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The Who's ultimate fan, Eddie Vedder weas on hand this past October 29th to join the band at a private benefit show in Los Angeles. The Pearl Jam frontman joined a scaled-back acoustic version of the band at a Teenage Cancer America fundraiser as they tore through their 1970 classic, "The Seeker."

During a chat with Mojo earlier this year, Pete Townshend shed light on how his friendship with Vedder has blossomed with the singer and Townshend's two brothers, Paul and Simon Townshend: "We've been very good friends, but it goes further than that. He's also very good friends with my brothers. My two brothers are much younger than me. Simon is 14 years younger and my brother Paul is 12 years younger. And they still live in the same street that I grew up in (in England)."

Townshend went on to say, "And often I'll hear from, y'know, somebody in Ealing Common: 'Oh, we saw Eddie Vedder and your brother Paul in the pub the other day.' I'm like, 'I didn't even know he was here.' 'Oh, he was just passing through but he bought a few rounds.' In other words, people in Paul's local pub in Ealing know Eddie Vedder probably as well as anybody."

On his 2012 album Looking Out Looking In, Who touring guitarist Simon Townshend recorded a salute to Vedder, titled "Electric Friend." Simon gave us the back-story to the Eddie Vedder tribute: "That was inspired by Eddie Vedder. I was in L.A. and I had a friend contact me from Washington saying they wanted to get Pearl Jam tickets. So I texted Eddie, and within a half-an-hour he got 10 people in to the show in Washington. But not only got them in; shown them around backstage, got them all drinks, y'know, chatted to them. And I just thought that was so wonderful, that I could just so quickly do. . . could get that contact, that I was inspired to write 'Electric Friend.'"

Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford are facing criticism on social media for their Halloween costumes.

The couple was photographed dressed as a baby and an elderly man on Halloween weekend, seemingly poking fun at their 10-year age gap.

One critic wrote, "Billie is grown enough to know how weird and creepy this is," while another tweeted that the singer "thinks she's being big and bad and grown up trolling the haters, but she's just showing her immaturity and proving a point."

The 20-year-old "Bad Guy" singer was first spotted holding hands with the 31-year-old vocalist from The Neighborhood at Halloween Horror Nights in Los Angeles earlier this month.

John Mellencamp has just dropped "Smart Guys," the latest teaser and lyric video from the 2022 "Super Deluxe Edition" of his 1985 Scarecrow album. Mellencamp has previously released his demo of "Small Town" and the studio outtake "Carolina Shag" in advance of the box set, which is set for release this Friday (November 4th.)

John Mellencamp is a world away from the MTV-saturated star he was back in the mid-1980's when he was running steadily on the rock business treadmill: "I'm not complaining, but, y'know, the music today is made inside of those buildings in New York and Los Angeles. And they give 'em to kids, and these. . . they make little clocks now. You wind these little clocks up, they work for awhile, and then they break down, and then they get new little clocks. And that's what it is, and it's got nothing to do with me -- has nothing to do with me or what I do. I'm no part of it."

HARRY STYLES HELPS REGISTER MORE THAN 50K VOTERS: Harry Styles helped register more than 54,000 new voters in HeadCount's "Good to Vote" initiative ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. Billboard reports that the "As It Was" singer was instrumental in breaking the record for the organizations most successful campaign driven by a musical artist in its 18-year-history.

RYAN MURPHY WANTED JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE FOR 'GLEE': If Ryan Murphy had his way, Justin Timberlake would have starred in Glee. The producer told Variety on Monday (October 31st), "When we were writing the pilot, I've never really talked about this, that pilot was written for Justin Timberlake. Mr. Schue was written for Justin." Instead, the role went to Broadway actor, Matthew Morrison.

Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx took to Twitter to chat about the band's new guitarist John 5. John 5 will be taking over live duties from co-founding member Mick Mars as he retires from the road due to health issues.

Nikki Sixx explained why John 5 was the perfect choice for the band: "He checks all the boxes. He's a (sic) insane player. Has respect for our music, is funny as f*** and has history with us and we've written some pretty big hits together."

