Pulse Music

KESHA DENIED USE OF ANTI-SLAPP LAW IN DR. LUKE DEFAMATION CASE: A New York Court ruled Thursday that Kesha cannot make Dr. Luke pay her legal fees if her defamation claim against him fails. According to the court, "there is insufficient evidence supporting the conclusion that the legislature intended its 2020 amendments to the anti-strategic lawsuit against public participation (anti-SLAPP) law… to apply retroactively to pending claims such as the defamation claims asserted by plaintiffs in this action." In a statement to Rolling Stone, Kesha's lawyers said: "Today's opinion is manifestly erroneous and contrary to the conclusion reached by approximately 20 other courts. We will promptly seek Court of Appeals review."

KATY PERRY CELEBRATES COPYRIGHT CASE VICTORY: Katy Perry celebrated her victory in court while on stage in Las Vegas Friday (March 11th) night. A video posted to Twitter shows Perry shouting "So just be sure… before you take me to court, 'cause I'm a Scorpio, b—-!" on stage at her Play Las Vegas residency. On Thursday (March 10th), a federal appeals court refused to reinstate a $2.8 million copyright infringement verdict against Perry over her 2013 single "Dark Horse." Rapper Marcus Gray won a lawsuit against the "Firework" singer in 2014, claiming she ripped off his song, "Joyful Noise," but the verdict was overturned by a judge in 2020.

Paul McCartney has added a second Oakland, California date to his "Got Back" tour itinerary. The new show at the Oakland Arena falls on Sunday, May 8th -- Mother's Day -- with the general on-sale beginning this Friday, March 18th at 10 a.m. local time. For more info, log on to: https://www.paulmccartneygotback.com/

2022 marks 20th anniversary of "Macca's" current touring band first hitting the road with the former-Beatle. Fans are quick to point out that that's seven-years longer than his partnership with John Lennon, and about five times as long as the most durable lineup of Wings. McCartney's current band consists of guitarist Rusty Anderson, 33-year-veteran, keyboardist Paul "Wix" Wickens, guitarist/bassist Brian Ray, and drummer Abe Laboriel, Jr.

Paul McCartney shed light on how the current band fell into place during his spring 2001 recording sessions in L.A.: "I was going to do the Driving Rain album, I was talking to the producer, I said, 'I better get some people -- or you better get some people.' (Laughs) Y'know, we're gonna work with musicians. So I said, 'Y'know what, you know guys out in L.A.' I said, 'Why don't you make a couple of suggestions' -- so he did, and they sounded great. Abe (Laboriel Jr.) on drums and Rusty (Anderson) on guitar. So, anyway, I worked with those two guys during the Driving Rain album, and loved working with them."

UPDATED: Paul McCartney tour dates (subject to change):

April 28 - Spokane, WA - Spokane Arena
May 2, 3 - Seattle, WA - Climate Pledge Arena
May 6 - Oakland, CA - Oakland Arena
May 8 - Oakland, CA - Oakland Arena
May 13 - Los Angeles, CA - SoFi Stadium
May 17 - Fort Worth, TX - Dickies Arena
May 21 - Winston Salem, NC - Truist Field
May 25 - Hollywood, FL - Hard Rock Live
May 28 - Orlando, FL - Camping World Stadium
May 31 - Knoxville, TN - Thompson Boling Arena
June 4 - Syracuse, NY - Carrier Dome
June 7, 8 - Boston, MA - Fenway Park
June 12 - Baltimore, MD - Oriole Park
June 16 - East Rutherford, NJ - Met Life Stadium
June 25 - Pilton, England - Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm

Kygo's remix of Coldplay's current single with Selena Gomez, "Let Somebody Go," was released Friday (March 11th).

The producer said of the collaboration, "Coldplay's music has had a huge influence on me as an artist and person. I did an unofficial remix of Midnight back in 2014 that I uploaded on SoundCloud and always wanted to properly collaborate with the band. I really love how this remix turned out and it's great to team up with Selena Gomez again."

Kygo previously collaborated with Gomez on 2017's worldwide smash, "It Ain't Me."

