Pulse Music

On Saturday night (June 25th) Paul McCartney welcomed Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl onstage during his first appearance at England's Glastonbury festival in 18 years. The show, which turned out to be "Macca's" 500th with his band of the past two decades, marked Dave Grohl's first live performance since the death of Foo Fighters' drummer Taylor Hawkins back on March 25th.

Grohl joined McCartney for two songs, tackling the Beatles' 1963 Please Please Me opener "I Saw Her Standing There" and 1973's Wings classic "Band On The Run."

Springsteen repeated his two-song set with McCartney that they played back on June 16th at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, with "The Boss" leading the way on his 1984 favorite, "Glory Days" before duetting with McCartney on Ringo Starr's signature "Beatlemania" tune -- "I Wanna Be Your Man." Both Grohl and Springsteen came back out to trade solos on "The End" portion of the show-closing Abbey Road-medley.

Paul McCartney explained that at this stage of his career, how he's perceived as an artist is pretty much irrelevant to him or his work: "I'm not really fussed about what I am now. Y'know, 'cause I've been a lot of stuff I wanted to be. So, y'know, if I was ever trying to become a title -- 'a rock and roller' -- well, y'know, I don't think of myself as anything in particular. Y'know, obviously, as you get older it gets harder to be a punk. But I'm not really fussed about that, 'cause I think it'd be, like, daft to suddenly really try to be 15-years-old. So I have to accept to a degree what I am, y'know? I think of myself, basically, as a sort of rocker, who can write ballads as well."

STEPHEN STILLS PARTNERS WITH IRVING AZOFF'S IAG

Stephen Stills has joined the likes of Linda Ronstadt, the Beach Boys, and bandmate David Crosby, by entering into "a new, multifaceted partnership with Irving Azoff's Iconic Artists Group (IAG)." According to Billboard, "The deal includes IAG's purchase of a controlling interest in Stills' intellectual property, including his music publishing catalog of 1,000-plus songs from his stints in Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Manassas; the Rides and the Stills-Young Band, as well as his solo career. Among the classics the deal covers are 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,' 'Southern Cross,' and 'Love The One You're With.'"

The deal also gives IAG a stake in Stills' band trademarks, name, image and likeness. Stills explained why he decided to go with Azoff -- a friend for decades: "I waited for an Irving, someone that I knew and knew would cherish it. I got another contract from another company, and it was jail. I got to these advanced years, and I decided I would circumvent the estate fight."

Azoff added: "You look at (the Tom Petty family) and some of that. But in our case, what we're trying to help is for the proper estate planning, but also growing it." (Billboard)

NEW NEIL YOUNG CONCERT FILM & LIVE SET

On August 5th, Neil Young will release his latest live set and concert movie, titled, Noise & Flowers. The project was culled from Neil Young and Promise of the Real's 2019 European tour, which Young undertook following the death of his longtime manager and confidante, Elliot Roberts.

Young posted on his official Neil Young Archives page: "During the tour, we had a poster of Elliot on a road case, where he always stood during all shows. Everyone who was with us felt that this tour was amazing for its great vibe. The Real and I delivered for Elliot. . . Truly a great collection dripping with the soul of our band as we played for our fallen leader."

Highlights on the set include "Helpless," "Rockin' In The Free World," "Winterlong," "Alabama," "I've Been Waiting For You," and "On The Beach," among others. (Rolling Stone)

GRAHAM NASH ON THE FALL OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE

Graham Nash, who's currently out on the road on a solo tour, spoke frankly about the State of The Union. The British-born Nash, who became an American citizen back in 1978, told New York's The Hudson Independent, "Quite frankly, we might be wit­ness­ing the end of the Amer­i­can em­pire. Em­pires rise and fall. . . the Egyp­tians thought they were great. The Russ­ian em­pire thought it was great. The British Em­pire thought they were great. And they all failed. There is so much di­vi­sion in the coun­try. I'm not op­ti­mistic right now."

He went on to say, "The great thing about this coun­try is that you are able to speak your mind. I'm not even sure if any of CSN or CSNY would be able to do what we did had we lived in a dif­fer­ent coun­try, but we live in the United States and in the United States you are al­lowed to say what you think." (The Hudson Independent)

Graham Nash klcks off his next string of dates on July 13th at Red Bank, New Jersey's Count Basie Center for the Arts.

J-Hope has become the first member of BTS to announce a solo album following news of the group's hiatus.

BigHit Music wrote on Weverse Sunday (June 26th) that the South Korean rapper will drop Jack In The Box on July 15th, with the first single to debut on July 1st.

The group told fans earlier this month that they would be taking time apart to explore solo projects.

Lynne Spears says she just wants her daughter Britney to be "happy."

In video obtained by Page Six, photographers caught Lynne leaving LAX on Thursday (June 23rd) and asked how she felt about not getting an invite to the pop star's wedding. Lynne said, "I just want her to be happy."

The "Toxic" singer responted on Instagram by posting a video of herself and her new husband, Sam Asghari, making out as they boarded a private plane. Britney captioned the clip, "Hi … Am I happy enough mamma ???"

Lynne previously wished her daughter well on Instagram following her nuptials, writing, "You look so radiant and so happy!" Your wedding is the ‘Dream' wedding. And having it at your home makes it so sentimental and special! I am soooo happy for you! I love you!"

