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As expected, U2 is headed to Las Vegas. The band officially announced the "Sin City" run via a Super Bowl Sunday (February 12th) ad, which stated the "U2: UV Actung Baby Live At The Sphere'" would take place shows this fall at the new globe-shaped arena. The MSG Sphere shows will mark the band's first without drummer Larry Mullen, Jr., who is recovering from back surgery, and will feature stand-in Bram van den Berg for the 2023 concerts. No official dates have been announced for U2's Vegas stand.

According to the announcement, "The Sphere show has been in the works for a long time. We don’t want to let people down, least of all our audience. . . The truth is we miss them as much as they appear to miss us. . . our audience was always the fifth member of the band. Bottom line, U2 hasn’t played live since December 2019 and we need to get back on stage and see the faces of our fans again. And what a unique stage they’re building for us out there in the desert. . . We’re the right band, Actung Baby the right album, and the Sphere the right venue to take the live experience of music to the next level. That’s what U2’s been trying to do all along with our satellite stages and video installations, most memorably on the Zoo TV Tour, which ended in Tokyo 30 years ago this fall. The Sphere is more than just a venue, it’s a gallery and U2’s music is going to be all over the walls."

Bono, The Edge, and Adam Clayton touched upon performing with a new drummer for the first time in their career, explaining, "It’s going to take all we’ve got to approach the Sphere without our bandmate in the drum seat, but Larry has joined us in welcoming Bram van den Berg who is a force in his own right."

Over the years, Bono has been no stranger to self-promotion, and admits that he has no problem doing that, since he sees it as a necessary part of the music business: ["I come from a long line of traveling salespeople on my mother's side. I mean, I will sell my wares, and I believe in them. Rock bands get all shy and don't like to discuss the filthy lucre and pretend that their songs exist entire to themselves, which we all know is not true. You've got to get them on the radio. You've got to get people to take them seriously. I mean, it's, y'know. . . the job is not over when you finish the song, sadly."] SOUNDCUE (:23 OC: . . . the song, sadly)

U2's new album, Songs Of Surrender, drops on March 17th. The set will be available as a full 40-track digital set; a limited edition 40-track double CD with hardback deluxe book; and a limited edition 40-track four-vinyl collection.

Lewis Capaldi is already sick of hearing his forthcoming record, Broken by Desire to be Heavenly Sent.

He told NME on the red carpet for the BRIT Awards, “It’s f***ing s**t, honestly, don’t even bother with it. I’m f***ing sick of hearing it at this stage already, so do not bother getting it. It’s a total piece of flaming shite. That’s all I have to say on it.”

The album is set to be released in May.

Britney Spears is reportedly facing “complex” medical issues.

Sources who have worked closely with spears told Page Six Friday (February 10th), “Nobody outside the very small conservatorship circle knows what Britney’s medical status really is. If people knew Britney’s actual medical status, I think it would reveal that her mental problems are far more severe than people realize.”

The insider added, “Regardless of her mental condition, it isn’t necessarily appropriate for her to be under a conservatorship. There are less harsh ways to handle it.”

DALTREY CUTS SOLO GIG SHORT

Roger Daltrey was forced to cut short his solo concert on Saturday night (February 11th) in Clearwater, Florida. The Who frontman finally gave up during a rendition of the band's 1970 deep cut "Naked Eye" and told the crowd: "I'm going to do myself some serious damage here and I'm not going to do it because I'll never sing again. I'm sorry. I am not a robot. I'm definitely not a robot. I'm not doing this to myself anymore. Thank you so much for coming." (ABC Action News)

Roger Daltrey told us that he belongs to the old-school breed of rockers, who believe that the only way you end up keeping in shape for rock is by actually performing it: ["You can do all the exercises in the world, but it doesn't keep it road-fit. It's like a boxer training. Y'know, a boxer can train, train, train, train -- 'doesn't get him ring-fit."] SOUNDCUE (:08 OC: . . . him ring-fit)
 

TOWNSHEND PREPPING SOLO SINGLE

Pete Townshend's wife, musician/orchestrator Rachel Fuller, revealed on her Facebook page that Townshend is prepping his first new solo single in 29 years. The acoustic-based track, titled, "Can't Outrun The Truth," was written by Fuller, produced by Charlie Pepper, and engineered by Townshend's brother-in-law, Jon Astley. The track originally appeared in the 2020 Jude Law film, The Hat. All proceeds will benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust. No street date has been announced.

During a chat at The New York Public Library, Pete Townshend revealed a new, key component about how he approaches his life and art: ["And I think I have learned some stuff about myself. I think all kinds of things. I think the main revelation was to realize that at some point, probably quite recently -- maybe as recently as 15 years ago -- I made the decision to be happy. And that has been very, very difficult for me to do, because I never felt that it was a very serious occupation (laughter)."] SOUNDCUE (:26 OC: . . . very serious occupation (laughter))
 

THE WHO DROPS LIVE 'BABA O'RILEY' VIDEO

The Who has just posted the first teaser from its latest live set, The Who With Orchestra Live At Wembley, which drops on March 31st. The collection will be issued as a two-CD/Blu-ray or three-LP set.

Part of the reason for Pete Townshend's eagerness to play out with the Who over the past two decades is his connection with their drummer of the past 27 years -- Zak Starkey: ["He studied at the feet of Keith Moon. He was eight years old when I first met him, his dad is Ringo Starr, but Keith Moon bought him his first drum kit. He was a big Who fan as a kid. So when John (Entwistle) passed away, suddenly there was Zak and I -- and then what I realized is that he and I have this extraordinary chemistry. And it's innate. It's a chemistry that's based on the fact that whatever I do, he's already doing it."] SOUNDCUE (:23 OC: . . . already doing it)

Machine Gun Kelly revealed on Instagram that he was electrocuted while performing Friday (February 10th) during a Waste Management Phoenix Open performance at Coors Light Birds Nest in Scottsdale, Ariz.

In his stories, he wrote, “YOOO 🤯 I GOT ELECTRICUTED (sic) AND MY HAIR STOOD UP ⚡️🤣⚡️.”

The Rolling Stones Chronicles has begun airing on series on ABKCO's Vevo-hosted YouTube channel. The series, which is co-produced by BBC Motion Gallery and the label, consists of six documentary shorts, each featuring a different, classic 1960's-era hit song by band.

According to the announcement, "The music is combined with thematically relevant interview clips from the band and contemporaneous historical figures, interspersed with historical documentary footage of related world events." Each episode will be released one week apart (through) March 16th, with Episode 1 - The Last Time airing now.

We asked Lindsey Buckingham what that classic early-era means to him as a Stones fan: ["The peak for Brian Jones, before he kind of started to slide downhill. . . Y'know those albums, I mean, the singles -- everything -- have a kind of European influence. But, y'know, the fact that Brian Jones as a bandmember could articulate that it in a different way and was more of a multi-musician and could bring in colors and influence the band in what I thought was a very positive way. Those albums are some of my favorite Stones albums."] SOUNDCUE (:29 OC: . . . favorite Stones albums)

The Rolling Stones Chronicles release schedule:

February 9 - The Rolling Stones Chronicles - The Last Time (EP1)
February 16 - The Rolling Stones Chronicles - (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (EP2)
February 23 - The Rolling Stones Chronicles - She’s A Rainbow (EP3)
March 2 - The Rolling Stones Chronicles - Street Fighting Man (EP4)
March 9 - The Rolling Stones Chronicles - Jumpin’ Jack Flash (EP5)
March 16 - The Rolling Stones Chronicles - Gimme Shelter (EP6)

It was 56 years ago Sunday (February 13th, 1967) that the Beatles released their double A-sided single of "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane." The single contained two of the first three songs recorded for the group's upcoming Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. (The other song, "When I'm 64," was saved for the album.) The songs broke the group's then unprecedented six-month stretch since their last single, "Yellow Submarine" backed by "Eleanor Rigby."

