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Fans are chomping at the bit for the December 13th publication of The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1: 1969 - 73. The 720-page tome is written by authors Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair and promises the most detailed and exhaustive analysis of Paul McCartney's initial post-Beatles career -- both in the studio and on stage.

According to the book's official description:

Set against the backdrop of the Beatles splintering over both business and creative issues, The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1: 1969-73 covers a period in which Paul McCartney recreated himself, both as a man and as a musician. This is an in-depth and revealing exploration of his creative life beyond the Beatles -- featuring hundreds of interviews with fellow musicians, tour managers, recording engineers, producers, filmmakers, and more.

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

Only in very recent years has Paul McCartney begun exploring the Wings era of 1972 to 1979 -- but on the whole, he chalks it up to being mainly uninspired work: "I mean, I've written so many songs, they can't just all be as good as each other. Y'know, you look at anyone who is any good and it just doesn't churn out, y'know? You've gotta have your ups and downs. You can't just keep it churning out like a sausage factory where it just comes out A-1 all the time. It's not like that."

Wings co-founder Denny Seiwell drummed on three McCartney albums -- 1971's double shot of Ram and Wild Life and finally, 1973's Red Rose Speedway. He told us the early days of Wings was an incredible time: "We were family. Y'know we'd hang together, travel together, the only thing that was different was he was the boss. Well, he was paying us. We were all on a small retainer fee. He was trying to set up a business in London. Sometimes the checks didn't come, but we were a family -- but he was the dad."

Kesha is "more than eager" to face Dr. Luke in court.

According to Rolling Stone, the singer claims Dr. Luke is attempting to postpone their February 2023 defamation trial in New York by rejecting her repeated attempts to speed up her pre-trial appeals.

In a letter to a New York judge filed Tuesday (August 30th) and obtained by the outlet, Kesha and her lawyers argue that there is no way the upcoming trial can proceed until her two pending appeals are resolved.

Kesha and her lawyer say November is likely the last argument session that would allow the Court of Appeals to decide the issues before a February trial. The "Tik Tok" singer's lawyer says she "continues to hope" the court will grant it.

The two have been battling it out in court since 2014 with Dr. Luke pursuing Kesha with the claim that she has smeared him with false rape allegations.

Now streaming online via Paramount+ is the new documentary Daryl Hall & John Oates: From Philly To Chile. The film chronicles the duo's inaugural 2019 tour of South America, which hit Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; and Sao Paolo, Brazil. From Philly To Chile was directed by Felipe Sanguinetti and produced by the band's longtime manager Jonathan Wolfson.

John Oates told Consequence.net, "It was a blast playing for all the amazing fans in South America who have been waiting so long for us to finally get there. (I can't even) describe how much I appreciate their energy."

Daryl Hall added he found the Sound American jaunt, "Fascinating in every way."

Jonathan Wolfson said From Philly To Chile offers, "A realistic window into a week of life of a band on the road. It displays the in-betweens of what life is really like on the road."

Daryl Hall explained to us that for the pair, Hall & Oates primarily exists today to celebrate their huge catalogue: "Hall & Oates is this body of work that people really care about. That's really what it's all about -- that's why we do it. We, creatively, are individuals at this point, but we have all these songs -- I call them my 'children' -- and people wanna hear 'em, so we play 'em -- (laughs) I mean, it's pretty much as simple as that. People pay us money to (laughs) go out and do that; they enjoy it, we enjoy it, and then we also do other things."

The main moneymaker these days for Hall & Oates -- who remain the most successful duo in rock history -- is still their live shows. John Oates told us that it's through their concerts, that he and Hall hope to showcase their life's work: "The future of Hall & Oates still lies in its past. And what I mean by that it, the depths of our catalogue is so interesting that I don't think a lot of people truly understand how much music we made and how interesting it could be. So, we want to start introducing our deep tracks to our older audience and our newer audience. And that's kind of a focus for us. Y'know, sure, of course, we'll play the hits -- we have a (laughs) personal, y'know, commercial responsibility to do that -- and we'll always do that. But I think there's a lot of music we can make that will almost seem like it's new -- even though it's not. So that, I think, is where Hall & Oates is going."

Hall & Oates perform tomorrow night (Thursday, September 1st) in Canandaigua, New York at CMAC Performing Arts Center.

Ousted Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer thought the band reuniting with producer Rick Rubin was a mistake. Klinghoffer, who landed a plum gig as Pearl Jam's supplemental side player, spoke with VW Music and admitted, "I'm incredibly conflicted about my output with that band because I feel like, in both circumstances, producers got in the way of us truly making great music or a great record. I like almost all of the songs that we wrote together, but seldom did we capture them in the best way. I will say that in the case of (the) I'm With You (album), I feel Rick Rubin was way more a hindrance than a help. He told me once, 'I just want to help the songs be the best they can be.' I should've said, 'Well, then get your driver to come and get you.'"

When pressed about the challenges with taking the stage with Pearl Jam night after night, Klinghoffer answered: "I face a constant risk of smiling too much (laughs). I sometimes allow my 12-year-old self to run away with my face. The challenges these days are more just little things like doing my part of a song that doesn't get played very often. Sometimes, for me, it's really more about muscle memory, and we'll do a song once a tour, and I always feel like I can do my bit just a little better. But that's nothing. Sometimes it feels not so much like a challenge, but an obstacle, how little I can see Matt Cameron when I'm playing a drum part with him, but again. . . minor issues."

