When it comes to voices for hire, Paul Rodgers is typically one that comes to mind.
Just ask Jimmy Page, who teamed up with Rodgers in The Firm. Or Small Faces, Faces and Who drummer Kenney Jones, who formed The Law with Rodgers. Or Queen‘s Brian May and Roger Taylor, who joined forces with Rodgers for five years.
And then there was Joe Perry, who asked Rodgers if he would consider joining Aerosmith in 2009 when tensions flared with Steven Tyler.
So, it’s no surprise that Alex Van Halen and Steve Lukather turned to Rodgers to sing on the album they’re making. As previously reported, Alex, in an interview with Brazil’s Kazagastão, said, “We really, really, really wanted Paul Rodgers, and he has a relationship with Luke and we grew up on Free and all that, but [Paul] can’t do it anymore. And it was very difficult for him to bring himself to say, ‘No, I can’t. Count me out.’ I respect that. I’m saddened and disappointed, but you know, that’s life… He knows he can’t do it — which I think is better than saying, ‘Yeah, I can do it,’ and then not be able to do it.”
We reached out to Rodgers to get his reasoning and he told us, “Luke sent me a track, a good rock track I might add, however I am no longer in that high octane rock phase of life, which is what the track deserves. Instead, I am happily in my acoustic, Zen phase. However, I am humbled that they asked me.”
Rodgers has not been in the best of health, which led him to cancel his appearance last November when his band, Bad Company, were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the ceremony in Los Angeles.
Alex was asked about Robert Plant, and while he would love to work with him, like Rodgers, he’s no longer in that high octane rock phase of life.
So, the search continues.
