. The post asks, “Who would you like to see join our hosts on stage? Let us know in the comments!”

Last year’s party featured a performance by Chappell Roan, with money raised going to both Elton’s foundation and L.A. wildfire relief.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, Jan. 6, 1987 …

Eric Clapton kicked off a six-night residency at London’s Royal Albert Hall, treating the crowd to such classic songs as “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Wonderful Tonight” and “Cocaine,” as well as Cream tracks “White Room” and “Sunshine of Your Love.”

The residency became a near-annual event for Clapton. In 1991, he played a whopping 24 shows at Royal Albert Hall, breaking his own record for the longest run of concerts at the venue.

During that run, Clapton performed with three lineups — a rock band, a blues band and an orchestra. In June 2024, he released a box set, The Definitive 24 Nights, featuring performances from that run.

Clapton’s most recent Royal Albert Hall residency took place in May 2025. He has not yet revealed plans to play the venue in 2026. 

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

David Bowie is the latest artist to see a streaming bump thanks to the Netflix series Stranger Things.

Bowie’s “Heroes” plays over the closing credits of the show’s series finale, and according to Billboard, Luminate data shows that the song saw a 500% increase in streams following its inclusion.

“Heroes,” the title track to Bowie’s 12th studio album, saw about 342,000 streams on Jan. 1, the day after the show’s New Year’s Eve debut, and then continued to increase up to 456,000 streams on Jan. 2 and 470,000 streams on Jan. 3. Those numbers mark a significant increase compared to the months prior to the episode’s airing, when “Heroes” would average about 94,000 streams per day.

Stranger Things has a history of boosting the visibility of songs from previous decades. Most notably, Kate Bush‘s 1985 single “Running Up That Hill (Deal With God)” became the most streamed song on Spotify in the U.S. and the U.K. after its use in the fourth season of the show. It also went to #1 in the U.K. and #3 in the U.S.

“Heroes,” originally released in 1977, wasn’t the only song featured in the Stranger Things series finale. Other songs in the episode include Prince‘s “When Doves Cry” and “Purple Rain,”  Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper,” Pixies’ ” Here Comes Your Man” and Cowboy Junkies’ cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane.”

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Saturday marks 10 years since David Bowie’s death and his longtime pianist Mike Garson is opening up about the last time he spoke with the rock legend.

Garson tells Gold Derby that their last conversation was quite hopeful, despite the fact that Bowie was secretly battling cancer.

“It was only a few weeks before. He reached out to me, talking about continuing the trilogy of the Outside album,” Garson says, referring to Bowie’s 1995 album, and planned sequels that never happened. “He never gave up hope. … He was dying, and yet he was saying, ‘Let’s do this.’ So, of course, I got excited.”

Garson also recalls the last message he got from Bowie, noting he knew it was the end even though he was unaware of Bowie’s illness.

He says he had just listened to Bowie’s discography which left him “awestruck,” prompting him to send Bowie an email. Garson says, “And within three seconds, he emailed me back, saying, ‘Mike, we did a great body of work together.’”

Garson said the “finality” of that statement had him telling his wife “that’s the last time I’m going to hear form him.” “I don’t know if it was just my intuition,” he explained. “I did not know he was dying then, because he kept [his illness] secret from everyone. … But we had a very special connection.”

Garson is set to headline a trio of shows, Bowie’s Piano Man: A Decade in the Stars, at the Sun Rose West Hollywood in Los Angeles Jan. 8-10. The shows will celebrate Bowie’s birthday and the 10th anniversary of his death, and will feature guest appearances by Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Bowie touring bassist Carmine Rojas and others.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Studio equipment previously owned by Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones is currently up for auction.

The equipment comes from Jones’ private studio, and has no Led Zeppelin connection. Gear up for grabs includes amps, digital samplers, equalizers, processors and more.

“John is still very active musically – writing, recording and performing – but no longer requires so much studio equipment – most of which he has owned from new,” Soundgas writes on its website. “He feels it should be in the hands of people who will put it to good use, so it is offered here without formal provenance, with the intention that it continues to be used as intended.”

The John Paul Jones auction runs until Jan. 18. More info can be found at Soundgas.com

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson has taken to social media to blast AI-generated content that has apparently been fooling the band’s fans.

“It has come to our attention that fake fan websites and social media accounts are displaying AI-generated content purporting to be by me – whether lyrics, music or social commentary,” he wrote in a post on Instagram. “If you see this insidious, childish and dishonest material, please ignore it as it will not be genuine. If you haven’t read or seen it on our official social media platforms then it is most likely fake or, at best, copied and pasted from our legitimate sources.”

Anderson notes that Jethro Tull isn’t the only band to experience “their public personae tampered with and faked for the amusement of the perpetrators or even financial gain in some cases.”

“This is the tip of the iceberg in terms of a future where AI at its worst is accepted and tolerated in society,” he added. “As the AI algorithms become more sophisticated, it will be harder and harder to spot the fakes and we will all be reduced to simply not trusting ANY source of information or entertainment.”

He concluded the post by writing, “Sad world and sadder times…”

Jethro Tull is set to kick off a European tour on Feb. 11 in Munich, Germany. A complete list of dates can be found at JethroTull.com.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Cher‘s a big fan of her current boyfriend.

While appearing on the new episode of the Armchair Expert podcast, Cher was asked by host Dax Shepard, “Have you ever had a man that you deserved?” — suggesting she didn’t deserve the bad experiences she had with some of her past boyfriends.

Cher agreed with Shepard that she had deserved David Geffen, whom she was with in the early ’70s and is still a friend. She then named two other “wonderful” partners: Rob Camilletti, whom she dated from 1986 to 1989, and her current boyfriend, Alexander “AE” Edwards, whom she’s been with since 2022.

Shepard then recalled the fact that Cher initially didn’t understand why his wife and her Burlesque costar, Kristen Bell, was with him. Cher responded, “I trust her. So you must have something that I don’t see.”

Shepard replied, “I’ll tell you the thing that you should like about me. I’m not threatened by her shining. I love it. The shinier she gets, the better.” 

“Alexander’s that way, too,” Cher said, adding that “the more I shine,” the happier he is.

Alexander is 39, while Cher is 79. She’ll turn 80 in May.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.