Pulse Music

Kurt Cobain's iconic 1969 Fender Mustang guitar sold for a cool $4.5 million on May 22nd. The famed guitar was but one of the many instruments that went under the hammer at Julien's Auctions' three-day, "Music Icons" sale. The Cobain guitar -- used most famously in Nirvana's groundbreaking 1991 "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video -- was purchased by Jim Irsay, owner and CEO of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts. The guitar, which was originally listed with an estimate for only $600,000, caused a bidding war, which led to the exorbitant final price.

Blabbermouth reported, "In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Cobain family is donating a portion of the proceeds of the legendary guitar and select Kurt Cobain items to Kicking The Stigma, the Irsays' initiative to raise awareness about mental health disorders and remove the stigma associated with these illnesses. Through grants, as well as personal donations by the Irsay family, more than $16 million has been committed to local and national organizations to expand treatment and research and raise awareness in Indiana and beyond."

Jim Isray said in a statement: "I am thrilled to preserve and protect another piece of American culture that changed the way we looked at world. The fact that a portion of the proceeds will go toward our effort to kick the stigma surrounding mental health makes this acquisition even more special to me."

Not long after Nevermind's mega-platinum success Kurt Cobain spoke about the effect the massive adoration and fame Nirvana was suddenly dealing with: "Either I've accepted it or I've gone beyond insane to where I can deal with it emotionally. I really don't care. I know that I'm too stubborn to allow myself to ever compromise our music or get so wrapped up in it and involved to where it's going to turn us into big rock stars. I mean, I just don't feel like that. Everyone else accuses us of it, but y'know, we're not as popular as everyone thinks and we're not as rich as everyone think, y'know? We've always had a good sense of humor, I don't think that's been translated very well. We'd rather laugh about it -- (feigns happiness) ha, ha, ha."

Sam Smith shared an intimate acoustic rendition of their latest single, "Love Me More" on Friday (May 10th).

Their performance of the new track, filmed at the iconic Capitol Records Tower in Los Angeles, is a "candid introspection of Sam's relationship with themself."

The singer said in a press release, "I wrote this song for anyone who feels different, anyone who has to stop themselves every day from saying unkind things to themselves, in their head, all the time. I felt like that for the longest time and slowly I'm learning how to just be nice to myself. I wanted to share that because I captured it in this song. Over the last two years, music has been my therapy more than ever. So I hope this song can be your friend."

Lou Gramm claims that it was Foreigner co-founder Mick Jones' greed in regard to publishing revenue that led to the pair's eventual split. Over the years, Gramm and Jones co-wrote such signature Foreigner hits as "Hot Blooded," "Double Vision," "Blue Morning, Blue Day," "Head Games," "Dirty White Boy," "Juke Box Hero," "Say You Will," "Waiting For A Girl Like You," among others.

Blabbermouth transcribed some of Gramm's powerful chat with The Sessions, in which he explained that the credit for the band's one-and-only Number One hit -- "I Want To Know What Love Is" -- led to the schism between the two bandmates: "(Mick's home) home was about 15 minutes from my home. So I would drive over to his house and we would work on that song. . . I felt we had worked our tails off to make that song what it is. And at the end of (1984's Agent Provocateur), when it was time to decide what the percentages (for the songs) were, I wrote down what I thought it should be and he wrote down what he thought it should be. I think I wrote down 65-35 (percent) -- 35 for me, 65 for him. And I opened the little piece of paper that (contained his note on) what he thought (the correct split) was, and he wrote down 95-5. I was so stunned and crushed that he'd think I contributed next to nothing to that song."

Gramm went on to say, "Here's another (detail) for you. (Mick) was working with a choir in one studio while we were recording that song. I was in another studio with an engineer singing the lead vocals. I did them by myself -- I did all the ad-libs, I did all the emotional little nuances and stuff. . . I did the whole thing myself while he was working with the choir. And that ended up being the lead vocal. . . I thought that was a pretty serious accomplishment for me, only to be denigrated to (being) an author of five percent. That put a wedge in us that was the beginning of the end."

Gramm still holds a grudge about how the songwriting credits played out, explaining, "I should get 25 (percent) just for the vocal performance. All I could think of was greed. It was an awesome song. We all knew it was gonna be a smash. This was his chance to step on me. And y'know what I told him after (I saw his proposed split of) 95-5? I said, 'Five, Mick?' I said, 'You should just keep it all.' And he did. . . He just kept it all. And y'know the millions and millions that that song has brought in? Over the years, it's been covered by at least three or four artists who have gone to Number One with that song."

