Pulse Music

The 2023 lineup for Connecticut's Sound On Sound festival will feature headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Mayer, and Alanis Morissette and runs from September 30th through October 1st. Rolling Stone reported the festival will return to Bridgeport's Seaside Park and features such artists as Trey Anastasio Band, Gin Blossoms, Hozier, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Dispatch, Lord Huron, Mt. Joy, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Steel Pulse, Joy Oladokun, Margo Price, Sammy Rae & The Friends, Cautious Clay, Deep Banana Blackout, Briscoe, Calder Allen, Snacktime, Kieran Rhodes, Julaim And The Serotones, among others.

Sound On Sound partner Howard Saffan was quoted in the official announcement as saying, "We are thrilled to bring the second annual Sound On Sound back to Seaside Park. Festival goers can expect to be wowed. The experience will be bigger and better this year from the acts, to the site, to the food and beverage offerings. We have turned the traditional festival upside down and created something really special for Connecticut."

No matter how exotic the locale, bassist Flea told us not long ago that the Chili Peppers approach each show the same way: "Y'know, with gigs, it's always the same for me -- some are fun, some aren't fun, but that doesn't really matter. Actually, serving the mighty tradition of performing for people is just something that I and we as a band care about deeply. So, no matter what the scene is, we're just in to go out there and tap in the source and reach into the most hardcore depths of who we are, to get what we can."

Alanis Morissette always expected to be a musician, but never imagined the fame that would accompany it -- especially after the meteoric success of her 1995 Jagged Little Pill collection, which has sold over 33 million albums to date: "The surprise element maybe wasn't there as much because I had always envisioned myself touring the planet and playing songs. So that aspect felt very natural to me. I think it was the side effects of fame that I wasn't quite prepared for. It was my not being able to leave my hotel room in certain cities because there were people in the hallway waiting. Or coming back to my hotel room after a show and knowing there had been a ton of people in my room because they had access to the key."

The general on sale for the Sound On Sound festival begins on Thursday, March 9th, at 12 noon ET, via soundonsoundct.com.

Earlier this week, Dave Grohl volunteered with the non profit organization Feed the Streets by firing up a barbecue grill, cooking meat and serving them to the homeless at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles.

The organization posted a video, along with the caption,"On one of those wet and cold rainy days we received a text from none other than Dave Grohl (code name: Dolce & Gabana) — he said he heard about what we were doing and wanted to help out."

The organization continued, "We threw him into an upcoming activation. He spent 18 hours straight smoking brisket, ribs and pork — with a cooking crew. They stayed up all night and into the sunrise. The next day Dolce and his team, exhausted and sleep deprived — packed up the food and drove it to MacArthur Park. All they had to do was drop it off and leave, however they decided to stay and work the line — serve the BBQ with our crew until everyone at the park was fed. If that ain't a hero we don't know wtf is. Stay tuned, D & G will be back on the blocks to serve Yucca and Skid Row soon!"

Last week, Grohl fed more than 500 people at a homeless shelter in Los Angeles.

Happy Birthday to the Monkees' Micky Dolenz, who turns 78 today (March 8th)!!! Micky Dolenz will always be best remembered for singing lead on such group classics as "(Theme From) The Monkees," "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," along with the Monkees' first two singles -- and chart toppers, "Last Train To Clarksville" and "I'm A Believer."

Dolenz, the sole-survivor of the group, will honor his late-Monkees bandmates on tour this spring. Set for publication on November 7th is I'm Told I Had A Good Time: The Micky Dolenz Archives. According to the announcement, "The book is the result of a multi-year excavation of Dolenz's astonishing personal collection. Over 500 pages, I'm Told I Had A Good Time highlights this treasure trove of photography, artwork, handwritten lyrics, scripts and assorted ephemera spanning the 1940's through the 1970's."

Out now is the Monkees' Headquarters: Super Deluxe Edition, featuring a whopping 69 previously unreleased recordings, including the entire album newly mixed from the original multitrack elements, which were resynched to create the best fidelity version of the album ever available.

On November 14th, 2021 Mike Nesmith wrapped up the final Monkees tour dates in L.A. with Micky Dolenz as part of the pair's farewell tour. Nesmith had been struggling with heart disease in recent years and in 2018 underwent quadruple bypass surgery.