Pink is prepared to lose fans in defense of a woman's right to an abortion.

On Saturday (June 25th), the singer tweeted in response to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, "Let's be clear: if you believe the government belongs in a woman's uterus, a gay persons business or marriage, or that racism is okay- THEN PLEASE IN THE NAME OF YOUR LORD NEVER F***ING LISTEN TO MY MUSIC AGAIN. AND ALSO F*** RIGHT OFF. We good?"

She continued to tweet Sunday, (June 26th) writing, "I think all of our nerves are collectively fried from so many years of racism, misogyny, homophobia, etc. +pandemics, mass shootings, wars and the total lunacy, hypocrisy, ignorance of the GOP-it's all a bit much. But we will stick together. Good will prevail over evil."

Roger Daltrey is happy to be on the road with his solo band -- especially in the face of Covid, which nearly crippled the touring industry.

Daltrey's solo backing band includes Pete Townshend's brother, guitarist Simon Townshend and Simon's son Ben on drums. Daltrey chatted with Scotland's The Herald and explained, "If I do any Who songs we'll do them completely differently from the way the Who do them, just to explore them. . . But the most important thing is I'm going to be employing 20 people, 10 of them musicians who have been out of work for two-and-a-half years."

When pressed as to why Daltrey has dubbed the trek, "Who I Was" -- he laughed and said, "Because the longer the lockdown went on the more I wondered who the f*** I was. It was driving me insane. You've got to remember we've been gypsies all our lives, travelled the whole world, then we're shut up for two years. There was a huge part of me missing, which is the part of me that gets on a stage and sings. There's something in me that seems to have to do that, or transmit whatever I'm thinking and touch people with the voice I was given as a gift. Unless you've done it, it's very difficult to explain."

Daltrey went on to say, "The last two-and-a-half years haven't been easy. I didn't think we would ever go back. But now we are and I've got my solo thing coming up which was postponed from last year, then the Who are touring again in October. I'm really happy to be doing it because I know it can't go on for too much longer. Singers can't change the strings and I don't want to go out and be mediocre."

Roger Daltrey continues to tour on his own and play charity gigs as much as possible. He admits that at this stage of the game -- especially with Who shows looming in the not too distant future -- he physically needs to sing as often as he can: "If I ever stopped singing, I wouldn't be able to do this, so I just make sure I just keep singing, keep the voice in. You've got to keep doing it, especially singing like the way I sing. I could do some serious damage if I stop, so I've just gotta keep going."

Happy Birthday to Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys, who turns 80 on today (June 27th). Johnston joined the group on April 9th, 1965 to become the permanent live replacement for the group's leader and bassist Brian Wilson, who had quit the road the previous December to focus solely on songwriting and producing. Soon after Johnston had joined, Wilson featured him prominently on the group's next single, 1965's Number Three hit "California Girls." Johnston's tenor voice was also notably featured in the fadeout of "God Only Knows" from the group's 1966 Pet Sounds album.

Johnston's signature Beach Boys classic, 1971's "Disney Girls," is among the tracks revamped on the recent set, The Beach Boys With the Royal Philharmonic, which sailed to Number One on both Billboard's Classical Albums and Classical Crossover Albums charts.

Bruce Johnston explained why he was so desperately needed out on the road with the group back in 1965: "Brian Wilson had about 10 jobs. He had to write it, arrange it, produce it, do vocal arrangements. . . and it means you have to stay home to do it. So that kind of opened up a door for me to be on the road -- and record, I guess."

Unlike the rest of the Beach Boys, Johnston wasn't raised in the blue-collar suburbs of Hawthorne or Inglewood, California, but in the affluent Bel Air section of Los Angeles, along with high school buddies Jan & Dean. As a teenager, Johnston ventured into Hollywood, hooking up with such aspiring legends as Phil Spector, who invited Johnston to join his first group, the Teddy Bears. Johnston passed on Spector's offer, but later teamed up with Doris Day's son Terry Melcher to record what he called "Beach Boys knock-offs" as the Rip Chords, including "Hey Little Cobra."

Johnston told us that although he rates the Brian Wilson-produced Pet Sounds as the group's masterpiece, he also respected the late '60s work the group did after Wilson backed away from writing for the band: "With Brian pulling back it kind of brought everybody to the realization that if, y'know, we're gonna keep recording as the Beach Boys we have to have songs to record. Everybody started writing their own songs and they had interesting discoveries about their talent. Y'know, everybody started writing and I kinda found it interesting."

Johnston quit the Beach Boys in 1972 and explained that it was the group's rampant substance abuse pretty much drove him away: "That was the drug era that I refused. Without saying who was in it, I'll just tell who wasn't. That was also, Mike (Love) maybe being a little nutty organically with meditation. And Al Jardine was never, ever into alcohol or drugs. So it was a tough time."

He recalled how he returned to the fold -- first as a producer, then as a performer -- in 1978: "I suppose I was some sane voice that was kind of on the inside. (And it was) 'Come down and perform a little sane rescue (for the sessions).' Y'know, organize the troops. And that's how it started up. And then, God bless Dennis (Wilson), in the middle of it, he said 'Bruce, get on the plane tonight. We're playing in Mobile. I want you on that stage with us.'"

