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R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe is currently recording his first solo album due out in 2023. Coming on the heels of his two solo singles, Stipe told Departures.com, "I'm collaborating with a bunch of different musicians, and each of those songs, if I get my way -- which I think I will because I'm paying for it -- will be very different. I have no management. I have no label. For the first time in my adult life, I don't have a contract with anyone except myself. So I get to do whatever I want. . . There will be a visual representation for each of the songs. . . I'm hoping to build slowly."

Stipe, who has keep a low profile since R.E.M.'s 2011 split, explained being slow to come back around to music: "When the band disbanded, I couldn't imagine continuing with music, and it took five years before I could come back to the idea of it."

When asked if he felt vulnerable upon first making music outside the confines of R.E.M., he admitted: "Extremely vulnerable. But that's my superpower. I fall on my face very well. And then sometimes it's quite beautiful. Also, the idea of vulnerability, humanness, humanity. That's something that people, including myself, usually respond to."

Michael Stipe told us he believes in the power to reach people on an emotional level: "I go to music for certain things. I go to the Internet and newspapers and television for other things. I don't go to music to receive political ideas or messages or to be hectored or lectured. I go to music for something more emotional and more personal and something that's about me and that's the beauty of the medium."

NBC has announced the lineup for Miley's New Year's Eve Party, hosted by Miley Cyrus and her real life God Mother, global superstar Dolly Parton. Live from Miami, the all-star lineup of musical guests includes breakout rapper Latto, Grammy Award nominee Sia, singer-songwriter Fletcher, Los Angeles rock band Liily, and viral hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd.

Saturday Night Live's Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman and comedy trio Please Don't Destroy will also appear.

The show will air live on New Year's Eve on NBC and will livestream on Peacock.

Wolfgang Van Halen is looking to wrap up sessions for Mammoth WVH's second album sometime next month. The guitarist spoke with Metal Talk and offered up an update on the band's sophmore release: "I'm probably about halfway through it, recorded. I got a bunch of stuff recorded before we started on this tour, and then once I go home, I have a little holiday break. But then in January, I'm going to finish it. So it'll be ready to be released sometime next year."

Although Mammoth WVH is a bonafide band while on the road -- Van Halen explained it's a different story once in the confines of the studio: "In the studio, I do everything. Nine Inch Nails is its own thing in the studio and then live, it's separate. I think I've found a comfortable way how I record albums now, so I'm having a good time doing that."

He went on to say, "I've been in bands before, where it's like a collective experience, and this is something that's separate from that. It's something that's fully my own, and it's very exciting to be able to have that sort of creative outlet."

He added that 2023 is already looking to be a major year for Mammoth WVH: "I'm grateful to be touring in any capacity. Recently, we announced that we're going to be opening for Metallica next year and the year after, which is really crazy. So I'm just honored to be out there and that people are willing to come to see us and from the bands have us open for them. I am very grateful for the opportunity."

While his biggest influence was undoubtedly his legendary father -- the late-Eddie Van Halen -- Wolfgang told us a while back about some of the other artists who inspired him: "The first band that I actually really dug a lot was Blink-182, because I think Travis Barker is an awesome drummer and I loved how the two singers harmonized -- it really got me into, like, harmonizing and drums and stuff. But the big change that got me into like heavier music was probably Tool. I liked the weird time signatures and just how heavy it got -- like, Danny Carey is a huge drum influence of mine, and so is Justin Chancellor on the bass."

Available now for pre-order is the new book, Alice Cooper @ 75, by famed rock journalist Gary Graff. The career-spanning tome will be published on January 31st -- just ahead of Alice's 75th birthday on February 4th and is described as "a lavish illustrated biography of the original 'shock rocker,' examining an extraordinary career through the lens of 75 key events, releases, and collaborations." The 208-page Alice Cooper @ 75 includes a whopping 350 color and black and white photos and sells for -- you guessed it -- $75.

