The Beatles spent the last three years of the 1960s breaking up. By the spring of 1970, little more than a snarled set of business relationships was keeping them together....
The Beatles’ famous, bittersweet Savile Row rooftop concert on Jan. 30, 1969, drew me to London to pay homage to the group’s last performance and caused me to recall my own rooftop experience with the comedy troupe The Gramcrackers....
Fats Domino, the legendary rock ‘n’ roll musician, passed away today (Oct. 25). His daughter said the ‘Blueberry Hill’ singer passed away peacefully, surrounded by family and friends. Inspired Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Rolling Stones and other blues rock groups.
TV star Wendell Pierce led tributes to the rocker....
Micky Dolenz of The Monkees and Peter Noone of UK rock group Herman’s Hermits share a lot of rock history. Both broke out in the 1960s and have continued performing ever since. Now, they’re sharing their experiences in a sort of actor’s studio for musicians. Dolenz recalled a party at his house in Los Angeles during the 1970s which served as a sort of coming out party on the West Coast for John Lennon. Many bold-faced names were there, but when a limo pulled up at 2 AM and out stepped Brian Wilson ...
Allen Klein was the man behind the curtain when The Beatles and Rolling Stones made it big. His influence on rock and roll is incalculable for someone who is unknown outside tight industry circles But Fred Goodman is out to change all that. Klein founded ABKCO Music & Records Inc. in 1961. While managing the Rolling Stones, he bought the rights to all of the band’s music composed before 1971....
Cynthia Lennon, the first wife of late Beatle John Lennon, who went through a bitter divorce and estrangement from the acclaimed musician, died today (Apr. 1) after a bout with cancer. She was 75. Cynthia died at her home in Mallorca, Spain “following a short but brave battle with cancer,” according to a statement on a memorial Web site. “Her son Julian Lennon was at her bedside throughout. The family are thankful for your prayers. Please respect their privacy at this difficult time,” it said....
Ringo Starr, who became a rock and roll legend as drummer for The Beatles in the 1960s, has added his insights into the split between Zayn Malik and One Direction. They will survive, he says. Starr also delivered a bit of a backhand diss of the Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Niall Horan. “I don’t think it will stop the band, he said, before quizzically adding,”They’re not really a band are they? They’re singing boys who dance."...
George Harrison was unquestionably the Beatle I really wanted to meet. Who could forget his early songs like “Taxman” and “Blue Jay Way,” or his lasting contribution to human rights. He would have been 72 today had he survive lung cancer that took his life in 2001 at the age of 58. I met John Lennon, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, but Harrison eluded me. He was full of intrigue and complexity and almost dared you to like him. His brilliant 1970 Concert For Bangladesh set the standard for charity shows. Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Jim Keltner, Jesse Ed Davis, Klaus Vorman, half-of Badfinger, Ringo, Billy Preston and horn-men Tom Scott and Jim Horn were there, led by George....
Miley Cyrus Miley Cyrus continues her odd collaboration with ’80s psychedelic rock band The Flaming Lips. On Conan O’Brien, Thursday, she emerged from beneath singer Mark Coyne’s gossamer robe for a chorus to Beatles song, “A Day In The Life.” The band, known for its elaborate stage production and lush, multi-layered sound is undergoing a resurgence thanks largely to Cyrus. The song is included on the Lips’ new album With a Little Help From My Fwends,...
Before last night, Ed Sheeran was mostly known as Taylor Swift’s opening act, but his moving acoustic performance of The Beatles’ “In My Life,” on last night’s (Feb. 9) CBS’s tribute show, was nothing less than magical. The show included Stevie Wonder, a reunited Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, E.L.O.’s Jeff Lynne with Dave Grohl, Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, Katy Perry, John Legend, Alicia Keys, John Mayer and Keith Urban. Pharrell Williams, Brad Paisley, Imagine Dragons and Maroon 5 also covered classic Beatles songs....
Monkee Micky Dolenz has just released a new album based on his performance last October at the famed B.B. King Bar & Grill in New York City. Micky and his band deliver a solid, 23-song set to the sold-out crowd that included celebrities like Tony Danza. While Micky was performing solo, most of the songs were from the Monkee’s catalog of hits from the ’60s and ’70s....
As soon as the new Paul McCartney single, “New,” broke, I listened to it straight away. At 71, McCartney is pushing it more than ever: world tours, videos, re-mastered early works; rather amazing I’d say. As big as The Beatles became, they are just a chapter in his long storied career. The new song is miraculously more ’70s and ’80s than anything else–think “Penny Lane” or “My Brave Face.” “We can do as we want; we can live as we choose” is the one lyric that will jump out at you, and rather charming at that. ...
One Direction tries some slick misdirection on its new video for their song “Best Song Ever.” The video was released today (July 22) on the heels of an audio version of the song....
Paul McCartney nearly touched off a riot at the screening of his new, re-edited rockumentary “Rockshow” in London last month, and now the concert film is out on DVD and Blu-ray. It documents his epic “Wings over the World” tour in the United States....
Pete Bennett, one of the top promotion men in rock music during its Golden era, died suddenly of a heart attack on Thanksgiving day at his home in Connecticut. He was 77.
Bennett, named “World’s Top Promotion Man,” by Billboard magazine, is credited for propelling the careers of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor and many artists and bands. Bennett, born in the Bronx, NY was described by ex-Beatle Paul McCartney as “the promotion man responsible for getting the Beatles on the radio,” according to his company Peter Bennett Enterprises....
Famed Monkee Davy Jones unexpectedly passed away last week, touching off a media frenzy for bandmates like Micky Dolenz. “Micky was in New York to rehearse for a projected new play Garage Band,” when he heard the news, according to spokesman David Salidor. In the next 24 hours, Dolenz appeared on CNN’s Piers Morgan, followed up by The Today Show, Access Hollywood, ABC's "Good Morning America" and Good Day New York, with Roseanne Scotto and Greg Kelly....
UK singer Davy Jones, who with three bandmates parlayed an American television comedy show into a major music career as The Monkees, died suddenly this morning (Feb. 29) of a massive heart attack at his Florida Home. He was 66. Jones’ death came as a shock to almost everyone. Publicist Helen Kensick confirmed that he died unexpectedly in sleep, leaving behind four children all adults....
