Pulse Music

Lizzo announced online that she's launching a shapewear company named Yitty. She said it's a dream she's had for 5 years and it will happen soon. According to the Yitty website, it launches April 12.

Lizzo said that it's "Shapewear you can wear Underwear, Overwear, Anywhere. For Every Damn Body. 6X to Xs.

Famous for celebrating all body shapes, sizes and colors, she recently debuted her Prime Video show, Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, which follows her search for backup dancers to join her on tour.

TL;DR:

E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg will be back on the tube tomorrow night (Friday, April 1st), when he returns to the CBS crime drama Blue Bloods.

"Mighty Max" spoke to Backstreets.com and revealed, "I'll be appearing on CBS-TV's Blue Bloods series, reprising for the third time my role as gangster Mario Vangelis. In this episode, (titled) 'Hidden Motive', Vangelis has been released from his two-year country club prison bid, sporting a deep tan and more than ready to continue his nefarious activities."

Weinberg went on to say, "I had a blast again working on this production. Bridget Moynihan -- for 12 seasons, the lovely and talented star of the show as Assistant District Attorney Erin Reagan -- made her directorial debut with this episode and totally nailed it. I have two scenes pivotal to the arc of the series centered around the developing relationship between Erin and Vangelis." Blue Bloods airs on CBS on Fridays at 10 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. Central.

Changing topics, Weinberg touched upon the war in Ukraine, explaining, "On a more personal note: as an American Jew of Russian (now Belarus) descent, I and my family join the rest of the world in condemning the brutal actions of the Kremlin butcher (Vladimir) Putin as he soullessly wages his horrifying, heartbreaking, and criminal assault on the people of Ukraine. The murder of babies, the wanton destruction of homes, the tears of millions of refugees -- it's just appalling."

Weinberg went on to say, "Tragic episodes in history unfortunately and unfailingly repeat themselves. For me, with memories seared into my soul by my elders (in our very large, extended family during the 1950's) of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazi madman and his evil regime, this feels like a present-day version of 1939. Our hearts are broken, and -- speaking for Becky, Ali, Jay, and their spouses -- we pray this unholy action ceases now. Slava Ukrani!"

Max Weinberg, who currently performs with his Max Weinberg's Jukebox covers band, told us that despite all the musical hats he's worn — as the drummer for the E Street Band, Conan O'Brien, along with his own orchestra — if he's behind the drums, it's all the same: "I've never changed my perspective a bit in pretty much my entire musical life. With whether it was in a TV studio, or a recording studio, stadium stage, arena — what have you; as long as I play, I'm in touch with the core of myself."

Max Weinberg's Jukebox kicks off its next string of dates on May 11th in Pawling, New York at Daryl's House.

Celebrities have been posting memories of the late Taylor Hawkins since his sudden death last week. And actor, John Stamos of Full House fame, shared his last text message the Foo Fighters' drummer.

The two had been trying to spend some time together and Taylor wrote: "We've yet to fully have a hang - Got a put that s*** together before we die."

Stamos, who also lost his friend and co-star Bob Saget in January, later shared a throwback video of Hawkins pretending to be upset with him for getting a Geico commercial instead of himself, in which Stamos flipped a knitting needle like a drumstick.

In a statement shared to Instagram, the Foo Fighters' remaining members, Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel, and Rami Jaffee remembered Hawkins for "his musical spirit" and "infectious laughter."

For the time being, Foo Fighters have ended their tour of South America.

TL;DR:

• John Stamos of Full House fame, shared his last text message the Foo Fighters' drummer.
• "We've yet to fully have a hang - Got a put that s*** together before we die.'"
• Foo Fighters have ended their tour of South America.

It was 46 years ago today (March 31st) that Led Zeppelin released it's seventh album, Presence. The collection, which topped the Billboard 200 album charts for two weeks, included the instant radio classic, "Nobody's Fault But Mine," and featured one single released for the U.S. market, "Candy Store Rock," which failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

Presence, like all of Zeppelin's works, was produced by Jimmy Page, and featured 10 tracks -- nine of which were written by Page and Robert Plant, with the rocker "Royal Orleans," being a group effort with the addition of John Paul Jones and John Bonham.

Robert Plant, who had sustained serious injuries in August of 1975 during a car crash on the Greek island of Rhodes, was forced to record the majority of his vocals while confined to a wheelchair.

On December 10th, 2007, at their reunion concert featuring Jason Bonham at London's O2 Arena, the band chose the Presence fan favorite, "For Your Life" to make its world live premiere -- marking the only song played that evening that John Bonham had never tackled in front of an audience.

The tracklisting to Presence is: "Achilles Last Stand," "For Your Life," "Royal Orleans," "Nobody's Fault But Mine," "Candy Store Rock," "Hots On For Nowhere," and "Tea For One."

