The Rolling Stones have a new line of wine available Forty Licks Merlot. Winemaker Mark Beaman says, "For the Forty Licks Merlot, I wanted to work with a wine that captured the essence of what the album was about. Forty Licks, it's forty tracks covering the Rolling Stones from the 1960s to just a few years ago is really a statement of timeless classic rock." The wine, which was poured backstage at last month's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden, retails for 50-bucks for athree-pack 16-99 a bottle.

Other artists with signature wines include Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Mick Fleetwood, Journey keyboard player Jonathan Cain, Paul Stanley of KISS, KISS, The Doobie Brothers, Eddie Money, John Lodge of the Moody Blues, Mick Hucknall of Simply Red and Jim Kerr of Simple Minds.

Ozzy Osbourne is a huge Beatles fan, and he recently revealed that he tried to get Paul McCartney to participate in the recording of one of his albums. In an interview with the British magazine Heat, Ozzy says, "I was in the studio at the same time as him, and tried to get him to play bass on one of my songs. But he said he couldn't improve on the bass-line that was there. I said, 'Are you kidding? You could [urinate] on the record and I'd make it my life."

Paul McCartney will be recognized by the Library of Congress with its third Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The two previous honorees were Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder. The ceremony, early next year, will include an all-start tribute to Macca. McCartney issued a statement saying, "As a great admirer of the Gershwins' songs, I am highly honored to be given the Gershwin Prize by such a great institution as the Library of Congress." Macca has a new live album in stores today. Good Evening New York City was recorded in July during his three-night stand at Citi Field in New York, the new home of the New York Mets. The two-CD/DVD set contains 33 songs (66 total spread across all three discs) and features an appearance by Billy Joel on "I Saw Her Standing There."

U2 have been fined 53-thousand dollars for violating noise regulations during their three outdoor shows in their native Dublin last July. They apparently broke the noise barrier 12 times during the three shows. Pat Gates of the Croke Park Area Residents' Alliance says, "It is a paltry penalty, it really isn't a disincentive. They would write that off in terms of planning for such things. Any fines that do accrue to the city council should be invested back into the local community as they were the ones that put up with it."

The Scorpions will not only release a new album next March, but in January they'll announce that they'll hit the road for two years in support of it, including dates in the US. Guitarist Rudolf Schenker says, "We want to throw a party for all our fans!" The Scorpions' last album was 2007's Humanity Hour, Volume One.
 

Friday the 13th played havoc with Bruce Springsteen's memory as he forgot where he was on stage that night. He performed in Auburn Hills, Michigan, just outside Detroit, but he greeted the crowd with a "Hello, Ohio." If that wasn't bad enough, he inserted Ohio into the lyrics of "Wrecking Ball" and "Working on a Dream." It was during "Dream" that a few people booed, prompting guitarist Steve Van Zandt to let "The Boss" know they were in Michigan. Embarrassed, Springsteen told the crowd, "That's every front man's nightmare," and then periodically he'd say, "Where am I?" During the request part of the show, he did hometown hero Bob Seger's "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man." Springsteen will be at a New York benefit for Autism Speaks tomorrow night, and the next date with the E Street Band is Wednesday in Nashville.

When Carlos Santana resurrected his career in 1999 with the Supernatural album, it was due in large part to the effort of Matchbox 20 singer Rob Thomas who co-wrote and sang the album's smash single, "Smooth." Thomas will lend a hand to the album Santana is currently recording, as he writes on his Twitter page, "Going in the studio to sing a song for the new Carlos record [today]." The album should be out next year. Santana is currently doing his residency in Las Vegas with the next show scheduled for Wednesday night.

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich and Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider make cameos as themselves in the movie Get Him to the Greek, which is due in theaters in June. The film stars Russell Brand as the same rock-star character he played in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and focuses on attempts to get him to a show in Los Angeles.

As you may have heard, Steven Tyler surprised Joe Perry and everyone at the Fillmore in New York Tuesday night when he came on stage to do "Walk This Way" and announced that he's "not leaving Aerosmith." After the show, a TMZ camera crew caught up with Tyler, who reiterated, "There is absolutely no validity to the rumor that Aerosmith is breaking up."