According to the book's official announcement, "Every page is illustrated with stunning concert and candid offstage photography, as well as gig posters, album covers, period ads, and more. Bonus material includes a sturdy slipcase, a gatefold timeline, two pullout posters, and a previously unpublished 8-inch-by10-inch. This book (chronicles) Cooper's career from teenage garage rocker to international star and celebrity."

We asked author Gary Graff, who's known Alice for decades and covered every aspect of his incredible career, why year-after-year, Alice Cooper continues to excite a thriving, ever-growing fanbase: "Alice has stood the proverbial test of time for a lot of reasons. One is, while he doesn't necessarily have a mountain of hits -- he has enough that still sound contemporary here in 2022/2023. 'School's Out' is permanent. There is a place for that song in the permanent calendar every year. The show itself never gets old. Y'know, people know if they haven't bought an Alice Cooper album in 25 or 30 years they'll still go see an Alice Cooper show, because they love it. They love the theatrics and he usually puts together a pretty rockin' band."

Unlike so many '60s and '70s hard rockers, the old school entertainment establishment took to Alice Cooper immediately -- welcoming him into a club who's doors had seemingly been shut for decades. Gary Graff explained how and why Alice Cooper was able to transcend the boundaries that usually kept rock confined to the kids: "Basically what happened is, Hollywood got Alice Cooper and Alice himself is very articulate in talking about this; that those guys in the Friars Club looked at Alice as a younger guy doing a modern version of what they were doing. They saw in Alice the vaudeville. They saw the schtick -- they did not see the demon. They did not see the devil. They saw a performer younger than them but the 1970's version of the pie in your face."

On the first day of Winter, December 21, Weezer released another EP from their project based on seasons of the year. The new one is simply called SZNZ: Winter.

Rivers Cuomo described it in comparison to the others in the collection and called it, "The most meditative of the bunch."

He explained and said, "For each of the four seasons, I set myself the goal of focusing on a specific emotion. And for winter, it was sadness. And so I just kept meditating on sadness. And I guess that manifested as loneliness and a need for companionship and understanding."

In the interview with Consequence of Sound, he also announced that the band is getting ready to make a big tour announcement sometime soon. No other details were revealed.

TL;DR:

• On the first day of Winter, December 21, Weezer released another EP from their project based on seasons of the year.
• The new one is simply called SZNZ: Winter.
• The band is getting ready to make a big tour announcement sometime soon.

ABBA's Benny Andersson has always credited the group's inspirations for playing a major role in their success. ABBA's reunion album, 2021's Voyage, has snagged the band three 2022 Grammy nominations -- including Record Of The Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Don't Shut Me Down" and Album Of The Year for Voyage.

Andersson, who wrote the band's material with bandmate and collaborator Björn Ulvaeus (pronounced: B'yorn Yool-VAY-uss), spoke to Record Collector about the music that connected with the ABBA creators: "We were inspired by the Bee Gees, because suddenly they became another band. They were good, they did 'Massachusetts' and all those songs in the '60s, then all of a sudden, they were back with a totally different approach. . . It's nice when what we do is inspiring other people. Like Brian Wilson inspired us, or Paul McCartney. . . (Pete Townshend) I like his music, too."

When pressed about director Peter Jackson's The Beatles: Get Back documentary, Andersson said, "Oh, yes, the best documentary ever made. It's fantastic. Like a fly on the wall, y'know? Wonderful. I've seen it twice. . . . I recognized a part of myself in Paul: he never gave up, constantly wanting to move things forward. Sometimes, nothing happens, but he keeps on feeding the band with stuff. I like that. I'm not saying I'm the same, but I recognized the method."

Benny Andersson spoke about how despite their massive worldwide success, ABBA's members have managed to live full and happy lives under the radar: "Nobody knows anything about us! They know what we've been doing, they know the records, they know the pictures, they know what we say in interviews, but they don't know anything about how (our personal) life is, which is quite conscious. They don't know I walk the dog in the morning and late at night,
I go shopping for food, I cook every day, stuff like that. I live a normal life: I have always done. I think that goes for nearly all of us."

