Billy Joel, 77, disclosed that he underwent brain surgery to implant a shunt for normal pressure hydrocephalus, a condition his doctors connected to decades of performing loud rock music. Joel made the announcement on SiriusXM's The Billy Joel Channel, telling listeners he initially refused the procedure before changing his mind. The veteran musician, who ended […] The post Billy Joel reveals brain surgery after doctors linked decades of loud concerts to neurological damage appeared first on American Almanac .
Billy Joel, 77, disclosed that he underwent brain surgery to implant a shunt for normal pressure hydrocephalus, a condition his doctors connected to decades of performing loud rock music. Joel made the announcement on SiriusXM's The Billy Joel Channel, telling listeners he initially refused the procedure before changing his mind. The veteran musician, who ended his record-setting Madison Square Garden residency in July 2024 and canceled all concert dates in 2025, described a diagnosis that forced him off the stage and into a recovery he never anticipated. Normal pressure hydrocephalus, or NPH, occurs when cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside the brain. The condition is most common in seniors, the average diagnosis age is 70, and its…Open
Alex Van Halen called former bandmate Sammy Hagar "a complete idiot" in a Brazilian magazine interview, and Hagar responded on Instagram by asking for peace, the latest chapter in a feud now spanning more than two decades. Van Halen, the 73-year-old drummer who co-founded one of the biggest rock bands in American history, made the […] The post Alex Van Halen rips Sammy Hagar in magazine interview — Hagar fires back with a call for peace appeared first on American Almanac .
Alex Van Halen called former bandmate Sammy Hagar "a complete idiot" in a Brazilian magazine interview, and Hagar responded on Instagram by asking for peace, the latest chapter in a feud now spanning more than two decades. Van Halen, the 73-year-old drummer who co-founded one of the biggest rock bands in American history, made the remark in an interview with Roadie Crew, a Brazilian music publication. USA TODAY reported that Alex dismissed Hagar's 2011 autobiography without having read it. "I don't know what he wrote, and I don't want to know," Alex Van Halen told the magazine. "In my opinion, Sammy Hagar is a complete idiot." Hagar, 78, did not match the hostility. In a post shared by the Rock Celebrities account on Instagram, the…Open
John Paris, the 58-year-old Earth, Wind & Fire drummer hospitalized since early August after a medical emergency, has awakened from a second induced coma, but his family says he still faces two major surgeries and a long road ahead. An update posted August 20 on the Standing for John Paris Facebook page described a recovery […] The post Earth, Wind & Fire drummer John Paris wakes from second coma, faces two major surgeries appeared first on American Almanac .
John Paris, the 58-year-old Earth, Wind & Fire drummer hospitalized since early August after a medical emergency, has awakened from a second induced coma, but his family says he still faces two major surgeries and a long road ahead. An update posted August 20 on the Standing for John Paris Facebook page described a recovery marked by setbacks as much as progress. Paris had briefly awakened from his first induced coma, only for his condition to destabilize, forcing doctors to sedate him again. He has since woken a second time and remains in intensive care, where his blood pressure has held steady and his breathing has stayed strong. The update, attributed to bandmember Verdine White, his wife Shelly Clark White, and longtime friend Tazz…Open
Frankie Valli's brother has announced the 92-year-old Four Seasons legend is retiring from music, ending a six-decade career after his farewell tour was scrapped over undisclosed health problems. Bobby Valli broke the news on Facebook, calling his brother "an icon, a living legend" and confirming what months of canceled shows had already suggested. Frankie Valli, […] The post Frankie Valli retires at 92 after farewell tour collapses over health concerns appeared first on American Almanac .
Frankie Valli's brother has announced the 92-year-old Four Seasons legend is retiring from music, ending a six-decade career after his farewell tour was scrapped over undisclosed health problems. Bobby Valli broke the news on Facebook, calling his brother "an icon, a living legend" and confirming what months of canceled shows had already suggested. Frankie Valli, the only original Four Seasons member still performing, will not return to the stage. The retirement caps a troubled stretch for the singer. His farewell tour, "The Last Encores," launched in October 2023 and was originally scheduled to run through April 2026. But Valli pulled the plug on all remaining dates earlier this year, citing health concerns. AP News reported that eight…Open
AI:Four Seasons legend Frankie Valli is retiring from music at age 92 after his "The Last Encores" farewell tour collapsed due to undisclosed health concerns. Following months of canceled shows and recent sightings of the icon requiring wheelchair assistance, his brother Bobby Valli confirmed the retirement via social media, describing him as a living legend with over 100 million records sold. While management previously suggested a potential return next year to avoid the appearance of elder abuse by forcing a struggling performer on stage, the definitive announcement from his family marks the end of a six-decade career and a final chapter for one of the most enduring voices in American music history.Open
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Glenn Hughes, 74, announced Tuesday that he is stepping away from live performance for good as he prepares for another open-heart surgery, closing out a career that spanned more than five decades. Hughes broke the news on his Facebook page, telling fans that a battery of medical tests left […] The post Glenn Hughes, Deep Purple legend, retires from touring ahead of open-heart surgery appeared first on American Almanac .
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Glenn Hughes, 74, announced Tuesday that he is stepping away from live performance for good as he prepares for another open-heart surgery, closing out a career that spanned more than five decades. Hughes broke the news on his Facebook page , telling fans that a battery of medical tests left him no room to keep going. MRIs, CT scans, and an echocardiogram all pointed the same direction, and his medical team told him surgery was necessary. Hughes, a singer, bassist, and songwriter born in Cannock, England, put it plainly in his statement: "The results from numerous MRIs, CT scans, and an echocardiogram have alerted my medical team, that I need another open-heart surgery. I really have no option and no choice as…Open
U.S. — Civil engineer David Sharpe started out with an ambitious goal to build a city on rock and roll, but now says he should have just stuck with more traditional infrastructure planning methods.
Bill Wyman stopped counting at 1,800. Keith Richards held up four fingers. And Mick Jagger figured his number landed somewhere in the hundreds. That was the scene, biographer Bob Spitz tells it, when three aging Rolling Stones sat down one day to compare notes on the women who had passed through their lives. The anecdote […] The post Rolling Stones biographer reveals band members' vastly different romantic lives — and one staggering tally appeared first on American Almanac .
Bill Wyman stopped counting at 1,800. Keith Richards held up four fingers. And Mick Jagger figured his number landed somewhere in the hundreds. That was the scene, biographer Bob Spitz tells it, when three aging Rolling Stones sat down one day to compare notes on the women who had passed through their lives. The anecdote anchors a broader portrait in Spitz's new book, "The Rolling Stones: The Biography," which peels back decades of carefully cultivated rock-and-roll mythology to reveal just how differently each member of the world's most famous band lived behind the curtain. The picture that emerges is less a uniform tale of excess than a study in contrasts, and, in several cases, a record of conduct that no amount of guitar riffs should…Open
OPINION: Mick Jagger, lead singer for The Rolling Stones, explained in an interview why he doesn't want to "lecture" his audience at concerts, in comparison to more political artists like Bruce Springsteen. #MickJagger #BruceSpringsteen #TheRollingStones About Rising: Rising is a weekday morning show with bipartisan hosts that breaks the mold of morning TV by taking viewers inside the halls of Washington power like never before. The show leans into the day's political cycle with cutting edge analysis from DC insiders who can predict what is going to happen. It also sets the day's political agenda by breaking exclusive news with a team of scoop-driven reporters and demanding answers during interviews with the country's most important…
