 July 1 - 10, 2006These 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! July 1, 2006
Blues legend Willie Dixon would have been 92. 
On this day in 1963, The Beatles recorded "She Loves You" and "I'll Get You" at Abbey Road Studios. On this day in 1967, The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album hit #1 in the U.S. and England. On this day in 1969, The Doors released their album "The Soft Parade," which featured the scandalous single "Touch Me." On this date in 1981, Steppenwolf bass player John Morey died in a car crash in Los Angeles at the age of 32. He is best known as the author of "Magic Carpet Ride." On this day in 1987, The Grateful Dead released their most successful album, "In the Dark," featuring the song "Touch of Grey." On this day in 1995, legendary D.J. Wolfman Jack suffered a heart attack and died in his home in Belvidere, North Carolina. He was only 57. July 2, 2006
NASCAR racing icon Richard "The King" Petty is 69.
On this day in 1566, Michel de Nostradamus, the French astrologer and "seer of the future," died at the age of 62. His last documented words: "I knew this was going to happen." On this day in 1947, an object crashed near Roswell, New Mexico. The U.S. Air Force insisted it was a weather balloon, but eyewitness accounts gave rise to speculation it was an alien spacecraft or, at worst, another KISS Farewell Tour. On this day in 1969, bass player Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell quit the Jimi Hendrix Experience because of frustration with Jimi's escalating personal and professional problems. On this day in 1971, Queen was finally set when bassist John Deacon made his live debut with the band at a college gig in Surrey, England. On this day in 1981, Foreigner released their album "4," considered by many to be their best. On this day in 1981, Bruce Springsteen played the 21,000 seat Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey — the first of six Springsteen concerts that launched the arena's opening. On this day in 1983, the final album by The Police, "Synchronicity," entered the American charts on its way to 17 weeks at #1. On this day in 1987, Sting chose not to attend his mother's funeral in order to stay in Monserrat where he was working on his "Nothing Like The Sun" album. On this day in 2005, Live 8, the largest live concert ever held, involved over a million people listening to rock and pop musicians at 10 venues across four continents, demanding that the G8 nations move to help Africa. The "battle-of-the-bands" type showcase of most of the world's top acts was unprecedented, but it was the co-ordination of so many acts and staging in so many cities around the globe that was nothing short of amazing. The man in charge of the whole event was Live Aid organizer, Sir Bob Geldof. July 3, 2006Unc's On VacationIt's time for some R&R (and desert heat avoidance), so you can expect my reports to be even more sporadic than usual this week! Have fun while I'm gone — and we'll see you next Monday!
Guitarist Paul Barrere of Little Feat is 58.
On this day in 1965, The Yardbirds' song "For Your Love" peaked at #6 on the charts. Eric Clapton left the band once they started recording the song, and can be heard only on the second bridge. Jeff Beck played the rest of the guitar on the final recording. On this day in 1969, Rolling Stones founding member Brian Jones died in his swimming pool at the age of 27. High levels of alcohol and barbiturates were found in his blood, and, despite rumors of suicide and murder, authorities declared his death an accident. On this day in 1971, vocalist Jim Morrison of The Doors died in his bath tub in Paris at the age of 27. No autopsy was ever done, but most figured that, like Brian Jones two years earlier, Jim had just reached the end. On this day in 1971, unaware that their lead singer had died in Paris, The Doors released "Riders on the Storm." On this day in 1973, David Bowie announced at a London concert that he was retiring from public performance. He was back on stage in 11 months, a turnaround record later challenged by Elton John and KISS. 
