February 11 - 20, 2009
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 11, 2009
Rock & Roll pioneer Gene Vincent would have been 73.
Sheryl Crow is 47.
On this day in 1963, The Beatles recorded 11 songs for their first album, "Please Please Me," in one amazing 10-hour session at Abbey Road studios. Suffering from a cold and totally thrashed from the marathon session, John Lennon nailed "Twist and Shout" in one take at the end of the session. The next day, it was decided to make that song the final one on the album.
On this day in 1964, The Beatles performed their first American concert at Washington, D.C.'s Washington Coliseum. With all of the fans screaming, the Fab Four couldn't even hear themselves perform.
On this day in 1984, "That's All" by Genesis hit #6, "Pink Houses" by John Mellencamp peaked at #8 and "Middle Of The Road" by the Pretenders topped out at #19 on the charts.
On this day in 1989, "Angel Of Harlem" by U2 peaked at #14 on the charts.
On Stage Tonight
Styx will be rocking the House Of Blues on Sunset tonight!
Booking The Bruce
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band will headline the second/final day of the 2009 Hard Rock Calling festival in London's Hyde Park on June 28th. The Boss has also been heavily tipped to headline the legendary Glastonbury festival that same weekend. Sure hope he takes his vitamins and gets his proper rest!
Ticketmaster/Live Nation
There may be more than anti-trust legal issues at hand as Ticketmaster and the concert promoter Live Nation proceed with their monopolistic merger. New York Senator Charles Schumer has joined a New Jersey congressman in calling for the Federal Trade Commission to look into Ticketmaster's handling of ticket sales for upcoming Bruce Springsteen concerts. You may recall that last week's Springsteen ticket sale saw fans redirected from Ticketmaster to the broker's higher-priced TicketsNow subsidiary. Echoing Bruce's immediate complaints, Schumer called the scheme "a classic bait-and-switch." Stay tuned!
Hitting On Macca
Word is that Paris Hilton approached Paul McCartney backstage at the GRAMMYs last weekend and asked the former Beatle if he'd consider doing a duet with her. Sir Paulie reportedly looked a little confused and told the celebutante that he'd have to check his schedule. Hilton then complimented Macca on his "cute" hair. Feel free to supply your own punchline here.
Sammy's Beach Bar
This Friday, Sammy Hagar will open his newest Sammy's Beach Bar & Grill at Harrah's in St. Louis. As usual, the Red Rocker's menu boasts fries, wings, burgers, steaks, seafood and drinks made with his own Cabo Wabo Tequila. And, although it sounded good when the story first floated out, there appears to be no truth to the rumor that all the busboys will be named Eddie.
Heaven & Hell
Finally! After months of speculation, the release date is official. Heaven & Hell's new album "The Devil You Know" will be out on April 28th. The Black Sabbath spin-off group fronted by Ronnie James Dio will do a series of international tour dates from early May through late July, then look out America!
It was John Wayne who said: "Life is hard, but it's harder if you're stupid."
It was Joseph Wood Krutch who said: "Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function."
February 12, 2009
Ray Manzarek of The Doors is 70.
Original Genesis lead guitarist Steve Hackett is 59.
Gil Moore of Triumph is 58.
On this day in 1964, Beatlemania hit New York as the Fab Four played two shows at Carnegie Hall. In Washington, D.C., President Lyndon Johnson met with British Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home and told him, "I like your advance guard. But don't you think they need haircuts?"
On this day in 1967, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards' mansion was raided by 15 policemen, who discovered "various substances of a suspicious nature." Richards, Mick Jagger and his girlfriend Marianne Faithfull were arrested, then later acquitted on drug charges.
On this day in 1968, Jimi Hendrix returned to his hometown of Seattle to receive the key to the city and an honorary high school diploma (he had dropped out at the age of 14). Jimi also did a show for the students of his old high school, and spent some time boinking Seattle maidens — a true homecoming.
On this day in 1972, Yes' "Roundabout" entered the charts, "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin peaked at #15 and "Feeling Alright" by Joe Cocker topped out at #33.
