March 1 - 10, 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!

March 1, 2006

Vocalist Roger Daltrey of The Who is 62.

On this day in 1957, 16-year-old John Lennon persuaded his Aunt Mimi to buy him a guitar.

On this day in 1969, Jim Morrison was arrested after a Miami Doors concert for alledged indecent exposure (he supposedly whipped it out during the show).

On this day in 1974, Queen launched its first headlining tour of England with a show in Blackpool.

On this day in 1975, the Eagles' "Best Of My Love" hit #1 on the singles chart, Bachman Turner Overdrive's "Roll On Down The Highway" peaked at #14 and Bob Dylan's "Blood On The Tracks" was the #1 album in the land.

On this day in 1995, R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry suffered a brain aneurysm on stage during a concert in Switzerland. He was rushed to a hospital and survived, but decided it was time to quit life on the road (and eventually the band).

All Hail Santana

Carlos Santana and his wife Deborah will be honored for their work with the Milagro Foundation at the C.R.L.A's 3rd Annual Tequio Awards tonight in Beverly Hills. Deborah and Carlos started the Milagro Foundation in 1998 to benefit underrepresented and underprivileged children around the world. Milagro, which means "miracle," serves children in the areas of health, education and the arts. The C.R.L.A. (California Rural Legal Assistance ) is a 40-year-old statewide, non-profit legal service and social justice organization that provides free legal services to thousands of California's rural poor. Right so!

One More Crowe Show

Tickets for Black Crowes brothers Chris and Rich Robinson's acoustic mini-tour of Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York sold out in a matter of minutes. So the boys logically added an April 26th show at The Roxy. Tickets for that extra show go on sale Saturday March 11th, only at The Roxy box office. The Brothers of a Feather: An Acoustic Evening with Chris & Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes kicks off April 13th in Brooklyn, New York.

Stones Do China

While there's been no official confirmation from the band, you can count on The Rolling Stones to finally perform their first-ever concert in China. Three years after canceling two shows in the country because of the SARS epidemic, the boys will be playing at the Grand Stage in Shanghai on April 8th. Wonder if they'll be selling over-priced t-shirts made in Thailand or America?

Gilmour's Busy Month (Or Two)

Pink Floyd guitarist/singer David Gilmour's third solo album, "On An Island," comes out March 7th, and he kicks off a tour on March 10th in Dortmund, Germany. On March 28th, David's first two solo albums will be re-released sans bonus tracks. But 1978's "David Gilmour" and 1984's "About Face" have both been remastered and feature new liner notes. He starts a 10-date North American mini-tour on April 4th in New York City, and finishes it 16 days later at our Gibson Amphitheater. You may now resume your previously scheduled life.

Bruce Does Seeger (But Not Bob)

Bruce Springsteen has finished a new album of songs written by or associated with legendary folk singer Pete Seeger. [Historical factoid: Besides calling Bob Dylan a traitor for playing an electric guitar, the 86-year-old Seeger is also known for writing, co-writing or adapting classic folk songs like "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?," "If I Had a Hammer" and "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)."] Springsteen's "The Seeger Sessions," as it's currently called, is due out in May. A tour is also expected.

A Yes Update

Yes singer Jon Anderson has lined up a few solo West Coast dates later this month, including a gig at the The Roxy on the 31st. Bassist Chris Squire will start a mini-tour with his old band Syn at the Avalon in Hollywood on March 14th and the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles on March 19th. And finally, the flu has caused keyboardist Rick Wakeman to postpone the Stateside leg of his "Grand Piano Tour" until late June. Do you think that Rick might weasel in a Southland date for early July?

Words Of Wisdom

It was Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. who said, "The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions."

No Sick Days Allowed

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

March 2, 2006

Dr. Theodor 'Ted' Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss (actually pronounced like "voice"), would have been 102.
Lou Reed hits 63.
Eddie Money turns 57.
Jon Bon Jovi is 44.

On this day in 1964, The Beatles began filming "A Hard Day's Night."

On this day in 1968, Syd Barrett was pushed out of Pink Floyd.

On this day in 1973, The Doobie Brothers' "The Captain & Me" album was released.

On this day in 1976, Led Zeppelin released the "Presence" album.

Macca Loves Seals

Paul McCartney and his wife, Heather Mills McCartney, are traveling to the ice floes off the Canadian Maritimes to observe newborn harp seal pups and draw attention to the annual seal hunt coming up shortly. The longtime animal rights activists will visit the ice floes in the Gulf of St. Lawrence today and tomorrow in a bid to get Ottawa to end the annual slaughter. Hey Macca, give 'em hell for all of us!