Ultimate-Classic Guitar shed light on John 5's connection to the Crüe: "In addition to being close friends with Crüe members for years, John 5 co-wrote a number of original songs that appeared on the Mötley Crüe 2019 biopic The Dirt. He collaborated with the celebrated songwriter Desmond Child and Nikki Sixx on writing the song 'The Monster Is Loose' for Meat Loaf, and has played with the Crüe bassist in the L.A. Rats supergroup, which also includes Rob Zombie and drummer Tommy Clufetos.

Nikki Sixx was asked if the band has any plans on packing it in after the next set of dates and answered: "We have no plans of stopping now. We're having too grand of a time and in a short 8 years we will celebrate 50 years together as a band."

Sixx took time out to salute the great Mick Mars, posting: "He's been a soldier along with us for 4 decades. We will continue to carrying our legacy to Generations of fans and honor Mick's request for us to keep touring as Motley Crue."

Many fans first became acquainted with John 5 through his groundbreaking work with Rob Zombie. During their time together, Zombie explained to us why he felt their partnership was so successful: "John is many things. I mean, he's a phenomenal guitar player, which is quite obvious, and he's a great guy, but he's a great collaborator, y'know? A lot of times people are really difficult to work with, and we really work well together and, y'know, every singer wants their right-hand man guitar player. That's the whole basis of a band, and I never had that ever and it was always, always a struggle. Only now do I have that and it's, y'know, it's an invaluable combination."

Ariana Grande won Halloween weekend with her impression of Jennifer Coolidge.

The singer teamed up with her former Victorious costar Liz Gillies to shoot a series of scenes from Best In Show.

The Instagram clips showed Grande playing Linda Kash's Fay Berman, Eugene Levy's Gerry Fleck and Coolidge's trophy wife character Sherri Ann Cabot.

Coolidge herself called the impersonation "f***ing great."

Charli XCX and Lorde nearly dressed up as each other for Halloween.

The "Good Ones singer wrote on Twitter Friday (October 28th) that she not only planneded to dress as Lorde but do a cover of "Royals" as well.

According to Charli, she texted the "Solar Power" singer about the idea and she thought it was "iconic."

Charli added, "and then we both cackled and then we were like, ok cute yeah but actually cba maybe next year. So just so you know THE THOUGHT was there and we KNOW it's legendary butttt we're just lazy lol."

Coming on December 9th is Journey's Live In Concert At Lollapalooza. The new live collection follows their Freedom studio set released last summer and features the band's July 31st, 2021 performance at Chicago's Lollapalooza.

The album's lineup features classic members Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain along with longtime frontman Arnel Pineda. The band included the dual drumming by Deen Castronovo and Narada Michael Walden, Marco Mendoza on bass and Jason Derlatka on keyboards.

15 years on, Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain told us that he and the band are not only thrilled with how Arnel Pineda has clicked with them musically -- but rhe emains amazed at the courage and strength he's shown as a human: "Well, this guy is like right out of a Charles Dickens story. I mean, he's got an amazing tale to tell, and it's almost hard to believe he survived what he survived, y'know? So you gotta look at that and go, 'How tough is this guy?' He's as tough as they come, and I liked everything about him. (The) first week I spent with him I immediately liked him and took him to task and told him things I thought he needed to work on, certainly. But getting him out of the club was the main deal. We had to just get him to stop singing everybody else's music, y'know?"

IN OTHER JOURNEY-RELATED NEWS

Just released is a newly expanded version of The Season - Deluxe, Steve Perry's first-ever holiday album from last year. The 2022 edition adds two new, previously unreleased songs to the original LP's eight tracks: a brand-new composition called "Maybe This Year" and a soulful cover of Donny Hathaway's classic, "This Christmas."

Steve Perry said in the album's press release:

I wanted to write an original Christmas song of my own, so Dallas Kruse and I began writing what became, 'Maybe This Year.' I wrote the lyrical sentiment about how the holidays can bring such joy and sadness and how for me, both these emotions give me connection to feelings of gratitude for so many years gone by, and a desire to hold on to these holiday feelings we share throughout the coming year.

Along with "Maybe this Year" I have also added one of my favorite Donny Hathaway songs, "This Christmas." I dedicate both these tracks to my friend, Lamont Dozier.

Legendary rock n' roller Jerry Lee Lewis died on October 28th just short of a month after celebrating his 87th birthday last September 29th. Lewis died due to complications from pneumonia at his home in DeSoto County, Mississippi, south of Memphis, Tennessee.

