February 21 - 28, 2006

These are the scripts Joe Benson used on the air at 95.5 KLOS in Los Angeles. They all received final editing by Jan Benson, without whom the task would have been far too daunting. Remember to give credit where credit is due, and enjoy!

February 21, 2006

Talking Heads keyboardist Jerry Harrison is 57.

On this day in 1975, David Bowie released his "Young Americans" album.

On this day in 1976, Peter Frampton's "Show Me The Way" entered the singles chart.

On this day in 1981, AC/DC's "Back In Black" peaked at #37 on the singles chart.

On Stage Tonight

Cheap Trick will be rocking the House Of Blues on Sunset tonight.

Who Keep Booking

Was it the money? Something kept The Who from playing in The Beatles' hometown for 35 years, but now it's all been settled. The Who will headline the 2006 Summer Pops Festival in Liverpool on the first weekend in July. A few days later, The Who will headline the second night of the annual T in The Park festival near Glasgow, Scotland. Of course this means that the boys will be really warmed-up and well-practiced when they hit Southland stages this Fall!

Stones Do Brazil

Saturday night the spirit of "Carnival" arrived a week early in Brazil with a free Rolling Stones concert before a crowd of over a million people at Copacabana Beach. Rio De Janeiro Fire Department officials estimated the crowd at over a million at the show's start (the band opened with "Jumpin' Jack Flash"), but confirmed that thousands kept coming, standing in the surf as well as on the beach. This was The Stones' third visit to Brazil but the first time the band played for free in a country where few can afford tickets to see top international acts. Fans were also camping outside Sao Paulo's Morumbi stadium on Friday, hoping to be among the first into last night's U2 concert. No doubt about it, Brazil is rocking!

T.P.'s Special Show

Tom Petty will be a special guest at performing rights organization ASCAP's I Create Music Expo. T.P. will be interviewed and take questions from the crowd of musicians and composers during the final day of the songwriting conference, which is running from April 20th through the 22nd in Los Angeles.

Sting's New Degree

May 5th is the day that Sting will be presented with an honorary Doctor of Music degree by England's Newcastle University. The institution hands out special degrees annually to individuals who "have achieved successes that are an inspiration." No word if he has to make a large donation, but that really shouldn't be a problem.

The Cheese Be Rocking

KISS, George Thorogood, Grand Funk Railroad, Sammy Hagar and former Santana/Journey singer/keyboardist Gregg Rolie are among the artists who will perform at this year's Rock Fest in Cadott, Wisconsin between July 20th and 23rd.

New Satriani

As the 20th anniversary of the release of his first solo album approaches, guitar god Joe Satriani has set the release of his 12th solo album, "Super Colossal," for March 14th. Joe played all of the guitar and bass parts and shared the production credits with Mike Fraser (who has notably worked with AC/DC, Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen, among others). Legendary drummer Simon Phillips (who has notably worked with The Who, Jeff Beck, Toto and Pete Townshend, among others) played on four tracks and Satriani's longtime collaborator Jeff Campitelli drummed on the rest. The supporting tour hits the road on April 1st, with Southland dates still to be announced.

A SoCal Daytona 500

Don't be talking about "good ol' boys" — these guys grew up racing in the desert and surfing! Jimmie Johnson of El Cajon and Casey Mears of Bakersfield finished first and second in Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup Daytona 500. Both did what few of the rest of the field seemed able to do: Race without hitting anyone. Jimmie was featured on the CBS Late Show with David Lettermen last night and on ABC's Live with Regis and Kelly this morning. Of course, all of the NASCAR drivers will be at California Speedway for this weekend's big race, along with the KLOS Cool Patrol and yer Uncle Joe — who will be doing his afternoon Rock & Roll radio show from the garage area Friday afternoon and announcing at the track the rest of the weekend.

Quote Of The Week

It was Jay Leno, the extremely successful talk show host and avid car collector, who said: "Race-car driving is a little like sex. All men think they're good at it... and when you are out there by yourself, you actually are good at it — until somebody else comes on the track."

February 22, 2006

On this day in 1965, The Beatles flew to the Bahamas to begin filming their second movie, "Help!"

