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It was 36 years ago today (March 25th, 1976) that Paul McCartney released his seventh solo album -- and fifth Wings release -- Wings At The Speed Of Sound. The album, which was the former-Beatle's fifth chart-topper, hit Number One on April 24th, 1976 and spent seven non-consecutive weeks at the top spot while McCartney was back in the States on his sold-out Wings Over America tour.

The album's lead single, "Silly Love Songs" spent a whopping five weeks on top of the Top 40 charts. Its followup, "Let 'Em In," also achieved saturation airplay, peaking at Number Three.

Back in 2014 a super-deluxe edition of the album was released as part of the ongoing McCartney Archives Collection. The Wings At The Speed Of Sound set includes a 112-page hardbound book, and features several outtakes -- including the long-rumored version of "Beware My Love" featuring Led Zeppelin's John Bonham on drums along with a DVD featuring previously unreleased 1976 footage of Wings in Venice, a new behind the scenes edit from Wings' 1976 Wembley shows, as well as the original music video for "Silly Love Songs."

Although Wings was a massively successful band across the globe, they were especially big in America. Between 1971 and 1980 the band scored 13 Top 10 singles -- six of them chart-toppers; and eight Top 10 albums -- including five straight Number Ones, with the final chart-topper, 1976's Wings Over America, being a triple-record set.

We asked Paul McCartney why Wings landed so large in the States: "We did bigger tours over there, I think, really. Simple as that. The records sold very well and the concerts we did over there, inevitably, had bigger venues, so we saw more people, we played to more people."

McCartney's main musical foil throughout the Wings era was Moody Blues co-founder and multi-instrumentalist Denny Laine. Laine admitted that despite the band's success, being an active member of top act like Wings is hardly as easy as it looks: "Well, there's a lot of pressure on you when you're in a band like Wings -- to come up with the goods, to be continually working. It's not like taking it easy and taking it at your own pace. Y'know you're out there and you've got to do what the public expects you to."

One song on the new Weezer album was directly inspired by Shakespeare. Lead singer, Rivers Cuomo saw a performance of Romeo and Juliet four years ago at the Ohio Shakespeare Festival, and afterwards wrote the song titled, "Opening Night."

In an interview with NPR, he talked about sitting under the stars, watching the production with his wife. He journaled about it and described the scene and then a few years later was reading over his notes and started the song.

"Opening Night," specifically mentions seeing "Romeo and Juliet" under the stars. The lyrics name Shakespearean characters from other plays such as Hamlet and Falstaff.

Weezer's current single is called "A Little Bit of Love," it's from their album, Spring. Sznz

TL;DR:

• "Opening Night" was inspired by Shakespeare.
• Lead singer, Rivers Cuomo saw a performance of Romeo and Juliet and afterwards wrote the song.

It was 55 years ago today (March 25th, 1967) that the Turtles' "Happy Together" began its three-week run at Number One. "Happy Together" was written by Gary Bonner and Alan Gordon, who were members of the Boston area group the Magicians. The pair went on to write the group's follow-up single, "She'd Rather Be With Me" as well as Three Dog Night's "Celebrate."

"Happy Together," which knocked the Beatles' "Penny Lane" out from the top spot, has gone on to be featured in numerous TV shows, films and commercials, most recently for the Burger King chain.

Turtles' frontman Howard Kaylan says that he and group co-founder Mark Volman -- better known as Flo & Eddie -- made the right choice in deciding to battle for the group's trademark and ownership of their songs: "Because we went through the lawsuits back in the '60s and '70s with our label to regain our name and our credibility, and a little bit of self-esteem -- we were able several years later to actually win our name back, and the masters and the right to keep recording as the Turtles."

Kaylan told us that well after nearly-60 years in the business, he's happy with the way his life and career has turned out: "It's been a wonderful existence the way we've played the game. Y'know, if you really love the music and you really love the entire concept of rock n' roll and being a little slice of Americana, and adding your two cents to the tapestry, there's no better life in the world than the one that was chosen for us."