Great Jovi Thoughts

Birthday boy Jon Bon Jovi doesn't speak out often, but when he does — oh mama! Jon's puzzled by Jennifer Lopez's success, mainly because she can't play an instrument. He says he still doesn't undertand manufactured acts who rely on teams of producers and songwriters. "It was so sickening to see some of these people... like J.Lo, sitting at a piano in a video, thoughtfully 'writing' a lyric. I was so frustrated. I wanted to say, 'Hey J.Lo, here's my guitar honey. Sing me a song,' and see what would happen." Like many of us, he's also fed up with Guns N' Roses' frontman Axl Rose. Jon says, "That (guy) hasn't made a record in 13 years and he gets all that attention. You know what I've done in 13 years? A lot. But they have continued to write about the freak show aspect of him. Because he's a recluse. That makes him interesting, right?" Right so!

Old/New Boston

Boston's first two albums have finally been remastered to group leader Tom Scholz's demanding standards and will be reissued on April 4th. The self-titled 1976 debut album package will include live versions of "Smokin'" and "Foreplay/Longtime," while 1978's "Don't Look Back" will contain a live recording of the previously unreleased "Help Me." But wait — there's more! The first-ever live Boston album is reportedly in the works. No word if it's one of their legendary Long Beach shows, but you know Tom won't release it until he's 100% happy with it!

Stones NYC Benefit

While tickets for the March 14th Rolling Stones Radio City Music Hall benefit aren't available to the public, the official rollingstones.com website is giving away two seats in an online contest. The contest is only open to members of the Rolling Stones Fan Club, which you can (of course) join at rollingstones.com. The concert itself will raise money for the Robin Hood Foundation, which fights poverty in and around New York City. In the past, The Who and Elton John have done similar shows to support the Robin Hood Foundation.

New Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam will release their first studio album in nearly four years on May 2nd. Simply titled "Pearl Jam," the album was produced by the band and Adam Kasper, who also worked on P.J.'s "Riot Act." The first single, "World Wide Suicide," is described by guitarist Stone Gossard as "very punky and very Who-ish." The full track list and details for a world tour will be announced later this month. Rock & Roll!

Eagles Stirring?

Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit cryptically says that there's "a renewed interest" among the band's members to record their long-awaited studio album. Timothy also says that he's continuing "to enthusiastically work" on his next solo project. Meanwhile, the new Kenny Rogers' album, "Water & Bridges," features a duet on a song called "Calling Me" with occasional Eagles singer/drummer Don Henley. Now that should sound really cool!

Does Size Really Matter?

Ever wonder why that outfit doesn't look the same on you? While the average American model is five feet eleven inches tall and weighs 117 pounds, the average American woman is five feet four inches tall and weighs 140 pounds.

Although most people think that Napoleon was short, he was actually five feet, six inches tall, an average height for a Frenchman in those days.

A ten-gallon hat actually holds 3/4 gallon or three quarts. Why did they call it a ten-gallon hat? Because everything's bigger in Texas — especially the lies!

March 3, 2006

On this day in 1956, Elvis Presley released his first #1 single, "Heartbreak Hotel."

On this day in 1966, Stephen Stills and Neil Young formed Buffalo Springfield in a small house near the intersection of Fountain and Gower in Hollywood. A Buffalo Springfield earthmover parked nearby inspired the group's name (granted, they really liked the initials B.S.).

On this day in 1967, former Yardbird guitar god Jeff Beck debuted his Jeff Beck Group featuring bassist Ron Wood, drummer Aynsley Dunbar and a new singer by the name of Rod Stewart.

On this day in 1973, Stealer's Wheel's "Stuck In The Middle With You" entered the charts.

On this day in 1975, Led Zeppelin finally released the long-delayed "Physical Graffiti" album.

On this day in 1978, Van Halen began its first world tour at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. Through much of the tour, the Pasadena band was the opening act for Black Sabbath and Journey.

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

On Stage Tonight

Bon Jovi play the Staples Center while Styx rocks the House Of Blues on Sunset tonight.

On Stage This Weekend

Van Morrison will be performing at The Wiltern LG Saturday and Sunday evening, and Styx will hit the House Of Blues in Anaheim Sunday night.

Hall Of Fame Update

A VH1 special featuring highlights of the 2006 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, during which Lynyrd Skynyrd and Black Sabbath will be honored, will premiere on March 21st. The actual ceremony will be held March 13th at New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel.