Former Beatles Attend PremiereSurviving Beatles Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr attended Friday night's Las Vegas premiere of "LOVE," the musical dedicated to the band's legacy. The Cirque de Soleil show is an acrobatic and dance spectacle set to a soundscape containing parts of 130 of the band's songs and unpublished outtakes. Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, as well as George's son Dhani and John's son Julian along with his mother — Lennon's first wife — Cynthia were also in attendance. McCartney and Starr were closely involved in the project, which took several years to devise, as were Ono and Olivia. Those four appeared on stage after each of the evening's two performances, with Macca shouting out: "This is for John and George!" Later, Ringo said: "It was emotional because two of us aren't here. So it really comes home when you're watching this." Yoko said: "All this time when I was working on this show in the rehearsals, I thought 'oh, John should be here,' That's the only thing that I regret, the fact that he's not here, because he would have enjoyed it so much." Dylan In Baseball Hall Of FameSure, Bob Dylan was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame years ago, but now he's in the Baseball Hall of Fame as well! The Cooperstown institution has added the "Baseball" edition of the legendary songwriter's recent satellite radio show. On the show, Bob featured audio highlights of significant baseball moments, songs about the subject including Buddy Johnson's "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball," and his own unaccompanied version of "Take Me Out To The Ball Game." The "Theme Time Radio Hour" "Baseball" episode is set to become a part of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library archives. New Cars, Part TwoNew Cars guitarist Elliot Easton has written an online message discussing the broken collarbone that forced the cancellation of the group's summer tour with Blondie. Though Easton performed five concerts following the injury, he describes the pain as "excruciating," and says his doctor "could not believe [he] was playing shows in [his] condition." Easton also reveals that the New Cars will make up some of the nixed gigs in September, while "another leg of the tour [is being planned] for late autumn." Spencer Emerges From The ShadowsWith assistance from Mick Fleetwood, original Fleetwood Mac guitarist Jeremy Spencer will release his first solo album in more than a quarter century. "Precious Little" will hit stores on July 18th. Spencer joined the band in 1967, and exited in 1971 to join the religious cult Children of God. His last solo album, "Flee," was released to no acclaim in 1979 and he has performed in public only a handful of times since then. Jeremy (who turns 58 on July 4th) was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Fleetwood Mac in 1998.  Factoids For The FourthThe Declaration of Independence, unanimously declared by the 13 United States of America, was adopted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. But the fact is that not one single signature was signed on that day. While most of the 56 names were in place by early August, one signer, Thomas McKean, did not actually sign the Declaration until 1781. Nevertheless, July 4th was the day singled out to mark the event of the United States establishing itself as a nation. Of the signers, 24 were lawyers and jurists; 11 were merchants; 9 were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War, with five captured by the British and tortured before they died. Most of the 56 lost family members, 12 had their homes ransacked and burned, and many died bankrupt. Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. The first celebrations occurred shortly after the declaration in various locales along the Eastern Seaboard. Much of the tradition inherent in the way we celebrate today was evident almost from the beginning. Sound, spectacle, and sentiment played an important role in that tradition. One of the most elaborate celebrations in 1777 and the first organized celebration of its kind occurred in Philadelphia. This event had all of the elements of typical future celebrations — the discharge of cannon, firing one round for each state in the union; the ringing of bells; the use of music; the drinking of toasts (it would subsequently be traditional to have one toast for each state in the union); "loud huzzas;" a parade; fireworks; and the use of the nation's colors. Whatever you do to celebrate, have fun, but please keep the fireworks away from the kids. And give pause to say a prayer for our troops still at war so far away from home. God bless America! July 4, 2006
Guitarist Jeremy Spencer (of the 2nd Fleetwood Mac line-up) is 58.
On this day in 1969, Grand Funk Railroad played the Atlanta Pop Festival, impressing Capitol Records so much that they signed the band within days. On this day in 1976, Paul McCartney & Wings released the song "Let 'Em In." On this day in 1981, "Urgent" by Foreigner entered the charts. On this day in 1982, in a year that saw him bite the head off a bat and watch his guitarist Randy Rhoads die in a plane crash, Ozzy Osbourne married his manager, Sharon Arden. July 5, 2006
Guitarist/singer Robbie Robertson of The Band is 63.
On this day in 1954, Elvis Presley, guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black started messing around on a song called "That's All Right" at Memphis' Sun Studios. Scotty Moore remembered saying, "Good God! They'll run us out of town when they hear this." Studio owner Sam Phillips remembered, "I knew we had a hit." On this day in 1964, the young Irish band Them, featuring singer Van Morrison, recorded "Gloria." Henceforth, raw lust as a component of lyrical content was considered fair game. On this day in 1966, former Animals bassist Chas Chandler happened to see Jimi Hendrix play at Cafe Wha? in New York's Greenwich Village. Blown away, he immediately convinced Hendrix to move to London in order to launch his career. On this day in 1968, promoter Bill Graham opened the premier West Coast concert hall of the late Sixties/early Seventies: The Fillmore West in San Francisco. On this day in 1968, The Doors played the Hollywood Bowl, backed by Steppenwolf and the Chambers Brothers. The concert was later released as "The Doors at the Hollywood Bowl." On this day in 1969, The Rolling Stones gave a free concert for 250,000 fans in London's Hyde Park to introduce their new guitarist Mick Taylor. But since their original guitarist Brian Jones had just died, the concert became a strained tribute instead. On this day in 1975, Steve Miller showed off his new band (featuring C.C.R.'s Doug "Cosmo" Clifford on drums) and a brand new song ("Rock 'N Me") as he opened for Pink Floyd at England's Knebworth Festival. No slackers themselves, the Floyd premiered their "Wish You Were Here" album with a performance that included fireworks, real Spitfire fighter planes flying overhead, and a very large model plane crashing into the stage. EEEE-yowee!!