Jimmy Page shed some light as to why Presence has such a timeless and powerful sound even four decades later: "It's a really intense album, I know that much. But the process, yet again, it was a success, and the process was to have a different engineer, and to have -- well actually, Keith Harwood had worked with us on mixing during the process of Physical Graffiti, but he hadn't recorded too many of the tracks. But this was a concentrated effort, again -- like going into Headley Grange was a concentrated effort -- going into the Musicland (Studios) in Munich was a concentrated effort of basically three weeks, so it was intense. I was definitely living, sleeping, breathing, eating the music all the way through."

The performance and production of Presence is the most taught sounding collection in the Zeppelin catalogue -- a fact attributed to it being recorded and mixed in only 18 days. Page credited the band's pre-production for much of its success: "It's a guitar album, that's a guitar album of many colors. We'd routined the whole of the structure, or, what was going to be the basic backing track; the backbone of it in L.A. And I'd keep adding all these sections, ‘and I must do this, I must do that,' but all the time in my mind, I had these ideas of what I was going to do. When we got into Munich, once we recorded it, the guys went off to a club that night, and I thought -- ‘I'm just gonna go ahead, I'm gonna get. . . see if I can do it' -- and I did. And out was like I was channeling out all these overdubs and it becomes, like a guitar orchestra, and it's all done in one night."

Jimmy Page, who was mainly known for using a Fender Telecaster and Gibson Les Paul during Zeppelin's mid-'70s sessions, recorded a number of parts for Presence on the Fender Stratocaster. We asked Page if he recalled specifically any of the songs he used the Strat for: "'For Your Life.' For example, that's one that's a Strat. Between. . . It's between the Strat and the Les Paul."

Jimmy Page explained that Presence truly represents the band perfectly at that point in time: "Because of the performance. Because we went in there and the whole thing's depending on the performance and the delivery of whatever it is. The performance of the group ensemble. But as far as the performance of Robert (Plant's) vocals, or the guitar overdubs, or John Paul Jones applying this, that, or the other, that's what it is."

Designer Aubrey Powell recalled how his commercial art design company Hipgnosis came about constructing the Presence album cover: "Presence -- that's an interesting story, because Led Zeppelin, particularly Jimmy Page, would never give us an inkling about anything. He would. . . I'd say, ‘Okay Jim, what's the music?' -- Y'can't hear it.' ‘Okay, what's the title?' -- 'I haven't got one.' ‘Well, is there anything I can go on?' -- ‘No. Just come up with some interesting ideas.' (I thought) Well, what about a symbol of something. Some energizing source. Without that you can't function. Wherever you are, you have to have it."

Robert Plant said that performing the band's 1976 Presence classic "For Your Life" for the first time onstage was a definite highlight of Zeppelin's 2007 one-off reunion show for him: "Just like Jason, I was amazed I was there playing with Led Zeppelin. And I was just saying, 'Now, where does the vocal come in?' And I know I made a couple of errors -- 'just had to shut up instead of doing too much. But. . . I think that was my favorite part of the show, to be honest. Because we were. . . none of us could bring too much back from ever having ever played it before. It was a great experience and that is flying by the seat of the pants. These guys did such a great job on that. It was very exciting. Great light show, too."

On July 31st, 2015 Presence was reissued with five archival tracks:

"Two Ones Are Won" ("Achilles Last Stand" - Reference Mix)
"For Your Life" (Reference Mix)
"10 Ribs & All/Carrot Pod Pod (Pod)" (Reference Mix)
"Royal Orleans" (Reference Mix)
"Hots On For Nowhere" (Reference Mix)

Elton John has announced the final 10 shows for his ongoing "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour dates. The "Rocketman" will close things out with stadium gigs in East Rutherford, New Jersey; Foxborough, Massachusetts; Toronto, ON; Charleston, South Carolina; Santa Clara and San Diego, California; Tacoma, Washington; Vancouver, BC; Phoenix, Arizona; and a tour closing return to L.A.'s famed Dodger Stadium -- the site of his legendary 1975 concerts.

Upon announcing his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour back in 2018, Elton John was asked why the trek needed to be such a long and major outing: "My fans have always turned up to my concerts. It means a lot to me. I've been touring since 1970 -- that's 48 years, and I've always managed to sell out concerts. So, it's a way of saying thank you, and it's a way of going out with a bang. I don't wanna go out with a whimper -- I wanna go out with a big bang."

Elton explained to us what the upcoming tour symbolizes: "It's the last time that I will be touring and traveling the world, because my priorities have changed in my life. 10 years ago, if you had said I'm going to stop touring, I'd have said, 'No, no -- I'm a working musician I always play' -- but, we had children and it changed our lives. And in 2015, David and I sat down with a school schedule and I said, 'I don't wanna miss too much of this.'"

Elton John performs tonight (March 30th) at St. Louis' Enterprise Center.

NEWLY ADDED: Elton John tour dates (subject to change):

July 24 - East Rutherford, NJ - MetLife Stadium
July 27 - Foxborough, MA - Gillette Stadium
September 8 - Toronto, ON - Rogers Centre
September 13 - Charleston, SC - Credit One Stadium
October 8 - Santa Clara, CA - Levi's Stadium
October 16, 17 - Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome
October 22 - Vancouver, BC - BC Place
November 9 - San Diego, CA - Petco Park
November 11 - Phoenix, AZ - Chase Field
November 17 - Los Angeles, CA - Dodger Stadium

With the sudden death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters have decided to cancel all scheduled concerts. The group was set to be on the road in North America and Down Under from May through December. There has been no mention of any future recording or performing plans.

