Pulse Music

It was 56 years ago today (March 2nd, 1967) that the Supremes recorded their hits "The Happening" and "Reflections." "The Happening" was the theme song to the 1967 movie of the same name, which starred Anthony Quinn, George Maharis from TV's Route 66, and Faye Dunaway. The song was the final Number One by the original lineup of the Supremes, and also featured one of co-founder Florence Ballard's last performances with the group. The song hit Number One on May 13th, 1967, topping the charts for just one week.

"The Happening" was the tenth and final Number One song written for the group by Motown staff writers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland -- who in this instance were joined by The Happening's musical director Frank De Vol, best known for composing the theme song for the TV shows My Three Sons and The Brady Bunch.

Although Ballard sings on both tracks, she left the group after the release of "The Happening." She was replaced by Cindy Birdsong, and Motown head Berry Gordy Jr. renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes.

"Reflections," which was released later that summer, was actually the bigger hit, despite the fact that it never got higher than Number Two. The song was a change of pace for the group and featured a more modern sound, which strayed from the orchestral rhythm tracks of their previous singles.

In the '80s the song went on to be featured as the theme to ABC's Vietnam drama China Beach, and served as the opening number for Diana Ross' ill-fated Supremes reunion tour in 2000 with two latter day, non-original Supremes.

Late-Supremes co-founder Mary Wilson talked bout how important the legendary songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland -- who wrote most of the Supremes biggest hits, including, "Baby Love," "Come See About Me," "You Can't Hurry Love," and "I Hear A Symphony" -- was for the group: "These three guys have actually made my life. I mean, it's been over 40 years and I've got to say, before I met them, before Diana met them, before Florence met them, we were called 'the no-hit Supremes.' These guys are artisans, because they have created a musical mass of music that has not been passed by anyone. I mean, their catalog is just tremendous."

Just prior to his death last year, songwriter/producer Lamont Dozier recalled how he and the Holland brothers worked while at Motown: "There was a time clock. Nine o'clock in the morning we punched a clock and at six we punched out. During that day we would have lunch. It was like school, in a sense. We had an in-house band, so if we came up with anything we would either cut the song that day or the track. And after on, we would dub it in, say, a couple of days later, after we had finished the lyric. But that was, y'know, the general work schedule that we had."

Brian Holland recalled that once their songs clicked with the Supremes, it was onward and upward for the Motown team: "When we first started getting hit records on them, we were writing songs, and we were asking, 'Well, who can sing this?' But once we locked in and it was a hit, then we knew where you were. Because, before you've gotten a hit record you really haven't established (an) identity, so to speak. Once you get those hit records, a hit record, or whatever -- depending on how big it is -- you really kind of establish a direction at least for a while."

It was 50 years ago today (March 1st, 1973) that Pink Floyd released its most celebrated and beloved album, The Dark Side Of The Moon. The collection, which was the band's eight long player, is by far the band's biggest-selling and best known record -- with a colossal 45 million copies sold.

Between 1973 and 1988 the album spent and astounding 741 weeks on the Billboard 200 album charts -- longer than any other album in history.

Coming on March 24th is Floyd's new 50th anniversary deluxe box set edition of the album. The package includes the CD and gatefold vinyl of the newly remastered studio album and Blu-Ray + DVD audio featuring the original 5.1 mix and remastered stereo versions. Also featured is the new Blu-ray disc of Atmos mix plus CD and LP of The Dark Side Of The Moon -- Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974.

Also issued separately that day on CD and first ever vinyl release of The Dark Side Of The Moon - Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974. The concert was taped in November 1974 as part of the band's winter tour and now features artwork of an original 1973 line-drawn cover by George Hardie.

The new book Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon: 50th Anniversary, part of the deluxe box offering, will also be published separately by Thames & Hudson and "showcases rare and previously unseen photographs taken during The Dark Side Of The Moon tours of 1972-1975 and was created with the involvement of the band members."

David Gilmour recalled The Dark Side Of The Moon as being a highlight of his collaborative work with Roger Waters: "We thought that we were on to something that was going to do a bit better than anything we had previously done. Everyone thinks that the best of our moments are the moments where -- I do, anyway -- think that the best of our moments are when the best of Roger and his lyrics and ideas and driving force came together with some of my more melodic and emotional moments that, sort of, fall out of my guitar."

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason told us he and his bandmates have never been able to fully grasp why The Dark Side Of The Moon has been so successful: "I don't think we ever really understood. There are elements that you would never have perceived at the time. It was partly about timing, and partly about the songs being relevant to people at the time, and that sort of gave it the lift that then brought it to the attention of another bunch of people, and so on."

Sam Smith shared images from their photoshoot for Perfect, and not everyone in the comments section gets it.

The photos show the "Unholy" singer in a variety of corsets.

Although the post received tons of positive comments from celebs like Demi Lovato who is "obsessed" and Tess Holiday who wrote, "This is taking your power back," there were also several detractors.

Many commentors called for them to "Bring back the old Sam Smith," and questioned Smith's mental health.

The nonbinary artist is on the cover of the "Autonomy" issues of Perfect Magazine. The outlet describes the issue as,"Autonomy: the power of self, of personal choice, of independence. It is the ability to make one's own decisions, to live as we see fit. In this issue, we have gathered a stellar cast of incredible human beings, each of whom has carved their own path and soldiered forward to leave a profound mark on this world."