On this day in 1977, Paul McCartney released the live version of his song "Maybe I'm Amazed."
On this day in 2001, former Eagles guitarist Don Felder sued founding members Don Henley and Glenn Frey, claiming he was wrongly fired. The associated lawyers still haven't split the cash or future royalties, but you can be sure they're working feverishly on it.
This Sunday night at 9 on 95.5 KLOS, OFF THE RECORD with Joe Benson will feature the music of Def Leppard as well as more of Joe's conversation with singer Joe Elliott and guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell.
Somebody Tell Bruce...
Budget cutbacks are hitting everyone, but it seems that Bruce Springsteen is working without any staff to look after him. The Boss claims that he wasn't aware of his Best Rock Song GRAMMY Award win for "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" until the next day. "I opened the newspaper on Monday and saw that I had won, and thought, 'Well, that's great,'" he says. Meanwhile, Bruce has contributed his 1980 song "Point Blank" to "On the Beat, Volume II," a new benefit CD compiled by a Vancouver, Canada police organization that produces educational, youth-oriented multimedia projects.
A New KISS Baby
KISS singer/guitarist Paul Stanley and his wife Erin welcomed an eight-pound baby girl on January 28th. Sarah Brianna is the pair's second child. They were married in 2005 and have a two-year-old son Colin Michael and Stanley's 14-year-old son Evan Shane from his previous marriage. Wonder if Paul will be going out on tour to avoid diaper duty?
Edge/Adam/Berlin
The Edge and U2 bassist Adam Clayton returned to Berlin this week for a screening of the documentary "It Might Get Loud," the excellent semi-documentary about guitars featuring The Edge, Jack White and Jimmy Page. You may remember that the band recorded their classic "Achtung Baby" album in the German city back in the early Nineties, so it's likely they were also checking some of their old haunts.
Dennis' Latest
Former Styx frontman Dennis DeYoung's latest solo album, "One Hundred Years From Now," will finally get its U.S. release in April. The singer/keyboardist says the stateside version of the collection will include two additional songs and remixed versions of several of the original disc's tracks.
It was Alfred Hitchcock who said: "The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder."
It was Tom Sharp who said: "I don't consider myself bald. I'm simply taller than my hair."
February 13, 2009
Monkee bassist Peter Tork is 67.
Producer Bill Szymczyk, who discovered Joe Walsh & the James Gang and produced several of the Eagles' greatest albums, is 66.
Former Genesis frontman, the patron saint of world music, and "Sledgehammer" singer Peter Gabriel is 59.
Original Foreigner bassist Ed Gagliardi is 59.
On this day in 1966, The Rolling Stones made their first U.S. TV show appearance, performing on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
On this day in 1972, Led Zeppelin was forced to cancel a show in Singapore when officials wouldn't let the band and crew disembark the airplane because their hair was too long.
On this day in 1974, Bob Dylan finished his famous tour with The Band at the Forum here in Los Angeles. It was at that show that Bob recorded most of the songs for his live album, "Before The Flood."
On this day in 1982, the 300 pound headstone on the grave of Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zant was stolen from a Florida cemetery. Police found it two weeks later, abandoned in a dry river bed.
On Stage Tonight
Styx will be rocking the House Of Blues in Anaheim tonight.
On Stage Saturday
Lewis Black will tear it up at the Wiltern Saturday night.
U2 Move In With Letterman
Sure the Allman Brothers Band will play to thousands during their 15+ day residence in New York's Beacon Theatre next month, but U2 will trump that audience reach by playing 10 songs over five nights just up the street at the Ed Sullivan Theater. The Irish lads will be the sole musical guest on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" for a whole week. Do you think it's a coincidence that U2's new album, "No Line On The Horizon," will be released that week?