Taylor Hawkins died on March 25th at age 50 after suffering an alleged drug overdose in Columbia. According to Britain's Daily Mail, Hawkins is said to have had a "heart (that) weighed double that of men his age (weighing) least 600 grams, double the average of 300 to 350 grams." Hawkins also allegedly had 10 different drugs in his system during the postmortem.

The Columbian newspaper Semana reported Hawkins suffered cardiovascular collapse "after binging on a cocktail of drugs." The surviving Foo Fighters returned to Los Angeles on Sunday (March 27th).

The Foo Fighters' official statement reads:

It is with great sadness that Foo Fighters confirm the cancellation of all upcoming tour dates in light of the staggering loss of our brother Taylor Hawkins.

We're sorry for and share in the disappointment that we won't be seeing one another as planned. Instead, let's take this time to grieve, to heal, to pull our loved ones close, and to appreciate all the music and memories we've made together.

With Love, Foo Fighters

Jungkook is the latest BTS member to test positive for Covid-19.

The K-Pop star was diagnosed with the illness Monday (March 28th), less than one week before the group's scheduled Grammy Awards performance.

A statement from Big Hit Music released Tuesday (March 29th) said, "Jung Kook was tested negative on a PCR test in Korea, and he departed for the United States on Sunday, March 27 (KST) in preparation for the Grammy Awards performance. After arriving in Las Vegas, he felt a slight discomfort in his throat and promptly took a rapid PCR test (Covid-19 molecular PCR test) and a standard PCR test (Covid-19 quantitative PCR test) on the afternoon of Sunday, March 27th (PT)."

The label says they are in "discussions with awards organizers" to determine if the group will still be able to perform at the live broadcast on April 3rd.

Fans should expect little to no fanfare for the Rolling Stones' 60th anniversary this spring when the band hits the road this spring in Europe. Mick Jagger chatted with Rolling Stone promised the upcoming shows would offer up "a light touch" on the historic anniversary, admitting, "I'm not going to push it that hard."

Following the recent death of Charlie Watts, and with the band now down to only a trio of official member along -- with himself, Keith Richards, and Ron Wood -- Jagger was pressed as to whether former-Stones Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor might be asked to make cameos as they did during the Stones' 50th dates: "We're not going to go there, I don't think. The tour's called 'Sixty,' but apart from that we're not going to do too much. I think that's enough."

He spoke about crafting the perfect stadium setlist for the tour, admitting, "It's hard. It should be easy but it's not as easy as all that to get ones that everyone likes and goes for. It's the common denominator of getting 50,000 people to want to hear a song that they want. You want to be adventurous -- and you can be adventurous for a minute -- but you can't be adventurous for too long, because they get bored."

Mick Jagger also revealed he co-wrote and sings the theme song to the new Apple TV+ espionage series, Slow Horses. which is based on Mick Herron's novels. Both the show and Jagger's title track premiere on Friday (April 1st).

Mick Jagger told us that in terms of the Rolling Stones' nightly setlist -- just because a song might've cooked during rehearsals, it hardly means that it'll be a hit when introduced onstage: "The thing about when you do running orders, is that it's completely hypothetical. You don't know if this song is going to work -- and you soon do. And you go out and you do it. And if it doesn't work. . . you don't know about songs."

The Rolling Stones kick off their European tour on June 1st at Madrid, Spain's Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

In a now-deleted Instagram post, Britney Spears lashed out at Justin Timberlake and others who used her for fame after having a "calling from Jesus."

In a caption, the pop star lashed out at family members for writing books about her and at her famous ex using his 2002 hit, "Cry Me A River," to stir the rumors that they broke up because she cheated.

According to a screenshot shared by Page Six, the "Toxic" singer wrote, "Dear child…your mom had a serving with her book at the exact time you needed her most…all for WHAT ??? FAME and ATTENTION !!!! Your ex did the same thing … he served with his first album using your name claiming you did him dirty !!!! Then your blood, one of the hardest times in your life guess what your sister does … a book too."

Britney's mother, Lynn Spears, wrote the book Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World in 2008, which covered much of her daughter's public struggles with paparazzi and mental health, while her sister Jamie Lynn Spears released Things I Should Have Said months after Britney was released from her conservatorship.

Kelly Clarkson's name change has been finalized.

According to court documents obtained by Page Six, the singer's name has been legally changed from Kelly Brianne Clarkson to Kelly Brianne.

She explained in a recent interview with People (The TV Show) that she chose to drop her married last name following her divorce from Brandon Blackstock. In paperwork, she wrote that Kelly Brianne "more fully reflects who I am."

Kevin Jonas isn't about to give his little brothers any parenting advice.