Ed Sheeran's touring mate, Ben Kweller, announced Monday (February 28th) that his son was killed in a car accident.

Kweller wrote on Instagram, "There's no way that I can be typing this but I am…. Our son, Dorian Zev Kweller, was killed last night. He was only 16 and he was a true legend. Kindest, gentle soul, a friend to all. If you knew him, you know. We'll never get over him as long as we're here on earth. Please keep his spirit alive with your memories and the music he made."

The teen kicked off his own music career in 2022 and his most recent release, "Hickeys," dropped on February 24th.

Dorian is survived by his parents, Ben and Lizzy Kweller, and his younger brother Judah.

Foo Fighters are slowly expanding their upcoming 2023 tour, with five new North American stops now on the books. Between May and September, the Foos have just announced shows in Gilford, New Hampshire; Rogers, Arkansas; Pelham, Alabama; Ottawa, Ontario; and Aspen, Colorado. Ticket info is available at FooFighters.com

The Foos have yet to announce who'll sit behind the drumkit following the death of Taylor Hawkins.

Although Dave Grohl is equally at home gigging in a club or an 80,000-seat sports stadium, he told us a while back why he has a soft spot for massive outdoor festivals: "These kind of shows are so much fun, when you open up with a song like 'All My Life' and they hear the (makes guitar sound), the place just kind of goes off. And it's the best feeling in the world to stand there on stage and watch it happen."

UPDATED: Foo Fighters North American tour dates (subject to change):

May 24 - Gilford, NH - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
May 26 - Boston, MA - Boston Calling Music Festival
May 28 - Columbus, OH - Sonic Temple Arts & Music Festival
June 14 - Rogers, AR - Walmart AMP
June 16 - Pelham, AL - Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
June 18 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
July 12 - Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Bluesfest
July 15 - Milwaukee, WI - Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival
September 3 - Aspen, CO - Jazz Aspen Snowmass
September 17 - Asbury Park, NJ - Sea.Hear.Now Festival

Nick Jonas took his baby daughter Malti a tour backstage at the Dolby Live at the MGM Grand in advance of the Jonas Brothers most recent Las Vegas residency.

A video shared by Priyanka Chopra shows the baby checking out the venue during President's Day weekend as the band's new single "Wings" pays over the clip.

Mom can be heard saying, "backstage" to the 1-year-old as Dad holds her on his hip prior to a show.

Carlos Santana has announced he will hit the road with his band across North America this summer for the "1001 Rainbows Tour." Throughout, "Santana will perform high-energy, passion-filled songs from their 50-year career, including fan favorites from Woodstock to Supernatural and beyond."

Santana will wrap up the "Blessings And Miracles Tour" at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on May 4th followed by dates in Dallas and Houston, Texas before kicking off the "1001 Rainbows Tour" at Newark, New Jersey's Prudential Center on June 21st. The 14-date "Rainbows" trek will wrap on August 6th at Springfield, Massachusetts' MassMutual Center.

We asked Carlos Santana if there was any advice he would offer up to aspiring musicians today: "Don't pay attention to the business. Pay attention to life. People need water. People need air. People need music. And if you're a good musician, if you play piano at Nordstrom's and they fire you because nobody buys anything when you're playing, because they're all looking at you? (laughter) -- that's a badge of honor (laughter)."

UPDATED: Carlos Santana tour dates (subject to change):

May 4 - New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest
May 6 - Dallas, TX - Dos Equis Pavilion
May 7 - Houston, TX - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
June 21 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
June 22 - Canandaigua, NY - CMAC
June 24 - Niagara Falls, ON - OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino
June 25 - Northfield, OH - MGM Northfield Park: Center Stage
June 27 - Huber Heights, OH - Rose Music Center at The Heights
June 29 - Detroit, MI - Pine Knob Music Theatre
Jule 26 - Oxon Hill, MD - The Theater at MGM National Harbor
July 28, 29 - Atlantic City, NJ - Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
July 31 - Bridgeport, CT - Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
August 2 - Bangor, ME - Maine Savings Amphitheater
August 4, 5 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway
August 6 - Springfield, MA - MassMutual Center

Happy Birthday to Who frontman Roger Daltrey, who turns 79 today (March 1st). Coming on March 31st is the Who's latest live set, The Who With Orchestra Live At Wembley. The collection, which was recorded back on July 6th, 2019, will be issued as a two-CD/Blu-ray or three-LP set.

The band's latest studio set, titled WHO, was released on December 6th, 2019 and entered the Billboard 200 at Number Two. WHO hit the UK charts at Number Three -- and still marks the Who's best charting album in the States since 1978's Who Are You -- which also peaked at Number Two.

In June 2019, Daltrey released a live album, The Who's Tommy Orchestral. The set was recorded during his 2018 tour stops in Budapest and Bethel in upstate New York -- the scene of the first Woodstock festival 50 years ago, where the Who performed Tommy in its entirety.

October 2018 saw the release of Roger Daltrey's long-awaited autobiography, Thanks A Lot Mr. Kibblewhite: My Story. The book, which reads as though you're in the room with Daltrey, covers his early life during and after World War II, his days as a factory worker -- not to mention the trials and tribulations, failures and successes with the Who. The "Draconian headmaster" who is immortalized in the book's title, had expelled Daltrey from high school, leading him to reach his true potential as a musician.