Jerry Lee Lewis is survived by his wife of the past decade Judith Coghlan Lewis; his children, Jerry Lee Lewis III, Ronnie Lewis, Phoebe Lewis, and Lori Lancaster; his sister, singer Linda Gail Lewis, and many grandchildren.

Former Memphis Mafia member Jerry Schilling, who was the longtime Creative Affairs director of Elvis Presley Enterprises -- and is now the president of the Beach Boys' Brother Records Inc., managed Jerry Lee Lewis for seven years. He recalled his old friend with much love and admiration: "It was truly an honor to know, work with, and manage Jerry Lee Lewis. What a unique talent and to get to know him personally -- he didn't compromise but he was a good man. I love him. I'll miss him. What a unique human being."

A while back Jerry Lee Lewis shed light on his legacy and how it both served him while also setting him back: "Jerry Lee Lewis was so far ahead of his time, the doors he was opening and the things he was doing -- you could do now and there would be no attention paid to it at all. What I was doing then shocked a lot of people and it was something I had to live with and something that people never learned to live with themselves. And it took a few years to even the score up and to let people know I wasn't such a bad person after all -- especially the ladyfolks (laughs)."

"The Killer," as Jerry Lee was nicknamed in high school, came of age as part of the legendary Sun Records roster in the 1950's, alongside Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins. Although he grew up with similar influences as his labelmates, his music had a much harder edge -- his acrobatic piano playing, much like his personality, was rowdy and dangerous.

Earlier this month, "The Killer" was finally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Too ill to attend the ceremony, old friend Kris Kristofferson personally presented the coveted award to Lewis at home.

With the 2021 death of the-late Don Everly, Jerry Lewis stood as the sole-surviving rock n' roll pioneer, having outlived Don's brother Phil Everly, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins, and "The King" -- Elvis Presley. As he predicted, he indeed was -- literally -- "The Last Man Standing."

In February 2020, Lewis suffered a minor stroke, forcing the legend to postpone a string of dates. Back in October 2009, Jerry Lee Lewis opened both the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 25th Anniversary Concerts at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

In 2013 it was reported that producer T-Bone Burnett was working with "The Killer," on an album that was to be released in conjunction with the HarperCollins publication of Lewis' recently published memoir -- Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story -- as told to Pulitzer-Prize winning author Rick Bragg. So far, no release date for the album has been announced.

In 2009 Jerry Lee enlisted some of rock's greatest icons -- and his own biggest fans -- to contribute to his most recent album, Mean Old Man. Among the heavyweights appearing on the set are Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, John Fogerty, Mavis Staples, Slash, Tim McGraw, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, and Solomon Burke, among others -- many of whom appeared on Lewis' 2006 set, Last Man Standing.

Highlights on Mean Old Man include Jagger on the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers favorite "Dead Flowers," Jagger and Richards teaming up on a rendition of the Stones' Exile On Main Street classic "Sweet Virginia," Ron Wood on the Kris Kristofferson-written title track, Eric Clapton and James Burton playing guitars on "You Can Have Her," Ringo Starr and John Mayer joining in on "Roll Over Beethoven," and Kid Rock and Slash appearing on "Rockin' My Life Away," Sheryl Crow and Jon Brion teaming up on "You Are My Sunshine," and John Fogerty appearing on a new recording of his Creedence Clearwater Revival standard "Bad Moon Rising."

Jerry Lee saw only three songs hit the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100 during his career. Though his debut single, "Crazy Arms," didn't cause much of a stir, 1957's "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" was the record that broke through for Lewis. The song first sold 100,000 copies in the South, and then an appearance on The Steve Allen Show catapulted its sales to six million nationally.

"Great Balls Of Fire" was another 1957 hit for him, and sold more than five million copies. "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" and "Great Balls Of Fire" were simultaneously in the Top Five of the pop, country, and R&B charts.

In 1958, Jerry Lee saw a third record hit the Top Ten as "Breathless" became a Number Seven hit.

Unfortunately for his career, he was the subject of popular scandal, too. The fact that he married his 13-year-old cousin in 1957 cost him the respect of many fans and forced him to cancel a UK concert because the fans were so outraged.

Since then, he's remarried several times and endured well-documented battles with the I.R.S., drugs, and health problems.

