The world’s most famous drum head, the hand-painted bass drum skin for The Beatles’ album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” sold to a private buyer for $1.1 million on Thursday July 10th. That made it the star attraction at Christie’s rock and pop memorabilia auction in London, among other items from The Beatles, John Lennon, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and The Who.
Lennon’s hand-written song lyrics for “Give Peace A Chance” sold for $833,000. His sunglasses from the ‘lost weekend’ were also sold ($78K), along with The Best of The Beatles autographed magazine ($26K.) A 1967 Gibson SG Special, a guitar from Pete Townshend, commanded a price of $64,000.
Two famous amplifiers were also sold. A 1966 Marshall Super Lead 100 Watt amplifier head from The Jimi Hendrix Experience sold for $49,000, while a 1969 model Acoustic 361 bass stack from Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones went for $27,000.
A spokesperson at Christie’s commented that this was a record-breaking sale with the highest total ever for an entertainment memorabilia auction at Christie’s South Kensington. The Sgt. Pepper’s drum skin achieved the highest price for a piece of rock and roll memorabilia at Christie’s worldwide. That beats …

Events like the Grammys are great learning moments. There’s so much more to most of these artists than their “hit songs.” Once you dig into their catalog and their roots, you find all kinds of things you may not have known before. But one thing’s for sure. This year’s 50th anniversary show really turned into solid gold.
I’d like to share a few of MY favorite Grammy moments with you…
Herbie Hancock surprised everyone with his win for Album of the Year with River: The Joni Letters. Presented by the legendary Quincy Jones, it was one of many “feel good” moments in this year’s Grammy show.
Vince Gill had the funniest line of the evening when Ringo Starr presented him with the Grammy for Best Country Album; “I just got an award presented to me by a Beatle. Have you had that happen yet, Kanye?”
Gotta love it. Bonnie Raitt introduced the classic rock segment of the show featuring John Fogerty, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard, who really rocked the house!
The LOVE Soundtrack Album won BOTH categories it was nominated in; Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other …

25 Cirque du Soleil dancers and acrobats from The Beatles LOVE show at The Mirage in Las Vegas will perform “A Day in the Life,” live at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.
The Beatles LOVE album has been nominated for 2 Grammys, in the categories of Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and Best Surround Sound Album. The special remix of Beatles music was masterfully redone in 5.1 surround sound by Sir George Martin and his son Giles, at Abbey Road Studios.
The awards show airs on CBS February 10th at 5pm PST from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, with special hosts Bette Midler, Bonnie Raitt, Natalie Cole, Cyndi Lauper and Juanes, presenting.
Performing: Foo Fighters (with special guest conductor John Paul Jones 2008 MusiCares Person of the Year Aretha Franklin, Carrie Underwood; Beyoncé; and Rihanna with a reunited the Time in a special 50th anniversary segment.
The CBS Television Network will be broadcasting the show in HDTV and 5.1 Surround Sound. The show will also be supported worldwide on radio via Westwood One and XM Satellite Radio, and online at GRAMMY.com/
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John Paul Jones, the legendary bassist of Led Zeppelin, will be performing with the Foo Fighters during the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. Jones will be arranging an orchestral piece as special guest conductor of a unique musical ensemble, performing a special version of the Foo Fighters’ “The Pretender.”
Three musicians will be given the unique opportunity to be a featured instrumentalist as part of an orchestra of 20 unsigned musicians playing with the Foo Fighters, specifically for this 50th anniversary segment of the awards show. The special was produced in partnership with CBS.com and YouTube.
Watch the winners on youtube.com/user/mygrammymoment
Read more about John Paul Jones
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I really couldn’t write anything that hasn’t already been said about Led Zeppelin’s performance last Monday night. But some of what has been written is pretty good, so I’ve included links to some of my favorite posts. It’s no surprise there’s already video on YouTube, thanks to backpackdave (with over 600,000 hits in just two days!)
“Led Zeppelin Performs, World Doesn’t End”
by Dave White on classicrock.about.com
“Review of Led Zeppelin at London’s O2, December 10, 2007”
by Kevin Shirley on modernguitars.com
Led Zeppelin Roundup: Backstage & Beyond - Rolling Stone Rock & Roll Daily on rollingstone.com/rockdaily
Led Zeppelin Triumphs at London Reunion Show
by Ray Bennett, Ed Christman, Tamara Conniff & Mark Sutherland
in London on Billboard.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G_JTMuHOQk

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Tonight’s the big night, the big show, the ultimate reunion concert. Led Zeppelin at London’s O2 Arena, live on stage, to benefit the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund. The concert was originally scheduled for late November until Jimmy Page injured a finger, setting the concert back until December 10th.
Rolling Stone Magazine has a good article about the band’s rehearsals with Jason Bonham, who is behind the drum kit, filling in for his late dad John. And did you see their picture on the cover of Rolling Stone? Jimmy Page with a head of silver hair, Robert Plant still curly & scruffy, and the clean cut John Paul Jones.
In addition to headliners Led Zeppelin, Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings, Paul Rogers, Paolo Nutini, and Foreigner will also perform in this special tribute concert to Atlantic Records founder and musical mentor, Ahmet Ertegun.
And just in time for Christmas gift giving, you can get the Led out to your favorite fans…
Led Zeppelin: - Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same (Collector’s Edition) (2007)
Mothership 2CD/1DVD - Two-CD career spanning collection of classic tracks!
Deluxe version also contains a bonus DVD featuring 90 minutes of live performance video from …

Led Zeppelin will release Mothership in less than a month. The collection has 24 tracks of the best known songs. The 3 remaining members of Led Zeppelin selected the tracks.
Now Led Zeppelin has some more good news for fans. For the first time you can now purchase Led Zeppelin digital music from iTunes. Also available are Ringtones through Verizon. Getting up to speed with the digital age there is also a Myspace page and YouTube Channel.
Fans who pre-order “The Complete Led Zeppelin” or “Mothership” will be automatically entered to win the chance to see the band’s reunion performance at London’s O2 Arena on November 26 as part of the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute. The winners will receive two tickets to the show, round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations.*
Led Zeppelin on YouTube:

Led Zeppelin YouTube Contest
Led Zeppelin Contest Rules
Led Zeppelin YouTube Group

Led Zeppelin iTunes buy link:

Complete Box
Mothership
Sweepstakes

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