Singer Anthony Kiedis told us when Klinghoffer first joined the Chili Peppers that he was a natural fit for the group: "He was there, we knew him, we liked him, we respected him as a musician, as an artist in general. The cool thing was when we asked him if he wanted to be in our band, he didn't just say yes. He was like, 'Wow, that's a heavy concept. Let me think about it.' Which really felt good to me, that he wasn't just jumping on for the sake of jumping on, that he wanted to see if that was the right thing to do."

RM unveiled the creative process behind his forthcoming book of photography in a YouTube clip posted to the official BANGTANTV YouTube account Tuesday (August 30th).

The recording shows the BTS leader choosing photos of himself for Me, Myself, and RM ‘Entirety'.

The rapper and singer said he has "pretty high standards," and added, "I have a certain image of myself and I wanted to visualize that through photos I tried hard to show the natural, true side of me. Simple and candid."

• Surviving Monkee Micky Dolenz has filed a lawsuit against the FBI to see the group's full file. A portion of the group's full government file on the "Pre-Fab Four" was made public over a decade ago, with Dolenz now filing a Freedom Of Information Act request. According to the official request: "This lawsuit is designed to obtain any records the FBI created and/or possesses on the Monkees as well as its individual members. Mr. Dolenz has exhausted all necessary required administrative remedies with respect to his (Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act) request." (Rolling Stone)
  
  
• Noted photographer Neil Zlozower will publish his latest book featuring portraits of the late-Eddie Van Halen, titled Ed By Zloz. The 384-page book will be available for shipping on September 9th and mainly focuses on the David Lee Roth-era, yet also features select shots from the years in which Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone fronted the band. The book, which weighs over five lbs., does not duplicate any of Zlozower's Van Halen shots from his other books. Ed By Zloz sells for $150. (VanHalenStore.com)
  
  
• Coming on September 9th is the long-unreleased 1980's collaboration between Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug Clifford and Derek & The Dominos keyboardist Bobby Whitlock. The album, titled, California Gold, features a total of 10 songs co-written by the rock legends, with the sessions also featuring Booker T. & The MG's bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn. (Press release)
  
  
• Bangles frontwoman, Susanna Hoffs will publish her first novel, titled This Bird Has Flown, on April 4th, 2023, via Little Brown and Company. Hoffs spoke about the decision to finally writer her first book and told EW.com: "I've been a lifelong reader and have always loved disappearing into other people's stories, whether in a novel, a film, a play, a painting, a song. I dreamed one day of writing a novel of my own. And then it hit me, If not now when? and I took the plunge!" (EW.com)

SOURCES SAY TAYLOR SWIFT IS EXPECTED TO HOST 'SNL': Sources say Lorne Michaels would love to see Taylor Swift host an episode of Saturday Night Live this season. Insiders close to the production told The Blast, "Billy Eichner would be a big get because he has a big movie coming out this fall and he is hilarious, and they are going to ask Taylor Swift to host and be a musical guest if they haven't already and last but not least they want someone from the new Black Panther film to host as well." Swift has already served as the show's musical guest five times with her most recent appearance taking place last November.

BRITNEY SPEARS' EX-FIANCE CONFIRMS SEXUALITY: Britney Spears' ex-fiance, Jason Trawick, is not gay -despite a recent Instagram post to the contrary. Trawick, who was once a co-conservator of Spears, recently posted an IG Story that read, "At my boyfriends apartment Out and proud Finally living my true self This is me people." He told TMZ Tuesday (August 30th), "Ha no, it wasn't me – this is what happens when you leave your phone unlocked and unattended at brunch with a gay guy friend that thinks he's being funny and cute. I am not gay."

It was 53 years ago tonight (August 31st, 1969) that Bob Dylan made his first full-length concert appearance in three years at the Isle Of Wight Festival. Dylan's hour-long set with the Band closed the three-day festival, which also featured the Who, Richie Havens, the Moody Blues, Joe Cocker, and a solo set by the Band.

After very little rehearsal, Dylan and the Band took the stage in front of a crowd of an estimated 200,000 people -- including John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. In front of a battery of microphones, a bearded Dylan, clad in a white suit and playing a large Gibson hollow-bodied acoustic guitar, gave an hour-long, spirited performance of 16 songs, spanning his then eight-year career.

The Band's late drummer Levon Helm recalled the show to author Clinton Heylin for his Dylan biography Behind The Shades, saying, "I would've like to have gotten carried away. Bob had an extra list of songs with eight or ten different titles with question marks by them. . . But it seemed like the festival was three days old by then; and so, if everybody else is ready to go home, let's all go."

During his August 17th, 1969 press conference prior to his prior to his return to the stage at the Isle of Wight Festival, Bob Dylan was pressed as to his stance on the drug scene: "I don't have any of those views. I wish I did, 'be glad to share them with you, but I. . . I think everyone should do their own life. Y'know?"

Robbie Roberston, who along with the Band, had begun performing with Dylan in 1965 when they were still known as the Hawks. He recalled that Dylan was always about moving his art forward -- even if early on his fans couldn't understand or accept his musical changes: "Bob was somebody who was rewriting the book on music. He was taking his folk influences, applying them to rock n' roll, and it was. . . it had more depth. It was smarter, it was more adventurous, it was breaking some rules. To be around and to be part of that whole thing -- alongside of the booing and everything -- that was quite inspirational."

