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Richie Sambora revealed in a recent interview with Absolute Radio, that he may soon be returning to Bon Jovi. He said, he and frontman Jon Bon Jovi hold "no malice" towards each other.

Citing Jon's vocal ability as a hold back, he explained, "I don't know when Jon's going to get his voice together, but it's going to happen. I don't think there's any reason not to at this point."

Of their success he said, "We did something… There's not a lot of bands that did what we did."

As far as recording new material with Bon Jovi himself, Sambora quipped: "Oh, if he doesn't let me, he's crazy. I'm on a tear."

Sambora performed with Bon Jovi for exactly 30 years – from the band's inception in 1983 up until 2013. He said, at the time, he left because - "family had to come first."

He briefly reunited with the band in 2018 and performed at their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.

TL;DR:

• Richie Sambora says he may soon be returning to Bon Jovi. Says there's "no malice" towards each other.
• "I don't know when Jon's going to get his voice together but it's going to happen. I don't think there's any reason not to at this point."

Sting is set to receive the highest possible honor from The Ivors Academy. The Wallsend-born musician will receive the coveted Academy Fellow award at The Ivors ceremony on May 18 in London.

The academy describes the honor as being reserved for those who have truly reshaped and redefined the art and craft of music creation.

Sting commented: "Of all the awards in the world of music, The Ivors are for me, the most prestigious."

Sting will become only the 23rd Fellow that the Academy has inducted in its 79-year history. Past recipients include Sir Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, The Bee Gees, Annie Lennox, and Kate Bush.

TL;DR:

• Sting is set to receive the highest possible honor from The Ivors Academy, the coveted Academy Fellow award.

• Past recipients include Sir Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, The Bee Gees, Annie Lennox, and Kate Bush.

Yes officially has a new drummer. Jay Schellen, who started filling in for Alan White, who passed away in May of last year, has now taken the gig full-time.

In an interview with Louder Sound, guitarist and longest-serving member, Steve Howe said, "We're all delighted to welcome Jay officially into the fold. He's been a great support throughout the last seven years, and we couldn't have found a better all round team player."

Schellen, grew up playing along to Yes records and was also great friends with Alan White. He said, "I will strive to honor his memory as we drive towards the future with the band."

Schellen originally filled in on 2016's Topographic Drama tour when White underwent back surgery.

Yes will kick off their Relayer Tour in Portugal on May 7.

TL;DR:

• Jay Schellen is officially the new drummer for Yes.
• He has been filling in for Alan White, who passed away in May of last year.
• Yes will kick off their Relayer Tour in Portugal on May 7.

On Thursday night (2-26) George Strait made a brief but memorable appearance at Bruce Springsteen's concert in Austin, Texas.

Without any introduction, George walked onto the stage to introduce Bruce. As his face appeared on the jumbotron, you could hear people yelling, "That's George Strait!"

The two friends hugged and George said, "Austin, Texas! It's my honor tonight to introduce to you a man who really needs no introduction, right? Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band."

He then walked off the stage and Bruce started the show. The Texas native did not return for a performance.

Coming soon is the new documentary, titled Daytime Revolution, which focuses on the legendary week of programs John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosted on The Mike Douglas Show in 1972. Variety reported, the 108-minute doc, which has just wrapped production, "Uses archival footage from each of the five 70-minute shows as well as interviews with six surviving guests, including Ralph Nader, to tell the behind-the-scenes story of the unprecedented week. While Ono and Sean Lennon did not participate on camera, the duo approved and creatively consulted on the project." No release date has been announced for the film, which is looking for a distribution deal.

Directed by Erik Nelson said of the new "Lenono" doc: "It's become a cliche that Woodstock was the defining moment of the counterculture. When I watched these broadcasts in their entirety, I realized that, in reality, this week in 1972, when John Lennon and Yoko Ono essentially hijacked the airwaves and presented the best minds and dreams of their generation to the widest possible mass audience of what was then called 'Middle America,' was as far as the counterculture would ever get. Not just music but a prescient blueprint for the future we now live in."

The couple was able to showcase the counterculture to and approximate 40 million homes each day, introducing the masses to the benefits of a macrobiotic diet, the cutting edge comedy of George Carlin, the music of Chuck Berry, Black Panther chairman Bobby Seale, and political activist Ralph Nader.

