Allen Klein may not have made a lot of friends in the music industry, but there's no question that he influenced a lot of people, making them (and himself) a lot of money in the process.

In the late '60s, he managed first Rolling Stones, then The Beatles, after their original manager, Brian Epstein, died. Both bands eventually parted company with him, although he subsequently worked with John Lennon and George Harrison after the breakup of The Beatles. Klein was widely blamed at the time for being a major cause of the band's demise, Paul McCartney having been opposed to hiring him in the first place.

Subsequent lawsuits, scathing comments, and a couple of months in jail for tax evasion had little effect on Klein. He never apologized for his cutthroat style, and, in fact, was quite proud of a plaque in his office that quoted his own parody of the 23rd Psalm in which he bragged that he would "fear no evil" because he was "the biggest bastard in the valley."

Klein died yesterday (7/4) of Alzheimer's disease, at the age of 77. Funeral service will be held Tuesday (7/7) in New York City.

A recent blog post (6/26) from Queen guitarist Brian May contains some interesting gems about the late Michael Jackson's connection with the band, and particularly its late lead vocalist and primary songwriter, Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991.

Among May's interesting revelations:

• Jackson was frequently in attendance during Queen's U.S. concert tours in the late '70s and early '80s
• After seeing them perform "Another One Bites The Dust" in concert, Jackson insisted that it should be released as a single
• Jackson and Mercury not only became friends, but recorded some tracks together (never released)

Okay, so I buried the lead. Can you imagine the musical and commercial impact of a collaboration between Mercury and Jackson? Whether those recordings might ever be released, is a big unknown.

May doesn't do much to clarify when he responds to a fan comment about bootlegs of the sessions that have surfaced on YouTube. "Ah yes. The 'music thieves' at work as usual. Well, there is much to be said about these 'leaked' tracks, but I'm not going to get into it right now."

Well, thanks anyway, Bri. Maybe later, okay?

^{Brian May photo by Getty Images}

Classic Rock Almanac - July 4

• 1969 - A performance at the Atlanta Pop Festival lands Grand Funk Railroad a record deal
• 1974 - Steely Dan (Walter Becker, Donald Fagan) perform in Santa Monica - they won't perform together again until 1992
• 1977 - Blondie bassist Gary Valentine quits the band
• 1980 - 500,00 attend a free Beach Boys concert in Washington DC
• 1982 - Wedding day: Ozzie Osbourne and his manager, Sharon Arden
• 1992 - John Phillips (Mamas & the Papas) undergoes a liver transplant

Born on the 4th of July:
Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson - Canned Heat - 1943
Jeremy Spencer - Fleetwood Mac - 1948
John Waite - The Babys, Bad English - 1951

Classic Rock Almanac - July 3

• 1969 - Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones drowns in his swimming pool at the age of 27
• 1971 - Jim Morrison (The Doors) dies of a heart attack believed to have been caused by a drug overdose, at age 27
•1973 - David Bowie retires his Ziggy Stardust character
• 1975 - Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night) is arrested in his hotel room and charged with cocaine possession on the opening night of a tour
• 2008 - Colin Cooper (Climax Blues Band) dies of cancer at age 69

Happy July 3 Birthday(s):
Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson - Canned Heat - 1943
Jeremy Spencer - Fleetwood Mac - 1948
John Waite - The Babys, Bad English - 1951

Here's a sobering thought. It has been 38 years since Jim Morrison died. If he was alive today, he would be 65 years old.

But fate decreed that Morrison, who died on July 3, 1971 at the age of 27, would remain forever young -- in memories, in still and moving images, and in a short but rich discography of poetry set to music.

Let's pretend. Let's say that Morrison hadn't died, and that he and The Doors had continued to record and perform.

"I have a recurring dream in which Jim has just returned from France [where he died] and has accomplished what he went there for in the first place – to rest, get clean, change his rock star lifestyle," Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek told me in a 2008 interview.

"We talk about where he’s been and what he’s been doing. I ask him if he’s been working on any new material, and just before he answers, I wake up. When I first told Robbie [Krieger, Doors guitarist] about it, he said, 'Yeah, me too!' He had had the same dream.