Columbia Records recorded the shows on a portable eight-track machine, and four of the songs, "She Belongs To Me," "Minstrel Boy," "Like A Rolling Stone," and "The Mighty Quinn," were included on Dylan's 1970 Self Portrait album.

Over the years, the concert has been widely bootlegged from several sources, including the sound from local film crews, crude recordings from audience members, and even a low-generation dub from the Columbia master tape.

Dylan has gone on record as saying that when he found out about the Woodstock festival taking place near his Saugerties, New York home earlier that month, he snapped up the offer to play the Isle Of Wight Festival to get as far away from the Woodstock crowds that would be looking for him at home.

Recently released is the archival Bob Dylan release, The Bootleg Series, Vol. 10 - Another Self Portrait (1969-1971). The four-disc collection features a remastered version of 1970's double-disc Self Portrait, along with outtakes from his 1969 Nashville Skyline album, Self Portrait, 1970's New Morning -- and finally, the full Isle of Wight performance.

The tracklisting to Isle Of Wight Live 1969 is: "She Belongs To Me," "I Threw It All Away," "Maggie's Farm," "Wild Mountain Thyme," "It Ain't Me, Babe," "To Ramona"/"Mr. Tambourine Man," "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine," "Lay Lady Lay," "Highway 61 Revisited," "One Too Many Mornings," "I Pity The Poor Immigrant," "Like A Rolling Stone," "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight," "Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)," "Minstrel Boy," and "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35."

During their tour stop in Los Angeles, The Killers invited Lindsey Buckingham on stage to surprise the audience. During the encore, he sang the Fleetwood Mac classic, "Go Your Own Way." He also joined them for two other songs, "Mr. Brightside," and "Caution."

Killers frontman Brandon Flowers introduced Buckingham to the audience about halfway through the song, "Caution," just in time for Buckingham to perform the song's guitar solo.

They were joined by ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who opened the stadium show earlier in the evening.

The Killers are currently on tour in support of two albums from last year: Imploding The Mirage and Pressure Machine.

TL;DR:

• The Killers invited Lindsey Buckingham on stage to surprise the audience in LA.
• They sang "Go Your Own Way," "Mr. Brightside," and "Caution."

Usher appears to be thrilled that he's the first celebrity to be spotlighted on Behind the Memes. It's a new content series that's a twist on the popular Behind the Tweets. It highlights viral memes trending on the platform from the originators themselves.

The series has already launched and Usher said he was blown away and shocked when he heard that he was going viral.

TL;DR:

• Usher appears to be thrilled that he's the first celebrity to be spotlighted on Behind the Memes.
• It's a new content series that's a twist on the popular Behind the Tweets.

Demi Lovato is done making documentaries about her life.

The singer recently told Alternative Press, "Honestly, I'm really sick of watching myself, and I think other people probably are too."

The 30-year-old star of three documentaries about her struggles with addiction added, "I wish I would have waited until I had my s–t figured out more because now it's cemented. Sobriety is what works for me and nothing else."

Lovato's eighth studio album just debuted at the top of the rock charts.

HOLY FVCK lands at #1 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums Chart, #1 on the Top Rock Albums Chart, #1 on Top Alternative Albums Chart, #7 on the Billboard 200 Chart, and #4 on the Top Album Sales Chart.

According to unconfirmed fan reports, Bruce Springsteen may be prepping a surprise soul covers collection for release before the end of the year. The "Boss"-centric None But The Brave podcast tweeted: "As we mentioned on the last episode about rumblings of a new Springsteen release, those rumblings have gotten much louder and we expect Bruce to release a soul covers record this fall. A small number of shows to promote it are also expected. Count us as intrigued."

Springsteen's one and only other covers collection was 2006's We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. The set peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and snagged the Grammy Award for that year's Best Traditional Folk Album.

During his 2012 keynote address at Austin's South By Southwest music festival, Bruce Springsteen spoke about the lessons he learned from '60s soul music: "It was a music of gritty determination. Of the blues, of the church, of the Earth, and of the sex-soaked heavens. It was music of sweaty perspiration and drenched demands for pleasure and respect. It was adult music. It was sung by soul men and women -- not teen idols."

Britney Spears, who ended her 13-year conservatorship in November, addressed the scandalous arrangement in a now-deleted YouTube video.

The 22-minute audio clip featured the singer explaining the abuse she endured by her family.

She says in reposted clips that her parents arranged the arrival of ambulances, a SWAT team and over 200 paparazzi to her home when she was hospitalized in 2008.

She said of the hospitalization, "All I do remember is I had to what I was told. I wasn't along with it because I was scared and fearful. I didn't really do anything…It didn't make sense to me. She added, " I was told I was fat every day, I had to go to the gym … and I never remember feeling so demoralized. And they made me feel like nothing."

Lynne Spears, her mother, responded to the audio recording on Instagram Sunday (Augus 28th), writing: "Britney, your whole life I have tried my best to support your dreams and wishes! And also I have tried my best to help you out of hardships! I have never and will never turn my back on you! Your rejections to the countless times I have flown out and calls make me feel hopeless! I have tried everything. I love you so much, but this talk is for you and me only, eye to eye, in private."