The new songs, which touched upon the group's Liverpool upbringing, were a study in contrasts, with Paul McCartney's more literal "Penny Lane" borrowing heavily from the sound of the Beach Boys' then-recent Pet Sounds album, and John Lennon's introspective "Strawberry Fields Forever" breaking new ground in both record production and song structure.

In a classic example of less being more, late-Beatles producer George Martin told us that the limited technology of the 1960's in no way held back the Beatles from recording timeless classics: ["And I think in fact, if I had more than four tracks recording Sgt. Pepper, I don't think it would've been any better than it turned out. The music itself was so good, that no matter what you did with it -- provided you did it reasonably, technically well -- it would've survived."] SOUNDCUE (:14 OC: . . . it would've survived)

We asked Elvis Costello about what many consider among the Beatles and George Martin's finest hours, the 1967 double-A-side single release of "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane": ["Obviously, as I got older and understood what was going on musically on the record a little bit, and got to work with Geoff Emerick and got some understanding of, like, what they went through to create those records technically, y'know, what was involved in the engineering and the recording process and the layering of it. You realize what a great work of imagination it was -- unprecedented, really, in popular music at that point. And, like a lot of great things, it probably invited a lot of bad imitation, but it's an indelible record. I would say, the best single. . . The best Double A-sided single in pop music."] SOUNDCUE (:32 OC: . . . in pop music)

At a dinner party at manager Brian Epstein's house with the Beatles and their significant others, Pete Townshend and Eric Clapton were the first two outside musicians to be played the new tracks. Upon Townshend's recollection, when asked what they two thought about what they just heard, the Who leader was left speechless -- Clapton, on the other hand responded, "Could we please hear it again?"

Paul McCartney says that above all the other emotions he has regarding having John Lennon as his best friend for a substantial part of his life, he's still in awe of their musical connection: ["I've got so many great memories, and I feel very privileged. Y'know, I'm the guy he wrote with -- that's pretty cool. And we wrote some great stuff and enjoyed it -- never really sweated it. We normally finished a song in about three hours, and can't ever remember coming away from a session without having a song."] SOUNDCUE (:17 OC: . . . having a song)

Author Christopher Sanford, who wrote the biography titled McCartney, says that even during the Beatles days, it was McCartney who was constantly pushing the group to find new sounds in the studio: ["Paul was the guy, I think, who was saying, 'Y'know, we can take this to a new direction. We can try these instruments that have never been tried. Let's get George Martin to have an orchestra playing out of tune!' And that was all McCartney."] SOUNDCUE (:13 OC: . . . was all McCartney)

The single was a global hit, with "Penny Lane" eventually topping the U.S. charts on March 18th, and "Strawberry Fields Forever" going on to peak at Number Eight.

In Britain, the single was kept from the top spot by Engelbert Humperdinck's "Release Me," marking the first time since their 1962 debut single "Love Me Do" that the Beatles failed to top the charts in their homeland.

The single, which was the Beatles' first after retiring from touring, featured the first of many Beatles songs the group never got to perform live.

In 1990, during McCartney's first performance in Liverpool since Lennon's death, he performed "Strawberry Fields Forever" in a medley with the Beatles' "Help!" and the Plastic Ono Band's "Give Peace A Chance" as a moving tribute to his fallen former partner.

Paul McCartney introduced "Penny Lane" into his live shows on his 1993 world tour.

Peter Gabriel -- Genesis co-founder and solo superstar -- turns 73 today (February 13th). Gabriel, along with Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Anthony Phillips, formed the band in 1967 when the musicians were still teens and attending the prestigious Charterhouse School, in Godalming, Surrey. Gabriel, who became the leading theatrical early-'70s live performer with his mastery of makeup and wardrobe, quit the band in 1975 following their 1974 double-album set, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and its subsequent tour.

Back in November, Peter Gabriel announced a 22-date European tour to coincide with the still-to-be-revealed spring release of his latest album, titled I/O. The dates mark his first tour since his 2016 joint trek with Sting.

A North American itinerary and the release date of I/O will follow soon. Joining Gabriel on the road will be longtime bandmates bassist Tony Levin, guitarist David Rhodes, and drummer Manu Katché.

Beginning in 1977, Gabriel has received global acclaim as a solo artist, releasing nine studio albums, six live sets, and four soundtracks.

Peter Gabriel will forever be best known for his 1986 So album. So was released on May 19th, 1986 and remains his best-selling album to date. The album topped the British charts and peaked at Number Two, selling over five million units in the U.S. alone.

So spawned three Top 30 hits -- the chart-topping "Sledgehammer" -- which knocked his former Genesis bandmates out of the Number One spot with their "Invisible Touch" -- "In Your Eyes (#26), and "Big Time" (#8). "Sledgehammer" remains the most played video in MTV history.

2019 saw the release of Peter Gabriel's latest compilation, titled Rated PG. The 10-track collection spotlights Gabriel's songs written specifically for and/or featured in various big screen movie projects over the years. In the album's announcement, Gabriel said, "I have always loved film and any chance I have been offered to work with good film projects and good directors I have jumped at. This is a mixture of songs that have been written for specific films, and existing songs that found an appropriate place in a story. Consequently, there is a mix of different styles and moods."

Among the high profile movies to have featured Gabriel's music are Alan Parker's Birdy from 1985, Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation Of Christ from 1988, Philip Noyce’s 2002 film Rabbit-Proof Fence, Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers from 1994 -- along with the iconic use of "In Your Eyes" in Cameron Crowe's 1989 comedy Say Anything.

Also out now is Peter Gabriel's latest digital compilation album, titled Flotsam And Jetsam. The collection chronicles Gabriel's solo work broken into three eras -- 1976-1985; 1986-1993; and 1994-2016.

The 62-track digital comp spotlights various extended, single-only, dance, instrumental, remix, and live takes of such Gabriel favorites as "Solsbury Hill," "D.I.Y.," "I Don’t Remember," "Shock The Monkey," "I Have The Touch," "Sledgehammer," "In Your Eyes," "Biko," "Digging In The Dirt," among many others. The set opens with Gabriel's 1976 orchestral cover of the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" as featured in the movie, All This And World War II.

Peter Gabriel's iconic and often chameleon-like appearance was saluted in a 2019 photo book. Peter Gabriel: A Life In Vision features rare and never-before-seen shots of the musician from his early days co-founding and fronting Genesis, up through today.

