On Saturday, December 18, a week before Christmas, famed Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan mourned his father, musician William Corgan Sr., who had passed away recently after a heart attack.
Videos by American Songwriter
To honor his late father’s passing, Corgan said the show must go on.
“The show goes on, that’s what my father believed in,” Corgan said in a video posted to Reddit.
So, that night, that’s exactly what happened. The artist was joined by his partner Chloe Mendel and their two kids for their annual holiday show at Madame Zuzu’s, which is Corgan’s vegan tea shop, located in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.
In a video tribute, Corgan noted his father’s difficult relationship with music.
“My father had his own struggles with music and had a very complicated and oftentimes bitter relationship with the music business,” Corgan said. “He assumed that I would have the same.”
Corgan added: “It all started with him, watching him play in basements and at sound checks and empty stinking bars.”
Corgan also took to Twitter to post a few photos of his father, including the below, saying, “My father’s with his all-time favorite soul in his arms ‘Tucker'”
As part of the annual Christmas set, Corgan performed “Do You Hear What I Hear?” with his daughter Philomena. He also played two unreleased holiday originals: “Evergreen,” and “The Magi and the Shiny Bright,” which you can see below.
Proceeds from the set benefited PAWS Chicago, a no-kill animal shelter.
Coming up next for Corgan, his Smashing Pumpkins will headline the Beale Street Music Festival, which runs from April 29-May1, along with Lil Wayne and Foo Fighters.
