Billy Dukes is a Senior Editor and Executive Producer at Taste of Country, where he has over 11,000 articles to his name. His media background includes jobs as music director at WQDR 94.7 in Raleigh, N.C.; writer for Recoil Magazine, a monthly out of Grand Rapids, Mich.; and writer for the Kalamazoo Gazette in Kalamazoo, Mich. The Western Michigan University graduate followed a girl to Raleigh in 2006 and wisely married her one year later. In 2014, they moved to Nashville, where they now live with their three sons. In his free time, Billy enjoys playing and watching baseball, cycling and home renovation.
Billy Dukes
ZZ Top Perform As Quintet for First Time
Earlier this month, ZZ Top performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival and wanted to do something for the festival's founder, Claude Nobs. Nobs -- a good friend of Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard and Dusty Hill -- died in January at the age of 76.
Ian Anderson Says His Next Album Will Be Folk-Prog-Metal Hybrid
Ian Anderson promises new music in 2014. And while he knows what direction the project will take (it's a concept album), details -- like whether or not it will be a solo record or a Jethro Tull LP -- are still up in the air. Either way, Anderson says it will be a folk-prog-metal hybrid.
Surgery Forces Elton John to Postpone Summer Tour
Elton John has postponed all summer tour dates after an illness that came on during his recent European tour turned out to be much more serious. The singer is undergoing treatment and surgery for appendicitis, but says he'll be back on the road in September.
The Kinks Reveal ‘Muswell Hillbillies’ Reissue Details
The Kinks's 1971 'Muswell Hillbillies' album was a critical success, but a commercial flop. The album -- their ninth -- will be reissued this fall with an abundance of bonus tracks. The original album included 12 songs; the reissue will contain 25.
Jimmy Page’s Acoustic Guitar Sells for $39,000
An acoustic guitar played by Jimmy Page sold for more than $39,000 at an auction recently. The instrument was among a handful of pieces of rock memorabilia sold at Bonhams last week.
Rolling Stones Lyric Banned From Man’s Tombstone
The Church of England will not allow the tombstone of a recently deceased man to have the modified lyric of a Rolling Stones song etched into it. The family of Charles Clapham hoped to use the line "It was only rock 'n' roll" as an epitaph, but the church dismissed the idea as flippant.
Man Plays AC/DC on Flaming Bagpipes
For a funeral or Thanksgiving Day parade, bagpipes are great. But for a rock song? An Australian man will leave you thinking differently after watching his performance of AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck' on the instrument. Making the whole thing even more awesome: The bagpipes shoot fire.
Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert Blu-Ray to Include Previously Unavailable Performances
In 1992 the surviving members of Queen invited friends and fellow musicians to pay tribute to the late Freddie Mercury. The concert included performances from over a dozen top rock and pop artists of the day, from David Bowie to Guns N' Roses to Metallica and Def Leppard. Later this summer 34 different performances from that night will be available on 'The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert: The Defi
Lindsey Buckingham to Guest on Nine Inch Nails Album
More details about Nine Inch Nails' new album have been released, including the track-listing, release date and list of collaborators.
John Densmore and Robby Krieger May Bury Hatchet With Ray Manzarek Tribute
John Densmore and Robby Krieger were best friends when they were in the Doors, but then they started suing each other and their relationship turned sour. After more than a decade of animosity, they're reconnecting and may play a tribute to their former bandmate Ray Manzarek, who died of cancer in May.