August 11 - 20, 2007

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!

August 11, 2007

Original Guess Who bassist Jim Kale is 64.

On this day in 1967, Pink Floyd recorded "Apples and Oranges" at Abbey Road Studios. The song became their third single and was truly as lame as the title would lead you to believe.

On this day in 1973, Joe Walsh released the song "Rocky Mountain Way" as The Edgar Winter Group released "Free Ride."

On this day in 1984, "Cover Me" by Bruce Springsteen entered the singles chart.

This Sunday night at 9 on 95.5 KLOS, OFF THE RECORD with Joe Benson will feature the music of John Mellencamp, John Fogerty, Bob Seger and Bon Jovi as well as more of Joe's conversation with super drummer Kenny Aronoff.

On Stage Saturday

Paul Rodgers, Riders On The Storm and Pat Travers will be rocking the Pacific Amphitheatre Saturday night as part of the 95.5 KLOS Mark & Brian Summer Concert Series. Mark & Brian and Jim Ladd will co-host. Meanwhile, Cheap Trick is performing The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" album with the orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl.

On Stage Sunday

Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult and Edgar Winter will be rocking the Pacific Amphitheatre Sunday night as part of the 95.5 KLOS Mark & Brian Summer Concert Series. Yer Uncle Joe and Gary Moore will co-host.

David's Down Again

With his birthday right around the corner, a respiratory infection has forced David Crosby to cancel an Aspen, Colorado performance scheduled for next Thursday. The gig was to have been part of the Lyrically Speaking series organized by the Aspen Writers' Foundation which features artists performing and discussing their writing process. David's health issues also caused the postponement of Crosby & Nash and Crosby, Stills & Nash tours earlier this year.

Mistake Or Ugly Censorship?

Pearl Jam, its fans and Internet watchdogs are up in arms after it was revealed that AT&T censored portions of the band's live Lollapalooza concert cybercast on Sunday. While performing "Daughter," the band segued into Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall," during which Eddie Vedder sang, "George Bush, leave this world alone" and "George Bush, find yourself another home." Those lyrics were missing from the broadcast. While Vedder also railed against oil giant BP Amoco during the set, and later brought a disabled Iraq War veteran onstage to call for an end to the conflict, neither of those segments were edited. AT&T attributed the bleeping to "a mistake by a Webcast vendor" that was "contrary to our policy... We very much regret that this happened in the first place." The company also says it is "working with the band to post the song in its entirety," a sentiment echoed by Pearl Jam on its official Web site.

Bruce's Old Piano

The piano Bruce Springsteen kept in his New York apartment from 1977 to 1979 when he was living with his then-girlfriend, Lynn Goldsmith, is being auctioned off on eBay.  Goldsmith sold the piano to the Symbolic Collection, a group that specializes in rare music collectibles. Word is that Bruce wrote many of the songs from his 1980 album "The River" on the piano, and that the likes of Bob Dylan, Keith Richards and Patti Smith have all played it. With a minimum bid of only $10,000, just remember that you'll have to bring it home from San Diego.

Daniel's U2 Footage

Daniel Lanois, the famed musician/GRAMMY-winning U2 collaborator who produced "The Unforgettable Fire," "The Joshua Tree," "Achtung Baby," "All That You Can't Leave Behind" and "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" (in addition to Bob Dylan's "Oh Mercy" and "Time Out of Mind") has produced a documentary called "Here Is What Is." Shot over an 18 month stretch, the film includes footage of U2 rehearsing songs from their upcoming album. The project will debut at the Toronto International Film Festival next month. But doesn't the movie's description sound a bit trippy? "Lanois' psychedelic past continues to haunt him throughout the film as the hyper-realism of the in-studio documentation is contrasted by moments of wild fantasia." Indeed!

A Thought For The Weekend

Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.

Does Size Matter?

A new survey of 2,000 women found that 78% of them are larger than they want to be. The Slim-Fast sponsored poll also revealed that 56% of the respondents want to be a size eight or smaller. Among the other findings:

* Women avoid certain activities when they don't feel good about themselves. Sixty-five percent don't go to the beach or the pool while 42% avoid shopping for clothing and 40% avoid nudity in front of their significant other.

* When asked why they wanted to lose weight, 80% said in order to be healthy, 76% said to feel better and 74% said to have more energy.