• Hall & Oates' Daryl Hall revealed he was asked to replace David Lee Roth in Van Halen. While chatting with New York's Q104.3, Hall recalled the invitation: "I knew those guys (in Van Halen) really well; we actually shared some people -- crew and things like that. And Eddie (Van Halen) came to a show with (his then-wife) Valerie (Bertinelli) -- this goes back, y'know -- and David had just left the band. And Eddie said, 'Do you wanna join Van Halen, man?' He was half joking, but I think he was serious -- I really do believe he was serious. And I took it seriously. I went, 'Meh, I think not. I think I've got my own s*** going on.'"
  • Hall went on to reveal that the opening keyboard lick to Van Halen's "Jump" was inspired by Hall & Oates' "Kiss Is On My List": "That's what (Eddie) always told me. He said that inspired 'Jump.'" (Blabbermouth)
    
    
• To show their solidarity with the people of Ukraine, Pink Floyd have pulled all their post-1987 music off Russia and Belarus streaming sites. The band released a statement, which reads, "To stand with the world in strongly condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the works of Pink Floyd, from 1987 onwards, and all of David Gilmour's solo recordings are being removed from all digital music providers in Russia and Belarus from today." (Loudersound)
  
  

• Rush has just released a newly produced animated video for the band's legendary 1981 track, "YYZ." The new clip serves as a teaser to the band's Moving Pictures expanded reissue, which is set to drop on April 15th. In addition to the 2015 remaster, the package will also include a previously unreleased Toronto concert from March 25th, 1981.

Reports say that Marilyn Manson has threatened "retaliatory legal action" against former assistant Ashley Walters if she took part in Evan Rachel Wood's documentary Phoenix Rising. Wood premiered the documentary at Sundance Film Festival back in January, which details her allegations against Manson. This month, TMZ revealed Manson is suing both Wood and her partner, Illma Gore, for fraud, conspiracy and defamation.

According to Loudwire via Rolling Stone, an amended lawsuit filed March 11th stated that Walters was allegedly threatened with similar legal proceedings if she was involved documentary.

Walters originally filed a lawsuit against Manson for sexual assault, battery and harassment in May 2021. A member of Manson's team told NME that he "vehemently denied any accusations of assault."

Manson's lawyers tried to have the case thrown out due to the statute of limitations, but the judge declined to rule on the motion until a later date.

According to the amended lawsuit, Walters stated she repressed the memories of the abuse she claimed to endure by Manson. She added she only confronted the alleged event after a g therapy sessions in Fall 2020.

Phoenix Rising premiers March 15th and 16th on HBO.

Robert Plant has just announced a eleven-date UK mini-tour for next month with his latest solo band, Saving Grace. The Led Zeppelin frontman and the new group began gigging in the UK early in 2019 and opened a few shows for Fairport Convention. In addition to Plant, Saving Grace features vocalist Suzy Dian, drummer Oli Jefferson, along with guitarists Tony Kelsey and Matt Worley.

Plant credits his earliest teen influences for setting the tone as to what type of singer he would grow into: "I was born into a rock-blues-folk scene and I, as a kid, in bands when I was, like 15 or whatever it was -- I was just apin' everybody. And I thoughy Route One was just to kick ass, y'know? And then basically it did me a lot of good doing that."

Robert Plant will be out on the road with Alison Krauss throughout June and July when they hit North America and Europe in support of their 2021 Top Three second album, Raising The Roof.

JUST ANNOUNCED: Saving Grace With Robert Plant & Suzi Dian UK tour dates (subject to change):

April 8 - Bexhill, England - De La Warr Pavilion
April 10 - Folkestone, England - Leas Cliff Hall
April 11 - London, England - Hackney Empire
April 14 - Hull, England - City Hall
April 15 - Scunthorpe, England - Baths Hall
April 16 - York, England - Grand Opera House
April 20 - Rhyl, Wales - Pavilion
April 22 - Liverpool, England - Eventim Olympia
April 25 - Middlesbrough, England - Town Hall
April 26 - Halifax, England - Victoria Theatre
April 27 - Stockport, England - The Plaza

Elton John and Stevie Wonder have just dropped the official video for their duet, "Finish Line," from Elton's latest album, The Lockdown Sessions. The video, which features new and archival footage of people of all creeds, races, and denominations celebrating the big moments in life, also includes vintage shots of Elton and Wonder from back in the 1970's.

Stevie Wonder spoke about the track to Billboard and admitted it caught his ear immediately: "I heard the song and I liked the song and wanted to, y'know, add some things to it. I thought I could do a little some'in, some'in. We got together with (producer) Andrew (Watt) and we were able to make it happen. I did my part at his house and we just had fun."