School friend and Genesis bandmate Tony Banks feels that Peter Gabriel's early over-the-top theatrics played a crucial part in gaining the band the attention they otherwise never would've received: ["Well I think the Gabriel thing was very important in the early days, 'cause it gave us an identity and y'know, you kind of stand out from the crowd. There were a lot of other groups who were out there doing the circuit that we were doing. But I think when Peter came on with all his costumes and makeup and everything, it made people remember us, and he was a very important part of our thing. And I think we all enjoyed the sort of, the idea of trying to do more than just play music onstage. We were all conscious of the fact that none of us were what you would call typical rock n' roll performers -- we didn't. . . play with your teeth and everything, so it was a way of kind of getting around it."] SOUNDCUE (:30 OC: . . . getting around it)

We asked Phil Collins why over the years Peter Gabriel always stopping short of committing to a Genesis reunion. Collins said that Gabriel can sometimes take things too seriously: ["I think he's very sensitive -- far more sensitive than we are -- about what it means, y'know? This is just music, great fun to do, whereas Peter, since he left really, has been doing his 'thing,' albeit lots of different things under that umbrella, and I think he's just a little over-cautious sometimes about going back to doing something (that) basically, fundamentally, is just fun."] SOUNDCUE (:21 OC: . . . is just fun)

Peter Gabriel was asked when he realized that So was more going to be a bigger commercial success than his past efforts: ["I think about halfway through the album I started to realize that some of the songs would get through (to the public). Also I think the 'Sledgehammer,' which is a sort of '60s soul rip-off, is a language in which people speak in this country, so I think it's easier to get to."] SOUNDCUE (:14 OC: . . . to get to)

Peter Gabriel admitted that he’s always been in the right place at the right time to help further his craft: ["I just think I’m very fortunate because I’ve worked with extraordinarily people, great musicians. For me, it’s not about rock n’ roll or any label. I think it was (Count) Basie who said, ‘There’s only two kinds of music -- good and bad.’ And that’s what I subscribe to."] SOUNDCUE (:15 OC: . . . I subscribe to)

15-time Grammy winner, Alicia Keys released a stunning video for "Stay," her collaboration with Lucky Daye.

She's seen in a flowy white dress in a white sandy desert sitting at a black grand piano while Daye's performance is oceanside.

The song was purposefully dropped ahead of Valentine's Day and described through her press release as a celebration of "the power of true love."

The romantic song is featured on the deluxe edition of her double-album set, Keys II.

TL;DR:

• Alicia Keys released a stunning video for "Stay."
• It's a collaboration with Lucky Daye.
• The song is featured on the deluxe edition of the double-album set, Keys II.

Legendary songwriter Burt Bacharach, died at age 94 on February 8th, No cause of death was announced.

Burt Bacharach and his songwriting partner, the late-Hal David, met singer Dionne Warwick while they were working on a session for the Drifters, and she became their "go-to" singer for demos. Eventually, they wrote and produced 20 Top 40 hits for Warwick, seven of which hit the Top 10. Among their landmark songs were "I Say A Little Prayer," "Walk On By," and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again."

Other Bacharach-David hits include Herb Alpert's Number One "This Guy's In Love With You," Tom Jones' "What's New Pussycat," Gene Pitney's "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," Jackie DeShannon's "What The World Needs Now Is Love," B.J. Thomas's "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," and Dusty Springfield's "The Look Of Love."

After his split with David, Bacharach scored songwriting hits with wife Carole Bayer Sager, including Christopher Cross's "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)," Neil Diamond's "Heartlight," Roberta Flack's "Making Love," Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald's "On My Own," and Dionne and Friends' "That's What Friends Are For."

Bacharach won three Oscars for the music he did for movies, and was nominated for three more, for films including Arthur, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, Alfie, and Casino Royale.

At the time of his death Bacharach and Elvis Costello -- along with Emmy Award-nominated writer and Two And A Half Men creator Chuck Lorre -- were currently collaborating on a Broadway adaption of Bacharach and Costello's 1998 album, Painted From Memory, with an eye towards a Broadway run. No opening date or location has been announced. Bachrarach & Costello had recently released a collection of their collaborations, titled, Songs Of Bacharach & Costello.

In 2013, Bacharach was the subject of a PBS special Burt Bacharach's Music: My Best; published his autobiography, Anyone Who Had A Heart: My Life And Music; and released the career-spanning CD collection, The Art Of The Songwriter: Anyone Who Had A Heart - The Best Of Burt Bacharach.

Burt Bacharach was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and as a child moved to Queens, New York. By the age of 12, he had studied cello, drums, and piano -- although at the time he hated it. Bacharach hoped to play pro football, but was considered too small for the game.

As a teenager, Bacharach used a fake ID to sneak into New York clubs and watch jazz legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. While in the Army, he played piano at the officers club on Governor's Island in New York Harbor, and in concerts at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and later became the accompanist for the legendary Marlene Dietrich.

Burt Bacharach recently told us he was proud of the effort he put into writing his greatest songs: "The songs maybe were a little sophisticated, a little urban, y'know? I think the durability may be because I made the music a little more complicated, so it took a little longer to digest, and therefore it lasted a little bit longer. And it's still with us. I'm very grateful for it."

Although Bacharach was best known now for writing in the adult contemporary vein, he said that he's pretty much open to composing in all genres: "Some music I have difficulty with. I mean, I'm just partial to certain areas of music that I've always loved, Brazilian music, Cuban music. . . I mean you always just have to keep your ears open and your heart open and don't get bogged down into the way it was 20 years ago, y'know?"

Michael McDonald has been a lifelong fan of Bacharach's and covered "Walk On By" on his 2008 collection, Soul Speak. He told us that what Bacharach was creating musically back in the '60s is still advanced -- even by today's standards: "Burt Bacharach was a writer that probably, if you asked most A&R people before his great success, they would say, 'Oh, this guy is way too sophisticated for the pop radio audience.' His music verges on jazz and pulls on so many worldly elements that people in America don't understand: bossa nova, odd time signatures, y'know, things like that." ( :22 OC: . . things like that)

Unlike other artists who looked to Bob Dylan and the Beatles to define the 1960's for him, Barry Manilow credited Bacharach for inspiring him throughout his early years: "The '60s was the era where I actually got it. The '50s was really more my parents' era, y'know, I watched, I watched from afar. But the '60s was really more my era. Anything Bacharach did affected me more than anything else, because he's such a brilliant songwriter. He chooses melodies that don't belong, that shouldn't work. They should not work, and they work better than anything."

2006 was a bittersweet one for Bacharach. His latest album, titled At This Time, won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Then in December of that year, Bacharach's daughter Nikki, from his marriage to Angie Dickinson, committed suicide, after having suffered for years with Asperger Syndrome.

In 2009 Brian Wilson, who's idolized Bacharach work for over 40 years, finally got to collaborate with Bacharach on an original song -- something he told us was literally a dream come true: "'What Love Can Do' -- I found that to be very fun, I felt very honored to be in his presence, 'cause he's probably my favorite music maker of all time, and I just loved working with him. I wrote the verse, and he wrote the choruses."

Frequent Eagles collaborator, singer-songwriter J.D. Souther, recently told us that he'd been working on new material with Bacharach: "It's a little daunting, Y'know, I'm stepping into some big shoes as a lyricist. But it's great fun, he's a brilliant musician, and a great guy -- he's a teddy bear."

Shortly before his 2012 death, we asked Hal David what he believed his and Burt Bacharach's most successful collaboration was: "'I Say A Little Prayer' is tremendous, 'What The World Needs Now' has become now, just enormous. If I had to say which was our biggest, at this point, I'd say, 'The Look Of Love.'"

