The Rolling Stones released Aftermath in the UK on this day in 1966.  The US release (pictured)  would come more than a month later with Paint It Black added in place of a few of the titles on the British edition.  The album was the first by the group to be comprised almost entirely by Jagger/Richards songs.
Eight years later on April 15, Lynyrd Skynyrd released its second album.  Leading off with Sweet Home Alabama, the song that became a Southern Rock Anthem and closing with the group's amped up version of JJ Cale's Call Me The Breeze, Second Helping added to the legions of fans the debut album and solid performances as opening act on the Who's US tour earned it.

Other Noteworthy Classic Rock events on April 15 include...

1944 Dave Edmunds is born.

1948 UFO's Phil Moog is born

1948 Michael Kamen is born.

1966 Buffalo Springfield does its first concert, opening for the Byrds in San Bernadino, California.

1972 WMMR in Philadelphia broadcasts a live set by an unsigned musician from Sigma Sound Studios. The station put this song from the session into regular airplay rotation. The listener response to it was overwhelming. When it was brought to the attention of Columbia Records, the label offered what would become one of its biggest artists a contract.

1982 Billy Joel fractures his wrist in in a motorcycle crash and undergoes surgery.

1984 Future Farm Aid organizers Neil Young and Willie Nelson meet for the first time. 

1996 Jerry Garcia's ashes are sprinkled into the waters near Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

2001 Joey Ramone (Jeffrey Hyman) of the Ramones  dies of lymphoma.

2022 Edgar Winter releases Brother Johnny, a tribute to his late brother featuring himself, Billy Gibbons, Warren Haynes, Ringo Starr, Taylor Hawkins, Steve Lukather, John McFee.

2022 Rush releases Moving Pictures 40th anniversary box set.

17 years after releasing his self-titled solo band's album, original Foreigner front man Lou Gramm has announced a follow-up.  Released will get its release March 20th.  In addition to recently written songs, Gramm's lp will include several songs he startedd developing in past decades but never got around to finishing.  Backing Gramm on the upcoming album will be his brother, Ben Grammatico, on drums, guitarist Gary Hoey, Jeff Jacobs on keyboards, Tony Franklin on bass and sax player Scott Gilman.

Ozzy Osbourne's family released this announcement today...
“It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
His death at 76 came just over two weeks after his Back to the Beginning farewell concert, reuniting Ozzy with the original Sabbath lineup for the first time in 20 years during a hard rock extravaganza that included performances by Metallica, Pantera, Alice In Chains, Halestorm, Anthrax, Lamb of God and Mastodon.

Severe weather has caused numerous concerts to be cancelled over the years. Recent extreme storms washed out the final day of the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee and convinced Willie Nelson Outlaw Music Festival organizers to cancel its July 4 concert in Arkansas. Yesterday, perceived weather risks were cited as the reason to pull the plug on an entire tour. Steve Miller, who tours almost exclusively during summer months playing outdoor venues,  announced that his 2025 tour is off due to extreme weather risks. Here's how Miller broke the news:

"Dear Steve Miller Band fans,

You make music with your instincts

You live your life by your instincts

Always trust your instincts …

The Steve Miller Band has cancelled all of our upcoming tour dates.

The combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes and massive forest fires make these risks for you our audience, the band and the crew unacceptable. So …

You can blame it on the weather ... The tour is cancelled.

Don’t know where, don’t know when … We hope to see you all again.

Wishing you all Peace, Love and Happiness,

Please take care of each other.

Steve, The Band and the Crew”

Jeff Lynne's tough go of it in recent weeks ended with his biggest disappointment when he was forced to announce he would be unable to perform his final concert in London's Hyde Park Sunday (7/13).

The Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Traveling Wilburys veteran suffered a broken in a taxi cab mishap, rendering unable to play guitar during his Manchester concert earlier in the week. He then learned he had developed a systemic infection doctors decided presented too serious a health risk for him to perform yesterday's career concert closing date. 

Best outcome wishes to the Piano Man, who today announced he has been forced to cancel his highly anticipated 2025 tour in order to confront a medical condition that disrupts hearing, eyesight and balance.