Jerry Lee Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its first year, 1986. He has been a major influence on a number of performers, including Bruce Springsteen, who backed him up at the Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, as well as John Mellencamp, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Elton John, and Billy Joel, among others.

In 1989 Dennis Quaid starred as Jerry Lee in the heavily whitewashed biopic, Great Balls Of Fire.

ROCKERS SALUTE "THE KILLER"

Ringo Starr: "God bless Jerry Lee Lewis peace and love to all his family."

Mick Jagger: "God bless you Jerry Lee. Your songs lit up my life!"

Keith Richards: "'Goodbye to the Killer' RIP - Keith"

Ron Wood: "R.I.P. JLL the KILLER - What a man"

Rod Stewart: "This great man had an extraordinary influence on all us early British rockers. Bless you, Jerry. Rest in peace. We will never ever forget you."

Elton John: "Without Jerry Lee Lewis, I wouldn't have become who I am today. He was groundbreaking and exciting, and he pulverized the piano. A brilliant singer too. Thank you for your trailblazing inspiration and all the rock ‘n' roll memories."

John Fogerty: "Sad to hear of the passing of Jerry Lee Lewis. Love his music and I was hugely influenced by his records and live performances which were full of fire and inspiration! No one could touch him. God Bless you, Jerry Lee."

Al Jardine: "RIP Jerry Lee Lewis aka The Killer! I remember that Jerry made our show in Spain in 1990 very special. He refused to perform unless he closed the show. We had a great show!"

Dave Davies: "Jerry Lee Lewis -- regardless of whatever he did in his private life he will always be known for his exceptional creative influence in the rock and roll world."

Gene Simmons: "Sadly, One of the pioneers of rock ‘n' roll has passed. A rebel to the end. RIP, Jerry Lee Lewis.….Jerry Lee Lewis, Influential and Condemned Rock & Roll Pioneer, Dead"

Tom Hamilton: "Goodness Gracious!! RIP to the original ball of fire, Jerry Lee Lewis!"

Kid Rock: "I will FOREVER cherish my time with Jerry Lee on and off the stage. No question one of the best to ever do it and one of the godfathers and architects of rock n roll. Your music will always live through me, and the rest of the world! Rest in peace and Rock on Killer!!"

Taylor Swift's Midnights has broken records worldwide.

The album has given the singer the biggest debut of her career with nearly 1.6 million total consumption in the US and 3 million worldwide.

Additionally, Midnights has given Swift her 11th No.1 album on the Billboard 200. According to the outlet it's the biggest week for any album in nearly seven years.

Swift now ties Barbra Streisand for the most No. 1 albums among women.

Bruce Springsteen has just released "Don't Play That Song," the third single and video from his upcoming R&B covers collection, titled Only The Strong Survive. The new set, which does not feature the E Street Band, drops on November 11th. "Don't Play That Song" was originally a 1962 single by the late, great Ben E. King, hitting Number Two on Billboard's R&B Singles chart and topping out at Number 11 on the magazine's Hot 100 list.

"The Boss" has previously released videos for his takes on "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" a 1965 single by Frank Wilson on the Motown subsidiary, Soul Records, as well as the Commodores' 1985 hit "Nightshift."

Bruce Springsteen says that his audience still figures in heavily in regard to the songs he writes and the albums he records: "All I'm doing right now is, I want to make just some really well-thought out, well-crafted, inspiring records and get music to my audience that is relevant to, hey, the times that we're living in and the times in their lives."

On November 7th, Bruce Springsteen will once again headline the annual "Stand Up For Heroes" benefit taking place this year at Manhattan's David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Coldplay's broadcast of Friday (October 28th) night's show at Buenos Aires River Plate Stadium reached a record-breaking number of countries for a live cinema event.

According to a press release, the band's performance was seen by 81 countries around the world.

In addition to playing classic hits from their careers, Coldplay were joined on stage by Jin of BTS for the debut live performance of "The Astronaut" – Jin's new solo single, co-written by Coldplay.

The band previously collaborated with BTS on "My Universe."

Zayn will voice two characters in the forthcoming animated film 10 Lives.

According to Deadline, the former One Direction singer will play twins, Kirk and Cameron, in the CG-animate comedy about "a pampered and selfish cat who takes for granted the lives he has been dealt. After carelessly losing his ninth life, he begs to be given a second chance, an opportunity to show he can learn from his mistakes."