On this day in 1967, The Beatles recorded the piano chord used at the end of "A Day in the Life."

On this day in 1968, Genesis released their debut single, "The Silent Sun." It really wasn't very good, but they eventually scored a commercial breakthrough — 10 years later.

On this day in 1969, The Beatles began sessions for their "Abbey Road" album with a take of John Lennon's "I Want You (She's So Heavy)."

On this day in 1969, T. Rex kicked off a British tour with a young David Bowie as the opening act. For this auspicious debut, David bypassed a musical performance to do a mime about a Tibetan monk. No, really — I didn't make that up.

On this day in 1975, Grand Funk Railroad's "Some Kind Of Wonderful" peaked at #3 on the pop singles chart.

On this day in 1978, The Police appeared as blondes in an advertisement for Wrigley's chewing gum. They never made a group decision to keep the look, but it sure worked out for them.

On this day in 1979, "Rolling Stone" magazine reported that Journey had entered into a deal with Budweiser, becoming one of the first corporate sponsorship agreements between a company and a rock act. Thus did their staging become bigger, video screens were added and Mick Jagger took serious notice of a new way to finance tours.

On Stage Tonight

Aerosmith and Lenny Kravitz will be rocking the Staples Center tonight.

G&R: Real Or Not?

The claim that Guns N' Roses will hit the European festival circuit this Summer, starting with a headlining slot at this year's Rock in Rio - Lisboa festival on May 27th in Lisbon, Portugal. Next, they're supposed to play with Metallica at the Download Festival on June 10th or 11th in Donington, England, and the Nova Rock festival on June 16th or 17th in Burgenland, Austria. In addition, G&R's long-in-production "Chinese Democracy" album may or may not be released next month. Will somebody in Las Vegas please check the odds on this really happening?

Zep Sells Really Really Big

Led Zeppelin's classic "Physical Graffiti" and "Led Zeppelin IV" albums have both reached new sales plateaus. As of January 30th, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) has certified "Physical Graffiti" (which originally came out on March 3, 1975) as 16 times platinum (more than 16 million copies sold), while "Led Zeppelin IV" (which was issued on November 8, 1971) has sold in excess of 23 million copies in the United States. You can also be sure that — unlike many other bands of that era — Jimmy Page and the boys have collected their royalties!

Crosby/Tyler In Documentary

David Crosby and Steven Tyler are among several performers contributing to a new documentary about the music business debuting on Showtime on March 8th. "All We Are Saying" offers a look at the industry from the artists' perspective, spanning genres and generations. In the film, performers discuss the changes in the music field, the balance between a public and private life, and their inspirations and motivations. Crosby is particularly quotable, contending that many of the current label reps wouldn't be able to pick out a quality song, "if it flew up their nose and died." Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell, The Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde and No Doubt's Gwen Stefani are among other artists included in the film. Sounds like a must-see to me!

Alice In Chains Again!

The promoter of the Nova Rock festival in Austria may have announced their first reunion gig on Monday, well before all of the contracts were signed, but you can definitely count on Alice In Chains to regroup for a series of concerts this Summer. Along with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, Alice In Chains was one of the most important Seattle based bands to rock the music industry in the early Nineties. But they had ceased to exist as a functioning unit well before original frontman Layne Staley died on April 5, 2002 from a mixture of heroin and cocaine. Anyone who has recently seen guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Inez or drummer Sean Kinney perform will testify that they're as good as ever — maybe even better. While William DuVall of Jerry Cantrell's side band will sing lead vocals with Alice In Chains for the taping of the VH1 Classic's "Decades Rock Live!" tribute to Heart on March 10th in Atlantic City, it is not known if DuVall will be joining the group on any of the other dates that are currently being scheduled. Stay tuned!

Elty/Dion/Seinfeld

Two divas and a comic! Elton John and Céline Dion joined each other onstage for the first time at a hurricane-relief benefit show Monday night in Las Vegas. The pair sang two duets together — "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" and "Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word." The show raised $2.1 million for displaced casino workers — and yes, Jerry Seinfeld was part of the program, but fortunately didn't attempt to sing.

