January
- Astrophysicist and Queen icon Brian May was knighted by King Charles III, which followed his previously-earned title as Commander Of The British Empire from 2005.
- Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler was accused of sexually assaulting Julia Misley when she was a minor in the 1970s.
- Nirvana Joined Ann Wilson and The Supremes on the list of GRAMMY’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipients.
- Even as Steve Perry dropped his lawsuit against Journey, bandmate Neal Schon heightened his beef with Jonathan Cain (and his wife).
- Billy Idol received the 2,743rd star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
- Rocker Jeff Beck, considered one of the faces on the Mt. Rushmore of guitarists, passed away at 78.
- Mike Portnoy became a member of Twisted Sister… for one night as the band was inducted into the Heavy Metal Hall Of Fame.
- Bachman Turner Overdrive founder Tim Bachman died at the age of 71.
- Fall Out Boy dropped new music and announced their new album “So Much For Stardust.”
- Country music legend Dolly Parton announced her first rock album would include icons Paul McCartney and Stevie Nicks.
- Pink Floyd announced they would be celebrating the 50th anniversary of “Dark Side Of The Moon” with a brand new reissue later in the year.
- Rock icon David Crosby, founder of both Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and The Byrds, died “after a long illness” at the age of 81.
- Stevie Nicks announced she would team up with Piano Man Billy Joel for a North American tour
- Neil Young announced he was returning to public performance for the first time since 2019. The occasion? The 90th birthday of fellow legend Willie Nelson.
- Ahead of a new Iron Maiden tour, frontman Bruce Dickinson announced he would soon be releasing a new solo album.
- U2 celebrated Bono’s new memoir, “Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story,” by releasing a new version of “With Or Without You.”
- Bon Jovi joins a rare club as their smash hit song “Livin’ On A Prayer” passes one billion views on YouTube.
February
- Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne revealed that he’s no longer “physically capable” of touring and called an end to his life on the road. The rocker assured fans he planned to continue recording and even make the occasional one-off show here and there.
- Phil Spalding, the bassist for Right Said Fred and British supergroup GTR, died at 65.
- Pink Floyd icons Roger Waters and David Gilmour reignited their feud on social media, with the help of Gilmour’s wife Polly Samson. The spat got super personal, and Waters would soon announce he was releasing his own version of “Dark Side Of The Moon.”
- Former CSNY icon Neil Young revealed he was returning to public performance after a four-year absence for the Light Up The Blues Charity event alongside Stephen Stills and James Raymond, son of late bandmate David Crosby.
- Guns ‘N Roses achieved the rare Two Billion Views mark on YouTube with their song “November Rain.”
- OG Journey lead singer and keyboardist Greg Rollie surprised an audience in Austin by joining the band for one-night-only. The appearance came during a hectic time for the band, in which multiple members were involved in lawsuits against each other.
- Officials in Frankfurt, GE canceled a scheduled show with former Pink Floyd rocker, calling him “one of the world’s most well-known anti-Semites.”
- KISS’ manager Don McGehee confirmed the band’s “End Of The Road” tour will indeed be the final bow for the Paul Stanley-led band.
- Steve Mackey, who served as bassist for Pulp during its most successful run (beginning in 1989), passed away at 56.
- The last surviving member of the OG lineup of Lynyrd Skynyrd, guitarist Gary Rossington, died at the age of 71.
- Hall Of Fame bass player Michael Rhodes, who recorded with the likes of Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty and Dolly Parton on over 700 credits, passed away at 69.
- Five years after the death of longtime drummer Pat Torpey, Mr. Big finally announced replacement Nick D’Virgilio… and that they were putting an end to their touring career with “The BIG Finish” world tour.
- Jane’s Addiction surprised fans at a Bakersfield, CA show with their first new song in ten years called “True Love.”
- Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen was attacked outside the Four Seasons hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. 19-year-old Max Hartley was later arrested and charged with felony assault.
- Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins, former singer of Parliament-Funkadelic, was confirmed by Bootsy Collins and George Clinton to have passed away at the age of 81.
- KISS added to a busy year when manager Don McGehee confirmed a biopic about the Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons-led band was in the works.
- The Who’s Pete Townshend dropped “Can’t Outrun The Truth,” his first solo in 29 years. The song was written in 2021 during the COVID-lockdown by his wife, Rachel Fuller.
April
- A medical report revealed that late Fleetwood Mac star Christine McVie died from a stroke caused by metastatic malignancy. The cancer formed a blood clot that blocked a blood flow to the 79-year-old’s brain. Just over a month prior, Mick Fleetwood confirmed the band is “done” following his bandmate’s death.
- Guitarist Mick Mars, who it had been previously said had retired from Motley Crue, instead claimed he was fired. The rocker filed a lawsuit against his former band, claiming they were “gaslighting” him and demanding to see proof he had properly paid.
- Twisted Sister confirmed it would reunite in 2024 for one very specific reason: "The band has a concern that the song is being co-opted by the extreme right … and we want to make sure that people still know it's a song for everybody and it does not represent that selfish micro group."
- The US Library Of Congress revealed Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven” would be one of 25 songs that would be added to its 2023 selections.
- Aerosmith announced it would tour throughout the year without drummer Joey Kramer, who wanted to “focus his full attention on his family.” It was later revealed the band’s new tour would be their farewell.
- Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx responded to Mick Mars after the guitarist sued his former band. Sixx claimed his old bandmate was “a little bit confused” and that they’ve “always been really supportive” of him.
- Embattled former Pink Floyd rocker Roger Waters won a victory in Frankfurt, Germany against a town that banned him from playing due to what they claimed was anti-Semitism. The court ruled that, while they thought his show was “tasteless,” it didn’t contain “propaganda” and could proceed.
MORE TO COME....