Benny Andersson admits that 40 years after calling it quits, he's still amazed at the hold ABBA has over its international fan-base: "I think the major thing is that if you're a band and you have a record out and it becomes a hit and you have a next one -- and you do that for nine consecutive years and you have one-or-two major hits around the world -- it's pretty unavoidable to stir up some dust, isn't it? I think that's one of the reasons -- and why it is I don't know. I don't know why. (Laughs) But I'm very grateful that this is the case, y'know?"

Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl continues to post videos of his Hanukkah Sessions cover series.

A clip from Pink performing "Get the Party Started" has been a favorite this week among his fans.

Each year he teams with friend/musician/producer Greg Kurstin to put on a concert to celebrate the life and work of Jewish musicians and cover their music. The two of them also backed Kurstin's bandmate Inara George to perform a 70's classic from 10cc called "The Things We Do For Love." As a bonus, Tenacious D's Jack Black added background harmony. Earlier this week they did a version of Blood, Sweat & Tears' "Spinning Wheel."

The performances were recently taped in front of a small live audience in Los Angeles. More are expected to be released this week. You can find them on the Foo Fighters Twitter page.

Meghan Trainor is hoping to expand her family in the new year.

The 28-year-old mom told People Tuesday (December 20th) that it's her "dream" to get pregnant in 2023. She said, "I'm trying to make four children, so I've got to get on it."

Trainor added, "After having a baby, I was like, there's nothing I can't do. So now I'm just trying to knock off all my dreams on my dream list."

The "All About that Bass" singer and her husband, Daryl Sabara, are parents to one-year-old son, Riley.

Queen's 1975 classic "Bohemian Rhapsody" has surpassed two-billion streams on Spotify. According to Loudwire, "Spotify, which was founded by the Swedish entrepreneurs Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon in 2006, initially launched in the U.S. in 2011. That means it took over a decade for 'Bohemian Rhapsody' to reach the two-billion mark on the streaming service."

"Bohemian Rhapsody" was written by Freddie Mercury and was released as a single on October 31st, 1975 -- nearly a month before Queen's fourth album, A Night At The Opera.

The single, which topped the UK charts, peaked at Number Nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit Number Six on the competing Cash Box singles list.

A Night At The Opera topped the British album charts and hit Number Four on the Billboard 200.

In 1977 Freddie Mercury shed light on how and why Queen decided to break new ground and go against the grain by issuing "Bohemian Rhapsody" as a single: "What we, I think, try and do is, with each album, try and work out where our music is at at the current, given time, and try and showcase it in, say, one single. With A Night At The Opera, we just felt that 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was the song that would say what we're doing at the given time. So we, sort of chose that. Obviously we came across certain barriers, like, it being six minutes long -- or whatever."

Sammy Hagar said that if David Lee Roth didn't want to join in for a Van Halen reunion at a prospective Eddie Van Halen tribute show -- he'd sing his songs. Rockcelebrities.net transcribed some of Hagar's interview with GrowthTV, in which he was asked about a possible Van Halen reunion: "I would be involved, and I would insist that Dave come along somehow. He's not so friendly. He doesn't play well with others and never has and never will, but if he didn't want to do it, then, of course, I can always sing those songs. Those songs are easy. I sing those songs, lying on my back, smoking a cigarette, even though I don't smoke."

He went on to say, "That would be awesome. I would say that if Alex (Van Halen) and Mike (Anthony) are in, Mike and I are really tight; Alex is a little quirky, and I don't know what he wants to do. He probably doesn't want to ever tour again without his brother. I wouldn't blame him if he did."