Deluxe E.C.

A deluxe two-CD version of Eric Clapton's self-titled 1970 debut solo album is due out next Tuesday. Disc one of the collection will include longtime Slowhand producer Tom Dowd's originally released mix of the recording, while disc two will offer an as-yet-unissued mix by Delaney Bramlett. Of course the package will also feature a selection of rare outtakes and alternate versions of tunes recorded during the partying sessions.

Things The Auto Club Won't Tell You

On average, an American car driver will swear 32,025 times in their lifetime while driving. On average, a Southern Californian driving on the 91 Freeway will swear that many times before they get home each day.

On average, Americans spend five times more hours in their cars than they do on vacation. On average, a Southern Californian driving anywhere on a workday will spend five times more hours in their cars than they do at home with their family.

February 23, 2006

Blues guitarist Johnny Winter is 62.
Guitarist Rusty Young, who played with the Ides of March and Poco, is 60.
Sweet bassist/singer Steven Priest is 56.
Guitarist Brad Whitford of Aerosmith is 54.

On this day in 1972, Pink Floyd began recording the soundtrack for "Obscured by Clouds" at the Chateau d'Herouville in France.

On this day in 1974, Billy Joel's "Piano Man" entered the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

On this day in 1979, Dire Straits began their first American tour in Boston.

On this day in 1980, Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" hit #1. It's true, Freddie Mercury wrote it while in a bathtub.

On this day in 1980, the Eagles' "I Can't Tell You Why" broke into the Top 40.

On this day in 2003, bassist Howie Epstein of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers died of an overdose in Santa Fe, New Mexico at age 47.

On Stage Tonight

Cheap Trick rocks the Key Club in the Morongo Resort & Casino tonight.

Waters/Guns N' Roses

So we all know that former Pink Floyd bassist/singer Roger Waters will play the band's landmark album "Dark Side of the Moon" in its entirety sometime this Summer at an as-yet-unannounced location in France. And yes, Floyd drummer Nick Mason will make a special appearance in Roger's band that night. But will Waters play "Dark Side..." at any of his other festival dates? Will Guns N' Roses show up for any of their festival dates? Will Axl Rose take his band out on the Ozzfest trail if they aren't the main headliners? More important — does anybody care anymore?

Stones/Radio City Music Hall

The Rolling Stones will play their first-ever show at New York's famed Radio City Music Hall on March 14th. The concert will be a benefit for the Robin Hood Foundation, which distributes funds to nonprofit charities in New York City.

Queen + Paul On TV

Highlights from Queen + Paul Rodgers's DVD "Return Of The Champions" will be featured on the upcoming PBS pledge drive, which runs March 4th to the 19th. The DVD was shot last May at the group's Sheffield Arena concert in Sheffield, England. Q + P.R.'s official North American tour will hit the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim on April 3rd.

Doors For Industry

"Law & Order" creator Dick Wolf is the force behind production of a Doors film chronicling the band's history. The documentary, which will feature commentary from surviving members Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore, will also feature never before released archive material of the group including excerpts from interviews with the late Jim Morrison. In addition, Morrison's father and other members of his family went before the cameras in December to discuss Morrison and the group, marking the first time they have contributed to a Doors documentary. Meanwhile, a new coffee table book about The Doors will arrive in stores this Fall. "The Doors Anthology" will feature rare and never-before-published photos along with text culled from interviews. Noted rock journalist Ben Fong-Torres is helping assemble the book, and KLOS' legendary Jim Ladd is contributing a special piece as well. Lord have mercy!

Macca/Martin/Credits

In recent years, McCartney has sparked the ire of John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, by calling for a reversal of the names on selected Beatles songs, and for requesting that Lennon's name be dropped from "Yesterday" — a song that John had nothing to do with. Now the legendary band's producer is getting into the fray. Sir George Martin is publicly pushing to have his name listed as a composer on "Yesterday." Everyone knows that Martin wrote and arranged all the strings for the song, and he's said many times that McCartney had never even seen a written score before he saw the music for "Yesterday." Martin also recalls Macca commenting that George's name wasn't in the credits, so he says that he, "handed him a pencil and he signed it." Martin adds that McCartney also scrawled John Lennon's name and added the title of "Esquire" after Martin's on the paperwork. But not once was Sir George's name listed anywhere on the finished product. Do you suppose that was Beatles manager Brian Epstein's doing or Sir Paulie's?