But according to Perry, the band is still very much in state of flux. He told People yesterday they don't plan to wait for Tyler. "Nothing has really changed between two days ago and today... We're still Aerosmith. We don't know what we're gonna do. We've talked about all kinds of different things. Things are still up in the air... We're just getting used to the idea that he's not going to be available for two years. Anything's possible." Perry also says he had a conference call with the other members of the band over the past week and they plan to talk again soon.

Perry says he was surprised as anyone that Tyler showed up at his show. The Joe Perry Project came off the stage before the encore, and there was Tyler, who Perry decided to ask to join them. But as soon as they were done with "Walk This Way," Tyler left the venue and did not speak with Perry.

Tuesday night was the first show on Perry's Have Guitar, Will Travel tour, with show number-three tomorrow night in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.

Def Leppard have published a sequel to their coffee-table book Shots From the Sparkle Lounge. Like the 2008 original, Volume Two is an 80-page, velvet-covered book of photos these taken during their rehearsals this year, two shows in Dublin and their headlining slot at Donington's Download Festival. The book also contains liner notes written by the band. It's limited to 500 copies, 250 of which are signed by the band. For more details, log onto www.DefLeppard.com.

The drama within the Aerosmith camp continues with Steven Tyler's daughter Mia reportedly weighing in on the situation regarding her father's reported estrangement from the band. On her Twitter page although the post is no longer there she wrote, "They are in their 60s now. Let them do what they wanna do! And can someone please tell (Joe Perry) that gossiping on Twitter is uncalled (for)!" Perry had written on his Twitter page that Tyler quit the band and that they are looking for another singer.

In an interview on a Boston radio station, Perry says even before Tyler fell off the stage in South Dakota last August, he was estranged from the band traveling separately and staying in different hotels. Perry says, "After he fell off the stage the second time it was pretty clear he wasn't physically up to finishing the tour, even if he hadn't broken his shoulder." As for replacing him with another singer, Perry says, "It can't be Aerosmith, at least not the Aerosmith that we know. For it to be valid and have something real about it, it would have to be somebody that would bring something to the party."

Drummer Joey Kramer spoke to a New Haven, Connecticut radio station, saying, "My partners have been misquoted and their comments have been taken out of context. I'm not gonna make a statement about that on the radio. I'm gonna make a statement about it in person."

And while Steven Tyler has yet to make a comment, his manager did respond with an E-mail to a follow-up request for an interview by the Classic Rock magazine reporter who broke the story. It said, "Regretfully, Steven has had to return to the East Coast quickly and immerse himself into some time-sensitive endeavors that require his full attention for the next days leading into the Thanksgiving holiday. He asked me to pass along his regards and we'll look to bounce back to you as soon as appropriate time permits."

Bon Jovi are back on store shelves today with their 11th studio effort, The Circle. Singer Jon Bon Jovi describes the album as "a career record," while guitarist Richie Sambora heralds it as a return to rock for the New Jersey group after their country-flavored 2007 disc, Lost Highway. The first single is "We Weren't Born to Follow." Bon Jovi will start a tour in support of The Circle on February 19th in Seattle.

Joe Perry confirms on his Twitter page that Aerosmith is indeed looking for someone to take the place of Steven Tyler. "Aerosmith is definitely not breaking up. One of the members is doing his own thing and said so in the press. That's all I know. In the meantime, Aerosmith is positively looking for a new singer to work with. You just can't take 40 years of experience and throw it in the bin! [I] promise that's the last you'll hear from me on the subject till we gear up again." If the band follows through on their plan, it won't be the first time they've gone forward without an original member. Perry left in 1979 and guitarist Brad Whitford followed in 1981 before both rejoined in 1984. Tyler is still unavailable for comment.

Are Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor thinking of teaming up with yet another singer? After putting out a few live releases and one studio album with Paul Rodgers, the bandmates may be looking to collaborate with American Idol finalist Adam Lambert. In an interview with the BBC, Taylor says, "He is one of the most phenomenal singers and I think at some point in the future we'd love to do something with him maybe... He has one of the greatest voices I've ever heard." Queen will release a new hits collection, Absolute Greatest, next Tuesday.