The oldest Jonas told E! News' Daily Pop that he and his wife, Danielle Jonas, "did it our way" when they first became parents eight years ago and added, "Everyone is going to do it their own way. It's their journey. Everyone has to do their own thing."

The singer went on to say that he would "instantly shut it down" if someone tried to tell him what to do with his daughters, Alena and Valentina.

Nick Jonas and his wife, Priyank Chopra, announced the birth of their first child in January while Joe Jonas and wife Sophie Turner are expecting the birth of their second child this year.

Rick Springfield is hitting the road with Men At Work -- led by Colin Hay, and John Waite for an 18-city summer tour. The trek will belatedly commemorate the 40th anniversaries of both Springfield's Working Class Dog album as well as Men At Work's Business As Usual.

The tour kicks off on August 5th in Saint Augustine, Florida at The Saint Augustine Amphitheatre and runs through September 3rd for a free concert in Las Vegas at the Fremont Street Experience.

Rick Springfield told us that it's the love, interest, and support from both his female and male fans that keep him honest and progressing musically and emotionally: "I write what I like and that's why the music always comes from a male perspective because I am, y'know? But some of the image stuff. . . I mean I always resisted all the teen stuff, but they still printed stuff anyway back in the '80s and I had to deal with it. But I always played and wrote what I wanted to -- that I thought was good stuff, which is why I still have male fans. And the male fan base is actually growing, because I've always written, I think, with a degree of integrity and not a sell-out vibe at all."

Colin Hay was asked a while back what the best part of being a working musician is: "Just going to many, many different countries that you've never been to before. Every night you play before 10 or 20,000 people and they clap when you play these songs. It's an incredible job to have. Y'know, there's not many jobs where you go to work for a couple of hours and people clap."

Although no one can deny that 1984's "Missing You" was an era-defining song, John Waite revealed to us that it pretty much took as long to write as it did to sing: "'Missing You' was sung over somebody else's track, and I just made up on the spot. It took about 15 minutes to do the whole demo. Yeah, it was insane. I would never have pitched a song that low, but I just, sort of, like, closed my eyes and went with it and that's what it said to me. I didn't have any plan about coming up with a chorus. I used the first line of 'Every Time I Think Of You' by the Babys to get me going. All of that came out in one big chunk."

Colin Hay performs tonight (March 30th) in Munhall, Pennsylvania at Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall.

Rick Springfield plays on April 3rd in Ridgefield, Washington at Ilani.

John Waite will next perform on April 14th at Milwaukee's Potawatomi Casino.

JUST ANNOUNCED: Rick Springfield / Men At Work / John Waite tour dates (subject to change):

August 5 - Saint Augustine, FL - The Saint Augustine Amphitheatre
August 6 - Stockbridge, GA- Stockbridge Amphitheater
August 7 - Raleigh, NC - Red Hat Amphitheater
August 10 - Catoosa, OK - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
August 12 - Newkirk, OR - 7 Clans First Council Casino
August 13 - Irving, TX - The Pavilion - Toyota Music Factory
August 14 - Sugar Land, TX - Smart Financial Theatre
August 18 - Gilford, NH - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
August 19 - Atlantic City, NJ - The Borgata Casino Resort
August 20 - Grantville, PA - Hollywood Casino
August 25 - Kettering, OH - Fraze Pavilion
August 26 - Toledo, OH - Toledo Zoo Amphitheater
August 29 - Phoenix, AZ - Celebrity Theatre
August 27 - Bay City, MI - Wenonah Park
August 30 - Los Angeles, CA - YouTube Theatre
September 2 - Lincoln, CA - Thunder Valley Resort & Casino
September 3 - Las Vegas, NV - Fremont Street Experience

Doja Cat revealed to fans yesterday (March 29th) that she still plans to retire from music. When a Florida radio station tweeted, "Ok so maybe @DojaCat isn't retiring." Doja responded, "Yes the f*ck I am."

A few days back, Doja tweeted that she planned on quitting from music. She tweeted, "I don't give a f*ck anymore. I f*ckin quit. I can't wait to f*cking disappear and I don't need you to believe in me anymore. Everything is dead to me; music is dead, and I'm a f*cking fool for ever thinking I was made for this. This is a f*cking nightmare. Unfollow me."

Days later, she apologized to fans, saying, "I can travel, I can eat good food, I can see new people, I can smile, I can make memories that I dreamed of having, I can laugh, I can support my family and my friends, I can learn about the world, and I can give back to everyone because of you. I do owe people sh*t. I owe a lot."

Jason Aldean, Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Wu-Tang Clan, Machine Gun Kelly, Halsey, Rod Stewart, Backstreet Boys and Thomas Rhett are among the headliners for this year's Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The concert, which will take place over the weekends of June 23rd, June 30th and July 7th, will also feature supporting acts like Charli XCX, Alessia Cara, Willow, The Black Crowes, Halestorm, Third Eye Blind, The Pretty Reckless, Portugal. The Man, Taking Back Sunday, Todd Rundgren, Pop Evil and many more.