Daltrey talked frankly about how the band ended up being ripped off by their beloved managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp as the pair fell deeper into a morass of addiction; embodying the characters Pete Townshend created for Tommy, Lifehouse, and Quadrophenia; dealing with his often temperamental partners; his illegitimate children; and how he and Townshend ended up closer than ever after 50 years as bandmates. Most fascinatingly, Daltrey spotlights his 54-year relationship with his wife Heather.

Roger Daltrey told us that the Who growing up in the shadow and rubble of bomb cratered England after World War II essentially made them into the band they became: "It gave us incredible opportunities because it was a blank canvas to paint on. Y'know, a lot of people have said to me, 'And you were all very poor' -- and I say, 'No, actually, we weren't very poor, we were incredibly wealthy! We didn't have much money, but that's got (laughs) nothing to do with. . . ' Y'know, everybody just equates that with poverty now. The community becomes stronger through the war and imagination, and there's something about need and not easy accessible excess (laughs) -- which is what we're in today -- (that) makes you very creative. And that's what we did."

In June 2018, Daltrey issued his latest solo studio set, titled, As Long As I Have You. The collection features Pete Townshend on seven of the album's 11 tracks and includes the Daltrey originals -- "Certified Rose" and "Always Heading Home." Among the covers on the set are Daltrey's take on Stephen Stills' Manassas favorite "How Far" and Stevie Wonder's classic "You Haven't Done Nothing."

Roger Daltrey told us that it was Pete Townshend's urging that saw the solo set finally see completion: "And I just lost the momentum of it and didn't like what I was hearing and I just thought it's not a good idea and I was going to shelve it. And then unbeknown (sic) to me, my management sent it out to Pete -- 'cause they were still enthusiastic about it and so were the record company. And Pete called me up; it was him that convinced me to carry on. He loved it! He said, 'This is great, Roger -- you've got to finish it!' And then he offered to play guitar on it and that was the clincher for me, because, as you might know, he's my favorite guitarist."

Over the past two decades, Roger Daltrey has worked tirelessly to raise money and awareness for the Who's patron charity, the Teenage Cancer Trust. Daltrey told us he's doing all he can to socialize teen cancer patients, who respond far better to being with others their own age during treatment than being stuck on a kids' ward, or with full-grown adults: "I went to Yale when we first started this off. In Yale there were three boys that had Leukemia and they were all in three different rooms, and not one of them knew that the next boy next to them had the same disease, was sittin' with his parents, all worried to death. Not one of them met each other and none of the parents had met each other. I mean, I just think that's criminal."

Over the past dozen years, Daltrey has reignited his solo live career performing the Who's Tommy along with assorted Who and solo classics, which featured Daltrey singing better than ever after undergoing throat surgery in recent years.

Roger Daltrey's tour-de-force lead vocal on Quadrophenia's finale "Love Reign O'er Me" is one of dozens of examples of him taking a Pete Townshend song and completely reinventing it as his own: "That's what I used to try and do is to leave people with a mood in a note, and a passion in the song. That in somehow or the other, either went against the lyric, or took the lyric to somewhere where you didn't think. . . It's like 'Love Reign O'er Me' for instance. Pete never, ever saw that as a loud screaming plea, the way I sang it. He saw it as a quiet song -- which obviously you can do. In the terms of the way Quadrophenia was, I saw it as that scream of desperation from the street. He didn't like it. He didn't like what I did with it (laughs) probably still doesn't!"

Pete Townshend admits that it's been tough throughout the years for Daltrey to have to bide his time until he's finished the next song cycle for a new Who project: "This was very frustrating for Roger, who is a fantastic singer of my material. The greatest interpreter that a writer could ever, ever want. Y'know, he's a fantastic performer, singer, and brings stuff to my work that I can't bring to it myself. Certainly, I've never heard any other singer bring it to it."

Townshend says that after five decades of working with Daltrey, he's only recently found the proper way to present his new material to him: "And Roger just said to me several times, 'Y'know, I'll support you in whatever you want to do, let's take some real chances.' And I kind of stamped around the room saying, 'Well that's all very well in words but when it actually comes to it and I deliver him my big ideas, he doesn't want to get behind them, or he doesn't do this or do that . . .' And then actually when it came to it, I realized (that) as long as the work I was delivering him was finished, he would simply make the choice of an editor or a performer."

Daltrey told us that his relationship with longtime sideman -- and kid brother of Pete Townshend -- Simon Townshend is so tight, that he actually considers him to be family. Simon, who's 15 years younger than Pete, has been a constant in the Who's live shows since 2002, has backed Daltrey on the road for years.

Daltrey explains that his connection with Simon goes far deeper than just being bandmates: "I've always had a close relationship with Simon since he was a little boy. He was Pete's brother, and he used to be 'round my house all the time. He was a real Who fan. And he's been in my band since -- well, every time I've had a solo band, he's been in it. And I actually call him my brother (laughs). It's totally unconditional, I mean, he's great vibes. I mean, he knows the music so well."

Simon Townshend admits that he's been close to Daltrey ever since he was a boy: "I always loved Roger. Roger was the one I could run up to and cuddle. I couldn't run up and cuddle Moonie, I couldn't run up and cuddle Pete, I couldn't run up and cuddle John (Entwistle), but I could run up and cuddle Roger. He's a dear friend, really, Rog."

