Classic Hits

The life of Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir will be celebrated with a gathering Saturday in San Francisco, birthplace of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band.

Homecoming: Celebrating the life of Bobby Weir, will take place at Civic Center Plaza at 12:45 p.m. PT, and will be free and open to the public.

An announcement on social media describes Weir as an artist “whose music, spirit, and humanity shaped generations,” noting, “Together, we will pay tribute in the community and collective heartbeat that he created.”

“A short sacred stop on his homecoming journey, the gathering will center on gratitude, remembrance, and togetherness, along with special tributes to honor Bobby,” the announcement continues.

It’s important to note, the celebration is not a concert and there will be no live music. There will be a procession ahead of the celebration that will travel three blocks down Market Street starting at 12:30 p.m.

Fans interested in being at the celebration are asked to RSVP prior to attending.

Weir’s death was announced on social media Saturday, January 10. He was 78. According to the announcement he was diagnosed with cancer in July, and had started undergoing treatment just weeks before Dead & Company would take the stage in August for three shows at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Although he beat cancer, he ultimately “succumbed to underlying lung issues.”

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Personal items and memorabilia from artists like Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Foreigner and Phil Collins are among the pieces up for grabs as part of this year’s MusiCares Charity Relief Auction, held every year to support the charitable arm of the Recording Industry.

Among the items being offered: a signed and personalized copy of McCartney’s 2021 book The Lyrics: 1965 to Present; a drum head and a T-shirt signed by Starr; a giclee print of Collins, signed by Collins; and an Epiphone Les Paul Special electric guitar in satin black, autographed by the members of Foreigner.

The auction also includes: a Hotel California painting with photos, autographed by former Eagles guitarist Don Felder; a leather jacket signed by Culture Club’s Boy George; wristwatches made from clothing owned by Iggy Pop and Nirvana‘s Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic; a jacket worn by Cher in promos for Saturday Night Live; and a Gibson “Jessica” Les Paul Standard guitar signed by Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash.

The auction will take place live at the Recording Academy in Santa Monica, California, and online at JuliensAuctions.com on Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. ET. The proceeds will fund MusiCares‘ mission to help music professionals who need financial support in times of crisis.

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The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood is the subject of a new career-spanning book.

Fearless: The Anthology, from Genesis Publications, has Wood opening up his personal archive in a book for the first time and features photos of rare instruments, designer stage wear, concert set lists and more.

The book highlights hundreds of guitars Wood used over the course of his career with the Jeff Beck Group, Faces and The Stones. Some of them have rarely been seen before, with Ronnie sharing stories behind the instruments in his own words.

The description notes, “Every detail – the colors, patina, wear and tear, and unique modifications – has been captured to tell the story of Ronnie’s extraordinary journey through music.”

Only 1,000 copies of the book are being produced and are available in two formats. Both are signed and come with a variety of extras.

They are both available for preorder now and are expected to ship in May.

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Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann has shared his thoughts on his late bandmate Bob Weir, whose death was announced Saturday.

In a lengthy post on Instagram, Kreutzmann recounts their first meeting and all the fun they had in the early days of the Grateful Dead.

“Together, we embarked on a journey without a destination,” he writes. “We didn’t set out to change the world, or to become big stars, or to have our own counterculture — we didn’t know any of those things were actually possible and we wouldn’t have been very interested in them even if we did. Well, not too much, anyway. Just enough to dream.”

“I once heard Bobby refer to himself as ‘the greatest rhythm guitar player in the world’ and it made me chuckle lightheartedly at my brother’s boastfulness,” he continues. “The thing is… he was probably right. Time has proven that nobody will ever be able to replace Jerry Garcia — or Phil Lesh — and time will prove the same for Bob Weir.”

“There are so many people who can rightfully say that their life would not have been the same without Bob Weir,” he adds. “That’s been true for me since I was 17. And through it all, the high times and the low tides, my love for him will not, indeed can not, fade away.”