Although John Lennon had met Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Fats Domino back in the 1960's -- Chuck Berry's appearance on The Mike Douglas Show marked the pairs first meeting. Lennon was effusive in his praise of rock's first great songwriter: "He was writin' good lyrics and intelligent lyrics in the '50s, when people were singin', 'oh baby, I love you so.' And it was people like him that influenced our generation to try and make sense out of the songs, rather than just say 'do wah daddy' -- y'know?"

One Direction's Niall Horan posted on Instagram that he's releasing a new album on June 9. He wrote: "I've missed you all so much. It's good to be back." He described the music as "far and away" his favorite that he's ever worked on.

Along with the new album, Horan plans to do some festival dates and says he'll be announcing them soon.

The 29 -year-old has titled his third studio album, The Show. His new single, "Heaven," was released today, February 17.

TL;DR:

• One Direction's Niall Horan is releasing a new album on June 9.
• He described the music as "far and away" his favorite that he's ever worked on.

On March 24th, the Kinks will release The Journey - Part 1, the first of a two-part anthology set in celebration of the group's 60th anniversary. The details for when Part 2 will drop and its tracklist are still TBA, but Part 1 features such classics as "You Really Got Me," "All Day And All Of The Night," "Tired Of Waiting For You," "Waterloo Sunset," "Celluloid Heroes," and many more

Kinks leader Ray Davies was quoted in the album's announcement saying, "Ask yourself the question, is this journey really necessary?…….Yes!." Brother and lead guitarist Dave Davies added: "I'm delighted with what I think is an inspiring selection of timeless and magical Kinks music."

Ray Davies, who wrote such legendary Kinks classics as "You Really Got Me," "Waterloo Sunset," "Come Dancing," "Lola," "Sunny Afternoon," "All Day And All Of The Night," "Celluloid Heroes" and many more, insists that songwriting is just as mysterious to him today as it was when he started: "There are no rules to songwriting, and I'd like to think it gets easier because I know more, but the more one does, the more you realize how limitless it is, y'know? There's so many different ways of writing things. There are no hard-and-fast rules, and it doesn't get any easier. It does get a little trickier the more you know. You think you know what you're doing -- actually, you don't know what you're doing."

IN RELATED NEWS

It seems as though the word Kinks has raised a red flag on Twitter, with the algorithms picking up on the slightly salacious group name.

Dave Davies took it upon himself to help explain why the continual "sensitive content warnings" were not appropriate for the band's tweets, posting, "Dear @elonmusk would @Twitter please stop putting warnings on everything from 'the Kinks.' We are just trying to promote our Kinks music @TheKinks #thekinks60. . . The Kinks are a brand name. We have been called the Kinks since 1963."

On Thursday (Feb. 16) The Weeknd dropped the official video for his single "Die For You." Filmed at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium in November, it opens with the packed house screaming as he takes the stage backed by a projection of a giant moon.

The clip serves as a preview of his upcoming HBO live special that begins streaming on February 25.

TL;DR:

Set for release on Record Store Day (April 22nd) is Billy Joel - Live At The Great American Music Hall - 1975. The album was originally issued back in 2021 as part of the multi-disc Billy Joel - The Vinyl Collection, Vol.1, with the new issue marking its first standalone release.

According to the original press release, "(The show) was recorded at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, June 1975. The live gig from the Streetlife Serenade tour introduces the earliest available recordings of future Turnstiles classics 'James' and 'New York State Of Mind' into Billy's catalog, and includes examples of Billy's loving imitations of Joe Cocker, Elton John and Leon Russell -- a staple of his early concerts."

Back in 1976, Billy Joel spoke frankly about his life as a working songwriter and musician: "I always have a good time. I've been a musician since I was four. I've been a professional musician since I was 14. I'm lucky, I always knew what I wanted to do, I made a living on it and I always have a good time. But, I think people might have an opinion of me from 'Piano Man' that I'm this sensitive, suffering, songwriter-type -- and I'm not. This is my gig, this is what I do for a living."

Billy Joel next performs on February 25th in Niagara Falls, Ontario at Fallsview Casino .