SHAKIRA SAYS THERE'S 'A PLACE IN HELL' FOR HER EX'S MISTRESS: Shakira says there's a "place in hell" for the woman her ex, Gerard Pique, cheated on her with. She told Enrique Acevedo of Canal Estrellas Monday (February 28th), "There's a place in hell reserved for women who don't support other women." She added, "I've always been emotionally quite dependent on men I've falling in love with love and I think I've been able to understand that story from another perspective, and today I am sufficient on my own."

MADONNA WAS STAYING FOR HER BROTHER'S REHAB STAY PRIOR TO HIS DEATH: Madonna was taking care of her late brother Anthony Ciccone before his death. Family sources tell TMZ that Madonna was paying for his stay at a Michigan rehab center before he died this weekend.

It was 66 years ago today (March 1st, 1957) that the Everly Brothers recorded their first Top 10 hit, "Bye Bye Love." The song peaked at Number Two later in 1957 and was the first of 26 Top 40 hits the duo would score over the next 10 years. Over the remainder of the decade the Everly's went on to inspire a legion of up and coming rock musicians, including the Beatles, the Hollies, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, the Beach Boys, among countless others.

"By Bye Love" was originally written for Elvis Presley by husband and wife team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, but he turned it down. The Bryant's went on to write the Everly's greatest 1950s hits, including their first two Number Ones, "Wake Up Little Susie" and "All I Have To Do Is Dream," and many more classic songs Don and Phil Everly recorded for Cadence Records.

During the sessions for the song, which was produced by Archie Bleyer, Don began strumming the song's distinctive guitar intro in frustration at the brothers' blowing a take. Bleyer realized how great a hook it was and tacked it on to the beginning of the track.

Shortly before his death, Phil Everly spoke about how the younger generation of country music fans were hungry for the R&B beat, which in turn caused country to morph into early rock n' roll: "What was going on in country music, people that were raised in country music were putting an edge to what they were singing and so they were putting a dance beat to it, and they were young and they were dancing. So, you were adding another element to your country music -- this is how that fusion started."

Phil Everly explained that throughout the duo's classic run, there was never a time where the brothers felt as though they could afford to coast or rest on their laurels: "You have to know the times, and the times in the late-'50s, it still was, y'know, people were anti-hair, y'know, anti long hair, they were anti-rock n' roll, so there wasn't any -- 'Wow, this is a plateau that you can depend on.' It was more like, 'We gotta do something -- the next thing.' It was really more constant 'next' to maintain."

Over the years, "Bye Bye Love" has been covered by such acts as Simon & Garfunkel, Ray Charles, George Harrison -- and was briefly tackled by the Beatles during their January 1969 Let It Be sessions.

Keith Richards, an Everly Brothers diehard, spoke about the creators of the Everly's biggest early hits, the Nashville songwriting couple Felice Bryant and Boudleaux Bryant: "I can never think of the Everly Brothers, knowing what I know now. . . and songwriting, that there are actually four people involved. And the other two was Felice Bryant and Boudleaux Bryant, who wrote all of those beautifully written songs. And so well suited to the boys' voices."

During Simon & Garfunkel's 2003-2004 Old Friends reunion tour, Don & Phil were the duo's special guests and performed a nightly mini-set with Simon & Garfunkel, which Art Garfunkel felt showcased the sound of each duo coming full circle: "The Everlys were one of a select bunch of possibilities, and I responded strongly to that. And we reached out for them, knowing that they've somewhat retired, and they said 'yes.' So that's how it happened. It's a nice mixture of pink and red, the Everlys and Simon & Gar -- magenta and fuchsia."

Phil Everly died on January 3rd, 2014 in Burbank, California from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease -- a combination of emphysema and bronchitis. Everly, who was a longtime smoker, was 74.

Don Everly died on August 21, 2021 in a Nashville hospital. He was 84. A family spokesperson did not cite the cause of death, however, he has been in bad health for some time.

Metallica has taken to social media to tease their new song, "If Darkness Had A Son." The track, which will officially be released today (March 1st), was debuted as a TikTok video with the band all performing remotely and playing a portion of the tune.

"If Darkness Had A Son" will be featured on the band's upcoming album, 72 Seasons, which drops on April 14th.

Guitarist James Hetfield spoke about Metallica taking full charge of their music and career: "Y'know, you want it just right and we kind of got the money now to make sure it's right. And in the long run, but it doesn't really matter -- if you're happy with the work. And in writing the material: I mean we take huge pride in writing that. We can't just churn out, y'know, 30 songs and pick out the 12 best (laughs) or whatever."

Madonna paid tribute to her late brother, Anthony Ciccone, following his death last week.

The Material Girl wrote on her Instagram story Monday (February 27th), "Thank you for blowing my mind as a girl and introducing me to jazz musicians Charlie Parker and Miles Davis."

She continued to add other things her older brother exposed her to including religions like Buddhism and Taoism and writers Charles Bukowski, Richard Brautigan and Jack Kerouac.

According to an Instagram post from Madonna's brother-in-law, Joe Henry, Ciccone died Friday (February 24th) at the age of 66. The cause of death is unknown.

Miley Cyrus revealed two new collaborations when she shared the tracklist for Endless Summer on Monday (February 27th).

