What can I say that hasn’t already been said about Bob Dylan? Let’s just say he’s “Forever Young.”

“It’s All Good,” as he says on his latest album Together Through Life.

Dylan is still on his Never Ending Tour.

Like so many others, I was first impressed and influenced by “Like A Rolling Stone.”

More Dylan news at expectingrain.com

Roy Orbison Radio presents a series of in-depth perspectives of the life and the music of “The Big O.”

“Only The Lonely” was a favorite song of my Mother’s, so I remember hearing that as a kid growing up. “Oh Pretty Woman” we played in every garage band I was ever in.

In 1988 I became a fan of the Traveling Wilburys, when Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, George Harrison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan recorded “Handle With Care.”

Tragically, only a couple of months after their first album Traveling Wilburys Vol 1 was released, Roy Orbison died of a heart attack at age 52, but his legacy and his music lives on.

A Black and White Night is THE DVD to remember Roy Orbison, it’s by far the best performance on DVD and the supporting cast of musicians is amazing with Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and k.d. lang.

Roy Orbison Official Site

Traveling Wilburys Online

Traveling Wilburys on Facebook

The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, the Rolling Stones, Santana and the Who were all pictured through Marshall’s cameras.

Jim Marshall passed away last week, while in New York promoting his latest book “Match Prints.”

The relationship of trust he established with artists and musicians allowed him all access backstage and into more intimate moments.

Marshall captured some of the most iconic moments in rock history…Hendrix burning his guitar at the Monterey Pop Festival, the Beatles last U.S. concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Woodstock Music Festival, just to name a few.

Jim Marshall published a number of books featuring his renowned photography:

“Not Fade Away: The Rock and Roll Photography of Jim Marshall”
An electrifying journey through rock history, from the early 1960s to the present. The best of Jim Marshall’s photography for the first time; a visual history unprecedented in its intimacy, immediacy, and impact. The 124 duotone images include virtually every artist in the rock pantheon, including the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Muddy Waters, the Allman Brothers, Jackson Brown, and more.

“Proof”
For the first time, Marshall shares his contact sheets from the sittings, concerts, and sessions that surround his most famous pictures. Over sixty proof sheets are featured in their entirety, along with the final chosen hero shot on the facing page. This book sheds new light on Marshall’s talents for revealing on film the essence of his subjects, from celebrated musicians, actors, writers, and performers, to everyday people from San Francisco to rural Appalachia. A rare glimpse into a great photographer’s creative process, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of some of the most preeminent images of our time.

“Jazz”
This portfolio of Marshall’s favorite shots shows the classics of jazz onstage, backstage, in the studio, and also in their kitchens and living rooms. Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Coleman Hawkins—Marshall’s images capture these faces and many, many more in authentic and unguarded moments.

“Trust”
Photographs from Jim’s extensive color archive are published in book form, offering a fresh insight into the work of this renowned photographer and a new look at some of the great figures in music history.

“Match Prints”
A visual and editorial dialogue between two renowned photographers of music and film celebrities, Jim Marshall and Timothy White, featuring images from the worlds of film and music, compares the work of the two photographers, and provides first-hand behind-the-scenes anecdotes.

Official website marshallphoto.com

Jim Marshall Photographs at Wolfgang’s Vault wolfgangsvault.com/

His website says the new songs are inspired by life on the road; Hiatt should know, The Open Road is his 19th studio album. It’s roots rock ‘n roll, the kind of stuff I fell in love with, in the first place.

John Hiatt is backed by his touring band:
Doug Lancio – guitars
Patrick O’Hearn – bass
Kenny Blevins – drums

John Hiatt is one of my favorite American singer/songwriters; his songs have been recorded by Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, and Three Dog Night, among others. Bonnie Raitt recorded “Thing Called Love;” Eric Clapton and B.B. King recorded “Riding With the King” and made it a platinum hit.

John Hiatt played an acoustic version of the title track on Nashville’s Lightning 100 in this YouTube video.

www.johnhiatt.com

www.theopenroad.info

It was the 1950s when Fats Domino burst onto the scene and sold 65 million records.  Pop culture hadn’t seen anything like him.   Then came Elvis who took the genre even further, blending pure rock and roll with a talent for stage performance and acting on the big screen.