Graham Nash has broken his silence regarding the death of his estranged partner, David Crosby. "Croz" passed on last January 19th of undisclosed causes at the age of 81. Although the pair had not been on speaking terms for several years, in a new interview with AARP, Nash revealed that Crosby has recently reached out and was looking forward to hashing things out with the man he often referred to as his musical soulmate.

Nash explained that about a week-and-a-half prior to his death, Crosby had called him: "He had sent me a voicemail saying that he wanted to talk to apologize, and could we set up a time to talk. I emailed him back and said, 'Okay, call me at eleven o'clock tomorrow your time, which is two o'clock on the East Coast.' He never called, and then he was gone."

When pressed as to whether he believes that Crosby wanted to connect because he felt the end was near, Nash admitted, "Y'know, I've thought about that myself. He was a very intelligent man. I wouldn't put it past him to know that he was actually at the very end. The truth is, we've been expecting David to pass for 20 years."

Nash went on to say, "His death is like an earthquake: You know that you're in an earthquake, but subsequently, other smaller earthquakes happen afterwards. His death has been like that. It was only two or three days after he passed that I realized that he was actually gone."

Nash, like Crosby's fans, is still unsure of his friend's cause of death: "I'm still waiting to find out if there is a memorial or a service for David. Nobody quite knows exactly when he died or what he died of. I know he had COVID for a second time right after he was in rehearsals."

Regarding the fact that Crosby reached out to him just prior to his death after all had gone down between them provides solace from Nash: "It was very significant for me. It made David's death a little easier for me, because I realized that we were going to get together later in his life. Crosby was my dear friend, my best friend for over 50 years. I can only concentrate on the good stuff. . . if he was willing to call me and apologize for what he had done and how he had hurt me, it made his death a little easier for me to accept.

Back in 2019, while at the Sundance Film Festival promoting Remember My Name, Crosby spoke with TheWrap.com and was asked about what he would say to his estranged friend and partner, Graham Nash: "'Probably tell him that I love him, 'cause that's the highest of the emotions that I feel about it. That's the best that I got. We sing wonderfully together and we made incredibly good music together. All four of us in that band have been horrible to each other (laughs) many times. One of us has left another of us in the middle of a tour, just hangin' -- 'See ya, bye! Deal with it' We've done a lot of weird beep to each other. So, if I had a chance to talk to him, I'd sit down and say, 'Hey, y'know, I haven't changed, I'm still the same beep - beep you started with in the first place.'"

During the press conference for Super Bowl 2023 in Phoenix, Rihanna revealed what fans can expect from her haltime show performance. She explained, "You're going to see on Sunday, just from the time it starts, it just never ends, until it's like the very last second. There are a lot of people who are a part of this show, and a huge part of the reason why this show is going to be as incredible as it is. I couldn't have done it without them." Rihanna is said to have gone through 39 different setlists in order to perfect her performance.

Rihanna admitted that the biggest challenge she's faced in planning her "jam-packed show" so far was narrowing down her set list. She said,"That was the hardest, hardest part. Deciding how to maximize 13 minutes, but also celebrate. And that's what this show's going to be; a celebration."

On why she decided to perform at the SuperBowl now, she said, "It feels like it could have only been now. When I first got the call to do it again this year, I was like, ‘You sure? I'm three months postpartum, should I be making major decisions like this right now? Like, I might regret this.'"

She continued, "But when you become a mom, there's something that just happens where you feel like you can take on the world, you can do anything. And the Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world."

She added, "So as scary as that was, because I haven't been on stage in seven years, there's something exhilarating about the challenge of it all. And it's important for me to do this this year. It's important for representation and it's important for my son to see that."

On Thursday (2-9) Lizzo and SZA dropped their remix of "Special."

Fans have been waiting since back in November when Lizzo first hinted at the collaboration and SZA, mentioned in an interview that the had been in the studio together.

About working with Lizzo, SZA said "We just have so much fun together. And I feel like she gets me."

So far, they have not released a video, only the audio.

TL;DR:

• On Thursday (2-9) Lizzo and SZA dropped their remix of "Special."
• Fans have been waiting since back in November when Lizzo first hinted at the collaboration.
• So far, they have not released a video, only the audio.

Machine Gun Kelly has been booked to play a one-off show at London's iconic Royal Albert Hall.

An honor for any artist, he'll follow in the footsteps of legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Tom Petty.

The show which is way off course from his tour, will talk place on May 31. According to his website, that date is booked for the Bunbury Music Fest in Cincinnati. It's not clear if there's enough time to maneuver both shows or if he plans to cancel the Motor City show.

After the London concert, he'll fly back and play Detroit the following evening.

In other Machine Gun Kelly news… he's working on new music, just last week, he tweeted: "I head banged the demons out my body in the studio last night (sic)"

TL;DR:

• Machine Gun Kelly has been booked to play a one-off show at London's iconic Royal Albert Hall on May 31.
• According to his website, that date is booked for the Bunbury Music Fest in Cincinnati.

Out today (February 10th) is the latest Rolling Stones archival release, titled GRRR Live! The set, which gets its name from the band's 2012 career-spanning compilation GRRR!, was recorded on December 15th, 2012 during the band's "50 And Counting" tour stop at Newark, New Jersey's Prudential Center. The set features guest spots by Bruce Springsteen on "Tumbling Dice," Guy Clark, Jr. and John Mayer on "Going Down," the Black Keys on Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?," and Lady Gaga duetting with Mick Jagger on "Gimme Shelter."

As he did every night on the road, former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor joined the band for an incendiary take on their 1969 classic, "Midnight Rambler." The set, which was originally available on pay-per-view, is available now as a pre-order.

According to the announcement, "Since its original airing on pay-per-view in 2012, the concert has been re-edited and the audio has been remixed. Three songs from the December 13th show -- also in Newark -- will be available as bonus features on the DVD and Blu-ray: 'Respectable' with John Mayer, 'Around And Around,' and 'Gimme Shelter.'"

Mick Jagger explained that a lot of times in rock, people tend to romanticize the relationships between bandmembers: "I don't feel like a family, it's like a. . . The great difference is that people confuse families and gangs. A gang is a rather immature group, whereas a family is rather mature group. And you have to make the transference from being in a gang to being in a family. The gang never likes the fact that you have a family -- and vice versa; the family never likes the fact that you have a gang. It's hard in life to have to balance that. But definitely, the Rolling Stones is not a family -- it's a gang."

The tracklisting to The Rolling Stones' Grrr Live! is:

Disc One:

Get Off Of My Cloud
The Last Time
It's Only Rock N' Roll (But I Like It)
Paint It Black
Gimme Shelter (with Lady Gaga)
Wild Horses
Going Down (with John Mayer and Gary Clark Jr,)
Dead Flowers
Who Do You Love? (with The Black Keys)
Doom And Gloom
One More Shot
Miss You
Honky Tonk Women
Band Introductions

Disc Two:

Before They Make Me Run
Happy
Midnight Rambler (with Mick Taylor)
Start Me Up
Tumbling Dice (with Bruce Springsteen)
Brown Sugar
Sympathy For The Devil
You Can't Always Get What You Want
Jumpin' Jack Flash
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

It was 45 years ago today (February 10th, 1978) that Van Halen released their self-titled debut album. The collection, which hit Number 19 on the Billboard 200, peaked at Number Four on the magazine's Top Rock Albums chart, and redefined the direction of hard rock for the 1980's. The set, which was produced by Ted Templeman -- best known for his work with the Doobie Brothers -- spawned such instant radio staples as "Runnin' With The Devil," "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "Jamie's Cryin'," and the band's killer reinvention of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me."