According to the singer's Instagram post, her forthcoming album will include the tracks "Thousand Miles (feat. Brandi Carlile) and "Muddy Feet (feat. Sia).

The 11-track LP drops on March 10th.

Adele is reportedly engaged to Rich Paul. According to the online gossip site Deux Moi, a "very reliable source" says the pair are planning on a summer wedding.

The Daily Mail adds that the "Hello" singer was spotted wearing a huge diamond ring on her left ring finger at her Las Vegas show over the weekend. She was first spotted with the sparkler at the BRIT Awards last year.

The 34-year-old hitmaker and the 41-year-old sports agent first went public with their relationship two years ago.

Roger Waters' May 28th Frankfurt, Germany concert was cancelled, due to, "his alleged status as 'one of the world's most well-known Anti-Semites." The concert the concert was to be held at the "Festhalle" complex in the German city.

The Jerusalem Post reported, "In the statement of the city council that announced the cancellation, it was noted that the location was also used for the detention of 3,000 Jewish men who were arrested after Kristallnacht, between November 9th to 10th, 1938, in which Nazis attacked Jews and destroyed their property. The men were abused and later deported to concentration camps. Since 60 percent of the 'Festhalle' shares belonged to the municipality, the city council was able to cancel the performance. They had submitted their decision to a judge to cancel Waters' appearance beforehand."

Although Roger Waters did not issue an official comment regarding the show's cancellation, the former-Pink Floyd leader retweeted a video by syndicated columnist Dr. Ramzy Baroud, which states that the true reason for the show being pulled was due to Waters' unwavering and public support of Palestine.

The Doobie Brothers have just added whopping 34 new dates to the its 50th anniversary tour. The band features co-founders Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons -- along with returning member Michael McDonald. The new North American dates begin on June 9th in Sparks, Nevada at Nugget Event Center and, as of now, wrap up on October 6th at Uncasville, Connecticut's Mohegan Sun Arena.

Michael McDonald, who along with the Doobies, was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, told us he might be the most excited of his bandmates to once again hit the road: "It seemed like the 50th anniversary was probably the most opportune time for me to, kind of, come back and tour with the band -- y'know, which I'm really, really looking forward to. For me it's always been a real source of pride to be a member of the Doobies."

The Doobie Brothers kick off their 2023 dates on March 29th in Singapore, Singapore at the Star Theatre.

JUST ANNOUNCED: Doobie Brothers tour dates (subject to change):

June 9 - Sparks, NV - Nugget Event Center
June 11 - West Valley, UT - Maverik Center
June 14 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre
June 15 - Springfield, MO - Great Southern Bank Arena
June 17 - Sioux City, IA - Tyson Events Center
June 18 - Des Moines, IA - Wells Fargo Arena
June 20 - Duluth, MN - AMSOIL Arena
June 21 - Madison, WI - Breese Stevens Field
June 23 - Fort Wayne, IN - Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
June 24 - Peoria, IL - Peoria Civic Center
June 26 - Huber Heights, OH -Rose Music Center at The Heights
June 28 - Youngstown, OH - The Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre
June 30 - Pikeville, KY - Appalachian Wireless Arena
July 1 - Louisville, KY - The Palace Theatre
July 3 - Portsmouth, VA - Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion
July 6 - Reading, PA - Santander Performing Arts Center
July 8, 9 - New Brunswick, NJ - State Theatre New Jersey
July 11, 12 - Morristown, NJ - Mayo Performing Arts Center
August 18 - Waite Park, MN - The Ledge Amphitheater
August 20 - Lincoln, NE - Pinewood Bowl Theater
August 23 - Camdenton, MO - Ozarks Amphitheatre
August 26 - Brandon, MS - Brandon Amphitheater
August 28 - Biloxi, MS - Mississippi Coast Coliseum
August 30 - Huntsville, AL - The Orion Amphitheater
August 31 - Franklin, TN - FirstBank Amphitheater
September 2 - Macon, GA - Macon Centreplex
September 3 - Savannah, GA - Enmarket Arena
September 6 - Simpsonville, SC - CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park
September 7 - Greensboro, NC - White Oak Amphitheatre
September 9 - Charleston, SC - Credit One Stadium
October 5 - National Harbor, MD - MGM National Harbor
October 6 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena

Noel Gallagher misgendered Sam Smith while discussing today's pop music scene.

The former Oasis singer told Dutch radio station Kink, "Pop music is alright if the pop stars are cool. Sadly the pop stars of today are f***ing idiots."

When asked to elaborate, Gallagher replied with Smith's name, adding, "Look at him."

The "Unholy" singer is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns.

Pearl Jam is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the band's classic fifth studio collection, Yield, with a series of release events. The band has just dropped a new spatial audio mix of the 1998 Top Two hit.

According to the press release. "The spatial audio release of Yield was produced and mixed by Josh Evans and Nick Rives, who previously collaborated on all of Pearl Jam's previous spatial audio releases. Evans -- who began working with the band as an assistant engineer and tech during the making of the eponymous Pearl Jam (aka the "Avocado" album) in 2006 -- produced 2020's Gigaton, the first new Pearl Jam studio album in seven years."

As part of the commemoration, Pearl Jam has posted high definition versions of their videos "Given To Fly" and "Do The Evolution," two rehearsal clips from the Single Video Theory documentary, directed by Mark Pellington, which chronicled the making of Yield.