Although Lou Gramm loved singing Foreigner's mega-platinum ballads like "Waiting For A Girl Like You" -- and more specifically, "I Want To Know What Love Is" -- he believes that as the '80s progressed, the success of the band's softer side made for an uneven picture getting across to radio: "I love the song, but I didn't like what actually what it was doing to our rock reputation -- undermining it, y'know? And then after that came, (sings) 'I Don't Wanna Live Without You' -- and that was nails in the coffin, I think."

Mick Jones shed light on writing rock's ultimate '80s power ballad -- "I Want To Know What Love Is": "There was sadness in that song. Y'know, there's some really, kind of, private, personal pieces of my story in there, let's say. I've always enjoyed playing it; there's something about the chord patterns -- there's a slightly classical feel to it. It is one of my favorites, so. . . and 'I Want To Know What Love Is' is representative of the period where it started to go a little weird between Lou (Gramm) and I. But, now, when I look back, y'know, I guess that was yesterday."

Ozzy Osbourne has revealed that he is awaiting neck surgery. Osbourne is dealing with some lasting damage from a quad bike accident he had back in 2003. During an interview with Classic Rock for their 300th issue, the rock legend said, "I'm just waiting on some more surgery on my neck. I can't walk properly these days. I have physical therapy every morning. I am somewhat better, but nowhere near as much as I want to be to go back on the road."

When asked if he often thinks about mortality, Ozzy said, "At f*cking 73, I've done pretty well. I don't plan on going anywhere, but my time's going to come."

On Thursday afternoon (5-19) Ed Sheeran announced that he and his wife, Cherry Seaborn welcomed their second child and it's a girl.

He posted a photo on Instagram of a baby blanket and booties and said they are "over the moon" to now be a family of four.

He wrote, "We are completely in love with her. Both mum and baby are doing amazing and we are on cloud nine over here."

Sheeran, 31 and Seaborn, 30, are already parents to daughter, Lyra Antarctica who will turn two in August.

According to Sheeran's post, the new family member was born last week.

TL;DR:

• On Thursday afternoon (5-19) Ed Sheeran announced that he and his wife, Cherry Seaborn welcomed their second child and it's a girl.
• He wrote, "We are completely in love with her. Both mum and baby are doing amazing and we are on cloud nine over here."
• According to Sheeran's post, the new family member was born last week.

Kelly Clarkson and Alanis Morissette are both fans of Olivia Rodrigo. While interviewing Morissette, the two singers talked about Rodrigo and Clarkson said she immediately liked her music the first time she heard her sing.

Her first thought was "I'm 40 and I'm really into this!" Clarkson dubbed Rodrigo the Alanis of her youthful generation

Morissette had promised to give Rodrigo a "road survival kit" and share with her a few tricks that would help her survive all the bus travel.

She said something as simple as a favorite pillow from home could make all the difference.

TL;DR:

• Kelly Clarkson and Alanis Morissette are both fans of Olivia Rodrigo.
• Clarkson said she immediately liked her music the first time she heard her sing.
• Morissette had promised to give Rodrigo a "road survival kit" and share with her a few tricks that would help her survive all the bus travel.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have welcomed their first child -- a baby boy. According to TMZ, the singer gave birth in the Los Angeles area on May 13th. This is the first child for Rihanna and A$AP Rocky.

Meanwhile, Rihanna's ex Chris Brown congratulated the couple yesterday (May 19th), writing "Congratulations," along with a red heart, a pregnant woman and praying hands.

Out today (May 20th) is The Police: Around The World - Restored & Expanded on DVD/CD, Blu-ray/CD, and DVD/LP -- pressed on silver vinyl. The legendary 1982 live travelogue was originally available on VHS and laserdisc, with the film now seeing release on DVD and Blu-ray for the first time, with restored picture and remastered audio, as well as complete performances of four bonus songs featured in the documentary.

The Police: Around The World - Restored & Expanded includes never-before-released live audio on CD and LP. Boasting songs from their first two albums recorded in Japan, Hong Kong, and England.

As guitarist Andy Summers wrote in the collections' liner notes, "Like Napoleon, we wanted the world. Out of the messy and fervent atmosphere in London at that time we conceived the idea to go all around the world and film the whole adventure. As far as we knew no rock band, at least, had ever done that. We had just about enough popularity to get booked around the globe. Plans were made."

We spoke to drummer Stewart Copeland and he revealed that growing up trotting the globe as the son of a CIA agent, he and his brothers understood there was a bright and rich world beyond Europe and America -- which led directly to the Around The World doc: "I think Miles (Copeland), my brother and the Police's manager and creator of I.R.S. Records, he had that vision, which came from his upbringing -- and all of our upbringing -- in the weird places in the world where we actually realized that there is a world beyond Minneapolis. And it's very colorful and exciting and actually -- darn photogenic. So, let's get the band out in front of all these incredible scenarios around the world. I can say it's a consciousness that it's out there, it's cool lookin', let's put the band in front of it -- or in the middle of it."