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry believes Steven Tyler has quit the band. He tells the Las Vegas Sun, "Steven quit as far as I can tell... I don't know for how long, indefinitely or whatever... Frankly, the last few months I've not been wanting to rock the boat. I don't want him canceling anymore gigs. We really wanted to do these last four. We just kind of didn't want to call him out or anything and get him anymore pissed off, for whatever reason. So we just let things lie."

And responding to Tyler's comments in Classic Rock magazine that he wants to work on "Brand Tyler," Perry writes on his Twitter page, "That's all I know, but like I've said, he hasn't called me in months. [It's] a bit cold to forget us four guys. What about the fans, the people that also love him and put him where he is after 40 years? And I got to read it online?"

Perry is already thinking about replacements. He tells the Sun, "It's not just about that, it's also four guys that play extremely well together, and I'm not going to see that go to waste. I really don't know what path it's going to take at this point, but we'll probably find somebody else that will sing in those spots where we need a singer, and then we'll be able to move the Aerosmith up a notch, move the vibe up a notch."

Bassist Tom Hamilton also talks about the tension in the band, telling the Boston Herald, "Steven's always mad at us... We're committed to another record for Columbia...so I guess we've got to wait until he's not mad at us. There's still a lot of love left, but for some reason he's not very happy with the rest of us. Maybe he's just too used to people jumping to his agenda." Tyler was unavailable for comment.  Perry and The Joe Perry Project start a tour Wednesday in New York.

U2 performed in front of the East Berlin side of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin yesterday (Thursday) during the MTV Europe Music Awards. The show was a celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which came down on November 9th, 1989. They did a six-song set with a surprise guest, rapper Jay Z, on "Sunday Bloody Sunday." The rest of the set included "One," "Magnificent," "Beautiful Day," "Vertigo" and "Moment of Surrender." Of course, the show wasn't without its controversy as organizers built a wall around the venue to keep out those without tickets, despite the fact that it was a free show.

According to the New York Post, Bruce Springsteen is working on a memoir. A publishing source told the paper, "It could be the biggest rock music autobiography of all time. He could get nine to 10-million for the world rights." The journals Springsteen has kept throughout his career will serve as the basis for the book. Springsteen's spokeswoman was unavailable for comment.  E Street Band saxophone player Clarence Clemons published his autobiography last month, Big Man Real Life and Tall Tales.

Half of Blind Faith reunited Wednesday night in London when Steve Winwood joined drummer Ginger Baker at his show at the Jazz Cafe. It came close to being a three-quarters reunion Eric Clapton was in attendance but unable to play following his recent surgery for gallstones. Winwood played guitar on two Blind Faith classics "Can't Find My Way Home" and "Had to Cry Today" and joined in singing "Happy Birthday" in honor of Baker's 70th. Also on hand were Baker's daughter Leda, who played guitar, and his granddaughter Zara, who introduced him. Earlier in the week Baker won the Innovator Award at the Classic Rock Awards.

Aerosmith contemplating a future without Steven Tyler? It's a possibility, says guitarist Brad Whitford. He tells Classic Rock magazine, "It would largely depend on who we could get and who would want to do it. That's big shoes to fill. Nobody could replace Steven or imitate him he's one of a kind. But if somebody was willing to do it and the chemistry was right, why not?"

Tyler is apparently headed in his own direction. He says, "I don't know what I'm doing yet, but it's definitely going to be something Steven Tyler. Working on the brand of myself Brand Tyler." It seems this parting of the ways has been brewing for a while at shows, Tyler has his own dressing room away from the others and doesn't see his bandmates until they walk on stage. Aerosmith, most likely without Tyler, will get together soon to discuss the future. In the meantime, guitarist Joe Perry will start his tour with the Joe Perry Project on November 11th in New York.

If you happen to see Slash, here's a tip to get on his good side don't ask him about the original Guns n' Roses lineup getting back together. The guitarist tells the BBC that he hopes his upcoming solo album will make people stop asking that question. He says, "I just feel for people that don't seem to get it. All things considered, it's been a really long time, and everybody's moved on. At the same time, I appreciate that I was part of a band that had such a huge impact and touched so many people, and I feel bad for them that it's not around but it is what it is."