Throughout the years "Happy Together" has been covered by such artists as Dawn, the Captain & Tennille, Vikki Carr, Mel Torme, Petula Clark, Melba Moore, Donny Osmond, the Ventures, Percy Faith, and Frank Zappa, among others.

In 2013, Howard Kaylan published his memoir, called Shell Shocked: My Life With the Turtles, Flo And Eddie, And Frank Zappa, Etc.

Happy Birthday to Diana Ross, who turns 78 on Saturday (March 26th)!!! Ross is now the sole surviving original member of the Supremes, with singer Mary Wilson dying on February 8th, 2021 at the age of 76.

Wilson was the second of the original Supremes to die. This past February 22nd marked the 46th anniversary of co-founder Florence Ballard's death at age of 32. In addition to Ross, from the group's classic lineup, the only member still alive is Ballard's replacement, 82-year-old Cindy Birdsong.

Last November, Diana Ross released her 25th solo studio album, titled, Thank You, which peaked at Number Seven in the UK and hit Number 25 on Billboard's Top R&B Albums chart.

Back in 2019, in celebration of Ross' 75th birthday, the documentary Diana Ross: Her Life, Love And Legacy hit the big screen. The concert doc featured "a remastered version of Ross' historic 1983 Central Park concert with never-before-seen footage and commentary from the Ross family, including sons Evan Ross and Ross Naess, daughters Rhonda Ross Kendrick, Chudney Ross, and Tracee Ellis Ross."

In 2019, Diana Ross faced a bit of backlash after taking to Twitter to defend her late protege Michael Jackson against the most recent molestation charges leveled against him in the wake of the Leaving Neverland documentary. Ross tweeted: "This is what's on my heart this morning. I believe and trust that Michael Jackson was and is A magnificent incredible force to me and to many others. STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE"

Diana Ross was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and joined the R&B trio the Primettes in 1959. At the time the Primettes were made up of Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, and original member Barbara Martin. After signing to Motown records in 1960, the group changed their name to the Supremes.

Starting in 1964 with "When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes," the Supremes scored 33 Top 40 singles, including 12 Number One pop hits. "Someday We'll Be Together" was the group's final Number One, after which Ross left to begin a solo career, which earned her an additional 27 Top 40 hits, including 1970's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," her first solo Number One.

Ross also reached the top of the charts with "Touch Me In The Morning" (1973), "Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" (1975), "Love Hangover" (1976), "Upside Down" (1980), and "Endless Love" -- her 1981 duet with Lionel Richie.

She has also had a career as an actress, earning an Academy Award best actress nomination for her role as singer Billie Holiday in Lady Sings The Blues. Her other films included Mahogany, and The Wiz.

Donny Osmond recalled watching Ross whip her band into shape during a mid-'70s soundcheck: "There's a reason why they call her 'The Boss.' In Vegas, I can't remember if I was following her at Caesars or she was following us at Caesars. She was doing rehearsals during the day of our closing night and man she ruled with an iron fist. And you just didn't get in her way. But in a way, I admired it because she commanded the stage. She knew what she wanted (and) nobody would cross her."

Diana Ross told us it took her years to finally become in charge of her career: "Y'know, you learn from mistakes. You learn what you have to offer and you try to give that back. And it gives you a little bit of ownership in that way. When you have a little ownership in executive producing, you have more of a voice in how certain things are done. Not that much, but you have somewhat of a voice, and it took me a long time to get to be an executive producer."

She says that despite her many years in the spotlight, she's still a family-oriented person: "Y'know, that's really who I am. I'm in show business, and I know people have a lot of images of what, y'know, all the possibilities of show business are, but I'm a . . . I'm a family-oriented person."

