U2: Bono's Beautiful Day
Bono has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest civilian honor. The ceremony, which took place Saturday in The White House, recognized those who made "exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace or other significant societal, public or private endeavors."
The citation for Bono read as follows: "The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded to Bono. As lead singer of U2, one of the most successful rock bands in history, Bono changes the world through his art and activism. The common beat of his life’s work is the power of freedom, a tie that also binds Ireland and America as beloved friends.”
Bono was recognized for his humanitarian efforts in the fight against AIDS and poverty through his ONE and (RED) organizations. Afterwards he released a statement saying, "Thank you, President Biden. Frontmen don’t do humble, but today I was. Rock n roll gave me my freedom… and with it the privilege to work alongside those who’ve had to fight so much harder for theirs. And I want to give it up for my band mates — Edge, Adam [Clayton], and Larry [Mullen] — without whom I would never have found my voice." This year's other recipients included actors Denzel Washington and Michael J. Fox, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Magic Johnson, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, chef José Andrés, and designer Ralph Lauren.
CARLOS SANTANA: Superfractural
Carlos Santana's New Year has gotten off to a rough start after he had a fall at home. His manager Michael Vrionis says, "I am sorry to say that Carlos was out taking a walk at his vacation home in Kauai. He took a hard fall, and he broke his little finger on his left hand. He had to have pins inserted in the finger. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to play guitar for approximately six weeks. Doctors do say that he will recuperate fully..."Santana profoundly regrets these postponements of his upcoming performances, but accidents happen, and his health is our number one concern. He is looking forward to seeing all of his fans very soon.”
As a result, Santana's eight-show residency at the House of Blues in Las Vegas -- January 22nd through February 2nd -- has been canceled, but the Oneness tour is still scheduled to begin on April 16th in Highland, California.
STING & PHIL COLLINS: Rock Hall Worthy?
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation chairman John Sykes provided a little insight into the Hall's nomination process in an interview with Vulture.com. Asked why Phil Collins has yet to be nominated for his solo work, he said, "He’s come up in meetings so much. What happens to great artists like Phil Collins, and I could name about four or five more, is that the committee will sometimes say, 'He’s already in with Genesis.' We have such a backlog of people that need to get in that sometimes, great solo artists like Phil can’t get on the ballot because there’s someone who’s not on in any configuration. "I’ll say right now that’s no excuse for not putting Phil Collins in because he’s a great artist. There are 27 artists who are in twice -- Ozzy Osbourne, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Paul Simon, all the Beatles. I’m a voter, and I really believe
Sting should be in as a solo artist. "I’ve nominated him many times, and I’m the chairman. That shows how this isn’t some backroom organization where decisions are made by a couple of people. People vote on these things, and they fight like hell. So I think Phil is deserving." (Sting was inducted as a member of The Police.)
Another artist Sykes says is overlooked is Joe Cocker. "He hasn’t been able to get through, and I think he’s a deserving name. See, I’m going to get in a lot of trouble for doing this interview because there’s a lot of people who should be getting in. There’s an amazing number of artists out there... I love this job, but it can be thankless at times because you can’t get everyone [in]."
The nominating process for the Class of 2026 will get under way this month with the nominees announced in February. As for changing the name of the Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland to something like Music Hall of Fame, Sykes says, "People don’t understand the meaning of rock and roll. If you go back to the original sound in the ’50s, it was everything. As Missy Elliot calls it, it was a gumbo. It just became known as rock and roll. So when I hear people say, 'You should just change it to the Music Hall of Fame,' rock and roll has pretty much covered all of that territory. Rather than throwing the name out, it’s doing a better job of communicating to people where rock and roll came from and what it’s truly about. Once they hear it that way, they understand." This past October's induction ceremony is streaming on Disney+.
REO SPEEDWAGON: Take it on the High Road
Although REO Speedwagon bassist Bruce Hall has been "exiled" from the band, he's publicly taking the high road. He writes on Facebook, "2024 sure blindsided our family, but I’ll be forever grateful to have had this most amazing ride on the Speedwagon! Here’s one of my favorite memories. All the families together…a true brotherhood amongst the band. Don’t ever think that this wasn’t real. Don’t stop loving the music we created. Without our fans, none of this would’ve been possible. I love each and everyone of you. Happy New Year.”
Asked if he would tour under the REO moniker, he says, "I don’t want to honestly. REO is our band and Kevin [Cronin] should always be our lead singer. Fans deserve the real deal, not another tribute band.” As reported last year, Hall and the band's co-founder, Neal Doughty, who retired in 2023, cannot tour as REO without Cronin. The decision to retire the REO name came about after Cronin wanted to continue without Hall, who was sidelined last year with a back injury that required surgery.
Hall, Doughty and Cronin own the name REO, and Hall and Doughty voted against Cronin's continuing under that name unless Hall was part of the lineup. Cronin is now touring under his own name with the four hired hands who made up the 2024 incarnation of REO. He will be part of the Brotherhood of Rock tour in the spring and summer with Styx and Don Felder.
NEIL YOUNG: About That Glastonbury Thing...
Neil Young has changed his mind and says he and the Chrome Hearts will play England's
Glastonbury festival in June. On Tuesday Young announced he wouldn't play because "we were told that the BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way that we were not interested in." The complaint was a strange one, since the BBC has been the media partner of Glastonbury for decades and Young's performance at the festival in 2009 aired live on the network.
On Friday morning Young reversed course and wrote on his Archives website, "Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury festival, which I always have loved. Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing! Hope to see you there!”
