Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Steve Perry wants to help you get into the holiday spirit.
The former Journey frontman has just launched his very own holiday yule log on YouTube, featuring songs from his latest holiday album, The Season 3, with video of a roaring fire, surrounded by a Christmas tree and stockings.
Perry originally released The Season in 2021, then followed it up with a deluxe edition a year later.
The latest version of the album, which came out in November, features a total of 16 holiday tunes, six of which are new, including “Call Me Irresponsible,” featuring the singer’s late father, Ray Perry, “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Let It Snow.”
John Lennon’s two sons, Julian Lennon and Sean Ono Lennon,spent some quality time together and gave the public a little peek at their evening.
Julian shared a trio of photos from their hangout at John Lennon’s apartment at The Dakota on Instagram, including one of him giving Sean a kiss on the head and another of Sean digging into some noodles surrounded by takeout containers.
“A Goodnight kiss for my brother, after spending the evening with him, having a lil dinner & chatting the night away, at The Dakota,” Julian wrote. “Something we rarely get to do…Thankful.”
Julian, 61, is Lennon’s son with his first wife, Cynthia, who the Beatle divorced in 1968. Sean, 49, is his son with wife Yoko Ono,who he married in 1969.
Paul McCartney is getting into the holiday spirit.
The Beatles legend is currently on the U.K. leg of his Got Back tour, and while playing in Manchester he broke out his holiday tune “Wonderful Christmastime.”
Performing in front of a holiday-themed backdrop, McCartney performed the song for the first time since 2018 at the Co-Op Live on Saturday, where, according to Rolling Stone, he was joined by children from the You Should Be Dancing Theatre Academy. He then performed the song again during his Saturday night show.
McCartney shared photos of the concert, and the holiday-themed performance, on Instagram, writing, “Simply having a Wonderful Christmastime in Manchester! We’ve been travelling around the world and here we are up north again. It’s good to be back!“
And McCartney has a few more opportunities to sing the song before Christmas. He is set to wrap the tour with two nights at the O2 in London, Wednesday and Thursday.
Released in 1979, “Wonderful Christmastime” was recorded during the sessions for McCartney’s solo album McCartney II. The song peaked at #26 in the U.S. and was a top-10 hit in the U.K., Germany and other countries.
REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin wants fans to know he didn’t want the band to end.
The group announced in September that after 2024 they would cease touring; in a new interview with Billboard, Cronin says ending the group wasn’t his decision.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever see this coming,” he told the mag. “I didn’t want to end REO Speedwagon. This is sad, and I would do anything in my power to continue (as) REO Speedwagon. I never quit the band; I never will quit the band. I just got outvoted and … have to stop calling it REO Speedwagon at the end of this year.”
The vote he’s referring to was between the three members with controlling interesting in REO Speedwagon — Cronin; founding member Neal Doughty, who retired from touring in 2023; and bassist Bruce Hall, who joined the band in 1977 and who hasn’t toured with them since November 2023.
Cronin is also upset Hall made comments on social media suggesting he was responsible for the end of the band.
“It’s kind of like a divorce of sorts and during a divorce things get a little muddy and things get a little sticky,” he says. “It’s never thrilling when things are said that are inaccurate and hurtful.”
He adds, “My hope is that there will come a time where the dust will have settled. My intention is to ask forgiveness for anything that I’ve done or any hurt that I have caused Bruce. I don’t like to have grudges with people. I like to forgive and be forgiven.”
REO Speedwagon plays their final show Dec. 21 in Las Vegas. Cronin will head out on the Brotherhood of Rock tour with Styx starting May 28 in Greenville, South Carolina.
AC/DC’s Brian Johnson makes a surprise appearance in a special holiday edition of Apple TV+ and Apple Music’s Carpool Karaoke.
A Carpool Karaoke Christmas, with Zane Lowe behind the wheel instead of James Corden, focuses on three pop stars — Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa and Chappell Roan. Johnson turns up during Gaga’s segment.
“You know what, I got you something for Christmas,” Lowe says, before stopping and picking up Johnson, which comes as a complete surprise to Gaga.
The rocker then takes over behind the wheel, with Lowe asking, “You guys ready to rock?” Johnson responds to Gaga, “You were born ready.”
That leads to them all singing AC/DC’s classic “Highway to Hell.” At one point Johnson takes his hands off the wheel, shocking Gaga, who jokes, “We’re all gonna die and go to hell.”
Gaga then reveals a special connection she has to AC/DC, sharing that she was an extra in their “Stiff Upper Lip” video when she was 17.
“I was head banging and they were like, ‘Um, don’t head bang, we want it to be modern,’” Gaga says, “and I was like, ‘No, there’s only one move that I can do.’”
Johnson ends his ride by wishing Gaga a Merry Christmas and joking, “I should have told you I don’t have a license.”
The Who‘s Roger Daltrey, Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder, Iggy Pop and Billy Idol were among the A-list talent who played a holiday party in New York on Friday.
According to setlist.fm, the bash for Eldridge Industries took place at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester and also featured Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes, Elvis Costello and Lisa Fischer, backed by Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, music producer Andrew Watt, legendary guitarist G.E. Smith and more.
Partygoers got to hear Daltrey perform several The Who classics, including “Pinball Wizard,” “The Real Me,” “I Can’t Explain,” “I’m One,” “The Seeker,” “Baba O’Reily” and “My Generation,” while Vedder treated the crowd to Pearl Jam tunes “Corduroy” and “Better Man,” as well as a covers of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers‘ “The Waiting,” The Beat’s “Save It For Later” and The Mono Men’s “Watch Outside.” He also fronted an ensemble performance of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World.”