The cast also includes Simone Ashley, Mo Gilligan, Sophie Okonedo, and Dylan Llewellyn.

Iggy Pop has dropped a new single, titled "Frenzy" featuring Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. The new track from Pop's still-unnamed next album, was produced by Andrew Watt -- who's recently been behind the boards for Ozzy Osbourne, Eddie Vedder, and Elton John. Watt, whose label Gold Tooth will release Pop's new album, also contributes guitar to "Frenzy."

Iggy Pop said of the hard-driving new track: "Being stalked by a socio is a great way to fire up the blood. I'm the guy with no shirt who rocks; Andrew and Gold Tooth get that, and we made a record together the old-fashioned way. The players are guys I've known since they were kids and the music will beat the s*** out of you. Have a great day."

Not too long ago, Iggy Pop told us that he still thinks of himself as an artist -- and is always trying to break new ground while staying true to who and what he is: "It makes you think about what you're doing the whole thing for. . . I did start out to be a musician. I heard a guy in Poison the other day say 'I never wanted to be a musician. I wanted to be a rock star. That's what I became,' which is fine, but not me. I started out to be a musician. I'll stick with that, thank you very much."

It was 46 years ago today (October 31st, 1976) that Elvis Presley last recorded professionally. Elvis, who was finishing up his latest round of sessions, recorded in the Jungle Room of his Graceland mansion in Memphis. He taped his vocal for a cover of "He'll Have To Go," which had been a Number Two hit in 1960 for the late Jim Reeves.

In the days prior to the session, Elvis, who due to health issues insisted on recording at home with a portable studio, had also recorded "Way Down," which went on to be his final Top 20 hit during his lifetime. Also recorded was a cover of the late Johnny Ace's 1955 Top 20 hit "Pledging My Love," and Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's "It's Easy For You." All four of the songs appeared on "The King's" final album, 1977's Moody Blue.

Elvis' longtime lead guitarist and bandleader James Burton was asked if he or any of Presley's band ever verbally expressed that Presley was too intoxicated to perform: "It really wasn't our call to do that, y'know? The 'Memphis Mafia' guys went through with that, and it was really. . . It would really be more their decision than ours. Y'know what I'm saying? If they did, they didn't do it in front of us."

Moody Blue was released in July 1977, the month before Elvis' death of a heart attack at age 42.

The album, which peaked at Number Three, remains a favorite among die-hard fans, and includes live renditions of Olivia Newton-John's "Let Me Be There," the Diamonds' "Little Darlin'," and the album's title track, which was a Top 40 hit for Presley earlier that year.

Recently released is the Way Down In The Jungle Room collection, which compiles Elvis' final recording sessions. "The King" had temporarily transformed his legendary Graceland den -- dubbed the "Jungle Room" -- into a state of the art recording studio, and it was there over two sets of sessions in February and October 1976, that he recorded his final studio masters for RCA.

The sessions featured the members of his longtime touring band -- including guitarist James Burton, drummer Ronnie Tutt, keyboardists Glenn D. Hardin and David Briggs, bassists Jerry Scheff and Norbert Putnam, along with backing vocals by J.D. Sumner & The Stamps.

The original masters found their way onto Elvis' two final albums, 1976's From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee and 1977's Moody Blue. Highlights from the sessions include: "Moody Blue," "Way Down," "Hurt," "Pledging My Love," "She Thinks I Still Care," "It's Easy For You," "Danny Boy," "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," and "Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall," among others.

Katy Perry is extending her Las Vegas residency, Katy Perry: PLAY, at Resorts World Theatre by adding 14 more dates in 2023.

Tickets for the new shows scheduled from Feb. 15th to 25th and from March 3rd to April 15th will go on sale to the public beginning Friday, Nov. 4th.

The singer wrote on Instagram Thursday (October 27th), "The show's set list is a fun roller coaster through memory lane going all the way back to 2008, a time when we weren't all frozen by the paranoia of our own echo chambers! This show is a nonstop party about finding unconditional love and strangely (for me) not political at all, heck I pour beer out of my tits."

Rihanna has dropped her first single in six years.

The track, "Lift Me Up," is the first of two songs to be released from Marvel's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Variety reports that the song is a tribute to the life and legacy of the franchise's late star, Chadwick Boseman. It was written by Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems, Rihanna, film composer Ludwig Göransson, and director Ryan Coogler.