Diana Ross' daughter, actress Tracee Ellis Ross, star of ABC's Black-ish, recently appeared on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers and joked about growing up with Ross as her mom: "(Tracee Ross): "She was a great mom, but my mom also (laughs) did she always would say to us, 'Oh, this, I'm not doing this. I'm not leaving you nothin.' I'm gonna to spend all this. (laughter) This is for me. You better get yourself a nice job.' I remember my mom saying, 'Tracee your hair products alone really are a problem. You're going to need to get a very good job.' (Seth Meyers): Oh wow. (Tracee): I have a lot of hair. (Seth): Yeah. (Tracee): I have a lot of hair. (Seth): She wouldn't even leave you hair money. She's saying she's not. . . (Tracee): No. Not even hair money. Maybe for a roof over the head and medical. (Seth): Yeah, okay, got you. She's not considering this a condition. (Tracee): No, this is not condition. Conditioning is on me."

In December 2007 Ross was among the Kennedy Center Honorees, which also included Brian Wilson, Martin Scorsese, Steve Martin, and pianist Leon Fleischer.

Ross' 2007 studio album -- I Love You -- peaked at Number 32 on the Billboard 200 charts and featured covers of Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," Harry Nilsson's "Remember," Bill Withers' "Lovely Day," Heatwave's "Always And Forever," the Drifters' "This Magic Moment," the Beatles' "I Will," Spiral Staircase's "I Love You More Today Than Yesterday," and Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful," among others.

Aerosmith will resume its Las Vegas "Deuces Are Wild" residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM, beginning June 17th, with a total of 24 dates played before the end of 2022. General on sale tickets starting at $75 go on sale on Thursday, March 31st at 10 a.m. PT.

Back in 2019 guitarist Joe Perry explained the allure of playing the "Deuces Are Wild" residency telling Variety, "This has been an incredible opportunity to play a smaller version of our regular show in an intimate seating (and) a way to present the heart and soul of the band's essence with added elements you wouldn't have ever been able to do in a one-night-only setting. It's something very different than what we have ever done before."

The band enlisted Beatles archival producer Giles Martin, who co-designed the sound for Cirque du Soleil's The Beatles LOVE show, to supervise their sound in Vegas. Steven Tyler shed light on how the production in Vegas makes everything else pale in comparison: "The sound takes everything about this show to the next level, and it's a 360 experience; full immersion. Nowhere else can fans hear what I'm hearing and see what I'm seeing like they can at our show. We found the best people we could for every aspect of the show. Whether it was the lights, sound, mechanics, all the moving parts, we had the best people."

In 2018, Aerosmith appeared on NBC's Today show to announce its initial residency at the 5,200-seat Park Theater at Park MGM. While at Today, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Joey Kramer explained what fans can expect from the upcoming Vegas run: "(Steven Tyler): We decided to do Vegas (cheers) Viva Las Aerosmith. (Joe Perry): Well, we wanna bring a show in there that we really can't do when we're on the road on a regular tour. So we wanna bring a show that still has Aerosmith and all the guts of Aerosmith, but has a whole other element to it that we've never been able to do before. (Joey Kramer): We bring you into, into Aerosmith's world, the history behind our almost 50 years of being together. And as soon as you walk into the Park Theatre in Vegas, you're going to walk into Aerosmith world. Everything about it is going to be Aerosmith, Aerosmith, Aerosmith."

UPDATED: Aerosmith tour dates (subject to change):

June 17, 20, 23, 26, 29 - Las Vegas, NV - Dolby Live at Park MGM
July 2, 5, 8 - Las Vegas, NV - Dolby Live at Park MGM
September 8 - Boston, MA - Fenway Park
September 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29 - Las Vegas, NV - Dolby Live at Park MGM
October 2, 5 - Las Vegas, NV - Dolby Live at Park MGM
November 19, 23, 26, 29 - Las Vegas, NV - Dolby Live at Park MGM
December 2, 5, 8, 11 - Las Vegas, NV - Dolby Live at Park MGM

Miley Cyrus and her crew are safe after making an emergency landing on their way to a concert in Paraguay that had to be canceled.

She posted early Wednesday morning (3-23) that her plane had gotten caught up in a major pop-up storm and was struck by lightning.