Robert Plant chatted with Rolling Stone about his past, present, and future -- including his current road dates with Alison Krauss. When pressed about when he realized he had finally "made it," the Led Zeppelin icon explained, "It was when I went to the first rehearsal with the Yardbirds, and I was 19, soon to be 20. I had suggested to Jimmy Page that the drummer that he'd lined up was just nowhere near the dynamism of John Bonham (who) was a totally different thing altogether. . . When the two of us drove down to London in John's mum's van, which we borrowed, in that room, on that afternoon, when we kicked in with a bunch of songs that nobody really knew, 'Train Kept A-Rollin,'' I knew that I was in a room full of giants, really, and that was it."

Plant went on to recall, "By 1973, what happened in that one room had exploded into some of the most adventurous non-rock rock that you could ever wish to find, and it was just the sum of the parts. Those guys were just insanely good. And it was as if everybody had just been waiting for each other with whatever happened prior to that. It was just like, bang!"

He went on to talk about not only the force of Led Zeppelin -- but his own particular talents at the time: "There was a panic of responsibility in the '70s, believe it or not. There was nowhere to hide at all in a four-piece band, and so there were great days and there were days that weren't so good, and I would have to push through. Our itineraries were pretty demanding, and sometimes it really would take it out of my voice. A lot of what I was singing was really at the top of my capacity, right at the sharp end of what I could ever possibly do with the keys that we were playing music in."

Regarding his penchant for following his own muse since John Bonham's death, Robert Plant revealed, "By 1980, that whole idea was long over and gone. From then on, I made a lot of departures, and I have no embarrassment about them. They were all rather silly adventures, but they kept me thinking, or just falling upon melody. Today, I'm three days off playing at the biggest festival in Europe (Glastonbury), and I'm going be pretty melodic."

Robert Plant explained that looking beyond the Western world for inspiration made all the difference in Led Zeppelin's music: "Well, I think we always changed the musical attitudes with every record that we made, therefore, out gave us a bit of a hike to have some continuity over a period of time. Because, we didn't play the same music for nine albums. We were constantly experimenting, and Jimmy (Page) and I traveled through India and Morocco, and Jimmy spent time in Egypt, and his reflections came out in the music. So, I guess we were fortunate because our travels really influenced the way that we wrote."

Yes is heading back on the road for their first North American dates since 2019. The "Close To The Edge 50th Anniversary Tour" features the band's longtime members -- guitarist Steve Howe and keyboardist Geoff Downes -- along with newer recruits frontman Jon Davison, bassist Billy Sherwood, and drummer Jay Schellen. The band will tackle the legendary 1972 set its entirety along with a selection of other classic tracks.

The tour kick off on October 7th and 8th with a pair of shows at Glenside, Pennsylvania's Keswick Theatre and wraps on November 19th at Manhattan's NYCB Theatre.

Before the tour gets underway, a special tribute concert for the band's legendary drummer, dubbed, "Alan White: Celebrating His Life And Music," will be held on October 2nd at Seattle's Paramount Theatre. White died last May 26th at the age of 72 following a brief illness.

Steve Howe, who joined Yes in 1970 just before sessions for 1971's The Yes Album, recalled to us the early days of the band: "We all had ambitions that was about being in a group where people could really play their ass off, and really make something that was different. I guess we wanted to be our own masters or our own creators, or something, or the other. Because we had good chemistry and were like, 'Hey what if I did this -- what if you did that?' All the arrangements were credited to 'Yes' because we sat and arranged people's songs to sound like we wanted them. We didn't want to rush."

JUST ANNOUNCED: Yes tour dates (subject to change):

October 7, 8 - Glenside, PA - Keswick Theatre
October 9 - New Brunswick, NJ - State Theatre
October 11 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
October 13 - Jacksonville, FL - Florida Theatre
October 14 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - The Parker Playhouse
October 16 - Melbourne, FL - King Center
October 17 - Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
October 19 - New Orleans, LA - Saenger Theatre
October 20 - Houston, TX - Arena Theatre
October 21 - San Antonio, TX - The Aztec Theatre
October 23 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
October 24 - El Cajon, CA - The Magnolia
October 25 - Riverside, CA - Fox Performing Arts Center
October 27 - Wheatland, CA - Hard Rock Live
October 29 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
November 4 - Chesterfield, MO- The Factory
November 5 - Nashville, IN - Brown County Music Center
November 6 - Cincinnati, OH - Taft Theatre
November 9 - Madison, WI - Orpheum Theater
November 10 - Wabash, IN - Wabash Theater
November 11 - Gary, IN - Hard Rock Casino
November 13 - Washington, DC - Warner Theater
November 14 - Stamford, CT - The Palace
November 15 - Torrington, CT - Warner Theatre
November 17 - Englewood, NJ - Bergen Performing Arts Center
November 18 - Bethlehem, PA - Wind Creek Events Center
November 19 - Westbury, NY - NYCB Theatre

It was 50 years ago today (August 30th, 1972) that John Lennon and Yoko Ono performed their only publicly announced, full-length concerts at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The two shows, known as the One To One concerts, included an afternoon matinee and an evening performance, and benefited the Willowbrook House, with the proceeds from the concerts going to help establish new accommodations for the mentally handicapped inhabitants of the former Willowbrook institution in Long Island, New York.

The shows also included performances by Sha-Na-Na, Stevie Wonder, and Roberta Flack. John and Yoko closed both shows with a full concert set, featuring songs by each of them, backed by their then-band the Elephant's Memory. Lennon, decked out in iconic army fatigues, cowboy boots, and blue-tinted granny-glasses, played both electric guitar and electric piano. Yoko contributed some keyboard work, as well. The set featured mostly material from John and Yoko's early '70s solo albums, as well as material their recently released joint album Some Time In New York City. The couple was introduced by Geraldo Rivera, who organized the benefit.