"As for the direction our music might have taken, I think it would probably have been more along the lines of the album [An American Prayer] we did after Jim died that concentrated on the words, the poetry."

Manzarek spins a convincing story, and given Morrison's well known fascination with the occult, who knows? Maybe he did find a way to communicate with his surviving band mates from the other side.

As for speculating what might have been, I've long since resigned myself to remembering the forever young Morrison. The Lizard King. Mr. Mojo Risin'. The ill-fated, self-destructive artist. The guy who haunted us both before and after The End.

In memory of James Douglas Morrison 12/8/43 - 7/3/71

^{Photo courtesy Elektra Records}

Classic Rock Almanac - July 2

• 1962 - A broken ankle in a parachute jump gets Jimi Hendrix an honorable discharge from the Army
• 1973 - Brian Eno quits Roxy Music over a spat with lead singer Bryan Ferry
• 1980 - Mickey Hart and Bob Weir (Grateful Dead) are arrested and charged with inciting a riot at San Diego Sports Arena to break up a drug bust

July 2 Birthday Greetings To:
Roy "The Professor" Brittan - E Street Band - 1949
Johnny Colla - Huey Lewis & The News - 1952
Pete Briquette - Boomtown Rats - 1954

John Sykes, who joined Thin Lizzy as a guitarist in 1983, and became lead vocalist when he re-formed the band in 1996, wakes up this morning as a former band member.

A brief announcement on the band's MySpace blog isn't clear on whether the decision was the band's or Sykes' or both. What is clear is that Lizzy have canceled or postponed confirmed shows until further notice.

As of this morning (7/2) Sykes' website still has prominent Thin Lizzy links on the home page, and his last MySpace blog entry, dated June 23, mentions only the shows canceled due to drummer Tommy Aldridge's broken collar bone.

After the 1986 death of Phil Lynott -- founding member, bassist, lead vocalist and chief songwriter from the band's beginning in 1969 -- band members went their separate ways until 1996 when Sykes convinced Scott Gorham, Brian Downey and Darren Wharton to reunite, as a tribute to Lynott. Except for a hiatus between 2001 and 2004, they have worked steadily since.

Thin Lizzy, one of VH1's Greatest Artists of Hard Rock are best known for songs like "Jailbreak, "Whiskey In The Jar" and "The Boys Are Back In Town."

Stay tuned to find out what happens next in the band's long and colorful life story.

^{Photo by Jo Hale / Getty Images}

Classic Rock Almanac - July 1

• 1963 - In studio: The Beatles, recording "She Loves You"
• 1967 - "White Rabbit" (Jefferson Airplane) enters the Billboard singles chart
• 1971 - Aqualung (Jethro Tull) is certified gold
• 1973 - Jesus Christ Superstar closes after its 720th Broadway performance
• 1981 - Bassist Rushton Moreve (Steppenwolf) dies in a car crash at age 32
• 1995 - Wolfman Jack dies of a heart attack at age 56
• 2008 - Guitarist Mel Galley (Whitesnake) dies of cancer at age 60

Introduced to the world on July 1:
Delaney Bramlett - Delaney & Bonnie - 1939
Debbie Harry - Blondie - 1945
John Ford - The Strawbs - 1948
Fred Schneider - B-52's - 1951

What do England's Glastonbury festival and Woodstock 1969 have in common? Outdoor festival, six figure attendance, heavy rain, sea of mud, city of tents and sleeping bags, Crosby Stills & Nash, Neil Young. Take a look at images of Glasto 2009.

London's Hyde Park rates considerably more than passing mention in classic rock history. In 1964, the cover of the Beatles For Sale album was shot there. In 1969, it was the scene of the first live concert performance by the short-lived super-group Blind Faith. It was the venue for London's Live 8 performances in 2005.

Last weekend (6/27) classic rock fans were treated to yet another Hyde Park happening. There was Neil Young, on stage performing one of the scheduled gigs on his current European tour. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Paul McCartney appears on the stage for a surprise Young-McCartney duet on "A Day In The Life."

Pretty heady stuff. A fan's camera was rolling, so you can see it for yourself.