Beach Boys author Peter Ames Carlin said that Johnston's relationship and opinion of Brian Wilson's work seems to differ between his first stint in the band from 1965 to 1972 and when he re-joined in the late '70s: "He seemed to understand the significance and importance of Brian's artistry, and what had happened to Brian's work over the years. But when he got back in the band in '79 and everything just kind of shifted, and he became Mike Love's shadow. And way more involved in the commercial side of it and seemed to almost have contempt for Brian."

Johnston told us that he still keeps an active tab on Top 40 radio and says that he's open to most kinds of music -- but there are a few things he still won't allow in his home: "I hate the four-letter word. I love freedom of speech, but I hate four-letter words in music. 'Cause, Little Richard, James Brown and Jimi Hendrix were about as funky as you could ever be -- but they never had to swear. I'm not a prude, but freedom of speech -- rock on -- but not at my house."

Apart from being a member of the Beach Boys, Johnston is best known for composing Barry Manilow's 1976 chart topper "I Write The Songs," which earned Johnston the Grammy that year for Song Of The Year.

Aside from his four decades working with the Beach Boys, Johnston has worked with Elton John, Eric Carmen, the Hudson Brothers, David Cassidy, Pink Floyd, and many, many others.

Most recently Johnston was credited as one of the producers of The Weeknd's 2022 album Dawn FM. Johnston co-wrote and co-produced "Here We Go. . . Again," which featured rapper Tyler, the Creator.

Bruce Johnston is the only member of the group's classic lineup still touring with Mike Love as the Beach Boys. The group perform tonight (June 27th) in Paris, France at L'Olympia.

The Beach Boys' next North American date is set for July 28th in Calgary at the Grey Eagle Resort & Casino.

Ozzy Osbourne has tapped some of rock's greatest guitarists for his upcoming album, Patient Number 9, set for release on September 9th. Osbourne has already dropped the title track, featuring the legendary Jeff Beck.

Ultimate-Guitar.com posted some of Ozzy's recent Q&A with fans in which he revealed he wished some of the new songs had come earlier: "It was really great working with Tony (Iommi). He's the riff master. No one can touch him in that respect. I only wish we had these songs for Black Sabbath's 13 album."

On reuniting with former solo guitarist Zakk Wylde, Ozzy explained, "Zakk is part of my family and always will be. The album needed that weight that his playing provides. He just came in and really sorted things out."

Regarding the album's just-released title track, Ozzy said: "The song is about a mental institution. Having someone like Jeff Beck play on my album is just incredible, a total honor. There's no other guitar player that plays like him and his solo on 'Patient Number 9 is just jaw-dropping."

Ozzy told us a while back how he finds inspiration for song topics these days: "Believe me, I'm not one of these guys that can write about boy-meets-girl. It's got to mean something to me. I mean, I don't write all the lyrics, but I have to say, 'Well, y'know, this an' that, isn't that strange that that happened when this happened,' y'know, and I'll get going, y'know?"

Charlie Puth said last week, that if he got 5000,000 pre-saves, he would release a collaboration with BTS' Jungkook. And today, he kept his promise.

Over the last couple of days, the two have been sharing clips of the song and the video for "Left and Right."

In the video, they cycle through a series of outfits as they sing back-to-back and Jungkook tries to listen to a conversation on the other side of a wall using a glass. He's also seen hanging on to a car hood as it speeds through town.

The tease of the song came just a few days after Jungkook and the rest of BTS announced that they were going to take a break to work on their solo careers.

TL;DR:

• Charlie Puth has release a collaboration with BTS' Jungkook.
• Over the last couple of days, the two have been sharing clips of the song and the video for "Left and Right."

Paul McCartney will play a "pop up" show tonight (Friday, June 24th) in Frome, England as a warm-up for Saturday's (June 25th) performance at England's Glastonbury Festival. The former-Beatle announced he and his band will perform live in Frome, Somerset, at the Cheese and Grain (Market Yd, Justice Ln, Frome BA11 1BE), hitting the stage at 5 p.m. local time.

According to the announcement:

⁠Tickets for this extraordinary experience are available now from the Cheese and Grain box office -- in-person only -- and will be available on a strictly first-come first-served basis. The box office will be open for extended hours this evening until tickets have sold out.
⁠
⁠This is an incredible opportunity to watch Paul warm up for his Glastonbury headlining performance this weekend, and won't be Paul's normal set, so expect an afternoon full of wonderful surprises.

Tickets are 25 (British pounds) each and limited to 2 per person and are non-transferable.

We caught up with Paul McCartney not too long ago and asked him what he considered his greatest achievement: "My most significant achievement is my children, they are very significant and boy. But it was easy achieving that (laughter). But work? Y'know, I don't know. It's a very difficult question 'cause I've been lucky to have been involved in so many cool things. I think one of the most magical things, I think a lot of people in music, you kind of end up believing in a kind of a mystery and a magic, 'cause there is that to it."

Poison drummer Rikki Rockett feels that tour mate Tommy Lee is getting too much flack for having broken four ribs just before hitting the road on "The Stadium Tour." Although Lee -- against doctor's orders -- is braving through a handful of tunes every night with Motley Crue, the majority of the set is being handled by drummer Tommy Clufetos -- who now plays with Ozzy Osbourne andghandled drum duties on the last Black Sabbath tour.