He was the third of the Monkees to pass with Davy Jones dying from a sudden heart attack on February 29th, 2012 at age 66 and Peter Tork dying on February 12th, 2019 at age 77 following a decade-long battle with adenoid cystic carcinoma -- a rare cancer of the salivary glands.

In 2021 Micky Dolenz released a Mike Nesmith tribute album, titled Dolenz Sings Nesmith. The set was produced by Nesmith's eldest son Christian Nesmith, who also toured as part of his father and Dolenz' Monkees revue. Dolenz Sings Nesmith features songs written throughout Nesmith's career -- including his Monkees years.

Over the years, Micky has appeared in such Broadway, regional, and touring casts of Elton John and Tim Rice's AIDA, Pippin', Grease, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, and Hairspray. In recent years he's also performed a solo revue of Monkees classics with his sister Coco.

Micky Dolenz says that he isn't bothered by the ever present "Monkee" tag, mainly because he stopped reading his own press years ago: "The press, whenever they do an article, of course, they want a long line. They want something to catch your eye, and there's nothing like the word 'Monkee' to do that. Y'know, I don't really pay much attention anymore to be honest. I never read articles that have been written about me. To be honest, I never listen to interviews, I never read reviews."

Portugal. The Man is lending the new single "Dummy" to Taco Bell's late night menu campaign.

Billboard reports that the lead single from the band's upcoming album, Chris Black Changed My Life, appears in a new spot advertising the chain's $5 Cravings Trio.

Additionally, lead singer John Gourley and drummer Jason Sechrist appear in a separate three-minute clip about how eating Taco Bell sustained them during the lean years.

It was 59 years ago tonight (March 8th, 1964) that the Dave Clark Five (DC5) made their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. The group was the second British Invasion act to infiltrate the U.S. shores, following the Beatles. The DC5 originated from North London and had 17 records on Billboard's Top 40 between 1964 and 1967. They were best known for their string of '60s hits, including "Glad All Over," "Bits And Pieces," "Because," "Any Way You Want It," "Catch Us If You Can," "Over And Over," and "Having A Wild Weekend." All told, the group racked up a total of 18 appearances on the Sullivan show -- more than any other musical act -- and all of them were reportedly lip-synched.

Out on DVD is PBS' Great Performances: The Dave Clark Five And Beyond - Glad All Over. The documentary focuses on the Brit-pop path created by the DC5 and the Beatles, featuring filmed appearances by Paul McCartney, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, Gene Simmons, Tom Hanks, Whoopi Goldberg, '60s fashion icon Twiggy, among others.

Included in the film are the DC5's' iconic performances on The Ed Sullivan Show, along with rare live concert footage and their countless appearances on television with American musical icons. Much of this material -- much of it on 35mm film -- has not been seen in decades, either on television or home video."

Beatlefan magazine's executive editor Al Sussman says that the DC5 were clearly the Number Two British invasion act during the peak of Beatlemania: "They were the Number Two group mainly because of the fact that -- first of all, they were the second group to come over here after the Beatles -- but also because they released a new record, like, every two weeks. They had, I think, seven singles that hit at least the Top 20 -- at least -- during the course of the year."

Sussman says that most people don't realize that although the Dave Clark Five are synonymous with the British Invasion, they were always far more popular in the U.S. than they were in their native Britain: "What happened was, it became apparent very quickly to Dave Clark that they were much bigger here than they were in England. Because after 'Glad All Over' and 'Bits And Pieces,' they didn't have another big hit until 'Catch Us If You Can.' They appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show more than any other band at that time."

Dave Clark told us that the band's secret weapon was their lead singer, songwriter, and keyboardist, the late great Mike Smith: "He didn't realize how good he was. I think I say that in the film. He had an amazing talent, Mike. I mean, he studied classical piano originally, so he was a musician. His dad got very disillusioned when he got his first job in a pub (laughs), y'know? But, it, it worked. He had a great voice, and he had a great look, y'know?

Longtime fan Tom Hanks inducted the DC5 into the Rock Hall in 2008. In his speech, he explained that a few things which separated the band from the pack: "The Dave Clark Five were sensations in particular ways, not the least of which was their eschewing of animals or minerals in their choice of name. The Dave Clark Five were one of the few British bands of the day that never replaced their drummer."