Eric & Steve (Finally)
A year ago, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood played three shows at New York's Madison Square Garden in a celebration of the 40th anniversary of their short-lived supergroup, Blind Faith. With the release of a CD/DVD set documenting those concerts due this Spring, the two master musicians have announced a 14-city U.S. co-headlining tour. The boys will start off with a June 10th concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and finish with a June 30th show at the Hollywood Bowl. Stay tuned for ticket info!
Bucks Up
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Madonna — who did some very serious touring last year — topped "Billboard" magazine's list of 2008's Top 20 Moneymakers with a take of $242 million ($230 million of that from touring alone). The next three on the "Billboard" list — Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and The Police — played fewer shows to earn $157 million, $156 million and $109 million, respectively. The Eagles were 11th with $61 million, AC/DC was 13th, Journey 17th and Billy Joel was 18th. Those amounts represent documented earnings from touring as well as from music and merchandise sales.
LP: A Go/OzzFest: No
The rumors have been confirmed. Ozzy Osbourne is working on his new studio album here in Los Angeles. Since he won't tour before the as-yet-untitled album hits stores around Thanksgiving, OzzFest is being put on hold until next year. But the album isn't the only project occupying the OzzMan's time. "The Osbournes: Reloaded," his TV show with wife Sharon and kids Kelly and Jack, is being prepped for a Spring debut on Fox.
Fleetwood's Side Project
If you ever wondered if the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band's "Blue Again" concert album would be released Stateside, you're in luck! The recording of the February 2008 St. Louis performance includes renditions of early Fleetwood Mac songs as well as a few new compositions. It was issued last October in Europe and will finally get its domestic release on March 17th.
It was Steven Wright who said: "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."
It was John Lubbock who said: "What we see depends mainly on what we look for."
Triskaidekaphobia
The "fear of the number 13," and today is Friday the 13th. Here are some of the factoids and superstitions surrounding both the number 13 and Fridays in general.
All months whose first day falls on a Sunday will contain a Friday the 13th.
A maximum of three Friday the 13ths can appear in one year, but every year will have at least one.
In ancient times, Friday was the day of the pagan goddess Freya, and 13 was her sacred number, because the pagan calendar had 13 months. Christian monks considered anything having to do with goddesses to be unlucky, and anything having to do with pagans as being evil. When pagans worshipped Freya on Friday the 13th, the monks accused them of "devil worship."
The Bible points to Friday as being the day Eve gave Adam the apple.
For some, the number 13 is also considered to be unlucky because Jesus Christ was the 13th guest — in addition to his 12 Apostles — at the Last Supper, which took place on a Friday — the night before he was crucified.
Ancient Norsemen used 13 knots in the nooses they used to hang people.
In the 19th century, Lloyd's of London refused to insure any ship sailing on Friday the 13th. The U.S. Navy still won't launch ships on that date.
Hotels and office buildings often don't have a 13th floor. Many airports skip the 13th gate and airplanes have no 13th aisle.
The ill-fated Apollo 13 mission was launched at 13:13 military time, from launch pad #39 (that's 13 X 3), and had to be aborted on April 13, 1970.
February 14, 2009
Roger Fisher, Heart's original lead guitarist, is 59.
On this day in 1843, a small English circus staged a performance for the benefit of a Mr. Kite. Just 124 years later, the circus poster inspired John Lennon to write "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite" for The Beatles' classic "Sgt. Pepper's" album.
On this day in 1967, Aretha Franklin recorded her definitive version of Otis Redding's "Respect."
On this day in 1970, The Who recorded their concert at Leeds University in Northern England. The performance was immortalized as "Live At Leeds," one of the greatest live albums ever, and was released as a pseudo bootleg just three months later. The CD has now been reissued with all of the additional tracks (including the rock opera "Tommy") that were left off the original album. You must own it!
On this day in 1973, David Bowie collapsed at the end of his Valentine's Day Show at New York's Radio City Music Hall. A spokesperson said, "It was total exhaustion." Whew — we were afraid the reason for his collapse was his legendary lifestyle: staying up for days on end and partying his brains out.
On this day in 1976, E.L.O.'s "Evil Woman" peaked at #10 as The Who's "Squeeze Box" topped out at #16.