Rockett appeared on SiriusXM's Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk and was asked if he knew Tommy Lee was injured prior to hitting the road, and admitted, "I didn't know anything about it. I swear I didn't. I went out and he wasn't playing. And I'm, like, 'What the heck is going on, guys?' So I went back and got the lowdown."

He went on to say that he thinks it's uncool that some fans are slamming Lee for not playing the full set with the Crue: "He's taking a lot of heat, and I don't think he should. Because I think what's cool about what he's doing is he's coming out there and he's going, 'This is painful to do it, but I want the audience to know that I'm here. I'm here for the duration. I'm not wussing out on this.' Instead of running home and sitting six weeks out while he recovers, he's (out on the road and) he's part of the team. I think that's badass."

Taylor Swift released a new song today. It's the theme music for the movie, Where The Crawdads Sing. "Carolina" is also used in the official trailer for the film.

Her song didn't just happen to show up in the movie. Swift says that she read the book years ago and loved it.

She said, "As soon as I heard there was a film in the works starring the incredible Daisy Edgar Jones and produced by the brilliant Reese Witherspoon, I knew I wanted to be a part of it from the musical side."

Taylor wrote the song herself and made the announcement on Thursday morning (June 23) via Instagram.

TL;DR:

Shawn Mendes plays a singing crocodile in the upcoming movie, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.

In the promotional trailer released on Thursday (6-23) his animated character shows up in the bathtub of an unsuspecting family. The homeowners soon learn that the reptile isn't dangerous, plus he can carry a tune.

Mendes said he liked the character and had a lot of fun recording the voice overs for the film. He said, "What was really amazing was that Lyle as a character only sings, so I felt really comfortable. I was able to do what I do best, plus I relate to his story and his character so much it felt natural."

The story line is about a crocodile helping a young boy find his own voice as he struggles to adapt to a new school.

The movie based on a children's classic book, will be in theatres October 7^th.

TL;DR:

• Shawn Mendes plays a singing crocodile in the upcoming movie, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.
• Mendes said, "I was able to do what I do best, plus I relate to his story and his character so much it felt natural."
• The story line is about a crocodile helping a young boy find his own voice as he struggles to adapt to a new school.
• In theatres October 7^th.

The latest Pink Floyd track, "Hey Hey Rise Up," will see physical release on Ocober 21st. The single will be available in both CD and seven-inch vinyl versions. Both will feature the newly-reworked B-side, "A Great Day For Freedom," which was originally featured on Floyd's 1994 The Divison Bell collection.

Rolling Stone reported, "David Gilmour reimagined the song using the original tapes, which feature Nick Mason on drums and the late Richard Wright on keyboards. Proceeds for the physical release and the ongoing digital sales will go to Ukraine humanitarian relief."

Back in April, "Hey Hey Rise Up" was released digitally in support of the people of Ukraine, The track marked the band's first new music since The Division Bell and features Gilmour and Mason joined by long time bassist Guy Pratt and Nitin Sawhney on keyboards -- along with a vocal performance by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the Ukrainian band Boombox. The track, recorded on March 30th, 2022, uses Andriy's vocals taken from his Instagram post (https://www.instagram.com/p/Cae5TydPAxh/) of him singing in Kyiv's Sofiyskaya Square.

According to the original press release for "Hey Hey Rise Up":

The song itself "The Red Viburnum In The Meadow" is a rousing Ukrainian protest song written during the first world war which has been taken up across the world over the past month in protest of the invasion of Ukraine. The title of the Pink Floyd track is taken from the last line of the song which translates as "Hey hey rise up and rejoice."

Gilmour, who has a Ukrainian daughter-in-law and grandchildren said:

We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world's major powers.

Britney Spears is back on Instagram. She re-activated her account by posting about her happy marriage, and talked about her new home. She shared a photo, wearing a multi-colored bikini at her new swimming pool. She told fans that she hadn't been on her honeymoon yet, instead she and her husband have been moving into their new home, which puts her closer in distance from her 2 songs, Sean and Jayden.

Post Malone and 21 Savage's 2017 music video for "Rockstar" has surpassed a billion views on YouTube. This is Malone's third and 21 Savage's first time to reach the milestone. The song was the lead single from Malone's sophomore album Beerbongs & Bentleys. It held #1 for eight weeks and remained on the Billboard charts for 41 weeks total.

Lizzo stripped down to her underwear for Instagram. Striking a sexy pose in her heather gray panties and a matching scoop neck bra she wrote: "New background unlocked." Her post had lots of comments from her famous friends such as SZA and Chloe Bailey… who both wrote: "Gorgeous!!"

Roger Daltrey is back on the road touring the UK with his solo band and admits it's a world away from the Who's recent dates. While chatting to England's Portsmouth News, Daltrey explained, "The Who is a whole different kettle of fish and of course at the moment we're touring with a full orchestra, so it's full-blown Who -- but because I say we've got an orchestra, it doesn't mean the power of the music is watered down in any way whatsoever, if anything it's even more powerful."

He went on to say, "That's what so great about this -- for the last 50 years we've been playing to enormous audiences in enormous arenas, stadiums, outdoor festivals with half a million people there. It's going to be great with smaller audiences. It's something I used to do in the old days, we all did, and it's great to be reminded of the journey you've been on, and that's what the title of the show is all about, because 'Who Was I?'"

