Pulse Music

It was 58 years ago today (April 5th, 1965) that the Beach Boys released "Help Me, Rhonda" as a single. The song was first tracked on January 8th under the title "Help Me, Ronda," but was not considered a strong enough contender for the group's new single, losing out to their cover of Bobby Freeman's 1958 Top Ten hit "Do You Wanna Dance" as their first single of 1965. The original version of "Help Me, Ronda" was released on the group's Today! album on March 8th, 1965.

As with many of the Beach Boys' early singles, "Help Me, Rhonda" was written and produced by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by the group's frontman, Mike Love. The song was guitarist Al Jardine's first shot at a lead vocal on one of their singles. Brian Wilson decided to re-record the song after hearing that his good friend and former songwriting partner Gary Usher was planning to record his own version of it.

On the afternoon of February 24th, the Beach Boys laid down the song's backing track at Western Recorders in Hollywood with the help of bassist Carole Kaye, pianist Larry Knetchel and guitarist Glen Campbell, who was then touring with the group, having replaced Wilson on the road the previous December.

All five group members -- Wilson, Love, Jardine, and Dennis and Carl Wilson -- were present at the vocal session that night. Things turned ugly when the Wilson's father, Murry, who had been fired from managing the group the previous year, crashed the session and attempted to coach their singing. A tape survives among collectors showing an obviously inebriated Murry Wilson urging his sons to "Loosen up, be happy," then demanding "If you've got any guts, let's hear it!" Things come to a head when Murry, who interrupts take after take, remarks that, "You have to fight for success. . . Success never comes from phony singing." After several hours, Murry eventually left the group alone to complete the track.

Mike Love says that the hit-making team of he and Brian Wilson would often begin with Wilson only needing help with parts of songs before flowing into a full on collaboration: "I remember so many instances where Brian and I would get together and do some songs. He would be stuck for lyrics and I'd come up with a concept or lyrics. . . So that's what works, is Brian Wilson and Mike Love together."

Al Jardine recalled the recording session for the song -- and more importantly being entrusted with carrying the lead spot on the band's latest single: "Oh, I was delighted. I was honored. But the pressure (laughs), the pressure on me was enormous! Everybody in the band -- everybody was there listening. But I was honored. I was really thrilled to have that opportunity."

"Help Me, Rhonda" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at Number 80. On May 29th it knocked the Beatles' "Ticket To Ride" from Number One and topped the charts for two weeks. On July 5th the song was featured on the group's second album of 1965, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!).

Although Al Jardine sang the lead on the single and usually sang the song in concert, over the years both Carl and Dennis Wilson temporally took over lead vocals on the song, with Dennis always leaving his drums to play the grand piano.

Foo Fighters are set to play the first concert at The Atlantis, a new venue next to the 9:30 Club in Washington DC, opens on May 30th.

According to Billboard, the venue will be near a replica of the original 9:30 Club and will host up to 450 concertgoers.

This is also one of the band's first shows since their longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins died while on tour in March 2022.

Ava Max has announced the US dates of her global headline tour, Ava Max On Tour (Finally).

The US leg gets underway May 31st in Detroit, MI and includes stops at New York's Irving Plaza and Los Angeles' The Fonda Theatre before wrapping up on July 1st in Milwaukee, WI.

Tickets for the US dates go on sale this Friday, April 7th.

Taylor Swift's website has issued care instructions for Eras Tour merch after several Swifties took to social media and Reddit to complain about the items fading severely after being washed.

The statement read, "Due to the particular ink curing process used on certain Tour Collection products, after washing your merchandise you may see a faint fade on the product print. This slight fade is related to the product's distressed, vintage look. Please also note it is important to follow product care instructions as listed on the product label when washing and drying your items, to best protect and maintain the product's look and feel."

However, those who notice a dramatic loss are encouraged to reach out about getting a replacement under the site's exchange policy.

Shakira has reportedly left Barcelona after being served an eviction notice by the father of her her ex-partner, Gerard Pique.

According to local news outlets, she was sent an email on March 13th asking her to vacate the former couple's home by April 30th.