On this day in 1978, Dire Straits began recording sessions in London for the group's first album.
On this day in 1981, Steely Dan's "Hey 19" peaked at #10 on the charts.
On this day in 1987, Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" hit #1 as "We're Ready" by Boston peaked at #9 and Genesis' "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" broke into the Top 40.
On this day in 2000, KISS announced that the group was going on a farewell tour — a tour that still hasn't ended.
On this day in 2002, Mick Tucker, drummer for the Sweet, lost his 5-year battle with Leukemia at the age of 54.
It was Dave Barry who said: "On Valentine's Day, millions of men give millions of women flowers, cards and candy as a heartfelt expression of the emotion that also motivates men to observe anniversaries and birthdays: fear."
Why Is It Valentine's and Not Pagan's Day?
For 800 years, prior to the establishment of Valentine's Day in the 5th century, the Romans practiced a pagan celebration every mid-February. It featured a lottery in which young men drew the names of teenage girls, each of whom would be his sexual companion for the next year. In an effort to do away with that darn pagan festival, Pope Gelasius established Valentine's Day as a tribute to St. Valentine, who had been stoned and beheaded by Roman Emperor Claudius II, also known as Claudius the Cruel. Before he was taken to his death, St. Valentine signed a farewell love note to the blind daughter of his jailer, "From your Valentine." According to legend, Valentine was beheaded on February 14th in approximately 270 A.D. Although the party-pooping Pope banned the lottery for young hotties, Roman men continued to use the mid-February holiday to seek the affection of women. It became a tradition for men to give the ones they admired handwritten messages of affection, containing Valentine's name. I'd venture a guess that if they were successful in their quest, the young men would then (figuratively) lose their head.
February 15, 2009
Glyn Johns, who produced albums for The Who, The Rolling Stones, Van Halen and the Eagles, is 67 and just a bit cranky.
Mick Avory, long-time drummer for The Kinks is 65.
John Helliwell, master of horns with Supertramp, is 64.
Keyboardist Andrew Farris of INXS is 50.
On this day in 1964, "Meet the Beatles" became the #1 album in America for the first of 11 weeks.
On this day in 1969, The Doors' "Touch Me" peaked at #3 as Bob Seger's "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" topped out at #17 on the pop singles chart.
On this day in 1981, famed blues guitarist Michael Bloomfield died of a drug overdose in San Francisco at the age of 37.
On this day in 1985, Phil Collins released his classic "No Jacket Required" album.
On this day in 1998, The Rolling Stones performed the final show of their "Bridges to Babylon" North American tour at Las Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel. Always the master of understatement, Mick Jagger called the crowd, which included Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp and Sting, "the best-dressed audience I've ever seen in my life."
February 16, 2009
Former Def Leppard guitarist Pete Willis is 49.
On this day in 1964, The Beatles performed on "The Ed Sullivan Show" for a second time, live from the Deauville Hotel in Miami. It was the first time a musical act ever appeared twice on the variety show, and we hope the last time anyone ever performed at the crummy old Deauville Hotel.
On this day in 1968, John and Cynthia Lennon and George and Patti Harrison all flew to India to spend two months studying with transcendental meditation advocate Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Ringo and Maureen Starr, Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, Mia Farrow and Donovan soon joined them. Shortly after arriving, Ringo left because he didn't like the food. Then McCartney split and Lennon became disillusioned when the Maharishi started coming on to Farrow. Listen to The Beatles song "Sexy Sadie" for more sordid details.
On this day in 1974, Elton John released the single "Bennie and the Jets."
On this day in 1980, Led Zeppelin's "Fool in the Rain" peaked at #21 on the singles chart.
Peter Says No Way
Peter Gabriel, whose tune "Down To Earth" from "WALL-E" has been nominated for the Best Song Academy Award, will not perform at the Oscars. When the awards show producers decided to do a medley of the three nominated songs, they only gave Gabriel one minute of performance time — which he immediately declined. The ever eloquent Mr. Gabriel said, "I'm an old fart, and it's not going to do me any harm to make a little protest." He'll still attend the ceremony since he thinks it'll be "a fun adventure," and he hopes that the Soweto Gospel Choir, which accompanied him on the track, will still be allowed to perform with whoever sings his song.