Coogler told HipHopDX, "When she recorded ‘Lift Me Up,' which was incredibly moving for me, she said ‘I was trying to do this man and his family justice. I was trying to make something worthy of what he gave to us.' So I take no credit in that."

"Lift Me Up" hits streaming platforms on Friday (October 28th). The track is Rihanna's first release as a solo artist since her multi-platinum 2016 album, Anti. Even as a featured artist, RiRi's last appearance was on PartyNextDoor's "Believe It" in 2020.

Out today (October 28th) is the Beatles' Revolver, released in several special editions. In addition to a slew of previously unheard takes from the original album sessions, Revolver's 14 tracks have been newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell in stereo and Dolby Atmos, and the album's original mono mix is sourced from its 1966 mono master tape. The set is available in four-LP and two-CD sets.

According to the official announcement:

All the new Revolver releases feature the album's new stereo mix, sourced directly from the original four-track master tapes. The audio is brought forth in stunning clarity with the help of cutting edge de-mixing technology developed by the award-winning sound team led by Emile de la Rey at Peter Jackson's WingNut Films Productions Ltd.

The physical and digital Super Deluxe collections also feature the album's original mono mix, 28 early takes from the sessions and three home demos, and a four-track EP with new stereo mixes and remastered original mono mixes for "Paperback Writer" and "Rain." The album's new Dolby Atmos mix will be released digitally.

The press release also described one of the box set's crown jewels -- a John Lennon "work tape" of him composing the Ringo Starr standout track -- "Yellow Submarine":

Parts 1 and 2 of the Special Edition's songwriting work tape for "Yellow Submarine" reveal the song's evolution from a rather sad verse sung by John over acoustic guitar – "In the town where I was born / No one cared, no one cared…" – to its adaptation by John and Paul to suit the jollier subject matter of the chorus.

Only weeks after Revolver was released, Paul McCartney, while on the Beatles' final tour, spoke about the album's groundbreaking finale -- "Tomorrow Never Knows": "John came up with the lyrics to it and he'd just been reading The Tibetan Book Of The Dead -- and he was dead impressed by it, y'know (laughs)? And he decided that he'd write this song. And we only had one verse, and I think we stretched it to, sort of, two verses and we couldn't think of any more words, 'cause we'd, sort of, said it all -- what we wanted to say. So we had to work out how to, sort of, do it and how to make it different. So, I decided to do some of those loops that I'd been doing on my own tape recorder -- and they're just tape loops and I'd been makin' 'em. So, I just took along a bag full of six tape loops to the session and we just tried 'em and mixed 'em in and brought them in those places. And so, I suppose it was, sort of, vaguely my idea -- that bit of it."

George Harrison explained that the climate in which the Beatles were living during the 1960's was truly like no other: "I think that period felt special because there was a great surge of energy and consciousness. Because there was so much attention given not just to the Beatles, but to everything that was taking place -- all the changes that were happening with fashion and with filmmakers and poets and painters and that whole thing. It was like a mini-renaissance."

Revolver marked the beginning of the Beatles' work with the late-engineer Geoff Emerick behind the boards with George Martin, replacing the band's longtime engineer Norman Smith, who was promoted to becoming Pink Floyd's producer. Emerick immediately began reshaping the Beatles' studio sound and remained the way they were recorded at Abbey Road -- especially Ringo Starr's drums: "Norman would mic it, I don't know, about a foot away, and I was mic-ing it about three inches away towards the end. And Norman's overhead mic was, what, four, five foot up and I came in close with that. Most of those original -- on Revolver we started, I mean it was just one overhead, snare mic, and hi-hat and bass drum. And then I started experimenting with mic-ing the toms, y'know, closely."

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

Not too long ago, Ringo said that it's his drum fills that set him apart from all the other rock drummers of his generation: "Well, I can never do it twice. I really can't. Y'know, every fill I do, that's it. Y'know, we used to get crazy trying to double track the fills -- it's just impossible. 'Cause, y'know, that's the magic of being a drummer is the fills. Y'know, you can all play the rhythm. I can play rock n' roll, or a shuffle, or a waltz, y'know, a tango -- whatever. But the fills are what make it yours."