Whole Lotta RobertA 10-disc box set spanning Robert Plant's entire post-Led Zeppelin career is slated for release on September 12th. "Nine Lives" will include remastered versions of all nine of Plant's solo albums with bonus tracks, as well as a DVD featuring interviews, music videos, live performances and more. Plenty early for Christmas shopping, I'd say! Petty Stuff In HallThe Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland has opened an exhibit celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers release. Included in the display are a 1968 Gibson guitar that Petty wrote most of his songs on, the floral-print shirt Petty wore in the "Free Fallin'" video and his first royalty statement from 1975. The exhibit will be on display into next year. Mellencamp/SnowmassJohn Mellencamp will perform at this year's Jazz Aspen Snowmass festival, which takes place over Labor Day weekend in Snowmass Village, Colorado. John and his band will headline the festival on September 3rd. Fresh Purple Bonus TracksA special two-CD version of Deep Purple's latest album, "Rapture of the Deep," has just been released. The deluxe collection's second disc offers a couple of outtakes from the 2005 "Rapture" sessions, a new version of the "Rapture" cut as well as five recently recorded live performances — including "Smoke on the Water" and "Highway Star." Quote Of The WeekIt was Thelonius Monk who said: "Sometimes it's to your advantage for people to think you're crazy." Dogs/Horses/Frogs* Dogs don't sweat through their tongues — they cool off by breathing rapidly; not by sticking their tongues out. Their tongues don't have sweat glands; the only large sweat glands they have are in their paws. * Horses use 17 muscles to twitch their ears. Humans use nine. * Frogs can't swallow with their eyes open. July 6, 2006
Rock pioneer Bill Haley would have been 81.
On this day in 1957, 15-year-old Paul McCartney first saw The Quarrymen perform at a church social in Liverpool. He immediately struck up a friendship with 16-year-old John Lennon and was soon in the band. On this day in 1964, The Beatles' first film, "A Hard Days Night," premiered in London. The Fab Four didn't actually see the flick until four days later. In Britain alone, the film's soundtrack had already sold a million and a half copies in only nine days. On this day in 1965, Marty Balin and Paul Kantner formed the group that a month later they would decide to call Jefferson Airplane. On this day in 1968, The Rolling Stones hit #3 in the U.S. with "Jumping Jack Flash." On this day in 1973, Queen released their debut single in the U.K., "Keep Yourself Alive." On this day in 1991, Van Halen's "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" album debuted at #1. On this day in 1993, U2 released their "Zooropa" album.
Change In Journey Line-upA few dates into a new tour is a hell of a time to make a personnel change, but due to a chronic throat infection, Journey's lead singer, Steve Augeri, has been forced to leave the band's current nationwide tour with Def Leppard. Jeff Scott Soto, who has worked with Journey guitarist Neal Schon, will assume the band's lead singer duties starting with the July 7th show in Bristow, Virginia. The band officially says, "Steve's been suffering with an acute throat condition since before we kicked off the tour with Def Leppard. We were hoping he'd be in well enough condition to handle the rigors of the road but unfortunately it appears to be a chronic condition requiring total voice rest. We all wish Steve a speedy recovery." They say Augeri will be closely monitored by his physician to determine when he may be able to rejoin the tour, but you can plan on seeing Jeff behind the mic for a while. July 7, 2006
The one and only Ringo Starr is 66.
On this day in 1964, The Beatles' first film, "A Hard Days Night," premiered in London. The Fab Four didn't actually see the flick until four days later. In Britain alone, the film's soundtrack had already sold a million and a half copies in only nine days. On this day in 1968, The Yardbirds finally called it quits, leaving guitarist Jimmy Page to form the New Yardbirds in order to fulfill some tour commitments. The group, featuring singer Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham, and bassist John Paul Jones, was soon renamed Led Zeppelin. On this day in 1977 (7/7/77), Styx released their seventh album, "The Grand Illusion." It proved to be their big breakthrough, selling four million copies. On this day in 1980, 12 years after they first formed as the New Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin played their final concert together in West Berlin. Drummer John Bonham would die in late September.  This Sunday night at 9 on 95.5 KLOS, OFF THE RECORD with Joe Benson will feature the music of Led Zeppelin as well as conversation with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones.
