Top 10 Classic Rock Headlines

So, you like Top 10 lists, do you? (Statistics say you do and, as we all know, figures don't lie .... much.) What the heck. It'll add a little variety, if nothing else.

10. Jimmy Page, Olympic Picker
Look for the former Led Zeppelin guitarist in the closing ceremony at the Olympics. He'll be the one accompanying pop phenom Leona Lewis. It's no coincidence that both are Brits and that the U.K. will be hosting the 2012 summer games.

9. Super Springsteen?
Why the question mark? Consider the source. New York Post's infamous page of sleaze and gossip, Page Six, is reporting that The Boss will be the halftime entertainment at the 2009 Super Bowl. While it is likely that the gig has been booked by now, we haven't heard from any actual credible source that it will be Springsteen.

8. All That Glitters
Gary Glitter's stint in jail in Vietnam is almost over. His one-day trial on charges of molesting teenage girls resulted in a sentence that ends in a few days. The '70s glam rocker will get a free ticket (a polite way of saying he's being deported) back to London following a couple of years of cleaning bed pans in a prison clinic.

7. Lennon's Killer Not So Lucky
For the fifth time, Mark David Chapman has been denied parole, and will continue to serve 20-to-life for murdering John Lennon in 1980. Attica will continue to be Chapman's home for at least two more years, when his next parole opportunity comes up.

6. Digital Exploitation
Classic rock tunes may be pretty far down the list of popular digital downloads, but there's still some significant money involved, and the Allman Brothers Band claims they haven't gotten their fair share. The Allmans are suing UMG for $13-million in royalties they say are due them from digital downloads of their music.

5. Do the Math
On October 1, 1962, four young men named Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starkey (aka Starr) signed their names to a contract that promised their manager 25% of their earnings, as long as they earned at least $400 a week. Don't laugh. That was lot of money in 1962, even for The Beatles. Brian Epstein's copy of his contract with The Beatles goes on sale next month, and is expected to fetch something just this side of a half-million dollars.

4. But Then There's That Piano
The same auction that features Epstein's contract will also offer the Bechstein grand piano used on The Beatles (aka The White Album) and Hey Jude. It is expected to fetch at least $570,000 and maybe more. Who says there's no future for boy bands?

3. Welcome to Chrissie Country
What do you get when you cross punk and country? Punktry? Whatever it is, it's what you'll find on the new Pretenders album coming in October. The band led off a Los Angeles showcase this week with rockabilly-soaked "Boots of Chinese Plastic." As for the cross-pollination of genres, the ever philosophical Chrissie Hynde observes, "It's nice to think we might [f-word] it up a little bit, and that they might not know where to play our records."

2. The Police and the police
The Police (the band) honored the police (the ones in the crisp uniforms) in New York City in what they have said repeatedly was not only the last concert of their 15-month-long reunion tour, but their last ever. Of course, the more they say "never" the more you have to wonder whether they'll be like all the other bands who cried "last" at the end of more than one reunion.

1. Rock Hall, Jr.
Hey, if it works in Cleveland, surely it'll work in SoHo. That's the theory behind the "branch office" that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will be opening this fall in New York City. The hope is that showcasing native sons (and daughters) like Billy Joel, Blondie, Paul Simon and Velvet Underground will serve as a much-needed tourist magnet. We'll see.

And that, in a nutshell, is your classic rock news of note. This is the chief nut saying, as always, "Don't forget to boogie!"