Regarding Wolfgang Han Halen -- the late-Eddie Van Halen's son and heir apparent to play guitar at any type of official band get-together, Hagar said, "Wolfie is the guy, but I don't think Wolfie wants to do that. I don't communicate with Wolfie that much. I'm not really that close with Wolfie anymore since I was not in the band. When he was little, I was really close to Wolfie."

The editors of Classic Rock magazine have listed "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" as the best song in the extended Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young catalogue. Coming in second was Neil Young's "Ohio" -- the group's immediate and very public answer to the carnage at Kent State on May 4th, 1970, with the Top Three being rounded out by the "Woodstock Nation" call to arms -- the Stephen Stills-David Crosby-Paul Kantner co-write, "Wooden Ships."

Apart from all of her amazing accomplishments, Judy Collins will never not be known and beloved as the muse for Stephen Stills' masterpiece, "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes." Collins revealed to us that the song remains truly a snapshot of her and Stills' relationship at that exact moment: "There are a lot of lines with what was going on in my life and his. And, y'know, in that sense, it's pretty (laughs). . . it has some reality in it that's unmistakable. I mean, he was on the West Coast -- I was on the East Coast. He hated New York and therapy and I was in both -- and you can hear it in the song. I was with a bunch of therapists that didn't believe in dating one person, so you hear -- 'Tuesdays and Saturdays.' That's, that's from real life. That's not made up. But, I heard the song originally when he came to sing it to me to try to get me back (laughs)."

A while back, Graham Nash and David Crosby shed light on how the group made the decision to put social politics above their chart success: (Graham Nash): "We put out 'Ohio' in 12 days with a 45 (picture sleeve) cover of the Constitution with four bullet holes in it and we killed our own single. (David Crosby): We had 'Teach Your Children' halfway up the charts goin' for Number One and Nash pulled it. (Nash): Do you think out managers were happy? Do you think our record company was happy? I don't think so. But, y'know what? They let us do what we want. They realized we are a different kind of band. For me, bringing out the point of 'Ohio' and the slaughter of our students with their God given constitutional right to address grievances of their government. That was more important than me having a hit with my song."

The Top 10 Best CSNY Songs - via Classic Rock magazine:

1. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" (1969)
2. "Ohio" (1970)
3. "Wooden Ships" (1969)
4. "Carry On" (1970)
5. "Marrakesh Express" (1969)
6. "Our House" (1970)
7. "Helpless" (1970)
8. "Teach Your Children" (1970)
9. "Déjà Vu" (1970)
10." Long Time Gone" (1969)

A rough timeline for a new Blink-182 album has emerged from guitarist Tom DeLonge. He posted that it's "coming in a few months." Other member have dropped hints, as we reported this week, drummer Travis Barker also posted a video from the studio.

DeLonge's comeback to Blink was announced in October and "Edging," their first single with him in over a decade, has now been at the top of the charts for seven weeks.

The band will kick off a world tour beginning March 11 in Tijuana, Mexico.

TL;DR:

• Tom DeLonge posted that new music it's "coming in a few months."

Machine Gun Kelly and The Chainsmokers will co-headline the Sports Illustrated Super Bowl pre-party in Scottsdale, Arizona. The event takes place on February 11, one day before the big game.

The Sports Illustrated party is known as the week's most exclusive and VIP-attended event.

Tickets and VIP tables will pre-sale beginning December 21, with prices ranging from $500 dollars to $100,000 dollars.

TL;DR:

• Machine Gun Kelly will co-headline the show with The Chainsmokers.
• Ticket prices range from $500 dollars to $100,000 dollars.

BTS Yet to Come in Cinemas will be screened in theaters worldwide in February 2023.

The sold-out concert took place in Busan, South Korea in October and featured the first live performance of "Run BTS."

NME reports that the upcoming concert-film has been re-edited for the big screen and features, "new close-up angles and a whole new view of the entire concert."

It will run in theaters in more than 110 countries and territories for a limited time, starting on February 1st. Tickets go on sale January 11th.

