The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach Explains How His Dad's March Death Inspired Band's New Album “Peaches!”
The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach Explains How His Dad's March Death Inspired Band's New Album “Peaches!”
Ilana KaplanWed, May 27, 2026 at 7:22 PM UTC
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The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach revealed how his dad's recent death inspired the band's new album Peaches!
“He gave me so much. It was like one last gift," the band's lead vocalist and guitarist said of his late father on Rolling Stone's Nashville Now podcast
Peaches! is out now
Dan Auerbach opened up about how loss influenced The Black Keys' latest album.
During the Wednesday, May 27 episode of Rolling Stone's Nashville Now podcast, the lead vocalist and guitarist spoke about how his dad's death in March inspired the band's new LP Peaches!, which was released on May 1.
Per the publication, Auerbach's father Chuck died following a cancer diagnosis on March 29, roughly one month prior to the release of The Black Keys' 14th studio album.
Dan Auerbach in May 2026
Credit: Rolling Stone/Youtube
Auerbach, 47, admitted that there are parts of the album that are difficult for him to listen to and pointed to their cover of "It's a Dream," specifically, which was originally penned by Charles Fisher Jr.
“I feel like he would have loved that song. It was right up his alley. This whole life has been a bit of a dream, and he helped put me here," he said.
Auerbach admitted that the song is "hard to listen to, but it’s mostly joyous.”
“He gave me so much," said the "You Got to Lose" musician. "It was like one last gift.”
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Auerbach further noted that his Easy Eye Sound studios and its decor, where the band recorded PeachesI, is also connected to this father.
“Everything about what I do is related to my dad, musically and aesthetically," he said. "He was an antique dealer, a picker. I knew how to pack a van for tour because I would pack the van for my dad’s antique shows. This s----y old rusty van, with a wooden rack on the top."
Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys in May 2026 in New Orleans
Credit: Jim Bennett/WireImage
According to Auerbach, his father would often blast the Allman Brothers’ “Ramblin’ Man” in the vehicle.
“My dad listened to music louder than anybody," he recalled.
During the podcast conversation, Auerbach also spoke about Gregg Allman's influence on The Black Keys, nine years after his death.
He revealed that his dad and his record collection drew him to Allman and the blues through artists like Robert Johnson, Son House, Howlin' Wolf and the Allman Brothers Band.
"I could feel the connection between those two worlds even before I knew really anything about music or had even tried to play," said Auerbach.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