She bid goodbye to her home on Instagram Sunday (April 2nd), writing, "I settled in Barcelona to give my children stability, the same that we are now looking for in another corner of the world next to family, friends and the sea.

"Today we start a new chapter in the pursuit of their happiness.
Thank you to everyone who surfed alongside my many waves there in Barcelona, the city where I learned that friendship is certainly longer than love.

"Thank you to everyone who has been there to cheer me up, dried my tears, inspired me and made me grow."

According to the Daily Mail, the "Waka Waka" singer has reportedly moved to Florida with her children who will begin attending a school near Miami on April 11th.

Tears For Fears have announced a North American tour for this summer.

Beginning in June, The Tipping Point Tour Part II will hit 22 cities including NYC's Madison Square Garden. Other concert sites include Austin, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Denver, Seattle, and Toronto.

Pre-sale begins on Thursday, April 6^th, followed by a public on-sale on April 7th.

TL;DR:

• Tears For Fears have announced a North American tour for this summer.
• Pre-sale begins on Thursday, April 6^th, followed by a public on-sale on Friday, April 7^th..

KELLY CLARKSON REVEALS WHY SHE MISSED THE CHANCE TO INTERVIEW CHER IN PERSON: Kelly Clarkson revealed that she missed out on the opportunity to interview Cher in person because she had contracted Covid. The talk show host told E! News said she was "so bummed" to miss out on the December 2022 segment.

LADY GAGA SPOTTED ON 'JOKER' STAIRS: Lady Gaga was spotted singing and dancing this weekend on the iconic Bronx steps made famous in the first Joker film In a tweet posted by a peeping fan, viewers can see and hear the 37-year-old pop superstar, who will play Harley Quinn in the sequel, singing and dancing while crew members attempted to shield her from view.

It was 59 years ago today (April 4th, 1964) that the Beatles made history by holding down the Top Five positions on the Billboard 100 singles chart. Coming in at Number One was the group's current single, "Can't Buy Me Love," followed by their cover of the Isley Brothers' "Twist And Shout," with the Top Three rounded out by "She Loves You," the band's second U.S. chart-topper. Coming in at Number Four was "I Want To Hold Your Hand" -- the song that broke the Beatles in America along with being a seven-week chart-topper, and "Please Please Me" closing out the Top Five.

The Top Five positions were just the icing on the cake; the Beatles also occupied the following seven slots: "I Saw Her Standing There" at Number 31; "From Me To You" at Number 41; "Do You Want To Know A Secret" at Number 46; "All My Loving" -- a Canadian import -- at Number 58; "You Can't Do That" at Number 65; "Roll Over Beethoven" -- a Canadian import -- at Number 68; and "Thank You Girl" at Number 79. Further proof of the group's unyielding popularity was the fact that the Carefrees' novelty song "We Love You Beatles" sat at Number 42 -- just below the band's own "From Me To You."

Amazingly, between February 1st and May 8th, 1964, the Beatles held down the Number One spot on the Billboard charts with "I Want To Hold Your Hand" (seven weeks), "She Loves You" (two weeks) and "Can't Buy Me Love" (five weeks).

The Beatles' late-producer George Martin recalled telling the group "Can't Buy Me Love" needed to start off with an instantly memorable hook: "Paul started off the whole record by (sings melody) -- and that was the beginning of the record. And I said, 'Paul, we need to have a hit tag to start this (to) kick it off.' He said, 'Well, what do you think, then?' I said, 'Take a bit of the chorus!'"

In 1966 John Lennon and Paul McCartney spoke about how financial security became an instant byproduct of their songwriting: "(John Lennon): It's just saved us wastin' our live achievin' it. (Paul McCartney): Our thing just happened to be condensed and speeded. . . speeded up, y'know, really. (Lennon): We chose a modern form of success. (McCartney): Very quick, because one second we were just there doing that, with that much money, and the next second, where people normally take a lifetime to do, was just all there, suddenly. Just handed (to us). And we didn't have to do anything for it. (Lennon): Except work, y'know, that little bit. (McCartney): We had to work to do songs and make records -- but it didn't feel like anything to us. Y'know, and so, it's. . . that's incredible. that, 'cause it makes you think."