The group broke up in 1970, with Clark becoming a multi-millionaire music mogul. Although the band's material never made the switch from Top 40 to album oriented rock in the latter half of the 1960's, Clark explained that the DC5 actually influenced the harder-edged bands that followed in their wake: "All the bands that were actually influenced by us -- I mean, (Bruce) Springsteen and Kiss and all, all heavy metal -- the Ramones. Y'know, I mean, the last song they ever played was ‘Any Way You Want It.' It's a totally different audience, I suppose, looking back, that it appealed to the Beatles or even the (Rolling) Stones." Stones

In 2003, the group's lead singer, keyboardist, and main songwriter, Mike Smith, was paralyzed after falling off his roof in Cadiz, Spain. In 2005, a fundraiser for Smith's medical bills was held in New York City, featuring the reunion of Peter & Gordon, Billy J. Kramer, the Zombies, and former Moody Blues and Wings member Denny Laine.

Smith died just weeks before the band's 2008 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The previous December, the group's saxophonist Denis Payton died of cancer at age 63. On February 11th, 2013, bassist Rick Huxley died after a long battle with emphysema. Huxley, who grew up in Dartford, England -- the same town as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards -- went on to work for Vox amplifiers before moving on to his own music equipment and electrical wholesale businesses.

FAST FORWARD

2019 saw the release the Dave Clark Five's All The Hits. The 28-song set, which is available as a single CD and double-album set, features newly remastered sound by Dave Clark himself and London's legendary Abbey Road Studios.

Among the highlights on the collection are the DC5's most timeless tracks, including the band's signature hit "Glad All Over," "Bits And Pieces," "Because," "Any Way You Want It," "Catch Us If You Can," "I Like It Like That," "You Got What It Takes," and their sole chart-topper, "Over and Over."

Adele signed a bride's gown during her Friday (March 3rd) night appearance at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

In a video shared by the bride, the singer noticed a pair of newlyweds in the crowd while performing "When We Were Young." The groom handed Adele a marker so she could sign the bottom of his wife's gown.

Gaby, the bride, wrote on Instagram, "My world is made- found the love of my life and this man was determined to have Adele sing at our wedding… 7 years later all our dreams came true. Thank you Adele for creating the memory of a lifetime for us."

Miley Cyrus revealed on Instagram Monday (March 6th) that her forthcoming album, Endless Summer Vacation, will be organized into two parts, AM and PM.

The singer said, "The AM part is representing the morning time where there's a buzz, an energy, and new possibilites and PM part it's like slinky, glamour, it's a time to rest or go out and experience the wild side."

Endless Summer Vacation drops Friday (March 10th).

Plans are said to be in the works for a major "Live Aid-like" benefit concert in support of the Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to The Sun, organizers are hoping to attract Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, U2, Adele, Florence And The Machine, Noel Gallagher, the Killers, and Pink to play London's Wembley Stadium on June 24th for a massive, globally televised concert.

An unnamed source told the paper, "It's going to be huge, properly A-list and on a global scale. It's something people have wanted to do for a while, but a date has now been nailed down and booked at Wembley Stadium. Invitations to perform are going out thick and fast to the biggest names in the business. Of course, there is an awareness that at relatively short notice many superstars will have prior commitments. But they're optimistic that a number of those they've spoken to are already on board."

The insider went on to say, "For bands like U2 and Bono, who are pretty outspoken about their views on war and conflict, it feels like a great opportunity to keep hammering home the severity of the situation out in Ukraine."

We caught up with Bono a while back and he explained why U2 remains as socially active as they are: "One thing I'm very sure about is that I am a spoiled-rotten rock star. I am over-paid, over-nourished, and over-dressed (laughter). And I'm sure the work that the band have done is some kind of Catholic guilt -- but it's working, so we'll continue with it."

Selena Gomez wants her fands to "consider others sic mental health" amid her and Hailey Bieber's social media drama.

In two now-deleted comments on a makeup tutorial the Rare Beauty founder posted to TikTok Sunday (March 5th), the singer pleaded with fans to "please, please be kinder online."

According to Page Six, Gomez also wrote that her "heart has been heavy."

Bieber and Kylie Jenner have been accused by fans of mean-girling Gomez online by creating negative posts about her eyebrows and her weight.

ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons took time out to pay tribute to his sadly departed friend, the late-Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington. Rossington, the last remaining original member of the band, died on March 5th following years of ill-health and numerous heart procedures. ZZ Top will be on the road this summer with Skynyrd.

Gibbons told Rolling Stone, "Gary Rossington's loss is especially profound for us as we've spent countless hours in his company on tour and all points in between. We facilitated getting Lynyrd Skynyrd on the bill with ZZ Top at a South Carolina date way back during the start of the band's rise in '73, which started an enduring friendship."

He went on to say, "Gary's extraordinary ability as a guitarist was nothing less than inspirational. It's an old cliché about somebody who has paid their dues to call them a 'survivor,' and it this case it is literally true. Gary was the last of the breed and will be missed."

Not too long ago Gary Rossington told us that his numerous health scares had given him a new-found awareness of what's important in his life: "It makes you appreciate everything when something like that happens to you, like dogs, and cats, and good meals, and a great day -- I notice the weather a lot now (laughs). If it's a great day, I think, 'Wow -- look at this weather,' y'know? And here, I'm just thankful for everything. Everybody should be thankful like this every day."

Rossington told us that the only ambition for Lynyrd Skynyrd upon forming was to make it to the big time: "Our dream was, all our lives -- in the start of it, after we saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, y'know? -- was to make it big and try and die trying. If we never made it, we'd just still be playing clubs, y'know, trying to make it big. I guess we did it."

Lynyrd Skynyrd kicks off its next string of dates on March 12th, in Plant City, Florida at the Florida Strawberry Festival. Guitarist Damon Johnson will continue to sit in for Gary Rossington.

ROCKERS SALUTE GARY ROSSINGTON

Peter Frampton: "This cannot be! My heart breaks for Dale Rossington and the entire Skynyrd family today. We have been friends since first touring together in the 70s. We will miss you my friend. Gary Rossington RIP"

Neal Schon: "RIP Gary"

James Hetfield: "RIP Brother Gary. Thank you for bringing me so much joy with your guitar playing and songwriting in one of my all-time favorite bands, Lynyrd Skynyrd."

Zack Wylde: "God Bless Gary Rossington"

Motörhead's Phil Campbell: "Sad news today about this man."

Joe Bonanassa: "This has been worst week in my memory. Literally everyday another legend or friend has passed away. Rest in Peace Gary. Thank you for being so nice to me over the years."

Bret Michaels: "I send this with all of my heart, prayers & condolences to the family, friends & fans of Gary Rossington. On behalf of my family, he brought a lot of great music & many great memories to so many people. May he rest in peace."

Kenny Wayne Shepherd: "Rest in Peace my man. One of the best to ever do it. And thank you and Skynyrd for all the great memories on the road over the years."

John 5: "Ever since I was a kid I have loved Lynyrd Skynyrd & Gary's guitar playing. I was fortunate to make a lotta great music with Gary & the boys. We stayed friends for many years. I will miss you. Rest in peace brother."

The Charlie Daniels family: "The last of the Free Birds has flown home. RIP Gary Rossington, God Bless the Lynyrd Skynyrd band. Prayers to Dale and the rest of his family. - CD, Jr. & Hazel Daniels"

The Oak Ridge Boys: "Our hearts go out tonight to our brothers in Skynyrd …. Legendary guitarist Garry Rossington has passed"

Travis Tritt: "I just learned that my dear friend, Gary Rossington passed away today. I'm heartbroken! Gary was not only a friend, but a collaborator that wrote songs with me and played guitar with me in studio recordings and onstage so many times. My heart goes out to Dale and the girls."

Kanye West was trending yesterday (March 7th) after his daughter North West dressed up as rapper Ice Spice for a TikTok video. Fans recalled Kanye previously speaking out against his child being on TikTok.

One person tweeted, "Kanye was right… there's no way a 9 year old should be idolizing ice spice and listening to her music about twerking and having $ex with men… Kim is a terrible parent."

Another person wrote, "North has gone too far! 😭😭😭."

A third person tweeted, Y'all saying Kim is wrong and Kanye needs custody bc North got to hang out with her fav artist is so goofy. Y'all are the most miserable group of adults ever."