Happy Birthday to Eric Clapton, who turns 77 today (March 30th)!!! Since his mid-'60s stint in the Yardbirds, through John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Derek & The Dominos, and his solo career, Clapton -- who was affectionately dubbed "Slowhand" by his fans -- has come to personify the best in blues-rock guitar. Clapton holds the unique distinction for being the only artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times -- for his time in the Yardbirds, Cream, and for the work on his own.

Last Christmas Eve, Eric Clapton released a standalone single, titled "Heart Of A Child." The tune was co-written by fellow covid vaccine skeptic, filmmaker Robin Monotti, who was then suspended by Twitter.

Out now is Clapton's latest album, The Lady In The Balcony: Lockdown Sessions. The 17-track collection was produced by Russ Titelman, and features scaled back, full-band renditions of country and blues standards along with such Clapton standards as "After Midnight," "Layla," "Bell Bottom Blues," "Tears In Heaven," "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out," and "Key To The Highway."

Backing Clapton are longtime sidemen Nathan East on bass and vocals, Steve Gadd on drums, and Chris Stainton and keyboards. The album was tracked at Cowdray House in West Sussex, England.

In December 2020, Clapton courted controversy by teaming up with Van Morrison for a new single, titled, "Stand And Deliver." The track, written by Morrison and sung by Clapton, was Morrison's latest "lockdown" single recorded as part of his "Save Live Music" campaign. Proceeds from the recording went to "Morrison's Lockdown Financial Hardship Fund," which helps musicians facing difficulties as a result of the coronavirus and resulting lockdown measures."

The musicians' stance rubbed some of the public the wrong way, many of whom are happy to listen to the scientists regarding the ongoing pandemic and willing to wait out seeing live music until the coronavirus is no longer a lethal threat."

Variety quoted Clapton saying he found the lockdown, "deeply upsetting," and adding, "There are many of us who support Van and his endeavors to save live music; he is an inspiration. We must stand up and be counted because we need to find a way out of this mess. The alternative is not worth thinking about. Live music might never recover."

In November 2021, Clapton took time out to defend his controversial beliefs with fellow anti-vaxxer, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Kennedy's The Defender site. "Slowhand" said, in part, "Over the last year, there's been a lot of disappearing, a lot of dust around with people moving away quite quickly, and it does kind of refine the kind of friendships I have. It's been difficult these last couple of years, especially with mainstream media turning." Clapton added, "I had been inspired by Van (Morrison) because he came straight out and his reasoning was, 'We have to make music for people.' He's a crusader, he sees it as his calling. And I thought, 'That's right, people are not really acquainted with the idea that this is as important in their healing as any kind of medicine. The whole community thing of people with being together with music.'"

Recently released was the multimedia set, Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival 2019. The two-day event was held on September 21st and 22nd, 2019 in Dallas, Texas at American Airlines Arena. The show, which was Clapton's fifth Crossroads event, raised funds for the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, the chemical dependency treatment and education facility that Clapton founded in 1998.

In addition to Clapton, the musicians appearing at the 2019 event included Jeff Beck, Peter Frampton, Joe Walsh, Jonny Lang, Bonnie Raitt, Derek Trucks, Doyle Bramhall II, Jerry Douglas, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, Sheryl Crow, Jimmie Vaughan, Keb Mo, Albert Lee, John Mayer, Andy Fairweather Low, Billy Gibbons, Jerry Douglas, Gary Clark Jr., Robert Cray, and Los Lobos, among others.

Also out now is the four-CD, special edition of Cream's Goodbye Tour Live 1968. The collection features 36 tracks -- including 29 making their first appearance on CD -- recorded during Cream's farewell U.S. tour in October 1968, along with the band's last show that November 26th at London's Royal Albert Hall. Cream's Goodbye Tour Live 1968 includes 19 previously unreleased tracks, as well as a further 10 tracks from the Royal Albert Hall show, which have only ever been available on DVD. Rolling Stone editor David Fricke wrote the set's liner notes chronicling Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker's last live dates as full-on collective unit.

In 2018 the officially sanctioned documentary Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars premiered on Showtime to glowing reviews and is now available on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital platforms.

Today, Eric Clapton's life is a world away from where he was in the 1980's. Now a sober family man, he recently talked about how low his two bottles of vodka a day habit had laid him: "I would wake up and look out the window and I wouldn't know if it was morning, or late afternoon, or if it was dark, whether it was night -- evening or early -- y'know, I didn't know in the end. And sometimes I didn't even know where I was. Even though I woke up at home, I wouldn't know where I was. And then sometimes I would go out, or if someone managed to get me into a social situation -- I'd drink on top of that."

In October 2018, Eric Clapton released his first holiday set, titled Happy Xmas. The album, which marked his first new studio collection since 2016's I Still Do, was co-produced by Clapton and longtime collaborator Simon Climie. The set featured 13 holiday evergreens, alongside one new track called "For Love On Christmas Day."