Happy Birthday to Yoko Ono, who turns 90 on Saturday (February 18th)!!! Yoko was born in Tokyo to a musician turned extremely successful banker Eisuke Ono, who was a descendant of the Emperor of Japan. Yoko's mother, Isoko Ono, is the granddaughter of Zenjiro Yasuda, of the famed Yasuda banking family. Despite her contributions to the conceptual art world, she will forever be entwined both personally and artistically with late-husband, John Lennon. In 2020, in honor of what would have been his 80th birthday, Yoko served as the executive producer of the multi-disc solo Lennon compilation, Gimme Some Truth.

According to numerous reports, in 2020, her son, Sean Lennon, was officially appointed a director at eight companies linked to Yoko and the Beatles -- including the group's company, Apple Corp. Sean has also joined the board of Lensolo, which administers his father's solo works.

Ono, who has been wheelchair-bound for several years, is rumored to have suffered from a stroke, although no illness has been publicly revealed. Released today in celebration of Yoko's birthday is the new tribute album, titled, Ocean Child: Songs Of Yoko Ono. The collection features selections by Death Cab For Cutie, David Byrne, Yo La Tengo, Japanese Breakfast, Sharon Van Etten, and the Flaming Lips, among others.

Published in October 2020 in commemoration of John Lennon's 80th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his first post-Beatles solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, was the new book -- John & Yoko Plastic Ono Band.

The tome, which was filled with new and exclusive content -- including private never-before-seen personal photos -- chronicles John and Yoko's first three years together as lovers and collaborators.

Yoko Ono and son Sean Lennon were on hand on September 7th, 2018 at the Naumburg Bandshell in New York's Central Park for the dedication of the United States Postal Service's (USPS) John Lennon Commemorative Forever Stamp. Joining the Lennon's at the event was photographer Bob Gruen, Postmaster General/CEO Megan J. Brennan, and legendary New York City DJ Dennis Elsas. The stamps have been issued in a pane of 16, with a design aping a vinyl picture sleeve. The stamps themselves use a famed 1974 photo by Gruen, with the photo on the rear using the iconic 1971 Lennon shot of him at his English Tittenhurst Park estate recording "Imagine," captured by Peter Fordham.

In February 2016, Yoko was hospitalized and released due to flu-like symptoms and dehydration. Although the rumors quickly spread that she had suffered a stroke, it was quickly announced by her longtime spokesperson Elliot Mintz that Yoko's health issues were fully under control. Yoko was brought to Mount Sinai St. Luke's -- the same hospital, then known as Roosevelt Hospital -- that Lennon was pronounced dead at in 1980. Son Sean Lennon tweeted the next afternoon: "Thanks again for everyone's concern. She's home and running about as usual. Just the flu in the end. I may go get a flu shot now. . ." Yoko has been seen in public several times over the past year -- albeit not quite steady on her feet. She was recently photographed using the aid of a wheelchair.

Out now is the book, See Hear Yoko. The book was originally conceived as a private gift among friends to mark Yoko's 80th birthday and was published in 2015 at her request. The book contains intimate portraits by legendary rock photographer and family friend Bob Gruen, along with the text featuring excerpts from 25 years of interviews with Austin radio personality Jody Denberg. The book is published on Johnny Depp's literary imprint Infinitum Nihi.

Three days prior to Lennon's 75th birthday on October 9th, 2015, Yoko attempted to create the largest human peace sign in history in the East Meadow of New York's Central Park. Despite the effort of 2,000 "peaceniks" a world record was not broken -- with the current record of 5,814, set in 2009 at the Ithaca Festival, still standing.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono met on November 9th, 1966 -- the night before he show opening at London's Indica Art Gallery, and became romantically linked sometime between mid-1967 and mid-1968. By the spring of 1968, the pair, whom Lennon took to calling "Johnandyoko," began a long-standing artistic partnership with the recording of their debut album, called Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins. The album included experimental sounds recorded in Lennon's home studio, and featured an album cover showing them nude.

John Lennon recalled meeting Yoko, who was seven years older than him, in 1966: "I'm looking for action, y'know? I see this thing, 'Hammer A Nail In' -- it's a board with a chain and a hammer hanging on it and a bunch of nails at the bottom. I said, 'Well, can I hammer a nail in?' (Yoko laughs) She says, 'No.' But she came over and says, 'You can hammer one in for five schillings. I said, 'Are you. . . I'll give you an imaginary five schillings and hammer an imaginary nail in, alright?' And that's when we fell -- (sings) da da da da."