Elton John went on to describe the process of the collaboration: "We wanted Stevie initially just to play harmonica and then it just grew. He wasn't gonna sing on it. I think he thought he'd done enough. I really wanted him to sing on it, because for me, it was like, an old, special soul song. And in the end, I twisted his arm, and he did sing on it. And, to be honest with you, I think it's one of the greatest things I've ever recorded, because to be in the same studio with him, to hear how he sounds on the record. . . And I just think, 'I'm singing with Stevie Wonder. And I'm playing with Stevie Wonder -- and I really like it."

IN OTHER ELTON NEWS

On Record Store Day -- April 23rd -- Elton John will release a limited-edition lavender vinyl edition of The Complete Them Bell Sessions. Elton's 1977 foray into Philly soul contained the Top 10 smash "Mama Can't Buy You" and was issued as an EP back in 1979, with the full LP version of the sessions being released an CD a decade later.

Elton John performs tonight (March 11th) at Dallas' American Airlines Center.

A fake track list of The Weeknd's latest album was posted online and he is setting the record straight. He posted on Twitter that he loved every single artist listed but called the post "beyond fake."

The original rumor started with a realistic looking hand written note with names like Ariana Grande, Ty Dolla $ign, and Kali Uchis assigned to specific songs. His new album, Dawn FM does feature a lot of big names such as Quincy Jones, Jim Carrey, and Lil Wayne.

The Twitter account of Buzzing Pop seems to have made the original fake post and at last check, still had not taken it down.

TL;DR:

• A fake track list of The Weeknd's latest album was posted
• He called it "beyond fake."

Billie Eilish and Finneas say the most fun writing they've ever had, was for the new animated feature, Turning Red. When they were approached to be a part of the movie, they "leapt" at the opportunity.

Disney and Pixar posted a short video this week of the siblings talking about the music. They described the 3 songs as… one is a love ballad, one is a confidence builder, and the other is a hit for the boyband in the movie. In fact, Finneas even voices a role as one of band members.

The movie is about a 13 year old girl who transforms into a giant red panda when she can't control her emotions.

Turning Red starts streaming on Disney+ today (March 11).

TL;DR:

• Billie Eilish and Finneas have 3 songs in Turning Red.
• It starts streaming on Disney+ today (March 11).

There's a new BTS collectible on the way.

It's a 7 inch statue-type piece, that looks kind of like a trophy. It's filled with color and emblems that represent Seoul, South Korea.

On the front, is the BTS logo, and above that are pink Hibiscus flowers that pay homage to their homeland.

The limited-edition piece retails for $55.

TL;DR:

The families who lost loved ones during Travis Scott's Astroworld festival believe the rapper's latest initiative "Project Heal" is just a PR stunt. Scott announced the launch of a community initiative earlier this week that would pledge $5 million dollars to free mental health care, better security for concerts, etc.

According to The Jasmine Brand, lawyers representing the families claim Travis violated gag order conditons by attempting to sway public opinion.

The grandfather of Astroworld's youngest victim, Ezra Blount who was just 9 years old when he was laid to rest, said that he believes the gesture is just a PR stunt presented by Travis to "make himself look good."

He explained, "It's a PR stunt. He's pretty much trying to sway the jurors before they're even assembled. He's trying to make himself look good, but it doesn't look that way to someone with our eyes. What we're seeing is that he's done wrong, and now he's trying to be the good guy and trying to give his own verdict on safety."

Texas attorney Bob Hillard who is representing 708 victims in the combined massive lawsuit against Live Nation and Travis Scott, said in a recent interview that Travis is in violation of the gag order in place surrounding the ongoing $10+ billion dollar lawsuit. He explained, "However well-intentioned Mr. Scott's belated largesse may or may not be, there seems no reason to issue a press release or announce the specific part of the initiative as it relates to putting money into concert safety and making sure fans are safe at shows, other than to improperly attempt and sway potential jurors with the message, 'Look at me, I'm a good guy.'"

The gag order was put in place by a court judge in order to ensure the suit would be "tried in the courtroom and not on social media or with press releases or other statements to the media."

According to a new report, Cardi B has "backed away" from her debut lead role in the upcoming movie "Assisted Living." According to Deadline, the rapper exited the Paramount Pictures production just one week before production was set to begin. Word is that the film's cast and crew were only just informed of the news.

Cardi was set to play Amber, a small-time crook who finds herself in over her head when a heist goes wrong. On the run from the cops and her former crew, she struggles to find a hiding spot. She ends up disguises herself as an elderly lady and goes undercover at her grandma's senior citizens nursing home.

Thenbi Banks was tapped to direct the film, which has a $30 million budget.