The songs performed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono were: "Power To The People (intro)," "New York City," "It's So Hard," "Move On Fast (Yoko)," "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World," "Sisters O' Sisters (Yoko)," "Well, Well, Well," "Born In A Prison (Yoko)," "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)," "Mother," "We're All Water (Yoko)," "Come Together," "Imagine," "Open Your Box (Yoko)," "Cold Turkey," "Don't Worry Kyoko (Yoko)," "Hound Dog," and "Give Peace A Chance."

Elephants Memory bassist Gary Von Scyoc (pronounced: Von SY-ock) recorded several albums with John and Yoko -- and is featured on 1972's Some Time In New York City. He recalled Lennon moving swiftly once he was geared up to record: "He respected us individually as players, and he knew no matter what, if he brought us a song, we were gonna come up with something. As far as John coming with those tunes, he used to come the night of, with a new song, every night -- for two weeks straight. That's how we cut the album. Live in the studio is a whole new thing, because we started laying down the tracks, maybe a half-an-hour after we heard it for the first time."

Roberta Flack had the unenviable task of opening for John and Yoko at the Garden shows. Despite the constant crowd chants for Lennon, she enjoyed playing the two shows: "Everybody was happy because John was there. I heard rumors that, I don't know how true they were, that Yoko wasn't that happy to be there."

Radio executive Andy Denemark attended the afternoon matinee and recalled that the show was definitely a departure from Lennon's Beatles era: "Clearly, even though we were seeing a Beatle in concert, it was not like a Beatles show at all. John had assembled this rock band; this bunch of ruffian looking guys from New York that had a saxophone -- and, I mean, it felt very street and urban, in the city sense."

With Lennon firmly in his revolutionary "Radical Chic" period, we asked Denemark if the show felt overtly political: "It felt radical in the sense that he, if I recall, had, like, the green army jacket that he used to wear, and so it had that 'Power To The People' feeling. But it was very casual. I mean, the band, like I said, was a rock band that had a very kind of street look to them. I remember Lennon chewing gum -- which I guess he always did, anyway, live. But, just being very laid back and it didn't feel pressured, it seemed like he was having fun. I don't wanna say that he was aloof, but it was so relaxed that it was like, 'Hey, here's what we're doin'."

Beatlefest founder Mark Lapidos, was at both the One To One concert, as well as George Harrison's Concert For Bangladesh the previous year, and says that with all due respect, Harrison's all-star show blew Lennon's out of the water: "The quality of music at Bangladesh was unmatched. The quality of the Elephants Memory Band backing John was fun, it was nice -- (but) it wasn't the same."

Andy Denemark remembers that Yoko's presence seemed like a distraction to the flow of the concert: "Yoko at that time felt like an intrusion on the show. I mean, whenever she would step up front and grab an instrument or add a vocal, it . . . my recollection is that it felt, like, 'Go sit down.'"

Joe Raiola, the former-senior editor of MAD magazine and the writer-director of the annual John Lennon tribute in New York City, caught one of the two shows and also remembers that at the time nobody had any patience for Yoko's music: "That concert was a benefit for the Willowbrook school, and of course it was a John and Yoko show. And I'm being honest here, I don't know what Yoko would say, but people kind of sat through her stuff. They really didn't want to see her -- they wanted to see John. It was a package deal and they wanted to be a team. It really wasn't until Double Fantasy that they achieved that. If they toured with Double Fantasy, I think the response to Yoko would have been considerably different."

Raiola says that Lennon seemed comfortable onstage and even cracked a few jokes: "His humor came through, because he cracked several jokes. I remember that. I remember before 'Come Together' he said something like, and I'm paraphrasing, '(We'll) go back in the past just once, here's a song that I did when I was in the Rolling Stones.'"

Yoko Ono says that the negative reviews that she and Lennon garnered after the show still leave a bad taste in her mouth: "Afterwards there was such a bad review, y'know, written by somebody whose band that he liked, or something was not invited -- we felt terrible about the reviews. And John said, 'Usually they don't really rip you when you did (sic) a charity show.' He felt very bad because -- especially bad because it wasn't with the Beatles and he wanted to sort of show to the world that he can do it. So it was actually bad. It's a bad memory in that sense."

Material from the two concerts has made its way out to the public over the years. Select performances from the show's evening performance were broadcast later that year on an ABC In Concert special, featuring highlights from all of the show's acts.

A syndicated edition of the King Biscuit Flower Hour also included several of Lennon's songs from the evening concert. Phil Spector supervised the original mix of the live tapes, but aside from the 1972 TV special and radio broadcast, none of his original mixes have been released.

In February 1986, Yoko released the posthumous album John Lennon Live In New York City, which featured all of Lennon's songs, mixing performances from both the afternoon and evening shows. A video version also included two of Yoko's six tracks.

To promote the album, she released clips of Lennon's afternoon performances of "Come Together" and "Instant Karma" which received substantial airplay on MTV.

1998's John Lennon Anthology featured three songs from the evening show: "It's So Hard, "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World," and "Come Together," in which Lennon shouts during the chorus, "Stop the war!"

Double Fantasy producer Jack Douglas, who was behind the boards for the 2010 Double Fantasy Stripped Down collection, revealed to us that he's currently working on an expanded multi-media package of the Madison Square Garden shows.