Shot on 16mm film in downtown Seattle in November 1997 over the course of three days, Single Video Theory, was released on VHS and DVD in 1998. The full-length Single Video Theory film will be available in a "newly up-rezzed high-definition edition."

Also coming on Record Store Day (April 22nd), is "Give Way" -- a long sought-after holy grail of Pearl Jam rarities" -- which will be released for the first time ever on vinyl and the first time officially on CD.

Over 30 years after breaking on the national scene, bassist Jeff Ament said that the doors that early fame opened for Pearl Jam were unimaginable: "There were a lot of benefits that came out of getting as big as we did early on. We were stoked to play in front of a couple of hundred people at the local bar, y'know? And so to go from that to a couple of years later, Rolling Stones are asking us to open for them and Neil Young's asking us to be his band and all that kind of stuff. . . it was a trip."

It was 35 years ago this week -- on leap year, February 29th, 1988 -- that Robert Plant released his fourth solo album, Now And Zen. The album, which was a massive hit for the Led Zeppelin frontman, peaked at Number Six on the Billboard 200, featured a trio of MTV hits -- including "Heaven Knows," "Tall Cool One" -- both of which, featured guitar by Jimmy Page -- and the ballad "Ship Of Fools."

The album showed Plant making peace with his Zeppelin past -- not only with the inclusion of Page on the singles, but with "Tall Cool One" sampling liberally from several Zeppelin classics -- along with Plant singing lines from "When The Levee Breaks." On May 14th, 1988 Plant, after performing a solo set, reunited with Led Zeppelin Atlantic Records' 40th Anniversary Concert at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Robert Plant's 1988 tour behind Now And Zen was his first to feature multiple dips into the Zeppelin catalogue. He recalled at the time that he had already established a career away from the band, which allowed him to periodically sing the old favorites without being defined by them: "What I'm going to do on the road, is I'm going to play Led Zeppelin songs occasionally, when I feel like it. I'm gonna try and avoid being one of those, kind of, cabaret artists that has to rely upon a big back catalogue. I think I've distanced myself enough from Led Zeppelin now to bear to actually play Led Zeppelin songs without feeling too bad about it."

Robert Plant explained that by moving forward and experimenting with his music he was staying truer to Led Zeppelin's ideal than just becoming a nostalgia act: "You have to be creative and imaginative and move on. And I think the great essence of Led Zeppelin is the creativity and imagination that developed with each project. And a project is a project. It's not just going back and visiting the past. It's moving forward. I don't see ups being a stadium act or whatever it is, going 'round and 'round, makin' everybody feel great playin' the hits."

Now And Zen's lead single "Heaven Knows" scored Robert Plant a Number One hit on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.

Its followup, "Tall Cool One," went on to hit Number One on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

The album's third single, "Ship Of Fools" topped out at Number Three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

It was 56 years ago today (February 28th, 1967) that the Beatles began sessions for "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds." As opposed to their first album in 1963, in which the majority of the album was recorded in one marathon 11-hour session, the Beatles were now afforded the luxury of open-ended studio time and spent the night's session only rehearsing the song without the tapes rolling. The session, which took place at Abbey Road's Studio Number Two between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m., featured numerous unnumbered run-throughs of the song as the group worked out its arrangement. Session tapes for "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" show that the song, which was mainly written by John Lennon, was greatly enhanced by Paul McCartney's instrumentation and guidance as he helped Lennon nail the spacey lead vocal.

Among the instruments featured on the eventual track, the 11th song recorded for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, were McCartney's unique mellotron introduction and bouncing bass line, Lennon's acoustic guitar and lead vocal, George Harrison's electric guitar echoing Lennon's vocal line, and Ringo Starr's legendary thumping drum part. The song also featured maracas, a piano, a Hammond organ, and a tamboura -- an Indian instrument, which provided a distinctive droning sound. Lennon, McCartney and Harrison all contributed backing vocals.

The initials of the song's title are the same as those of the hallucinogenic drug LSD and that caused enough controversy to get the song banned from British airwaves. Lennon, who wrote the majority of the lyrics, always insisted that the song was written after his then-three-year-old son Julian came home from school with a crayon drawing of a schoolmate. When Lennon asked him what the picture was of, Julian answered, "Lucy in the sky with diamonds."

John Lennon was quick to give to give credit to the group's producer George Martin and his tireless effort to help realize and expand their musical visions: "We did a lot of learning together. He had a very great musical knowledge and background, so he could translate for us and suggest a lot of things; which he did. And he'd come up with amazing technical things, like slowing down the piano, playing it slow and putting it on. . . . and things like that. Where who'd be saying: ‘Well can we, we wanna go ‘ooh' and ‘eee-eee' and he'd say (imitates Martin), ‘Look chaps, I thought of this this afternoon. Last evening I was talking to . . . .' - whoever he was talking to - ‘. . . and I came up with this.' Y'know, and we'd say, ‘Oh, great!' But he'd also come up with things like, ‘Well, have you heard an oboe?' -- ‘'Oh, which one's that?' -- ‘It's this one.'"

