Peter Frampton’s 1954 Les Paul Found in the Caribbean – After 32 Years!

A 1954 Gibson Les Paul that Peter Frampton played during his Humble Pie and solo days has been found after investigation by two Frampton fans. The guitar had been presumed lost in a 1980 cargo plane crash.

The Curacao Tourist Board acquired the guitar and experts from Gibson Guitar confirmed it was, indeed, the missing guitar, long missing from Frampton’s collection.

Frampton was given the guitar in 1970 by a man named Mark Mariana at a Humble Pie gig at the Fillmore West. Frampton borrowed Mariana’s guitar for the show and afterward tried to buy it from him. “But to my surprise he said he couldn’t sell it to me – he wanted to give it to me!” he said.

Frampton played the guitar exclusively on Humble Pie’s Rock On and Rocking the Fillmore albums and his own seminal Frampton Comes Alive!, one of the top-selling live records of all time.

Frampton was recently reunited with the guitar in Nashville, Tennessee. He said: “I am still in a state of shock, first off, that the guitar even exists let alone, that it has been returned to me. I know I have my guitar back, but I will never forget the lives that were lost in this crash. I am so thankful for the efforts of those who made this possible… and now that it is back I am going insure it for 2 million dollars and it’s never going out of my sight again! It was always my #1 guitar and it will be reinstated there as soon as possible – some minor repairs are needed. And, I just can’t wait to get Mark Mariana on the phone.”

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It Was 50 Years Ago Today: The Beatles Got Rejected

It is hard to believe, but The Beatles once “sucked.” It was 50 years ago today (almost, January 1, 1962, to be precise) that the future Fab Four were turned down by London’s Decca Records. The episode is now part of rock ’n’ roll folklore, but what really happened?

Decca Records’ A&R man, Mike Smith, had watched The Beatles play at Liverpool’s Cavern Club on December 13, 1961. Smith wasn’t sufficiently impressed – or powerful enough – to sign The Beatles immediately, but offered the group a session Decca’s studios in West Hampstead, London.

The Beatles were then: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and drummer Pete Best. The band travelled from Liverpool with driver/roadie Neil Aspinall, while manager Brian Epstein travelled separately by train.

Things didn’t go right from the start. Despite The Beatles making the 11 a.m. audition on time, after driving for over 200 miles the day before, Decca’s Smith was late: he’d been out the night before, seeing in the new year. “I was pretty annoyed,” Epstein later recalled. “Not because we were anxious to tape our songs, but because we felt we were being treated as people who didn’t matter.”

To add insult to injury, Smith then insisted The Beatles used Decca’s in-house amplifiers, judging the Fabs’ own gear to be substandard. “They didn’t want our tackle," recalled Neil Aspinall. “We had to use theirs. We needn’t have dragged our amps all the way from Liverpool.”

The Beatles: Live for 1 Hour

Of the 15 songs The Beatles played, only three were Lennon-McCartney originals – “Like Dreamers Do,” “Hello Little Girl” and “Love of the Loved.” The other 12 were covers – “Money (That's What I Want),” “Till There Was You,” “The Sheik Of Araby,” “To Know Her is to Love Her,” “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “Memphis, Tennessee,” “Sure to Fall (In Love With You),” “Three Cool Cats,” “Crying, Waiting, Hoping,” “September in the Rain,” “Besame Mucho” and “Searchin’.”

It was Brian Epstein who insisted, perhaps fatally, The Beatles stick mostly to “standards.” In those days, demos/auditions were recorded in a single take without overdubs and the entire session, from 11 a.m., took approximately an hour.

“They were pretty frightened,” recalled Aspinall years later. “Paul [McCartney] couldn’t sing one song [editor’s note: McCartney was lead vocalist on three songs, but Aspinall meant McCartney did not sing as well as he could]. He was too nervous and his voice started to crack up. They were all worried about the red light. I asked if it could be put off, but we were told people might come in if it was off. ‘You what?’ we said. We didn’t know what all that meant.”

