Classic Hits

Joe Cocker was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Saturday night in Los Angeles with an all-star tribute that closed the ceremony.

Bryan Adams welcomed Cocker into the Rock Hall. He noted that the late singer, who passed away in 2014, had many hits covering tunes originally recorded by other artists, like The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends,” Dave Mason’s “Feelin’ Alright” and Billy Preston‘s “You Are So Beautiful.”

“It’s one thing to cover a song, but it’s another to make it your own. And that’s what Joe could do,” Adams said. “Even Paul McCartney acknowledged how Joe had transformed his Beatles classic into a soul anthem. And the list of songs Joe did that to is mighty.”

Several musicians were on hand to celebrate Cocker’s music, with Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks of Tedeschi Trucks Band and Nathaniel Rateliff kicking things off with a performance of “The Letter,” which was Cocker’s first top-10 hit. Teddy Swims then joined them for a performance of Mason’s “Feelin’ Alright,” which Cocker covered in 1969.

The night wrapped with an all-star closing jam, featuring Tedeschi Trucks Band, Swims, Adams, Rock Hall inductee Cyndi Lauper and The Black Crowes‘ Chris Robinson performing Cocker’s version of “With A Little Help From My Friends.”

Highlights from the 2025 Rock Hall induction ceremony will air Jan. 1 on ABC.

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Warren Zevon was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Music Influence category Saturday night, with his good friend David Letterman doing the honors.

“In music many pretend, but Warren is a poet, leaving few of life’s vagaries unaddressed,” he said. “Warren’s music is dense with historic illusion, love and sadness tinted with unexpected whimsy, delivered with third rail voltage rock ‘n’ roll or sweet, heartbreaking, lush, symphonic melodies. Either version of the man’s music is classic rock ‘n’ roll.”

Letterman also recalled Zevon’s last appearance on The Late Show, which happened 22 years ago, just months after Zevon announced he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Letterman noted Zevon’s comments that what he learned about life following his diagnosis was to “enjoy every sandwich.”

“That’s easy but it’s deeply meaningful and there’s not a person in this room who hasn’t considered that, but nobody can hang on to that on a daily basis,” Letterman added. “But by God isn’t that true of life around the planet.”

He ended his speech mentioning the guitar Zevon gifted him on that night, noting it was the guitar that had been displayed right beside him throughout his speech. He then said the guitar was “going back to work” and handed it over to The Killers guitarist Dave Keuning.

The band, along with legendary session guitarist Waddy Wachtel, a longtime Zevon collaborator, then paid tribute to Zevon with a performance of his hit “Lawyers, Guns and Money.”

Highlights from the 2025 Rock Hall induction ceremony will air Jan. 1 on ABC.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame can’t get enough of Bad Company.

The ’70s supergroup, made up of Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Mick Ralphs and Boz Burrell, was inducted into the Rock Hall Saturday night in Los Angeles, with Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood welcoming them into the prestigious music institution.

Fleetwood called BadCo “one of the best rock ‘n’ roll bands of all time,” noting that frontman Rodgers “is the voice that every rock singer holds as their North Star.” He added, “To listen to a Bad Company song is to hear a once-in-a-lifetime voice take rock music to new heights.”

“Bad Company was grounded in the blues, but also created uniform, unforgettable pop melodies,” he said. “They helped define the musical path ahead for rock music.”

With Rodgers pulling out of the ceremony just days before it took place due to his health, Kirke was the only member of the band to attend the ceremony. He acknowledged Rodgers, calling him “one of the greatest rock singers of all time.” He also recognized his late bandmates Ralphs and Burrell, noting they’re “amongst us in the stars tonight.”

“They say it’s better to travel than to arrive, but I don’t know, tonight I’ve arrived with the band, and I’m so grateful,” he added.

Kirke also got a chance to step back behind the drum kit, backing an all-star lineup that included Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and Heart’s Nancy Wilson, with The Black Crowes‘ Chris Robinson handling the vocals on “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” and Bryan Adams taking over the mic for “Can’t Get Enough.”

Highlights from the 2025 Rock Hall induction ceremony will air Jan. 1 on ABC.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Cyndi Lauper was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame during Saturday’s ceremony in Los Angeles.

Chappell Roan introduced the “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” artist in a speech paying tribute to her musical influence and activism work in the LGBTQ+ community.