Bruce Springsteen fans will once again be able to secure fully mixed soundboards of every night of the E Street Band's 2023 tour. The new live sets will be mixed by fan favorite Jon Altschiller, who's long been in charge of "The Boss's" monthly live archival releases.

A message was posted on social media, announcing:

Now through January 1st, audio pre-orders for Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band's 2023 Tour are heavily discounted on Live Bruce Springsteen! This includes the 31-show U.S. tour that launches in February, and the 31-show European leg that starts in April.

The official tour audio will feature multi-track mixes by Jon Altschiller, and all tour-package pre-orders before the 1st will also receive limited-edition numbered sets.

Guitarist Steve Van Zandt says that unlike other acts, it's a pleasure for the E Street Band to be able to take risks night-after-night, rather than having to be chained to a set group of greatest hits that need to be performed at every show: "It's nice not having to rely on early hits, we've never really been a pop band, so we've never depended on our hit singles. Y'know, we might have had 10, 12 hit singles -- really half the time we don't even play them in the show, y'know? That helps you, kind of keeps it fresh, keeps it new, 'cause we're playing new stuff, y'know? So mentally, we're still in the same frame of mind we were when we started, really."

Justin Bieber says that H&M's unauthorized merch collection is "trash."

On Monday (December 19th), the Drew House founder announced on his Instagram Stories that the Swedish clothing company launched a line with his likeness without permission.

He wrote, "I didn't aprove sic any of the merch collection that they put up at H&M, all without my permission and approval SMH."

The Drew House founder added, "I wouldn't buy it if I were you. The H&M Merch they made of me is trash and I didn't approve it don't buy it."

The collection features several pieces bearing images of the "Peaches" singer, the words "World Tour," and lyrics to his song "Ghost."

The upcoming Jane's Addiction album will have limited participation from co-founding guitarist Dave Navarro, who has been battling long covid. During a chat with Alternative Press, frontman Perry Farrell touched upon the upcoming studio dates, mentioning possible contributions from Queens Of The Stone Age's Troy Van Leeuwen, ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers' Josh Klinghoffer, and Bauhaus' Daniel Ash: "I don't know who will end up recording the guitar tracks, but I'd love to see Dave, Troy, Josh and Daniel contribute -- all the guys on the tour that really stuck it out."

On Jane's recent tour with Smashing Pumpkins, Navarro was replaced by Troy Van Leeuwen -- who in addition to Queens Of The Stone Age, is also renown known for his work with Failure, and Eagles Of Death Metal. Both Klinghoffer and Ash also made cameos during the recent run.

Troy Van Van Leeuwen said, "There's a connection there, and it's a no-brainer. I'd like to see what they do with Dave, but if they have a plan, I'm going to show up when I can to be a part of it."

Travis Barker surprised fans with a video from the studio playing his part on a song called "Anthem Part 3." Blink-182 fans were posting their excitement that Blink was back in the studio.

The first "Anthem was released in 1999 and "Anthem Part 2" was released in 2001.

The clip shows Barker furiously hitting a drum kit and the official Blink-182 Instagram account commented with the wide eyes emoji.

In October, Tom DeLonge confirmed that he was returning to the group, but until now they had not revealed what they were working on. However, DeLonge did say that the band was working on what he called "the best album of our career."

Blink-182 will kick off a nearly year-long world tour in March with stops in Australia, New Zealand, London, and Manchester.

TL;DR:

• Travis Barker posted a video from the studio playing his part on a song called "Anthem Part 3."
• The clip shows Barker furiously hitting a drum kit.

It was 47 years ago today (December 20th, 1975) that the Eagles announced the departure of co-founder and guitarist Bernie Leadon, and that former James Gang frontman Joe Walsh was officially replacing him. During Leadon's time with the Eagles he co-wrote a total of 11 songs, including the band's first Top Ten hit, 1972's "Witchy Woman." He played a pivotal role in developing the band's country-rock sound, but had tired of the group's non-stop grind of studio work followed by endless months of touring -- not to mention bandmates Don Henley and Glenn Frey's growing songwriting monopoly on the Eagles' albums.

