GRAHAM NASH: Watching History Unfold

Graham Nash is at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week. Last night he and David Crosby performed at one of the events associated with the convention, but Nash is really looking forward to Barack Obama's acceptance speech on Thursday night. Nash tells us, "This is gonna be history." Nash, an avid photographer, plans to document the proceedings with the three cameras he brought along. He also plans to attend meetings and talk with senators and congressmen, particularly about their thoughts on the nuclear issue.

PINK FLOYD: Rhythm Section Only

Pink Floyd was honored with the Polar Music Prize in Stockholm, Sweden last night for their "monumental contribution over the decades to the fusion of art and music in the development of popular culture." Sweden's King Gustaf presented the award, which comes with a cash prize of 156-thousand dollars. Roger Waters and Nick Mason were the only band members on hand, with Mason saying he was sorry David Gilmour and Rick Wright could not attend. Waters paid tribute to his 96-year old mother, saying, "If there is any humanity and empathy in my work, which I think there is, I would rather owe it to her." Also honored was American operatic soprano Renee Fleming.

The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by the late Stig Anderson, publisher, lyricist and manager of ABBA. Previous winners include Paul McCartney, Elton John, B-B King, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

PAUL McCARTNEY: More Dates?

Paul McCartney will definitely perform in Tel Aviv, Israel next month, his spokesman says. But according to his guitarist Brian Ray, there could be more shows. He writes on his MySpace blog, "I will be traveling to London to rehearse with Paul for some upcoming shows, far, far away. No big tour plans to report at the moment, but stay tuned." The latest rumor has Macca performing in Tenerife, off the West Coast of Africa, on December 6th. His spokesman says he knows nothing about that.

BOB SEGER: Must Be Something in the Water

Bob Seger is battling a little writer's block. Speaking to a Detroit radio station (WCSX), he said, "I've been trying to write and the writing gods haven't been with me." He also confirmed our story from April that said he would be recording in May, but he says they were just demos. While we wait for his first album since 2006's Face the Promise, you can check out Seger on the new Little Feat album, Join the Band, in stores this week. He sings "Something in the Water." Seger's background singer, Shaun Murphy, is in Little Feat.

AC/DC: The Three Faces of Ice

A-C/D-C's upcoming album Black Ice will be available with three different collectible covers. Each design features the standard A-C/D-C logo in yellow, red or white. The only thing that's the same on each cover is a caricature of guitarist Angus Young at the top. Black Ice hits Wal-Mart stores on October 20th.

The first single from Black Ice, "Rock and Roll Train," hits the airwaves tomorrow, but it's already available as a ringtone and a ringback from Verizon.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: The Latest Scuttlebutt

With Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band bringing their Magic tour to an end Saturday in Milwaukee, the rumor mill is churning with what's next for the band. One rumor has them playing a show later this year at New York's Yankee Stadium before it's demolished. Another says they'll perform at the Super Bowl on February 1st followed by another European tour. As for new C-Ds, there is continued talk of a Darkness on the Edge of Town 30th anniversary collection and another E Street Band album reportedly recorded at the same time as Magic. Springsteen's spokeswoman was unavailable for comment.

GENESIS: Third and Final

Genesis will release their third and final box set of re-issued albums. Due for release November 11th through Rhino, The Beginning 1970-1975 contains the band's second through sixth studio albums with Peter Gabriel. It will be available in the S-A-C-D/C-D Hybrid and D-V-D Dual Disc formats featuring digital surround sound and new stereo mixes by Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford. In addition to videos and new interviews with the band, the set also features bonus tracks, including four songs recorded in 1970 for a documentary on painter Mick Jackson that were recently discovered. A booklet accompanies each album -- Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

LYNYRD SKYNYRD: On Target for '09

SAMMY HAGAR: Tres Cabos

Sammy Hagar opens his third Cabo Wabo Cantina this week in Fresno, California. Last night was the first of three private openings before the doors open to the public Friday. Hagar's son Aaron is providing the grand opening entertainment, and Sammy is expected to visit soon, but that date is being kept secret. Hagar's former Van Halen bandmate Michael Anthony is expected at the new Cabo next week. Hagar's other two Cantinas are in Lake Tahoe, Nevada and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where Hagar host his annual Birthday Bash on October 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th and 13th -- his 61st birthday. Hagar performs at a benefit for the Throckmorton Theater in his hometown of Mill Valley, California tonight.