She wrote: "My crew, band, friends, and family who were all traveling with me are safe after an emergency landing. We were unfortunately unable to fly into Paraguay. I LOVE YOU."

She also posted a photo of the damage to her plane. Cyrus has been performing throughout South America as part of her Miley Live tour.

TL;DR:

• Miley Cyrus and her crew are safe after making an emergency landing on their way to a concert in Paraguay that had to be canceled.
• Her plane had gotten caught up in a major pop-up storm and was struck by lightning.

Harry Styles will be releasing his third solo album, Harry's House, on May 20. It will include 13 new songs.

He confirmed it after posting a series of cryptic posts about a mysterious Instagram account that was titled, "You Are Home."

A promotional video shows him on stage in an empty theatre as a yellow house set design is hoisted up behind him. You see numerous shots of natural environments, city streets and huge crowds of fans. And then you hear an instrumental snippet of music.

A track list for Harry's House and title of the first single are yet to be revealed.

TL;DR:

• Harry Styles will be releasing his third solo album, Harry's House, on May 20. It will include 13 new songs.
• A track list and first single are yet to be revealed.

Jay-Z is facing backlash for hosting an Oscars afterparty at Chateau Marmont this weekend in West Hollywood. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Chateau Marmont is currently facing complaints from its employees. A boycott has been planned for this upcoming weekend by the local hotel worker's union after employees alleged they were subjected to "racial discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace."

Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11 said in a statement, "For Jay-Z to choose the Chateau Marmont for their Gold Party is shockingly insensitive. "They must move their event and choose an afterparty hot spot that treats its workers, especially Black women, with dignity and respect. Jay-Z has a responsibility to do better."

Keith Richards looked back at the writing of the Rolling Stones' ominous end of decade '60s classic "Gimme Shelter." During a new chat with Rolling Stone, Richards, who included the tune in the live set included on his deluxe, expanded edition of 1992's Main Offender, recalled, "Listening to it back, I'd even forgotten that we'd laid that one down on with the Winos. And in a way, it reminded me of the day that I wrote it, which was like a rainy day in London, in Mount Street. There was a big storm on and everybody was running for cover, and it really just came out of that simple vision. And then I realized, of course, you have to expand it. And I realized that there's only one storm, but there's plenty more."

He went on to say, "'Gimme Shelter,' I've always sort of had a soft spot for that one. . . (Mick Jagger) expanded it, and especially when I said that we need a female in here, a duet. And certainly stage-wise, gave it far more visual presence. The rape and the murder always brings crowds in, y'know?"

When pressed if he could actually wrap his head around the Stones celebrating their 60th anniversary this year, Richards said, "Who can wrap their head around 60 f***ing years? It all seems impossible that it's been that long. But, yes, the feeling is that we have to do something this year. And, y'know, when that feeling grips this band, something will be done."

Although certain songs in their catalogue have been revamped over the years, Keith Richards explained that for the most part, he has no interest in changing the arrangements of the Stones' greatest songs: "A lot of these things are in their time, and they belong where they belong. And to fiddle about with them and treat them as, y'know, they're 'Mona Lisa's,' or something would be pointless. All the big ones and the best ones that everybody knows, we'll leave them as they are. Y'know, I won't recall nothing and say, 'We shoulda done this or shoulda done that.' Y'know, 'cause they're in their time and space. That's where they are."

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

Lizzo has announced that her next single, "About Damn Time," will be released on April 14^th. The following weekend (4-16) she'll host Saturday Night Live. Look for her to perform some of her new music on the show.

This is also a big week for Lizzo, her Amazon Prime show, Watch Out For The Big Grrrls starts streaming tomorrow, March 25^th. The diversity-focused reality TV show follows her on her search for backup dancers.

TL;DR:

• "About Damn Time," will be released on April 14^th.
• On April 16^th, she'll host Saturday Night Live.

Billy Idol is hardly the party animal of 1982 -- with a European tour set for this spring and a granddaughter he can't wait to get home to. Idol -- who recently released a new EP, titled, The Roadside, via George Harrison's resurrected Dark Horse Records imprint -- recalled his early days and how it led him down a road to quick fame and drugs.