When we last caught up with Sting, we asked him about how he rates the influence of the Police on the music that came after them: "Y'know, people say to me, 'That sounds like the Police, or it sounds like you' -- I don't hear that. Y'know, I really don't. Everybody sounds like them, to me."

Guitarist Andy Summers felt that the band's musicality, coupled with a sixth sense when creating new sounds, was the secret weapon of the Police: "Being in that setting, y'know, I come from a lot of different places harmonically -- as had Sting. We were, y'know, we were a bit more than, like, three-chord folk musicians. Y'know, we we're pretty sophisticated with what we knew. But, again, we were in a rock context and so, y'know, whatever we were doing, we were going to make it rock."

Lil Nas X will be honored at the upcoming Songwriters Hall of Fame gala with a special award. He's this year's recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award.

Each year, songwriters who are making a significant impact in the music industry with their original songs, are chosen for this prestigious recognition.

Other artists before Lil Nas X include… Halsey, Ed Sheeran, Nick Jonas, Alicia Keys, and Drake.

The 51^st Annual Induction and Awards Dinner will take place June 16 in New York City.

TL;DR:

• Lil Nas X will be honored at the upcoming Songwriters Hall of Fame gala.
• He's the recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award.
• Other artists before Lil Nas X include… Halsey, Ed Sheeran, Nick Jonas, Alicia Keys, and Drake.

The Kid Loroi's new single, "Thousand Miles" is about his girlfriend, TikTok star, Katarina Deme. He wrote it when he realized how attracted he was to her. He said he was questioning whether or not he was ready for a relationship. And was basically telling her that she should stay 1,000 miles, away because he liked her so much.

About their relationship, 18-year-old Laroi said, "I had to mentally be prepared for it, first. I had to ask myself a lot of questions over a couple months — like, ‘Do I really want to do this?'"

In the end, he went with his gut feeling and they stayed together.

The teen couple recently appeared together for the cover of Vogue Australia .

TL;DR:

Cardi B has opened up about why she talks politics on her platform. During an interview with David Letterman on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, the rapper said that although she doesn't talk politics in her music, she does find it important to discuss it on her platform. She explained, "You might think that people are not looking, but they are."

She continued, "I mean, I'm a hood chick, and I'm from the Bronx. A lot of people relate to me and follow me because they want to see how I'm dressed, they want to see my lifestyle. I feel like I have a responsibility to also share to them like, ‘Hey, while you here and you're checking my outfit and checking my music, check out what's going on over here in this part of the world.'"

It was 51 years ago Sunday (May 22nd, 1971) that the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers hit Number One in America. The album marked the band's first new music of the 1970's -- as well as the first full collection to feature the late-Brian Jones' replacement, guitarist Mick Taylor.

Sticky Fingers, which featured tracks culled from as far back as 1968, topped the charts for four straight weeks, spending a total of 15 weeks in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart.

The set opened with the band's first chart-topper of the 1970's -- "Brown Sugar" -- followed by "Sway,' "Wild Horses," "Can't You Hear Me Knocking," "You Gotta Move," "Bitch," "I Got The Blues," "Sister Morphine," "Dead Flowers," and "Moonlight Mile."

Fans that caught the Rolling Stones' 1969 North American trek got a surprise taste of a couple of Sticky Fingers tracks. The band's acoustic take of Mississippi Fred McDowell's "You Gotta Move" got an airing every night of the tour, with "Brown Sugar" receiving its live premiere on December 6th, 1969 at the Stones' infamous free concert at Northern, California's Altamont Freeway, where a concert-goer was murdered by a member of the Hells Angels.

Keith Richards told us that he views the band's recording career as an ongoing mission as opposed to their contemporaries who recorded specific projects every year: "Albums, what you get when you say, 'Oh, that's that album,' a lot of albums they, like, roll over into the next one. Some of the stuff that you do, and say Sticky Fingers, towards the end, you've got more stuff than you can use; 'Well, we'll just save it.' So you kind of roll over material that way, and the album becomes what gets on there. But to us, the process is like, continual. 'Let's use these 12 songs, and what do we call it? I know -- Beggars Banquet. I know -- Let It Bleed. I know -- Exile On Main Street.' So, you kinda take snippets of something that's going on all the time."

