15 years on from his death at the age of 74, actor Dennis Hopper will have his legacy further immortalized thanks to a new concept album from Scottish rock band The Waterboys.
Fittingly-titled Life, Death and Dennis Hopper, the record is scheduled for April 4 release via the historic Sun label, and features a number of special guests, including Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple, Steve Earle, Taylor Goldsmith, and more. Apple is herself a noted fan of The Waterboys, having covered their signature song “The Whole of the Moon” for the series finale of Showtime’s The Affair in 2019.
Interestingly, The Waterboys have previously focused on Hopper for their work, with 2020’s Good Luck, Seeker featuring a track named after the late actor.
“The arc of his life was the story of our times,” said The Waterboys’ Mike Scott in a statement. “He was at the big bang of youth culture in Rebel Without a Cause with James Dean; and the beginnings of Pop Art with the young Andy Warhol. He was part of the counter-culture, hippie, civil rights, and psychedelic scenes of the ’60s.
“In the ’70s and ’80s, he went on a wild 10-year rip, almost died, came back, got straight and became a five-movies-a-year character actor without losing the sparkle in his eye or the sense of danger or unpredictability that always gathered around him.”
The album’s first single, “Hopper’s on Top (Genius)”, will arrive on Friday (Jan. 9), and will preview a record which also features the talents of artists such as Barny Fletcher, Sugarfoot, Anana Kaye, Patti Palladin, and Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s.
“It begins in his childhood, ends the morning after his death, and I get to say a whole lot along the way,” added Scott. “Not just about Dennis, but about the whole strange adventure of being a human soul on planet Earth.”