February 24, 2006

For many years George Harrison believed he was born on February 25th, but in 1992, he announced, "I only learned recently after all these years that the date and time of my own birth have always been off by one calendar day and about a half hour on the clock." So in fact, though we still celebrate it on the 25th, his birthday was really today. He would have been 63.

Keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, who most notably played with The Rolling Stones and The Who, would have been 62.

On this day in 1958, The Champs' "Tequila" broke into the Top 40, thereby assuring the fall of Western civilization. Within a month and stayed on top of the charts for five weeks.

On this day in 1969, the Jimi Hendrix Experience performed its last concert, at London's Royal Albert Hall.

On this day in 1975, Led Zeppelin released the album "Physical Graffiti," the group's long awaited follow up to 1973's "Houses of the Holy." The double-album hit #1 on the "Billboard" charts two weeks later, a record at the time.

On this day in 1979, "Roxanne" by The Police entered the singles charts.

On this day in 1998, Queen Elizabeth II knighted Elton John at Buckingham Palace.

This Sunday night at 9 on 95.5 KLOS, OFF THE RECORD with Joe Benson will feature the music of Cheap Trick as well as more of Joe's extensive conversation with guitarist Rick Nielsen.

On Stage Tonight

Aerosmith and Lenny Kravitz will be rocking the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim tonight.

Who Be Booking

The Who have expanded their upcoming European tour to nine festival dates, from a June 23rd concert in Leeds through a July 23rd gig in Germany. No U.S. dates yet, but those will happen soon enough. Stay tuned!

Buffett Changes His Mind

Despite talking about taking the Summer off to finish his new album, Jimmy Buffett is booking a Summer tour. Much smaller in scope from his usual jaunts, Jimmy's '06 tour with his Coral Reefer Band will comprise two short legs, from June 2nd through June 9th and August 1st through August 10th. No Southland Summer dates are scheduled, but our Parrotheads have two shots (so to speak) to party with Jimmy at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on April 20th and 22nd.

Directions From Ozzy

Four-letter directions from Ozzy Osbourne (or someone who sounds just like him) — of course it's selling like hotcakes! An impression of the Prince of Darkness is available for a British in-car satellite navigation system. He tells drivers: "In 400 metres you have reached your f***ing destination." If a car loses its signal he shouts: "I've lost the f***ing satellite!" Although the Ozz-man's voice tracks come with swearwords or with bleeps, his X-rated rants are selling double the combined total of all the other stars used for voice-overs. Imagine the results if they were selling Sharon Osbourne's voice!

A Leppard Update

Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott has confirmed that the band is starting work on a new studio album. By the time their Summer tour starts, the boys should have half of the new material finished. Joe also says that the group's long-awaited covers album, "Yeah!," will be released in May — but we've all heard that one before!

A SoCal Daytona 500

Don't be talking about "good ol' boys" — these guys grew up racing in the desert and surfing! Jimmie Johnson of El Cajon and Casey Mears of Bakersfield finished first and second in last week's NASCAR Nextel Cup Daytona 500. Both of them and the rest of the best NASCAR drivers will be at California Speedway for this weekend's big race, along with the KLOS Cool Patrol and yer Uncle Joe — who will be doing his Rock & Roll radio show from the garage area this afternoon and announcing at the track the rest of the weekend. So tune in!

February 25, 2006

For many years George Harrison believed he was born today. But in 1992, he announced "I only learned recently after all these years that the date and time of my own birth have always been off by one calendar day and about a half hour on the clock." So in fact, his birthday was really yesterday, February 24th. He would have been 63.

On this day in 1957, Buddy Holly & The Crickets did their first session with New Mexico record producer Norman Petty. They recorded "That'll Be the Day," which soon became their first #1 and biggest hit.