The baton was passed to Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and the Beatles in the 1960s and in fact it is the Beatles who are credited with spawning the classic rock radio format, before rock settled into a slump in the 1970s.

Bruce Springsteen changed all that for good.  His electrifying live performances, poetic lyrics and song writing made him synonymous with rock and roll to a new generation.  A favorite among the masses from celebrities to truckers and U.S. Presidents, Springsteen has perhaps the most loyal and dedicated legions of rock and roll fans in the world.

Not every Rocker has been so lucky to have success on his terms.  There are several performers who fell on such hard times that funds have been established for their benefit since there is no pension or health plan for rock and roll stars.

The term classic rock historically came from a blend of rock and classical music with an arrangement for a symphony orchestra, a method that grew in popularity in the 1970s.  Some people confuse classic rock with album rock which was also common in the 1970s with the Steve Miller Band’s breakthrough “Fly Like and Eagle”, but actually album rock was the precursor to classic rock.  Today classic rock simply means it appeals to every age group at every time, and shows no sign of going away.

The post was co-authored by Cameron Chapman and Alec Feld.
Twitter: @cameron_chapman
Blog: Cameronchapman.com
Twitter: @alecfeld
Blog: http://alecfeld.com

Reading the comments after their post is also very enlightening because almost every visitor had an additional musician or favorite artist to add to the list.

Here’s a few of our favorite artists, bands and musicians that we just discovered on Twitter recently:

Jon Anderson
http://twitter.com/TheJonAnderson
Bio: The Official Twitter of Jon Anderson Online
Web: http://www.jonanderson.com

Big Brother & The Holding Company
http://twitter.com/bbhc
Bio: Big Brother and the Holding Company ~ Official Twitter site for the band.
Web: http://bbhc.com/

Bob Dylan
http://twitter.com/bobdylan
Bio: The Official Bob Dylan Twitter Page
Web: www.bobdylan.com

John Mayer
http://twitter.com/johncmayer
Bio: Recording/Sandwich Artist
Web: www.johnmayer.com/battlestudies

Kenny Loggins
http://twitter.com/kennyloggins
Bio: Singer-songwriter and guitarist. With a few friends tweeting the latest.
Web: www.kennyloggins.com

Rick Derringer
http://twitter.com/rickderringer
Web: www.rickderringer.com

Steve Lukather
http://twitter.com/stevelukather
Bio: Guitarist, vocalist, composer, producer
Web: www.stevelukather.net

Follow MusicRamble on Twitter at http://twitter.com/musicramble

Please comment if your favorite artist, band or musician isn’t on our list and we will add them. Chances are there’s plenty I just haven’t discovered yet!

Malcolm Mayhew posted a great review of the show in the local newspaper, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he said “The veteran rock and soul singer’s set was often physically and emotionally moving. Joe Cocker performed some of his most enduring hits over the course of the evening.

Amazing fact: Joe Cocker is a real sixties survivor. Remember his stirring performance at the Woodstock Music Festival? That forty year anniversary is coming up in August. I recall his first album with the track “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window,” one of my favorites. I was wowed by the soulful way he belted out Beatles tunes like that and “With A Little Help From My Friends.”

Joe Cocker, who is now 65, is promoting his latest album, a collection of songs by hit artists like The Beatles and Bob Dylan. The album, Hymn For My Soul, is getting great reviews since it came out last month. No wonder, considering the stellar cast of fellow performers on the new album; drummers Jim Keltner and James Gadson, Benmont Tench and Dave Palmer on keyboards, Bob Babbitt on bass, Mike Finnigan on Hammond organ, and on backing vocals Merry Clayton, who was once one of Ray Charles’s Raelettes. She also sang on the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.”

Read amazon.com’s product description and you’ll see what I mean: Nearly four decades after he thrilled the throngs at Woodstock, Joe Cocker remains one of rock’s pre-eminent survivors, recording and touring prolifically and maintaining a loyal worldwide fan base.