* With no one to question their truthfulness, 20% of the respondents said that they are at their ideal size.

August 12, 2007

Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler is 58.

On this day in 1877, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph. The world's first bootleg and royalty lawsuits were just around the corner.

On this day in 1960, Pete Best became the drummer of the Silver Beetles. With Ringo Starr around the corner, Pete didn't last much longer than that band name.

On this day in 1967, Fleetwood Mac made their live debut at London's National Jazz & Blues Festival. The festival's headliners were two British artists who were neither blues nor jazz: Donovan and Pink Floyd. Oh, the Sixties!

On this day in 1969, Eric Clapton's supergroup Blind Faith made their live U.S. debut at Madison Square Garden. Too much too soon: they were doomed before they played their first note.

On this day in 1972, "Honky Cat" by Elton John entered the singles chart.

August 13, 2007

On this day in 1952, Blues maven Big Mama Thornton recorded the first version of "Hound Dog," which became a #1 R&B hit. Little did the world know, Elvis Presley was waiting in the wings.

On this day in 1964, The Kinks entered the U.K. charts for the first time with "You Really Got Me."

On this day in 1965, the Jefferson Airplane made their live debut at San Francisco's Matrix Club. Marty Balin, the group's vocalist and guitarist, owned the club, thus making the audition process go a lot smoother.

On this day in 1966, The Beatles' best album to date, "Revolver," hit #1 on the British charts, while anti-Beatlemania raged Stateside following John Lennon's remark that the group was "more popular than Jesus."

On this day in 1973, Jethro Tull's "A Passion Play" album hit #1.

On this day in 1975, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band began their legendary five-night, two shows per evening stand at New York's Bottom Line club, setting the stage for the breakthrough success of "Born To Run" two weeks later.

On this day in 1977, "Cold As Ice" by Foreigner entered the charts.

On this day in 1977, Bachman Turner Overdrive announced they were splitting up, sending all of Canada into mourning.

On this day in 1981, The Rolling Stones released "Start Me Up" from their "Tattoo You" album.

Heads Up On Halen Tour

You can expect the Hollywood press conference this morning to announce a 50-date Van Halen American arena tour. Beginning in October, the long anticipated tour will feature founding Van Halen members David Lee Roth, Eddie and Alex Van Halen, with Eddie's son Wolfgang on bass. A proposed Summer tour by the group never got off the ground when Eddie went into rehab in March. Van Halen last toured in 2004 with vocalist Sammy Hagar, grossing nearly $40 million. Roth has not fronted the band on tour in over 20 years.

Stones' Film Delayed

The highly anticipated theatrical release of Martin Scorsese's concert documentary about The Rolling Stones — "Shine a Light" — has been postponed to sometime next April. Word is that, with the band busy touring Europe until August 26th, more time was needed to set up the promotional campaign. The film was shot during two performances at New York's Beacon Theatre last Fall.

Dylan/Newport Folk/Finally!

A DVD chronicling Bob Dylan's performances (and folk icon Pete Seeger's legendary temper tantrum) at the 1963-1965 Newport Folk Festivals is due out on October 30th. "The Other Side of the Mirror" will include 80 minutes of previously unreleased footage from Dylan's legendary concerts at the annual Rhode Island gathering.

New Jimi Clothes Just For You

An authorized limited-edition clothing line featuring prints of Jimi Hendrix's own hand-drawn artwork has just been announced. You can see (and buy) Altamont Apparel's T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts — with names like "Crosstown Traffic" and "Stone Free" — at http://altamontapparel.com/contributors/jimi-hendrix/.

Vintage Unplugged/Expanded

If you're going to reissue four vintage "MTV Unplugged" albums these days, then you better pack them with extra bonus tracks! First out of the chute are Mariah Carey, Alice In Chains, Tony Bennett and Bob Dylan performances. Alice In Chains' session, taped in April 1996, will feature the unaired songs "Frogs," "Angry Chair" and "The Killer Is Me." Bennett's "Unplugged," which introduced his music to a new generation of listeners in the throes of grunge, includes two unreleased audio tracks, a music video and interviews with Bennett and Elvis Costello. Dylan's release appends "Dignity" to the CD portion as well as "Tombstone Blues," "John Brown" and "Desolation Row" to the DVD. You can buy all four on September 18th.