On this day in 1967, The Beatles released the single "Penny Lane" backed with "Strawberry Fields Forever."

On this day in 1993, Marshall Tucker Band guitarist Toy Caldwell died of heart failure at age 45 in his Spartanburg, South Carolina home.

February 26, 2006

Johnny Cash would have been 73.
Rock & Roll Icon Mitch Ryder is 62.
Keyboardist Jonathan Cain of Journey is 56.

On this day in 1966, "19th Nervous Breakdown" by The Rolling Stones entered the charts.

On this day in 1977, the song "Hotel California" by the Eagles entered the charts.

On this day in 1987, the first four Beatles albums were released on Compact Disc.

February 27, 2006

Guitarist Neal Schon of Journey and Santana fame is 52.
Singer Johnny Van Zandt of Lynyrd Skynyrd is 46.

On this day in 1967, Pink Floyd recorded their debut single, "Arnold Layne." Based on the true story of a man arrested for stealing women's underwear off of clothes lines (three years before The Kinks recorded "Lola"), the single eventually sold tens of copies.

On this day in 1977, Rolling Stone Keith Richards got busted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who found 22 grams of heroin, five grams of cocaine, and drug paraphernalia in his Toronto hotel suite. Talk about your wicked room service!

On this day in 2003, pioneering children's TV host Fred "Mister Rogers" died of cancer at age 74.

New Macca TV

A new Paul McCartney special premieres tonight on PBS. Shot in the famous Abbey Road studio The Beatles helped make famous, the show features Paul playing a variety of music from his very first Beatles song to his most recent work on the album "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard." Just the fact that he will perform "Blackbird" and "Band on the Run" makes this a must-see event.

Sex Weasels Still Posing

In a laughable continuation of their "rude bad boys" posing, the middle-aged Sex Pistols have refused to attend their own induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In a pseudo-handwritten note posted on their website, they called the institution "urine in wine" and went on to say, "We're not your monkeys, we're not coming. You're not paying attention." Specializing in chasing notoriety, the Pistols released just one album before splitting in the late Seventies. The surviving members lamely reformed for one tour in 1996 and another in 2003. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation gamely said, "They are being the outrageous punksters they are, and that's rock 'n' roll." Around here, we call that "old farts acting like whiny little bastards."

Bono/Nugent Nobel Prize

Maybe the third time will be the charm for U2 frontman Bono, who finds himself nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the third time in four years. Just a month ago, the Irish lad was named one of "Time" magazine's Persons of the Year (along with Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and his wife Melinda) for his efforts to combat poverty and erase foreign debt in developing nations. This year's Nobel nominations also include musician/activist Sir Bob Geldof, organizer of last summer's Live 8 concert, as well as former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell for his efforts to achieve a peaceful end to the civil war in Sudan. And — hard to believe — Ted Nugent still isn't among the 191 nominees for the Nobel Prize this year! Wonder if they accept write-ins?

Elty's Selling Fiona

Sir Elton John is auctioning off his Yamaha digital acoustic grand piano in a fundraising effort for his Elton John AIDS Foundation. Elty used this piano — named Fiona — to launch his Las Vegas show "The Red Piano." He has also played the instrument on "American Idol," "20/20," "Larry King Live" and "The View" — quite a pedigree! After one final performance together on Sunday during Elton's annual Academy Awards dinner and after-party, Elton will autograph the piano and it'll be prepped for shipping to its new owner. Bidding on eBay closes on March 9th.

The Retirement Tour Rolls On

After KISS and Cher each pulled off some of the longest farewell tours ever, Eric Clapton took his touring career in a different direction: he just flat-out retired from the road. Except, it turns out, for when he wants to play. You see, the formally retired Eric has just announced a European tour that will begin on May 5th. As for U.S. dates, he hasn't announced any, but don't retire your credit cards just yet!

Live Who DVDs

Because The Who was one of the first bands to sell authorized soundboard recordings of its shows online, you should have guessed this was coming. No detailed specifics yet, but guitarist Pete Townshend says that The Who will be "releasing DVDs of every show on their upcoming tour." Ya gotta love it!