A source said Cardi exited the show because she is "overextended." Sources added that the hope is that the film will be back on track later this year.

An unauthorized Billy Joel biopic is currently in pre-production and will focus on his early days, according to Variety. The film, titled Piano Man, is being developed via Michael Jai White's Jaigantic Studios, with Adam Ripp set to write and direct the film. Ripp is the son of Joel's early manager Artie Ripp, whom he spent years trying to extricate himself from professionally. Jaigantic Studios has aquired the "life rights" of another early Joel manager Irwin Mazur and will base the story around that.

According to the report, "The biopic will follow Joel's early years -- from being discovered by Irwin Mazur, who managed the band the Hassles that Joel joined as a teenager, to his breakout performance in 1972 that captured the attention of Clive Davis."

Billy Joel is not involved in the project in any way, and according to a representative, "no rights in music, name/likeness or life story will be granted" to the project.

Adam Ripp said in an announcement, "Billy Joel has been a part of my life since my father signed him to his record label when I was 4 years old; his music is ingrained in my DNA and it's been a dream of mine as a filmmaker to explore and celebrate the untold story of how Billy Joel became the Piano Man."

Irwin Mazur added: "What a dream come true! These are the real-life events I witnessed first-hand that shaped Billy from a keyboard player in the local Long Island band, the Hassles, into the iconic musician, singer-songwriter, and entertainer who thrills audiences around the world, today."

Back in 1976, Billy Joel spoke frankly about his life as a working songwriter and musician: "I always have a good time. I've been a musician since I was four. I've been a professional musician since I was 14. I'm lucky, I always knew what I wanted to do, I made a living on it and I always have a good time. But, I think people might have an opinion of me from 'Piano Man' that I'm this sensitive, suffering, songwriter-type -- and I'm not. This is my gig, this is what I do for a living."

After signing away his publishing in his early-20's and losing tens of million of dollars after trusting the wrong people to manage his finances, Billy Joel admits he learned the hard way that rock n' roll is hardly a simple and happy place behind the scenes: "It can be a pretty nasty business -- this is not the Boy Scouts, this is the music business. You've got all these people that are called ‘managers,' there's ‘production companies,' ‘talent scouts,' what have you, and most artists are babes in the woods when it comes to business -- we don't know. Speaking for me, I wasn't thinking about making a lot of money. I just wanted to be able to make a living -- but I want to be able to make music. So, I just signed a lot of papers -- and I did it again and again and again, too." (:25 OC: . . . and again too

Gene Simmons equated bands continuing to play Russia with artists who accepted gigs in apartheid-era South Africa. TMZ caught up with the Kiss co-founder who made it clear, in light of what's happening across the globe, Russia is not the place to be performing: "The problem is, if a Western band plays Russia it gives credence. . . a political win for Putin's outright lies. I would recommend nobody goes there. Just shut it down. Stop drinking Russian vodka. Just stop it."

Simmons went on to explain that honoring gigs in Russia -- or accepting new bookings there -- will only do damage in the long run: "They're gonna get a lot of pushback from their own fans. I mean, we were faced with the similar problem in Botswana in the days of apartheid. We were offered millions of dollars and we said, 'No, we can't go there because if a Western band goes there, you're saying it's okay for apartheid and, of course, all the racism and the lack of justice.' So, we said no. There were some bands that went and, y'know, they paid the price; their fans turned on them."

Kiss will kick off an eight-date South American run on April 20th in Santiago, Chile's Movistar Arena.

Ann Wilson of Heart has just rolled out 13 new solo shows for this spring and summer. Wilson, who'll once again be backed by her band the Amazing Dawgs, has just dropped a new cover of the Eurythmics' 1986 hit, "Missionary Man," which will be featured on Wilson's upcoming solo set, Fierce Bliss, which is set for release on April 29th.

Guitarworld.com posted Wilson talking about the new album, explaining, "I had originally intended to go in, record a few songs and see what I had, but it just took on this life. (Then) at Sound Stage in Nashville, Kenny Wayne Shepherd came in and played on a couple songs. He was a whole other influence coming in. He just played his butt off, and with the gospel singers and everything else coming together, the whole project just started to grow."

Ann Wilson told us that she's confident that fans are open to see her forge new creative paths beyond Heart's legendary work: "I think that artists are just people, and once you go over the same old ground enough times, you just wanna stray off on a tributary a little bit. Hopefully it's something that really does represent you, so that people will recognize you enough to give you a chance (laughs). I think it's really important for artists to lead the way and to, at least, give people a chance to hear something new. We're not just going over the same ground endlessly (laughs). It's gotta be new."