FAST FORWARD

It was 14 years ago tonight (April 4th, 2009) that Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr teamed up together at the Change Begins Within Concert at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. The benefit concert raised money and awareness for David Lynch's Transcendental Meditation (TM) initiative based on the teachings of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Also appearing at the event was Donovan, Eddie Vedder, the Beach Boys' Mike Love, Sheryl Crow, Jerry Seinfeld, Moby, Ben Harper, Paul Horn, Angelo Badalamenti, Betty LaVette, and Jim James.

The highlight of the show came when after McCartney's mini-set, Ringo bolted onstage and he and McCartney performed the Lennon/McCartney classic "With A Little Help From My Friends" with the two sharing a microphone center stage. It was the first time the pair had ever played the song live in concert together.

As the encores kicked off, Ringo took his place behind his legendary Ludwig drum set as McCartney counted off "I Saw Her Standing There" -- which was the opening number from the Beatles' 1963 debut album Please Please Me. Although the song has been a part of McCartney's live repertoire since 1986, it was the first time that he and Ringo had performed the song together since the Beatles' 1964 North American tour.

Ringo remained behind the drums as the evening's stars joined McCartney for the live debut of "Cosmically Conscious" -- a song inspired by the Maharishi, which McCartney wrote in 1968 along with the other songs for the Beatles' "White Album." McCartney finally released an edited portion of the song on his 1993 album Off The Ground, with a full four-minute version appearing as the B-Side of the single of the album's title track.

Paul McCartney said at the press conference for the concert that he was thrilled that the Maharishi's message will live on for future generations: "It was a great gift that Maharishi gave us. For me it came at a time when we were looking for something to stabilize us toward the end of the crazy '60s. And it is, it's a life long gift. Y'know it's something that you can call on at anytime, and I think it's a great thing. I think it's particularly a great thing what David and the Foundation is doing putting it in schools and allowing kids to experience something that I don't think they otherwise would've had the chance to experience."

In 2017 the show was released on DVD as the Change Begins Within Concert.

KISS is currently streaming audio from a rare performance from nearly 40 years ago. It marks the latest preview of the upcoming release, KISS - Off The Soundboard: Poughkeepsie, New York.

At the time, the band consisted of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Carr, and guitarist Mark St. John and was recorded in November 1984 at the Mid-Hudson Arena as part of the band's Animalize World Tour.

Due April 7, the full album of 18 songs will include "Detroit Rock City," "Love Gun," and "Rock And Roll all Nite"

Kiss - Off The Soundboard will be available beginning on April 7^th in multiple formats, including CD, digital streaming packages, and a limited edition 2LP set. It will be available exclusively through the official KISS online store.

KISS is scheduled to resume their End Of The Road farewell tour with a series of concerts in South America that will begin in Manaus, Brazil on April 12.

TL;DR:

• KISS is currently streaming audio from a rare performance from nearly 40 years ago.
• It marks the latest preview of the April 7th release of KISS - Off The Soundboard: Poughkeepsie, New York.

Following the death of co-founder, Gary Rossington and lots of speculation from fans, Lynyrd Skynyrd has made some decisions about the future of the band.

In a press statement on Monday (4-3) they announced that the Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour featuring ZZ Top will go on as scheduled. It will kick off July 21 in West Palm Beach, Florida and run through the end of September. After that, they'll tour in Brazil.

The current members of the band, led by Johnny Van Zant, the singer for the past 36 years, were unsure if they would continue following Rossington's death. After much discussion with the band, the families of Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins, and Dale Rossington, the collective feel that keeping the music alive, is in the best interest of the fans and everyone involved.

Dale Rossington stated, "I recently lost my husband and partner of over 41 years. He was an amazing father, grandfather, brother and friend, but most importantly was a world class musician and songwriter."