The tracklisting to 1978's Van Halen is: "Runnin' With The Devil," "Eruption," "You Really Got Me," "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "I'm The One," "Jamie's Cryin'," "Atomic Punk," "Feel Your Love Tonight," "Little Dreamer," "Ice Cream Man," and "On Fire."

Back in 2001, Gene Simmons spoke to Eddie Trunk and shed light on his early connection to Van Halen: "I found a band called Van Halen and flew them to New York and produced their first demo, which included their first record and a lot of other tunes that would up (on other albums) through the years. And I couldn't convince (Kiss manager) Bill Aucoin to sign them, or the record company (Casablanca), because Bill Aucoin thought that they looked like Black Oak Arkansas. And I told him he was on crack again, because nobody knew who that band was, and so what if they were there -- this is the next big band in America. I really believed it, I couldn't convince anybody. So I said to them, 'Y'know, I got ya signed (to a production deal), go back to L.A. after the tour, let's see what happens. I gotta go out on tour with Kiss.' At the end of the tour, they got a deal with Warners and I tore up the contract (and said) 'consider this a gift.'"

Back in 1978, David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen shed light on how they finally inked the all-important recording contract with Warner Brothers Records: "(David Lee Roth): We got discovered. The president of Warner Brothers came down in a bar one night. We were playing for free and he came with our producer Ted Templeman and they said, 'We wanna sign you.' You gotta have faith in yourself, y'know? It's hard. . . (Eddie Van Halen): You gotta keep at it. A lotta people get together, y'know, and they change members every other week. Y'know, they go. 'Oh, who are they this time?' -- y'know? You gotta stick together and just keep workin'."

It was 60 years ago Saturday (February 11th, 1963), that the Beatles recorded their first album, Please Please Me, in just under 10 hours. The album also featured both sides of their first two singles -- "Love Me Do"/"P.S. I Love You," and "Please Please Me"/"Ask Me Why," which had been recorded the previous autumn. The session for the album began at 10 a.m. at London's Abbey Road's Studio Two -- the main studio the group would use for the next eight years -- with 10 takes of the John Lennon-Paul McCartney original, "There's A Place."

Over the course of the day the group basically performed their stage show as the tapes rolled, recording future Beatles classics like "I Saw Her Standing There," "Do You Want To Know A Secret," and "Twist And Shout." The group's recording engineer Richard Langham recalled the session in Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles' Recording Sessions book. He remembered that when producer George Martin and the other engineers announced that they were taking a lunch break, the Beatles chose to stay and rehearse, revealing that, "When we came back they'd been playing right through. We couldn't believe it. We had never seen a group work through their lunch break before."

The tracklisting to Please Please Me is: "I Saw Her Standing There," "Misery," "Anna (Go To Him)," "Chains," "Boys," "Ask Me Why," "Please Please Me," "Love Me Do," "P.S. I Love You," "Baby It's You," "Do You Want To Know A Secret," "A Taste Of Honey," "There's A Place," and "Twist and Shout."

The late, great Geoff Emerick, who worked with the Beatles throughout their career and became their primary engineer with 1966's Revolver album first met the "Fab Four" in 1962 during his second day on the job, while the group was recording their debut single, "Love Me Do." He told us that he was immediately struck by how unique their humor and personalities were: "They were down in the studio. 'Cause it was the second day that I had been there. And I just liked the vibe, y'know the happy vibe. It was completely different, because it's like their attitude was against the establishment -- although (producer) George Martin had some decorum within the control room, an air of decorum. And it's like these kids down in the studio clowning around, y'know?"

The sessions only produced one outtake -- 13 takes of an early attempt at Lennon-McCartney's "Hold Me Tight" which was re-recorded later that year for their second album, With The Beatles.

George Martin originally wanted to name the album Off The Beatle Track, but it was decided that it would help sales by naming the album after their current hit single. Martin went on to use the name for his 1964 instrumental album of Beatles hits.

Please Please Me was released on March 22nd, 1963, and entered the British charts at Number Nine. After seven weeks it hit the Number One spot, where it stayed for 29 weeks.

The American version of the album, called Introducing The Beatles, was originally released in the U.S. on July 22nd, 1963 -- and went nowhere. It was re-issued on January 27th, 1964 and peaked at Number Two for nine weeks behind the group's breakthrough Capitol album Meet The Beatles.

Although original drummer Pete Best was on hand for the Beatles' June 6th, 1962 audition for EMI, he was replaced by Ringo Starr 17 days before their first official session for the label. Best, who says that he has had no substantial contact with any of the Beatles since the night before he was fired, feels that Ringo walked into a much cushier job than he did upon joining the Beatles: "Y'know, when you think about it, the first trip out to Hamburg, (Germany), we were playing six, seven hours a night. And I think actually, when (laughs) Ringo joined they were playing 20 minutes, half-an-hour sessions, or something like that. So, I did a lot of the spade work, put the long hours in and he was the one who picked up the glory."

During his final in-depth TV interview in 1975 on NBC's Tomorrow Show, John Lennon explained that a major part of his and the Beatles' allure was the fact that they were never ashamed of their Liverpool roots: "We were the first working class singers that stayed working class, and pronounced it. 'Didn't try to change our accents, which in England were looked down upon -- probably still are -- like a Bronx accent, it's the equivalent to that."

ON THIS DAY - 1964

It was 59 years ago Saturday night (February 11th, 1964) that the Beatles played their first American concert, in Washington, D.C. at the Washington Coliseum, in front of 8,092 screaming fans. The group performed in the round, and after every three songs the group and their roadies would switch their equipment to face another side of the audience. Portions of the concert are available on the DVD The Beatles' First U.S. Visit.

The group's set list that night was: "Roll Over Beethoven," "From Me To You," "I Saw Her Standing There," "This Boy," "All My Loving," "I Wanna Be Your Man," "Please Please Me," "Till There Was You," "She Loves You," "I Want To Hold Your Hand," "Twist And Shout," and "Long Tall Sally."

The late-filmmaker Albert Maysles, who shot the documentary with his brother David, told us that the DVD really captures what was going on at the time: "The film holds up as being totally truthful and authentic. We didn't slight them in any fashion, nor did we create a puff piece. I'm sure that those who were alive, and those who knew the film and saw it -- I mean, the Beatles, all of them -- felt that, 'Yeah, this is what it was.'"

Jonathan Gould, the author of the groundbreaking Can't Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, And America, feels that the Beatles landing in America less than three months after President John F. Kennedy's assassination only helped to endear them more to a mourning nation: "I think there's an extent to which nobody in America understood how affected everybody was by the Kennedy assassination. For many people who lived through that time, they can say, 'Well that's when everything seemed to change,' or 'That's when the '60s as a kind of dynamic force seemed to begin for some people in their lives.' And then a few months later, suddenly this other thing comes along. That sense of revelation that people had when they first saw the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was really the first time they saw the Beatles animated."