UPDATED: Ann Wilson of Heart & The Amazing Dawgs tour dates (subject to change):

May 4 - San Francisco, CA - Great American
May 5 - Napa, CA - The Uptown Theatre
May 7 - Pala, CA - Pala Casino
May 9, 10 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
May 13 - Los Cabos, Mexico - Hard Rock
May 16 - Quebec City, QC - Centre Videotron
June 11 - Peachtree City, GA - Fred Amphitheater
June 13, 14 - Nashville, TN - Basement East
June 16 - Tampa, FL - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa
June 17 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - The Parker
June 24 - Joliet, IL - ATI Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium
July 30 - Floyd, VA - Floydfest

Machine Gun Kelly fired back after a TikTok user who posted a video and claimed Kelly didn't actually play his own guitar during performances. He pointed out what he called a "kill switch" feature on the rocker's pink Schecter guitar and said that's how he turned off the sound.

MGK posted his own video in response and explained how the person had reverse engineered the video to look like that. He also included the caption, "This guy flipped the kill switch to the opposite direction for his video. Go buy the guitar and see for yourself."

He asked the guy point blank, why he would even lie about something like that? At last check, MGK had not gotten a response back.

TL;DR:

• Machine Gun Kelly fired back after a TikTok user who claimed Kelly didn't play his own guitar.
• He asked the guy point blank, why he would even lie about something like that? At last check, MGK had not gotten a response back.

Nicki Minaj is working on several projects right now and one of them is a documentary. She was coy about the details it in a recent interview that appeared in Variety. Saying, "When it's ready I'll let you know."

She also revealed that she's in the running for an upcoming film role, one that's bigger than anything she's ever taken on.

TL;DR:

It was 41 years ago Sunday (March 13th, 1981) that "Watching The Wheels" -- John Lennon's third and final single from his and Yoko Ono's 1980 Double Fantasy album -- was released. The song was the second posthumous release from the album, following the Top Two hit "Woman," which was released on January 12th, 1981 and peaked at Number Two. Following Lennon's murder the previous December 8th, the album's lead single, "(Just Like) Starting Over," topped the charts on December 27th, 1980 for the first of its five-week run.

"Watching The Wheels" entered the Billboard Hot 100 on May 28th, 1981, went on to peak at Number 10, and stayed on the singles chart for 14 weeks. The single fared better on the two other industry charts, hitting Number Seven on Cashbox and Number Nine on the Record World list.

With artists now taking prolonged absences from the music business for a multitude of reasons, in the mid-'70s, for someone of John Lennon's stature to put his recording career on pause to become a stay-at-home dad for half-a-decade was simply unprecedented. In 1980, Lennon admitted that it took a while to ease into his new life: "The first half-a-year or year, I had this feeling in the back of my mind that ‘I ought to, I ought to' -- and I'd go through periods of panic because I was not in the NME or the Billboard or being seen at Studio 54 with Mick and Bianca (Jagger). Y'know, I just didn't exist anymore. I got a little fear of that would come, like a paranoia. And then it would go away, because I'd be involved with the baby, or I'd be involved with whatever other business that I'd be involved with. But that only lasted about nine months and then it was suddenly, like a . . . ‘oh.' It just went away, and then I realized there was a life (laughs) after death. I mean, there was a life without it."

Double Fantasy producer Jack Douglas told us that 1981 was to see John Lennon complete his Milk And Honey album, head to L.A. to record songs for Ringo Starr's upcoming album, then hit the road with the Double Fantasy band: "It was totally planned. I saw the. . . I saw the drawings of what the stage looked like. He designed it himself. It had these big crab arms that he designed that had cameras on them; the stage looked like a spaceship (with) two crab arms on it with their arms opened up. It was very revolutionary and there were video cameras on them and there was a big screen and the cameras rolled out, 'could go over the audience. It was going to happen, probably in the spring. Second album in the can and the Ringo album."

By December 8th, 1980 -- the day Lennon was murdered -- the album's first single, "(Just Like) Starting Over," had reached Number Six on the singles chart and Double Fantasy had just cracked the album charts.

Less than three weeks following the tragedy, on December 27th, 1980, Double Fantasy hit Number One on the Billboard 200 album charts for the first of its eight week run.

On February 24th, 1982, Double Fantasy went on to receive the 1981 Grammy Award for Album Of The Year. The ceremony marked six-year-old Sean Lennon's first public appearance, when he accompanied his mother to the podium to collect the award.