Ringo Starr's former songwriting partner and producer Mark Hudson says that in 1974 Lennon gave him advice on lyric writing, and told him that words don't need to be literal to work in songs: (Imitates Lennon) 'Cause you make up your own meaning, man.' And part of me was crushed, because I was waiting for this deep stuff and part of me was set free as a songwriter to go, 'You make up your own image, and let people take the meaning of the image.' And when you hit 'em over the head with (sings) 'All You Need Is Love' -- that's self-evident. But with all the other stuff, just be colorful. So I got to ask him one Beatles question every time I was with him."

The Beatles had permanently stopped touring in 1966, and when Sgt. Pepper's was released in June 1967, much was made of the fact that they had deliberately created an album that could not be reproduced live.

George Martin's son, producer Giles Martin explained that his father and the Beatles were only interested in the creative end of recording: "The wanted to push the boundaries of sound. They wanted to create something new all of the time. He was open to anything. There were no rules. The only rules were to make great sounding records."

"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" holds the distinction of being the first song from the album to ever be performed live by a Beatle. John Lennon, in his second-to last live appearance, performed the song with Elton John on November 28th, 1974 at New York's Madison Square Garden. Lennon had contributed to Elton's remake of the tune, which went on to reach Number One early in 1975.

In 2009, Julian Lennon wrote and recorded the charity single "Lucy" for his childhood friend Lucy Vodden, who had recently died after battling lupus. A portion of the proceeds from the "Lucy" EP went to benefit Lupus research.

Included in the EP was a copy of Lennon's original 1967 drawing of Lucy which inspired his dad to write "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds: "Dave Gilmour has it. He's kindly allowed (laughs) us to use a copy of the version for the EP cover and the little poster inside."

It was 11 years ago this week (February 29th, 2012) that the Monkees' frontman Davy Jones died of a heart attack at age 66, in Indianatown, Florida. Jones had complained of chest pains the previous evening and was admitted to Martin County's Martin Memorial Hospital where he died. Jones is survived by his third wife, Telemundo star and flamenco dancer Jessica Pacheco, and his four daughters Talia Elizabeth, Sarah Lee, Jessica Lillian, and Annabel Charlotte.

Sadly, the second member of the Monkees, Peter Tork, died on February 21st, 2019 at age 77 at a family home in Connecticut, following a decade-long battle with adenoid cystic carcinoma -- a rare cancer of the salivary glands.

Mike Nesmith passed away on December 10th, 2021 at 78 of heart-related issues.

Micky Dolenz, the Monkee who remained closest to Davy Jones, told us that he was shocked by his death and always knew him to be in peak physical condition: "Davy was the last one that I thought would be first. You can't help thinking about that as you get on. You get older and you hear about people getting sick. But Davy was a) the youngest (of the Monkees), and also, y'know, as far as I know, led a pretty healthy lifestyle, y'know? He was a vegetarian and he was out there with his horses all the time as you may have heard. He had just ridden a horse that morning -- which is (laughs) not an easy thing to do, ride a race horse, y'know (laughs)?"

Jones, possibly pop's biggest heart-throb, will forever be remembered for his lead vocals on such Monkees classics as their third and final Number One, 1967's "Daydream Believer," along with such other hits as 1967's "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" (#2), 1968's "Valleri" (#3) -- along with album favorites "I Wanna Be Free," "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)," "Forget That Girl," "She Hangs Out," "Hard To Believe," and "Daddy's Song," among others.

Davy Jones, who was born on December 30th, 1945 in Manchester, England -- the only Monkee born in Britain -- started off his professional life with a brief stint as a jockey. A song and dance man at heart, while still a teen Jones appeared on such British TV shows as Coronation Street and June Evening. He appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show playing the role the Artful Dodger as part of the Broadway cast of Oliver! on February 9th, 1964 -- the night the Beatles made their American debut. The appearance led to a record contract with Colpix Records -- later Colgems Records -- which was the record label for Columbia Pictures, for whom Jones became a contract player for -- which led to his Monkees audition in 1965.

The Monkees premiered on NBC on September 12th, 1966 featuring Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, and Peter Tork as a struggling rock n' roll band, living together in a -- presumably -- Southern California beach house, who each week would stumble from one comedic adventure to the next.

The show, which was inspired by the comic lampooning in the Beatles' second movie Help!, released the previous year, proved to be the '60s answer to the Marx Brothers. The Monkees, who never met each other before being cast in the pilot, have been affectionately dubbed throughout the years as "The Pre-Fab Four." Together, with their on screen chemistry along with the guidance of music impresario Don Kirshner, who supervised the music for the show and the group's first two albums, the Monkees were a hit out of the box.

The Monkees ran for two seasons and won two Emmys in 1967 -- Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy. But it was the show's music, much of it written by such top songwriters as Neil Diamond, and Gerry Goffin and Carole King, that made it a success.

The Monkees scored six Top 10 hits during the show's run, including the 1966 Number Ones "Last Train To Clarksville" and "I'm A Believer, and 1967's "Daydream Believer."

In 1970, two years after the cancellation of the TV series and the critical panning of their groundbreaking counter-culture movie, Head, Jones went on to make occasional guest appearances on network TV shows, including Love, American Style and a classic role playing himself on a 1971 episode of The Brady Bunch, in which he performed "Girl," which was the theme to the Neil Simon-written Star Spangled Girl movie which starred Sandy Duncan.

In addition to numerous stage productions, Jones reunited with Dolenz, and two Monkees songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart as Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart for an album and tour in 1976.