OZZY: Jack Produces Doc

Ozzy Osbourne's son Jack is producing a documentary about his famous father. Shooting on the film started in January, and Jack has scored interviews with all the members of Black Sabbath, the numerous members of Ozzy's solo band, family and friends. Jack tells Rolling Stone, "I'm trying to paint a realistic picture of who my father is. I think The Osbournes, to a degree, tarnished the public's perception of my dad as a bit of a senile, funny, bumbling guy. Yeah, my dad can be that guy, but it's not him. I think that almost discredited who he is as an artist." Jack doesn't know exactly when the documentary will be done, but he hopes to have enough completed to premiere at next year's Ozzfest.

BRIAN WILSON: "Lucky" Appearances Next Week

Brian Wilson's release of his new C-D That Lucky Old Sun will be backed by a variety of media tie-ins. MySpace will premiere a new "Artist on Artist" conversation between Wilson and singer-actress Zooey Deschanel on Tuesday. That evening, V-H-1 Classic will premiere a 30-minute documentary showing Wilson and his band at Capitol Studios in Hollywood and probes his creative inspirations and the development of his new song cycle. Brian Wilson -- That Lucky Old Sun airs at 8:00 p-m [ET]. The next night, Brian and his band will perform a song from the album on Jay Leno's Tonight Show.

IN OTHER NEWS

*Steely Dan wrap up their summer tour tonight with the second of two shows in Santa Rosa, California. They have just announced a date for November 22nd in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

*Jimmy Buffett will open another Margaritaville restaurant, this one in the Mohegan Sun hotel and casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. The grand opening is scheduled for September 29th.

*Judas Priest will perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live on A-B-C on Tuesday.

*KISS singer-guitarist Paul Stanley will show off his artwork at two Wenworth Galleries in Atlanta on September 19th and 20th.

GRAHAM NASH: Live From the DNC

Graham Nash is in Denver this week for the Democratic National Convention. He called from the Mile High City last night to tell us, "I'm very jazzed about [being at the convention]. I saw the potential of Barack Obama two years ago, but I think he's ready now." In addition to attending some proceedings and taking photographs, Nash will perform tonight with David Crosby at the Buell Theater in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. He says they will perform C-S-N-Y's "Deja vu" because it "ties in with the era of the Vietnam War, and it ties in with the 2006 C-S-N-Y Freedom of Speech tour, and it is all the same and haven't we all been here before kind of vibe." They also plan to "Guinnevere," "Wind on the Water," "Our House" and a few others. James Taylor is also on tonight's bill.

PINK FLOYD: Reunion Today

Pink Floyd will come together today in Stockholm, Sweden to receive the Polar Music Prize. (Soprano Renee Fleming is also being honored.) The annual Swedish award recognizes artists for their contributions to their musical genres. Floyd will receive a cash prize of 168-thousand dollars. Previous winners include Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen.

FARM AID: Acts Added, TV Coverage

The Pretenders, Jerry Lee Lewis, Steve Earle, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and Jakob Dylan and The Gold Mountain Rebels will join Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Kenny Chesney at Farm Aid September 20th in Mansfield, Massachusetts. The annual benefit will be telecast live on Direct-T-V's The 1-0-1 starting at 4 p-m [ET].

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Barack's Boy?

Bruce Springsteen will not perform at the Democratic National Convention following Barack Obama's acceptance speech Thursday, which several reports had indicated. Springsteen's spokeswoman tells us, "Bruce is not performing, not attending, no participation." Springsteen's song "The Rising" was played when Barack Obama introduced Joe Biden as his running mate at a rally Saturday in Springfield, Illinois.

Reports that Jon Bon Jovi would take the stage for two songs before Obama's speech have also been rejected by the singer's representatives. But Jon will host a fundraiser at his New Jersey home for Obama on September 5th. Tickets are 28-thousand-500 dollars per person, with the proceeds going to the Democratic National Committee. New Jersey Democratic Party chairman Joe Cryan tells New Jersey's Star-Ledger that Jon was offered a position as a New Jersey delegate at the convention this week, but he turned it down.

LED ZEPPELIN: Read All About It

Led Zeppelin is the subject of yet another biography. When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin was written by Mick Wall, a U-K journalist and former confidant of both Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. According to the publisher, the book "reveals for the first time the true extent of Page's longstanding interest in the occult, and goes behind the scenes to expose the truth behind their much-hyped yet spectacularly contrived comeback at London's O-2 Arena last year." It also suggests that Page wants to reunite the band permanently, but that Plant is the main obstacle. When Giants Walked the Earth will be published by Orion Books in the U-K on October 16th. No word on when it will hit U-S bookstores.