Yes Cancels Out
Yes has cancelled all of their concert dates through February 24th, citing "unspecified medical reasons." The group had just started their "In The Present Tour" without lead singer Jon Anderson, who suffered an acute respiratory failure last May.
S&G Redux
Here's one none of us saw coming. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel surprised everyone with a brief reunion performance during the encore of Simon's Friday night concert at New York's Beacon Theatre. With Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg in the audience, Simon was officially celebrating the venue's first show following a lengthy renovation. For the surprise reunion, Paul and Artie sang "The Sounds Of Silence," "The Boxer" and "Old Friends." Let's just hope this was merely a taste of things to come!
Plant & Krauss Workin' Away
After winning five GRAMMY Awards, including "Album Of The Year," Robert Plant and Alison Krauss immediately returned to the studio with T Bone Burnett to continue work on the follow-up to their platinum-selling "Raising Sand" LP. Thanks to the huge GRAMMY night, "Raising Sand" is expected to top this week's sales chart, despite not even being in the Top 200 two weeks ago. After two weeks hard at it, T-Bone said "Hopefully we have at least two more records in us." You would think that a new album would mean another tour, even though Plant said he wouldn't tour for "at least two years." And evidently there's no plan whatsoever for that highly anticipated live CD/DVD release before the new album. This may get very interesting!
It was Coach John Wooden who said: "It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."
It was Ted Turner who said: "Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise."
President's Day
America is the kind of place where you need a license to drive, hunt, fish, cut hair or own a dog, but anyone over 35 can run for President. President's Day originated on February 22, 1796 in commemoration of George Washington's birthday during the last full year of his presidency. The first formal observance of President Abraham Lincoln's birthday took place on February 12, 1865 — the year after his assassination — when both houses of Congress gathered for a memorial in his honor. While Lincoln's Birthday did not become a federal holiday, as Washington's had, it eventually become a legal holiday in several states. In 1968, legislation was passed that affected several federal holidays including Washington's Birthday, the observation of which was shifted to the third Monday in February each year whether or not it fell on the 22nd. This act, which took effect in 1971, was designed to simplify the yearly calendar of holidays and give federal employees some standard three-day weekends in the process. While the holiday is still officially known as Washington's Birthday, it has become popularly known as President's Day, a time for honoring Washington and Lincoln, as well as the other men who have served as President.
Presidential Factoids
While Barack Obama is our 44th president, there have actually been only 42 presidents: Grover Cleveland was elected for two nonconsecutive terms and is counted twice, as our 22nd and 24th president.
The oldest president inaugurated was Ronald Reagan (age 69); the youngest was John F. Kennedy (age 43). Theodore Roosevelt, however, was the youngest man to become president — he was 42 when he succeeded William McKinley, who had been assassinated.
The tallest president was Abraham Lincoln at 6'4". At 5'4", James Madison was the shortest.
February 17, 2009
On this day in 1973, Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side" entered the charts.
This Sunday night at 9 on 95.5 KLOS, OFF THE RECORD with Joe Benson will feature the music of Rock & Roll Hall Of Famers John Mellencamp and John Fogerty as well as Joe's brand new conversation with super drummer Kenny Aronoff.
Rush To Playboy Hall Of Fame
Rush is the latest addition to "Playboy" magazine's Playboy Hall of Fame. Declaring that the Canadian trio has "followed a relentless experimental path while maintaining one consistent quality: mind-bending virtuosity." The editors also noted, "Given how many write-in votes Rush got from readers for best live act of the year, it's clear the innovative Toronto band's star has never burned brighter than right now." The magazine added, "Though Rush's dozens of gold and platinum albums and performances before as many as 60,000 fans apparently don't warrant its inclusion in Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, we're proud to welcome the band, on behalf of our millions of readers, to ours." Right so!