In 1984, Yoko Ono released Milk And Honey, which included the additional songs she and Lennon had recorded during the 1980 sessions. The album peaked at Number 11 on the charts, with the single "Nobody Told Me" hitting Number Five and becoming Lennon's final Top Ten solo hit.

It was 53 years ago Saturday (March 12th, 1969) that Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman were married in London. The couple met in 1967 at London's Bag O'Nails nightclub when Linda, already a noted rock photographer, was out for the night with members of the Animals. Paul made a point of introducing himself to Linda, and planted the seeds to one of rock n' roll's most famous and enduring relationships, which continued until Linda's death on April 17th, 1998.

McCartney remembered that the night before the couple tied the knot, tensions were running high between him and Linda: "I'm not sure that there is a perfect marriage, but yeah, we did have a row, strangely enough. And it was like, 'Oh, forget it! Let's go get married.'"

Upon marrying Linda, Paul legally adopted her six-year-old daughter Heather from her previous marriage, and eventually the couple raised three additional children, Mary (born in 1969), Stella (born in 1971), and James (born in 1977).

Paul confused and even angered fans when he formed his solo band Wings, and insisted on having Linda not only co-write the songs with him, but appear on stage singing lead and background vocals along with playing rudimentary keyboards.

McCartney credits Linda with playing an invaluable role in getting him to continue making music after the Beatles' breakup: "To have lost such a great job -- and it was really the only job I'd ever had, besides being second man on a truck when I was a kid, and a paper route -- it was quite a shock. So that took a little while, but Linda helped me out of that and encouraged me to sort of get back on my feet and said, y'know, 'What are you gonna do now?'"

Wings co-founder and original drummer Denny Seiwell told us that Linda was always an integral part of Paul life and music, and was especially important to him after his split from the Beatles: "They were such a couple. The two of them together, it was just totally inseparable, and I'm sure that he just had to have her there. And I believe -- from seeing some of this stuff that you've seen in the past years on TV, how he was just hiding away up there at the farm in Scotland when this Beatles breakup and all that stuff was going on -- I believe she was the reason that pulled him out of a slump and got him back into activity again, musical activity, writing and appearing live and all that, forming Wings, and all that, and he just needed her there."

Paul McCartney explained that having his wife in his band was really a no-brainer for him: "The thing is, we made a decision. It was kinda, y'know, we were in love, we wanted to be together. I think that was kind of like the central idea. And then it was like, 'Oh, well if you're going to be in the band than you'll need to learn a bit of instrument.' She played a little bit of piano -- but not since she was a kid. So, I would show her basic stuff. Most of what we were doing was not Tchaikovsky."

Included among the dozens of songs that Paul wrote for Linda over the years are "Two Of Us," "Maybe I'm Amazed," "Every Night," "My Love," "Best Friend," "I Am Your Singer," "Tomorrow," "Let Me Roll It," "You Gave Me The Answer," "Silly Love Songs," "Warm And Beautiful," "Daytime Nighttime Suffering," "Press," "This One," "Golden Earth Girl," "Calico Skies," and many more.

Paul McCartney married Heather Mills in 2002. A daughter, Beatrice Milly followed in 2003. The couple divorced in 2008 with Mills receiving a $48.6 payout from McCartney.

On what would have been John Lennon's 71st birthday -- October 9th, 2011 -- McCartney walked down the isle for a third time with his girlfriend of four years, then-51-year-old New York socialite, Nancy Shevell.

Happy Birthday to legendary singer-songwriter James Taylor, who turns 74 on Saturday (March 12th)!!! A new documentary on James Taylor and Carole King has been commissioned by CNN and HBO Max. Carole King & James Taylor: Just Call Out My Name will premiere on CNN, while domestic streaming and international distribution rights will go to HBO Max.

James Taylor will kick off his next string of tour dates on April 21st in St. John's, NL at Mary Brown's Centre. Once again, old friend Jackson Browne will serve as Taylor's special guest.

In 2020 Taylor released his latest album, titled American Standard. The covers collection features tunes culled from the "great American Songbook," including, "My Blue Heaven," "Ol' Man River," "Pennies From Heaven," "The Nearness Of You," and "God Bless The Child," among others. With album hitting Number Four on the Billboard 200 albums chart, Taylor became the first artist to earn a Top 10 album in each of the last six decades.