Fixing Asia's Wetton

Asia frontman John Wetton is recovering from open heart surgery that he underwent on Friday. Everything with the procedure went as expected, and information on sending him "get well" greetings is available at: http://www.OriginalAsia.com.

Quote Of The Week

It was Napoleon Bonaparte who observed that "Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever."

You Talking About Me?

According to research from the University of Pennsylvania, if you sleep 4 to 6 hours a night for 2 consecutive weeks, your brain will function about as well as it would if you had stayed up for 3 nights in a row. On top of that, men have more trouble coping with lack of sleep than women do. Yeah, it was a long weekend and I am really grouchy, so what's it to you?!?

August 14, 2007

Singer/guitarist David Crosby, of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Byrds fame, is 66 and still living large!
Bassist Tim Bogart of Vanilla Fudge fame is 63.
Comic god Steve Martin is 62.

On this day in 1962, Ringo Starr was nearing the end of a three-month engagement with Rory Storm & the Hurricanes when he was approached by The Beatles manager Brian Epstein about replacing drummer Pete Best. Much to Pete's chagrin, Ringo started four days later.

On this day in 1965, The Beatles released the song "Help," Bob Dylan released "Like A Rolling Stone" and The Animals released "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place." What a day!

On this date in 1965, The Beatles taped an appearance for CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show." Recording at Studio 50 in New York City, they performed "I Feel Fine," "I'm Down," "Act Naturally," "Ticket to Ride," "Yesterday" and "Help!" The program was broadcast on September 12th, for the season-opener of "The Ed Sullivan Show."

On this day in 1971, Rod Stewart's classic "Maggie May" entered the singles chart.

On this day in 1976, Steve Miller's "Rock 'N Me" entered the singles chart as Peter Frampton's album "Frampton Comes Alive" hit #1.

On this day in 1982, "Keep The Fire Burnin'" by REO Speedwagon peaked at #7 on the charts.

On this day in 1985, Michael Jackson snookered Paul McCartney by bidding $47.5 million for the ATV music publishing catalog and the Northern Songs Catalogue of The Beatles' copyrights, which included 251 songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

The Halen Tour Is On!

As expected, Van Halen will tour with original singer David Lee Roth for the first time in 22 years. Diamond Dave, Eddie and Alex Van Halen, and Eddie's son Wolfgang were all on hand at yesterday's Hollywood press conference. The latest V.H. American arena tour will launch in late September, hit our Staples Center on November 20th, and wrap-up in mid-December. Only 25 of the anticipated 50 dates were announced yesterday, thus allowing for sell-outs/rescheduling. The last time the V.H. boys toured was in 2004 with vocalist Sammy Hagar when they grossed nearly $40 million. The only sour note in DLR's otherwise entertaining trademark motormouthing yesterday was his dissing of The Police and U2. Within the month, we should know what the new Halen line-up sounds like , and by December we'll see if Dave can back up the bravado.

Mucho More KISS

Thank God the wait is over! The KISSology Volume Two 1978-1991 DVD — which includes nearly seven hours of rare or never-before seen footage — is finally available today! But wait — there's more! The previously unreleased European theatrical version of the 1978 cult classic film "KISS In The Attack Of The Phantoms" (with bonus scenes!) is included in the three-disc set!

Another Big Ass Sale

It's a given fact that road managers gather a lot of memorabilia while touring with bands. David Spero, who has worked with the Eagles, Ringo Starr, Styx, Survivor, Billy Bob Thornton, Joe Walsh and many more, is putting his collection on the auction block.  Among the items are personal photos of Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and The Who, a John Lennon-signed Yellow Submarine press photo and a speaker cabinet that once belonged to Pete Townshend. The full auction catalog will be available online on September 16th at BackStageAuctions.com. The bidding will run for a week starting on September 23rd.

Purple Alumni Scheduled

Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover and drummer Ian Paice have signed on to perform at the Sunflower Jam 2007 benefit concert in London on September 20th. Founding Purple keyboardist Jon Lord and former Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore are also scheduled to play the event, which raises money for a U.K. cancer charity.