'DIE FOR YOU' REACHES NO. 1: The Weeknd and Ariana Grande each earned their seventh No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Die For You." Grande shared the news in her Instagram Story Monday (March 6th), writing, "Oh my!!!!!!! Honored and beyond grateful. Thank you for having me @theweeknd. We have the most beautiful and incredible fans in the world."

J-HOPE AND JIMIN VISIT JIN: Jin got a visit from two of his bandmates over the weekend. The 30-year-old singer, who is the first member of BTS to serve his mandatory South Korean military service, shared a photo of himself with J-Hope and Jimin on Instagram over the weekend. Jin wore camouflage fatigues in the photo and flashed a peace sign for the camera.

HARRY STYLES WEARS DOG COSTUME IN JENNY LEWIS VIDEO: Harry Styles plays a puppy in his tourmate's latest music video. Jenny Lewis dropped the visual for her track "Puppy and a Truck" Monday (March 6th) and the "Watermelon Sugar" singer has a brief cameo. Throughout the clip, Lewis is seen with a human in a dog costume. In the last few frames, the human is revealed to be none other than Styles.

The Who have dropped "Imagine A Man," the latest teaser from their new live set, The Who With Orchestra Live At Wembley. The collection will be issued as a two-CD/Blu-ray or three-LP set on March 31st.

The fan favorite, deep cut is but one of the band's emotional highlights from 1975's The Who By Numbers -- and one in which the Who had never performed live until their recent live dates.

In 1977, Pete Townshend explained that the personal nature of songs like "Imagine A Man" and the rest of The Who By Numbers kept the band's arrangements far more basic and bare-bones than Quadrophenia and Who's Next: "I felt very doubtful about what I was doing when we were doin' Who By Numbers. I wasn't sure if what I was doing as a musician and a composer was right for the Who and I thought the only way to really find me feet again was to go back to basics in a way. And the songs on Who By Numbers were written with me stoned out of me brain in me living room, I'm afraid to say, y'know, cryin' me eyes out, y'know? Keeping well away from things like synthesizers."

A while back, Roger Daltrey maintained that he and Pete Townshend have an open mind about performing lesser-known fan favorites: "We are going to revisit all the stuff and see if we can re-approach things that we passed over years and years ago. We've done it with a few tracks, we intend to go on with more. But the reasons that things are usually really obscure is that they are really unworkable on stage. But we'll see. We're trying."

It was 53 years ago this week (March 7th to 13th, 1970) that Simon & Garfunkel's final studio album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, began it's 10-consecutive-week run on top the Billboard 200. The collection, which was the band's fifth and final set, displaced Led Zeppelin's Led Zeppelin III from the top spot.

Bridge Over Troubled Water was released on January 26th, 1970 and spawned four Top 20 singles -- "The Boxer" (Number Seven) -- which pre-dated the album by 10 months; "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (Number One); "Cecilia" (Number Four); and "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" (Number 18).

The album enjoyed an 85-week stay on the chart and has been certified eight times platinum for sales of eight million units.

The tracklisting to Bridge Over Troubled Water is: "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)," "Cecilia," "Keep The Customer Satisfied," "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright," "The Boxer," "Baby Driver," "The Only Living Boy In New York," "Why Don't You Write Me," "Bye Bye Love," and "Song For The Asking."

"Bridge Over Troubled Water" won six Grammy Awards in 1971: Record Of The Year; Song Of The Year; Best Contemporary Song; Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s); and Best Engineered Recording; with the Bridge Over Troubled Water album snagging the coveted prize for Album Of The Year.

Art Garfunkel recalled how the album's title track was tapped for single release, going on to top the singles charts for six straight weeks: "You always knew the animal called 'the single,' and you knew what was an album piece that was really happening. This seemed the latter. As a single -- too slow, too long. Clive Davis came in the studio, President of CBS, and said, 'No, I wanna get behind it all the way. It's the title of your album. It is the first single. Be unapologetic about such a slow song, 'cause I'm gonna get behind it with faith.'" SOUUNDCUE

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."

FAST FORWARD

Out now is the digital EP, Simon & Garfunkel - Live At Carnegie Hall 1969. The newly-released tracks have been issued in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the duo's final album, the chart-topping Bridge Over Troubled Water, which dropped on January 26th, 1970.