Lennon recalled that linking with Yoko as his partner ultimately meant that his days as a Beatle were fading fast: "But I presumed that I would just be able to carry on and bring Yoko into our lives, but it seemed I had to be married to them or Yoko. And I chose Yoko. y'know? And I was right."

Despite the tension between Paul McCartney and Yoko over the decades, in his biography, titled McCartney, author Christopher Sanford uncovered a first-hand source that alleges that in 1966, prior to hooking up with Lennon, Yoko and McCartney were actually romantically linked. Sanford's unnamed source places himself at McCartney's London townhouse throughout the duration of a social call by Yoko.

Sanford told us that judging from McCartney's taste in women alone, it's not too far fetched to believe that the affair took place: "He was known for his attraction to women who were not necessarily, shall we say, traditionally good looking. And we have the source I mentioned, who says that (Paul and Yoko) displayed notable affection for each other. They went up the stairs, and he was seen hugging and squeezing her as she left later that afternoon."

John and Yoko shared an intense and symbiotic relationship, and after five years of non-stop time together in which they recorded, performed, and worked together on various political and creative pursuits, they separated for 14 months.

Although Lennon seemed to be reeling out of control during the early part of what he dubbed his "Lost Weekend" away from Yoko -- she admitted that the split took a horrible toll on her, as well: "We were so dependent on each other's body-kind-of thing, and to be alone in bed was really very difficult. I was shaking -- but I wasn't telling that to John, y'know? I thought, 'Well, this is bad that a person can not be alone, and if you're alone, you're shaking.' Well, that's very bad. But I could not say, 'Okay, let's get back together. That was not the way I was feeling."

Upon reconciling in January 1975, Yoko became pregnant, and on October 9th, 1975, which was Lennon's 35th birthday, she gave birth to the couple's only child, Sean Taro Ono Lennon. Yoko's first child with second husband Tony Cox -- 57-year-old Kyoko Cox -- has two children.

After Lennon's murder on December 8th, 1980, Ono inherited complete control of the Lennon estate and has commemorated most of his posthumous birthdays with numerous projects, including previously unreleased music, a radio show, an album of interviews, and a clothing and housewares line, to a mixed response from fans.

Joe Raiola, the writer-director of the annual John Lennon tribute held in New York City, told us that despite her many critics, Yoko Ono has never lost her integrity: "The amazing thing to me about Yoko, and I've never heard this said, and there are so many people who vilify her, who hate her, who can't stand her. Now, her husband was shot in cold blood in front of her. And all of their ideals could've been thrown out the window at that point or subsequently. All this stuff about peace and love. Not once did I ever hear Yoko call for revenge."

Since 2003, via various remixes by outside DJ's and producers, Yoko has scored an impressive 11 Number One hits on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Charts. Her latest album, Warzone, was released in 2018 through Sean Lennon's record label, Chimera.

In 2017 it was announced Yoko Ono's name would be added as a composer to John Lennon's 1971 masterpiece, "Imagine." During that year's annual meeting of the National Music Publishers Association in Manhattan, Variety reported: "NMPA CEO David Israelite showed a video from 1980 wherein John said that Yoko deserved a songwriting credit for 'Imagine' because of her influence and inspiration on it -- and Israelite announced that in accordance with Lennon's wish, Yoko will be added to the song as a co-writer."

The management of Machine Gun Kelly's guitarist, Sophie Lloyd is speaking out after social media users accused her of being the reason behind his relationship troubles with fiancé Megan Fox.

The statement read: "Sophie Lloyd is a professional, accomplished musician who has been needlessly dragged into the media based off of meritless accusations made by social media."

The statement continued, "Any suggestion that she has ever acted in an unprofessional manner or stepped out of her relationship are untrue. It's disrespectful to her as a female artist and poor journalism and social commentary to be reporting anything else."

Over the weekend, Fox hinted at a breakup and quoted a Beyonce song and posted: "You can taste the dishonesty. It's all over your breath." Afterwards, she deactivated her account.

People.com reported earlier this week that friends close to them say Fox had taken off her engagement ring, however, they are speaking and trying to work things out.