METALLICA, FOO FIGHTERS: On Another Video Game

In the wake of the successes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band another video game in which you can mimic your favorite bands is coming out in the fall. Rock Revolution, due out October 14th, features guitar and drum controllers and will allow fans to play along to Metallica's "Am I Evil," Foo Fighters' "All My Life," Rush's "The Spirit of Radio" and almost 40 other songs. Rock Revolution will be available for PlayStation 3 and X-Box 360.

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS: STP-O'D

Stone Temple Pilots cancelled their Tampa show Friday night, and they've incurred the wrath of some pretty annoyed fans. Six-thousand ticket holders showed up at the Ford Amphitheater only to get word at 10 p-m that due to Tropical Storm Fay, the band was unable to get to Tampa. But the storm was well north of Tampa, and S-T-P were traveling from South Florida. Message boards on S-T-P's website, MySpace page and local newspapers have been flooded with posts from angry fans. Others are speculating as to the real reason the show was cancelled.

STYX: Well Wishes From Joe

The other night in Detroit during a make-up show with Styx and R-E-O Speedwagon, Joe Elliott of Def Leppard dedicated a song to Susie Young, the wife of Styx singer-guitarist James "J-Y" Young, as she continues to recover from brain surgery earlier this month. He asked the crowd to focus their collective energy on getting her well. Elliot, along with his wife Kristine, became friends with Susie and J-Y when the two bands toured together in 2007 and earlier this year.

JIMI HENDRIX: Anniversary Release

Today marks the 38th anniversary of the last public performance of Jimi Hendrix, which took place at the Isle of Wight festival in the U-K. In celebration, Experience Hendrix, which is run by his estate, is releasing its 10th "official bootleg" today. Live in Paris and Ottawa 1968 contains nine songs from a show at the L'Olympia Theater and three previously unreleased tracks from a show in Canada's capital including a cover of The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." The Paris performance was first released as part of the 1991 Stages box set.

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND: Postpone Shows to Attend Moore's Funeral

The Dave Matthews Band have postponed two shows on their current tour so band members and crew can attend the funeral of saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Last night's show in West Sacramento, California and tomorrow's date in West Valley, Utah will be rescheduled. Moore's funeral will be held tomorrow morning in Charlottesville, Virginia. The service is closed to the public, but a public memorial where fans will be able to attend is in the works.

IN OTHER NEWS

*Paul McCartney will reportedly make an appearance as his alter-ego, "The Fireman," on Later...With Jools Holland on B-B-C T-V on September 16th. As the Fireman, Macca produced albums of ambient music in 1994 and 1998.

*Word out of Nashville is that Lynyrd Skynyrd will receive a star on the Music City Walk of Fame as early as September 18th.

*Boston had to cancel their show the other night in St. Augustine, Florida because of Tropical Storm Fay. Boston are down to their last two shows of the summer -- tonight in Syracuse, New York at the State Fair and Sunday in Puerto Rico.

*Def Leppard's Joe Elliott went bowling with actor Billy Bob Thornton last week in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Steely Dan do the final two shows of their summer tour tonight and tomorrow in Santa Rosa, California.

*Yesterday was Gene Simmons' 59th birthday and his KISS bandmate Paul Stanley posted his birthday wishes on the band's website. "Happy Birthday to my favorite bass player and longest partner! You make a lot of people angry, but way more people very happy! To another great year together!"

*Bruce Springsteen did five more tour premieres Sunday in Kansas City, Missouri. They were the first-ever live performance of "Ricky Wants a Man of Her Own" from the Tracks collection; "Boys;" Chuck Berry's "It's All Over Now;" "Devils and Dust;" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Rocking All Over the World." Springsteen and the E Street Band will wind up their Magic tour Saturday in Milwaukee.

LED ZEPPELIN: One Step Closer?

On Friday, drummer Jason Bonham told a Detroit radio station that he is leaving Foreigner at the end of the month. Since Jason filled the seat once occupied by his late father John Bonham at the Zeppelin show in London last December, does this raise the likelihood of a full-fledged Led Zeppelin reunion? Jason says, "I've been working with Jimmy [Page] and John Paul [Jones] and trying to do just do some new material and some writing. I don't know what it will be, [but] it will be something." A source close to Zeppelin tells us there is "nothing to add" to this story. Jason says his first priority is to "go and watch my kids grow up because they've grown up way to fast in the last four years." No word from Foreigner on who will replace Jason, although they recently held auditions in Los Angeles. Brian Tichy, who played in Foreigner in the late '90s, has filled in for Bonham in the past, but he will be on tour with Billy Idol in mid-September when Foreigner resumes its tour. Bonham has four shows left with Foreigner -- Thursday in Timonium, Maryland; Friday in Woodstock, Virginia; Saturday in Atlantic City, New Jersey; and his finale, Sunday in Jackson, New Jersey.