ON THIS DAY - 1965

Justin Bieber and his wife, model Hailey Bieber, recently jetted down to Hawaii for a tropical getaway. They posted photos to Instagram soaking up the sun and spending time with friends.

In one picture, Hailey is seen holding a friend's baby as she shared a laugh with Justin inside a Japanese restaurant. In another shot, the two are cuddled up next under the night sky.

Justin didn't use words to describe photos , he simply posted emojis of a hearts, rainbows and kissy face.

TL;DR:

• Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber, recently vacationed in Hawaii.
• They posted photos to Instagram soaking up the sun and spending time with friends.

Sam Smith dropped a new lyric video for "Lose You." As mentioned on Smith's social media, it was made on an iPad and is filled with vibrant colors and illustration of various shapes. The song is from Smith's album, Gloria.

Pink has scored her first Top 10 on the Dance/Electronic Songs Chart. "Trustfall" lands at #8 and is the title track from her upcoming album, which is due February 17.

Jason Derulo and David Guetta have collaborated for a new single called "Saturday/Sunday." Their last was 2018's Gold-certified "Goodbye," which featured Nicki Minaj & Willy William. Look for Derulo on this weekend's third annual NFL TikTok Tailgate, the pregame party ahead of Super Bowl LVII, set for Sunday, February 12.

It was 56 years ago Sunday (February 12th, 1967) that the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were arrested at Richards' West Sussex, England home for drug possession. The bust followed Donovan's arrest by the same drug squad, led by Norman Pilcher, the previous year, and sparked not only public debate within the rock community, but also within the underground and conservative press. Eric Clapton reportedly escaped arrest by Pilcher -- who rang his doorbell pretending to be a mailman -- by fleeing from his back door.

Jagger and Richards, along with Jagger's then-girlfriend Marianne Faithfull and various friends, including photographer Michael Cooper -- who shot the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover -- art dealer Robert Fraser, and George and Pattie Harrison, were partying after a Stones recording session at Richards' country estate, Redlands.

According to the Stones, the raid was a set-up by the British newspaper The News Of The World, which had earlier reported that Jagger had taken LSD at a party thrown by the Moody Blues. Jagger immediately began legal proceedings against the paper for slander. According to Bill Wyman's 1990 autobiography Stone Alone, an informant reported the details of Richards' party to The News Of The World, who in turn told the London drug squad. The arresting officers waited until after the Harrison's left the party to charge the house, presenting Richards with a warrant issued under the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1965.

Jagger was accused of illegally possessing four tablets containing amphetamine sulphate and methylamphetamine hydrochloride and Richards was charged with "allowing his house to be used for the purpose of smoking cannabis." Fraser was charged with possession of heroin and eight capsules of methylamphetamine hydrochloride. On May 10th, Jagger, Richards, and Fraser appeared in court and were each released on $200 bail.

On June 27th, Jagger's trial began, with Richards' and Fraser's starting the next day. During the trial, much was made of Faithfull being nude and wrapped in a bear rug when police arrived, which was supposed to suggest to the jury that she was under the effects of drugs and not in command of her senses.

On June 29th, Jagger was sentenced to three months in jail for possession of amphetamines and Richards to one year for allowing his home to be used for cannabis use. The Stones appealed the decision.

That day, the Who's Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and Keith Moon released a single of the Jagger-Richards compositions "Under My Thumb" and "The Last Time" in an effort to keep the band's work out in the public while dealing with their legal battles. The Who's bassist, John Entwistle, was away on his honeymoon and missed the session.

On July 1st, The London Times' William Rees-Mogg published his legendary editorial lambasting the Stones' arrest and legal persecution, called "Who Breaks A Butterfly On A Wheel?" The editorial helped change public perception of the severity of the Stones' sentences by saying, "It should be the particular quality of British justice to ensure that Mr. Jagger is treated exactly the same as anyone else, no better and no worse. There must remain a suspicion in this case that Mr. Jagger received a more severe sentence than would have been thought proper for any purely anonymous young man."

On July 31st, Jagger and Richards' charges were overturned. Fraser wasn't as lucky and ended up serving six months in jail.

Richards recalled the ramifications of the bust in the band's official 2003 biography, According To The Rolling Stones, saying that, "When we got busted at Redlands, it made us realize that this was a whole different ball game and that was when the fun had stopped. Up until then, it had been as though London existed in a beautiful space where you could do anything you wanted. And then the hammer came down and it was back to reality."

Jagger says that detailing the Redlands bust in the book allowed them to finally document how turbulent the legal-related events were, among other things: "The end result is really interesting, I think, because I think the interviewers were quite clever in talking about, y'know, different aspects of the band's career that we haven't really talked about. So, the mixture of that is quite, is quite good. It gives you a different flavor from before."

Over the next two years, the Stones' guitarist Brian Jones faced similar harassment from the London drug squad. John Lennon and Yoko Ono were also arrested for possession of cannabis in November 1968, and George Harrison was arrested in March 1969. Both Lennon and Harrison stated on numerous occasions that the drugs were planted on their property.

In 1975 John Lennon recalled his infamous 1968 drug bust, which was instigated -- like Jagger and Richards' -- by the infamous Norman Pilcher, and ultimately led to his ongoing immigration hassles throughout the 1970's: "In the late-'60s, there was a head-hunting cop, who was not very high up in the drug department in London, which was pretty new anyway. They had two dogs for the whole department. And he went around and bust(ed) every pop star he could get his hands on, then he got famous. And some of the pop stars had dope in the house and some of them didn't. It didn't matter to him -- he planted it or did whatever. That's what he did to me, 'cause at the time, I didn't have any drugs and I just copped a plea. Y'know, he said, 'I won't get ya for obstruction if you cop a plea.' And I thought, 'It's $100, or whatever. It's no skin off my nose' -- little thinking it would reverberate."

In 1972 Norman Pilcher was charged with "conspiracy to pervert the course of justice" after it was alleged that he committed perjury. He quit the police force before being sentenced to four years in prison. In 2020 he published his memoirs, entitled Bent Coppers.

U2 AT THE SUPER BOWL - 2002

It was 21 years ago this Super Bowl Sunday (February 3rd, 2002) that U2 headlined the game's legendary halftime show in New Orleans' Superdome. Coming only months after the horrific 9/11 attacks, the band's set, which only featured two songs -- "It's A Beautiful Day" and "Where The Streets Have No Name" -- served as both a moment to rejoice and reflect. During the second song, a scrolling list of those that perished on 9/11 was rolled behind the band, with Bono ending the song by revealing an American flag serving as the lining of his jacket.