Unlike the 1986 LP and VHS versions of the '72 shows, he plans to include material from both the afternoon and evening charity concerts -- along with the extensive rehearsals for the gigs. Douglas told us that he wants fans to be able to relive the moment with the benefit of modern technology: "What I'm proposing is that we get the One To One concert, get it to be at its proper status and sound and do a stereo and 5.1 (mix) that are worthy of the experience and make a proper DVD and get it to the fans. I would hope that we would do everything that I could get my hands on as far as footage and sound. That event really deserves more than, than we have right now."

No release date for the package has been officially announced.

Megan Thee Stallion is just getting started on her Hollywood adventure. New York magazine seemed to confirm rumors that she has been cast in Marvel's superhero lawyer sitcom She-Hulk. Her role is unknown at this time.

In the past, she has talked about how her mother inspired her to go after what she wants. And for Stallion, this is a dream come true.

To further her acting career, it was previously announced that she would appear alongside Nathan Lane and Bowen Yang in the musical, F**king Identical Twins.

TL;DR:

• Megan Thee Stallion has been cast in Marvel's She-Hulk.
• Her role is unknown at this time.

MADONNA SETS 'BILLBOARD' RECORD: Madonna is the first woman to chart Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the 1980s, ‘90s, 2000s, ‘10s and the ‘20s. The Queen of Pop's new remix compilation, Finally Enough Love, debuts at No. 8 on the Sept. 3-dated chart, making her the 10th act to have achieved this distinction.

CAMILA CABELLO ONCE CRIED AT A JUSTIN BIEBER CONCERT: Camila Cabello recently revealed in a promotional clip for The Voice that she once cried at a Justin Bieber concert. The singer said, "The first concert I begged my parents to go to was a Justin Bieber concert. We got these tickets, they were a scam and ended up being these seats all the way up in the nosebleeds. And when I got there, I was so sad I cried because I could not see Justin Bieber. He was like an ant!"

The Weeknd is set to have one of the biggest grossing stadium tours in recent memory, and he's just getting started.

According to the official numbers from Touring Data… After only 4 shows, the tour raked in $30 million in revenue. During that span of time, The Weeknd sold 190,000 tickets and the venues were completely sold out.

The After Hours Til Dawn tour kicked off on July 14 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and has ventured into some of the biggest football fields in the country, including Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Despite the financial success of the tour, there's been some bad luck. Doja Cat had to cancel shows due to throat surgery. A merchandise trailer was destroyed by fire and sadly a fan fell to his death on opening night.

The first leg of the tour is still ongoing.

TL;DR:

• After only 4 shows, The Weeknd raked in $30 million in revenue.
• He sold 190,000 tickets and the venues were completely sold out.

In a new video, Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard performs a duet with Noah Cyrus. Playing acoustic guitar, he and Cyrus swap lyrics about a relationship going south in a song titled "Ready To Go."

Gibbard told Rolling Stone… "I kept coming back to it and just basking in her brilliance. It's easy to be mysterious. It's easy to be aloof. It's easy to be cool. It's so much harder to be earnest. And it's so much harder because she's really opening herself up with a lot of these songs."

Earlier this month Death Cab For Cutie released "Foxglove Through The Clearcut" as the 3^rd single from their Asphalt Meadows album.

The duet he did with Cyrus will appear on her debut album, The Hardest Part.

TL;DR:

• Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard performs a duet with Noah Cyrus.
• He also plays acoustic guitar on the song.
• The duet will appear on her debut album, The Hardest Part.

Metallica has announced its Helping Hands Concert & Auction for December 16th. The band's All Within My Hands non-profit foundation was launched in 2017 to help create sustainable communities by tackling the issues of hunger and workforce education and encouraging volunteerism.

The first All Within My Hands Foundation concert was held in November 2018. In addition to acoustic versions of some of Metallica's classic songs, the band performed covers of tunes from Deep Purple, Nazareth, Blue Oyster Cult, and Bob Seger. The four members of Metallica were joined by a quartet of backing musicians who provided additional percussion, keyboards, strings and vocal harmony.

The event raised $1.3 million, which went to food banks in cities the band played on its then-current "WorldWired" tour and carefully selected community colleges throughout the country.

The band posted a message on Metallica.com, which read:

We're excited to announce the date of our third Helping Hands Concert & Auction as we invite you to join us in Los Angeles on December 16, 2022, for a very special show benefiting All Within My Hands. It has been a few years since we connected in person for this unique event, so we want to get on your calendar now!

We're excited to share all the amazing things the Foundation has accomplished and we are inspired to look toward the future. Of course, we'll cap it all off with a full night of live music!

We hope you will join us for the celebration; keep watching this site and our socials for more details coming soon.

Metallica next performs on September 24th at Central Park at Global Citizen Festival.

Taylor Swift took home the top prize at the Video Music Awards Sunday (August 28th) night and rewarded fans for their support.

During her acceptance speech for Video of The Year, the singer announced that her next album will drop on October 21st. In addition to the coveted Video of The Year prize, "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) won Best Long Form Video and Best Direction.

Other big winners for the night included the Red Hot Chili Peppers who were honored with both the Global Icon Award and Best Rock and Nicki Minaj who performed, co-hosted and won both Best Hip Hop and the Video Vanguard Award.

Minaj received a standing ovation for her career-spanning medley including "Roman's Revenge," "Monster," "Beez in the Trap," "Chun-Li," "Moment 4 Life," "Super Bass," "Anaconda," and "Super Freaky Girl."