Idol spoke with Classic Rock magazine and looked back to when he hit the ground running in the U.S. after leaving his band Generation X back in Britain: "At first, mainstream radio wouldn't play my music because I had a punk rock image, which they didn't believe sold advertising dollars. College radio and then MTV gave us a platform. Then the kids who were watching MTV phoned the radio stations, and they folded and there we were on the radio."

He went on to explain, "(Original Kiss manager) Bill Aucoin, who'd been in television in the '60s and '70s, knew cable and MTV were coming and that I'd be perfect for a 24-hour music channel. So, we knew this was going to be our secret weapon, that we could be on it, and that it was going to change everything."

Idol spoke frankly about how early fame affected his life: "Pop stardom's fantastic. You want people to hear your music and come to the shows. But I never thought of fame beyond just being a music person, of being on the radio and doing the occasional Top Of The Pops. MTV was on 24-hours-a-day, and it grew from an audience of a few million to countless millions all around the world. Suddenly everybody knew who you were. And that's a little weird. When I came to New York, I'd walk around and only the few people who were into punk rock knew who I was; now suddenly everybody did."

Ultimately, fame lead Idol down a long dark road: "It cut off your freedom. I started to live in tiny little rooms, because when you walked outside you walked into a world of mayhem. And it drives you a little nuts. So, you start overloading on drugs. Because what else is there to do? So, that was a problem. It didn't help if you were a bit of a drug addict, and I turned myself into a bit of a drug addict at that point."

Billy Idol he admitted to us that although not exactly clean and sober, he's left his self-destructive habits far in the past: "I'm not sober, I mean, I don't. . . I have to sort of say to myself, ‘Yeah, you can do everything, man, but I'm not doing it.' If I say to myself, ‘I'm never doing anything ever again' -- I'll immediately go and do it. That's what I'm like. So, I have to sort of say, ‘No, man, you can do (laughs) whatever you want' -- but there's a side of me saying, ‘. . . but we're not going to.' I like smoking pot. I still smoke tons of pot, and so. . . I don't do coke or heroin or anything like that. I like to drink with a meal at a restaurant, y'know? But nothing else." (30 OC: . . . But nothing else)

Billy Idol will next perform on April 29th in Atlanta, Georgia at the Shaky Knees Festival

David Crosby looked back to the Byrds' first European tour when the Beatles took the band under their wing back in 1965. "Croz" recalled to Uncut, "Paul (McCartney) was kind to us from when the Byrds went over to England for the first time. They had us over to their houses, they'd invite us to parties. I remember McCartney drove me home in his Mini Cooper from a horrible gig somewhere in Soho. It was a terrible place -- blood-smeared, bug-infested, hideous. And he went, 'Ah, it's not that bad. We've played there three or four times!'"

Crosby went on to talk about the pair's most recent hookup: "Two or three years ago I'm in this big rehearsal complex at Burbank. I'm doing a relatively new song, a pretty intense song. I've got my eyes closed, because I'm into it. It's one of those moments when it's going extremely well and you don't want to f*** it up, even though it's just you and the band in a big empty room. So I get to the end of the song and I hear one pair of hands clapping. I open my eyes, look up and it's McCartney. He's been standing there the whole time. He's rehearsing in the room next door and has come over to see me. He invited us all back to his room, we raided his groceries and talked endlessly. He was so gracious with us. He's just as real now as when I first met him in the '60s."