Who's Counting?

The average adult in one day speaks 48,000 words, exercises seven million brain cells, takes 23,000 breaths, laughs 15 times, and his/her heart beats 104,000 times. There is also an inverse proportion between the number of brain cells exercised and words spoken, i.e. more words/fewer brain cells used. And, of course, the closer one is to upper level management, the fewer times one's heart beats.

February 28, 2006

Driving legend Mario Andretti is 66.
Brian Jones, founding member of The Rolling Stones, would have been 64.

On this day in 1970, under the threat of a serious lawsuit from the family of Ferdinand Von Zeppelin, the brand new Led Zeppelin band performed in Denmark under the name The Nobs (English slang for male genitalia).

On this day in 1970, "No Time" by the Guess Who peaked at #5 on the charts as Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" hit #1 for the first of six weeks.

On this day in 1970, "Instant Karma (We All Shine On)" by John Lennon and "Spirit In The Sky" by Norman Greenbaum both entered the charts.

On this day in 1976, the Eagles released their "Greatest Hits" collection, which eventually became the best-selling record in America ever.

On this day in 1977, bluesman Booker T. Washington "Bukka" White died of cancer in Memphis at age 75.

On this day in 1981, Billy Idol left Generation X to pursue a solo career just as Rockpile drummer Terry Williams joined Dire Straits.

On this day in 1983, U2 released their "War." album.

Dueling Floydians?

It's really not that the former members of Pink Floyd are touring against each other, but it sure is a strange coincidence. Roger Waters' upcoming Summer tour will include a complete performance of the band's classic 1973 album "Dark Side of the Moon" for the 100th anniversary of the French Grand Prix. That July 14th performance also coincides with the national holiday celebrating the start of the 1789 French revolution. Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason will accompany Waters for the tour, which includes 17 performances across Europe, in part to score free Grand Prix tickets (he's a Ferrari man from way back!). Floyd guitarist David Gilmour — backed by Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright and a portion of the last Pink Floyd touring band — will finish his tour a month before Waters starts his trek at the Rock in Rio Festival in Lisbon, Portugal on June 2nd.

Four Musicians & A Manager

Ted Nugent, Foreigner drummer Jason Bonham, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach are participating in a new seven-episode VH1 reality series called "Supergroup." The bad boys will live together for two weeks in Las Vegas, attempting to write and record original material while enduring "boot-camp-style training" from former Motley Crue/KISS manager Doc McGhee.  The show will conclude with a concert and the Nuge carving Doc McGhee's carcass into little pieces with his hunting knife or something like that. Whatever the outcome, you can be sure that the program will appear on Sebastian Bach's resume well before the the program first airs later this year.

Stones On Big Screen Tonight

Over a million people attended the The Rolling Stones' free Rio de Janeiro concert on Copacabana Beach, and you can see it on the big screen tonight. More than 150 U.S. movie houses are taking part in the special presentation. A list of participating theaters is available at the website BigScreenConcerts.com.

U2/Bono Awarded Again

U2 frontman Bono was presented with Chile's highest award for the arts, the Pablo Neruda Medal Of Honor, by Chilean President Ricardo Lagos on Sunday. Later that day, Bono and his bandmates received Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience Award from Chile's president-elect, Michelle Bachelet. Would that be Chile con Award-o?

Scoring For His Score

Elton John picked up a Best New Musical trophy in recognition of his compositional work for the stage adaptation of "Billy Elliot" at the United Kingdom's prestigious Laurence Olivier Awards Sunday evening in London. The play and three of its young stars also won Best Theatre Choreographer, Best Sound Design and Best Actor In A Musical.

Free Carlos Postponed

A free concert by Carlos Santana initially scheduled for April 22nd in San Francisco as part of the centennial celebration of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake has been postponed until later this year. Organizers have had trouble raising the money needed to cover the show's costs, estimated to be as high as $2.5 million. Doesn't sound like enough money for FEMA to get involved, but you can never be sure.

No Sick Days Allowed

It's a fact: one person in 20 never catches a cold.