She said, that at every chance, he expressed how timeless the music was, and "it was always his goal to keep the music alive for his brothers, because that was always their dream."

Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ryman Auditorium performance in Nashville on Nov. 13, 2022, will be theaters across the U.S. in August. After that, it will air on PBS. The show was Gary Rossington's final performance with the band.

Skynyrd is scheduled to do some shows outside of the tour and the next one will be at Jubilee Days in Brandon, Mississippi on April 29.
TL;DR:

• Lynyrd Skynyrd announced that the Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour featuring ZZ Top will go on as scheduled.
• It will kick off July 21 in West Palm Beach, Florida and run through the end of September.
• Skynyrd is scheduled to do some shows outside of the tour and the next one will be at Jubilee Days in Brandon, Mississippi on April 29.

A Twitter post from Nikki Sixx got fans excited about potential new music from Motley Crue. He wrote: "Great day in the studio writing random riffs with J5." He was referring to John 5 who recently joined as a touring guitarist in place of Mick Mars.

Crue's most recent release was in 2019 for their Netflix biopic soundtrack, The Dirt. They haven't released a proper studio album since 2008's Saints of Los Angeles.

Motley Crue fans know, the band doesn't do anything with speed… Their current stadium tour with Def Leppard was originally set in place and announced in 2015, but didn't kick odd until 2022.

That tour will start back up in late May in the U.K., and will wrap up in early July.

TL;DR:

• Nikki Sixx tweeted: "Great day in the studio writing random riffs with J5."
• Crue's most recent release was in 2019 for their Netflix biopic soundtrack, The Dirt.

Anthrax is headed to the studio this month to start work on a new album. In an interview with Metal Rules, drummer Charlie Benante revealed that it will probably be released sometime next year.

It's been seven years since their 2016 release of For All Kings. As for the time between albums, he said, "If we didn't get hit with this whole global pandemic thing, it would have been out probably two or three years ago."

Some of the songs they plan to record were written before the pandemic and will be mixed with a few new ones.

In 2021 Anthrax celebrated their 40^th anniversary as a band.

TL;DR:

• Anthrax will start work on a new album this month.
• Drummer Charlie Benante revealed that it will probably be released sometime next year.
• Some of the songs they plan to record were written before the pandemic and will be mixed with a few new ones.

Metallica has donated $150,000 to three separate organizations to provide assistance and relief to areas affected by severe weather in the United States. The first two organizations to receive $50,000 each are Team Rubicon and Direct Relief.

The funds will assist in their recovery efforts related to the thunderstorms which swept through Mississippi and Alabama on the evening of March 24, 2023. According to the National Weather Service, there were reports of 20 tornadoes that swept through the two states that day.

Lewis Capaldi could quit music if his tourettes syndrome worsens.

The singer told The Times in a recent interview, "It's only making music that does this to me, otherwise I can be fine for months at a time, so it's a weird situation. Right now, the trade-off is worth it, but if it gets to a point where I'm doing irreparable damage to myself, I'll quit."

He added, "It's easier when I play guitar, but I hate playing guitar. I know, I'm a walking contradiction."

Capaldi is set to go into more detail about how his Tourette's syndrome affects him in the Netflix documentary, How I'm Feeling Now, which will stream on Wednesday (April 5th).

Britney Spears and Sam Asghari may have taken off their wedding rings, but the actor's rep says it's for a good reason.

Publicist Brandon Cohen told Page Six Friday (March 31st) that Asghari simply took of his ring because he's filming a movie.

While he works, Spears has been seen vacationing with longtime friend and manager Cade Hudson.

BTS' Suga will release his solo album, D-Day, under his pseudonym Agust D.

His management company, BigHit Music announced Sunday (April 2nd) that the solo effort will drop on April 21st, just a few weeks before he embarks on his first-ever solo tour.

Rolling Stone reports that the first single lands on Friday, April 7th.