Mega Metallica
Beginning on March 31st, Metallica will make their "The Complete Metallica" box set available exclusively on iTunes. The new compilation will include 163 songs from nine full-length albums, a covers compilation, a live album and two EPs as well as their "Mission: Impossible 2" soundtrack contribution and eight more bonus live tracks. All the other digital providers will finally gain access to the mega-dose of Metallica on April 28th.
A Big Ass Beatles Reference
"Goldmine" magazine — a long time favorite of American record collectors — has released a special "Meet the Fab Four" DVD-ROM. The compilation of 10 years' worth of the publication's Beatles-related issues includes articles, discographies and information about collectibles, as well as conversations with Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and son Sean. Me thinks KLOS' Chris Carter (host of Breakfast With The Beatles) may already have two copies for his archives!
Rafferty Update
While it's not a warm and fuzzy report, word out of England is that Gerry Rafferty is "alive and sounding comparatively well." Rafferty made headlines last Summer after he vanished from a London-area hospital where he was getting treatment for alcohol-related liver failure. The Brit tabloids say that he's staying with a "friend" in Southern England, and living off royalties from his 1978 hit "Baker Street" as well as the Stealers Wheel hit "Stuck in the Middle With You," which he co-wrote.
It was Oscar Wilde who said: "True friends stab you in the front."
It was Karolvig Viggo Mortensen who said: "There's no excuse to be bored. Sad, yes. Angry, yes. Depressed, yes. Crazy, yes. But there's no excuse for boredom, ever."
Tony Stewart/Office Depot
This Thursday, 11am - 1pm: In preparation for the weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup Auto Club 500 at the Auto Club Speedway — and to celebrate NASCAR racer Tony Stewart's new sponsorship — Uncle Joe and the KLOS Cool Patrol will be hanging at the Office Depot at Foothill and Day Creek Boulevard in Rancho Cucamonga with lots of prizes and one of Tony's cars for you to see and touch!
February 18, 2009
Yoko Ono is 76.
Singer/keyboardist Dennis DeYoung, formerly of Styx, is 62.
Robbie Bachman, drummer with Bachman Turner Overdrive, is 56.
On this day in 1965, The Beatles recorded "Tell Me What You See" and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" for their "Help!" album. The latter was a Dylan-influenced John Lennon composition which featured tenor and alto flute work by Johnnie Scott — the first session musician brought in by the Fab Four to augment their recordings.
On this day in 1968, guitarist Dave Gilmour officially replaced founder Syd Barrett in Pink Floyd. The highly psychedelicized Syd was soon checked into a psychiatric hospital, and later slipped into seclusion.
On this day in 1978, "Love Is Like Oxygen" by Sweet entered the charts.
On this day in 1980, bassist Bill Wyman announced he was leaving The Rolling Stones in 1983. Never one to waffle on a decision, Bill finally left the band in 1992.
All Hail Ozzy
With the goal of celebrating the finest in Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, the first-ever Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards will tape on April 7th in Los Angeles. So who better to receive the first-ever Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Lifetime Achievement Award than (cue the pyro!) Ozzy Osbourne? And the fact he'll be working on his new album right here in town will help hold down the production expenses too. MTV2 will air a special on the Golden Gods nominees on April 25th, while a one-hour special capturing highlights of the big event will debut May 2nd on the cable network.
Sting With Strings
Going for something he hasn't tried before, Sting will team up with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for a special performance of his biggest hits on May 19th. While this will be part of the orchestra's 20th anniversary Corporate Night fundraising event, don't be surprised if Mr. Sting expands the concept to a symphony near you. But wait — there's more! Three days after the Chi-town gig, The Sting will be a featured performer at a May 21st Toronto charity show to finance a residential facility for the Sunnybrook Foundation's Women & Babies Program. Right so!