According to the press release, "Recorded in November 1969 during a sold-out two-night run at New York's Carnegie Hall, this new four-song EP captures Simon & Garfunkel's live magic at the height of the folk-rock duo's massive popular success. (The collection) includes previously-unreleased early live versions of 'Bridge Over Troubled Water,' 'So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright,' 'The Boxer' and 'Song For The Asking.' The recordings from Carnegie Hall capture early performances of songs that Simon & Garfunkel were introducing in concert to their fans."

Coincidentally, the Carnegie Hall tracks -- which were recorded on November 27th and 28th, 1969 -- were taped on the very same nights the Rolling Stones were performing at Madison Square Garden and taping their legendary Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out live collection.

Nearly four years since its initial release on the Hollywood Vampires' 2019 album, Rise -- the band has posted a video for "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory."

The black and white video, which showcases bandmates Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, and Johnny Depp performing the song both on stage and "in rehearsal," features Perry taking the lead on the 1978 Johnny Thunders classic.

Back in 2015 upon the formation of the Vampires side-project, Joe Perry told us that was looking forward to the band growing into a solid working live outfit: "I'm an East Coast guy, y'know? I mean everybody else is kinda like, West Coast, or. . . So, to spend all the time in L.A. and to be part of this, it's a real gas. And I know it's something that Johnny's wanted to do for a long time, actually have a band, y'know? And, y'know, we're gonna put a lot of time into the rehearsals, so it won't take anything but bring your guitar and show up."

Seymour, Indiana's favorite son, John Mellencamp, has donated "the archived collection of his life and work to Indiana University (IU)." According to his official website, JohnMellencamp.com, "The collection will include items related to his iconic artistry, social activism and philanthropy, and it holds original creative works, photographs, instruments and other significant memorabilia."

IU President Pamela Whitten said, "John's impact on music and American culture is immense. On behalf of Hoosiers everywhere, I am exceptionally proud of John's lifelong association with IU and deeply grateful to him for selecting the university as the permanent home for his archives. His collection will be an incredible resource for arts scholars and a clear source of inspiration to our students. We are thrilled to honor him and celebrate his many contributions to music, art and IU."

It was also announced that the university has commissioned a new sculpture of Mellencamp to sit near the Fine Arts Plaza on the college's Bloomington Campus. Additionally, a new Mellencamp art exhibition will take place during the 2023-24 academic year at the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University.

John Mellencamp, who's been writing, recording and releasing albums for over 45 years, told us that he fears that due to technology and the public's lack of respect towards creativity, the commercial artist's days are sadly numbered: "As a society and what we gathered as entertainment (and) as important has definitely taken a turn for the worst and it's just going to get worse because who with any sense would go, 'Y'know, I wanna be a book writer.' Why? So that you can put it up on the Internet and not sell a book. You can't make a living doing that. Everybody thinks music should be free, everybody thinks books should be free, and all the entertainment things that you and I grew up with are going to go the way of the drive-in theater. By the time we die, they're just not going to exist in the form that we even recognize."

Guitarist Gary Rossington, the last remaining original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, died on Sunday (March 5th) at the age of 71. Rossington had been sidelined from the band's recent dates following emergency heart surgery in 2021.

The band issued a statement, which reads: "It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington, today. Gary is now with his Skynyrd brothers and family in heaven and playing it pretty, like he always does. Please keep Dale, Mary, Annie and the entire Rossington family in your prayers and respect the family's privacy at this difficult time."

As a guitarist, Gary Rossington will probably be best remembered for his slide guitar work on Skynyrd's signature tune, "Free Bird" -- and as a songwriter, he left his mark co-writing such Southern rock standards as "Sweet Home Alabama," "What's Your Name?," "Gimme Back My Bullets," "I Ain't The One," and "Simple Man," among others.

Gary Rossington broke both arms, both legs, both wrists, both ankles and his pelvis in the 1977 plane crash that took the lives of his Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmates -- lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister, backup singer Cassie Gaines, Skynyrd manager Dean Kilpatrick, as well as the plane's two pilots Walter McCreary and William Gray.

Following the crash, in 1979, Rossington formed Rossington Collins Band with surviving Skynyrd members Allen Collins, Leon Wilkeson, and Billy Powell. Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited in 1987 with Ronnie Van Zant's youngest brother Johnny Van Zant handing frontman duties.

