1 January

Pick a Day

Music History Events: Not-So-Final Farewells

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April 7, 2016 After 15 years of memorable performances, cringeworthy auditions, and shocking eliminations, the American Idol stage finally goes dark, but not before one more winner is crowned: Trent Harmon.More

December 31, 2015 Mötley Crüe play what they claim is their last show: a New Year's Eve concert in Los Angeles complete with Nikki Sixx's flamethrower bass and Tommy Lee's drum roller coaster.More

April 30, 2005 Cher wraps up her Living Proof: The Farewell Tour with a show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Running nearly three years, the tour brings in over $200 million, making it the highest earning tour in history for a female artist, a record that stands until Madonna's 2008-2009 Sticky & Sweet Tour. Retirement doesn't suit Cher: She tours again in 2014 and in 2018.

December 6, 2004 Mötley Crüe announce their "reunion/farewell tour," with drummer Tommy Lee returning to the fold after a 5-year absence. It is not their farewell: They tour every year until 2015, when they finally call it quits.

September 28, 2000 Barbra Streisand closes out her Timeless tour with a show at Madison Square Garden. It's billed as her last tour, but she returns to the road six years later.

April 20, 1999 At his concert at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, Billy Joel announces his retirement from touring and recording pop music, as he wants to focus on classical music. His retirement doesn't last long; he returns to the stage in December. After sitting out most of 2000, he embarks on the Face to Face tour with Elton John in 2001.

November 24, 1996 Crowded House play their farewell concert, performing on the steps of the Sydney Opera House to a crowd of over 100,000. In 2007, they get back together.

November 15, 1992 At the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, California, Ozzy Osbourne plays the final date of his No More Tours tour, which he says will be his last. His former band, Black Sabbath, opens the show in tribute with Rob Halford on lead vocals, since Ronnie James Dio wants no part of it.More

December 12, 1987 At Cobo Arena in Detroit, The Cars wrap up their Door To Door tour. It ends up being their last concert until they pick up the pieces in 2011 for another album and tour.

December 16, 1983 Pete Townshend issues a statement announcing he's leaving The Who, not surprising considering they called their last shows in 1982 their "Farewell Tour." It's far from the end, as they reunite for a seemingly unending series of "reunions," starting with Live-Aid in 1985.

December 17, 1982 The Who play the last show of their farewell tour at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, which is filmed for an HBO special called Who's Last. They re-form to play Live Aid in 1985, then tour again in 1989.

December 4, 1980 Led Zeppelin make it official: they will not continue after the death of their drummer, John Bonham. They never fully re-form, but do play some shows with Jason Bonham filling in for his father.

November 25, 1976 Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, The Staple Singers, Ronnie Hawkins, and Dr. John join The Band for The Last Waltz, a farewell concert for the ages.More

September 8, 2019 Mitski, burned out from years on the road and increasing pressure from her rising popularity, wraps up her Be The Cowboy tour with a show in Central Park where she says it will be her "last show indefinitely." She returns to music in 2021 and gets a fresh jolt of fame as her music permeates TikTok over the next few years.

May 25, 2004 In a letter to fans, Phish frontman Trey Anastasio says that after 21 years together, the band is splitting up. "We all love and respect Phish and the Phish audience far too much to stand by and allow it to drag on beyond the point of vibrancy and health. We don't want to become caricatures of ourselves, or worse yet, a nostalgia act." They wrap things up with a show in Coventry, Vermont, in August, but it is not the final curtain: In 2009, the band reunites.

April 13, 2001 Kiss wrap up their "Farewell Tour" with a show in Queensland, Australia. Just two years later, they head out on the World Domination Tour.

December 6, 2000 Tina Turner wraps up her wildly successful Millennium 2000 Twenty Four Seven tour with a show in Anaheim, California. She claimed it would be her last stadium tour, but it is not - she hits the road again in 2008.

April 20, 1999 Rapper Mase, 21, announces that he is retiring from music in order to "follow God." He returns with his third album, Welcome Back, in 2004.

May 1, 1994 New Kids On The Block, which two years earlier was playing stadiums, wrap up a tour of clubs and theaters in support of their Face The Music album. They call it quits soon after, but reunite in 2008.

May 10, 1985 After three albums, The Go-Go's announce their breakup, with frontwoman Belinda Carlisle leaving to start a solo career with help from guitarist Charlotte Caffey. The first of their many reunions takes place in 1990.

November 29, 1979 The original four members of Kiss play for the last time together before their first "breakup."

July 22, 1977 Shaken by the deaths of his sister Rhonda and good friend Freddie Prinze, Tony Orlando says on stage at a show in Cohasset, Massachusetts, "This is my last day as a performer." He spends some time recovering, and returns to the stage in November.

September 7, 1975 The Guess Who perform their final concert (before the inevitable reunion), in Montreal.

June 14, 1971 Frank Sinatra announces his retirement from show business, only to return a year and a half later with the comeback album Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back.

November 25, 1968 Cream play their last concert (until their 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and 2005 reunion), taking the stage at Royal Albert Hall in London to a fanatic crowd of over 10,000 who chant "God save the Cream" as they leave the stage.

May 5, 1968 Buffalo Springfield play their last concert, a show in Long Beach, California. They would get back together in 2010 and tour in 2011.

January 28, 2014 At a press conference, all four members of Mötley Crüe sign a "cessation of touring agreement" preventing them from ever touring again after 2015. It prevents nothing: they kick off their next tour in 2022.

October 28, 2013 Jonas Brothers announce their split. They get back together in 2019.

March 22, 2013 My Chemical Romance announce their breakup after 12 years as a band. They return to action in 2019.

December 7, 2010 Judas Priest announces that their Epitaph World Tour, which will run until 2012, will be their last major tour. In 2013 they change their minds and pick up right where they left off.

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