TL;DR:

• The management of Machine Gun Kelly's guitarist, Sophie Lloyd is speaking out after social media users accused her of being the reason behind his relationship troubles with fiancé Megan Fox.
• The statement read: "Any suggestion that she has ever acted in an unprofessional manner or stepped out of her relationship are untrue. It's disrespectful to her as a female artist and poor journalism and social commentary to be reporting anything else."

On Thursday (Feb. 16) Paramore released a new music video for "Running Out of Time." It starts with singer Hayley Williams alone in a studio, trying to write a song. As time goes by she ends up in an alternate dimension.

In a recent interview, Williams said the song was inspired by her friendship with Taylor Swift, who she's now on the road with.

This marks the third video from Paramore's sixth and most recent album, This Is Why.

TL;DR:

• On Thursday (Feb. 16) Paramore released a new music video for "Running Out of Time."
• It starts with singer Hayley Williams alone in a studio, trying to write a song and she ends up in an alternate dimension.

Demi Lovato took to social media to announce that she recorded a new song for the upcoming movie, Scream VI. Posing with a dagger reflecting the image of the newest Ghostface killer, Lovato announced that "Still Alive" will be released on March 3.

Pink says she gained 36 pounds during the Covid pandemic and has worked hard to get back in shape. In an interview with Variety, she said, "All I did was make sourdough and then eat the sourdough." She followed that with hip surgery and a double disc replacement neck surgery. Now that she's lost all the weight, she calls herself "the bionic woman." Pink's new album, Trustfall comes out today, February 17.

Camila Cabello and boyfriend Austin Kevitch have ended their relationship after eight months together. The former Fifth Harmony member was first linked to the founder and CEO of a dating app, when the pair were spotted together in Los Angeles last summer.

It was 47 years ago today (February 17th, 1976) that the Eagles' first compilation, Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, was released. The album holds the historic distinction of being awarded the first platinum disc by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of one million copies.

In 2018, the Eagles overtook Michael Jackson's 1982 masterpiece Thriller for bragging rights to the best-selling album of all time, according to the RIAA. Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 has now been certified 45-times Platinum, accounting for sales and streams since its February 1976 release. It was the best-selling album of the 20th century and now in 2022, it sits at Number Four on the biggest selling albums list.

Amazingly, the Eagles' next album after the hits collection -- 1976's Hotel California -- is now the seventh best-selling album of all time, having been certified 31-times Platinum by the RIAA.

Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, went on to top the Billboard 200 album charts on March 13th, 1976 for five non-consecutive weeks. The album capped the original band's first four albums with co-founding lead guitarist Bernie Leadon, who was replaced in December 1975 by Joe Walsh.

Back in 2016, country music manager Ken Levitan explained the album's importance to Rolling Stone, saying, "A lot of younger country musicians did experience the Eagles (through Their Greatest Hits). Every household had a copy of that record. If they didn't hear it themselves, their parents were listening to it, so it became part of a fabric of their life. That record, and (Lynyrd) Skynyrd and Hank (Williams) Jr., influenced the whole range of country artists."

The tracklisting to Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) is: "Take It Easy," "Witchy Woman," "Lyin' Eyes," "Already Gone," "Desperado," "One Of These Nights," "Tequila Sunrise," "Take It To The Limit," "Peaceful Easy Feeling," and "The Best Of My Love."

The-late Glenn Frey attributed the Eagles' success to the bond he forged with Don Henley in 1971 when the pair was backing Linda Ronstadt on the road: "We were roommates together and we started talkin' about our dreams. And, y'know, we were very lucky. And then, of course, as I said, when we told Linda that, y'know, that we really wanted to have our own band, then she helped us get the guys! She's the one who said, 'You should get Bernie Leadon.' So, we brought him out to Disneyland for some shows were were doing on graduation nights (laughter) and Bernie sat in with us and we got to meet him over the course of a week, or so, and talk with him. A couple of weeks later, we replaced the bass player for a weekend in Los Altos with Randy Meisner, so that he'd come up and play with Linda and we could talk with him as well. So, it was really important."