Daltrey takes several liberal dips into his solo career -- which although scoring the singer several major hits -- was nothing that ever was done with an eye in replacing the Who: "There's so much when I listen back to the solo albums I did -- it was basically a hobby, something to do while the Who weren't touring. I never had any intention of doing a Rod Stewart and the Faces, having this huge solo career, I was trying to keep it down if anything! I only ever wanted to be the singer of the Who."

Daltrey said he feels confident in reimagining the Who's classics on the road: "I'm going to try and do that to turn your head around a bit with different sounds so that you hear the songs again for the first time. They will be THE songs. Like I did a version of 'Baba O'Riley' and it was done with just a squeezebox, fiddle and mandolin, acoustic guitar and piano and a boom-box -- and it sounded amazing! The sounds are so different, but the song is so familiar it just gives it a lift. There's something about it. I don't want to go up on this solo show and pretend I'm the Who without Pete Townshend -- there's no point in that at all, so let's try and do something a bit different."

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."

Daltrey told us that these days, due to his aging vocal cords, he's learned to properly pace himself within his live performances: "We can only play for two hours. Y'know it gets to be, for me personally and my voice, two hours is enough singing the way I sing. It's not an easy number these songs. They're very, very challenging. They demand the kind of energy that the voice needs to give it."

Roger Daltrey's solo "Who Was I" tour plays tonight (June 24th) in Oxford, England's New Theatre Oxford.

It was 45 years ago Sunday night (June 26th, 1977) that Elvis Presley performed his last concert. "The King's" final show in Indianapolis at the Market Square Arena was his 55th show of the year. Despite Presley's failing health, and at times sickly appearance, his presence alone was still enough of a draw to sell out shows nationwide. Bootleg copies of Presley's Indianapolis shows have been available on the collector's circuit for years, and prove that Presley's voice was in good shape for the entire show, which was nearly identical to most of his 1977 performances.

Although the following October's CBS-TV special Elvis In Concert has been billed over the years as being Presley's final show, it was actually compiled from shows from June 19th, 1977 in Omaha, Nebraska and on June 21st in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The setlist to Elvis Presley's final show was: "C.C. Rider," "I Got A Woman/Amen," "Love Me," "Fairytale," "You Gave Me A Mountain," "Jailhouse Rock," "It's Now Or Never," "Little Sister," "Teddy Bear," "Don't Be Cruel," "Release Me," "I Can't Stop Loving You," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Early Mornin' Rain," "Johnny B. Goode," "I Really Don't Want To Know," "Hurt," "Hound Dog," and "Can't Help Falling In Love."

James Burton, Elvis' longtime lead guitarist and bandleader, said that "The King" was never not in full control of his voice -- even on his final tours when his health was sometimes in question: "Oh yeah, he knew his range. Oh yeah, absolutely. He had perfect pitch. I mean the guy could be clear across the stage and go into a song he probably hadn't sung in years -- it was there. It was such a natural talent, y'know? It was a blessing from God."

Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham credits hearing Elvis in 1956 as the motivating factor that lead him to becoming a musician: "Like many people my age, y'know, I was quite young, I was always interested in music, and I was listening to what we all would refer to as our 'parents' music.' So, when my older brother brought home (the single of) 'Heartbreak Hotel' -- it's not a unique story, but it was just a mind-blowing revelation in terms of this kind of explosive spirit that just kind of washed over that whole generation."

While out on the road in 1972, Elvis Presley talked about how he and his live band leave everything on the stage during every show: "I think it's 'cause we enjoy it -- and we constantly enjoy it. Y'know, we do two shows a night for five weeks, but we never let it get old. Every song is like we do it for the first time and that's one of the secrets. We can change 'em around, but even if we do the same songs, they're new and the sound is. . . the feeling is there every time."

Pete Townshend told us that he believes that the enormity of pressures surrounding the Elvis "machine" are what ultimately lead to his death at such a young age: "That's a terrible tragedy when you think what a decent kind of guy he seemed to be when you read the stuff. Y'know he came to pieces at the end. And it's easy to blame Vegas, but it wasn't about Vegas, it was just about the load."

Elvis Presley died of heart failure on August 16th, 1977 at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 42-years-old.

The new biopic, Elvis, opens today (June 24th). The film was directed by Baz Luhrmann with Austin Butler portraying Elvis and Tom Hanks as the legendary Col. Tom Parker.

It was 55 years ago Saturday (June 25th, 1967) that the Beatles performed "All You Need Is Love," which was broadcast live via global satellite to an estimated 400 million viewers. The Beatles were representing the U.K. in the Our World TV special, which was the first major televised hookup linking five continents.

The Beatles were riding high on the success of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which had been released earlier that month. For the broadcast, the four Beatles were surrounded by such high-profile guests as Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithful, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon, George Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd, Paul McCartney's girlfriend Jane Asher, his brother Mike "McGear" McCartney, Graham Nash, and numerous other assorted friends and family.

The Beatles, who sat on high stools in Abbey Road Studio Number One, were decked out in their finest Swinging London apparel, with John Lennon, who composed the song, sitting center stage without an instrument. Although the Beatles were playing live, over the preceding ten days they had recorded a basic track to play along to, which included Lennon on harpsichord, Paul McCartney on double bass, George Harrison's lead guitar solo, and Ringo Starr's drums.