See Dylan's Art At Last

The first-ever exhibition of Bob Dylan's artwork will open October 28th at the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz museum in Chemnitz, Germany. "The Drawn Blank Series," the first formal display of the legendary singer/songwriter's artwork, will feature color variations of material published in the long-out-of-print 1994 book "Drawn Blank." More than 200 works are expected to be included in the exhibit, which will run for three months.

Quote Of The Day

It was Andre Gide who said: "One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time."

August 15, 2007

Doobie Brothers guitarist/singer Tom Johnston is 59.
Drummer Tommy Aldridge, who worked with Black Oak Arkansas, Whitesnake and Ozzy Osbourne, is 57.

On this day in 1964, "I Should Have Known Better" by The Beatles peaked at #53.

On this day in 1965, The Beatles performed in front of 56,000 people at Shea Stadium in New York. It set a record for concert attendance at that time, however most of those there heard nothing but screaming as fans drowned out the pathetic P.A. system.

On this day in 1969, three days of "Peace, Love and Music" known as the legendary Woodstock Music & Arts Fair began on Max Yasgur's farm in upstate New York. For the next three days, almost half a million people braved rainstorms and traffic jams to see Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Santana, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Joe Cocker, among others.

On this day in 1970, Sugarloaf released the song "Green Eyed Lady" as Free's "All Right Now" entered the singles chart and The Who's version of "Summertime Blues" peaked at #27.

On this day in 1978, Boston's "Don't Look Back" album was released a year before group leader Tom Scholz wanted it to be. Soon, there would be hell to pay.

On this day in 1981, "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins peaked at #19 on the charts.

On TV Today

Check out LIVE With Regis And Kelly on ABC this morning to see Def Leppard perform before a live studio audience.

Lennon iTunes/Beatles Next?

Sounds like we're a bit closer to accessing the full Beatles catalog on iTunes. For the first time, 16 of John Lennon's solo albums are available on the service. Like all other EMI tracks, they are available free of DRM in higher-quality files for $1.29. The "Lennon Legend" and "Acoustic" albums are also making their worldwide digital debuts as part of the initiative. And for a 30-day window, exclusive video content is bundled with the albums "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band," "Sometime in New York City," "Walls and Bridges" and "Milk and Honey" as well as the "Anthology" and "Working Class Hero" collections. With Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr's solo catalogs already available on iTunes, who will be next — George Harrison or the Fab Four?

Recording With T Bone

John Mellencamp, who spent the better part of the past year writing new songs, has just started recording his 22nd album. Sessions began this week at Belmont Mall, Mellencamp's studio outside Bloomington, Indiana with T Bone Burnett producing. John is using his touring band to record the album, as he has throughout his 32-year career. Burnett — a former L.A. resident — has produced albums for a wide variety of artists including Robert Plant & Alison Krause, Los Lobos, The Wallflowers, Roy Orbison and Elvis Costello, among many others. Stay tuned for details as they become available.

Elty's Story

Elton John has not only sold over 200 million albums worldwide, he's been very, very famous for many, many years. With that in mind, the all new documentary about his life should be very interesting. In its 141 minutes, the "Someone Like Me" DVD talks about his bouts with depression, bulimia, drug and alcohol addiction, his explosive temper tantrums, his activism with AIDS awareness and his friendship with Diana, Princess of Wales. It's pretty much the highs and lows with interviews from friends and foes alike. September 18th is the release date.

Quote Of The Day

It was Coach John Wooden who said: "If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?"

Dog Days Indeed

The term "Dog Days" means the hottest days of Summer. The Ancient Romans believed that there was a period during the Summer when "the brightest star in the heavens, the dog star 'Sirius,' added its heat to the sun's, making those days a veritable inferno."

August 16, 2007

INXS guitarist Tim Farris is 50.
Singer/dancer/saucy girl-next-door Madonna is 48.

On this day in 1938, Blues legend Robert Johnson (from whose music most Rock & Roll evolved) died at the age of 27 after being poisoned by a jealous husband (or so the story goes).

On this day in 1962, The Beatles replaced drummer Pete Best with Ringo Starr. Twenty years later, in 1982, Best released an album of early Decca Record auditions on which he was featured with the legendary group, and his backbeat was still all over the place.

On this day in 1977, Rock & Roll legend Elvis Presley died at the age of 42. Heart attack or heavy drug abuse, it doesn't really matter — he's not living in Kalamazoo, he's dead.