When we last caught up with David Crosby, we asked him about how back in the Byrds' mid-'60s heyday, the "Fab Four" treated him and Roger McGuinn on as personal confidantes and musical peers: "They were extremely bright cats; not, y'know, reserved intellectuals from expensive schools -- these were kids off the street who had smarts. Real smarts. And a tremendous amount of talent. And hangin' out with them, y'know, it was difficult, because there was such an intense sphere of people. . . y'know, a lotta pressure. It was very difficult for them to get five minutes to themselves. The time that I did spend with them, we spent very privately and doing ordinary things. Playin' guitar, laying out by the pool, talkin,' playing music for each other that we had recorded. Y'know, stuff that was all the more precious because it wasn't a big deal. I loved showin' John Lennon a chord he hadn't seen before. Good cats. And they were very nice to us. Drove us home from gigs, invited us over for dinner, came to our shows. They were as nice as they could be."

Justin Bieber and his clothing company designed a new alternate jersey for the National Hockey League, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Used in a game this week, it honored the organization's annual Next Gen game to help bring people of all ages together for hockey. The new jersey design is only the organization's 15th alternate uniform in club history.

TL;DR:

• Justin Bieber designed a new jersey for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
• The 15th alternate uniform in club history.

Kid Cudi announced on Instagram that he will be directing his first feature film, a Netflix project called Teddy. He also wrote it and will be starring in it.

He said, "The road has been long, from being a tv show for years, to finally being a film. I can't wait for u all to meet Teddy, his friends, his family… and take a walk in his world for a bit."

Kid Cudi described the story line and compared it to his song, "Pursuit of Happiness," calling it a story of personal struggles and experiences.

The production team for Teddy includes Jeymes Samuel, James Lassiter, and Jay-Z.

TL;DR:

It was 36 years ago today (March 24th, 1986) that the Rolling Stones released their fourth studio album of the 1980's, Dirty Work. The album, which was recorded during 1985 in the midst of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' slowly simmering cold war, saw the "Glimmer Twins" tracking their parts at different times, so as not to run into each other in the studio. Richards took exception that Jagger was more interested in promoting his 1985 solo debut, She's The Boss, than recording the new Stones album.

Dirty Work, which was co-produced by Jagger & Richards and Steve Lillywhite, was the band's first as part of their contract for CBS Records. It peaked at Number Four on both the U.S. and UK albums charts, but only spent a scant six weeks in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. Dirty Work's lead single, a cover of Bob & Earl's 1963 hit "Harlem Shuffle," reached Number Five. Dirty Work holds the distinction of featuring the most number of co-written songs with guitarist Ron Wood -- a total of four.

Two other songs from Dirty Work are still regularly featured in the Stones' setlists -- Keith Richards' ballad "Sleep Tonight" and the Ron Wood co-write "One Hit (To The Body)." Among the high profile guests on Dirty Work were Jimmy Page, Bobby Womack, Jimmy Cliff, Anton Fig, Don Covay, Beverly D'Angelo, Kirsty MacColl, Patti Scialfa, and Tom Waits.

Noted Stones historian Bill German recalled that the tension in the band at that point stemmed from Mick Jagger blatantly putting his solo career before the Stones: "He didn't really wanna be there. He didn't really wanna be in the Stones at that point. Y'know, he was like the reluctant lead singer who had to contractually come in and sing the songs on Dirty Work. He really didn't wanna be there. Y'know, while they were recording Dirty Work, he was busy at the same time promoting his first solo album, She's The Boss."

Keith Richards told us that he's always had a soft spot for Dirty Work, which was overlooked in the wake of his and Jagger's late-'80s feud following Jagger's disinterest in recording and touring behind the album. Over 30 years on, it's clear to nearly everyone involved that Dirty Work planted the seeds for Richards' solo career: "Dirty Work for me was. . . I, I love the record and everything, but it was probably the most difficult one to make, because there was -- the tensions were all rising to the surface of whatever was going on. And I think it was probably Mick's and my frustration, really, just being in the Stones. But I wasn't, there was no way I was going to make the first move (laughs)."

Old friend, Jimmy Page supplied the distinctive lead work and solo on the album's lead track and second single, "One Hit (To The Body)." Shortly after the sessions, Page recalled the scene recording with the Stones: "It was a fantastic night, and the next night I was going to go down and put the solos on this thing, on their stuff, but when I got down there, Mick (Jagger) was there. I think it might've been some time since they've seen him prior to that. And he had just done a vocal on one of the numbers -- which is the one that I put some stuff on. Um, actually, at the time, I did bits and pieces on it and I don't really know now what, what I actually ended up (laughs) doing. Apparently, it's out and I'd really like to hear it, ‘cause I haven't (laughs)."