James Taylor will forever be remembered for his string of classic hits, including "Fire And Rain," "Sweet Baby James," "You've Got A Friend," "Up On The Roof," "You Can Close Your Eyes," "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," "Handy Man," "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)," "Mockingbird," "Mexico," "Shower The People" "Her Town Too," "Your Smiling Face," and "Carolina In My Mind," among many more.

Taylor, along with former wife Carly Simon, was one of the driving forces behind the early-'70s singer-songwriter era and admits that's he's still comfortable writing about his life: "That's the kind of work I do. I mean, sometimes, I've felt, y'know, that I wish I wasn't so, uh, sort of personal or confessional. But that just seems to be the kind of stuff I write."

Carole King's early-'70s singer-songwriter heyday will always be tied to her work with James Taylor due to their early joint tours and recording sessions, which resulted in Taylor's 1971 chart-topping cover of King's "You've Got A Friend." King addressed the fact that people are always curious about two performers of the opposite sex collaborating in a tight knit fashion: "First of all, you can ask me about James any time, because I love him (laughs) so much. It's that real . . . y'know everybody says, 'Were you a couple? -- No. Y'know, 'Do you ever think about it?' -- No. The first connection was musical."

James Taylor told us that despite the pressures of the music business, he's never felt any competition with his peers, or himself, when writing or recording new music: "It's impossible not to sort of think about your position when you've finished an album and you're releasing it, and trying to promote it and announce it and stuff. It's hard not to think of it in the marketplace. But for me, it's not a competitive sport, y'know, and you just have to do your best and then let go of the result -- and just be thankful to be able to continue."

Taylor recalled being among one of the first signings to Apple Records as a dream come true: "Well, I was signed by the Beatles in 1968 to their Apple Records label. I was a huge Beatles fan -- they had a massive impact on me and what I thought I'd like to write."

Although James Taylor is rated among the top composers of the singer-songwriter era, he credits his vocal and guitar styles for much of his success: "If you listen to the original of 'Handy Man,' or 'Up On The Roof,' or 'Everyday,' and then listen to my version of it, the arrangement gets redone. I have a vocal style that tends to lay the thing back a little bit in many cases. The other thing is that I have this sort of vocabulary on guitar -- kind of preferred chord changes, and I'll play these songs over years going back to when I was a teenager."

Happy Birthday to Neil Sedaka, who turns 83 on Sunday (March 13th)!!! Sedaka is best known for his string of hits in the early-1960's and again during his mid-'70s comeback. His legendary hits, most of which were written with his early lyricist, the late-Howie Greenfield, include "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do," "Oh! Carol," "Calendar Girl," "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen," "Love Will Keep Us Together" -- which was later a hit for the Captain & Tennille -- and "Where The Boys Are" and "Stupid Cupid" which were major hits for Connie Francis. With lyricist Carole Bayer Sager, Sedaka wrote "When Love Comes Knockin' At Your Door" for the Monkees. His two 1975 chart-toppers, "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood" were written with lyricist Phil Cody.

In a 2018 interview with Naples Daily News, Sedaka revealed that he's come to the end of the road, explaining, "I've been doing it over 60 years. I've been traveling, and it's become too taxing on my health. I have arthritis. . . I'd rather go out while I'm in good shape. Too many singers went on too long. The voice was gone and they needed teleprompters to remember the words."

Sedaka went on to say: "I used to do 50, 52 concerts a year. I had my own plane. But the last couple of years have been very tough. So I would rather bow out. I think you have to know when it's time. My voice is perfect. I can still play piano with arthritis. Of course, I don't play Brahms, I play Sedaka."

In 2010, Sedaka released his first new collection of pop songs in over a decade called The Music Of My Life. Highlights on the album include "Right Or Wrong," which Sedaka wrote when he was 16-year-old with Howard Greenfield. For the newly-written Salsa number, "Do You Remember?," Sedaka teamed up with old friend and Grammy Award winning producer David Foster.

Sedaka, who's been playing classical piano and performing since childhood, says he always knew he would end up on the stage: "I always wanted to be a star. My mother told me I was perfect. I believed her. And I worked very hard and I was influenced by other great songwriters and singers. I think that creativity bounces off each other. You have to listen to other people to really be inspired. There's no original melodies or lyrics anymore."

He revealed the inspiration for his 1960 Top Ten hit "Calendar Girl": "I loved the tempo of 'Personality' by Lloyd Price so I took the 'umpa-chicka, umpa-chicka,' and I loved the fact that, y'know, that we went through all the months of the year -- that was a great Howie Greenfield lyric. Very razza-matazz."