Revolver marked the one and only time that George Harrison received three songwriting credits on a single Beatles album, contributing such classics as "Taxman," "Love You To," and "I Want To Tell You." We asked his then-wife Pattie Boyd if she saw a change in Harrison as he became more self-aware as a songwriter: "This is exactly what George does. I didn't take note because this was part of his personality. This is what he does, y'know, always plays guitar."

Paul McCartney told us he feels that the younger generation of Beatles fans are now able to look at the group through fresh eyes -- unlike longtime followers who have very strong and long lasting opinions about the musical roles they played: "You get an image. People don't wanna spend that long on you, so they kind of take a look at you and go, 'Yeah, OK, he's the 'ballad' one; John, yeah, he's the hard knock who does the rough stuff; and then George -- he's mystical; Ringo, oh, he's funny and he drums.' Y'know, and so, that, like, that's about the attention span of most people. Unless you get the deep fans, who actually start to know."

Brian Johnson revealed that he still wasn't sure he had snagged the frontman role in AC/DC -- even after recording 1980's Back In Black album.

We caught up with Johnson, who just published his memoir, The Lives Of Brian, and he shed light on where he and the band stood after recording at Nassau's Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas: "It was just so businesslike. It was, like, 'You can go home now, we're done with you -- 'Ah, okay (laughs).' Y'know, it was a case of, 'Well, let's just see.' I think everybody wanted to see what the album was like, y'know? 'Cause there was still time to pull out and get someone else in. I'm not sayin' that's what they were thinkin' -- but I'm just saying that could've been the prevailing feelings, y'know? It was a strange time, 'cause there I was -- I was back in Newcastle. People go, 'Well -- what happened?' I didn't even have a copy (of the album)! I mean, it wasn't even mixed then"

Peter Frampton says that his upcoming studio set is the album that should've followed his 1976 mega-platinum behemoth, Frampton Comes Alive!

Frampton, who's currently rehearsing for his farewell European trek, has long felt that despite 1977's I'm In You hitting Number Two, spawning his biggest hit single with the album's title track and staying in the Billboard Top 10 for 11 weeks -- he blew his chance to at a fresh artistic statement.

We asked Frampton about how his new sessions have been going: "It's the album that should've followed Frampton Comes Alive! (Laughs) I've waited this many years -- and guess what: I don't know when I'm going to finish it. There's no rush. I'm about six songs recorded in -- I'm taking my time. Every track has to be something that gives me goosebumps. There's not going to be a filler (track) on it. I've got some great material."

Frampton has been forced to slowly quit the road upon discovering he's suffering from a degenerative muscle disease called Inclusion-Body Myositus (IBM), that slowly weakens the body's muscles. Despite the hurdles facing him, he's prepared to hitting stage with everything he's got: "I want to do the best possible show I can do. I had said before, I don't wanna be the guy that goes out there and the audience go, 'Well, I know it's his finale tour. He's not as good as he used to be, but. . .' I don't wanna be that guy. I wanna be able to go out there and fool 'em that I'm (laughs) still as good as I was."

Rod Stewart is looking to shake things up. The 77-year-old rocker told The Daily Record: "Next year will be the end of my rock n' roll touring. I want to do something different. It feels like an end of an era. All things must come to an end. I'm not retiring and I still love singing, I just want to do something new. I might do a few folk clubs playing guitar. Just be different."

Stewart who has recently reunited with surviving Faces bandmates Ron Wood and Kenney Jones for an upcoming project, explained, "I don't want to do the big tours anymore, especially in America. It takes me away from my kids for so long. It used to be okay because it was fun and games. It is still fun and games but I miss my kids so much."

He went on to say, "I'm not retiring -- I just want to move on. I've made a brilliant swing album with Jools Holland and love the success of the American Songbook series I've done. I'm yearning to do more of that kind of music. These last shows will be quite the party and after that I won't be performing songs like 'Maggie May' or 'Hot Legs'. I don't want to be singing 'Hot Legs' when I'm 80."

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

Rod Stewart kicks off a 12-date UK arena tour on November 16th in Nottingham, England at Motorpoint Arena.

It was 35 years ago Sunday (October 30th) that George Michael released Faith -- his signature, blockbuster solo debut apart from Wham! Faith peaked at Number One on the UK charts and the Billboard 200. It spent 12 weeks at Number One and a total of 51 non-consecutive weeks inside the Top 10. Faith also holds the distinction of being the first album by a white solo artist to top the Billboard Top Black Albums chart.