Mick Jagger looked back fondly on the Stones' lifestyle at the end of the 1960's: "We had a pretty, I mean, sedate lifestyle -- (laughs) it not really the way. . . It wasn't sedate, but it was pretty centered, and it was pretty grounded in its own way. Geographically it was very grounded and we were all very kind of English in our ways. So we had to come to this crunch period where this kind of lifestyle, that we'd created for ourselves, which was really pleasant, had to come to an end -- including being in these kind of houses, or for me anyway living in them anyway for long periods of time and working."

In 2015 the Stones released a deluxe, expanded version of Sticky Fingers, featuring the remastered original album and a bonus CD including previously unreleased alternate takes and 1971 live performances from Leeds University and London's Roundhouse.

Also out now is the archival release -- From The Vault: Sticky Fingers: Live At The Fonda Theatre 2015. The collection features the band's entire 16-song setlist. The informal performance, which includes all 10 of the Sticky Fingers tracks, albeit in a different running order than the original album, was recorded live on May 20th, 2015 at L.A.'s 1,200 capacity Fonda Theatre just prior to their "Zip Code Tour" kickoff.

Flea revealed he still takes music lessons. The legendary Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist spoke to Bass Player magazine and explained how he looks back at the band's past and his individual musicianship: "I'm always discovering things, y'know, and trying to develop. I like to think that the best parts of myself back then, I've kept, and that I've gotten rid of the bits that I don't need. I'll try to add more essential parts and I'll get better."

He went on to say, "Y'know, I really want to be a good jazz bass player -- that's something I really want to do, whenever I get the time. I was studying with someone for a little while, around the time I finished tracking on the last Chili Peppers album. I was studying jazz with this girl whose husband plays saxophone on our record, just working on trying to play through changes on walking bass, because upright bass is the most comforting sound to me. I remember when we were tracking Californication, we were all sitting around the studio lounge, and John (Frusciante) was asking everybody in the room, 'What's the real comfort music that you put on and it's like breathing?' I realized that for me, it's jazz, mostly because I liked it when I was a kid."

Fleas shed light on how he maintains his bass chops: "When we're on tour, I'm playing so much. We're playing gigs all the time, and I play scales for an hour before every show. Something about the Chili Peppers is that never for a second have we ever taken the audience for granted, or thought 'We'll just go out and play the hits.' I always take every show as a sacred moment, as part of a mission of being alive. So I keep my chops up. I'm ready. I'm ready!"

Guitarist John Frusciante told us a while back that Flea literally lives and breathes music: "Flea's been practicing the bass more than I've ever seen him practice it in my life. In his whole life he's never learned songs by people and lately he's been learning Joy Division songs, and David Bowie songs, and Beatles songs on the piano."

Red Hot Chili Peppers next perform on June 4th in Seville, Spain at Estadio La Cartuja De Sevilla.

UPDATED: Red Hot Chili Peppers North American dates tour dates (subject to change):

July 23 - Denver, CO - Empower Field at Mile High (with HAIM and Thundercat)
July 27 - San Diego, CA - Petco Park (with HAIM and Thundercat)
July 29 - Santa Clara, CA - Levi's Stadium (with Beck and Thundercat)
July 31 - Los Angeles, CA - SoFi Stadium (with Beck and Thundercat)
August 3 - Seattle, WA - T-Mobile Park (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
August 6 - Las Vegas, NV - Allegiant Stadium (with The Strokes and King Princess)
August 10 - Atlanta, GA - Truist Park (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
August 12 - Nashville, TN - Nissan Stadium (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
August 14 - Detroit, MI - Comerica Park (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
August 17 - E. Rutherford, NJ - Metlife Stadium (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
August 19 - Chicago, IL - Soldier Field (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
August 21 - Toronto, ON - Rogers Centre (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
August 30 - Miami, FL - Hard Rock Stadium (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
September 1 - Charlotte, NC - Bank of America Stadium (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
September 3 - Philadelphia, PA - Citizens Bank Park (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
September 8 - Washington, DC - Nationals Park (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
September 10 - Boston, MA - Fenway Park (with St. Vincent and Thundercat)
September 15 - Orlando, FL - Camping World Stadium (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
September 18 - Arlington, TX - Globe Life Field (with The Strokes and Thundercat)
September 25 - Louisville, KY - Louder Than Life Festival
October 7, 8, 9 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Music Festival - RHCP performance date TBA
October 14, 15, 16 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Music Festival - RHCP performance date TBA

Linkin Park's One More Light album celebrates its fifth anniversary this week and two of the singles have earned more platinum.

"Heavy," the lead single that featured a guest vocal by Kiiara and showed a poppier side to the band's sound, has now been certified as a double platinum. The song reached #2 on Billboard in 2017.

