Stoneman

Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell shed some light on the band's recent sessions and rehearsals for their rumored 50th anniversary dates. As it stands now, the Stones are heavily rumored to be playing four shows before years end -- two at London's O2 Arena and two at Brooklyn's new Barclays Center -- although nothing official has been announced. Leavell, who joined the band on the road in 1982, spoke to The Atlanta Journal Constitution and was pressed for the scoop regarding the shows -- but remained tight-lipped, explaining, "They have not made any announcements, so there's no official news to report. (The rumored Brooklyn and London dates) will remain rumors until the band confirms, but we recently had sessions in Paris and worked on two great songs."

He went on to talk about the two new studio tracks to be featured on the Stones' upcoming greatest hits collection, titled, Grrr!, coming on November 13th: "One, Keith (Richards) brought in called 'One More Shot.' It's really cool, great guitar riff. And Mick (Jagger) has one called 'Doom And Gloom.' The song sounds a lot different than the title. The theme is that he's talking to a girl saying all I hear from you is doom and gloom -- let's go party, let's go dance. It's an up-tempo tune. They'll be on the 50th anniversary set coming in November."

Set for publication on October 9th -- John Lennon's 72nd birthday -- will be the Yoko Ono sanctioned book, The John Lennon Letters. The book has been edited by noted Beatles author Hunter Davies and features letters sent by the late Beatle to lovers, friends, family, and fans from every point in his life, and culled from a collection over nearly 300 letters and postcards.

Hunter Davies wrote the 1968 authorized biography The Beatles, with the complete help and support of the Beatles and their families. Due to the fact that most of the group's parents were still alive, much of the book is now deemed to be "whitewashed" in places -- yet remains a perfect spot for a beginner to learn the Beatles' basic history. It broke new ground describing John Lennon and Paul McCartney's songwriting session for "With A Little Help From My Friends," among other insider reporting.