Graham Nash gave us the backstory on how he ended up participating in the 'All You Need Is Love' recording session: "Got a call one Sunday morning from Paul (McCartney). He asked me what I was doing later that day and I said, 'Well, first of all it's only nine o'clock in the morning, Paul. What are you doing call. . . I mean, Saturday evening, who the hell goes to sleep?' Right? So, anyway, I was joking with him. I said, 'What are you up to?' He says, 'Well, at Abbey Road (Studios) later on, we're gonna do this new song called 'All You Need Is Love,' it's going to be on satellite and it's going to be for a few people.' I said, 'How many people?' He said, 'A couple of billion.' 'What?!' We went down there -- all friends (Mick) Jagger's over there, Keith (Richards') over there, and I'm over here, Marianne (Faithfull's) over there, y'know, and we're just sitting there watching the boys do their performance. I can actually hear myself whistling on the end of that track (laughs)."

George Harrison recalled the recording of the song in 1995's The Beatles Anthology: "I don't know how many millions of people but it was supposed to be some phenomenal amount of people and it was probably the very earliest technology that enabled that kind of satellite link. We just thought, 'Well, we'll just sing 'All You Need Is Love," because it's a kind of subtle bit of PR for God,' (laughs) basically."

Paul McCartney recalled the recording of the song and said that he wasn't sure whether Lennon had written the tune especially for the satellite event: "It was John's song mainly. I don't think it was written especially for (the global broadcast) but it was one of the songs that we had. It was certainly tailored to it once we had it. But I've got a feeling it was just one of John's."

In The Beatles Anthology book, Ringo Starr commented on the altruistic aspects of the Beatles performing "All You Need Is Love" on a truly global stage: "We were big enough to command an audience of that size, and it was for love. It was for love and bloody peace. It was a fabulous time. I even get excited now when I realize that's what it was for: peace and love, people putting flowers in guns."

According to legend, had Lennon not come up with "All You Need Is Love" on May 22nd, 1967, the Beatles were planning to perform McCartney's "Your Mother Should Know."

"All You Need Is Love" knocked the Doors' "Light My Fire" out of the Number One spot on August 19th, 1967, becoming the group's 14th Number One song, and topping the charts for one week. Over the years, the song has become synonymous with 1967's legendary "Summer Of Love."

"All You Need Is Love", along with the Beatles' other two Number One's from that year, "Penny Lane" and "Hello Goodbye," was included on the soundtrack album to the group's Magical Mystery Tour album, which was released that December.

A colorized version of the Beatles performance of "All You Need Is Love" was included in the 1995 Beatles Anthology.

The Beatles never performed the song live, having given up touring in 1966. In 2002, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard, and many others performed "All You Need Is Love" in London at Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace. In recent years, McCartney performed the song's end-chorus in medley with the "Fab Four's" Rubber Soul classic, "The Word."

In an interview with Weverse Magazine, Chris Martin of Coldplay received more praise from BTS' RM. When they collaborated on the hit song "My Universe," RM says he was surprised that Martin agreed to travel to Korea to work on the project. He was also impressed with how much Martin knew about the group and talked about music.

RM said, "Not only did he know all our names, he knew all about Tomorrow X and Enhypen. And not just in passing, either. Someone walked by while we were at the HYBE building and he said, ‘Isn't that ENHYPEN?' I was like, Yo, how much did he study before he came here?"

In addition, he said that they all continued to communicate while working on the project and almost always it was Martin that would text first.

"My Universe" was released in both English and Korean. The two bands have performed the song multiple times, including at the 2021 American Music Awards.

TL;DR:

• RM said he was surprised that Martin agreed to travel to Korea to work on the project.
• He was impressed with how much Martin knew about the group and talked about music.
• They all continued to communicate while working on the project and almost always it was Martin that would text first.

It was 56 years ago tonight (June 24th, 1966), that the Beatles kicked off their final tour in Munich, West Germany. The tour, which saw the group performing in Germany, Japan, the Philippines, and North America, was plagued with controversy. In the Philippines, the Beatles, who had politely declined an invitation to attend a banquet with then-President Ferdinand Marcos, were virtually run out of the country for what the Filipinos believed to be a snub towards the first family.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., trouble was brewing after a statement John Lennon had made the previous spring in an interview with The London Evening Standard, during a philosophical discussion about religion, was taken out of context and printed in the U.S. teen magazine Datebook. The magazine, which printed Lennon's quote that "Christianity will go it will vanish and shrink. . . Jesus was alright, but his disciples were thick and ordinary . . . We're more popular than Jesus now," ignited protests, including record burnings all over the "bible belt" and southern U.S. states.

The Beatles held a press conference on August 11th in Chicago, the night before they started the U.S. leg, where, after trying to explain exactly what he meant in the interview; Lennon essentially apologized -- not for the statement itself, but for how it may have been interpreted. Death threats plagued the Beatles throughout the 14-date tour -- especially prior to the group's August 19th show in Memphis -- their only show in the South.

The tour dragged on through the States to still strong, but less-than-sellout crowds, where the group, already long bored with performing for screaming fans, lazily ran through a set which showed no sign of the experimentation heard on their Revolver album, which was released days before the tour began.