Costello performed his classic “Pump It Up,” as well as The Clash’s “Should I Stay Or Should I Go,” while Haynes took part in a performance of The Allman Brothers Band‘s “Whipping Post.” Idol sang “Dancing with Myself” and “Mony Mony,” as well as the Sex Pistol’s “Pretty Vacant.”
Among the night’s other performances, Iggy performed “The Passenger” and “Search and Destroy,” Fisher and Idol teamed up for The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter,” and Watt fronted covers of Prince’s “Purple Rain” and Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.”
A happy birthday goes out to ZZ Top guitarist Billy F. Gibbons, who turns 75 on Monday.
Gibbons, known for his signature long beard, formed ZZ Top in 1969, recruiting Dusty Hil on bass and vocals, and drummer Frank “Rube” Beard. The trio released their debut album, ZZ Top’s First Album, in 1971, incorporating a variety of musical genres, including blues, hard rock and Southern rock. They went on to release 15 albums over the course of their career, selling an estimated 50 million records.
ZZ Top’s most commercially successful album is 1984’s Eliminator, which peaked at #9 on the Billboard Album chart and sold over 11 million copies in the U.S. The album included four hit singles: “Legs,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharped Dressed Man” and “TV Dinners.”
Gibbons was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with ZZ Top in 2015.
In addition to the band, Gibbons has had a successful solo career, releasing his debut solo album, Perfectamundo, under the name Billy Gibbons and the BFG’s in 2015. He’s also spent his career collaborating with other artists and has even dabbled in acting, playing Angela’s rock star dad on the hit Fox series Bones.
Known for his live performing, it’s no surprise Gibbons will be celebrating his 75th onstage. He’s set to kick off his three-night Birthday Jam at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on Wednesday, where he’ll be joined by a group of special guests, including Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, Joe Bonamassa and The Doors’ Robby Krieger.
He’s also set to launch a solo tour with a two-night stand in Austin, Texas, Dec. 27 and Dec. 28, with a ZZ Top tour kicking off March 5 in Dotham, Alabama.
Art Garfunkel has shared more details about his recent reunion with singing partner Paul Simon.
Back in November, the musician shared that he and Simon had an emotional lunch together, noting he cried when Simon told him how much he had hurt him with comments he made in an old interview. Those comments led to their yearslong estrangement.
In a new interview with NME, Garfunkel admits he likely said the things he said intentionally to hurt Simon.
“Paul said to me, ‘Arty, it’s not that you spoke to the British press and that you didn’t do it well. I know you said you wanted to put spice into the image of Simon & Garfunkel. I know you felt that we were too conservative,'” Garfunkel said. “Well, my idea of spice meant a certain candor that must have hurt Paul’s feelings. I realized; I did hurt his feelings.”
“He said, ‘I felt you wanted to hurt me. That’s what got me.’ And I thought, ‘That’s true.’ I wanted to hurt him,” Garfunkel added. “The next thing I knew, I burst into tears.”
“The admission of the truth is psychological. You give it up and admit that you wanted to hurt somebody. You’re touched by your own confession. And then there were hugs,” he said. “It was a wonderful moment for Simon & Garfunkel. It basically ended the years of detachment.”
Garfunkel also had some great things to say about his former singing partner.
“Paul’s very funny. The basis of the Simon & Garfunkel relationship is laughter and jokes – even more than music,” he said. “Right from the beginning, we laughed all the time, and it was the source of our connection.”
Fans of The Beatles were out in full force for Record Store Day Black Friday.
Billboard reports that the Fab Four’s “I Want To Hold Your Hand”/”I Saw Her Standing There” 7-inch vinyl was the top-selling single on Record Store Day Black Friday, while the 3-inch vinyl release of “All My Loving” came in at #5.
Stevie Nicks also had one of the bestselling singles, with the white-colored 7-inch vinyl of her latest single, “The Lighthouse,” landing at #3 behind Pearl Jam‘s “Waiting for Stevie (Live)”/”Wreckage (Live)” vinyl.
U2 was also a big draw at independent record stores, with the How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb black and red colored vinyl the sixth-bestselling album on Record Store Day. Van Halen’s Live in Dallas 1981 on red colored double vinyl was #8, the Ramones’ Greatest Hits on red colored vinyl was #9 and the Grateful Dead’s four-vinyl LP set, Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT 5/5/77, was #10.
Dave Benett/Getty Images for Rachel Fuller and Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend is once again sharing some information about the future of The Who.
In an interview with Variety, the rocker continued to tease a possible Who tour next year, sharing, “I know that if Roger (Daltrey) and I do tour again, as I’m sure we will, it will probably be one of the last periods that we tour.”
Pete made similar comments about a Who tour back in October, telling The Standard, “We’re both getting a bit creaky, but we will definitely do something next year.”
As for new music from the band, that seems less likely.
“I would love to do another album with Roger,” Pete tells Variety. “I really enjoyed doing the last one, but he doesn’t really want to do that — I feel like with the Who, I’m still trying to push this elephant up the hill, with Roger being resistant to doing new creative work. He always says to me, ‘Pete, you’ve done enough. We did enough in the early days. That’s what people want here. Let’s just do that.’”
As for non-Who-related projects, Pete says he’s “thought about doing solo work,” adding, “I’m still a conceptualist; I still want a story to hang the music on.”
“For me it’s about pencil sketches, poems, song lyrics, playing with the latest electronic toy, doing books. It’s about all kinds of things,” he explains. “I may have 10 years left to work, but I work very, very slowly, so one thing I’m trying to do is speed things up a bit.”
Finally, he notes, “So I may dump a couple of the projects that I’ve been working on for a long time and I may decide just to do a one-man show.”