Only days after the Super Bowl appearance, Bono was honored for his philanthropic efforts at The Love Rocks event in Los Angeles. While accepting the Entertainment Industry Foundation's (EIF) Heart Of Entertainment Award Bono spoke of the importance of the American dream and its need to thrive: "I promise you this -- that those lives that were lost on September the 11th, that is their only fitting memorial. Not just the pursuit of justice, but the pursuit of a less dangerous, safer, fairer, more inclusive world. Thank you very much. (applause)"

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND AT THE SUPER BOWL - 2009

It was 14 years ago this Super Bowl Sunday (February 1st, 2009) that after years of turning the NFL down flat, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed an electrifying four-song medley during the halftime show at the Super Bowl in Tampa. Springsteen and the band -- who unlike nearly all the halftime acts in recent memory actually looked as though they were enjoying themselves -- were augmented by the Miami Horns on loan from their roadwork with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

Bruce and the band tore through abbreviated versions of "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out," which in one of the many comical moments in the short set, saw Springsteen's signature knee slide across the stage land him straight into the cameraman who caught it all on tape -- including Springsteen cracking up at the bang-up; "Born To Run" which dropped the "Wendy let me in. . ." verse; the new "Working On A Dream" backed by the Inaugural Celebration Chorus, who first backed "The Boss" the previous month in Washington, D.C. at the Lincoln Memorial; and finally "Glory Days" with the baseball lyrics replaced with football terms including the no-brainer switch from "speedball" to "Hail Mary." Springsteen and right-hand man Steve Van Zandt had fun vamping as they brought the song to a close.

The highpoint for die-hard fans was seeing Springsteen play his retired Fender hybrid Telecaster-Esquire guitar, which has been completely absent from his live shows over the past few years. The guitar -- which has a Telecaster body and an Esquire neck -- was Springsteen's primary instrument from 1972 to 2000 and is pictured on the album covers of Born To Run, Live 1975-1985, Human Touch, Plugged, Greatest Hits, and the Wrecking Ball album.

We caught up with Nils Lofgren prior to the game and he explained the pros and cons of the band signing on for the half-time gig: "It goes way beyond a gig. First of all, TV is always never your favorite thing to do in a great band -- because it removes the three hour sweat fast, the day of prep, the whole ease into this incredible environment. But that being said -- it's. . . after 40 years on the road, it's without a doubt gonna be the best and greatest TV show opportunity any of us will ever have."

At the pre-game press conference Springsteen explained why he changed his mind about performing such a high profile, creatively restrictive, and overtly commercial gig: "Initially it was a novelty, so it didn't feel right. I had a talk with. . . I was with a young musician, talking about the Super Bowl. He said, 'Why don't you play the Super Bowl?' I said, 'Well, y'kinda playing in the middle of a football game, y'know?' He said, 'Man, I just hope one day my band's big enough to play the Super Bowl." I think why we said yes this year -- they've asked us many times -- was, one: (Exaggerated voice) We have a new album comin' out, dummy! C'mon! There's a new record in the stores (laughs). So -- it just happened to come out this past week (laughs). So, we have our mercenary reasons, of course, y'know? Besides our deep love of football."

Springsteen spoke to The New York Times about his decision to finally play the Super Bowl, explaining, "It was sort of, well, if we don't do it now, what are we waiting for? I want to do it while I'm alive. At my age, it is tough to get word of your music out. If we weren't doing these big things, there's no middle things."

He added: "It was very challenging to try and get (the set to fit into) that exact 12 minutes. I found that in a funny way it was very freeing. OK, these are your boundaries, so put everything that you have into just this box. If you do it right, you should feel the tension of it wanting to spread beyond that time frame. But it can't."

THE WHO AT THE SUPER BOWL - 2010

It was 13 years ago this Super Bowl Sunday (February 7th, 2010), that the Who performed a medley of five of their classic songs at the halftime show during the Super Bowl at Miami's Sun Life Stadium. The band performed a nearly 12-minute set featuring abbreviated versions of "Pinball Wizard," "Baba O'Riley," "Who Are You?," "See Me, Feel Me," and "Won't Get Fooled Again."

Joining the band on stage was their longtime backline featuring Ringo Starr's son Zak Starkey on drums, John "Rabbit" Bundrick on keyboards, Pino Palladino on bass, and Pete Townshend's younger brother Simon Townshend on rhythm guitar.

Unlike the Who's usual live shows, Townshend -- decked out in black shades and trilby hat -- kicked off "Pinball Wizard" with his modified acoustic Gibson J-200, before switching to his usual red Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster for the duration of the set. Zak Starkey was playing a clear D.W. drum kit with Zildjian cymbals painted with the Who's iconic red, white, and blue "mod"-era bullseye.

Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend talked to the NFL Network after their pre-game press conference, with Daltrey revealing how hard it was paring the set down to only 12 minutes: "It's been very difficult to do this because most of our songs are at least six minutes long. And we want to do more than one or two songs. It works as a cohesive piece of music."

He said that he was absolutely awed by the massive halftime stage: "It's extreme, (laughs) to say the least. It's the biggest stage I've ever seen in my life, it's amazing. And the quickest . . . and it is truly amazing how you do this. I mean, I'm completely stunned by the amount of organization to put a show on in the middle of a football pitch, and you've got 20 minutes to do it, get off and get the match started. It's ridiculous, and they're doing it -- and it works."

Townshend admitted that the songs chosen for the set were actually decided by committee: "Roger actually put the medley -- or the selection of tracks -- together, but I think we got a message from various people in, y'know, the NFL and music they'd like to hear and that's what we reflected. There was some pressure from CBS that we only play songs that were associated with CSI (laughter) and I of course was going, 'Yeah -- let's do that!"

Townshend was asked if it was going to be tough to get to full-on performance mode within such a short amount of time: "When I'm playing live and kind of. . . I don't know what happens to me. I'm a mild mannered man and what actually happens when I get onstage with a guitar is that something happens, something triggers, like, an adrenaline rush, and I can pretty much rely on it. It's like turning on a switch."

Sunday (February 12th) marks what would have been the 84th birthday of Doors' co-founder and keyboardist Ray Manzarek. Manzarek died on May 20th, 2013 at age 74 in Rosenheim, Germany at the RoMed Clinic following a long battle with bile duct cancer. Manzarek was surrounded by his wife Dorothy and his brothers Rick and James Manczarek. Manzarek is survived by Dorothy, their son Pablo, his wife Sharmin, and their three children Noah, Apollo, and Camille.

Last month, the Manzarek estate and Doors guitarist Robby Krieger -- sold their complete rights in the band to Primary Wave Music. The deal does not include the interests of fellow surviving member, drummer John Densmore, nor the estate of Jim Morrison.

Recently released is the Doors' latest Record Store Day release titled, Paris Blues. The blues-themes set features the official premiere of the band's last unheard unreleased song -- "Paris Blues." The title track is an original blues song written by the band; the track was recorded during one of the band's recording sessions for either The Soft Parade or L.A. Woman (no one seems to remember).

2020 saw the release of The Doors: Break On Thru - A Celebration Of Ray Manzarek. The feature is an all-star hybrid concert/documentary filmed in 2016 at L.A.'s Fonda Theatre, featuring the surviving members Doors -- guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore -- who performed with each other on stage for the first time in 15 years to celebrate Manzarek's live and work.

Also appearing were Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins and Rami Jaffee, Stone Temple Pilots' Robert DeLeo, Paul McCartney's Brian Ray, X's Exene and John Doe, Jane's Addiction's Stephen Perkins, Gov't Mule's Warren Haynes, and more.