Also auditioning that day were Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, from South East England. Although The Beatles did not play at their best that New Year’s Day of 1962, Brian Epstein was quietly confident that his charges would land a contract with Decca. But as the label’s head of A&R, Dick Rowe, later remembered:

“I told Mike [Smith] he’d have to decide between them. It was up to him – The Beatles or Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. He said, ‘They’re both good, but one’s a local group, the other comes from Liverpool.’ We decided it was better to take the local group. We could work with them more easily and stay closer in touch as they came from Dagenham.”

It was March 1962 when Decca informed The Beatles they were not wanted. What really angered Epstein and The Beatles was Rowe’s official and now-notorious reason: “guitar groups are on the way out, Mr. Epstein.” Yet The Tremeloes were also a guitar group, of course, and one not as talented as The Beatles. Hence, Rowe later became infamous as “the man who turned down The Beatles.”

The wily Epstein didn’t take rejection lying down: “I told him [Dick Rowe] I was completely confident that these boys were going to be bigger than Elvis Presley.” Epstein travelled back for further meetings with Decca, claiming he promising their sales team that he’d buy 3,000 copies of any Beatles single Decca released. But Rowe later said, “I was never told about that at the time. The way economics were in the record business then, if we’d been sure of selling 3,000 copies, we’d have been forced to record them, whatever sort of group they were.”

Epstein’s offer was essentially to rig The Beatles’ sales, but who then knew what went on the 1960s record business?

The Beatles themselves were no more impressed. In a press interview a few years later, Paul McCartney commented about Rowe’s decision (even if it wasn’t really Rowe’s), “I bet he’s kicking himself.” To which John Lennon added, “I hope he kicks himself to death.”

The Beatles’ Rejection Re-shapes the ’60s

Despite the hurt felt by the fledgling Beatles, the rejection arguably had far-reaching consequences on the band themselves and the U.K. music scene. Epstein and The Beatles came away from Decca with reel-to-reel recordings that eventually won the band a deal with the Parlophone label in June 1962. And the head of A&R at Parlophone? It was George Martin. And, it was only at Parlophone that doubts were raised about Pete Best’s drumming skills, soon leading to Ringo Starr replacing him. If The Beatles had been signed by Decca, we might know The Beatles as John, Paul, George and Pete.

Dick Rowe redeemed his Decca team’s decision, though. When Rowe met George Harrison months later, The Beatles’ guitarist suggested that Rowe should give another up-and-coming rock band a listen. Rowe did listen, and signed George Harrison’s recommended band to Decca: it was The Rolling Stones.

Decca’s rejection of The Beatles was similar to any audition or demo session that bands went through 50 years ago. But if The Beatles had won that Decca contract? Music history may have been a whole lot different…

More Beatles:

How ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ Made The Beatles Superstars

10 Greatest Riff-Based Beatles Songs

Let It Be: The Beatles and the Epiphone Casino

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Auld Lang Syne: 10 Perfect Tunes for New Year’s Eve Podcast

If you want to make New Year’s Eve sound really new, ditch your fossilized Guy Lombardo MP3 and forget about “1999,” because that’s sooo two-thousand-zero-zero. Here’s a list of 10 tunes – some classic, some recent, and obscenely obvious – we suggest for your New Year’s Eve podcast, CD, or even mixtape.

“In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus),” Zaeger and Evans

This may be the greatest New Year’s anthem of all time, including the distant future. On the cosmic scale of weirdness, this song – with its predictions of mankind becoming limbless globs of flesh existing on food pills – gets a full-on 10. And musically, this one-hit wonder duo from Lincoln, Nebraska, knock it out of the park, packing the song with verse-by-verse modulations, mariachi horn flourishes, and a vocal performance that stacks crescendo atop crescendo. “In the Year 2525” sold four-million singles, hit #1 on the Billboard chart in 1969 and was nominated for science fiction’s highest honor, the Hugo Award. Even The Beatles can’t claim that troika of victory.