In January 2018, Clapton revealed he's worried about his health and his stamina to get though his upcoming gigs. During a chat with Britain's BBC Radio 2, Clapton touched upon his then-upcoming concerts, admitting, "I am still going to work. I am going to do a show at Hyde Park in July; the only thing I am concerned with now is I am going deaf, I've got tinnitus, my hands just about work. . . I mean, I am hoping that people will come along and see me (for) more than (because) I am a curiosity. I know that is part of it, because it's amazing to myself that I am still here. The only thing I'm concerned with now is being in my 70's and being able to be proficient."

The month before, Clapton spoke about some of the maladies plaguing him as he ages, telling Rolling Stone: "I had eczema from head to foot. The palms of my hand were coming off, and I had just started making (2016's I Still Do) with (producer) Glyn Johns. It was a catastrophe. I had to wear mittens with Band-Aids around the hands and played a lot of slide (guitar) as a result. My hands are good. It hasn't gone completely, but I put ointment on. It's just getting old now. I'm as good now as I've been in the last two years."

One of the downsides to having such a long and influential career is that Clapton's current work is always measured against his past successes. He admits that he's easily insulted when people tell him that they prefer his earlier work: "People have said to me, 'Your best work was with Cream.' And I think, 'Oh, well, I know you think you're paying me a huge compliment, but in actual fact, it's kind of, y'know, it's a little bit upsetting that you don't care about what I'm doing now.'"

Jimmy Page is one of many Clapton fans who's impressed with not only his guitar chops -- but his songwriting as well: "He's got a great body of work, hasn't he? He really understood the blues and how to play it, and he turned a lot of people on to that. In the early days -- I'm talking about right in the early days when he had the technique of the finger tremolo and everyone else was wondering what it was -- he's had some good songs. On the Derek & The Dominos albums, there was some nice songs."

Phil Collins, who produced and performed with Clapton throughout the 1980's, told us that one of the biggest highlights of his career was playing live with Clapton: "The most exciting, I think, was playing drums in Eric Clapton's band. Of all the things I've done. It doesn't involve anything to do with my songs."

During their sole 1991 joint tour of Japan together, George Harrison was asked about his long and storied friendship with Clapton -- which involved Clapton actually marrying Harrison's first wife, Pattie Boyd: "It's simple -- but it's difficult, because what attracts any people together? It's something mutual that you like. Y'know, sometimes you can say it's they way he bends the string, or it's the way he says 'hello.' It's difficult to say. It's just an attraction in our lives. It's also the way he bends the notes."

Sadly, this past March 20th marked the 31st anniversary of the death of Clapton's four-year-old son Connor with ex-girlfriend Lory del Santo. Connor, who had fallen to his death from her New York City apartment, inspired Clapton's multi-Grammy award winning ballad "Tears In Heaven."

Eric Clapton, who's now happily married with four daughters, said that having a stable family and home life keeps him grounded: "I'm hoping, maybe, that there's an evolution going on in my character, which makes it so that I'm just a little bit more accessible -- a little bit more sane -- about the reality of what I need to be, y'know, and what my life is composed of these days. I'm married and I have kids, and that, that home thing is actually there, and is actually waiting for me. So it's not so much anxiety about that anymore. Nothing has to be that drastic or dramatic as it used to be."

Eric Clapton will next perform on May 7th and 8th at London's Royal Albert Hall.

It was 55 years ago today (March 30th, 1967) that the Beatles posed for their famous Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. The Beatles, who were sporting psychedelic marching band outfits, had designed the album cover concept with then husband and wife team Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, explaining that they wanted the crowd behind them to include "people they liked."

Blake created the scene of the group being flanked by their audience, using mainly cardboard cut-out photographs of famous people. The final shot, which was photographed by the late Michael Cooper, has gone on to be one of the most revered and imitated album covers in rock history. Among the famous figures that the group's record company EMI flat out rejected were John Lennon's suggestions of Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi and Adolph Hitler -- although cardboard cutouts of Gandhi and Hitler were prepared.

The label made the Beatles write to each of the people appearing on the cover and ask them for permission. Prior to granting approval, Mae West responded by asking, "What would I be doing in a lonely hearts club?" Only Bowery Boy star Leo Gorcey declined, after requesting $400. (He was eventually blocked out by a painted-on palm tree).

Among the many 72 faces featured in the cover are Lenny Bruce, W.C. Fields, Edgar Allan Poe, psychoanalyst Carl Jung, Dion, Fred Astaire, Bob Dylan, Aldous Huxley, Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Karl Marx, original Beatles bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, Oscar Wilde, Albert Einstein, Marlene Dietrich, and Shirley Temple.

Also featured on the cover were figures on loan from Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, of former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston and the Beatles themselves with their earlier "mop-top" look. A wax figure rumored to be the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson has cropped up on several photos from the session. A doll featured in the corner of the cover wore a sweater declaring "Welcome The Rolling Stones," as a nod to the group's good friends and friendly rivals.

In 1995's Beatles Anthology, George Harrison credited Paul McCartney with coming up with the concept of the Beatles taking on an alter-ego for Sgt. Pepper: "Well really, it was Paul who had been on a plane journey with (Beatles road manager) Mal Evans and come up with this idea of Sgt. Pepper. And he was just kind of. . . To me, we were just kind of in the studio to make the next record, and he was going on about this idea of some fictitious band."