Prior to joining the band, Leadon was the lead guitarist for the Flying Burrito Brothers alongside former Byrds Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman, and Michael Clarke.

Today, Bernie Leadon has nothing but good feelings about his days with the band: "It's totally positive. Y'know, when I was in the band, it was a working band -- we were making an album a year, and touring a lot, and building the franchise. That was really fun to do, so it was like, y'know, doing a startup business."

The same day that the Eagles announced Leadon's departure, the band issued a separate press release naming Walsh as the Eagles' newest guitarist. Walsh has never been anything other than honored and proud to be part of the Eagles: "It's an honor and a privilege to be in a band with these guys. It always has been, speaking for me. I haven't really understood it all the time -- a lot of things I haven't understood, but (laughter) at this point, it's a great community. We've been through every trip that a band could go through, and we still have fun when we get together."

Joe Walsh says he's not exactly sure where the band fits in with today's pop music scene, but adds that in recent years the band has become used to seeing people of different generations sitting side-by-side at their shows: "I don't how quite how we fit in or how I fit in, y'know? But we, we're kind of full circle and what's left for us is to work at our craft. Much to our amazement, there's a whole audience -- a whole new audience that knows us and is coming to hear us. We're very, very gifted and very grateful."

Walsh's humor and incredible chops beefed up the band's sound tremendously, especially, when he and guitarist Don Felder performed intricate dueling guitar parts, on such classics as "Hotel California," and "Life In The Fast Lane," which Walsh co-wrote with Henley and Frey.

On the Eagles' 2013-2015 History Of The Eagles tour, Bernie Leadon was back on board performing as the band's special guest throughout the show.

For the third year Dave Grohl celebrated Hanukkah by teaming up with friend and producer Greg Kurstin to cover songs made famous by Jewish artists.

As posted on Foo Fighters Twitter account, this time they took on a classic from Blood, Sweat & Tears and recorded "Spinning Wheel," with director/comedian Judd Apatow singing lead.

At the end of the song, Apatow jokingly turned to Grohl and said, "Dave I know you do five hour concerts, but that's all I can do. I need a month off."

So far, they've revealed only one song. But according to Variety, other performers included Dave's daughter Violet Grohl, PINK, Beck, Jack Black, Karen O, and Kyle Gass.

Launched in 2020, the Hanukkah Sessions benefits the Anti-Defamation League.

TL;DR:

• Dave Grohl celebrating Hanukkah by teaming up with friend and producer Greg Kurstin to cover songs made famous by Jewish artists.
• They took on a classic from Blood, Sweat & Tears and recorded "Spinning Wheel."

Billy Joel announced he's been forced to scrap his final show of 2022. Tonight's (December 19th) concert at New York's Madison Square Garden has been postponed due to a viral infection. The gig will be made up in June 2023.

The "Piano Man" tweeted a message to fans about the postponement: "I'm disappointed to share that I'm under doctor's orders for vocal rest due to a viral infection. I'm so sorry to let you know so close to show day, but I was hoping to be closer to a full recovery by now. Sadly, that hasn't happened. I look forward to seeing you in the New Year."

Dave Grohl joined Billie Eilish onstage on Thursday night (December 15th) at L.A.'s Kia Forum. Variety reported before Grohl led the pair through an acoustic reading of Foo Fighters' 1998 classic "My Hero," he touched on how Eilish helped soothe the band's emotions during a dark time, recalling, "Earlier this year, all of the Foo Fighters and our families gathered together at my house to watch the Grammys. And when Billie came out for her performance in the Taylor Hawkins T-shirt, the room was filled with real tears of love and gratitude."