Co-founding guitarist Bernie Leadon shed some light on the band's 1975 chart-topper, "One Of These Nights" -- which was among the last songs he recorded with before quitting the band: "Cool song. This was sort of the beginning of the fourth album and the second one that Don Felder was on. Well, the band's new producer, Bill Szymczyk, came out of R&B and had worked with B.B. King and some people. So, his drum sounds were more Philadelphia. The whole attitude was more R&B. And Henley and Frey were starting to lean more in that direction. So, 'One Of These Nights' has that sort of -- well it's not (laughs) disco exactly, but it's edging in that direction, it's edging towards disco."

1982's Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 was released on November 13th, 1982, and although it stalled on the Billboard charts at Number 52, the set has sold a whopping 11 million copies to date.

The Eagles recently packaged their two multi-platinum greatest hits collections together for the first time ever, with the set now renamed, Eagles Greatest Hits 1 & 2.

The Eagles perform tonight (February 17th) in Lincoln, California at Thunder Valley Casino.

It was 54 years ago today (February 17th, 1969) that Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash first teamed up to record an album of duets in Nashville. The sessions were widely bootlegged over the years, and are included on the shortlist of such legendary unreleased albums as the Beach Boys' long unfinished Smile, the Beatles' original version of Let It Be, and Dylan's complete set of The Basement Tapes with the Band. Finally, in 2019, the tapes were finally released as part of the collection, Bob Dylan (featuring Johnny Cash) - Travelin' Thru, 1967 - 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 15.

On February 17th, Cash visited Dylan at Nashville's Columbia Recording Studios while Dylan was recording his legendary Nashville Skyline album. Dylan and Cash began the joint session by running through only three songs before packing it in. The next day, Cash ran through 19 more songs in hopes of recording an album of duets.

The songs recorded included gospel and traditional, such as "Amen," "Careless Love," "You Are My Sunshine," "How High The Water," and "Just A Closer Walk With Thee," to early influences including Jimmy Rodgers' "T For Texas (Blue Yodel No. 1)", Elvis Presley's "Mystery Train" and "That's All Right Mama," and Carl Perkins' "Matchbox."

Also recorded were Cash's "I Walk The Line," "Big River," "I Still Miss Someone," and "Ring Of Fire." They also recorded Dylan's "Girl Of The North Country," the only song from the sessions to see an official release when it appeared on Dylan's Nashville Skyline album; "One Too Many Mornings"; and his then-previously unreleased "Wanted Man," which Cash recorded six nights later during his legendary Johnny Cash At San Quentin live set.

The sessions included a full-band accompaniment, featuring Charlie Daniels on lead guitar, and both Dylan and Cash on acoustic guitars, with Dylan singing harmony to Cash's baritone.

Although the Dylan-Cash album never materialized, Cash went on to contribute the liner notes to Dylan's Nashville Skyline. That same year, Dylan returned the favor by appearing on The Johnny Cash TV show and performing two numbers, "I Threw It All Away" and "Living The Blues," before duetting with Cash on "Girl From The North Country."

Although Bob Dylan has amassed a fortune over the nearly-60 years he's been a recording and performing artist, he told the BBC that money was the last thing on his mind -- when striking out as a folk singer: "I don't need money. I mean, I started out with no money. . . Don't tell. . . I don't wanna hear about money. I had less money than anybody I know, when I started out. I had no money. I mean, if you're talkin' about paper money and money in the bank, or wealth, possessions, and all that stuff -- I had nothing. It's not like I went out and got into music to make money. There wasn't any money to be made in music when I was. . . If you could just support yourself, that was, you were doing good."

It was 51 years ago Sunday (February 19th, 1972) that Harry Nilsson's "Without You" began its four-week run at the top of the charts. The song was Nilsson's second major hit, following 1969's "Everybody's Talkin'," and went on to win the 1972 Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. It was featured on his critically acclaimed 1971 album Nilsson Schmilsson.

Nilsson heard "Without You" at a party and was convinced it was a Beatles track he had never heard. The song had actually been recorded by the Beatles' proteges Badfinger, and written by the band's Pete Ham and Tommy Evans, who created the song by taking the verses from an unfinished Ham song, and stringing it together with a stray chorus that Evans couldn't fit into any of his songs.

Surviving Badfinger member Joey Molland played lead guitar on the group's version and says that the band was first and foremost a song-based outfit: "That's an interpretive thing. What it was in Badfinger was everybody wrote songs. We'd go into the studio, and the Beatles were nice enough to give us that leeway, and we would go through songs -- 'What have you got?' Pete would have a bunch, sometimes he wouldn't have hardly any. Pete kind of dried up after the Straight Up album. It got real dry there for a while. Pete wasn't writing any hits, I think it kind of depressed him a bit."