One Extra Large Paranoid
Better start saving up your money! The classic Black Sabbath album "Paranoid" will be re-released on April 6th as a triple-disc set. The package will include the remastered album, an additional disc of previously unheard outtakes, demos and instrumental tracks from the original studio sessions, and the extremely rare (until now) 1974 Quadraphonic mix of the album. And as you'd expect, rare and previously unseen photographs, comprehensive sleeve-notes and images of rare single covers and memorabilia from the period will also be included in the set.
Larry Speaks
U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. rarely speaks in public, but he's eloquently described to the U.K.'s highly respected newspaper "The Observer" just how special the work the band did on their latest album in Morocco was to him. Among his comments: "The work we did in Fez was the most joyous and liberating part of the whole album process. It was what I had always imagined being in U2 would be about: just playing music for the joy of it with no real end in sight." How cool is that?
Sir Elty's Latest/Weirdest Project
Elton John's production company, Rocket Pictures, will film "Pride And Predator" in London later this year. The project logically crosses the 19th century Jane Austen English romance classic "Pride and Prejudice" with the sci-fi horror thriller "Predator" — literally "dropping an alien into the middle of a costume drama where he stalks and slashes to horrific effect." So speaketh Sir Elton.
It was David Frost who said: "Television enables you to be entertained in your home by people you wouldn't have in your home."
It was Josh Billings who said: "One of the greatest victories you can gain over someone is to beat him at politeness."
NASCAR/Auto Club Speedway
This Friday - Sunday: Like he's done every year since the track opened in 1997, Uncle Joe will be announcing at the Auto Club Speedway's NASCAR Sprint Cup Auto Club 500. Starting with a broadcast from the track of his Friday afternoon KLOS show, Unc will reprise his role as the Fan Zone's Master of Ceremonies before calling the races from the announcers' booth. There'll be another special session with 3-time NASCAR Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson on Sunday, and a whole lot more! Check out a few photos from last year.
February 19, 2009
Guitarist Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath is 61.
Bassist Mark Andes, who worked with Spirit and Heart, is 61.
On this day in 1972, America's "A Horse With No Name" entered the singles charts.
On this day in 1977, Fleetwood Mac released their classic "Rumours" album, which stayed at #1 on the charts for 31 weeks, and sold over 18 million copies!
On this day in 1977, Manfred Mann's Earth Band's remake of Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded By The Light" hit #1 on the singles charts. Ironically, Springsteen himself hadn't even scored a Top 20 single yet.
On this day in 1980, Bon Scott, the hard living lead singer of AC/DC, died of drunken "misadventure" in London at the age of 33.
On this day in 1995, Baywatch eye candy Pamela Anderson married Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee on a Cancun beach. The bride wore a white bikini (for a brief period of time) and their "honeymoon" video became very, very popular.
Big GRAMMY Sales Boost
Do the GRAMMY Awards really impact album sales? If you're Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, the answer is a resounding yes! Selling 77,000 copies (a 715% increase) following its five-GRAMMY sweep last week, their "Raising Sand" album shot from #69 to #2 on the Billboard 200. To date, the Record Of The Year has sold 1.26 million. By the way, on the strength of her GRAMMY success, Taylor Swift's "Fearless" returned to the top of the Billboard 200 for its ninth non-consecutive week at #1. The last album to log more time at #1 was Santana's "Supernatural," which spent 12 weeks at the top in 1999 and 2000.
Motley A&E
When's the last time you watched the A&E Biography program? You might want to check out tonight's episode spotlighting Motley Crue. There should be plenty of juicy details about their history, marriages and run-ins with the law. It's also possible that this episode will set a new record for the most foul words bleeped out in an A&E program!
The Rubin Story
Rick Rubin is one of our generation's most legendary (and successful) record producers — but you'll find very little official reference material has been written about him. Enter one Jake Brown, who — after three years of research — is publishing a 300 page biography covering the highlights of Rubin's career. The stories will include Rick's work with the Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica and many others. "Rick Rubin: In the Studio" is due out this Summer.
