• The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Amy Winehouse: Documentaries Disapproved by Band and Family

    Amy: The Girl Behind The Name is one of the most anticipated documentaries of the year thus far, set to shed light on the light and mindset of Amy Winehouse, one of the millennium's brightest rising stars before dying of alcohol poisoning during 2011. One party has decided that it doesn't support the content of the film on the eve of its release at the Cannes Film Festival: her family. Father Mitch Winehouse alleges that the film places an undue amount of blame for her lifestyle upon the family, based on interviews with her then-boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil (who himself was notorious for supplying her habits). Lawsuits for slander may be pending. In the meantime, check out five other music documentaries that the starring performers—such as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Eric Clapton—don't want you to see.
  • 75 Years of Al Pacino: The 'Scarface' Actor and Music, from Madonna to Hip-Hop Culture

    A big celebrity birthday today as Al Pacino turns 75 on April 26. Obviously the actor is known for many iconic roles in his Hollywood career—from Michael Corleone in The Godfather franchise, to iconic drug hustler Tony Montana in Scarface, to Satan in The Devil's Advocate—and sometimes he's even played a good guy. One thing that Pacino is less renowned for is his role in music—he's not the kind of guy that starts a band when he's not starring in a blockbuster. Nonetheless, Music Times managed to round up five examples of the actor coming in contact with our subject of choice.
  • 4/20: The Beatles, Louis Armstrong and Fabolous: History's Most Notable Marijuana Arrests

    Few industries have been as supportive of the 4/20 holiday as the music business, considering how often our performers (and fans) seem to enjoy the subtle joys of marijuana. If you were around for Record Store Day during 2013, you may have witnessed just how early music fans will both line up and light up. Arrests for marijuana possession are almost a non-news item at this point: Rap performers Migos and Nelly have both been incarcerated for that (and a few other charges) in the last few weeks. The reason why those stories fail to shock us? Although the Reagan administration has been criticized for its "war on drugs," it focused on much more potent drugs while society has eased off on its fear of pot. Some states even allow it to be bought, sold and smoked legally. Here are five cases of musicians who served as martyrs for the cause before we as a society began to relax, including The Beatles, Louis Armstrong and Fabolous.
  • Yoko Ono Says Ringo Starr was 'the Most Influential Beatle'

    Ringo Starr was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, making him the final Beatle to receive the honor as a solo artist. Many musicians, including former bandmate Paul McCartney, showed their support in the weeks leading up to the ceremony. Rolling Stone caught up with John Lennon's wife Yoko Ono before the event, and she kept the compliments coming.
  • Beatles' 5 Best Years at The Grammys: Battles with Frank Sinatra and A Surprising Peak Point

    The Beatles were kind of a big deal, as their countless hits and no. 1 singles can attest to, but their shelf wasn't nearly as full of Grammys as you might think. The group "only" managed to snag nine of the most vaunted awards in music across its entire career (compared to 27 for Allison Krauss). April 13 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Grammy ceremony where the band won a trophy and Music Times is marking the occasion by counting down the five years in which the greatest band in popular music history managed to land a win, going from "fewest wins" to most (ties will be broken by taking the "winning percentage" based on nominations).
  • The Beatles, Michael Jackson and More Musicians with Space Objects Named After Them

    The Beatles received an interesting honor on this date 25 years ago, as each member-John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr-received the honor of having four newly discovered asteroids named after them. It's not a rare honor-as Mental Floss explains, there are literally hundreds of asteroids and "minor planets" in our galaxy, and although they don't necessarily need to be named after anything, we're a sentimental species. That's how individuals such as The Beatles, Michael Jackson and Phil Spector ended up with astronomical objects named after them.
  • Stevie Wonder and 5 Other Artists Banned in Apartheid South Africa: The Beatles, Pink Floyd and More

    Stevie Wonder was a political lighting rod during 1985, and most of it was tied to politics in another nation: The pianist was arrested during a South African Apartheid protest outside of Congress and later would dedicate his Best Original Song Oscar (which he won for "I Just Called to Say I Love You" from The Woman in Red) to Nelson Mandela, who remained imprisoned at Pollsmoor Prison. That action led the South African government to ban all of Wonder's music across the board. He wasn't the first musician to deal with censorship from the paranoid Apartheid government however. Here are five other acts, including Pink Floyd and The Beatles, that got banned.
  • Paul McCartney Talks Kanye West Collab

    Fans of Paul McCartney and Kanye West may have been skeptical when news surfaced that the pair was working on music together. So far, though, the results of their collaboration have been well-received. "All Day," "Only One" and "FourFiveSeconds" featuring Rihanna are making waves on the pop charts and bringing the rock and hip-hop communities together once again. McCartney spoke to 'NME' about what sparked the partnership. Macca said he started to understand the rap genre more after seeing Jay Z and West in concert last year. "I was expecting it to be, 'Oh, it's great, it's hip-hop, it's loud ...,' but I hadn't until then got the urban poetry aspect," he said. "Like, Bob Dylan is a poet. And so is Jay Z, and Kanye."
  • Watch an Animated Video of Jimi Hendrix's Final Interview

    A week before Jimi Hendrix died, he sat down with Keith Altham for what would be his final interview. It was 1970, and the guitar legend already had three albums out with The Experience and one live LP with his Band of Gypsys. The PBS series Blank on Blank got their hands on the interview and worked their animation magic. Hendrix talks about his music in the clip, as well as his ideal living situation.
  • 5 Musicians with Alien Encounters Aside from Tom DeLonge: Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Sammy Hagar and More

    Tom Delonge has apparently had enough of discussing his role in the recent breakup of Blink-182...so he recently unleashed the news that he had an extraterrestrial experience while camping "near Area 51" in Nevada and that since the occurrence his phone has been tapped by the government. Here are six other musicians who have claimed experiences with aliens. Not just the belief in extraterrestrials, but actual encounters of the third kind.
  • Lou Reed Says He Never Actually Liked The Beatles

    PBS series "Blank on Blank" recently shared a lost interview involving Velvet Underground mastermind Lou Reed. The singer threw shade at two famous bands -- The Doors and The Beatles -- revealing that he thought the former was "stupid" and the latter was "garbage." The lively chat took place in 1986 between him and music executive Joe Smith.
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