JIMMY PAGE: Passes the Torch

Jimmy Page was in Beijing, China to take part in last night's closing ceremony of the Summer Olympics. In a segment where the Olympic flag was officially passed to London, the host city for the 2012 Games, Page rose out of a double-decker bus to accompany singer Leona Lewis on Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." The British newspaper The Telegraph reports that Leona changed the second verse because she felt they would not work for a female singer. She changed "I'm gonna give you every inch of my love" to "every bit" of my love.

The celebration continued in London where the cast of the Queen musical We Will Rock You started the party with the title track. Queen guitarist Brian May writes on his website, "I was very proud of our boys and girls from We Will Rock You opening up the Olympic handover show in London."

LED ZEPPELIN: Violent Atmosphere

A former publicist for Led Zeppelin says the band was like a ticking time bomb. Longtime music industry executive Danny Goldberg writes in his memoir Bumping Into Geniuses that the atmosphere around Zeppelin in 1973 was "one of tension, exacerbated by huge quantities of cocaine. Violence was one bad mood away." He also says drummer John Bonham was an "angry and mean drunk." The book will be published next month.

RUSH: Moving Albums

Starting tomorrow, Rush's 1981 album, Moving Pictures, will be available for download through the Rock Band video game. There are seven songs on the album, which brings the total number of Rush songs available through the game to 12. Among the songs on Moving Pictures are "Limelight" and "Tom Sawyer."

BOB DYLAN: Blowin' in the Fall

Hohner will unveil the Bob Dylan Collection, a line of hand-signed harmonicas this fall. The first item in the collection consists of a complete set of seven Marine Band harmonicas in the natural keys of C, G, D, F, A, B and E, which have been played and hand-signed by Dylan. The harmonicas are displayed in an inlaid ebony box, handcrafted exclusively for Dylan with his distinctive "Eye" logo on the lid and a renowned, framed picture of him on the inside cover. A letter from the president of Hohner is included, confirming authenticity. This will be limited to 25 sets worldwide. The second item in the collection is a single Marine Band harmonica in the key of C hand-signed by Dylan. This single harmonica is also displayed in an inlaid ebony box and limited to 100 worldwide. These limited-edition pieces will be available for sale in the U-S exclusively through Sam Ash Music. A special "viewing preview" will take place at Sam Ash Music in Hollywood, California from September 24th through October 8th with a New York viewing from October 15th through the 29th. They go on sale online at SamAshMusic-dot-com at midnight on October 29th.

There will also be a Bob Dylan Signature Series Harmonica, which features custom cover-plates bearing Dylan's signature, a carrying case embossed with his "Eye" logo, and an outer gift box featuring an exclusive picture of Dylan in the inside cover.

Dylan is on tour with a show in Little Rock, Arkansas tomorrow night.

SAMMY HAGAR: Helping Out

Sammy Hagar is not only helping out in his hometown of Mill Valley, California this week by doing a benefit for a historic theater -- he'll be helping out a charity in St. Louis, a hotbed for Red Rocker fans, in the fall. When he performs there on November 18th and 19th at the Pageant, proceeds from his concerts will benefit Blessings in a Backpack, a program that helps feed poor St. Louis-area children. Sammy tells the Post-Dispatch, "To me, it solves so many cool problems. And it's such a simple concept, I love it." Under the program, the children are given a backpack of food on Friday to take home. Hagar hopes to raise more than a million dollars a year for this charity. Hagar does the benefit in Mill Valley on Wednesday followed by a show in Houston on Sunday. Then he is off until November when he does the two St. Louis shows and one in New Orleans.

PAUL McCARTNEY: On Again?

Paul McCartney's show in Tel Aviv, Israel is apparently back on. Earlier this month, talks surrounding the show reportedly had fallen through. But reports yesterday indicated that it will be held on September 25th. However Macca's U-K spokesman says, "Nothing's been confirmed."

Government officials prevented The Beatles from playing there in 1965, saying the band "didn't stand on a high cultural and artistic level and had a bad influence over youth." Earlier this year, the Israeli ambassador to Britain, Ron Prosor, apologized to the Fab Four, saying, "There is no doubt that it was a great missed opportunity to prevent people like you, who shaped the minds of the generation, to come to Israel and perform."