Neil Young Releasing Unissued 1977 Album
Neil Young is announcing the release of a near 50-year-old album he says he "should have put out back then." Young said in a statement that "Oceanside Countryside" was recorded between May and December of 1977 at studios in Florida, Malibu and Nashville. Three songs from the previously unreleased album -- "Goin' Back," "Human Highway" and "Field of Opportunity" -- found their way onto Young's 1978 album "Comes a Time." "Oceanside Countryside" is due out on February 14th.
The motorbike Neil Peart famously rode between shows on Rush's R30 tour is being auctioned
The late Neil Peart's 1170cc BMW R1200GS, a motorbike he famously rode between Rush shows on the R30 Tour, is going up for auction at the Vintage and Antique Motorcycle show in Las Vegas. Peart, known for his love of motorcycling, found solace in long-distance rides following personal tragedies. The bike, which comes with original purchase receipt, panniers, tank bag, and used drumsticks, is expected to fetch $40,000 - $50,000. Fans can bid online for this piece of rock and motorcycling history.
BOB DYLAN: Known in the Top 25
The Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown only opened in theaters on Christmas, but it's already among the Top 25 top-grossing music biopics, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.
In the week-and-a-half it's been out, it surpassed films on James Brown (Get on Up) - 25, The Doors - 24, Selena - 23, and pianist David Helfgott (Shine) - 22 to land at 21 with a gross of $36.2 million. Topping the list is Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody with $910.8 million.
Here's the full Top 25:
1.Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen: $910.8 million
2.Elvis - $288.7
3.Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A: $201.6
4.Rocketman - Elton John: $195.3
5.Walk the Line - Johnny Cash: $186.8
6.Bob Marley: One Love: $180.8
7.Ray (Charles): $124
8.La Vie En Rose - Edith Piaf: $87.5
9.I Can Only Imagine - Bart Millard, lead singer of Christian band MercyMe: $86.1
10.Jersey Boys - The Four Seasons: $67.6
11.Coal Miner’s Daughter - Loretta Lynn: $67.2
12.Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody: $59.8
13.All Eyez on Me - Tupac Shakur: $55.7
14.La Bamba - Ritchie Valens: $54.2
15.Funny Girl - Fanny Brice: $52.2
16.Amadeus (Mozart): $52
17.Judy (Garland): $46
18.Notorious - The Notorious B.I.G.: $44.4
19.What's Love Got to Do With It - Tina Turner: $39.1
20.Funny Lady (sequel to Funny Girl) - Fanny Brice: $39
21.A Complete Unknown - Bob Dylan: $36.2
22.Shine - David Helfgott: $36
23.Selena - $35.8
24.The Doors - $34.5
25.Get on Up - James Brown: $33.4
IRON MAIDEN: Get Ready for Some Deep Cuts
Bruce Dickinson says that Iron Maiden fans will get to hear songs they've never done before on their Run for Your Lives tour this year. The trek marks the 50th anniversary of the band, they'll play songs only from their first nine albums -- from 1980's self-titled debut to 1992's Fear of the Dark. Dickinson posted a video message to fans and said, "It’s gonna be really, really cool. I’m really looking forward to it. We’re gonna be doing stuff we’ve never, ever done before, and it’ll be a setlist for the ages." And U.S. fans will get to see the trek either later this year or in 2026. Dickinson explained, "It’s not gonna stop in 2025. It’s gonna roll into 2026, because there’s parts of the world that we need to get to that we can’t get to in 2025. So there you go." The tour starts May 27th in Budapest, Hungary with dates through August 2nd in Warsaw, Poland.
Jane's Addiction Members Making New Music Without Perry Farrell
Three of the four members of Jane's Addiction are making new music together following an onstage fight that seemingly broke the band up. Taking to Instagram, bassist Eric Avery shared a video of himself recording his parts over a drunk track by drummer Stephen Perkins.In the caption, Avery said he's writing some new lines to Stephen's drumming and hopes to get guitarist Dave Navarro on them. Avery didn't mention singer Perry Farrell. This comes after Farrell got into a physical altercation with Navarro during a Jane Addiction show in September. The rest of the band's tour was cancelled with Navarro suggesting that the band had broken up.
IN OTHER NEWS
Sammy Hagar once again spent the holidays on Maui, where he once again participated in Alice Cooper manager Shep Gordon’s annual New Year’s Eve benefit for the Maui Food Bank with Cooper, Mick Fleetwood, Lukas Nelson, Duff McKagan and others.
Michael Anthony has posted a year-end message on Instagram in which he hinted at new music from Chickenfoot, the band he’s in with Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Chad Smith and Kenny Aronoff, who filled in for Smith on tour. Anthony, Satriani and Aronoff are currently Hagar’s backing band – billed as Best of All Worlds. Chickenfoot released two albums, with the last one in 2011.
Bryan Adams will release a new album this year titled Roll With the Punches. He is also touring with a six-show residency at The Wynn in Las Vegas in March.
The Osbourne family’s Osbourne Media House is no more. Ozzy and Sharon’s son Jack says, “We bit off more than we could chew. It was a behemoth, and we had to learn from our mistakes as we went along… Unfortunately, we didn't change fast enough and we hit a wall. And my parents made the decision. They were, like, 'Hey, listen, we don't wanna keep financially dumping money into this because we don't see this as something that makes sense for us right now.'” Among the family productions were The Osbournes podcast and The Madhouse Chronicles, a series hosted by Ozzy and guitarist Billy Morrison.