Finally, Kreutzmann asks,  “In the end, what more was there for him to do? He played it all… and never the same way, twice. I think he had finally said everything he had to say and now he’s on to the next thing. I just hope he was able to bring his guitar with him or otherwise he’ll go crazy.”

Grateful Dead was co-founded by Weir, Kreutzmann, Garcia, Lesh and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan in 1965, with drummer Mickey Hart and lyricist Robert Hunter joining the group in 1967. Kreutzmann and Hart are now the last two surviving members of the band.

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Peter Criss has responded to a recent Gene Simmons interview in which he claimed Criss didn’t deserve a songwriting credit on KISS‘ 1976 hit “Beth.”

The track, which peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, is credited to Criss, the late Stan Penridge and producer Bob Ezrin.

Simmons made the claim during an interview with the Professor of Rock podcast, saying, “Peter had nothing to do with that song. He sang it. … The mythology of ‘Beth’ is exactly that: mythology.” He argued Criss got the writing credit because he was “lucky enough to be in the same place at the same time as a guy who wrote” it.

But Criss told Billboard Simmons’ version of events is “not correct.”

“Gene wouldn’t know how the song was originally written because Gene wasn’t there from the conception of the song in the late ‘60s and he wasn’t there for the completion of the song with Bob Ezrin,” Criss said. “Gene’s statements are ridiculous and very uncalled for; he talks about things that he doesn’t know about.”

Criss said he wrote the melody and created the phrasing of the song’s original demo, then titled “Beck,” with Penridge. He also said that even though Simmons claimed it was his idea to change the title, it was Ezrin who changed it. 

Ezrin also told Billboard that Simmons’ account is “not exactly how I remember it.”

“I believe from what I was told that the original song was written by Criss and Penridge and was called ‘Beck.’ It was a bit rockier and more macho,” he said. “I felt it had potential, so I asked to take it home and play with it a bit.”

Criss noted, “I would not put my name on a song I had nothing to do with. That is not who I am. I would not do that.”

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Peter Gabriel has announced the CD and LP release of two live albums that he released to digital services in 2025. The rocker is set to drop In the Big Room on March 13 and Live at WOMAD 1982 on May 8.

In the Big Room is a recording of an intimate fan club show that took place in November 2003 in the Big Room at Gabriel’s Real World Studios in the U.K. The 14-track album features songs Gabriel performed during two tours: the 2002-03 Growing Up Live tour and 2004’s Still Growing Up Live tour. The album features performances of songs like “In Your Eyes,” “Shock the Monkey,” “Digging in the Dirt” and “More Than This.”

Live at WOMAD 1982 captures Gabriel’s performance at his first WOMAD festival, which stood for World of Music, Arts and Dance. The concert took place in Somerset, England, and featured 60 bands from over 20 countries. The album features a recording of Gabriel’s Friday night set, which included seven songs from his album 4, which was released two months after the event.

Both physical releases are available for preorder now.

Gabriel recently announced that he’ll be releasing a new album in 2026, o/i, and will drop a new song with each full moon of the year. The entire album will be released by the end of 2026.

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The first official trailer for the upcoming Paul McCartney documentary Man on the Run has just been released.

The film, directed by Morgan Neville, looks at McCartney’s life following the breakup of The Beatles, including the formation of his band Wings.

“The Beatles had been my whole life really,” McCartney says at the beginning of the trailer. “When we split up, I thought, ‘I’ll never write another note of music ever.’”

The trailer for the film features archival pictures and footage of The Beatles, McCartney and wife Linda McCartney, Wings and more. It also has McCartney talking about the depression he felt after The Beatles’ breakup, the pressures he felt starting Wings and his relationship with John Lennon.

“When we started Wings, it was about freedom,” McCartney says at the end of the clip, “and we felt we finally arrived — second time around.”

Man on the Run, which includes new interviews from Wings’ Denny Laine, Sean Lennon and The Pretenders‘ Chrissie Hynde, is set to premiere globally on Prime Video on Feb. 27.