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Star Studded Gig

Bruce Springsteen played to a star-studded crowd at Nashville's Sommet Center last week. Among those in the house were Tim McGraw and his wife, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, members of Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley, Amy Grant and Kim Carnes. Unfortunately Kenny Chesney, who covered Bruce's "One Step Up" on his No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem C-D, was in Charlotte, North Carolina for his own show that night. And Springsteen did not disappoint as he did two more tour premieres -- covers of "Good Rockin' Tonight," which he has not done since 1980, and "I Fought the Law" in honor of what would have been the late Clash singer Joe Strummer's birthday. He opened the show with the "Mona" intro to "She's the One," which he last did in 1981.

On Saturday in St. Louis Springsteen did a few three tour premieres. He opened with The Crystals' "Then She Kissed Me," which he hasn't done since 1975. He also did Harold Dorman's "Mountain of Love," which also wasn't played since 1975, and Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie."

Springsteen is now off until Saturday when he brings the Magic tour to an end in Milwaukee.

GARY GLITTER: Back in the UK

Gary Glitter's attorney calls his failed attempts to gain entry to several Asian nations "a travesty of justice." The Times of London says David Corker claims the disgraced rock and roller was convicted of morals charges involving 11- and 12-year-old girls in a "show trial" that was "a gross breach of human rights standards." A district court judge disagreed and said that Glitter could not challenge his conviction and must be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Corker also said the singer (real name Paul Francis Gadd) contracted tuberculosis while imprisoned in Vietnam, suffered hearing loss there and fears for his life from vigilantes.

ALLMAN BROTHERS: All-Star Make-Up Gigs

The Allman Brothers Band was forced to cancel their annual run of dates at New York's Beacon Theater earlier this year to allow Gregg Allman more time to recuperate from hepatitis C. But they'll make it up in March, and Allman promises it will be special. He tells Billboard magazine, "We're trying to get all the people we know that we've played with to come and sit in and play... Just think about all the people we've played with. We're shooting to get all of them. Of course, people are on tour, but not usually so much in March as they would be, say, in August." The Allmans are currently on tour with special guest Bob Weir and RatDog with a stop in Hershey, Pennsylvania tonight.

SPRINGSTEEN & U2: Obama & Olympics

Songs by Bruce Springsteen and U-2 were heard Saturday when presidential candidate Barrack Obama introduced Joe Biden, his vice presidential running mate. Biden took the stage in Springfield, Illinois to the strains of Springsteen's "The Rising" and finished up to U-2's "Beautiful Day." Springsteen was also heard in Beijing yesterday as "Born in the U-S-A" was played at the conclusion of the U-S basketball team defeating Spain for the gold medal at the Summer Olympics.

The Democratic National Convention starts today in Denver, and among the artists performing at events in association with the proceedings there this week are Randy Newman, Jakob Dylan, David Crosby, Graham Nash, James Taylor, Tony Bennett and Willie Nelson.

OZZY: Kung Fu Fighting

Ozzy Osbourne will perform at Affliction: Day of Reckoning, a marital arts event in Las Vegas on October 11th. Ozzy says, "Every performance needs a little blood. I look forward to seeing the fighters get roughed up a bit." The event will air live on Pay-Per-View and H-D Net.

JUDAS PRIEST: Not That There's Anything Wrong With It

You have to be gay to be the singer in Judas Priest says frontman Rob Halford. In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Halford says, "To be brutally honest, Jugulator and Demolition [the two Priest albums made with singer Tim 'Ripper' Owens] were affected by my not being in the band, much like when Bruce Dickinson went away from Iron Maiden, the way Van Halen [was] affected when David Lee Roth left. But I don't think a straight man can do my job in Judas Priest. I've never said that before. I'm sorry, but they can't." Priest is in El Paso, Texas tomorrow night before rejoining Heaven and Hell for four more dates starting Wednesday in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

IN OTHER NEWS

*Tom Jones' upcoming C-D will include a song Bono wrote for Tom called "Sugar Daddy" which features The Edge on guitar.

*Def Leppard won the Classic Songwriter award and Metallica the Inspiration award at the Kerrang Awards last Thursday in London.

*The KISS Coffeehouse in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina will celebrate its second anniversary on September 6th with a longest tongue contest. Two people will be chosen and the one who keeps his or her tongue on a T-V the longest wins a flat-screen T-V and a set of autographed Gene Simmons Family Jewels D-V-Ds.

*Former Guns n' Roses and Rock Star Supernova guitarist Gilby Clarke will headline the second night of the Exotic Erotic Strippers and Hustlers Ball, which takes place August 30th and 31st at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Also playing that night are Girls Girls Girls, an all-female Motley Crue tribute band.

*You can hear 30 seconds of "Rock n' Roll Train," the first single from A-C/D-C's forthcoming album, Black Ice, on the band's My Space page -- My Space-dot-com-slash-ACDC.