During the Foo Fighters' 2021 Rock Hall induction, Dave Grohl explained that the Foos' band connection goes way beyond recording and touring together: "I would like to say that the best thing about being here tonight is being surrounded by our family. And when I say that, I mean, if anybody knows how the Foo Fighters work, the people that we are with and we worked with, it's been 20, 25, 30 years, and we stick together like a family. And I think that's important, because then, you're doing it together -- not just because it's work -- but because you love each other."

At both the London and L.A. Taylor Hawkins memorial concerts, the late-drummer's 16-year-old son Shane joined the Foos onstage filling in for his father during "My Hero."

The long wait is over for "Fab Four" aficionados with this week's publication of The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1: 1969 - 73. The 720-page tome was written by authors Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair and offers the most detailed and exhaustive analysis of Paul McCartney's initial post-Beatles career -- both in the studio and on the road.

Every recording session and stage performance chronicling "Macca's" early solo period is listed and dissected for what is undoubtedly the most in-depth and important look into his early career that has ever been attempted. Nearly every page has new information and never-before-heard stories about the recording of 1970's McCartney, 1971's Ram and his early Wings albums, 1971's Wild Life along with 1973's Red Rose Speedway and Band On The Run. McCartney's first Wings tours are also examined witha fine-tooth comb.

According to the book's official description:

This is an in-depth and revealing exploration of his creative life beyond the Beatles -- featuring hundreds of interviews with fellow musicians, tour managers, recording engineers, producers, filmmakers, and more.

The McCartney Legacy gives McCartney's post-Beatles life and work the kind of in-depth treatment that Mark Lewisohn has given the Beatles, and Philip Norman has given John Lennon. It is the first truly comprehensive biography, and the most finely detailed exploration of McCartney's creative life beyond the Beatles, ever undertaken.

Paul McCartney's first touring linwup of Wings included his wife Linda on keyboards, guitarists Denny Laine and Henry McCullough, along with Denny Seiwell on drums. McCartney looked back and explained that in short, he needed a band to stay in the game: "Well, I mean, I thought at the time, I thought, 'Well, if I don't form a band, and I don't keep in 'the business,' then after a couple of years I'm gonna find I can't sing and I haven't got that knack in front of an audience.' Y'know, you can lose it dead easy. So, I did it really to kind of keep oiled, like an athlete. Sort of, to keep doing it, in case I ever wanted to get serious again."

Denny Seiwell, who began drumming for McCartney in late-1970 during the Ram sessions, went on to co-found Wings with him in the summer of 1971. He says that he knew at once that he was performing on music for the ages: "I was so fascinated with these songs though, when Paul started singing them. Playing the drum parts that matched and filling in all the blanks when we got the basic track down and we were putting some overdubs together, y'know? Everything that I did from Ram, right straight through, even through Wild Life, I knew it was timeless music; that this was going to be heard for a long period of time. It wasn't just another record that I was making."

Jamie Spears has given his first interview in a decade.

The father of Britney Spears told the Mail on Sunday that he saved his daughter's life and her relationship with her two sons by placing her in a conservatorship.

He said, "Not everybody's going to agree with me. It's been one hell of a time. But I love my daughter with all my heart and soul. Where would Britney be right now without that conservatorship? And I don't know if she'd be alive. I don't.

"For protecting her, and also protecting the kids, conservatorship was a great tool. Without it, I don't think she would have got the kids back."

Jamie insists that maintaining his daughter's relationship with sons Preston and Jayden was a key component of the controversial arrangement.

According to the Spears family patriarch, his relationship with the boys' father, Kevin Federline, gave them "a sense of peace."

He added, "We could take the kids to Europe. They didn't miss time with their mother. They didn't miss time with their father. Not many people knew that. The main purpose was to get Britney back with her kids in a comfortable relationship."

Although he and Britney are now both estranged from the boys, Jamie claims that Federline says he's welcome to see his grandkids again once they're comfortable with the idea.

For now, the 70-year-old retiree is now living with his other daughter Jamie Lynn in rural Louisiana.