On Hymn For My Soul “The Sheffield Soul Shouter” delivers a stellar album that includes songs by Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, the Meters, John Fogerty, Percy Mayfield and more. The album was produced by Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Ray LaMontagne), the son of Glyn Johns, who was the engineer on many of Cocker’s early albums.

Fantasy has the exclusive U.S. release of this album, which contains the bonus track “Come Together,” from the Across The Universe soundtrack.

Source: http://astore.amazon.com/musicramble-20/detail/B00160ANPU

From The Last Waltz, “Forever Young” and “Baby Let Me Follow You Down.” Bob Dylan with Robbie Robertson and The Band.

I actually forgot it was Dylan’s birthday, but was thankfully reminded by a post from our friends at rockandrollguru.com.

On Tour this summer, The Bob Dylan Show will feature Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp. The stadium and ballpark tour begins July 1st. More info can be found on www.bobdylan.com/

Also nominated for best song was Peter Gabriel’s “Down to Earth” from the animated film Wall-E. It would have been cool to see Gabriel perform his song onstage, instead of having to sit through some of that other crap.

Let’s look at past winners and nominees…

One of my favorite composers, Henry Mancini has won four Oscars, out of eleven nominations. He won in 1962 with “Moon River” (with Johnny Mercer) and also for best score with Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Mancini and Mercer also won the following year for “Days of Wine and Roses.” Then in 1983 Mancini won for best score with Victor/Victoria. I’m surprised he didn’t win for any of his Pink Panther films with Blake Edwards because the movies were so popular.

Some of my favorite females have scored big at the Oscars as well…
Melissa Etheridge won in 2006 with “I Need to Wake Up” from An Inconvenient Truth.
Annie Lennox won in 2003 with “Into the West” from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Carly Simon won in 1988 with “Let the River Run” from Working Girl.

Other notable winners from the past include…
Bob Dylan who won in 2000 with “Things Have Changed” from Wonder Boys.
Phil Collins who won in 1999 with “You’ll Be in My Heart” from the animated Disney version of Tarzan.
Bruce Springsteen who won in 1993 with “Streets of Philadelphia” from Philadelphia.
Stevie Wonder who won in 1984 with “I Just Called to Say I Love You” from The Woman in Red.
Isaac Hayes who won in 1971 with “Theme from Shaft” from Shaft.

Honorable Mention goes to Paul and Linda McCartney in 1973 who were nominated for their theme song “Live and Let Die” from the Bond movie of the same name. Alas, the Academy awarded the Oscar to Marvin Hamlisch for the theme to “The Way We Were.”

Of course, my all-time favorite Oscar win goes to Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison for “Let It Be.” It was selected by the Academy for Best Music, Original Song Score in 1970.

Source:

en.wikipedia.org

oscar.com

Some of the artists that are appearing at this year’s festival…
Bob Dylan -Wilco -Chuck Berry -Foo Fighters -Jack Johnson -Nine Inch Nails -Stone Temple Pilots -Iggy & The Stooges -The Black Keys -Kanye West -Moby

There’s lots more to hear, see and do at this festival. There’s also the dance tent featuring Moby (among other acts,) art, attractions and the village of non-profit eco-friendly organizations.

Details on the official website…virginmobilefestival.com

CNN filmed the tribute show from the Beatles Revolution Lounge at the Mirage in Las Vegas. There’s great dialog between Paul and Ringo, and an interesting story from Olivia talking about how George and Guy came to be friends and fans of each other’s work, and combined their talents to create the LOVE show, the first of it’s kind to celebrate the art and music of the Beatles.

The show’s soundtrack features the Beatles music remixed by Sir George Martin and his son Giles, from the original Abbey Road studio master tapes. LOVE The soundtrack album has both the stereo CD and the 5.1 surround sound DVD, which does sound awesome. The album won a Grammy this year for the surround sound mix.

40 years after releasing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beatles are still on the charts and in the hearts of millions of fans around the world. It’s amazing to watch new generations of kids pick up on their music, too. And if fans have their way, the Beatles huge catalog of music just might be available soon online.

But meanwhile…Paul McCartney’s latest album Memory Almost Full sold over a million copies for HearMusic, the Starbucks music label.