Sedaka scored his last Number One hit in 1975 with the release of "Bad Blood" which he recorded while signed to Elton John's record label Rocket Records: "'Bad Blood,' I have to thank Elton John. It was a great song and a great record, but certainly Elton's background vocal helped sell that record. It was my biggest selling single, but strangely, the least played on the radio. I hardly hear it.

When we last caught up to Neil Sedaka he shed light on how he wrote his 1975 chart-topper "Laughter In The Rain": "In 'Laughter In The Rain,' I stared with the middle part . . . the key change, which intrigued me -- and then I wrote around that. But what I do is I sit at the piano and I find a tempo. Y'know, being from the old Dick Clark days, tempo is very important. -- whether you can dance to the record or the beat. Y'know, if you're lucky enough to click in with the culture of the time, as 'Laughter In The Rain' did, then you have a commercial hit."

Ozzy, Sharon and Kelly Osbourne are all set to appear in Yungblud's new video for the funeral. Yungblud shared behnd the scenes footage from the video where he was posing with Ozzy and Sharon. He captioned the pic, "Bringin some mates to my funeral…"

Yungblud announced the new single last Saturday (March 5th) in a handwritten message, which read, "To whom this may concern. For those I let down I'm sorry, for those who let me down, f*ck you but I forgive you. You are cordially and graciously invited to my funeral."

Billy Joel and wife Alexis have made an initial donation of $250,000 to aid the Ukrainian war effort and suffering refugees. The "Piano Man" posted a message on his official website and social media platforms revealing that via the couple's Joel Foundation, they've donated the money to through Bethenny Frankel's B Strong Foundation, which is part of the Global Empowerment Mission.

The official statement reads in part:

The Joel Foundation was founded with the purpose of funding programs in music and music education. At times of catastrophic suffering, we pivot to help those that cannot help themselves. We have previously assisted with those experiencing food insecurity, PPE for healthcare workers during the initial COVID surge and now, our focus is to help the Ukrainian people.

Our initial donation will be $250,000 to the BStrong Foundation started by Bethenny Frankel and in partnership with Global Empowerment Mission. BStrong has been instrumental in providing direct and immediate aid to refugees at the Ukrainian/Polish border.

Through BStrong's coordinated infrastructure, our donation will supply critical evacuee aid, including food relief, short and long-term shelter, transportation to points throughout Europe, and survival supply kits (blankets, sleeping bags, toiletry kits, non-perishables and water, plus generators). 100% of donations go to the relief.

We are closely monitoring this situation and will see what will be needed in the weeks to come.

Billy Joel admits that his life and the decisions he's made have pretty much been formulated from being a Long Islander: "My perspective of things all come from a Long Island point of view. I've realized that. I've traveled all around the world. I've traveled a lot in the United States. But, the more I traveled, the more I felt like 'This is where I'm from. I'm from this island that sticks out to the east of New York City.' There's a little bit of an inferiority complex here, which I feel is charming. Y'know, you go to the city, '(Adapts New York accent) Oh, you're from the Oi - land.' We don't say 'Lawng Oi - land.' People from the Bronx say, 'Lawng Oi - land.' We say, 'Long Island.'"

The first Beatles-related drum kit, used in John Lennon's pre-fame group the Quarry Men, is going under the hammer. The Daily Beatle reported drummer Colin Hanton's legendary drum set, which was also featured on John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison's first amateur recording session in Liverpool, will be sold via Julien's Auctions on May 20th and 21st, live at New York City's Hard Rock Cafe and online at juliensauctions.com.

Hanton was playing the iconic drums on July 6th, 1957 at the Woolton Village Fete the day John Lennon and Paul McCartney met, the first time the pair ever performed on stage together -- as well as the during the Quarry Men's first amateur recording session on July 12th, 1958, where they taped a cover of "That'll Be The Day" and the McCartney/Harrison original, "In Spite Of All The Danger."

According to the listing "The drum kit, hand-signed by Colin Hanton in the inside of the tom-tom drum and inside of the bass drum, is estimated at $400,000 to $600,000. The lot also includes a 1-of-1 Quarry Men Drum Kit Animated NFT serving as the digital representation of the physical drum kit used by Colin Hanton in The Quarry Men."

John Lennon recalled music always playing a large role in his early life: "It's a joke in the family, now -- 'Y'know, the guitar's alright for a hobby, but it won't earn you any money.' Y'know, I was obviously musical from very early, and I just wonder why nobody ever did anything about it. 'Cause -- maybe because they couldn't afford it."