“Big Day Coming,” Yo La Tengo

How many alternative rock bands write love songs bristling with innocence and hope? These Hoboken heroes are masters of that game, and this 2003-released tune is a timeless anthem of both – a perfect New Year’s Eve attitude adjuster, with a gorgeous wash of guitars to boot. “Let’s be undecided/Let’s take our time,” frontman Ira Kaplan sings. “We’ll be on the outside/We won’t care/’Cause we’re together/That’s somewhere.”

“Next Year,” Foo Fighters

In 2000, Gibson six-string hero Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters made this astronaut’s love song the final single from There is Nothing Left to Lose. With its soft notes of romance and acoustic foundation, it’s perfect to set the mood for a midnight kiss under the mistletoe. (Oops! Wrong holiday!)

“This is the Day,” The The

Englishman Matt Johnson’s operation The The has undergone all kinds of musical evolutions since he founded the project in the early ’80s, but his 1983 debut album Soul Mining remains a synth-pop classic on the same high tier as Depeche Mode’s early recordings. With its images of calendars, a sleepless night and wistful hope for the future, this song, a pure burst of melody with a slight undercurrent of melancholy, is a perfect ode for any new year.

“Monkey Dog,” O.V. Wright

If you’re hosting a New Year’s Eve party you need a great dance song that hasn’t been played out. This classic by one of the forgotten greats of American soul is perfect. It’s a dance craze number – half “the dog,” half “the monkey” – with zippy double-entendre lyrics. Best of all, Wright breaks into barking at the tune’s apex. Forget “the swim” and dive into the “Monkey Dog.”

“New Year’s Day,” U2

Too obvious? C’mon, don’t be a cynic. This number – overplayed as it is – bursts with the promise of love and a belief in the triumph of hope over hopelessness, and that’s a beautiful thing. Save your bad attitude for next December and give this song the spin it deserves.

“What are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” Ella Fitzgerald

Classic American songwriter Frank Loesser penned this popular beauty in 1947 and Fitzgerald then knocked it out of the park. Again, the theme is the desire for love and the inherent romance of New Year’s Eve, all broiled into a nugget of graceful perfection thanks to Fitzgerald’s flawless execution.

“Auld Lang Syne,” Jimi Hendrix

Hendrix kicked off the second set of the Band of Gypsys’ historic New Year’s Eve concert at New York City’s Fillmore Auditorium with this chestnut – but he roasted it! This song is the most played number at New Year’s celebrations in the U.S. and U.K., but relatively few know its origins. “Auld Lang Syne” is based on a poem written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1788, which was, in turn, based on a 1711 poem by James Watson. That might be considered post-modern if it didn’t happen centuries ago. For Hendrix, it was simply the “Star-Spangled Banner” of midnight, December 31, 1969.

“New Year’s Eve,” Tom Waits

Waits’ latest album Bad As Me revisits his early, emotion-drenched ballad style with this track, a poignant account of a night full of break-ups and change, not necessarily for the better. Nonetheless, like Waits’ best meditations on the human heart, it’s bittersweet and irresistibly touching. It even includes a chorus of “Auld Lang Syne” that’s perfect for a whiskey-sodden midnight sing-along.

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Coldplay Pick Up $1.5m for New Year’s Eve Gig

Coldplay have lined up an impressive payday for a New Year’s bash, picking up a cool ?1 ($1.5) million for one concert in the United Arab Emirates.

According to the Daily Express, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan booked Chris Martin and Co. to play the Volvo Ocean Race venue in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, December 31.

Having visited the United Arab Emirates before, guitarist Jonny Buckland is especially excited about the luxurious lifestyle on offer, saying, “I’ve never stayed anywhere like the hotel they put me in and probably never will again. It made Buckingham Palace look like a two-bed semi.”

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Red Hot Chili Peppers to Perform at Exclusive New Year’s Eve Bash

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are set to perform at perhaps the world’s most expensive New Year’s Eve bash, London’s The Telegraph has reported. Roman Abramovich, the billionaire Russian oligarch known for throwing extravagant parties, has hired the veteran rockers to entertain at the exclusive event, which will be held at Abramovich’s estate on the Caribbean island of St Barts. The 45-year-old Abramovich, who owns the Chelsea football club, is spending more than 5 million pounds (approximately $7,850,000) to entertain the 300 guests expected to attend. Those invited have been told to wear “island chic” to the celebration, which will run from 10 pm to 4 am. The Chili Peppers take-home pay for the performance has not been revealed. In other news, however, the New York Post has reported that Stevie Wonder will be compensated $1 million to sing at this year’s New Year’s Eve celebration at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

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Yes to Release First Studio Album in 10 Years

Yes will release their first studio album in 10 years on July 1. Fly From Here will be the veteran band’s 20th studio album. It’s the follow-up to 2001’s Magnification and sees the band back with producer Trevor Horn.

The current Yes lineup is Benoit David on vocals, Steve Howe on guitars/vocals, founder Chris Squire on bass/vocals, Geoff Downes on keyboards and Alan White on drums. Roger Dean, the artist behind Yes’ best-known album covers also returns for Fly From Here.

“At last we have some shape and dynamics within these tracks that are truer to the original idea of what a Yes recording is about,” Howe said in a statement.

First formed in 1968, YES have sold nearly 50 million albums worldwide and this summer will return to the road with new tracks Fly From Here as well as their classic material.

Fly From Here tracklist:

1. “Fly From Here – Overture”

2. “Fly From Here – Pt. I – We Can Fly”

3. “Fly From Here – Pt. II – Sad Night at the Airfield”

4. “Fly From Here – Pt. III – Madman at the Screens”

5. “Fly From Here – Pt. IV – Bumpy Ride”

6. “Fly From Here – Pt. V – We Can Fly”

7. “The Man You Always Wanted Me to be”

8. “Life on a Film Set”

9. “Hour of Need”

10. “Solitaire”

11. “Into the Storm”

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Blondie to Release First New Album in 8 Years

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Blondie have announced that they will release a new album this fall. Rolling Stone magazine has reported that Panic of Girls is due out in September.

However, the album will also be available on June 1 as part of a limited edition “fan pack,” via Blondie’s website. The special release comes with a 132-page magazine that delves into the making of the album, the band’s history and more.

Panic of Girls, the band’s first album since 2003’s The Curse of Blondie, features a song called “Mother” as its lead single. The album was produced by Killers collaborator Jeff Saltzman and Paramore producer Kato Khandwala. It features co-founders Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke along with contributions from The Cars’ Elliot Easton.

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Slash: No Velvet Revolver Plans for 2 Years

Slash has said that he does not see Velvet Revolver working together for at least another couple of years.

The hard rock band have yet to replace singer Scott Weiland, who departed in 2008. Recent rumors that Slipknot’s Corey Taylor might get the gig have been quashed.

Slash told Vorterix.com: “We did work with Corey Taylor, and as soon as that rumor [got around], next thing you know, everybody is saying Corey’s the new singer... All we were doing was just rehearsing with him and trying him out – auditioning him... It just didn’t seem to fit right to me. And he’s great – and I love Corey – but it didn’t seem like the answer to the Velvet Revolver problem.”

As for the future, he said: “Duff’s got his own thing, I’ve got my thing, Matt’s got his thing... Next year I definitely will make another Slash record with Myles Kennedy and go on tour. So at least for the next couple of years, nothing is going to be happening with Velvet Revolver that I can see ’cause I’ll be focused on this. And after that’s over, if something happens... I’m just not really concerning myself with it right now. We had all these different guys try out, all really good singers, but nobody has fit the thing, so, you know, I have to move on.”

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The Shins Announce First Concert in Two Years

After a prolonged hiatus, indie rockers The Shins are returning to the stage. The Portland, Oregon, band have announced that they will play the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, which runs August 12-14, according to NME.com.

Frontman James Mercer spent his time off working on a collaboration with Danger Mouse called Broken Bells. The band underwent a few major changes, too. Keyboardist Marty Crandall and drummer Jesse Sandoval left the band and were replaced by Ron Lewis and Joe Plummer from Modest Mouse. The Shins also left Sub Pop Records for Mercer’s label – Aural Apothecary.

Reportedly, the band are working on their first release on the label, due later this year. The Shins’ last album was 2007’s Wincing the Night Away.

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