Only Fools Infringe On Jimi
In what was a pretty open-and-shut case, the estate of Jimi Hendrix was awarded a $3.2 million judgment after suing Electric Hendrix Spirits for infringing on Jimi's trademark by using his name, signature and likeness on a vodka bottle without permission. They even named their company Electric Hendrix Spirits without permission. A judge also ordered all distributors of the vodka to pull it from the marketplace.
Tinted Windows
Now this is one highly motivated, but quite unlikely, supergroup. They didn't sit around gassing about what they were going to do, they did it! Tinted Windows features Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, singer Taylor Hanson of the pop trio Hanson and bassist Adam Schlesinger of Fountains Of Wayne. The boys recorded a debut album recently in New York, and expect to release it after they make their live debut at the South by Southwest festival in Austin on March 20th.
It was Woody Allen who said: "Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem."
It was Gypsy Rose Lee who said: "She's descended from a long line her mother listened to."
February 20, 2009
Guitarist J. (Jerome) Geils is 63.
Mr. Walter Becker, the guitar playing half of Steely Dan, is 59.
Guitarist Randy California of Spirit would have been 58.
Guitarist Kurt Cobain of Nirvana would have been 42.
On this day 1958, George Harrison joined John Lennon and Paul McCartney onstage as a member of the pre-Beatles group The Quarry Men (sometimes listed as The Quarrymen).
On this day in 1965, The Beatles' "Eight Days A Week" broke into the American Top 40.
On this day in 1971, Santana released "Oye Como Va," and Alice Cooper released "Eighteen."
On this day in 1974, Yes played the first of two sold out concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden. The most remarkable thing about those concerts: more than 40,000 tickets were sold by word-of-mouth alone — not one cent was spent on advertising!
On this day in 1982, Stevie Nicks released "Edge Of 17" and the J. Geils Band released the song "Freeze Frame."
On this day in 1982, Pat Benatar married her guitarist and producer, Neil Geraldo on Maui, just four days before she won her second GRAMMY Award.
Yes Completely Cancel
Yes bassist Chris Squire's doctors have order him to take at least a month off to recover from his emergency leg operation. As a result, the remaining 16 concerts of the Yes In The Present Tour — including The Wiltern Theatre show — have been canceled. Get well soon Chris!
Republicans Infringe Copyrights (Again)
Congressional scofflaws that they are, House Republicans were touting their unity against the stimulus package with a YouTube video set to the Aerosmith song "Back In The Saddle." As expected, the Hall Of Fame band's publisher, Stage Three Music, filed a copyright infringement claim and just like that, the video is no longer on YouTube.
Hard Rock Park Redux
If you can buy a less-than-one-year-old amusement park that cost $400 million to construct for $25 million, do it. That's exactly how South Carolina's Hard Rock Park was saved from bankruptcy and liquidation yesterday after a new ownership group stepped in to buy the beleaguered amusement park. You may recall that the Park opened to great fanfare in April 2008, boasting rides dedicated to Led Zeppelin and The Moody Blues and featuring a park-opening concert by the Eagles. As the recession kicked in, however, a lack of park-goers ultimately forced the park to close a month early and lay off most of its employees. The new owners hope to reopen the park by Memorial Day 2009.
Sir Elty's Oscar Party
Elton John is in full-prep for his 17th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party Sunday night. The event, which typically morphs into an Oscars after-party, will take place in the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles. Over the past 16 years Sir Elton's Oscar-night gala has raised over $20 million for the fight against HIV/AIDS, making it the most highly visible and successful fundraising event held on Hollywood's big night.
More S&G (Maybe)
Last Friday night, Simon & Garfunkel reunited for three songs at New York's Beacon Theatre. Now — to no one's surprise — word is that the singer/songwriters are thinking about hitting the road. Paul Simon's manager confirmed that in a statement to "Rolling Stone" magazine: "Yes there have been conversations taking place, but nothing has been confirmed." Uh-huh. I'm thinking Summertime at the Hollywood Bowl...
It was Groucho Marx who said, "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies." Same as it ever was, brother, same as it ever was.
It was Erica Jong who said: "Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer, but wish we didn't."