The album's title track, "One More Light" has certified platinum for the first time. It reached #6 on the charts the same year. That was the last album the band released.

However, earlier this week, they announced a new deluxe edition of their 2007 album, Minutes to Midnight.

TL;DR:

• Linkin Park's One More Light album celebrates its fifth anniversary this week and two of the singles have earned more platinum.
• "Heavy" has now been certified as a double platinum.
• The album's title track, "One More Light" has certified platinum for the first time.

• Rush's Geddy Lee revealed that the current tagline for the band's signature beer is not the one they originally pitched. While chatting with Ultimate Classic Rock, Lee explained that although he and Alex Lifeson settled on the catchphrase "Books are for tourists" for their Rush Canadian Golden Ale -- the other was actually more in line with the band's sense of humor: "Did you know the phrase 'Drinking beer is better than being hit in the head with a hammer' can't be put on a beer can? Me neither. But that's a no-no. We did ask." (Ultimate Classic Rock)
  
  
• Queen + Adam Lambert will open Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee Concert on June 4th at Buckingham Palace. The concert, which will be broadcast live, will also feature performances by Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers, and Alicia Keys, along with a specially pre-filmed performance from Elton John. (Blabbermouth)
  
  
• The trailer for Spinning Gold, the upcoming biopic on Casablanca Records late-founder Neil Bogart, is making the rounds ahead of being screened to potential investors at Cannes Film Festival. The decidedly low-budget clip features Michael Ian Black as Kiss manager Bill Aucoin leading Bogart and his entourage to the back of the stage as Kiss performs at an arena. Due to the fact that Kiss is currently working on its own biopic, titled Shout It Out Loud, "Rock And Roll All Night" has been recorded by other musicians and the band's iconic makeup has been changed. There's been no word as to when Spinning Gold will be released. (Variety)
  
  
• Greek composer Vangelis, best known for his chart-topping 1981 theme to the film, Chariots Of Fire, has died at age 79 at a hospital in France. Born Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou in 1943, Vangelis, who will also be remembered for his score to Ridley Scott's 1982 thriller Blade Runner, made a name for himself on the silver screen by scoring such high profile projects as Jack Lemmon's Missing, the Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins drama The Bounty, Roman Polanski's Bitter Moon, and Oliver Stone's Alexander. Vangelis also scored the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, and the 2004 Olympics in Athens. (The Guardian)

Longtime Bob Dylan associate and folk singer Bob Neuwirth died on May 18th in Santa Monica, California at age 82, according to Rolling Stone. Neuwirth, who made his bones in the early-'60s Cambridge, Massachusetts folk scene became a constant companion and foil for Bob Dylan in the years leading up to his 1966 motorcycle crash. He claimed he was uncredited for contributing to Dylan's 1965 "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" having reportedly written the legendary opening line, "When you're lost in the rain in Juarez, and it's Easter time too."

Bob Neuwirth, whose body is featured on the cover of Dylan's 1965 Highway 61 Revisited album, appeared in 1967's Don't Look Back documentary -- and toured with Dylan as part of the 1975/'76 Rolling Thunder Revue. He's also feature prominently in the docu-drama of the tour, 1977's Renaldo & Clara.

He was an early supporter of Patti Smith, co-wrote "Mercedes Benz:" with Janis Joplin, and introduced her to her signature hit, a cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Me And Bobby McGee."

Neuwirth's family issued a statement, which read:

On Wednesday evening in Santa Monica, Bob Neuwirth's big heart gave out. He was 82 years old and would have been 83 in June. Bob was an artist throughout every cell of his body and he loved to encourage others to make art themselves. He was a painter, songwriter, producer and recording artist whose body of work is loved and respected.

For over 60 years, Bob was at the epicenter of cultural moments from Woodstock, to Paris, Don't Look Back to Monterey Pop, Rolling Thunder to Nashville and Havana. He was a generous instigator who often produced and made things happen anonymously. The art is what mattered to him, not the credit. He was an artist, a mentor and a supporter to many.

It was 44 years ago today (May 20th, 1978) that Paul McCartney & Wings scored their fifth Number One hit with "With A Little Luck." The song, which McCartney and the band began recording the previous year on a yacht docked in the Virgin Islands, was featured as the lead single from Wings' London Town album. "With A Little Luck" was McCartney's only major hit of 1978 and was able to temporarily break Barry Gibb's songwriting and production toe hold on the Number One spot, which he and his brothers and bandmates, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees, dominated throughout the year.

"With A Little Luck" knocked the Bee Gees-written Yvonne Elliman hit "If I Can't Have You" out from the top spot and held the Number One position for two weeks, breaking Barry Gibb's already 15-week run at the top spot with songs he wrote and co-produced. "With A Little Luck" was knocked from Number One by Johnny Mathis and Deneice Williams' "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late."