Ray Manzarek was born Raymond Daniel Manczarek, Jr. on February 12th, 1939 on the South Side of Chicago and was of Polish decent. In 1962 he moved to Southern California to study at the Department of Cinematography at UCLA, where he first met fellow student and future partner Jim Morrison, along with his wife of 45 years, Dorothy Fujikawa. Together with Morrison, Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore, the quartet formed the Doors in 1965 and between 1967 and 1971 released six studio albums -- The Doors (1967); Strange Days (1967); Waiting For The Sun (1968); The Soft Parade (1969); Morrison Hotel (1970); and L.A. Woman (1971) -- before Jim Morrison's death on July 3rd, 1971 in Paris.

Manzarek changed the face of rock keyboard playing, with his early signature sound being a combination of a Vox Continental organ -- and later a Gibson G-101 Kalamazoo combo organ -- with his left hand playing the basslines on a Fender Rhodes electric piano "bass unit," which featured only the keyboard's lowest notes. Although the Doors eventually added a studio bassist to their sessions, Manzarek handled the bass duties via his keyboards for the band's live appearances with Morrison.

Following Morrison's death, the Doors soldiered on with Manzarek and Krieger taking over vocal duties on the band's 1971 set, Other Voices, and its follow-up, 1972's Full Circle. Following that, Krieger and Densmore split to form the Butts Band. After a short-lived mid-'70s collaboration with Iggy Pop, Manzarek formed Nite City with future Blondie bassist Nigel Harrison, and produced and collaborated with the likes of Philip Glass, Echo & The Bunnymen, X, and poet Michael McClure, among many others.

In 1978 Manzarek, Krieger, and Densmore reunited to compose and record music to Morrison's poetry for the An American Prayer album. Manzarek collaborated frequently with Robby Krieger. In 2002 the pair began touring as the Doors Of The 21st Century, which went through various name changes -- including Riders On The Storm -- until the pair settled on Manzarek-Krieger or Ray Manzarek & Robby Krieger of The Doors, following a bitter five-year battle against John Densmore and the Morrison estate over the use of the band's name.

In 1998, Manzarek published his memoir, Light My Fire: My Life With The Doors. He followed the autobiography in 2001 with The Poet In Exile, which supposes what would've happened had Jim Morrison faked his death -- as many fans believe. In 2006 he published his second novel, the Civil War-based, Snake Moon.

The Doors' stats remain among the most impressive of the rock era, selling over 100 million albums worldwide, and receiving 19 Gold, 14 Platinum, and five multi-Platinum albums in the U.S. alone.

When discussing the Doors in their prime, Ray Manzarek told us that whether they liked it or not, the Doors ended up being spokesmen for their generation: "There was a war in Vietnam and, y'know, that had to be stopped, and we were gonna try to clean up the environment, and do all those good things that hippies were trying to do. And everyone was angry, man, so, y'know, we tried to make the music as hard and as powerful and as exciting as possible. And when you got Jim Morrison as your lead singer, well, y'know, that's an extra plus. So that's what it was all about."

John Densmore told us that from the beginning to the end of the band, the Doors had a chemistry unparalleled: "Ray and I were completely synchronistic in our musical sensibilities. We just. . . intuitive stuff together and backed up Robby's soaring solos and Jim's vocal and. . . we were blessed. We gotta remember that was the muse coming in. Y'know, she just visits when she wants to. Yeah, even with Jim's self destruction, every time we made an album, when we were behind closed doors, there was a sacredness to the four of us."

Robbie Krieger says that looking back, the Doors' short time together was relatively free of ego problems or star trips: "It was really, like, the perfect group, y'know, as far as working together and stuff. There was no ego problems, y'know, and petty jealousies and stuff like that that a lot of groups go through."

During the height of his and Robby Krieger's recent battles with John Densmore over the use of the Doors' name, Manzarek never wavered from the belief that the pair deserved to be billed as "The Doors": "We are the Doors. You're watching two guys who were in the band. The keyboard player and the guitar player are the original members of the Doors. That's the actual guys, man. There's the sound of the Doors right in front of you. That's the keyboard player who plays 'Light My Fire.' That's the guitar player who wrote 'Light My Fire.' So it's a continuation."

Ultimately, Ray Manzarek told us that as the Doors' music ages, it's probably better understood and more beloved than when it was first recorded: "I think the time has allowed them to digest the Jungian/Freudian aspect of the Doors' songs. I think they've gotten into the depth of the songs a lot more than back in the '60s, and understand it from an intellectual perspective, and are just as wild as the people were in the '60s. I'm surprised at, y'know, how uninhibited and how crazy and Dionysian they can actually be."

Fresh off their 2022 Rock Hall inductions, Duran Duran are returning to North America in support of their 2021 album Future Past. The 27-date trek cross-crosses the continent kicks off in California on May 27th at Napa Valley's Bottlerock Festival and wraps on September 6th at Boston's TD Garden.

Frontman Simon LeBon said in a statement announcing the tour: "It's remarkable to me that as a band, we are still hitting new milestones, and introducing the sound of DD to new generations of music lovers. We are truly grateful that we get to do what we do on a daily basis, and that we still love our job as much as we did when we started out some four decades ago."

Duran Duran won last year's Rock Hall fan vote and bassist John Taylor admitted to us that he's never once taken his life and career with the band for granted: "The kind of fortune that Duran Duran was sort of happens once in a lifetime, really. It's just like kids that come together that happen to, like, be into the same thing -- they just happen to go to the right place, the right time, meet 'Mr. Big' and da-da-da-da; and suddenly, it's a snowball effect."

Although Duran Duran have been global superstars for over 40 years, keyboardist Nick Rhodes explained that they've never once coasted when it came to recording or hitting the road: "I don't think it's something you can plan. You can hope, you can dream, you can wish for something and work hard and see what you achieve. It's been a lot of work."

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

May 27 - Napa Valley, CA - Bottlerock Festival
May 28 - San Jose, CA - SAP Center
May 31 - Seattle, WA - Climate Pledge Arena
June 1 - Portland, OR - Moda Center
June 3 - Salt Lake City, UT - Vivint Arena
June 6 - Austin, TX - Moody Center
June 7 - New Orleans, LA - Smoothie King Center
June 9 - The Woodlands, TX - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
June 10 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
June 13 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
June 15 - Atlanta, GA - State Farm Arena
June 17 - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena
June 18 - Sunrise, FL - FLA Live Arena
August 24 - Sacramento, CA - Golden 1 Center
August 26 - Las Vegas, NV - T-Mobile Arena
August 28, 29 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
August 31 - St. Paul, MN - Minnesota State Fair
September 1 - Chicago, IL - Huntington Bank Pavilion
September 3 - Canandaigua, NY - CMAC
September 6 - Boston, MA - TD Garden
September 7 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center
September 9 - Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints Arena
September 10 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
September 13 - Washington, DC - Capital One Arena
September 16 - Detroit, MI - Little Caesars Arena
September 19 - Toronto, ON - Scotiabank A

While on tour in New Zealand, Ed Sheeran stopped in Hobbiton, the outdoor movie set in Lord of the Rings films and its Hobbit prequels. While at the Green Dragon Inn, he picked up a guitar for an impromptu performance of his 2013 single "I See Fire," the soundtrack to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Several people caught it on their phones and posted it online.

Sheeran also stooped by local schools and did surprise performances.

His tour keeps him in New Zealand through the weekend and then he heads to Australia for shows next week.

TL;DR:

• While on tour in New Zealand, Ed Sheeran stopped in Hobbiton, the outdoor movie set in Lord of the Rings and performed "I See Fire."