IN THE NEWS:
Steve Forbert, Bettye LaVette and Lucy Kaplansky are just a few of the musicians who will perform at the 31st annual John Lennon Tribute in December.
Just days shy of his 69th birthday, Paul McCartney delivered a marathon performance at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena on Friday (6/10). 
The "Songs For Japan" benefit compilation featuring some of the biggest names in the music business has raised $5 million for the Japanese Red Cross Society.
It has been an impressive year for music documentaries. Thom Zimny captured Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band working on "Darkness on the Edge of Town" in "The Promise"; Tom DiCillo, assisted by narrator Johnny Depp, broke on through with "When You're Strange: A Film About The Doors"; and Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont are on the Academy Awards documentary short list with "Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould."
Imagine there is a heaven. If you can, then maybe you can imagine John Lennon is over his embarrassment by now, and can bear to look down on the fine mess many of his survivors back on earth continue to propagate.
Peter Asher -- a singer, producer and manager whose career has included work with the Beatles, James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt -- has created a multimedia show about his life that will make its U.S. debut at the Iridium in New York City on Dec. 3.
Forbes magazine's 10th annual list of the top-earning dead celebrities is easily topped by Michael Jackson, whose estate earned an estimated $275 million over the past year.
" John Lennon, Songwriter" opened Oct 4. at the Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles. It is the first in the museum's planned "Songwriter" series, Lennon being a fitting subject as the 70th anniversary of his birth (Oct. 9) and 30th anniversary of his death (Dec. 8) approach.
Oct. 9 is the day John Lennon would have turned 70. To celebrate, on Oct. 5 EMI will release eight of his solo albums plus two compilations and an 11-CD box set. Just as we have seen with the Beatles, Nine Inch Nails and others, the bigger the package the more it is in demand.
A newly announced benefit concert in New York City is among the celebrations planned to mark the 70th anniversary of John Lennon's birth.