In a surprising move, Johnny Depp made his first post-trial appearance as the virtual MTV Moonman in post-commercial sequences, jokingly announcing that he "needed the work."

Other Notable Highlights:

• Presenter DJ Khaled struggled to read the propter before giving up, whipping his glasses off, and declaring, "I gotta be me."
• BLACKPINK made their VMA debut, performing "Pink Venom" and Lisa became the first solo artist to win best K-Pop. The rest of the group supportively stood up and flashed heart symbols as she made her acceptance speech.
• Harry Styles could not accept his Moonman trophy in person because he was performing in New York City at Madison Square Garden.
• Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith dedicated their Global Icon Award win to "brother" Taylor Hawkins.
• Lizzo revealed that she doesn't "clap back" at her haters "cause b*tch, I'm winning!"
• Kane Brown made his VMA debut with a performance of "Grand" from Fort Lee, New Jersey. He is the first county artist to perform at MTV's award show.
• Anitta had her first ever VMA performance and became the first Brazilian artist to ever win a VMA.
• Bad Bunny won Artist Of The Year as he took the stage at Yankee Stadium. He appeared to kiss a male dancer during his live performance of "Tití Me Preguntó".

Winners:

• GLOBAL ICON AWARD: Red Hot Chili Peppers
• VIDEO VANGUARD AWARD: Nicki Minaj
• VIDEO OF THE YEAR: Taylor Swift – "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version)"
• BEST NEW ARTIST: Dove Cameron
• BEST ROCK: Red Hot Chili Peppers – "Black Summer"
• ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Bad Bunny
• SONG OF THE SUMMER: Jack Harlow – "First Class"
• BETS HIP-HOP: Nicki Minaj ft. Lil Baby – "Do We Have A Problem?"
• BEST LATIN: Anitta – "Envolver"
• VIDEO FOR GOOD: Lizzo – "About Damn Time"
• BEST K-POP: LISA – "LALISA"
• BEST ALBUM: Harry Styles – Harry's House
• BEST LONGFORM VIDEO: Taylor Swift – "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version)"
• BEST COLLABORATION: Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – "INDUSTRY BABY"
• PUSH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR: December 2021: SEVENTEEN – "Rock With You"
• BEST METAVERSE PERFORMANCE: BLACKPINK The Virtual | PUBG
• BEST ALTERNATIVE: Måneskin – "I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE"
• SONG OF THE YEAR: Billie Eilish – "Happier Than Ever"
• BEST POP: Harry Styles – "As It Was"
• BEST R&B: The Weeknd – "Out Of Time"
• BEST CINEMATOGRPAHY: Harry Styles – "As It Was"
• BEST DIRECTION: Taylor Swift – "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version)"
• BEST ART DIRECTION: Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – "INDUSTRY BABY"
• BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – "INDUSTRY BABY"
• BEST CHOREOGRAPHY: Doja Cat – "Woman"
• BEST EDITING: ROSALÍA – "SAOKO"
• GROUP OF THE YEAR: BTS

Boadcast Audio:

In clip one, Dove Cameron Wins Best New Artist.

• "Thank you so much. I'm so floored, I'm so moved. This is so wild to be here with so many artists, these are some of my favorite artists up here. This year has been so wild and I have no explanation for it except that I have you guys to thank. I know that. I want to dedicate this to all of the queer kids out there, who don't feel like they can take up space and inhabit the fullness of who they are, thank you for getting an overtly queer song onto maintstream radio. Thank you for supporting me as the person and the artist that I am. I hope that in that way you have also given that same privilege to yourself. I love you so much, thank you MTV, thank you Columbia Records, thank you guys, thank you, thank you." (1:00 OC: . . .thank you, thank you.)

In clip two, Johnny Depp appears as Moonman.

• "You know what? I needed the work."

In clip three, Lil Nas X accepts Best Collab.

• "(Lil Nas X) And this one is for the champions. (Jack) Yo, I know we both won this award but I want to say take a minute to say thank you to Nas. Obviously this song started with him, so I am super grateful for the opportunity, the chance... I told you. (Lil Nas X) Wow. I am up here like, half naked, but, look, I want to say something. I really appreciate you, MTV, you know, I worked really hard last year, you know, me and my boy Jack. Thank you for the love, and hopefully I am back up here and I have something better to say. But I love y'all and I'll see you all on the Montero tour." (1:21 OC: . . .the Montero tour.)

In clip four, Lizzo addressed the press during acceptance speech for Video For Good.

• "And now, to the... that got something to say about me in this press. You know what? I'm not going to say nothing. They be like, Lizzo, why don't you clap back? Why don't you clap back? Because... I am winning. Big... be winning... That's revenge. It's your paper. Say less."

In clip five, More Weird Johnny Depp.

• "I want you guys to know that I'm available for birthdays, bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, weddings, wakes, any old thing you need. Anything. You name it. So... oh, I'm also a dentist."

In clip six, Nicki Minaj Speech.

• "Let me tell you something, I don't want, I don't want them to start rolling the music on me, but I never, ever in my life have written a speech, and today, I jotted, like, something down on my phone, and I give my phone to Joe, and he is not up here with it, which is sad, because now I don't remember stuff. Well, first of all, I want to say to everyone in here, God bless you and thank you. Give it to me. Where is it? Who has it, Joe? Oh."

In clip seven, Nicki Minaj wins Best HipHop.