Wings, which at that time was pared down to just Paul and Linda McCartney, Denny Laine and new drummer Steve Holly, filmed a promotional video for the song in late March, reuniting McCartney with Michael Lindsey-Hogg, who had directed the Beatles' 1970 movie Let It Be.

Denny Laine told us that no matter how well the musicians of Wings gelled during the decade McCartney kept the band running, it always felt as though they were side musicians backing a former Beatle. He scoffs at the fans who are pressing for Wings to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: "Yeah, but Wings was just too many different lineups to be a real band, I always thought. It was really me, Paul and Linda -- in a sense -- plus musicians for a lot of the time. I never really felt like, y'know, I was a member of a band, to be honest. Never really felt that."

Paul McCartney has slowly realized that his work with Wings from the '70s belongs to a different generation than the Beatles do: "I think in the States, too, um, a lot of younger people remember Wings now. I've met people, I've been talking about Sgt. Pepper, and there were guys saying, 'Nah, that wasn't really my formative album, it was more Band On The Run.' 'Cause just their age. Y'know, so a lot of people now, who are harking back to the '70s, that was their '60s."

The promo clip for "With A Little Luck" is featured on the three DVD video collection The McCartney Years.

McCartney has never performed "With A Little Luck" live in concert, although the song was rehearsed with Wings in the fall of 1979 prior to the band's final tour.

During his 2013 rehearsals for his Out There world tour, it was reported that McCartney and his band had rehearsed "With A Little Luck" -- but the song has yet to appear in any of his pre-show soundchecks or concerts.

It was 54 years ago this week in May 1968 that the Beatles began recording four-track demos for its self-titled double album, which is commonly known as the "White Album." The legendary -- and long-bootlegged -- group demos were finally released in 2018 as part of the "White Album's" super deluxe box set.

The songs, which were primarily recorded as a group at George Harrison's English Bungalow in Esher, featured material written by the group during their infamous stay in the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in Rishikesh, India. Upon returning to England, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr regrouped at Harrison's house and for the one and only time in the band's career, laid down bare-bones, acoustic, group versions of their latest music.

Filmmaker Paul Saltzman documented his time in Rishikesh studying transcendental meditation with the group in his photo book The Beatles In India, and told us that they were always friendly and approachable: "John looked up at me, and he was two feet away from me, and I said, 'May I join you?' and John said, 'Sure mate, pull up a chair.' And Paul said, 'Come and sit here' -- he pulled next to him and I sat down. At that moment John turns to me, 'cause they had finished their conversation, and he says, 'So, you're American then?,' in his sort of teasing way. And I said, 'No, Canadian,' and he turns to the group and says, 'Ah, he's from one of the colonies!' And everyone breaks up (in laughter)." SOUDCUE

1968's "White Album" material marked a creative rebirth for John Lennon -- and pointed the way towards his more brutal and soul searching solo works in the 1970's: "Looking back at it, whenever I comment about writing, I always (laughs) seem to be suffering, whether it was writing 'A Day In The Life.' or whatever. When I comment on every little thing it's like I'm suffering. I always seem to have an intense time writing, thinking 'this is the end' and 'nothing's coming' and 'this is dumb' and how can. . . and y'know, 'this is no good' and all that business."

Paul McCartney has written several topical and sociopolitical songs over the years. It's only been in the past decade or so, that he's revealed that "Blackbird" was directly inspired by the civil rights movement during the turbulent 1960's: "When you do a show, certain songs, you just find yourself talking about them. I could probably talk about every single song and find a story about it, but when you find a story that seems to mean something, you tend to just keep it in. In England, we call girls 'birds' -- and so it's a double meaning. And it was originally about the struggles going on in Alabama, particularly, in the '60s, and the civil rights disturbances. Which, y'know a lot of us with any morals around the world were very sensitive to and very supportive of the people who were going through the rubbish that they were going through."