“Cyndi embodies every quality of an artist that I admire,” the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer said. “She’s a born performer and a revolutionary songwriter, a forever fashion icon, and a fierce advocate and ally.”

Lauper then performed a three-song set beginning with her song “True Colors,” followed by “Time After Time” alongside RAYE. She closed with “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” featuring Avril Lavigne and Salt-N-Pepa, who were inducted earlier in the night with the Musical Influence Award.

“I know that I stand on the shoulders of the women in the industry that came before me,” Lauper said in her acceptance speech. “And my shoulders are broad enough to have the women that come after me stand on mine.” 

She added, “The little kid in me still believes that rock ‘n’ roll can save the world.”

Highlights from the 2025 Rock Hall induction ceremony will air Jan. 1 on ABC.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

“Things Can Only Get Better” now that Howard Jones is coming to late night TV.

The synth-pop artist will perform on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Nov. 12. You can tune in to watch starting at 11:35 p.m. ET/10:35 p.m. CT.

The Kimmel appearance comes as Jones continues to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his 1985 album Dream into Action, which spawned the aforementioned “Things Can Only Get Better,” as well as the singles “No One Is to Blame,” “Like to Get to Know You Well” and “Life in One Day.”

Jones marked the Dream into Action anniversary with a U.S. tour in September and will be touring Europe into December.

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Queen has released the second episode in their ongoing five-part video series, Queen The Greatest Special, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of their 1975 album A Night at the Opera and its single “Bohemian Rhapsody.” 

In the latest installment, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor describe how the first three Queen albums, 1973’s self-titled debut, and 1974’s Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack, set the stage for the experimentation on A Night at the Opera and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

“We go complex again [on A Night at the Opera],” May says. “You know, let’s pursue our dreams a bit further. We’ve done Sheer Heart Attack, it’s done quite well. But really, our heart is in chiseling out these unusual places.”

Queen The Greatest Special is now streaming on YouTube.

A 50th anniversary vinyl reissue of A Night at the Opera was released in October.

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Rod Stewart is extending his One Last Time tour with new dates in 2026.

The newly added shows kick off March 13, in Uncasville, Connecticut, and include stops in Houston, Phoenix, Cincinnati, Hollywood and more, before concluding in Kansas City on Aug. 15.

Howard Jones and Richard Marx will join Rod on the trek for select dates.

An artist presale begins Monday at 10 a.m. local time, with additional presales running throughout the week. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. local time at LiveNation.com.

In between the tour, Rod will also be returning to Las Vegas for another round of his residency, The Encore Shows. He has dates mapped out from May 27 through June 6.

His One Last Time world tour initially kicked off in 2024, with shows throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America.

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The late Brian Wilson‘s performance of the Beach Boys classic “God Only Knows” from his Live at the Roxy Theatre live album now has a lyric video.

Live at the Roxy Theatre was recorded over two nights at the famed West Hollywood venue in April 2000. The set is now being reissued in honor of its 25th anniversary.

You can watch the new “God Only Knows” lyric video on YouTube.

The Live at the Roxy Theatre reissue, which was released Friday, includes the original track list, plus never-before-heard performances and tour recordings from between 2000 and 2009.

Wilson died in June at age 82.

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Elton John is among the nominees for the 2026 Grammys.

The Rocket Man’s collaboration with Brandi Carlile, “Never Too Late,” recorded for his documentary of the same name, is up for best song written for visual media. The pair’s collaborative album, Who Believes in Angels?, is nominated in the best traditional pop vocal album category.

Other Grammy nominees include the Devo documentary Devo for best music film and Joni Mitchell‘s Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980) for best historical album.

The 2026 Grammys will air Feb. 1 on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

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Carlos Santana has teamed up with Mexican musician Carín León for a new song called “Velas.”

“This song is about something that both God and humans love; it’s called romance,” Santana says. “Romance is a bridge between humans and God. We all pray for something, to God or the universe.”

“What I hope people will feel when they hear this song is that they want to give each other a hug,” he adds. “There’s so much negativity in the world right now that we need a hug of light.”

You can watch the “Velas” video, which features both Santana and León, on YouTube.

Santana will resume his Las Vegas residence on Saturday. The 2025 leg concludes Nov. 16; a 2026 leg kicks off in January.

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