When we last caught up with Gary Rossington, we asked him what motivated him and his bandmates to keep the Skynyrd name alive: "Gosh, it's just, y'know, you gotta carry on, and go through it. If you take the lives of just any seven individuals and follow them, tragedy happens, y'know? And it just happened to us. And we just kept carryin' on, we're doin' it for the guys that aren't with us, and for us, and for the music and the name and -- it's what we are."

In October 2015, Gary Rossington suffered a serious heart attack, and earlier that year was hospitalized with an abdominal infection, forcing the band to miss a show. At the time, Johnny Van Zant gave us an update on Rossington's heart issues: "Yeah, he's doing good. Y'know, he had a slight heart attack, and y'know, he had a quadruple bypass -- what was it five, six years ago, maybe -- it might be even longer than that. And he was doing a procedure and they took him off of his plavix, which is blood thinner, and it caused him to have a blood clot -- so basically gave him a small heart attack."

Gary Rossington told us that he's both proud and amazed at Skynyrd's longevity: "My mind's blown that we've been around this long and still doing it, and we're God-blessed in that way. Y'know, a lot of groups don't have this longevity and stuff, and it's just great to be here doing it. I don't know -- it's hard to talk about, because it's not relatable, y'know? There's only a few people or a few bands that have been around this long."

Miley Cyrus has reunited with Disney for a special called Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions).

Serving as executive producer, she'll showcase new music from her upcoming studio album of the same title. The show will feature seven new tracks, including her single, "Flowers." She will also perform at least one her chart-topping classic hits, as well as a collaboration with Rufus Wainwright.

The special event premieres the same days as her album release, March 10, at 1 p.m. ET on Disney+.

TL;DR:

The Rush reissue series continues on April 28th with new and expanded editions of the band's beloved 1982 Signals album, which was the follow-up to their watershed 1981 Moving Pictures collection.

Signals - 40th Anniversary will be available to fans in three distinct configurations, including the Super Deluxe Edition, a one-LP Picture Disc Edition, and a Dolby Atmos Digital Edition. The limited edition Super Deluxe box features eight lithographs of Neil Peart's original hand-drawn lyrics for each song on Signals, and is only available through the official Rush online store.

Rush released Signals, their ninth studio album, on September 9th, 1982. It peaked at Number 10 in the U.S., hitting Number Three in the UK, and snagging the top spot in their native Canada

Signals spawned three singles -- "New World Man," which peaked at Number 21 and marks the band's sole Top 40 hit to date in the States, the iconic "Subdivisions," which hit Number Five on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and "The Analog Kid," which reached Number 19 on the same list.

While promoting Signals, the band's late-drummer and lyricist Neil Peart shed light on how he wanted to frame the story behind "Subdivisions": "It's a common background for each of us and I, kinda, think it's, like, a background for a lot of our audience, too. For all its blandness -- and it's so easy to satirize, y'know, which is a trap I wanted to avoid. It's always been a constant stock joke or skit, or something, to satirize the suburbs and the mentality of it and all and of course, it's as diverse as people are, really, when you come down to it. But it has its own set of values and set of background parameters."

Billie Eilish says she has a tendency to believe what she reads on the internet and that's why she deleted all social apps from her phone.

In an interview with Conan O'Brien she talked about how the internet has affected her and how she got pro-active about it, and said, "I don't look at it anymore."

She explained that when she became famous during adolescence, and lies were being written about her, that's when it began to have a negative effect.

She admitted that it was "stupid to believe it." She describe it as "small white lies that goes over everyone's heads, but everyone believes."

Even though she took the apps off her phone, she still occasionally shares something. Last week, it was photos of her horseback riding, sunbathing, taking a drive, and just relaxing in general.

TL;DR:

• Billie Eilish says she has a tendency to believe what she reads on the internet and that's the reason she deleted social apps from her phone.
• When she became famous during adolescence, that's when it began to have a negative effect.

Over the weekend, Fall Out Boy revealed a track list for their upcoming album and actor Ethan Hawke is featured on a song called "The Pink Seashell."