It was 55 years ago today (April 3rd, 1968) that Simon & Garfunkel released their fourth album, Bookends. The album was coming off the success of the duo's songs being featured in Mike Nichols' blockbuster 1967 hit movie, The Graduate -- the soundtrack for which topped the charts for nine non-consecutive weeks. Bookends was propelled by Simon & Garfunkel's massive Number One hit that spring, "Mrs. Robinson," which was by far the pair's biggest hit to date.

Bookends, which was issued the day before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, followed the soundtrack to The Graduate in the Number One spot on May 25th, 1968 for the first of seven non-consecutive weeks. Bookends was immediately heralded as a masterpiece of modern record making and a cultural signpost of its time.

The album, which featured such instant Paul Simon-written standards as "America" and "Old Friends/Bookends Theme," was in truth only half a new album, and was padded out by the group's recent non-LP singles -- "A Hazy Shade Of Winter" (#13) from 1966 and 1967's "At The Zoo" (#16) and "Fakin' It" (#23).

Art Garfunkel recalled to us how "Mrs. Robinson" nearly didn't become the theme to The Graduate: "I remember meeting at a soundstage Paul and I and (director) Mike Nichols and talking about what will go in that scene. And I said to Mike, 'Y'know, Paul is in the middle of writing a song called 'Mrs. Roosevelt' which he's about to give up on, he doesn't like it. But 'Mrs. Roosevelt' could be 'Mrs. Robinson.' And we all looked at each other and thought, 'Yes, it could. That should do it.'"

Garfunkel shed light on the early version of "Mrs. Robinson" that appears in The Graduate: "We recorded it that afternoon even though it hadn't been fully written, that's why you see in the film (sings) ‘do do do do do dee dee dee dee da' -- there are no words written yet."

Paul Simon recently broke down the magic behind Simon & Garfunkel's classic sound: "With Simon & Garfunkel, we would sing a take together on mic -- on one mic. And when we got the take that we wanted, then we would double it individually. I would sing my part individually on mic, and Artie would sing his individually on mic. And when you combine them together, and they would be, y'know, perfectly in sync; that's what Simon & Garfunkel sounded like. That's what the sound was."

Shortly before his 2012 death, legendary New York City DJ Pete Fornatale -- who authored the book Simon And Garfunkel's Bookends -- recalled that by the end of 1968 Simon & Garfunkel's fame had crossed generational boundaries in much the same way the Beatles' music had: "This was the point where the perfect storm had happened, and Simon & Garfunkel were taken from a very formidable level of success into the stratosphere. The soundtrack from The Graduate, (the) Bookends (album) -- all these new fans, older fans, moms and dads discovering them by going to the movies to see one of the great motion pictures of the '60s. That brought a whole new audience into the tent, and they were ready to consume anything by Simon & Garfunkel that was out there."

Fornatale went on to explain how Simon & Garfunkel were able to capture both the hearts and imaginations of an entire generation -- and then some: "The true test of art is whether it speaks as eloquently to succeeding generations as it did to the generation to which it was originally intended. And with that in mind, all you've got to do is to listen to 'Old Friends': 'How terribly strange to be 70' -- for Paul and Art, back then it was 44 years away. So, the soundtrack sold well, Bookends sold well, and it even carried on it's coattails Parsley, Sage (Rosemary & Thyme) back on the charts. Y'know, there were a couple of weeks there when Simon & Garfunkel had the top three albums (laughs) in the country! That has never been done. . . that was an accomplishment of what I call "Beatlesque" proportions"

Paul Simon, who remains estranged from Art Garfunkel, was asked if he often looks back on the Simon & Garfunkel days: "I don't spend a lot of time thinking about Simon & Garfunkel, but given the span of years of my career, it's only a. . . it's a relatively small proportion. So, y'know, nothing feels like ancient history. It's one of the cliches of getting older, is like, you remember everything as if it just happened."

Neil Diamond recently told CBS Sunday Morning that he is only just accepting his Parkinson's diagnosis.

The 82-year-old singer, who first announced his diagnosis and retirement from touring in 2018, told the outlet that he only started to process the news in "the last few weeks."