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John Mellencamp is giving fans what they want – the hits.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has announced dates for the Dancing Words Tour — The Greatest Hits, where he’ll play a set filled with hits including “Jack and Diane,” “Hurts So Good,” “Small Town” and “Pink Houses.” He’s also promising to break out tracks he hasn’t performed live in nearly a decade, like “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute To 60’s Rock),” “I Need a Lover,” “Wild Night” and “Ain’t Even Done With the Night.”

Mellencamp announced the news in a video in which he meets actor Sean Penn at a roadside diner. As Mellencamp’s hits play on the jukebox, Penn suggests he go out and play the songs on tour, something the rocker admits he “quit doing 17 years ago.”

“They’ve been asking me to do this for years. ‘Come play outside again.’ And I’m saying, ‘No, no, no.’ But this time, I’m 74 years old. I thought I might be getting to the age where I might want to try to share these songs with people again,” Mellencamp tells People in a new interview. “In the video that Sean and I made, Sean says, ‘There’s no reason to keep these songs to yourself. What’s the problem with trying to make people happy?'”

The 19-date trek kicks off July 10 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and wraps Aug. 12 in Mountain View, California, with a majority of the dates set in outdoor amphitheaters.

A Citi presale for tickets kicks off Jan. 20 at 10 a.m. local time, with tickets going on sale to the general public Jan. 23 at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at JohnMellencamp.com.

(Video includes uncensored profanity.)

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A concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of Bob Dylan’s classic album Blonde on Blonde is being put on by the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The concert, dubbed Sooner or Later, will be held Feb. 20 at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, emceed by The Daily Show’s Jordan Klepper. The one-night-only event will feature performances by former 10,000 Maniacs frontwoman Natalie Merchant, The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn, Fantastic Negrito, X founding members Exene Cervenka and John Doe, New York singer/songwriter Willie Nile, The Walkman founder Hamilton Leithauser, The McCrary Sisters and more.

The evening will have the artists performing songs from Blonde on Blonde, as well as other tunes from Dylan’s catalog.

“Sixty years on from its initial release, Blonde on Blonde still sounds like the future,” says Steven Jenkins, senior director of the Bob Dylan Center. “Dylan’s pursuit of what he called ‘that thin wild mercury sound’ led him to create this extraordinary double album, which our amazing roster of guest artists will transform anew.”

A ticket presale for Bob Dylan Center members begins Wednesday at 10 a.m. local time. Any remaining tickets will go on sale Friday. More info can be found at bobdylancenter.com.

Released in June 1966, the double album Blonde on Blonde was Dylan’s seventh studio release, and featured musicians Robbie Robertson and Rick Danko before they became The Band. The album, which featured such songs as “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” “I Want You,” “Just Like a Woman,” “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again,” peaked at #9 on the album chart.

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For the first time in over 50 years, Fleetwood Mac’s ballad “Landslide” has landed on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Stevie Nicks-penned track appears on the band’s 1975 self-titled album. It just debuted at #41 on the singles chart, thanks to its appearance in the series finale of Netflix’s Stranger Things.

While this is the first time the original “Landslide” recording has made the Hot 100, a live version of the song, from Fleetwood Mac’s 1997 album The Dance, peaked at #51 on the Hot 100 in 1998.

Although the original was never released as a single, “Landslide” has gone on to become an iconic track for the band and has been recorded by a whole host of artists, including The Chicks, whose cover peaked at #7 on the Hot 100. It’s also been covered by Smashing Pumpkins, the cast of Glee and others.

“Landslide” is now Fleetwood Mac’s 26th track to chart on the Hot 100, and their first debut since 2003’s “Peacekeeper.” They have now had a song debut on the singles chart in five different decades: the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, 2000s and 2020s. Other groups who have had debuts in at least five decades include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Santana and The Isley Brothers.

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