Director John Scheinfeld, who directed the definitive documentary Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)???, told us that although Nilsson was notorious for never performing in public, a 1992 recording does exist of Nilsson performing "Without You" with Ringo Starr's All Starr Band: "There was a recording made. A bootleg recording that we have that we opted not to use it. As far as we know there was no film. It was pretty rough. By that time I think the voice was really not in a good place."

"Without You" was produced by Richard Perry, who would go on to produce numerous hits for Ringo Starr, Art Garfunkel, Carly Simon, and the Pointer Sisters.

It's ironic that Nilsson, who was known primarily as a songwriter, scored his biggest hits with songs written by other people. In 1969 Three Dog Night scored a Top Five hit with a cover of Nilsson's "One."

Following years of business problems, Badfinger's Pete Ham hung himself in 1975. In 1983, his bandmate Tommy Evans also hung himself.

Harry Nilsson died of a massive heart attack on January 15th, 1994. That same year, Mariah Carey's version of "Without You" peaked at Number Three.

Released in November 2019 was Losst And Founnd -- an album featuring some of Harry Nilsson's unfinished final songs. The album, which was produced by Mark Hudson, features contributions from Jimmy Webb, Van Dyke Parks, Jim Keltner, and Harry's son, Kiefo Nilsson.

In an interview with Apple Music, Coldplay's Chris Martin spoke about Rihanna's talent and said, "You have to be an idiot not to recognize that she's the best singer of all time."

Martin has performed with her a few times but says he doesn't know her very well and that he was speaking "mainly as a fan."

Coldplay worked with Rihanna on her track "Love On The Brain" and then in 2011 for their album, Mylo Xyloto on the song "Princess of China."

Ahead of her big game performance, Martin said, "I think she could just walk out in sweatpants and sing, and that would be just great."

TL;DR:

• Coldplay's Chris Martin said of Rihanna, "You have to be an idiot not to recognize that she's the best singer of all time."
• Ahead of her big game performance, he said, "I think she could just walk out in sweatpants and sing, and that would be just great."

During an interview with British Vogue, Rihanna revealed that she didn't know about pregnancy when she agreed to perform at the Superbowl. RiRi, boyfriend A$AP Rocky and their son are all on the cover of the March 2023 issue of the magazine.

RiRi revealed how motherhood played a part in her decision to perform at the Super Bowl. She explained, "It's this knowing that you can do anything. Even things that seem the craziest, like, ‘I'm going to say yes to the Super Bowl in the middle of postpartum?'"

She also discussed her first nine months as a mother, saying, "Oh my God, it's legendary. It's everything. You really don't remember life before, that's the craziest thing ever.

She continued, "You literally try to remember it – and there are photos of my life before – but the feeling, the desires, the things that you enjoy, everything, you just don't identify with it because you don't even allow yourself mentally to get that far because … because it doesn't matter."

Rihanna also revealed that she plans to release new music this year but she also made this comment before knowing she was pregnant. She explained, "I want it to be this year. Like, honestly, it'd be ridiculous if it's not this year. But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos."

Stephen Stills revealed his late-partner David Crosby died in his sleep. Fans had been wondering the cause of death since Crosby's passing last January 19th at the age of 81.

During a chat with Rolling Stone, Stephen Stills spoke candidly about Crosby's death, explaining, "I'm shocked (that David died) but not surprised. I love the guy. He was a big force in my life and a towering musician. He was all excited about his new band. (My son) Christopher was in his band, and they were going to get back on the road a little. He just went to take a nap and didn't come back. When you think about it, it beats the hell out of being in a hospital with people beating on your chest or something."

Regarding his relationship with Crosby and fellow partners Graham Nash and Neil Young, Stills said, "When you're young, if you're not fighting, someone doesn't care enough about the music. When you get middle-aged, you should be able to do it without fighting. Later on, you turn into a curmudgeon, especially if you're as clever as David was. But it's a cyclical thing, these relationships. And this was a lifetime relationship. That's hard to let anybody else inside of."