He added, "But somehow, a calm has moved into the hurricane of my life, and things have gotten very quiet, as quiet as this recording studio. And I like it. I find that I like myself better. I'm easier on people. I'm easier on myself. And the beat goes on, and it will go on long after I'm gone."

Queen + Adam Lambert have added eight new dates to The Rhapsody Tour this fall.

The band announced Friday (March 31st) that they have added a second show for each of their stops in Baltimore, New York, Boston, St. Paul, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

They will be on the road from October 4th to November 12th.

TONES AND I DROP 'I AM FREE:' On Friday (March 31st), Tones And I shared a new standalone single titled "I Am Free." The Dance Money singer said of the new sing, "‘I Am Free' is a song about relationships in my life, that have ended. It's about self-reflecting on those relationships, acknowledging that I still carry parts of them with me and taking my share of responsibility for what happened. I wrote the song, composed it, co-produced it, and recorded it with my choir and an orchestra. I also wrote and co-directed the film clip and wanted it to be powerful, joyful and anthemic."

TWENTY ONE PILOTS TO RELEASE MTV UNPLUGGED ALBUM: Twenty One Pilots will release their MTV Unplugged performance on Vinyl and CD. The seven-track LP drops April 21st and is available for preorder.

Out today (March 31st), is the Who's latest live set, The Who With Orchestra Live At Wembley. The collection is available digitally, as a two-CD/Blu-ray, or a three-LP set.

Pete Townshend told us that he relishes the chance to shake the tried and true Who show up these days: "Y'know, it's 52 orchestral (laughs) musicians on the stage with us and Zak Starkey with an electronic drum kit. Y'know, and I'm having to leave my Marshall stacks at home (laughs). It isn't exactly Guns N' Roses, y'know what I mean? It's a very, very different experience."

Roger Daltrey told us he's adamant that the current road dates showcase the Who at its most unrelenting: "I don't want the Who to compromise the way we play at all. I want the same venom coming out of Pete and me and within the songs that are there that is always there. We just do not have to make the racket on the stage. We can do it in a way now that the PA can make that noise; I mean we actually generate it, but we do not need the volume on the stage, we can move it out to the sides, so the crowd get the full whack of the Who as it is as a six-piece, and then the orchestra added on top just makes it mega, y'know?"

In a teaser clip just released for Coldplay's new concert film, Chris Martin is seen belting out the hit, "Hymn For The Weekend." Although she did not make an appearance, Beyonce's vocals were on the original 2016 recording of the song. However, guest appearances do include Jin from BTS and H.E.R.

The concert was filmed in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the end of last year, and was captured using 30 cameras as well as racing drones and 360° filming techniques.

Music of the Spheres: Live at River Plate will be shown in 200 cinemas across 70 territories beginning in April.

TL;DR:

• In a teaser clip just released for Coldplay's new concert film, Chris Martin is seen belting out "Hymn For The Weekend."
• Although she did not make an appearance, Beyonce's vocals were on the original 2016 recording.
• Music of the Spheres: Live at River Plate will be shown in 200 cinemas across 70 territories beginning in April.

The numbers are in and Ed Sheeran's Mathematics Tour grossed $50.6 million in just one month. During the shortest month of the year, February, he sold 475,000 tickets.

The Billboard Boxscore chart based this on his entire month of three shows in New Zealand and five shows in Australia.

Broken down, he grossed more than $7 million per show in Australia, compared to about $4 million per night in New Zealand.

TL;DR:

• Ed Sheeran's Mathematics Tour grossed $50.6 million in February.
• He sold 475,000 tickets.

Lizzo has announced that her clothing company is set to roll out a new line of what she calls "gender-affirming shapewear."

She posted the news online and wrote: "Binder tops & tucking thongs coming this summer!"

Lizzo also included preview photos that featured models in form-fitting tops and bottoms made out of black and purple fabric.

Lizzo expressed that she believes in "self-love for people of all gender identities" and that her brand is creating styles for everybody.

TL;DR:

• Lizzo is set to launch a new "gender-affirming shapewear."
• She posted the news online and wrote: "Binder tops & tucking thongs coming this summer!"