RIP Mike Peters. Alarm front man Mike Peters passed away Monday (4/28) following a courageous 30 year battle with blood cancer. Inspired by attending a 1976 Sex Pistols concert, Peters formed a group dubbed the Toilets and, subsequently, teamed with Eddie MacDonald, Dave Sharp and Nigel Buckle aka Twist to form a group called Seventeen, which later morphed into the Alarm. Photo cc 4.0 Mike Dickinson.

Photo: cc 4.0 Mike Dickinson

Richard Manuel: His Life and Music from The Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band, an official biography written by Stephen Lewis is slated for publication on June 17. The somewhat reclusive member of The Band only granted a handful of interviews during his life, but the author gained lots of fascinating insights about Manuel by consulting family members, friends, and fellow musicians including Van Morrison, Eric Clapton and Corky Laing to gain insights into Manuel's musical genius and the influence he quietly brought forth in studio sessions and in concert. Laing's appreciation of Manuel grew out of "Having spent many a long night with Richard." The Mountain member lauds the book, saying it "...beautifully captures the essence of the brilliant musician to an extra ordinary detail."

Grateful Dead Publicist and author Dennis McNally wrote of the Lewis book, "...though other band members got more attention, Richard Manuel's voice and classic blues piano were at the very core of that music" and praises the biography as one that deserves "serious attention" as one that "...fills a major gap in our understanding" of his musical role.

Zak Starkey has apparently been drummed out of his position as the Who's drummer following what Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend apparently deemed to be an unacceptable performance during the band's concerts at Royal Albert Hall this past weekend. Starkey, the son of Ringo Starr has been behind the kit for close to three decades, told Rolling Stone he was "...surprised and disappointed anyone would have an issue with my playing that night", adding, "Filling the shoes of my Godfather, 'uncle Keith' (Moon) has been the biggest honor and I remain their biggest fan."

Photo CC2.0 Kubacheck

The New Orleans Jazz Fest hasn't been jazz-centric for a loooong time, and that remains the case in 2025. This year's long list of participants includes a few, but the overall lined-up continues to showcase multitude of genres of music.

A March 7 release date has been set for the latest configuration of Ian Anderson's Jethro Tull. Curious Ruminant has just 9 tracks on it, owing to the fact one clocks in at nearly 17 minutes in length. A couple previous Jethro Tull members participated in the making of the album - drummer James Duncan and keyboard player Andrew Giddings. The lineup is rounded-out by current Tull members Scott Hammond, David Goodier, John O'Hara, and newcomer guitarist Jack Clark.

When Jimmy Buffett and Steve Huntington launched Radio Margaritaville as a hand-crafted online station in 1998, Parrot Heads flocked to it in droves. RM was a musical oasis serving-up a musical cocktail with Trop Rock as its main ingredient, complimented with songs and artists from other genres that kept it uniquely refreshing.

Parrot Heads longing for the kind of listening experience Radio Margaritaville provided before the station migrated from the internet to satellite radio and became musically shallower and repetitive may have reason to rejoice.

Steve Huntington has joined the fellow former Radio Margaritaville hosts now on Radio Trop Rock, a subscription-free and commercial-free online station that can be enjoyed on a free app.

Steve starts out hosting an hour-long session Thursdays at 1pm (eastern) that debuts January 2 and airs again Saturdays at 10am (eastern).

If the time and opportunity seems right, Radio Trop Rock could become as great a feast for the ears as Radio Margaritaville used to be!

Paul McCartney ended his Paul's Got Back 2024 tour on a high note Thursday (12/19) at London's O2 Arena with guest performers Ringo Starr and Ron Wood.  Paul's former band mate emerged to thunderous applause and took his place behind the kit for a blistering rendition of Helter Skelter and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  Rolling Stone guitarist Ron Wood contributed guitar licks on Get Back.

Photo: CC 3.0 Chris Muller

Blues Image guitarist/frontman, Iron Butterfly guitarist and late 70 - early 80's Alice Cooper band guitarist Mike Pinera passed away Wednesday (11/20) at the age of 76. Pinera's biggest song/vocal credit was on the 1970 Blues Image hit Ride Captain, Ride.