Journey/Def Lep Tour

Word is that Journey and Def Leppard will do a co-headlining tour this Summer. The only confirmed date so far is an Atlanta concert on July 13th. Both bands are also expected to be touring Europe in June.

Queen + Paul Rodgers

Queen + Paul Rodgers begins a six-week, 23-date road trip across the U.S. and Canada tonight in Miami. The shows will include a mix of Queen material and songs from Rodgers' previous bands Free and Bad Company, very similar to the Hollywood Bowl gig they did last October. The April 3rd Arrowhead Pond show will be their only Southland concert.

Sammy's Plans

Sammy Hagar and his Waboritas band will kick off their North American "Livin' It Up" tour on June 30th in New Jersey. You also can expect a set of Van Halen songs performed by the Other Half, a group featuring Hagar and VH bassist Michael Anthony. Dates — including a couple of Southland shows — will be revealed soon!

Crowes Book Fest

The Black Crowes will headline the 10th Annual All Good Music Festival on the rolling green fields of Marvin's Mountaintop in Masontown, West Virginia. The special anniversary event will run July 14th through the 16th and sounds like a real throwback to the old trippy festival days!

A Live Priestly Beast

The ripping Judas Priest "Live Vengeance '82" DVD from 2004's "Metalogy" box set will be released on April 11th, the same day as "The Essential Judas Priest" double-CD anthology. The December 12th, 1982 Memphis concert film will feature the Priest's full 17-track performance in both stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound mixes. RAWK ON!

March 4, 2006

Bassist Chris Squire of Yes is 57.

On this day in 1877, Emile Berliner invented the microphone. Where would we be without him?

On this day in 1967, The Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday" hit #1 on the U.S. singles chart.

On this date in 1972, "Bang A Gong (Get It On)" by T. Rex peaked at #10 on the charts.

On this day in 1973, Pink Floyd kicked off their "Dark Side of the Moon" American tour in Madison, Wisconsin.

On this day in 1986, pianist/vocalist Richard Manuel of The Band hung himself following a concert in Florida. The suicide was a total surprise to everyone who knew him. He was only 42.

March 5, 2006

Keyboardist Alan Clark of Dire Straits is 54.

On this day in 1966, The Beatles released the "Nowhere Man" single backed with "What Goes On."

On this day in 1971, Led Zeppelin performed "Stairway to Heaven" in concert for the first time. Belfast, Northern Ireland was the chosen spot.

On this day in 1982, comedian John Belushi, "Saturday Night Live" veteran and Blues Brother, died of an overdose at the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles. He was 33.

On this day in 1994, Grace Slick pointed a shotgun at police in her Tiburon, California home. By June, she was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and three month's worth of Alcoholic's Anonymous meetings.

March 6, 2006

Guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour of Pink Floyd is 60.

On this day in 1976, Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks-penned "Rhiannon" entered the charts where it eventually peaked at #11.

March 7, 2006

Singer/bassist Chris Taylor-White of The Zombies is 63 and virtually invisible.
Vocalist Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band is 61.
Drummer Kenny Aronoff (Mellencamp, Fogerty, Ethridge) is 53.

On this day in 1967, The Beatles finished recording "Lovely Rita" for the "Sgt. Pepper" album

On this day in 1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Travelin' Band" peaked at #2 on the charts.

On this day in 1973, legendary A&R man John Hammond suffered a heart attack while attending a showcase concert by his brand new signing, Bruce Springsteen. Fortunately, both John and Bruce survived.

On this day in 1975, David Bowie shocked his fans by going "soul" with the release of his "Young Americans" album.

On this day in 1979, Bad Company released the "Desolation Angels" album.

On this day in 1987, Peter Gabriel's "Big Time" peaked at #8 on the pop singles chart.

On this day in 1988, The Beatles albums "Past Masters Volume 1" and "Volume 2" were released.

March 8, 2006

Pseudo-drummer Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees is 61.
Bassist/singer Randy Meisner, a founding member of the Eagles and Poco, is 59.

On this day in 1969, The Beatles held the top two positions on the U.S. album chart with "The Beatles" (better known as the "White Album") and the "Yellow Submarine" soundtrack album.

On this day in 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" peaked at #2 on the pop singles chart.

On this day in 1973, Ron "Pig Pen" McKernan became the first of several Grateful Dead keyboard players to die while working with the band. "Pigpen" had been ill for a few years before passing on at the age of 27.