The group performed approximately a 30-minute set every night, featuring 11 songs: "Rock And Roll Music," "She's A Woman," "If I Needed Someone," "Day Tripper," "Baby's In Black," "I Feel Fine," "Yesterday," "I Wanna Be Your Man," "Nowhere Man," "Paperback Writer," and either "Long Tall Sally" or "I'm Down."

Ringo Starr explained that when the Beatles were on the road, there was barely a respite from the mania: "Y'know, we were on 24 hours a day, really. From the minute we opened our eyes; somebody wanted to get at us for something. Y'know, the story is, like, we'd take the whole floor of a hotel and we -- the four of us -- would be sittin' in the toilet (laughs). It was the only place we could sort of get away from the pressure, 'cause the pressure was on as soon as you opened your eyes" 'Sign this!' 'Say this!' Do this!' 'Gimmie, gimmie!' And so, we'd try and get some space."

Paul McCartney says that the Beatles always felt that quitting the road would be a major turning point for the group: "I remember thinking a bit like Army buddies. One of the songs we used to love was 'Wedding Bells.' (sings song) And this idea that you'd been army buddies but one day you'd have to kiss the army goodbye and get married and act like normal people -- it was a bit like that. We knew that day would come."

The Beatles played their last public performance on August 29th, 1966 at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. McCartney, knowing that the show was to be the Beatles' last, captured the show on a portable tape recorder, which eventually has made the rounds of bootleg collectors

Happy Birthday to Carly Simon, who turns 77 on Saturday (June 25th)!!! In May it was announced Simon will be inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. The 2022 Rock Hall induction ceremony will be held on November 5th at L.A.'s Microsoft Theater and air at a later date on HBO and stream on HBO Max.

In addition to Carly Simon the 2022 inductees are Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, and Eminem. This year's Musical Excellence Award will go to Judas Priest along with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Early Influence Awards will go to Harry Belafonte and Elizabeth Cotten, with Ahmet Ertegun Awards going to recording engineer, producer, and executive Jimmy Iovine, R&B singer and Sugar Hill Records founder Sylvia Robinson, and attorney, Allen Grubman.

In 2019, Carly Simon published the book about her friend, and former First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, titled, Touched By The Sun. Onassis, who died in 1994, befriended Simon years before on Martha's Vineyard, where the pair began an "improbable, but lasting friendship."

In 2018, a long-lost Mick Jagger-Carly Simon collaboration, believed to be titled "Fragile," from 1972 has been unearthed by a Rolling Stones collector. The Associated Press reported London entrepreneur Matt Lee "declined to say where the tape of the song came from. But he said he sent a digital copy of the song to Rolling Stone magazine because they promised to give it to Simon." Lee explained, "I'm not doing it for the money. I'm a collector. My motive for sending it to Rolling Stone was to pass it to Carly."

In 2016, Carly Simon spoke to Rolling Stone about the team-up stating, "We had this little back and forth at the piano for about an hour, (singing) 'Funny, funny, funny, funny, funny, How love can make you cry.''" On the demo recording, after the song finishes, a voice -- believed to be Simon's -- says, "good song." Fans have possibly already heard a bit of the tune in the Rolling Stones' infamous and long-unreleased 1972 tour film C***Suckers Blues, where Jagger can be heard singing an unknown tune, with the lyrics: "It's funny, funny, funny."

Back in 2011 Carly Simon revealed that Mick Jagger took a 1974 collaboration by the two and co-credited Keith Richards instead of her. At the same time that Jagger laid down backing vocals on Simon's 1972 track and eventual chart-topper, "You're So Vain," she says that she and Jagger went on to co-write a future Stones classic -- which found her edged her out of the songwriting credit.

Simon was quoted on Marc Spitz' recent biography, Jagger: Rebel, Rock Star, Rambler, Rouge, as saying, "We wrote a song together that became a song on the next Stones album (It's Only Rock N' Roll) called, 'Till The Next Goodbye.' I thought that was going to be a joint venture, but I'd never heard from Mick about how he'd like me to share the royalties."

She went on to clarify that Jagger was not the subject of "You're So Vain" -- or that the relationship was ever anything other than professional. Simon also said, that there's no hard feelings for Jagger cribbing the tune from her: "It's the very least I can do to thank Mick for turning what could have been an ordinary record into an iconic huge song for me over the years -- so, my God, let him take all my songs and say he wrote them."

In 2015, Simon published her autobiography, titled, Boys In The Trees - A Memoir. Simon's most recent original album, 2009's Never Been Gone, features new acoustic version of her classics "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be," "Let The River Run," "Coming Around Again," "Anticipation," "You Belong To Me," and "You're So Vain."

Over the course of her career, Simon has scored a dozen Top 40 hits -- and won two Grammy's -- snagging the awards for 1972's Best New Artist and in 1990 the prize for Best Song Written Specifically For A Motion Picture Or Television for her song "Let The River Run" as featured on the Working Girl soundtrack. The song also earned Simon the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

In July 2013, Simon, who infamously suffers from stage fright, joined Taylor Swift onstage at Boston's Gillette Stadium to duet on "You're So Vain."

Carly Simon admits that she was never a big fan of birthdays, even as a little girl: "They're all big in a way. I've never been a birthday person. I've always had birthdays that were at the beginning of summer camp and so all my friends went away to summer camp on my birthday, generally, so I never had parties. And so I was the only one in the family that was never given a party because of it being just that my friends were all away then. Boo-hoo. I always say I don't care about my birthday and then it turns out if people forget it, I get sad, but I say I don't really care."