Paul McCartney recalled some of the snags that the Beatles faced with their label EMI while creating the mosaic of people surrounding them on the Sgt. Pepper cover: "There was a bit of dispute about this cover, y'know, everyone -- 'Oh, you can't do t hat!' Y'know? 'Cause that's the thing if you're being free, it's obviously a lot of people saying, "Naughty! Watch it.' He was great (EMI Chairman) Sir Joe (Lockwood), actually. He was very good during that time. 'Cause, I think it must've come as shock to him, all this stuff. Anyway, he came around to my house and said, 'I'm afraid old chap, we can't have Gandhi (laughs).' (I said) 'Whaddya mean, can't? He's alright! Y'know, what's wrong with him?' 'Well,' he said, 'Might offend the Indians.'"

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released on June 1st, 1967 and hit Number One on the Billboard 200 album charts exactly one month later -- marking the first of its 15-week run at the top spot.

In June 2017, the new stereo mix of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band hit Number One on the UK album charts and topped out at Number Three in the U.S.

Christine McVie has re-recorded her legendary Fleetwood Mac songs for a new album titled, Songbird, after her 1977 classic from the band's Rumours collection.

Ultimate Classic Rock transcribed some of McVie's chat on the BBC Radio's We Write The Songs program, where she announced the new project: "I’ve just finished an album which is a compilation of my biggest hits. But they’ve all been produced again by Glyn Johns (with) Vince Mendoza on strings, who does this fantastic version of 'Songbird.' (They) all sound completely different. That’s out in June this year, and it’s just called Songbird."

The album will mark McVie's first new release since 2017 self-titled joint album with Lindsey Buckingham.

When pressed as to whether she planning on hitting the road in support of the new album, McVie added: "That I daren’t comment on yet! I’m very cagey about things like that."

Christine McVie says that as the years roll by, she’s instinctively become the greatest editor of her material: [“I’ve never been a really prolific songwriter. I don’t write millions and millions of songs. I write when I know there’s a project coming up or when I. . . It’s not something that I must do all the time, every day, every day. . . So, when I do come up with a song -- when I do write a song -- for me, it has to be special; y’know, otherwise I’ll throw it out before it gets anywhere near being finished. If I don’t like the chords and I don’t like the way it’s going, then I’ll drop it.”] SOUNDCUE (:23 OC: . . . I’ll drop it)

Harry Styles announced Monday (March 28th) his new song “As It Was,” to be released on April 1st.

“As It Was” serves as the first official single from Styles’ upcoming 13-track album, Harry’s House, to be released globally May 20th. The singer shared the news on Instagram alongside photos that show him wearing a red sequined dress.

Harry’s House will be the One Direction alum’s third studio album and the follow-up to 2019’s Fine Line.

Taylor Swift will receive an honorary degree from NYU.

The school announced Monday (March 28th) that the singer, songwriter, producer, and director will receive a Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, on May 18th and address the Class of 2022 at Yankee Stadium. 

A press release from NYU notes that Swift is the only female artist in history to win the music industry’s highest honor, the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, three times, and she is the only solo artist this century to have three albums reach No. 1 in one year.

Justin Bieber is being sued for using a paparazzi photo on his Instagram page without paying the photographer or giving him credit.

According to court documents obtained by Radar, Josiah Kamau is suing the singer in federal court for sharing a shot of himself and Hailey Bieber in New York in February 2020. 

The suit is seeking unspecified damages from Bieber.

Miley Cyrus admitted that her marriage to Liam Hemsworth was a “f**king disaster” during Lollapalooza Brazil on Saturday (March 26th) night.

According to the Daily Mail, the singer brought a gay couple on stage for their proposal and joked, “Honey, I hope your marriage goes better than mine. Mine was a f**king disaster."

Cyrus and the Hunger Games star married in December 2018 and divorced less than a year later.

Peter Frampton is making good on returning to Europe -- with three new UK dates newly announced. Back in October 2019 Frampton wrapped an exhaustive North American trek after being forced to slowly quit the road upon discovering he's suffering from a degenerative muscle disease called Inclusion-Body Myositus (IBM), that slowly weakens the body's muscles.

Frampton was set to play his final shows across Europe with a full scale tour during the spring of 2020 -- until the pandemic sidelined his plans.

As it stands now, three shows are now on the books, with the Grammy-winning guitarist hitting Glasgow, Scotland along with Stoke-On-Trent and London, England. There have been no other European cities or North American dates announced.