On StageOzzFest blasts into the Hyundai Pavilion on Saturday, and Pearl Jam plays the first of two nights at the Forum on Sunday! T.P. Comes To TownIt's official! Tom Petty has finally announced the third leg of his 2006 Highway Companion tour, which will kick off in Chicago on September 14th and include at stop at The Hollywood Bowl on September 26th. But wait — there's more! Stevie Nicks will continue to perform several songs with T.P. & The Heartbreakers on the remainder of the tour! Stay tuned to KLOS for ticket on-sale info! Stones/Who/Aerosmith/Eh?Word from up North says that a massive concert featuring The Rolling Stones, The Who and Aerosmith is being lined up for Eastern Canada in September. Sources point to The Stones' outdoor show in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on September 23rd (no, that show hasn't been announced yet), saying that the line-up will include The Who and Aerosmith. There's been no official confirmation of anything, beyond the Halifax government authorizing $100,000 for security and related costs for a "high profile" event. The late September date coincides with the first North American tour leg that The Who will be doing, but Aerosmith is already committed to playing in New Jersey on September 23rd as part of their Route Of All Evil tour with Motley Crue. Stay tuned, you hosers! Macca's OKPaul McCartney is said to be doing well in handling his split with estranged wife Heather Mills. Last week the former Beatle made his first public appearance since word surfaced of his troubled marriage, joining former bandmate Ringo Starr and Beatle widows Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison for the opening night performance of the new Beatles-themed Cirque du Soleil show "LOVE." As expected, Sir Paulie received a great deal of support from Starr, and he also mended fences with Yoko. John Lennon's widow expressed her sympathy to McCartney, recalling for the press how happy Macca was at the birth of his and Mills' daughter, Beatrice, adding "they were really in love." But she also noted she could relate to what Mills is going through, saying: "I feel very bad for her. I know better than anyone what it's like being a Beatle wife... nobody gives you an easy time." Gilmour Teases/Press Go NutsOf course the British press beats every rock star rumor into a bloody pulp. The current "tip" they've all gone ga-ga on is guitarist David Gilmour's "supposed hint" that a Pink Floyd reunion is in the cards. Monday night, at the premiere of The Floyd's "Pulse" DVD, David said that the "classic lineup" of Pink Floyd have been out "plying" their "trade." When keyboardist Rick Wright asked Gilmour if he would play with him, Gilmour replied "of course." And naturally drummer Nick Mason chimed in with "I'm available to everyone." You might recall that earlier this year, Gilmour issued a statement "categorically denying" that a reunion would take place, saying: "We are also asking the various parties who are fabricating these stories to desist, if only for the sake of the fans." Now, selling a few DVDs wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it? So hello, members of the press? Bite on this! July 8, 2006
Drummer Jai Johanson of The Allman Brothers Band is 62.
On this day in 1977, Steely Dan released their classic "Aja" album. On this day in 1978, Gerry Rafferty's album "City to City" (containing "Baker Street") hit #1 on the charts. July 9, 2006
Jimi Hendrix's drummer, Mitch Mitchell, is 60.
On this day in 1956, Dick Clark appeared on TV for the first time as the host of American Bandstand. Except for the bank account, he still hasn't changed. On this day in 1966, The Rolling Stones song "Mother's Little Helper" entered the charts. The song's title was the common reference to the recently introduced tranquilizer, Valium. On this day in 1971, Doors singer Jim Morrison was quietly buried in Paris' Pere-Lachaise cemetery. On this day in 1974 in Seattle, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young began their first reunion tour - the first mega-stadium tour in the history of Rock & Roll. It was during that ground-breaking series of concerts that both Neil Young and David Crosby began to question what the hell they were doing. Afterwards, Neil returned back to his smaller, more manageable solo career while David retreated into drug addiction. On this day in 1977, Fleetwood Mac released the "Don't Stop" single. On this day in 1977, Steve Miller's "Jet Airliner" peaked at #8 on the charts. On this day in 1983, The Police's "Every Breath You Take" hit #1. On this day in 1996, Deep Purple played "Smoke on the Water" for the first time in the Swiss city that inspired it. The band wrote "Smoke on the Water" in 1971 after surviving a nightclub fire in Montreux. July 10, 2006
Folkie Arlo Guthrie is 59.
On this day in 1965, as "Beatles VI" topped the U.S. album charts, The Rolling Stones scored their first American #1 hit single with "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." On this day in 1968, as drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce argued in the background, guitarist Eric Clapton announced the break-up of Cream. One of the first bands known as a "supergroup," Cream then launched one of the first successful "Farewell Tours." On this day in 1983, The Police song "Every Breath You Take" hit #1 on the American singles chart for the first of nine weeks. On this day in 1986, The Grateful Dead's Ventura Fairgrounds performance was canceled when the late Jerry Garcia was hospitalized after lapsing into a diabetic coma. His illness prompted more than 10,000 phone calls to the band's fan hotline in less than 48 hours. Garcia regained consciousness and was released a month later. On this day in 1993, Bob Seger married Juanita Dorricott. (Did you remember to send a card?) On this day in 1995 at Chicago's Soldier Field, The Grateful Dead played their last concert with Jerry Garcia. Jerry died a month later, and Soldier Field was later torn down. |
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