On this day in 1974, Bad Company played their first real gig at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England.

On this day in 1977, Foreigner released its debut album.

On this day in 1990, Robert Plant released the album "Manic Nirvana."

Catching Up On News Of The Week!

Elty's Party

Elton John and partner David Furnish's annual Oscars party was a smashing success this year, more than doubling last year's haul. In total, the event raised over $2.9 million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Actress Sharon Stone did her part by spending $170,000 to win the eBay auction for John's famous red piano, "Fiona."

Too Much Money

The handwritten lyrics to The Beatles song "A Day In The Life" didn't sell at auction yesterday. The sheet of paper on which John Lennon wrote the words to the song was expected to bring in more than $2.5 million, but when bidding at the Bonhams auction house in New York City closed, the reserve price hadn't been met. It's unknown what will happen to the paper now. Lennon began writing the lyrics on the morning of January 17th, 1967, after reading a newspaper report on the death of his friend Tara Browne, who was an heir to the Guinness fortune. Lennon then worked on the song with Paul McCartney that afternoon.

Roddy Must Pay

A federal judge has ordered Rod Stewart to pay a Las Vegas casino more than $3 million for canceling a show in December of 2000. In addition, he must fork over more than $150,000 in contempt-of-court sanctions and legal costs for failing to turn over information to lawyers for Harrah's Entertainment before trial last year. The crooner now owes the Rio Hotel $3.06-million bucks, including his two-million-dollar advance and over a million for interest, penalties and court fees. What do you suppose the odds are that they would book him again?

March 9, 2006

Guitarist Robin Trower is 61.

On this day in 1974, David Essex's "Rock On" peaked at #5 on the pop singles chart.

March 10, 2006

Boston's main guy, Tom Scholz is 59.
Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament is 43

On this day in 1973, both "Reelin' in the Years" by Steely Dan and "Frankenstein" by The Edgar Winter Group were released.

On this day in 1998, Eric Clapton released his "Pilgrim" album.

On this day in 2003, AC/DC and The Righteous Brothers were among the performers inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Catching Up On News Of The Week!

Big Hard Rock Party

Roger Waters and The Who are helping the Hard Rock Cafe celebrate its 35th anniversary in a big way. Hard Rock International is using this Summer's Hyde Park Calling festival in London as the launch of its Ambassadors of Rock Tour. The two-day U.K. festival on July 1st and 2nd will feature Waters headlining on the first night with The Who closing out the weekend. Details on the rest of the Ambassadors of Rock trek are still being worked out, but the Hard Rock is planning to stage shows in a total of nine cities. In addition to London, the tour is expected to hit New York; Chicago; and Orlando and Hollywood, Florida; as well as Tokyo and Osaka, Japan; Singapore; and Caracas, Venezuela. Hard Rock International is also planning to use the event as a way to help the communities that house its cafes. A portion of the proceeds from each Ambassadors of Rock concert is earmarked for local charities in the participating cities.

OzzFest Redux

The 11th annual edition of Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest will kick off July 1st in San Francisco and hit the Southland (probably at Glen Helen) on July 8th. The Ozz-man will headline only 10 dates of the metal extravaganza, with Southland faves System of a Down headlining on the rest of the nights.

U2 Problems

U2 have postponed the final 10 dates of their Vertigo '06 tour because of an illness in the family of an unidentified band member. "Any fan of U2 will realize that this decision has not been taken lightly," says a spokesman for the Irish quartet's tour-promotions company. The postponed concert dates had been scheduled to run from a March 17th New Zealand show through an April 8th gig in Honolulu. You may recall that the band also postponed the beginning of the Vertigo tour for the same reason. Let's all hope the family member get better!

Macca Appeals

Paul McCartney appealed to Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to prevent a drug-developing company from setting up shop in Chandler, Arizona because of its animal-testing practices. The Covance corporation allegedly was caught abusing monkeys at its research lab in Vienna, Virginia during a recent investigation by animal-rights group PETA. Covance has responded to the accusations by charging PETA with "using McCartney to spread their false allegations." Politics as usual.

Bruce/Warren/New Orleans

Bruce Springsteen and the Allman Brothers Band's ace guitarist Warren Haynes have joined the line-up of the 2006 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, set for April 28th - 30th and May 5th - 7th. Bruce's April 30th set will mark his first-ever appearance at the event. Doubtful it will happen, but how cool would it be if Warren joined the Boss on stage?!?