RICK DERRINGER: Dies at 77
Rick Derringer passed away Monday night at the age of 77. He was in intensive care and was surrounded by his wife Jenda and close friend Tony Wilson. He first achieved fame as a teenager in 1965 the with The McCoys and their hit “Hang on Sloopy.” He scored another hit on his own in 1973 with “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo.” Derringer also worked with Steely Dan, Johnny and Edgar Winter, Alice Cooper, KISS, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Cyndi Lauper, Barbra Streisand, and Ringo Starr. He also wrote wrestler Hulk Hogan's theme song, "Real American."
Derringer talked about writing Rock ‘n Roll Hoochie Koo for Johnny Winter -- “The first thing I wanted to do was bring more of a rock ‘n roll way of thinking to Johnny, but Johnny didn’t want to change and become in any way bubblegum. So, I wanted to write a song specifically for Johnny that he would be able to speak the lyrics in his vernacular and feel comfortable about saying the words he was saying, but I also wanted to bring a little more of a pop kind of sensibility to the whole thing. So, I wrote ‘Rock ‘n Roll Hoochie Koo’ trying to follow those guidelines and it came out like it is.”
He also played slide guitar on Steely Dan’s Show Biz Kids -- “Donald [Fagen] and [producer] Gary Katz brought the tapes so I could work on it. And I remember that was a big compliment for me, because normally they’d call you up and they’d go, ‘Hey, you wanna work on a Steely Dan record?’ And you’d go, ‘Sure, where are you working?’ and they’d tell you where to go. In this case they said, ‘We want you on a Steely Dan record. How can we do it?’ And I said, ‘Well, I can’t, I’m working on a project.’ And they said, ‘Well, we’ll bring it to you.’ So that was a great compliment for us. They brought the tapes out and we did the song.”
ROD STEWART: It Was a Family Affair
It was a family affair for Rod Stewart Monday night at the American Music Awards when five of his eight kids presented him with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Surprising him were
Kimberly, Ruby, Renee, Sean and Liam, with Ruby saying, "Tonight we are here as the biggest and most loving fans of our father, Sir Rod Stewart, or as we all know him, Papa Stew.”
Stewart embraced them and then said, "I am absolutely flabbergasted. I didn’t know they were here — my children.” “When I started singing in the early ’60s, well before all of you lot were here, the reason I got into it [was] because I had this burning ambition to sing. It’s all I wanted to do. I didn’t want to be rich or famous, and here I am a few years later, picking up this wonderful award. Thank you so much.”
Making his first appearance on the awards show since 2004, he also performed his 1988 hit “Forever Young.” The three children who weren't on stage was his oldest, Sarah, and his two youngest, Alastair and Aiden.
JOHN FOGERTY: Proud 80
John Fogerty celebrates a milestone birthday today (Wednesday) as he turns 80. Asked what he's thinking about the big day, he tells us, "I suppose there are a lot of things on my mind." "Probably the simplest thing I can say is I'm happy and ready to celebrate all this stuff and then I can't wait to get past it and start something new." Born in the Bay Area on May 28th, 1945, Fogerty will mark the occasion on the East Coast with two shows at the Beacon Theater in New York on Wednesday and Thursday. "I just thought, well, we want to have a party. I want to do it someplace that I'm familiar with, and over my career I've done a lot of shows at the Beacon and it's always felt really good and familiar and kind of iconic at the same time. And it just seemed like the right setting to me."
And one of Fogerty's gifts to us is his new version of his Creedence Clearwater Revival classic "Up Around the Bend" with country singer Eric Church. It debuted Sunday during the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina and will be the racing association's theme song for the year.
Having achieved success as a member of CCR and then on his own, Fogerty is an Army Reserve veteran and a member of both the Rock & Roll Hall and Songwriters Hall of Fame. His “Centerfield” baseball bat guitar is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He is married to his second wife, Julie, and has seven children -- three with his first, and three with Julie, who has a daughter from a previous marriage. His two sons with Julie -- Shane and Tyler -- are in his band.
Report: Billy Joel not planning to retire despite health challenges
Billy Joel, despite being diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, has no plans to retire and is eager to resume performing as his recovery progresses. The condition, which causes issues with hearing, vision, and balance, is treatable. Billy's wife and daughter expressed gratitude for the support and love they have received, with his daughter emphasizing his commitment to making a full recovery through physical therapy. The Piano Man has canceled all scheduled performances through 2026 but remains hopeful for the future.
Zak Starkey And Roger Daltrey Are All Good
The "fired or not fired" situation between the Who and Zak Starkey now has a third option: "retired." Starkey, whose status with the legendary band has been somewhat fluid over the last month, made a lengthy post to Instagram Monday to explain where things stand now. "NOISE&CONFUSION!!!! I had a great phone chat with Roger [Daltrey] at the end of last week which truly confused both of us!!!" He added, "Rog said I hadn’t been ‘fired’…I had been 'retired' to work n my own projects." Zak explained to Daltrey he would be available after spending several weeks on his current work, and, Starkey said, "Rog said 'Oh!' and we kind of left it there- On good terms and great friends as we have always been," said Starkey. "Gotta love these guys. As my mum used to say ‘The mind boggles!!!’ XXX." It's still somewhat confusing, but if they say it's settled...
SMASHING PUMPKINS: A Gentleman's Agreement
Billy Corgan said the reason that he's formed a new band -- The Machines of God -- to go out and play Smashing Pumpkins deep cuts this summer is that his bandmates weren't into it.