Simon told us about her life-long battle as a stutter -- which continues through today -- and revealed that music became a key part of how she learned to communicate: "Even as a child, I would sing most of what I wanted to say. I had a terrible stammer; I couldn't really speak until I was 16. I couldn't speak at all fluently until I was 16, and so my mother would always say, 'Well, just go ahead and sing it,' because I didn't stammer when I sang because you use a whole different set of muscles when you sing as opposed to when you talk. So when I would start hesitating or stammering, she would say, 'Just sing it,' and then I would sing whatever I was trying to say and I'd be able to do it."

She told us that says that the most enjoyable part of recording these days is singing with her adult children from her marriage to James Taylor, Sally and Ben Taylor: "With Sally and Ben, when the three. . . I mean Sally and I have very different voices, but there's something about them that sounds almost identical when we sing. And Ben and I have very similar voices even though he enunciates very much like James, but the huskiness in his voice is like mine. So when Ben and I sing together it sounds very much like the way James and I used to sing."

Carly Simon recalled recording the backing vocals to "You're So Vain" with Mick Jagger and Harry Nilsson during the 1972 sessions for her No Secrets album: "Y'know, Harry and I were in there, we were doing it, it didn't quite have the right character, because it wasn't tough. I didn't ask Mick to come over because I needed a tough voice. Mick just showed up, and so we invited him to join us. And so the three of us were singing it together. And it sounded too sweet. The three-part harmony didn't work, but Harry was the first to notice it, and Harry said, 'Well, why don't the two of you try it together?' Y'know that's how it happened -- but more than anything Harry wanted to go out and have a drink (laughs)."

John Mellencamp had some harsh words for the new Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, he still believes is still too weak to be effective. The new legislation in Washington, D.C. would secure background checks for gun buyers under 21, as well as making it easier to take away weapons from those threatening to harm themselves or others, along with those who have a history of domestic violence.

Mellencamp tweeted a message to regarding the current climate of gun murders in the U.S.:

Only in America, and I mean only, in America, can 21 people be murdered and a week later be buried and forgotten, with a flimsy little thumbnail, a vague notion of some sort of gun control law laying on the senators' desks. What kind of people are we who claim that we care about pro-life?

Just so you know, anyone that's reading this....politicians don't give a f*** about you, they don't give a f*** about me, and they don't give a f***about our children. So, with that cheery thought in mind, have a happy summer, because it will be just a short time before it happens again.

John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp has never shied away from airing his personal political beliefs, but he told us they're best served by incorporating them into his art -- rather than standing on a soapbox during his concerts: "I think that if you're going to challenge people musically it should probably be on a record. Y'know, you don't mind people looking that way at a recording that you've done, and I think they should. But when they take a chance -- and that's the word -- take a chance, that perhaps they're going to pay their money to come and see something, I think that they should be entertained and they should leave saying, 'Jesus Christ, that's the greatest thing I've ever seen!'"

Justin Timberlake has issued an apology for the awkward dance moves he did during a recent performance at Something in the Water festival in Washington, D.C.

In a video on JT's Instagram Story, he said, "D.C., I want to apologize to you for two reasons: here and here. I had a long talk with both of them, individually, and said, 'Don't you ever do that to me again.'"

He added, "Maybe it was the khakis. It was a real khaki vibe."

Timberlake had joined Neptunes producer Pharrell Wiliams on stage and performed some of his biggest songs including "Like I Love You," "Rock Your Body" and "Senorita." He ended his set with "SexyBack."

Paul McCartney's album-closing medley to the Beatles' 1969 swan song, Abbey Road, has been voted his "best song." The new list, tallied by Variety's editors in celebration of "Macca's" recent 80th birthday, features nine out of the Top 10 songs coming from his Beatles years -- but only two of them being hit singles.

Topping the list is 1969's "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End," with 1965's "Yesterday" coming in at Number Two, and the Top Three rounded out by the 1968 "White Album" pot-boiler, "Helter Skelter."

To view the full Variety list of "Paul McCartney's 80 Best Songs," log on to: https://bit.ly/3QQYDm2

Paul McCartney's 10 'Best Songs' according to Variety is:

1. "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End" - 1969
2. "Yesterday" - 1965
3. "Helter Skelter" - 1968
4. "Maybe I'm Amazed" - 1970
5. "Here, There, And Everywhere" - 1966
6. "Blackbird" - 1968
7. "I'm Looking Through You" - 1965
8. "Oh! Darling" - 1969
9. "I'm Down" - 1965
10. "For No One" - 1966

"Helter Skelter" was inspired by a review Paul McCartney had read describing the Who's "I Can See For Miles" as being among the loudest and raunchiest recordings ever committed to tape. The 1968 "White Album" classic has become one of the highlights of McCartney's recent tours -- thanks to his band persuading him to finally include in their setlists. McCartney recalled the Beatles' legendary 1968 session for the track: "We just tried to get it louder -- "Guitars -- can we have 'em sound louder! The drums louder!' And that was really all that I wanted to do, make a very loud raunchy rock n' roll record with the Beatles -- which it is. We did it so long and so often, that on the end of it Ringo (Starr) did have blisters."