Stills and Young will team up on April 22nd for the 2023 "Light Up The Night" benefit at L.A.'s Greek Theater. As of now, the show will mark the pairs first concert appearance since Crosby's death.

Stills admitted he and Neil Young get together every Wednesday to jam amongst themselves: "We're proving the adage that 'Rust Never Sleeps.' We hang out in the studio. We play old songs. We play other people's songs. We just play together, the two of us. We go back and rediscover old Buffalo Springfield songs and then just play them on the natch. We then listen to the records and go, 'Oh God, we missed that by a mile.' But we do it every week. 'Shakey' and I have always gotten along great."

Stills, who's now 78, maintains his days of heeding on the road are over: "The idea of touring absolutely appalls me. I can't imagine being on the bus for 14 hours. You can't take drugs anymore. It's no longer fun."

Back in 1991, Stephen Stills explained David Crosby's role in CSNY's harmonic blend: "He's the honey. He's the honey between the razors and the gravel. And he's the glue that holds it together."

Bruce Springsteen surprised more than a few fans on Tuesday night (February 14th) at Houston's Toyota Center, when thanks to a fan sign request, he performed "I Was The Priest" live for the first time in 50 years. The pre-fame classic was resurrected back in 2020 for the Letter To You album -- but had never been performed live by the E Street Band.

"If I Was The Priest" has gained iconic status over the years for its inclusion in Springsteen's May 2nd, 1972 Columbia Records auditions for John Hammond -- and playing a large part in getting him signed to the label.

Guitarist Steve Van Zandt told us that the E Street Band is built on spontaneity and is able to keep their shows so flexible because they don't fall into the same traps as other touring groups: "Y'know, I know a lot of bands, they just play the same sets, 'cause they have that (laughs) expensive production that has to be coordinated -- which we don't have. Y'know, we're like the light man, the sound man, (laughs) they'll catch up -- they'll figure it out by the second verse. We don't care. It's all about the music, it's all about the relationship with the audience and we kind of just go for it. I'm very proud that we're able to turn arenas, and even stadiums, into clubs."

Thanks to the recent Grammy Awards, Lizzo has now met all members of Destiny's Child and told them personally what an inspiration they've been to her. She had set a goal to tell every member of the group that she saw them perform at Walmart in the fifth grade and even skipped school to do it.

After telling Beyonce from the Grammy stage, "You changed my life," she was later introduced to Kelly Rowland at an after-party dinner."

She says the first member she met was Michelle Williams and that was "years ago" at Bonnaroo.

Group photos were posted on social media this week.

TL;DR:

• Lizzo has now met all members of Destiny's Child.
• Her goal was to tell every member of the group that she saw them perform at Walmart in the fifth grade.

Once again Metallica is stepping up to the plate with their charitable donations. The band announced their "All Within My Hands'" foundation has donated $250,000 for Turkey earthquake relief.

The band posted a message on their social media, which reads:

We're at a loss for words to describe the devastation in southern Turkey and northern Syria. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake has reduced the entire region to rubble. The death toll continues to rise, tragically exceeding 36,000 lives lost.

Two of our @allwithinmyhandsfoundation's partner organizations, @directrelief and @wckitchen, have boots on the ground providing medical aid and food to the victims of this disaster. #AWMH is providing $125k grants to each organization to support their relief efforts.

For more info on how to help, log on to: https://tinyurl.com/2p9k945a

As Motley Crue carries on with new guitarist John 5, Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen makes it more than clear that it was Mick Mars' decision alone to quit the road. It was announced last fall that Mars had retired from touring, but that the 71-year-old guitarist will remain a part of the band. For years, Mars has been suffering from Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.), a crippling degenerative disease, which affects the spine.

Blabbermouth transcribed some of Rick Allen's chat with the Appetite For Distortion podcast, as he shed light on his recent tourmate on the massive "Stadium Tour": "It was Mick's decision to really move on and just get to the next part of his life. And we all know that Mick has suffered terribly, terribly with pain; you see it on his face all the time. And I think the only time I ever saw him truly in his element (was) when he was up on stage playing with the band. It was more his decision. That must have been a super hard decision."

He went on to say, "It would have been different if the guy was being thrown out of the band, but it wasn't like that at all. It was a personal choice that he made. And you can't say that that's wrong. It was right for him at the time. . . it must have been a very difficult decision for everybody to have to go through that."