Due his charismatic and cutting edge videos, which all received saturation MTV airplay, Faith featured no less than four chart-topping singles: "Faith," "Father Figure," "One More Try," and "Monkey." The album's lead single, the controversial "I Want Your Sex," was released on June 1st, 1987 and topped out at Number Two. The album's sixth and final single, the album-closing "Kissing A Fool" peaked at Number Five.

In 1989, Faith took home the coveted Grammy Award for Album Of The Year. To date, Faith has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.

While Down Under back in 1986, Elton John sang the praises of George Michael to legendary journalist Molly Meldrum: "I mean, I first really got hooked into Wham! was 'Wake Me Up Before You Go Go," which for me, was the best, like, Motown record -- everyone tries to make a Motown sound. . . The bass playing on that, that's what hooked me. And George's song idea -- he's only 21, he's been writing songs for two years and he writes 'Careless Whisper.' Bernie (Taupin) and I, our songs after two years were absolutely 'horrible!")

Although still firmly in the closet during the release of Faith, due to the controversy of "I Want Your Sex" -- which broke numerous boundaries upon hitting the airwaves in '87 -- George Michael's sexuality suddenly became a part of his public life. During chat with Australia's 60 Minutes, he was still not ready to share his personal life with the public: "Am I gay? That's a pretty direct first question! I've never said no, I've never said yes. No, I'm not, but the main thing that I like to express is that I don't think it's anybody's business. In other words, what I'm saying, is, I don't think it benefits anybody listening to my music to know whether I was in bed with a dog or a man or woman last night. It doesn't make any difference."

Finneas was recently involved in an electric bike accident that broke his collarbone and fractured his right elbow.

The Grammy winner wrote on Instagram Thursday (October 27th) "Last Friday, I had the pleasure of crashing my electric bike, flying over the handlebars and absolutely demolishing my collarbone as well as sustaining a radial head fracture to my right elbow. The severity of the displacement of my collarbone meant I required surgery which I am now on the other side of and I'm feeling great!"

He added that "with hard work" he will recover in time to join his sister, Billie Eilish, for her upcoming tour dates in Los Angeles on December 13th, 15th and 16th.

It was 51 years ago Sunday (October 30th, 1971) that the Who released its classic compilation, Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy. The album, which was released only six weeks after the band's Who's Next blockbuster, was the band's first American singles compilation, with a sprinkling of already legendary album tracks peppered throughout. Like the Rolling Stones' own '71 collection, Hot Rocks (1964-1971), Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy became the go-to comp for the Who's pre-FM era.

For years, Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy was the primary source for such standards as "I Can't Explain," "Substitute," "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere," "A Legal Matter," "Boris The Spider," "Pictures Of Lily," "Magic Bus," and the then-recent "The Seeker." The album peaked at Number 11 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and climbed as high as Number Nine in Britain.

The tracklisting to The Who's Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy is: "I Can't Explain,"" The Kids Are Alright," "Happy Jack," "I Can See for Miles," "Pictures Of Lily," "My Generation," "The Seeker," "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere," "Pinball Wizard," "A Legal Matter," "Boris The Spider," "Magic Bus," "Substitute," and "I'm A Boy."

Amazingly, over 55 years on, Pete Townshend is still having "My Generation's" key lines -- "Hope I die before I get old" -- read back to him by journalists in hope of a "true" explanation: "The song was more about, y'know, refusing to grow old, rather than, y'know, 'I don't wanna grow old' -- it was about refusing to grow old inside. That's what I'm so proud of: having the physique of a 16-year-old boy!"

Pete Townshend wrote "Magic Bus" in 1965, demoed it in 1966, and recorded it with the Who in 1968. He remains confused as to how it gained legendary status within the band's repertoire: "'Magic Bus'' wasn't really about anything. It was one of those songs that I made in my studio at home when I was just enjoying myself, and got a Bo Diddley riff going, banged a few claves together and tried to think of something to sing and made it up at the spur of the moment. And it became one of those songs -- because it was a real sing-along -- (it) became an absolute live Who classic. I've lost count of the times I've stood there about to launch into, y'know, a serious love ballad, when somebody shouted out 'Play ‘Magic Bus!!!'"