Photo: Julien's Auctions

A Futurama electric guitar George Harrison bought for 58 pounds when he was a teenager and paid-off in 44 installments sold at a Julien's auction this weekend in Nashville for $1.27 million. The future Beatle lusted for a Fender Stratocaster, but it was way beyond his means, so he settled for the Czech manufactured knock-off. Harrison played the instrument at more than 300 gigs, making it one of the more unique instruments associated with the group to become available.  The final price was more than double what the guitar had been expected to sell for.
 

Alice Brock, proprietor of Alice's Restaurant when an 18 year-old Arlo Guthrie visited Brock and her husband as they were in the process of converting a defunct Massachusetts church into their home in November, 1965, has passed away. Guthrie and a friend offered to help cart garbage and other unneeded items to the dump. Finding it closed due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the two offloaded the trash and debris onto a nearby lot. That led to a run-in with the law the following day and Guthrie getting charged with littering which, in turn, inspired Guthrie to pen the epic 1967 song Alice's Restaurant Massacree. Brock was 83. Many a glass will be raised at Thanksgving tables in her honor next Thursday.

The iconic guitars played by Jeff Beck throughout a career that established him as one of the best guitarists in history will be auctioned in London by Christies in January. The instruments will be on display in LA next month. Beck's wife, Sandra, conveyed these thoughts about her husband, his remarkable career and his passion for playing in the Christies announcement... “I hope you enjoy reading through this release and the future catalogue featuring the tools of my Gorgeous Jeff’s life. These guitars were his great love and after almost two years of his passing it's time to part with them as Jeff wished. After some hard thinking I decided they need to be shared, played and loved again. It is a massive wrench to part with them but I know Jeff wanted for me to share this love. He was a maestro of his trade. He never lusted after commercial success. For him it was just about the music. He constantly reinvented himself with his musical direction and I could not single out one person, one recording or one guitar as his favourite. I hope the future guitarists who acquire these items are able to move closer to the genius who played them. Thank you all for considering a small piece of Jeff that I am now hoping to share with you.”

Phil Lesh, the elder statesman and founding bass player of the Grateful Dead passed away this morning. In a brief statement, the band announced the 84 year old died peacefully, surrounded by his family members. No cause of death was provided. The post concluded with "Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love", and asked that fans respect the privacy of the family.

Phil Lesh, the elder statesman and founding bass player of the Grateful Dead passed away this morning. In a brief statement, the band announced the 84 year old died peacefully, surrounded by his family members. No cause of death was provided. The post concluded with "Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love", and asked that fans respect the privacy of the family.

Photo: Steve Covault CC 3.0

JD Souther has passed away. The close collaborator of the Eagles credited for his contributions to several of the group's biggest songs also had musical ties with Linda Ronstadt, Bob Seger, Karla Bonoff, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt and Dan Fogelberg died Tuesday (9/17) at his home in New Mexico. Souther was 78.

A 1983 Gregg Allman concert at a Massachusetts club is being released September 20. Gregg Allman Band - Uncle Sam's was recorded at the Hull, MA club on July 1 of '83 and features renditions of Gregg's solo songs Queen of Hearts and Sweet Feelin' as well as several Allman Brothers Band songs, among them, Melissa, Dreams, Midnight Rider, Trouble No More, Don't Keep Me Wonderin' and Statesboro Blues done by Allman and backed by Danny (lead guitar) and Frank (drums) Toler, Bruce Waibel (rhythm guitar), Gregg Vorhees (bass), Chaz Trippy (percussion) and Donn (sax & flute) and Larry (trumpet) Finney .

A legal skirmish has apparently broken-out within Journey. Keyboard player Jonathan Cain  reportedly filed a lawsuit against Neal Schon on July 30 alleging that the guitarist is in breach of an agreement to limit hotel accommodations spending on a band credit card to $1,500 per night during the group's current co-headlining tour with Def Leppard. Cain also contends that Schon allowed crew members to arrange expensive flights and non-essential hotel rooms without consulting him. Cain and Schon own equal shares in the band, but Schon asserts that he has the right to make decisions.

Carlos Santana had a health scare last night (8/6). While performing at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan, the 74 year-old guitar legend passed out due to what was later diagnosed as heat exhaustion and dehydration. As a precaution, Carlos was transported to a local hospital. In addition to last night's concert being cut short. one scheduled for tonight has been postponed.