Rush will gather in Los Angeles this month to talk about their future. On his website, drummer Neil Peart writes, "I'm open to anything we can all agree on... My favorite group activity is always songwriting and recording, and I've got some lyrical ideas and those new drumming frontiers to explore...a tour of some kind, maybe with an orchestra. We could write and record just a few songs, and release them some way. Or there were a couple of film-and-music projects we had discussed in the past. In any case, there are enough possibilities for future collaboration, and I am curious to see what we'll come up with." Rush has been on hiatus since their Snakes and Arrows tour ended in April 2008. They'll release a best-of live compilation CD and DVD, Working Men, on November 17th.

Police drummer Stewart Copeland published his first book, Strange Things Happen: A Life With The Police, Polo and Pygmies, in September. He tells us the project actually grew out of his blogging for his fan site. When the regulars on the site "started howling for a book," Copeland got himself an agent, who then secured a publisher, who suggested he unify his stories by turning them into an autobiography. The writing ended up being "surprisingly fun," and he says he got better at it as he went along.

Copeland has been criticized for not telling the story of The Police in the book, but he counters that he already did that in his movie Everyone Stares, The Police Inside Out. In Strange Things Happen, he covers "the aftermath...of being in the public eye in that way," and extensively reports on the recent Police reunion tour.

Dave Grohl says it's great to be behind the drums exclusively once again in Them Crooked Vultures. He tells www.CNN.com, "I loved being the frontman of the Foo Fighters, stomping around on stage and stuff like that. It was really fun. But [now I'm happy] to be able to sit in the back and play the drums I don't even talk into a mic, I just sort of sit there and smile." Them Crooked Vultures start a four-date West Coast swing at LA's Wiltern Theater on November 17th, the day their self-titled debut album hits stores. They'll hit Oakland's Fox Theater November 19th, the Paramount Theater in Seattle the 21st and Portland's Roseland Theater on the 22nd. A European tour will follow in December and they'll cover Australia and New Zealand in January.

We now know what Bob Seger has been doing in the studio. He's slowly working his way through his vast archive of unreleased material looking for tracks that he deems worthy of releasing, as well as previously released songs that have been updated. Early Seger, Volume One will contain 10 songs, four of which were previously unreleased. The rest are taken from his early 1970s albums Smokin' OPs, Back in '72 and Seven. It will be released on November 24th exclusively at Meijer's [pr: MY-yers], a Midwest retailer with 190 stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. It will go on sale at www.BobSeger.com on November 30th.  Seger says he enjoyed working on these older songs so much that he's back in the studio doing more work on his archives.

All aboard the "Crazy Train" as "Billboard" prepares to fete The Prince of Darkness.  The rock journal will celebrate Ozzy Osbourne on Thursday at New York's Roosevelt Hotel.  The 60-year-old rocker will walk away with the "Legend of Live" award at Billboard's 2009 Touring Awards.  The "Legend" award recognizes an individual who has made significant and lasting contributions to live music and the touring business.  The award also acknowledges the recipient's commitment to the art of performing live and reaching fans through the concert experience. Commenting on her husband's honor, Sharon Osbourne said, quote, "Ozzy's whole thing has always been touring and performing live.  Ozzy's touring has been responsible for everything."  Ozzy Osbourne's career spans four decades and includes 100 million albums sold.

The Rolling Stones are now on the brains of thousands of Phish fans.  www.RollingStone.com reports that the "Farmhouse" rockers rendered a, quote, "crushing" start-to-finish cover of The Rolling Stones' "Exile On Main Street" over the weekend.  Phish performed the homage at Festival 8 in Indio, California on Halloween.  The band rocked the Empire Polo Field with tracks from the Stones' 1972 LP including "Let It Loose" and "Casino Boogie."  Phish performed the 100-minute set for an estimated crowd of over 40-thousand.  The Stones' tribute dominated night two of a three-night set.  Phish also played tracks off the band's most recent album, "Joy," released on September 8th.