This Sunday night at 9 on 95.5 KLOS, OFF THE RECORD with Joe Benson will feature the music of Pink Floyd as well as more of Joe's conversation with Nick Mason, Roger Waters, David Gilmour and producer Alan Parsons.

Elvis' Piano

On the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, what better way to commemorate the King than by auctioning off his prized white Knabe baby grand piano? Elvis bought the piano in Memphis in 1957, and it stayed at Graceland until 1969 when he replaced it with a gold leaf piano his wife Priscilla gave him. With a starting price of a mere $250,000, experts say the instrument could go for as much as $2 million dollars. If you are interested in bidding on the item, the auction is open until Saturday.

Football Jams

ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill, along with Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, will participate in a video shoot for the newest version of ESPN's Monday Night Football theme song. Several other musicians will join Hank Williams Jr. next Monday in Las Vegas for the filming of an updated rendition of "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Monday Night." The video will premiere September 10th at the start of the MNF season opener.

Did The Halens Attempt To Erase History?

The problem wasn't the addition of a younger face into the band, but when Van Halen attempted to change history, irate fans took issue. Word is that earlier this week, the album art that decorates the background of Van Halen's Web site had original bassist Michael Anthony's image replaced with Wolfgang Van Halen's. It seems the original bassist was cut from the image of V.H.'s self-titled debut and replaced with Wolfie — and the group shot on the cover of "Women And Children First" was removed entirely. As of yesterday, however, all of the original album covers are back. Whew... let's just hope they keep the Photoshop software locked up from now on!

A Quick Ozzy Repackaging

A repackaged version of Ozzy Osbourne's latest album, "Black Rain," has already been released. The revamped packaging features the CD in a jewel case with a booklet featuring lyrics, pictures and new cover art. In addition, the CD offers bonus footage of the photo shoot for the album. Meanwhile, on Monday the Ozz-man and his band played a surprise three-song set in New York's Times Square at an event celebrating the arrival of the Madden NFL 08 football video game. Actually, the only way it could have been a bigger surprise was if he appeared in the video game itself.

Acoustic Gregg/Willie/Dave

This should be good! We already knew that Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds and The Allman Brothers Band will play full festival sets during this year's Farm Aid, the organization's first New York concert event. Now comes word that Gregg Allman will perform a special acoustic set with Willie Nelson and Dave Matthews during the September 9th Farm Aid 2007: A HOMEGROWN Festival.

Maybe The Best GN'R Book Ever

When amateur photographer Marc Canter took some shots of an up-and-coming band called Guns N' Roses in the mid-Eighties, he probably didn't think those photos would be worth much. However, now Canter is set to publish "Reckless Road And The Making Of Appetite For Destruction," which documents the band's early years via his never-before-seen photos. Canter photographed every gig GN'R played on the Sunset Strip, and 1,000 of his pictures are in the book, along with hand-written song lyrics and exclusive interviews, all chronicling the formation of the group. When "Reckless Road" hits shelves in early September, it will come in six different covers featuring Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler and a full band shot.

Quote Of The Day

It was Albert Einstein who said: "If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut."

August 17, 2007

Former Boston drummer Sib Hashian is 58.

On this day in 1962, The Beatles played their first gig at the Cavern Club in Liverpool with their new drummer, Ringo Starr. Some of original drummer Pete Best's fans began a fight as the Fab Four entered the club, and George Harrison finished the night with a black eye.

On this day in 1971, Led Zeppelin began their seventh North American tour in just three years. The band was at the height of their creative success, having just completed the "Led Zeppelin IV" album. The music and partying were legendary.

This Sunday night at 9 on 95.5 KLOS, OFF THE RECORD with Joe Benson will feature the music of Pink Floyd as well as more of Joe's conversation with Nick Mason, Roger Waters, David Gilmour and producer Alan Parsons.

New Eagles At Last!

How about that new Eagles song, "How Long," that we've been playing on KLOS?!? The vocal interplay and instrumentation are very reminiscent of the Eagles' earliest material, and the word play and energy of the recording are the best! The first single from their first new studio album in 28 years, "Long Road Out Of Eden," "How Long" will be available exclusively via walmart.com, samsclub.com and eaglesband.com starting Monday. The album itself — which will also be available exclusively at Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and via eaglesband.com — is due in October. While the rejuvenated band will tour extensively next year, we get the first shot at seeing them perform during their six-night stand with the Dixie Chicks at the new Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in mid-October.