An October 17 date has been set for a tribute to Robbie Robertson that includes a line-up the Band's late founding member would probably be very much to his liking. Included in the lineup for the concert at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles are Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, Bob Weir, Mavis Staples, Taj Mahal, Warren Haynes, Bruce Hornsby, Allison Russell, Nathaniel Rateliff, Lucinda Williams, Eric Church, Margo Price and Trey Anastasio.
The concert will be produced by Robertson's close friend and artistic partner Martin Scorsese. We sure hope another great film comes of it from the man that let us all sit-in on The Last Waltz. Robertson passed away at 80 on August 9, 2023.

Another milestone for Billy Joel. Last night, the Piano Man performed his 150th concert at Madison Square Garden. It has been estimated that more than 10 million Joel emblazoned T-shirts were sold during the record setting run. The 150th has also been commemorated with  a $300 tour style jacket.

Photo: CC-3.0 Gerry Rafferty (left) Joe Egan (right)

R.I.P. Joe Egan, the Scottish singer-songwriter that combined with Gerry Rafferty in Stealers Wheel, the group that scored a hit with the catchy song Stuck in the Middle with You in 1973. Stealers Wheel would disband in 1975. Rafferty attained solo success, most notably with the 1978 song Baker Street. Egan had less success and retired from making and performing music in 1990 after releasing a pair of solo albums in 1979 and '81. Egan passed away on Saturday (7/6) at 77.

R.I.P. Doug Ingle. The lone remaining original member of Iron Butterfly passed away on Friday 5/24. The co-founding keyboard player, singer and co-writer of the epic 17 minute In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida on the band's second album was 78. The single version of the song that filled a full side of the 1968 album established itself in the top 10 and remained there for 13 months.

News of his death was provided by his son, Doug Ingle Jr, who posted, “It’s with a heavy heart & great sadness to announce the passing of my Father Doug Ingle. Dad passed away peacefully this evening in the presence of family. Thank You Dad for being a father, teacher and friend. Cherished loving memories I will carry the rest of my days moving forward in this journey of life. Love you Dad.”

Alex Van Halen is a lock to drum-up a ton of interest in VH fans interested in acquiring drum, sets and other personal items in a large-scale auction being conducted by Backstage Auctions June 1-9. The collection includes more than 350 lots, among the items being offered-up are gold and platinum albums inscribed to him, a multitude of drums, including his 5150 Tour kit and plenty of more affordable items for fans without the deep pockets the marquee stuff will go for. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Ride On Therapeudic Horsemanship charity.

The Rock Hall of Fame's knack for to producing another group of inductees with as many undeserving as deserving names remains intact for 2024.

This year's enshrined includes overdue recognition for Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Ozzy Osbourne and Kool & The Gang, and understandable credit to the Dave Matthews Band.

The talented but definitely not Rock inductees include Cher, Mary J. Blige and A Tribe Called Quest and Dionne Warwick, who earned a Musical Excellence Award.

Also relegated to the Musical Excellence category were Jimmy Buffett and legendary Motown songwriter/producer Norman Whitfield, both easily deserving as full-fledged inductees, and the MC5. The great John Mayall also got short-changed, landing just a Musical Influence Award.

Our musical world lost a titan today. Allman Brothers Band co-founding guitarist Dickey Betts passed away at 80. Word of  his death was announced on his Instagram account late this morning that read, "It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that the Betts family announce the peaceful passing of Forrest Richard 'Dickey' Betts (December 12, 1943 - April 18, 2024) at the age of 80 years old. The legendary performer, songwriter, bandleader and family patriarch passed away earlier today at his home in Osprey, FL., surrounded by his family. Dickey was larger than life, and his loss will be felt world-wide. At this difficult time, the family asks for prayers and respect for their privacy in the coming days. More information will be forthcoming at the appropriate time."

The Jimmy Buffett tribute concert Thursday night (4/11) concluded with a stage packed with fellow musicians playing tribute to Jimmy by singing the inevitable finale. The "Keep The Party Going" gathering featured renditions of his songs done by members of his Coral Reefers Band, the Eagles, Jackson Browne, Paul McCartney, Mac MCanally, Jack Johnson, Sheryl Crow, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church and Brandi Carlile.