EMI has released Ringo’s catalog online for digital downloads last August, plus he’s got a new greatest solo hits album, “Photograph.” This is the first time any of the Beatles music or solo albums have been available as digital downloads. EMI has plans to release more Beatles catalog soon.

A double disc of John Lennon’s solo songs were recorded with today’s artists trying to reinterpret his music on the benefit album “Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign To Save Darfur.” The proceeds go to support Amnesty International.

Olivia Harrison, widow of former Beatle George Harrison, is executive producer of the reissue of the new Traveling Wilburys collection, Volumes One & Three. The Traveling Wilburys were George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne.

Video: www.thebeatles.com

Click FansOnTheRun for all the latest on Paul McCartney & the Beatles

Larry King Live on CNN: www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/larry.king.live

Album of the Year: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles,
George Martin (producer)

Record of the Year: “Up, Up and Away” by The 5th Dimension,
Johnny Rivers & Marc Gordon (producers)

Song of the Year: “Up, Up and Away” by the 5th Dimension,
Jimmy L. Webb (songwriter)

Contemporary Album:
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles

Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts:
Peter Blake, Jann Haworth for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Best Engineered Recording:
G.E. Emerick for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Contemporary Single, Contemporary Vocal Group AND Group Vocal Performance:
“Up, Up, and Away” by the 5th Dimension

Best New Artist – Best Vocal Performance, Female AND Female Contemporary Vocal Solo: Bobbie Gentry for “Ode to Billie Joe” (she bested Jefferson Airplane and the 5th Dimension, who were also nominated in the New Artist catagory)

Best Comedy Performance: Bill Cosby for his Revenge album

Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio or Group:
Johnny Cash & June Carter for “Jackson”

Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Female AND Best Rhythm & Blues Recording:
Aretha Franklin for “Respect”

Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male: Lou Rawls for “Dead End Street”

Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental:
Sam & Dave for “Soul Man”

Best Album Cover, Photography:
John Berg, Bob Cato, Roland Scherman for Dylan’s Greatest Hits (Bob Dylan)

Best Album Notes:
John D. Loudermilk for Suburban Attitudes in Country Verse (John Loudermilk)

Best Country & Western Performance – Female:
Tammy Wynette for “I Don’t Wanna Play House”

Best Country & Western Recording AND Best Country & Western Vocal Performance:
“Gentle On My Mind” by Glen Campbell

Best Country & Western Song:
“Gentle On My Mind” written by John Hartford

Best Instrumental Arrangement:
“Alfie” by Burt Bacharach (& his Orchestra)

Best Instrumental Performance:
Chet Atkins for Chet Atkins Picks the Best

Best Instrumental Theme AND Best Original Score written for a Motion Picture or Television Show: Mission: Impossible by Lalo Schifrin (& his Orchestra)

Best Recording for Children:
Dr. Seuss: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (TV Soundtrack) by Boris Karloff

Best Sacred Performance:
Elvis Presley for “How Great Thou Art”

Male Contemporary Vocal Solo AND Male Vocal Performance:
Glen Campbell for “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”

Lifetime Achievement Award: Ella Fitzgerald

Grammy Trivia:
The most Grammys won by a female artist in one night is five, which has been accomplished by six different artists: Lauryn Hill in 1999, Alicia Keys in 2002, Norah Jones in 2003, Beyonce in 2004, The Dixie Chicks in 2007 and Amy Winehouse in 2008.

Sources:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Awards

L.A. Times Awards Insider: http://theenvelope.latimes.com

Currently Available:
Bob Dylan (from 2004)
Genesis (currently on tour)
Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue)
Ronnie Wood (Faces & Rolling Stones)
Slash (Velvet Revolver & Guns & Roses)
Sting (The Police)

Publishing Soon:
Axl Rose
Gram Parsons
Keith Richards
Pete Townshend

There’s a kicker to this article too…Keith Richards was paid $7 million for his story, but Mick Jagger was actually offered a book deal first. Only he couldn’t remember anything to write about!

Read the entire story at CNN.com/Entertainment

More Rock and Roll Autobiographies