Belated birthday wishes, John Paul! I hope you had a beautiful day. It was a pleasure and an honor to meet you again, last year. You have always been so genial and gracious. All the best to you, MSG, a fan forever

It looks like Jimmy is wearing the same scarf in both photos.

I don't think it's Tommy in the limo with Jimmy. Here's another photo of the man:

Jimmy looks lovely here - he seems relaxed and at ease.

I think this is a well-deserved honor for the kid who left the Iron Range, influenced many through his poetic lyrics, and became an American treasure. From everything I've read and heard about the man, Bob Dylan loves this country and its people in the way that Woody Guthrie loved it. I've spent many years in impoverished countries where freedom of speech (including protest songs) is not a right and not protected and, even in those places, we encountered people who could recite many of Dylan's lyrics verbatim.

Thanks for the interviews. I think Tavis and Charlie are excellent and I look forward to almost all of their interviews. I'm not familiar with Gayle King but I wasn't impressed with what I saw of her segment of the interview. I still consider Gregg to be an incredibly important musician and I would have personally granted him more respect (or empathy). Anjin-san, I read that book a long time ago too and I remember thinking it was excellent even though Gregg (and maybe Dickey too?) declined to be interviewed for it. I'm curious about Gregg's book and will probably read it - he may give us some insights into Duane and the band that only he can provide.

Happy Birthday Bob. "May you always know the truth. And see the lights surrounding you."

You're welcome, Aen. It's nice to see some activity in this thread.

I need some of that vagueness now...

I thought the same thing about this shot, PlanetPage. ♥ Yes, it certainly does belong here.

From page 11 of the Julien's Auctions's Les Paul Estate Auction catalog:

Levon with his friends Keith Richards, Scotty Moore, Rick Danko, DJ Fontana, and Garth Hudson at Levon's place in Woodstock, NY.

Godspeed Levon. You gave so much, for so long. Rest in Peace with the Angels. http://youtu.be/B_hsp4SBwO4

That's a great story. Yes, I remember the long-lost days where countless hours were spent hanging out, spinning records, and making mixtapes. The Band's music was an integral part of the soundtrack of our youth in the 1970's (and for younger fans like yourself, the 80's too). Stage Fright is one of the band's masterpieces. http://youtu.be/DwawLG8p-dk I remember my friends and I singing this song while we were working on a project in a junior high home ec class and our teacher at the time threatened us with detention. This was in NY and she completely confused the sheer joy we felt and were sharing from the music with corrunpting the other students with a pro-Confederate message: Prayers and Love to you, Levon

I was fortunate to have seen the original line-up, several times, in the 1970s. My husband had the best experience, I think. We've talked about the fact that, although we didn't know one another yet, I was at the LZ MSG concerts in NYC that same weekend he was seeing The Band at the Watkins Glen music festival. The highlight, he's told me, is the moment when The Band, The Allman Brothers, and The Grateful Dead all took the stage together for the finale. Levon is an American treasure - one of the best. First class and a gentleman. As one of my friends wrote earlier today (alluding to Levon's background, music, musical influences): "He reminds you of what made America great."

I am very sorry and shocked to read this horribly sad news. I had thought (had hoped) that he was improving. His This Wheel's on Fire is one of my favorite books about music and the music culture. Sending prayers. God Bless Levon and his family. I will always remember him as a beautiful blond drummer boy. Damn cancer.

I love how Neil seems to consistently seek out state-of-the-art, innovative, high-definition record production while maintaining the high-lonesome quality to his voice and the low-fi, blown-out, garage-band-like sound to his guitar. http://www.rollingst...format-20120403

You're welcome. It was not only the best SXSW keynote I've ever heard, but also the best speech I've ever heard about music. Bruce is a troubadour. The images and feelings he evoked were remarkable. The most moving part for me was when he talked about Woody and the audience sang "This Land is your Land" along with Bruce.

"You were young in the 50′s and 60′s, everything felt false everywhere you turned. But you didn’t know how to say it. There was no language for it at the time. It just felt fucked up, you know? But you didn’t have the words. Bob [Dylan] came along and gave us those words… And the first thing he asked you was, 'How does it feel? To be on your own?' And if you were a kid in 1965, you were on your own, because your parents - God bless ‘em - they could not understand the incredible changes that were taking place." Bruce Springsteen, SXSW Austin, Texas, March 15, 2012.

The more I've thought about this, the sadder I've felt, although except for a tiny sliver of my life, one long ago summer, I never really considered myself a Monkees fan. Since the passing of Davy Jones, I've heard from so many old friends and family members: A cousin reminded me that Oliver (with Davy Jones as the Artful Dodger) was one of the first Broadway musicals we attended (although I don't honestly have a clear memory of it). My younger sister (who was a huge Monkees fan) emailed me a photo of us together, in front of the Monkee mobile - she is posing against the railing, all smiles, while I am behind her, standing straight, looking like a bored and tolerant older sister. A friend talked about the night we all saw the Monkees at Forest Hills when a teenager started a "We want the Monkees!" cheer in our section that drowned out the (to us unknown at the time) guitarist (Hendrix) who opened for them that night. I wrote about my memories of going to Zilch, buying love beads, and the English woman who worked behind the counter, who we were told was Davy's mother. http://youtu.be/3OVGY7Rjbhc Several of my friends posted this yesterday and one of them, who once worked with Jerry, told us that "Jerry liked the Monkees." I think much of the scorn heaped on the band may have come from certain journalists rather than from their fellow musicians. Peter was a musician who was part of the NYC folk music scene and a friend of Stephen Stills (who tried out for the role that Peter ultimately took). Mike was a musician too (writing and performing music). Not everyone cared for the television show and not everyone cared for their pop music sound, but my friends who were/are musicians have had nothing but good things to say about the individual members of the Monkees, as people and as musicians/performers.

RIP "Manchester Cowboy"