Mick Jagger credits a united professional front for the Stones' longevity over any fan's notion of a "brotherhood" with the rest of the band: "Relationships, for a long period, they go up and down, and sometimes they're good and sometimes they're not very good. Any internal, kind of, group of people always have varying groups of relationships with each other, so the dynamic changes. But, y'know, we sort of have common goals and so we try to get over the ups and downs and try and keep on the common goal."

Following the Dirty Work sessions, it would be four long years before the Rolling Stones would hit the studio again for 1989's Steel Wheels collection.

Machine Gun Kelly has blamed his fame and false news reports for his failure to respond to an assault and battery lawsuit filed against him by a disabled parking lot attendant. He claims that because of his celebrity status, the stories reported about the allegation were either false or partly true.

In the complaint filed last September, the attendant John Tilli alleged that Kelly pushed and threatened him while he was working. The LA City Attorney's Office decided not to charge, due to "reasonable likelihood of conviction."

Kelly is now requesting a judge to allow him to fight the civil claim over the alleged incident… so that he can clear it up.

MGK denies the allegations and claims that he had not been served with the complaint and hadn't seen the official publication of the summons prior to the deadline to respond to the lawsuit.

He said that he promptly retained counsel when he learned of the lawsuit but that was after stories had been published.

TL;DR:

• Machine Gun Kelly has blamed his fame and false news reports for his failure to respond to an assault and battery lawsuit filed against him by a disabled parking lot attendant. Last September, Kelly allegedly pushed and threatened a parking lot attendant. When reported, the LA City Attorney's Office decided not to charge, due to "reasonable likelihood of conviction." Kelly is now requesting a judge to allow him to fight the civil claim over the alleged incident… so that he can clear it up. He said that he promptly retained counsel when he learned of the lawsuit but that was after stories had been published.

The 1990's will be alive and well on August 13th when the inaugural Flannel Nation Festival plays at San Pedro, California's Port of Los Angeles. Blabbermouth reported the concert will feature headliners Everclear, Soul Asylum, Candlebox, and Filter -- along with Sponge, Fastball, and Cracker -- with "an additional special guest headliner still TBA."

The Flannel Nation Festival promises, "a day of live music with some of the era's top bands, tons of delicious food trucks, craft beer, full bar, and lots of retail vendors for shopping." For more information, log on to https://flannelnation.com/

Cracker co-founder Johnny Hickman offered up some of the core reasons why bands don't stay together for the long haul: "I look at bands that have been together for, uh, y'know, 10, 12, 15 years and I'm amazed (laughs). And people, sort of, wonder why, 'Well, wait, don't they love each other? Why did they have that fist fight?' Well, if you, if you were in a little submarine with 12 of your friends for six months straight, somebody would hit somebody eventually, man, trust me."

Red Hot Chili Peppers teased their new single "Not The One." The song, which is off of their upcoming album Unlimited Love, is due out on April 1st.

Meanwhile, the band opened up about Unlimited Love, saying, "Our only goal is to get lost in the music. We (John, Anthony, Chad and Flea) spent thousands of hours, collectively and individually, honing our craft and showing up for one another, to make the best album we could. Our antennae attuned to the divine cosmos, we were just so damn grateful for the opportunity to be in a room together, and, once again, try to get better."

The band continued, "Days, weeks and months spent listening to each other, composing, jamming freely, and arranging the fruit of those jams with great care and purpose. The sounds, rhythms, vibrations, words and melodies had us enrapt.

Justin Bieber has requested the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit he filed against two women who accused him of sexual assault.

According to court records obtained by Rolling Stone, his lawyer submitted the voluntary dismissal in Los Angeles court last Friday (March 18th). The "Peaches" singer originally filed the lawsuit in 2020 against two women who had accused him of sexual assault on Twitter.