Beginning with 1986's massively successful Monkees reunion tour, he, Dolenz, and Peter Tork maintained an uneasy partnership, recording one studio album and touring sporadically over the next 15 years. Their 1997 tour featured all four members -- including Mike Nesmith -- for a flop TV special, new album, Justus -- entirely performed by the group -- and a UK tour featuring -- for the first and last time since 1968 -- all four members.

Jones, Dolenz, and Tork toured during 2011 in celebration of the band's 45th anniversary. Plans for additional shows were scrapped supposedly due to management problems.

Following Jones' death, Mike Nesmith rejoined the Monkees for a tour that was originally intended to have been the first four-man Monkees tour in 15 years. The band, paired down to just Dolenz and Nesmith, will hit the road in April as a duo.

Shortly before his death, Davy Jones told us that the Monkees was huge part of the group's lives -- but it was only part of it: "And we've all been known as Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork individually from the Monkees. And that's the connection and that's how people relate. The connection of the Monkees brings people in and sells tickets. And I've always been Davy Jones from the Monkees. And there's many things I've done that haven't included Micky and Peter. Now, that's a good association and I'm proud of it." (:17 OC: . . . proud of it

Davy told us that over 45 years since the TV show first aired, he was still amazed that his fan base still spans all ages: "Y'know, I've got fans, I'm older than their friggin' fathers, okay. But the fathers come with the kids and say 'she loves you, she thinks you're great,' and they throw their arms around me, 'I love you Davy, y'know, I love you and the Monkees.'"

FAST FORWARD

In June 2016, the Monkees scored their biggest album in 48 years with their album Good Times! The set, produced by the late-Adam Schlesinger from Fountains Of Wayne, is the group's highest charting album since 1968's The Birds, The Bees, And The Monkees, hitting Number 14 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and debuting at Number Six on Billboard Top Albums chart.

Good Times! features songs the group passed over back in the day from such heavyweights as Carole King & Gerry Goffin, Harry Nilsson, and Neil Diamond. The main draw of the new album is the inclusion on newly written songs by such "modern" songsmiths as Weezer's Rivers Cuomo, Oasis' Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller, Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard, XTC's Andy Partridge, and Adam Schlesinger. Davy Jones was represented with a '60s-era outtake, the Neil Diamond-written "Live To Love."

In October 2018, the Monkees returned with their first holiday collection, titled Christmas Party. The album features new vocals by Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, and Peter Tork -- with Davy Jones featured on two vintage recordings. Adam Schlesinger produced the set, which includes covers of such Christmas standards as "Merry Christmas, Baby," Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime" and Wizzard's yuletide hit "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day."

Released in 2020 was It's Christmas Time Once More, Davy Jones' posthumous holiday collection. Compiled by Monkees producer Chip Douglas, the set features Micky Dolenz, his sister Coco Dolenz, folk musician and legendary rock photographer Henry Diltz -- who shot the album cover-- along with Davy's youngest daughter, Annabel Jones, on a duet of "White Christmas."

One of the two bonus tracks is an original recording of Davy singing "White Christmas" with Chip Douglas on guitar, recorded in 1967 in Douglas' home in L.A.'s Laurel Canyon.

Released last year was the Monkees' latest archival set, 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.

The new box set "features the debut release of backing tracks made for an abandoned Don Kirshner-led version of the album, as well as the band's earliest surviving demos, plus recordings that would be completed in 2016 for the Monkees' final studio album, Good Times!"

The Jonas Brothers are heading to Broadway.

The group announced Friday (February 24th), "We're coming to Broadway and playing the Marquis Theatre March 14-18!! Each night will be focused on a different album and we'll be playing all the hits."

They'll kick things off by performing tracks from 2007's Jonas Brothers on March 14th and continue with A Little Bit Longer, Lines Vines and Trying Times, Happiness Begins and The Album on subsequent nights.

Rod Stewart has just rolled out a 17-date North American summer run. Rod, who'll kick off the year next month in Perth, Australia, hits the road Stateside on July 29th in Sparks, Nevada at the Nugget Event Centre and wraps things up on September 2nd at Niagara, Ontario's Fallsview Casino. All told, Rod will play a total of seven Canadian cities on the upcoming trek.

A while back, Rod Stewart explained to us that he's never once considered giving up what he does: "You never outgrow hits, I mean, it's always a big thrill to ya. I'm a committed musician. I love it. I love makin' music, I really love gettin' up and singin' for people. I see the smiling faces and you go home and you think you've sent them all home happy."

JUST ANNOUNCED: Rod Stewart North American tour dates (subject to change):

July 29 - Sparks, NV - Nugget Event Centre
August 1 - Denver, CO - Ball Arena
August 4 - Phoenix, AZ - Footprint Center
August 5 - San Diego, CA - North Island Amphitheatre
August 8 - San Francisco, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
August 11 - Seattle, WA - Climate Pledge Arena
August 12 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena
August 15 - Edmonton, AB - Rogers Place
August 17 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
August 19 - Saskatoon, SK - SaskTel Centre
August 23 - Ottawa, ON - Canadian Tire Centre
August 24 - Montreal, ON - Bell Centre
August 26 - Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints Arena
August 28 - Gilford, NH - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
August 30 - Bridgeport, CT - Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
September 1 - Bethel, NY - Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
September 2 - Niagara, ON - Fallsview Casino