Bruce Is Back

As we've long expected, Bruce Springsteen is officially back with The E Street Band, and there's a new album coming out on October 2nd. "Magic," Bruce's first album with The E Street Band since 2002's "The Rising," was recorded over a two month stretch in Atlanta with producer Brendan O'Brien, who previously worked with Springsteen on 2005's "Devils & Dust" and "The Rising." The various E Street Band members mostly flew down on weekends to record, while Bruce and O'Brien spent weekdays cutting vocals and recording overdubs. Of the 11 tracks, only "Long Walk Home" has been played live. Springsteen's 2003 tour with The E Street Band was the most financially successful of his career, selling out stadiums in both Europe and the U.S., and dozens of arenas across North America. It will be interesting to see if he reaches for that again with the "Magic" tour, which will be announced shortly.

Tribute To Brad This Weekend

Boston's late singer will be remembered this weekend with the "Come Together: A Tribute to Brad Delp" concert. The project, which was organized by Brad's children, will serve as a fundraiser for anti-cruelty and music education charities. Group leader Tom Scholz agreed to a Boston reunion of sorts, with former members Sib Hashian, Barry Goudreau, Fran Sheehan and Fran Cosmo all scheduled to take part in the finale of "Don't Look Back." While he will still be on hand, Cosmo has now been forced to drop out of the vocal line-up because of "a potentially serious problem with a blood vessel in his throat." The show is set for Boston's Bank of America Pavilion on Sunday.

More Fogerty Details

An expanded version of John Fogerty's upcoming album, "Revival," will be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart stores and via the retailer's website. The two-disc package will include a DVD that features an interview with the former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman, plus a pair of videos shot during his appearance this summer at England's Glastonbury festival.

Unseen Beatles To Be Seen

A DVD of "The Unseen Beatles" — the recently unearthed film of the Fab Four — will hit stores on October 2nd. The 65-minute documentary will include interviews, rare footage and personal home movies of the band shot during the Fifties and early Sixties.

A Thought For The Weekend

If you don't have a sense of humor, you probably don't have any sense at all.

August 18, 2007

Former Foreigner drummer Dennis Elliott is 57.

On this day in 1973, The Doobie Brothers released "China Grove."

On this day in 1973, "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" by Chicago peaked at #10 on the singles chart.

On this day in 1977, The Police played their first gig as a three-piece after the departure of guitarist Henri Padovani.

On this day in 1978, The Who released the "Who Are You" album.

On this day in 1981, The Rolling Stones released their "Tattoo You" album.

On this day in 1984, Van Halen's "Panama" peaked at #13 on the singles chart.

On this day in 1986, Bon Jovi released their third album, "Slippery When Wet." It eventually sold over six million copies.

August 19, 2007

Cream drummer Ginger Baker is 68.
Ian Gillan, vocalist with the best-known incarnation of Deep Purple, is 62.
Queen bassist John Deacon is 56.

On this day in 1959, 61-year-old blues guitar legend Blind Willie McTell died in Milledgeville, Georgia from a brain hemorrhage. Just the same, The Allman Brothers Band (unlike a big English band or two) still gave him writing credits when they covered his material 10 years later.

On this day in 1967, The Beatles hit #1 with "All You Need Is Love."

On this day in 1978, Boston released the song "Don't Look Back."

On this day in 1991, Bob Seger released his album "The Fire Inside."

On this day in 1997, Fleetwood Mac released "The Dance," the soundtrack to a TV special featuring the recently reunited/most famous line-up of the classic band.

August 20, 2007

Trombonist James Pankow of Chicago is 60.
Singer/rock god Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame is 59.
Thin Lizzy bassist/singer Phil Lynott would have been 55.

On this day in 1966, the title song of The Beatles' film "Yellow Submarine" entered the charts.

On this day in 1969, The Beatles were together in the studio for the last time as they finished recording "I Want You (She's So Heavy)."

On this day in 1977, The Marshall Tucker Band released the song "Can't You See."

On this day in 1981, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band played at the L.A. Sports Arena in one of the first high profile benefits for Vietnam veterans.