As previously reported, one woman, who identified herself as Danielle, claimed on Twitter that the singer sexually assaulted her on March 9, 2014 at the Four Seasons hotel in Austin, Texas. The second woman, Khadidja Djibrine, tweeted that the singer assaulted her in New York City in May 2015.

Bieber called the allegations "outlandish false fabrications" in his original filing. He was seeking over $20 million in damages, $10 million for each of the stories.

Taylor Swift's newest track appeared in the trailer for the upcoming movie, Where the Crawdads Sing, when it was released on Tuesday (March 22nd).

The singer shared a clip of the trailer on Instagram where she revealed that she was a big fan of the film's source material and added, "I wrote the song 'Carolina' alone and asked my friend @aarondessner to produce it. I wanted to create something haunting and ethereal to match this mesmerizing story. You'll hear it fully soon, but for now check out the @crawdadsmovie trailer for a clip!"

The movie, which is based on Delia Owens' best-selling 2018 novel of the same name, will be released in theaters on July 15th.

Producers announced Tuesday (March 22nd) that Beyoncé, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Reba McEntire and Sebastián Yatra will perform this year's nominated songs on the 94th Oscars.

Van Morrison was invited to perform his nominated song, "Down To Joy" from Belfast, but will not attend the Oscars due to his tour schedule.

The Oscars will air live on ABC Sunday, March 27, 2022, at 8 p.m. EDT.

This year's Original Song nominees and performers are as follows:

"Be Alive" from King Richard – Performed by Beyoncé
Music and Lyric by DIXSON and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

"Dos Oruguitas" from Encanto – Performed by Sebastián Yatra
Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

"Down To Joy" from Belfast
Music and Lyric by Van Morrison

"No Time To Die" from No Time to Die – Performed by Billie Eilish and FINNEAS
Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell

"Somehow You Do" from Four Good Days – Performed by Reba McEntire
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

Miley Cyrus shared a sweet message for her followers on Tuesday (March 22nd).

The fan account, Miley Cyrus Access, shared a video of the singer hanging out with and hugging fans in Columbia with the caption, "Miley literally has a heart of gold and treats her fans like her best friends."

The pop star retweeted clip and added, "I've known you all longer than almost any friend I have ….. you are my best friends…. We've grown up together and I love you…."

Olivia Rodrigo recently told People that filming the Disney+ documentary, driving home 2 u, has allowed her to close a chapter of her life.

The "drivers license" singer told the magazine, "The process of making Sour, and putting it out in the world really challenged me, and I've grown so much, and I've learned so much more about myself. I definitely feel like I am a more confident person today because of it."

Rodrigo continued, "The entire process of filming the film, for me, was just super nostalgic. It was all kind of about revisiting this past era of my life, and closing that chapter. So, there was a lot of nostalgia involved."

In the film, the 19-year-old star, takes a road trip from Salt Lake City, where she began writing her debut album Sour, to Los Angeles. Along the way, Rodrigo makes stops to perform live arrangements of each song on the album and share memories about the songwriting process.

The documentary is set to stream on Friday, (April 25) on Disney+.

Pearl Jam guitarist, Stone Gossard says the band has already recorded a few tracks for their next album. It will be the follow-up to 2020's Gigaton.

He told Consequence of Sound: "We're on our way. We're making music."

He also confirmed that Andrew Watt, the producer, guitarist and songwriter, who has a history with Justin Bieber and recently worked on frontman Eddie Vedder's solo album, is on board.

Calling Watt "a total character," he said, that they all clicked with him immediately and started writing quickly.

Meanwhile, Pearl Jam's 19-city, North American tour starts in May. Tickets are on sale now.

TL;DR:

• Pearl Jam has already recorded a few tracks for their next album.
• Andrew Watt, the producer, guitarist and songwriter, who has a history with Justin Bieber and recently worked on frontman Eddie Vedder's solo album, is on board.