The Beatles "Esher" demos include:

"Back In The U.S.S.R."
"Dear Prudence"
"Glass Onion"
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"
"The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill"
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
"Happiness Is A Warm Gun"
"I'm So Tired"
"Blackbird"
"Piggies"
"Rocky Raccoon"
"Julia"
"Yer Blues"
"Mother Nature's Son"
"Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey"
"Sexy Sadie"
"Revolution"
"Honey Pie"
"Cry Baby Cry"
"Sour Milk Sea"
"Junk"
"Child Of Nature"
"Circles"
"Mean Mr. Mustard"
"Polythene Pam"
"Not Guilty"
"What's The New Mary Jane"

Happy Birthday to Elton John's longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin, who turns 72 on Sunday (May 22nd)!!! Taupin, who first teamed up with Elton in 1967, wrote the lyrics to such instant classics as "Bennie And The Jets," "Philadelphia Freedom," "Daniel," "Border Song," "Take Me To The Pilot," "Country Comfort," "Rocket Man," "Mona Lisa And Mad Hatters," "Burn Down The Mission," "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues," "Tiny Dancer," "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," "Candle In the Wind," "The Bitch Is Back," "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word," "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," "I'm Still Standing," "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting," "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)," "Someone Saved My Life Tonight," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Your Song," and many others.

In February 2019, Elton John and Bernie Taupin won their first joint their first joint Oscar for "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" -- the theme to last year's Rocketman biopic, which was sung with Elton's silver screen counterpart, Taron Egerton.

In 2013 Elton and Taupin were presented with the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Annual Induction and Awards in Manhattan. Elton recalled how the pair -- who have often been called the "Lennon & McCartney of the '70s" -- first teamed up: "I went into Liberty Records in London when I was in a band called Bluesology, and I was getting fed up with playing cabaret, and I thought what can I do -- maybe I can write songs. So I went to Liberty Records, saw a guy called Ray Williams, I said, listen, 'I can't write lyrics, but I'm sure I can write melody.' And he said, 'I've got a pile of lyrics on the desk from a guy from Lancashire called Bernie Taupin, take those away.' You can't get more ridiculous than that. And I took them away and I started writing to them. And I've always. . . really, it's always been the lyrics first."

Elton says that although the end results of their collaborations are still of the same quality, the way they go about writing now is much different: "The process has changed, they (the lyrics) used to be hand written, in the late '60s and early '70s, then they were type-written when we got to Honky Chateau, and now, of course, they're faxed. And the way that things have changed is that, Bernie, when he first started out, just wrote a page of lyrics and I would divide them into verse (and) chorus. And now, of course, because he's made albums himself, and he's become much more musical, he tends to write in the form of verse, chorus, bridge, whatever."

Despite all the honors and accolades the songwriting team has racked up over the years, Taupin is amazed that there are so few cover versions of their classic songs: "We haven't had that many covers y'know, to be quite honest, which is rather extraordinary. You would think in our career we would've had more covers. I like George's (Michael) version of 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me,' the one he did with Elton was good."

In 1994 when Elton John was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, he called Taupin up to the stage with him, saying that "Without Bernie Taupin, there would be no Elton John." He gave Taupin his Hall Of Fame trophy, and Taupin told us that it is the only award that he has ever kept -- he auctions off most of his awards.

Apart from his success with Elton, Taupin has also written lyrics for other acts -- including Starship's' 1985 chart topper "We Built This City" and Heart's 1986 Number One hit "These Dreams" -- which was originally intended for Stevie Nicks.

Elton John told us that throughout his partnership with Bernie Taupin, one member has never outranked the other: "It's never been major/minor, it's always been 50/50, it's never been. . . we've never even thought of it like that, from my point of view, anyway. It's a relationship that's never, ever been questioned. It's always as a one -- it's never split. It's a complete 'one' relationship."

Elton John and Bernie Taupin's latest batch of songs were featured on Elton's 2016 album, Wonderful Crazy Night. The collection hit Number Eight on the Billboard 200 album charts and reached Number Six in the UK.

During an appearance on The Ex Man With Doc Coyle, Metallica's Robert Trujillo recalled being insulted by James Hetfield. A few years back, the bend was on tour and Hetfield got annoyed with him during rehearsals because he wasn't "jamming through it with full intensity."

He explained, "I've always been in situations in my groups where there were those moments where things get heated and you're bumping heads. It happens in Metallica. There's been a couple of times, even with James."

He continued, "I remember one time a few years ago — about three years ago — in Italy. Poor guy, he got stung by a bee in his face, I think it was. I don't think he's allergic, but there was poison oak going on. So your face is hurtin', your body's itchin'. You're out there on the road. It's raining. And one of the songs — like 'Memory Remains' or something… And we're going on stage very soon and things are running late. And we're playing 'Memory Remains' in the tuning room, and I'm just kind of jamming through it, but I'm not really jamming through it with full intensity; I'm just kind of ghosting it a little bit. And he's, like, 'You know the song?' And this is a song we've played thousands of times. And I was insulted, because this is one of the easiest songs we play, and you're asking me if I know the song. So I'm just kind of, like, 'Yeah, I know the f*cking s…'"

Robert went on, "I blew a fuse for a second. And then I felt horrible, and he felt horrible. And then we realized, I think, that I'm tripping on the load that I have on my shoulders over here; he's tripping on this and this and probably… I mean, I get it, man — I've had poison oak; I've had bee stings before, and it ain't fun. And you're out there and you're trying to be the best you can. So, rather than throwing your instruments down and coming to blows or anything like that, you work it out — you kind of calm yourself and you realize what's going on."