Corgan told Rolling Stone, "I pushed for years and years for the band to invest in what I would call smaller tours that would highlight particular eras of music. Not to do the 'Hey, we’re going to go out and play Siamese Dream tour,' which we still haven’t done, and maybe will do some day. But to sort of learn into an era in a very particular way so that something different might come out of it." Corgan said that James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin weren't on board with the concept. He says, "And we have this agreement, which has been really helpful over the past seven or eight years, that says if we’re not in alignment about something like that, nobody is going to pull rank and say it has to be done. That was very much the way the business worked back in the day and solved a lot of problems. So, I’m going out and doing these shows the way I want to do them, in the manner I want to do them."
STYX, REO & EAGLES: Time For the Brotherhood to Rock
One of this summer's bigger package tours gets underway tonight (Wednesday) as Styx, former REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin, and former Eagles guitarist Don Felder begin the Brotherhood of Rock tour in Greenville, South Carolina. No strangers to touring together, the three acts last shared the stage in 2018 on the United We Rock tour. Styx will perform their 1977 album, The Grand Illusion, in its entirety, and Cronin will do the same with REO's 1980 effort, Hi Infidelity. The tour runs through August 24th in Milwaukee.
This marks the first tour for the Kevin Cronin Band, which is the last incarnation of REO without the name as Cronin is not allowed to use it. Last September, the band released a statement saying, "To our fans: [Bassist] Bruce [Hall] has intended to be back on the road again by now. If it were up to just him, he’d be back on tour…but it’s not up to just him. The consensus opinion was that he had not recovered sufficiently to be able to perform at the level the fans have come to expect. Bruce respected that opinion and is grateful that Matt
[Bissonette] has been around to keep the Wagon rolling through the summer tour. Bruce never had any intention of retiring or walking away from the band, fans, and crew he has loved for almost 50 years. "For [singer] Kevin’s [Cronin] part, he too has never had any intention of leaving the band, and the fans and crew mean the world to him, as well. "Due to this complex situation, irreconcilable differences arose between Bruce and Kevin. So, it is with great sadness that we announce REO Speedwagon will cease touring effective January 1st, 2025. [Founding and now retired keyboardist] Neil [Doughty], Kevin, and Bruce thank their fans for all their years of loyal support and for giving back to the band such wonderful memories that will remain with each of them forever."
So Kevin, with REO's hired hands in tow, set out on his own and spoke more about the split in December when the Brotherhood of Rock tour was announced. "In my wildest dreams did I ever expect what's going on right now with REO Speedwagon to happen? Absolutely not. My intention was always to keep REO Speedwagon going until I was ready to hang it up, and I'm nowhere near ready to hang it up. You know, REO Speedwagon is a partnership between what we call the heritage members and I wanted to keep the band going with the line-up that we've had for 2024 and I got outvoted." As for the name REO Speedwagon, despite Doughty and Hall outvoting Cronin, they can't tour under that moniker unless Cronin is included.
Eric Clapton: Milan 2025 Night 1
Eric Clapton and his band performed at the Unipol Forum in Milan, Italy, Tuesday following a successful run at London's Royal Albert Hall. This marked Eric's only concerts in Italy for the year. The show featured a mix of hits and blues songs from his extensive career, including classics like "Sunshine Of Your Love" and "Tears In Heaven." The band was joined by special guests Andy Fairweather Low & The Low Riders, and upcoming tour dates include stops in Paris, Nice, Nashville, Cleveland, and New York.
"New" Video For Free Bird
Lynyrd Skynyrd has released a new music video -- for a song they made famous more than five decades ago. The band's first official video for the 1973 classic "Free Bird" premiered last week. The video starts with an older man looking through a photo album and then cuts to his younger self on a motorcycle the day he met a woman who would become his wife.Back to present time, the man gets his motorcycle out of the garage and takes a joyride like he did in his younger days as the video jumps back-and-forth between present and past.The video is directed by Max Moore.Lynyrd Skynyrd is on their 50th Anniversary Tour and a live album is due out next month.
Iron Maiden Launch 50th Anniversary Tour, Play First Show With New Drummer
Iron Maiden have started their European and UK ‘Run For Your Lives’ tour, with their first show in Budapest featuring new touring drummer Simon Dawson. The band performed songs exclusively from their first seven albums, including rarities like ‘Murders In The Rue Morgue’ and ‘Wrathchild’. The setlist also included classics like ‘The Number of the Beast’ and ‘Run To The Hills’. Fans were treated to a special performance including songs not played in years.
IN OTHER NEWS
Gene Simmons was part of the Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C. He says he was “invited to be on a float with 100-year-old WWII Veteran Sgt Urban [who] was in one of the units that freed my then 14-year-old mother from the concentration camp in Nazi Germany. God Bless America.”
Ann Wilson has paid tribute to Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, who died last week at the age of 65. She says, “Jim was one of the most generous people I’ve known. Things he did for me were thoughtful and uncalled for. I’ll never forget hearing him sing ‘Hurt,’ the Nine Inch Nails song, with lasers swirling all around. A beautiful soul.” Ann would occasionally perform with Irsay’s all-star band.
Joe Walsh will hold his next VetsAid concert on November 15th in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas. More details to follow. Walsh co-founded VetsAid in 2017 to raise money for military veterans and their families.