During his chat with CBS, Peter Frampton spoke about how IBM affects the body: ["For a guitar player, it's not so good. But, I'm able to play great -- right now. In a year's time, maybe not so good. I'm a perfectionist and I do not wanna go out there and feel like, 'Oh, I can't. . . this isn't good'; that would be a nightmare for me. 'Cause it's my passion. I've been playing guitar for 60 years -- started when I was eight. So, I've had a very good run. I know that I will be at the top of my game for this tour, and I will make it through this, and people won't be say 'Ohhh -- he can't play as good. . .' I can, y'know? But, we just don't know for how long."] SOUNDCUE (:36 OC: . . . for how long)

During the shutdown, we caught up with Frampton and asked him if he was hopeful the dozen-plus dates overseas will ever be rescheduled: ["I'm not even thinking about re-booking anything until everyone's got vaccinated, basically. I have three clocks. We all have one clock, y'know, our 'life clock.' And I have the 'Covid clock' as to when we can play again live. And then I have my 'IBM clock.' I'm deteriorating very, very, very slowly -- but my muscles are deteriorating. So, by the time it's safe to go out and play again, am I going to be able to play? I have to be realistic. People say, 'Well, will you be re-booking the Albert Hall in London?' -- I said, 'From your lips, I hope so.'"] SOUNDCUE (:35 OC: . . . I hope so)

JUST ANNOUNCED: Peter Frampton UK tour dates (subject to change):

November 5 - Stoke-On-Trent, England - Victoria Hall
November 6 - Glasgow, Scotland - SEC Armadillo
November 8 - London, England - Royal Albert Hall

Daryl Hall can't hide his disdain for Rolling Stone co-founder and former head of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Jann Wenner. Back in April 2014, Hall & Oates were finally inducted into the Rock Hall -- a full 17 years after they first became eligible.

In a new chat with The Los Angeles Times, Hall, who'll release a new solo compilation, titled Before/After on April 1st, spoke about how Wenner never did Hall & Oates any favors during their 50-year-career: "F*** Jann Wenner and the horse he rode in on. . . Jann Wenner loved destroying careers. He’d pick somebody to knock down, and we wound up on the knockdown side for a while. But I prevailed, and the ending turned out a lot differently."

When asked about a new Hall & Oates album, Daryl Hall snapped, "Well, that’s inappropriate to this conversation. But I have no idea. I don’t have any plans to work with John. I mean, whatever. Time will tell."

After being reminded that both he and John Oates have gone public about a forthcoming studio set, Hall explained, "That was before the pandemic. Perceptions changed, life changed, everything changed. I’m more interested in pursuing my own world. And so is John."

Backstage at their 2014 Rock Hall induction, Daryl Hall -- who has been openly critical of Hall & Oates being ignored by the Hall of Fame for so long -- was asked about how he felt to finally be inducted: ["Y’know what I think? I think it’s all about the past and we’re about the present, if you want to know the truth. I got so much going on personally -- and I know John does, too. I actually had to take time off to do this, ‘cause I got so many other projects going on. I mean, that’s not blowing smoke, it’s really true. I got two television shows (laughs), touring (growls) -- on and on and on.”] SOUNDCUE (:18 OC: . . . on and on)

Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell took to Instagram to post a video saluting late-Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. Hawkins, who died on March 25th at age 50 after suffering an alleged drug overdose in Columbia, was a diehard fan of Jane's and a longtime confidante of Farrell's.

Blabbermouth transcribed some of Farrell's online salute to his fallen friend: "Taylor Hawkins died yesterday. He was my best friend -- beloved in my home by my wife, my children, even my dogs. Whenever Taylor came over, we would make music in the den, (my dog) Cloud would always go and sit right by him. He was one of the most passionate drummers I've ever seen in my lifetime. When I think of him, I sum it up with one word: velocity. He had the gift to maintain a confident, striking and stroking velocity on drums."

Farrell went on to say, "There's a large part of my heart that I had reserved for him. I accepted him into my heart when we became friends because he was such a pure guy, so pure of heart. I would receive texts from Taylor. They were always bits and pieces of songs he was writing or looking to write or wanted me to listen to. I got music tidbits as often as I got 'I love you's.' We would always start with a song; Like, 'Do you listen to YES? The guy kind of sounds like you.' And I say, 'Yeah, yeah. I like YES.' He just was obsessed with music and great songs. My passion for music, that's what's our common ground; our friendship was based around that. Then we got to know each other."

He added: "He would tell me stories of going to Jane's shows back in the '80s -- shows that were pretty underground. So although I didn't make his acquaintance back then, we shared a history. It's almost like the rites of passage. We were young men and we were trying to be great musicians. Little did he know through this one fatal night, he would cement himself in the legends of music for all time. And that's what I think he deserves."

Perry Farrell ended by saying, "The only sense that I can make of the tragedy is to know that Taylor's now in heaven; he can hear us. What I'm gonna do from this day forward is to try to make music that I think Taylor would really love."

During Foo Fighters' 2021 Rock hall induction, during the band's acceptance speech, Taylor Hawkins made a point of mentioning the need for Jane's Addiction to also be inducted: ["I'd like to share this award with a couple of bands I'd like to see get in there someday, too. I'd like to see George Michael in there one day. I'd love that (cheers). I'd like to see Jane's Addiction in there -- I'd really like that (cheers). I'd like to see Soundgarden in there -- I'd really like that. And thanks everyone."] SOUNDCUE (:19 OC: . . . and thanks everyone)