Elton John's ongoing final tour will be the subject of a new official documentary -- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances And The Years That Made His Legend. Rolling Stone reported the doc will be co-directed R.J. Cutler along with Elton's husband David Furnish, "and will be centered around John's farewell tour, while also looking back at 1970 to 1975, the monumental period when John released 10 albums and scored some of his biggest hits. The doc will also include an array of unseen concert footage from the past 50 years, as well as John's handwritten journals and present-day footage of the musician and his family."

No release date has been announced for the new film, but it will hit the festival circuit and fans can expect a limited theatrical release. After that, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances And The Years That Made His Legend will air exclusively on Disney+.

David Furnish, who's been with Elton since 1993 said in a statement, "Elton and I could not think of a better collaborator than R.J. Cutler for a film that represents more than just Elton's career -- it's his life. From the Troubadour to Dodger Stadium, we knew that R.J. would help guide Elton's story and its many layers in a way that feels authentic and evocative. We're ecstatic to be working together."

Elton John will wrap his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour over three nights -- November 17th, 19th, and 20th -- at L.A.'s Dodger Stadium.

Elton John still prides himself on being on top of the technological changes in the music industry -- even though he's personally remained an admitted consumer of physical product: "Things have changed in the music business, a lot. I mean, God, have they! And we've definitely gone after the streaming, the YouTube's, the people like that, because if you write a song, you want people to hear it, you want them to remember it, and become a part of their lives. And luckily enough, I've always had a younger audience because a thing, like, The Lion King, came along and it's, kind of, like a regurgitating thing. And I'm definitely involved in streaming -- I want my music to be heard. I'm a Luddite. I've never downloaded anything in my life -- not even porn. (laughter)"

Elton John kicks off his next string of tour dates on July 15th at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park.

Last weekend, as Selena Gomez was hosting Saturday Night Live, she nailed her impression of Miley Cyrus during her opening monologue.

Gomez had asked her good friend for hosting advice and Cyrus told her to just have fun. Gomez got a huge roar of laughter from the audience as she talked about their conversation.

She had told Cyrus that she now had a good excuse to do her deep voiced impression of her. Miley's response was, "Hell yeah, I'm Miley Cyrus."

After the show aired, Cyrus proudly put the quote on a custom-made tank top as she posed in bed with a cup of tea.

The two have been friends since the beginning of their careers. At that time, they were both employed by Disney.

TL;DR:

• Last weekend, as Selena Gomez was hosting Saturday Night Live, she nailed her impression of Miley Cyrus during her opening monologue.
• After the show aired, Cyrus put the quote on a custom-made tank and posted it online.

Pearl Jam was forced to cancel the final two shows of its spring tour after bassist Jeff Ament tested positive for Covid. The band announced via social media that they are issuing refunds for the concerts originally set for May 18th at Sacramento, California's Golden 1 Center and May 20th at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Drummer Matt Cameron missed his first shows with the band in 24 years starting this past May 12th after testing positive for Covid.

The band's message to fans reads:

Important Cancelation Notice for Sacramento and Las Vegas

Dear PJ fans and ticket holders,

While the band battled through Oakland after drummer Matt Cameron tested positive for Covid, and Fresno where Ed and the band got through it with the help of Dave Krusen as special guest drummer, they now have to present the heartbreaking news that this morning bassist Jeff Ament has tested positive for Covid.

This is horrible for everybody involved and we are especially sorry to those out there who have made plans to attend these shows.

Our attention to staying inside the bubble has been constant. We have truly done all that we could have to remain clear of infection.

Regretfully, the Sacramento and Las Vegas shows are canceled. Ticket refunds will be automatically processed to ticket holders' method of purchase. We are so very sorry. Be safe out there.

On Wednesday afternoon (5-18) Taylor Swift became an honorary graduate at NYU. And then a few minutes later, she gave the commencement speech.

She urged the students to not be afraid to be enthusiastic and try hard when it comes to the things they love. She also reminded them to accept that they will inevitably make mistakes as they go forward with their post-college lives.

She also thanked the university for making her an honorary doctor.

She later posted online and said it was the first time she had ever worn a cap and gown. Swift went to public high school until 10^th grade and then was homeschooled while chasing her career.

The graduation took place at New York City's Yankee Stadium.

TL;DR: