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Great White Singer Jack Russell Said He Wished He Could ‘Erase’ Tragic Station Nightclub Fire

Megan Elliott — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 00:15:43 +0000

Jack Russell, singer for and founding member of Great White, has died at age 63.

The ‘80s hard rocker was performing with his version Great White at a nightclub in Rhode Island in 2003 when a pyrotechnics display ignited a fire. The blaze killed 100 people, including the band’s guitarist, Ty Longley, and ranks among the deadliest nightclub fires in U.S. history.

The Station fire is one of the worst nightclub disasters in U.S. history

The remnants of The Station nightclub on February 23, 2003 | Douglas McFadd/Getty Images

Great White formed in Southern California in the early 1980s and went on to score hits with songs such as “Rock Me” and “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.” The band broke up in 2001, but shortly after, Russell and guitarist Mark Kendall reformed the group with several new members.

The new band, performing under the name Jack Russell’s Great White, headlined a concert at The Station nightclub in Warwick, Rhode Island, on Feb. 20, 2003. The club had a maximum occupancy of just over 400, but 462 people were inside. Shortly after 11 p.m., Great White began their set and the tour manager set off the band’s pyrotechnics.

The pyrotechnics ignited acousical foam near the stage, quickly setting the small club ablaze. Many concertgoers fled toward the exits. The main entrance to the club soon became blocked as people tried to escape. Ultimately, 100 people died in the disaster and hundreds more were injured.

More than 20 years later, The Station fire remains the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history.

Jack Russell called The Station fire a ‘horrible tragedy’

Jack Russell of Great White speaks to reporters on February 21, 2003, after the fire at The Station nightclub | Douglas McFadd/Getty Images

The owners of The Station and Great White’s tour manager were all criminally charged after the fire. The band agreed to pay a $1 million settlement. Russell did not face any criminal charges, though many survivors and their loved ones thought he shared blame for the disaster. Others told the Boston Globe that they felt he had never expressed adequate remorse for what had happened as his band performed.

″It was a horrible tragedy,” Russell told The Roanoke Times in Virginia in 2010, according to the AP. “I wish we could go back in time and erase it. I wish there was something I could’ve done about it. This was one of those things where you don’t see it coming — there’s no way you can possibly see it coming. You just kind of pick yourself up and move on. You take what life gives you.”

In the years after the fire, Russell battled substance abuse and other health problems. A few weeks before his death, he announced on Instagram that he was retiring from touring following his diagnosis with Lewy Body Dementia and multiple system atrophy.

In a 2013 interview with the Globe, Russell reflected on the fire, saying he “never meant to hurt anybody.”

“It’s been almost 10 years and no matter what I say it’s never going to make anybody feel any better about it, and sometimes it might make them feel worse,” he said. “So I really would rather not say too much, you know.”

Source: The Providence Journal

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Bruno Mars Hates 1 of His Biggest Songs

Emma McKee — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 19:33:00 +0000

Bruno Mars has written many hit songs in his career. He wrote songs for a number of other artists before establishing his career and has since picked up multiple Grammy awards. Despite his success, Mars is still critical of his writing. He revealed that he can’t stand one of his popular songs.

Bruno Mars said he wasn’t a fan of one of his songs

In 2010, Mars released “The Lazy Song” on his album Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Though the song is about having a lazy day, it took a lot of effort to write.

“That song just came out of the studio. We were trying to make a song that was better than the Beatles. We were trying to be magical and historic,” he told the New York Daily News. “After five hours, it all turned to rubbish. The frustration got to me and I said, ‘Today I don’t feel like doing anything at all.’ That opened up everyone’s eyes.”

He said the finished product was much better when he relaxed.

“When you’re overshooting, you get the worst work,” he said. “When you’re relaxed, you have your best. I’m a light kind of guy.”

It may have been easier to write the song when he didn’t focus as hard, but Mars was not happy with it.

“I hate that song, by the way,” he told GQ in 2013.

Bruno Mars wanted to write songs that felt like ‘events’

Mars struggled while writing “The Lazy Song” because, as he said, songwriting was an incredibly difficult process.

“You know how hard it is to write a big song?” he said. “That s*** is hard, man. It’s so hard to do. Might be one of the hardest things to ever do. I don’t ever want to come out with something safe and get away with ‘It sounds good!’ It’s got to be more than sounding good.”

He said he wanted to write music that felt like an event, like the songs he loves.

“The music I like are events. F***ing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody ‘is my favorite song — that song’s an event. And that’s what I want to do. I’m sure that shocked the world, that song. ‘Billie Jean’ shocked the world. ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ Those songs are events. That guy put everything he got into that, and he _meant _it.”

He pointed to a song of his he felt was successful

Mars said that writing a song that feels like an event is one of the best feelings in the world.

“It’s that unexplainable high. Why I keep doing it,” he said. “That feeling that you keep on chasing and chasing. Because it’s _nothing, _man. It’s taking the air and turning it into something. That’s the feeling.”

One of his own songs that made him feel that way was “Locked Out of Heaven.”

“That one shocked me. That it turned out the way it did,” he said. “I haven’t done a song like that. And hopefully every album, I’ll get that feeling. And shock the world! Shock the world!”

John Lennon Took Brian Epstein’s Death as Hard as the Loss of His ‘Soul Mate’

Emma McKee — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 21:22:00 +0000

In 1967, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr received news that their longtime manager, Brian Epstein, died of an overdose. Epstein’s death was unexpected and deeply shook the band. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was with the band at the time and he told them to be happy and celebrate Epstein’s life. The band tried to do this, but Cynthia Lennon said her husband was still utterly devastated.

John Lennon was devastated by the death of Stuart Sutcliffe

Before The Beatles were a successful band, their lineup was a bit different. Starr joined the band in 1962; before him, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best were members. The former was one of Lennon’s closest friends.

Not long after Sutcliffe left the band, he died of a brain hemorrhage. Lennon took the news hard when Sutcliffe’s girlfriend, Astrid Kirchherr, told him.

Stuart Sutcliffe | Collect/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images

“John went into hysterics,” Kirchherr said, per The New Yorker. “We couldn’t make out . . . whether he was laughing or crying because he did everything at once. I remember him sitting on a bench, huddled over, and he was shaking, rocking backward and forward.”

According to Yoko Ono, Lennon had always viewed Sutcliffe as a “soul mate.”

John Lennon had a similar reaction to Brian Epstein’s death

Five years later, Lennon had a similar reaction to Epstein’s death. According to Cynthia Lennon, he was “numb” and “traumatized” when he first heard the news. She said he reacted in the same way that he had after Sutcliffe’s death.

“In the car, John and I held hands, trying to give each other strength,” she wrote in her book John. “Every now and then, John would mutter, ‘Oh, Christ, why? Why, Brian? I just can’t get it into my head.’ He was as low as he’d been after Stuart’s death, and Brian’s passing was yet another sudden loss. For The Beatles, it was the end of a hugely important chapter in their lives.”

Brian Epstein said John Lennon was initially his favorite Beatle

While Epstein liked each of The Beatles, he had a particularly close relationship with Lennon. They went on vacation together, a trip that sparked rumors they were having an affair. Epstein himself admitted to initially feeling closer to Lennon than the rest.

“I think Paul thinks I’m closer to John than I am with him,” Epstein said, per the book The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies. “It’s not really true. It was earlier on, but now I love them all equally.”

The Beatles and Brian Epstein | Harry Benson/Getty Images

Despite the rumors, Lennon claimed his relationship with Epstein was never physical. Still, he said it was almost like a love affair. They were close enough to feel drawn to one another.

“It was almost a love affair, but not quite,” Lennon said in The Beatles Anthology. “It was not consummated. But it was a pretty intense relationship.”

ABBA’s Only No. 1 Song Wasn’t Their Usual Style

Matthew Trzcinski — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 03:50:19 +0000

While ABBA gave us a lot of great music, only one of the band’s songs reached No. 1 in the United States. Furthermore, it only reached the top of the chart for a short amount of time. The song was a departure from other ABBA songs.

ABBA made some classic songs outside of their typical genre

ABBA was mostly known for perky pop songs with rock ‘n’ roll influences. While the group peaked during the disco era, they generally didn’t write disco music. However, when they did dip their toes into the genre, they wrote classics like “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” and “Dancing Queen.”

The latter became the group’s only chart-topper in the U.S. The song was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week, lasting on the chart for 22 weeks in total. “Dancing Queen” appeared on the album Arrival. That record peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard 200, charting for a total of 50 weeks. Arrival was ABBA’s biggest studio album in the U.S. The record also produced the tune “Money, Money, Money,” which remains popular today, partly due to its appearance in the musical Mamma Mia!

“Dancing Queen” plays an important role in Mamma Mia! as well, but its popularity is really the result of its quality. “Dancing Queen” is a disco song, but it’s less funky and more sugary than most of its musical peers. Perhaps the song sounds so much different from other disco songs because ABBA was a Swedish band while most famous disco artists were American or British.

A member of ABBA discussed the band’s sound

During a 2014 interview with The Guardian, ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus said that the band’s formula was once rooted in glam rock music. “If you look at the singles we released straight after ‘Waterloo,’ we were trying to be more like the Sweet, a semi-glam rock group,” he said. “Which was stupid because we were always a pop group.”

Ulvaeus also explained that the group’s music played with listeners’ emotions. “The music of ABBA is not that happy,” he said. “It might sound happy, in some strange way, but deep within it’s not happy music. It has that Nordic melancholic feeling to it. What fools you is the girls’ voices. You know, I do think that is one of the secrets about ABBA. Even when we were really quite sad, we always sounded jubilant.”

Björn Ulvaeus said the band’s songs were always distinctive

After explaining the band’s formulas, he went on to claim that the group had no formulas at all. “‘Waterloo,’ ‘Mamma Mia!,’ ‘Fernando,’ ‘Dancing Queen,’ ‘The Winner Takes It All’ … are they made to a formula?” he asks. “What is that formula?! It’s totally the opposite. We never repeated ourselves. We worked so hard to find different styles every time.”

It is true that ABBA displayed a lot of range during their hitmaking years. However, it would be ridiculous to claim they never repeated themselves. Listen to “Ring Ring,” “Waterloo,” and “Honey, Honey” all in a row and it’s easy to tell these songs were all written by the same people.

ABBA could get a bit formulaic and they threw the rulebook out for “Dancing Queen.”

Rolling Loud Miami 2024 Headliners Ranked by Net Worth

Matt Moore — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 18:46:37 +0000

The Rolling Loud music festival comes to Miami, Florida, on Dec. 13-15 at the Hard Rock Stadium. It’s a homecoming of sorts for the concert, returning to the city where it began 10 years ago.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Rolling Loud, festival organizers have assembled a worthy lineup. Some of the biggest (and richest) names in rap will be on hand, trying to ensure the Miami shows match the star power on display at Rolling Loud Los Angeles earlier this year. And just as impressive as the lineup is the individual net worths of each Rolling Loud Miami headliner for 2024.

ROLLING LOUD 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
MIAMI, FL • DECEMBER 13-15, 2024

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— Rolling Loud (@RollingLoud) August 12, 2024

3. Playboi Carti

Rapper Playboi Carti comes in third on the list of the richest headliners for Rolling Loud Miami 2024. The Atlanta, Georgia, native is worth an estimated $9 million.

Playboi Carti’s net worth stems from sales of his two studio albums, Die Lit and Whole Lotta Red. A third album is expected later this year.

Beyond his music releases, Carti also founded the record label and rap collective Opium to add to his bottom line. Five headlining tours and some modeling work have also expanded Playboi Carti’s net worth.

2. Future

Future will also headline Rolling Loud Miami 2024. The 40-year-old rapper (born Nayvadius DeMun Cash) has a net worth of $50 million.

Future became a professional rapper when he signed his first record deal in 2011. Since then, countless hit singles and chart-topping albums have inflated his net worth.

Tours with Drake, Metro Boomin, and Meek Mill further lined Future’s pockets. Thanks to his music career and endorsements, Future purchased a $16 million mansion in Miami in 2023.

1. Travis Scott

Travis Scott has the highest net worth among Rolling Loud Miami 2024 headliners. The rapper boasts an estimated net worth of $80 million.

It didn’t take long for Scott, 33, to make a name for himself in hip-hop and start earning millions. His first major-label recording contract came in 2011 with Epic Records. He also became a producer for Kanye West’s GOOD Music and signed a record deal with T.I.’s Grand Hustle Records.

In 2018 alone, Scott earned $20 million from record sales, streams, touring, and a shoe deal with Nike. His Astroworld tour grossed $65 million in 2019, and a year later, he signed a $20 million endorsement deal with McDonald’s.

Scott has put that net worth to use, making several real estate purchases over the past few years. He bought a $23.5 million mansion in Brentwood, Los Angeles in 2020. Scott and then-girlfriend Kylie Jenner bought an L.A. mansion for just over $13 million in 2018 before selling it for $22 million in 2022.

Source: Celebrity Net Worth

Bruce Springsteen Said He Was ‘Socially Homeless’ Growing Up

Emma McKee — Sat, 10 Aug 2024 20:35:00 +0000

Bruce Springsteen is one of the biggest rock stars in the world, and he said that the people he knew growing up likely wouldn’t have predicted this. According to Springsteen, very little of his cool factor was present when he was a child. He said he was the target of bullies and was, in his own eyes, a “loser.”

Bruce Springsteen said he dealt with bullies growing up

When Springsteen was growing up, his family moved in with his grandparents. He believed this style of upbringing set him apart from his classmates.

“No matter how much I want to, no matter how hard I try, ‘the way things are’ eludes me,” he wrote in the book Born to Run, adding, “I desperately want to fit in, but the world I have created with the unwarranted freedom from my grandparents has turned me into an unintentional rebel, an outcast weirdo misfit sissy boy. I am alienating, alienated, and socially homeless … I am seven years old.”

Bruce Springsteen | LGI Stock/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

He said that this made him a target for bullies. When looking back, he believed this set him up for success as a musician.

“Amongst my male classmates, there are mainly good souls. Some, however, are rude, predatory, and unkind,” he wrote. “It is here I receive the bullying all aspiring rock stars must undergo and suffer in seething, raw, humiliating silence, the great ‘leaning up against the chain-link fence as the world spins around you, without you, in rejection of you’ playground loneliness that is essential fuel for the coming fire.”

Bruce Springsteen said he had a lot of female friends while growing up

While the boys in his class rejected him, Springsteen said he had far better luck forming friendships with the girls.

“The girls, on the other hand, shocked to find what appeared to be a shy, softhearted dreamer in their midst, move right onto Grandma’s turf and begin to take care of me,” he wrote. “I build a small harem who tie my shoes, zip my jacket, shower me with attention.”

He said this dynamic didn’t last long, though. People didn’t seem as interested in him as they got older.

“Of course, a few years later, when sex rears its head, I’ll lose my exalted status and become just another mild-mannered loser.”

He said his music taste made him a target for bullies

In the 1960s, Springsteen discovered The Beatles. He loved their music, but he also wanted to look like them.

“All it said was Meet the Beatles. That was exactly what I wanted to do,” he wrote. “Those four half-shadowed faces, rock’ n’ roll’s Mount Rushmore, and . . . THE HAIR . . . THE HAIR.”

The Beatles | Fireshot/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

While The Beatles were the most popular band in the world, their look did not go over well in Springsteen’s New Jersey town.

“The a** whippings, insults, risks, rejections, and outsider status you would have to accept to wear it,” he wrote. “In recent years, only the punk revolution of the seventies would allow small-town kids the ability to physically declare their ‘otherness,’ their rebellion. In 1964, Freehold was redneck ugly and there was no shortage of guys who were willing to make their rejection of your fashion choices a physical affair. I ignored the insults, avoided the physical confrontations as best I could and did what I had to do.”

Tupac Shakur ‘Didn’t Have Any Kind of Respect’ for ‘Corny’ Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Emma McKee — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 21:25:00 +0000

When Sean “Diddy” Combs represented The Notorious B.I.G., he hoped to also foster a friendship with Tupac Shakur. At the time, Biggie and Tupac had a friendly relationship, and Diddy hoped to insert himself into their dynamic. Tupac wanted nothing to do with the music executive, though. Here’s what he thought about Diddy.

Tupac Shakur did not want Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ friendship

Before Tupac and Biggie’s rivalry began, they were friends. Biggie trusted Tupac’s advice and reportedly even asked Tupac to represent him. Tupac encouraged him to stay with his manager, Diddy.

“Nah, stay with Puff,” he said, per Biography. “He will make you a star.”

As Tupac’s popularity rose, Diddy tried to build a friendly relationship with him. Some believed he was “jealous” of the friendship between Tupac and Biggie. But, while Tupac may have encouraged Biggie to stay with Diddy as his manager, he didn’t think highly of him.

Tupac, Biggie, and Diddy | Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

“Pac didn’t have any kind of respect for Puff,” photographer Monique Bunn told Rolling Stone. She added that Tupac saw Diddy as a “corny executive.”

Even at this point, Diddy’s reputation in the music industry was not exactly glowing.

“I distinctly remember the day that Clive Davis called and asked me to start garnering press for Puffy just as if he were the artist,” Arista and Bad Boy publicity director LaJoyce Brookshire said. “Behind his back, I used to call him my problem child, the Notorious V.I.P.”

He accused Diddy of being involved in his 1994 shooting

In 1994, Tupac survived a shooting outside of Quad Studios in Times Square. In an interview with Vibe Magazine afterward, Tupac intimated that Biggie and Diddy had advance knowledge of the shooting.

“Nobody approached me. I noticed that nobody would look at me,” he said. “Andre Harrell wouldn’t look at me. I had been going to dinner with him the last few days. He had invited me to the set of New York Undercover, telling me he was going to get me a job. Puffy was standing back too. I knew Puffy. He knew how much stuff I had done for Biggie before he came out.”

Diddy has vehemently denied this over the years.

“This story is beyond ridiculous and completely false,” Diddy told AllHipHop.com in 2008. “Neither Biggie nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during, or after it happened. It is a complete lie to suggest that there was any involvement by Biggie or myself.”

Tupac Shakur’s suspected murderer accused Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs of being involved

Nearly 30 years after Tupac’s 1996 murder, police charged a suspect, Duane “Keefe D” Davis. In 2009, Davis spoke to police about the murder and alleged that Diddy played a role in it.

Tupac | Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

Per People, Davis said Diddy wanted to act against Tupac and Suge Knight, saying of Knight, “I’d give anything for that dude’s head.” He allegedly offered Davis $1 million to “get rid of” Knight and Tupac.

Las Vegas police say that Diddy has never been a suspect in Tupac’s murder.

Pharrell Williams Helped Gwen Stefani’s Terrible Dream Come True

Matthew Trzcinski — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 20:16:23 +0000

Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams made one of the worst hit songs of the 2000s together. Williams knew it was terrible. Stefani didn’t.

Pharrell Williams helped Gwen Stefani’s terrible childhood dream come true

Part of what made Stefani so compelling as an artist was her genre-fluidity. She’s given us alternative rock, ska, dance music, pop, R&B, and slick disco. Of course, this sort of elasticity has drawbacks. With her hit song “Wind It Up,” Stefani made the horrible decision to combine the obnoxious yodeling of “The Lonely Goatherd” from The Sound of Music with Williams’ rap beats. It’s the sort of rancid combination that wouldn’t work in the hands of the most talented musician who ever lived. Combining Broadway with modern top 40 would be hard enough, but why on earth would Stefani reuse “The Lonely Goatherd,” which doesn’t even work in the context of The Sound of Music?

During a 2024 interview with Nylon, Stefani explained what Williams thought of the bizarre combination of his R&B beats and Rodgers and Hammerstein. “He was mad, like, ‘There’s absolutely no way,'” she recalled, laughing. “I was like, ‘You don’t understand. This is my childhood dream.'” I hate to break it to Stefani but not every childhood dream is good.

Pharrell Williams wasn’t the only 1 who questioned the No Doubt singer

Stefani admitted that her songwriting sensibilities didn’t always align with those of her collaborators. “A lot of the pop writers that I’d worked with started getting really different from the way I write,” she said. “I was like, ‘Why are you counting syllables?'” she said. “Or they were trying so hard to go for a hit, where I’m like: ‘I’m not chasing that.’ A hit is the greatest thing in the world, but it has to be from nowhere.”

Jimmy Iovine — co-founder of Stefani’s label, Interscope Records — attributed her success to her great taste. “She has spectacular taste, and when you have spectacular taste, whatever that word means usually descends upon you,” he said. “When you have great taste, what you do is probably not going to be corny.” Sadly, “Wind It Up” proved once and for all that Stefani can be incredibly corny when she wants to be. After all, many critics said The Sound of Music was corny when it came out in 1965.

Gwen Stefani won the battle and lost the war with ‘Wind It Up’

“Wind It Up” was a modest hit for Stefani. It peaked at No. 6 and sent 18 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It only performed well because it was the lead single from Stefani’s highly anticipated second solo album, The Sweet Escape. Often, lousy lead singles like “Wind It Up” will perform decently because fans are starved for new music from their idol.

The Sweet Escape was a bittersweet moment in Stefani’s career. It did well on its own terms, peaking at No. 3 and spending 51 weeks on the Billboard 200. It also produced one other top 10 single: the title track. “The Sweet Escape” reached No. 2 and charted for 40 weeks. However, the other three singles from The Sweet Escape bombed and the record didn’t live up to its predecessor, Love. Angel. Music. Baby.

“Wind It Up” helped Stefani’s dream come true and that’s its sole value.

Olivia Rodrigo Explained Why Gwen Stefani’s Songs Changed Everything for Her

Matthew Trzcinski — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 20:11:46 +0000

Olivia Rodrigo has so much in common with Gwen Stefani. That’s no accident. Rodrigo recently explained why the No Doubt singer inspired her so much as an artist. In addition, Stefani explained what inspired all of her musical ideas.

Olivia Rodrigo said Gwen Stefani songs feel like ‘the diary of the coolest girl you know’

Rodrigo has straddled the lines between pop and rock more than any other star of her generation. She’s a critical darling for her ability to balance radio hits with musical credibility. In addition, many listeners love her music for its honesty. Stefani had a very similar career, giving us both classic 1990s alt-rock songs like “Just a Girl” and “Spiderwebs” alongside bubblegum pop smashes like “Hollaback Girl” and “The Sweet Escape.”

During a 2024 exchange with Nylon, Rodrigo discussed why Stefani’s music meant so much to her. “Gwen’s ability to evolve and explore different styles of music, songwriting, and aesthetic while still remaining true to herself is incredibly inspiring,” Rodrigo said. “To me, she’s a prime example of an artist who defies stereotypes and preconceived boundaries and just makes stuff that she thinks is cool. If that’s not a true artist, I don’t know what is.”

Rodrigo felt that the “Wind It Up” singer‘s work especially connected to her because it explored womanhood. “Gwen sang about being a woman moving about this world in detail that I had never before heard put to music,” Rodrigo writes. “She unapologetically sings about things ranging from wanting to make out with someone to fantasizing about having a husband and kids. There’s so much heart in every word she says, and every song feels like it’s ripped from the diary of the coolest girl you know.”

Gwen Stefani doesn’t take credit for her own work

Rodrigo was quick to praise Stefani’s musical talent. In contrast, Stefani didn’t credit herself for her incredible catalog. Instead, she said her inspiration came from a higher power.

“These ideas come from somewhere,” she said. I believe they come from … from God, I’ll say it.” Nylon noted that Stefani was raised Roman Catholic and has become more openly religious in recent years. In her best song of the 2010s, “Make Me Like You,” she thanks God for guiding her to find the right romantic partner.

Olivia Rodrigo took the stage with No Doubt to sing a classic song

Rodrigo’s connection to Stefani extended beyond mere admiration. Entertainment Weekly reported that No Doubt reunited at Coachella 2024. Rodrigo took to the stage with No Doubt to perform “Bathwater.” After the song was over Stefani affectionately called Rodrigo “my little vampire,” a nod to Rodrgio’s hit ballad “Vampire.” It was a fun moment where two similar singers paid tribute to each other’s talents.

Stefani might not be quite as influential as her predecessor, Madonna, but her impact on pop music cannot be ignored. She paved the way for other female stars to straddle the worlds of rock and pop, including Hayley Williams of Paramore, Pink, Kelly Clarkson, and Avril Lavigne. In addition, you can hear the influence of her bubblegum tracks in the music of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, and Kesha.

Rodrigo took some cues from Stefani and so did many other icons of modern music.

Paul McCartney Was 1 of Only 3 People John Lennon Trusted, Said Cynthia Lennon

Emma McKee — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 17:22:00 +0000

Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s relationship did not end on ideal terms. While they had moved past the vitriol of the late 1960s and early 1970s, they never quite reached the level of friendship they had when they first met. According to Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia, McCartney was one of only a handful of people Lennon liked.

Paul McCartney was one of the few people John Lennon trusted

McCartney and Lennon met at a church fête in 1956. While their relationship had its base in their shared love of music, they soon realized they had a great deal in common. The trust between them only improved their musical relationship.

Paul McCartney and John Lennon | Bettmann/Contributor via Getty

Cynthia said that while Lennon had many acquaintances, there were very few people he loved and trusted. McCartney became one of these confidantes.

“Paul was one of the three people John was closest to,” Cynthia wrote in her book John. “Although he had plenty of cronies, he only really let his guard down with Paul, me, and Stuart Sutcliffe.”

Paul McCartney initially wanted to be like John Lennon

According to Cynthia, before Lennon and McCartney were that close, the latter did his best to emulate his older bandmate.

“In those days, Paul tried hard to impress John, posing and strutting with his hair slicked back to prove that he was cool, because John was very much the leader,” she wrote. “It was his band, and he had the final say about who got in and who didn’t, and what they played. Then, he was everything Paul wanted to be — laid-back, self-assured, and in charge. As the schoolboy he still was, Paul could only aspire to those things.”

Their dynamic eventually became more equal, though.

“As the two became closer this changed,” she wrote. “John recognized Paul’s musical talent and that he could learn from him. Paul responded by becoming more confident and they came to share decisions and eventually ran the group together.”

Cynthia Lennon believed her husband needed his bandmate

Cynthia believed Lennon was more of the band leader than McCartney was. Still, she didn’t think her husband would have reached such great levels of success without his bandmate. McCartney had the drive necessary to achieve recognition. On his own, Lennon did not.

“I don’t think that at nineteen John had the faintest idea he would be rich or successful, or even hoped for it in the same way that some people hope to win the football pools,” Cynthia said in the book Lennon: The Definitive Biography by Ray Coleman. “Paul was a keen schoolboy but John wasn’t like that. He was just happy doing what he wanted. He was carefree.”

Paul McCartney and John Lennon | Jeff Hochberg/Getty Images

She wasn’t sure he would have been a musician at all without McCartney’s help.

“He would have ended up a bum … It’s hard to say that now, after what happened, but he wouldn’t have cared that much,” she said. “I’d have gone out to work, he wouldn’t have any qualifications whatsoever because he was falling foul of the art college, and Mimi would have pushed him in all sorts of directions. He would have needed to learn a trade, or go back to school again, and I can’t see him concentrating. He’d have gone downhill.”