A couple of years ago, bassist/lyricist Pete Wentz told NME ,that it was inspired by a moment in Hawke's 1994 film, Reality Bites. At the time, Wentz was planning to record it for a solo album, but it ended up on the new Fall Out Boy album instead.

The group recently announced a 29-date-tour, that runs June through August. The new album, So Much (For) Stardust, will be out on March 15.

TL;DR:

Guns N' Roses, Elton John, and Arctic Monkeys have been announced as the headliners to England's famed Glastonbury festival.

Among the other performers set to play the grounds of Worthy Farm, Pilton in Somerset, England between June 21st and June 25th are Blondie, Lizzo, Yusef/Cat Stevens, the Chicks, Lil Nas X, Lana Del Rey, Chvrches, Manic Street Preachers, Fatboy Slim, Maneskin, and Texas, among many others.

Guns N' Roses co-founders Slash and Duff McKagan have decades of history together and Slash told us a while back that he and Duff have always had an undeniable chemistry. "When we first met, Duff came in with, for one, just the greatest f***ing work ethic and a kind of personality that's just totally resilient, which sort of mirrors what I'm about. And then as far as being a player, he has an approach that just goes right in sync with what I do as a guitar player, and we just hit it off as friends, as musicians, ever since the beginning, and it stayed all the way through this whole time."

The Glastonbury performance will mark Elton John's final UK appearance. Elton maintains that it's album sales and concert tickets sold that lets him know he's doing right by fans: " I'm not a person who cherishes Grammy's and things like that. I'm a person who cherishes gold records and platinum records because means that people have paid their hard-earned money to buy something that you've made and the other things are just, y'know, superfluous little trinkets."

Lizzo went online to share a dramatic new haircut and color… a blue bob.

In a short video, she showed off her side-part, with chunky streaks of electric blue and curled up ends. She hinted that she got the idea from Selena Gomez, from a style she wore a few years ago.

Lizzo later debuted her new look on stage in Milan.

TL;DR:

• Lizzo went online to share a dramatic new haircut and color… a blue bob.
• She hinted that she got the idea from Selena Gomez.

• Neil Young has announced the two latest collections in his "Original Bootleg Series," with the April 14th release of Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers' Somewhere Under The Rainbow and The Ducks' High Flyin' from 1977. The '73 set was captured on November 5th, 1973 during the Tonight's The Night and features Young backed by Nils Lofgren, Ben Keith, Ralph Molina, and Billy Talbot.
  • The '77 Ducks show features Young "alongside Moby Grape bassist Bob Mosley, guitarist Jeff Blackburn and drummer Johnny Craviotto who played Santa Monica clubs like the Back Room, The Crossroads Club, and The Catalyst during the summer of 1977." (Uncut)
    
    
• Roger Waters has dropped teaser of "Us And Them" from his complete re-recording of Pink Floyd's 1973 masterpiece, The Dark Side Of The Moon. The new clip features Waters at a studio console listening to the track. There's been no word when Dark Side remake will be release or the new original album Waters recorded during the covid lockdown.
  • Under the clip, Waters posted a message to fans, which reads in part: "When we recorded the stripped down songs for the Lockdown Sessions, the 50th anniversary of the release of Dark Side Of The Moon was looming on the horizon. It occurred to to me that Dark Side of The Moon could well be a suitable candidate for a similar re-working, partly as a tribute to the original work, but also to re-address the political and emotional message of the whole album. . . . Also it is a way for me to honor a recording that Nick (Mason) and Rick (Wright) and Dave (Gilmour) and I have every right to be very proud of."
    
    
• Legendary multi-instrumentalist and sideman, David Lindley, died on March 3rd at age 78. Although no specific cause of death has been stated, in recent months, Lindley had been suffering from long covid while also dealing kidney issues, pneumonia, and influenza. His historic run with Jackson Browne between 1973 and 1980 featured Lindley prominently with his pedal steel guitar work taking the forefront on such classics as "Runnin' On Empty" with Lindley providing the the falsetto vocals on Browne's hit remake of Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs' "Stay."
  • Over the years Lindley's work was featured on countless albums and tour by such artists as Bob Dylan, James Taylor, David Crosby & Graham Nash, Linda Ronstadt, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Leonard Cohen, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Little Feat, the Bangles, John Prine, America, Bread, Aaron Neville, Eddie Money, among others. (Variety)