• "Okay, you guys, I want to make this really quick. Now, earlier I was talking about artists who worked with me at the beginning stage of my career, and I left a few people out, going to name them really quick. Will I Am, Fergie, Taylor Swift who had a huge part in Super Bass, Elton John, an icon, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Puffy... I've got to shout out New York City. All the artists that have helped put up on the map from the beginning. Salt N Pepa, Kind N Play, Nas, 50, LL, G Unit, but this award is for this, so I want to thank Lil Baby. And P. Oh, and tonight, and someone special to me, if you guys know, you know, Fendi, thank you for being there for me, for believing in me and seeing something in me when no one else did. I love you, thank you. And you guys, the Barbz voted, so this is for the Barbz." (1:26 OC: . . .is for the Barbz.)

In clip eight, RHCP Global Icon Award speech.

• "(Anthony) I did want to thank the sassy mistress known as MTV for supporting us for a thousand years and more, I also want to think planet Earth and the people of planet Earth for listening and caring and paying attention to what we do. It's a blessing. But really, really, really, I want to thank Flea and John and Chad Smith, Chad... Gaylord Smith, for giving me a purpose in my life for the last 40 years, I would have been a freeloading disaster in space if not for these boys, thank you, boys come up for giving me something to do with my life. (Chad) Hey, everybody. We try to make some cool visual art to go to our music, and thank you MTV for supporting it for all these years. It's a real honor to be here. In front of you guys. Thank you so much. There is another musical icon, global icon, and his name is my brother, Taylor Hawkins, and I want to dedicate this to Taylor and his family. I love him and I miss him every day. Play on, Hawk, play on. (Flea) ...Hawk. To my bandmates, I love you so much. To my wife, melody, I love you. To my children, Sonny and Clara, I love you. To everyone of you out there watching on TV, I love you. I love cockroaches and dirt and every human being in the... and birds in the sky and love, and everything that isn't love is cowardice, I love you, thank you so much for your support, thank you." (2:20 OC: . . .your support, thank you.)

In clip nine, Taylor Swift accepts Best Longform Video.

• "Before this I had directed and written my music videos but I had never made a short film before, and so I want to first start out by saying thank you to Sadie Sink. Dylan o'Brien. My amazing cinematographer. My producer. And the rest of our incredible crew for trusting me, for lending me their brilliance, their talent, their time. We put our entire hearts into this, trying to make something that might be worthy of the love that you, the fans, have shown this song. Thank you for this beautiful indication that we did something right. Love you guys."

In clip ten, Taylor Swift thanks fans Announces New Album.

• "I'm so honored to have been recognized alongside such amazing artists and directors in this category, and I just want to say I am so heartened by the fact that, for the first time in VMA history, four of the directors nominated in this video of the year category are women. We love you. You guys, I'm just so proud of what we made, and I now that every second of this moment that we wouldn't have been able to make this short film if it weren't for you, the fans. Because I wouldn't be able to rerecord my album if it weren't for you. You emboldened me to do that. And I had sort of made up my mind that if you were going to be this generous and give us this... I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you... that my brand new album comes out October 21st. And I will tell you more at midnight." (1:44 OC: . . .more at midnight.)

Beatles insiders got the confirmation that a Revolver box set is indeed coming -- with a September 13th "save the date" notice from the powers that be indicating more info was on its way. Giles Martin, the son of the Beatles' legendary producer George Martin, is once again spearheading the new box set, which his rumored to drop in late-October. The package follows such critically acclaimed expanded and remixed versions of 1967's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1968's The Beatles (aka the "White Album"), 1969's Abbey Road, and 1970's Let It Be.

Back in 2021 Giles talked about remixing Revolver, telling Variety, "If you take something like 'Taxman' (it's) guitar, bass and drums on one track, and vocals and a sort of shaking and guitar solo (on the right). And it sounds good; they're amazing recordings, and amazing mixes. Y'know, we have to look into what technology we can do to make things de-mixed and all this kind of stuff, which I'm looking into. So I'm looking for the technology to do it with, to do something really innovative with Rubber Soul and Revolver, as opposed to just a remastering job, because it's been remastered already. So I think we will. I think we also will look at outtakes as well."

He admitted that working on the "Fab Four's" pre-1967 material would prove difficult, explaining, "We have to look into what technology we can do to make things de-mixed and all this kind of stuff, which I'm looking into. So I'm looking for the technology to do it with. I think we're getting there with technology. I think we are."

In the audio book edition of his recent Paul McCartney: The Lyrics - 1956 To The Present book, McCartney shed light on the Revolver standout track, "Got To Get You Into My Life": "'Got To Get You Into My Life' is off Revolver. We were having fun trying out different instruments in the arrangements -- and here we have the brass section. I'd been listening to a lot of American R&B and soul, and there were horn sections on those records: Joe Tex, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave -- people like that. That was enough impetus for me to think, 'I'll have a go at that.' That's often how things happen with me. I'll hear something on the radio and think, 'Wow -- I'm gonna do my version of that.' So, we got some horn players -- trumpets and saxophones, I think, into Abbey Road Studio Two, and they got it immediately."

Britney Spears celebrated the success of "Hold Me Closer" by sending Elton John a message using a fake British accent.

The "Toxic Singer" said in the video, "Hello Sir Elton John. We are like Number 1 in 40 countries. Holy sh*t! I'm in the tub right now and I'm about to go have the best day ever and I hope you're well."

TMZ reports that the two are starting to work on a video for the hit song.