Ailing rocker Eric Clapton pulls out of NY concert

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eric Clapton has pulled out of this week's Rock and Roll Hall concert extravaganza in New York to have gallstones removed, organizers said on Monday.

Bruce Springsteen's participation was up in the air, meanwhile, after the rocker abruptly canceled a concert in Kansas City on Monday due to a bereavement.

Clapton, 64, "will spend time recuperating at home in the UK and is very sorry to disappoint the fans and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," a statement said.

It added that his tour itinerary was otherwise unaffected.

The guitarist was scheduled to perform at Madison Square Garden on Friday, the second of a two-night celebration of the hall's 25th anniversary. Others on the bill include U2, Aretha Franklin, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne and Annie Lennox.

The concert is not related to the annual Hall of Fame induction, which takes place in New York next March.

Springsteen, 60, is scheduled to perform on Thursday. But he canceled Monday's show "due to a death in Bruce's immediate family," according to his Web site.

Kansas City broadcaster KMBC-TV quoted police officials as saying that a 34-year-old member of Springsteen's road crew died at his hotel, but that the death was not suspicious.

Neither concert officials nor Springsteen's publicist were immediately available for comment.