Aerosmith producer Jack Douglas told Classic Rock magazine that he suggested recruiting author Stephen King to work with Steven Tyler on lyrics for the band's new album. Douglas said he threw his idea out there when he was asked by the record label if Tyler needed anyone to write with. Douglas explained, "They looked at me like I was crazy. I said, 'No, I'm serious. If there's anyone who's going to inspire him, it'd be Stephen King. Steven doesn't need melody -- he needs someone who's going to inspire him as a wordsmith. I don't want a guy who's just writing hits right now.'"

The best-selling horror author is a huge rock 'n' roll fan and has even worked with John Mellencamp on a stage musical, but it's not known whether he has actually been approached by the Aerosmith camp.

Douglas also said that Aerosmith's first all-new album in over a decade, which is tentatively due out in May, "may take you back to places you used to know."

The band has recorded 15 songs with Douglas, who was behind the board for Aerosmith classics like Rocks and Toys In The Attic.

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry recently revealed via Twitter that the band will embark on a U.S. tour in June. Tickets will go on sale in March. Exact cities and dates will be announced during the coming weeks.

Original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward's son Aron has gone online to defend his father, who announced two weeks ago that he could not participate in the planned reunion of the band's founding lineup without what he called a "signable" contract. In a lengthy message posted at Facebook, Aron wrote in part, "The press is spinning this s***storm to read as if my dad has quit. This is not true. The guys know that. That's why they said the door is ALWAYS open. My dad hasn't 'declined' playing with Black Sabbath or 'threatened' to pull out of this reunion."

Addressing accusations that his father is being "greedy," Aron wrote, "He is by no means greedy, man. If he was, he would have settled with whatever contract given him. It's kind of obvious someone else is greedy . . . sadly, the current 'Sabbath' statement reads as if someone would rather see the remaining members play in front of thousands of disappointed, confused and resentful fans then give my dad a dignified agreement."

After defending his father against the "idiots slagging off my dad" -- presumably fans not taking his side -- Aron concluded with a message to Sabbath members Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Terry "Geezer" Butler, writing, "To Terry (my godfather), Ozzy (my friend when I was little) and Tony (towering hero), I hope that you will listen to your fans. They want all of you together. As YOU are Black Sabbath so is my Dad. I hope you guys can work it out."

The other three members of Sabbath have already announced that they will move forward without Ward, with Ozzy's solo band drummer Tommy Clufetos reportedly already in the studio with them.

The reunion of the original lineup was announced last November, along with a new album and tour. Iommi's current battle with cancer has put prospects for a full world tour in question at this point.

It's safe to say that if you were a major player in the '60s and and the '70s, David Crosby has spent some quality time with you. Crosby, who helped score Bob Dylan his one-and-only Number One hit with the Byrds' 1965 rendition of his "Mr. Tambourine Man," shed some light on what it's like to be a part of Dylan's rarefied space. He recalled to American Songwriter a 1990 session for Dylan, saying, "He asked me to sing on Under The Red Sky, which was produced by Don Was. I had done some work with Don and I think he suggested to Bob that I would be good to sing harmonies. He has known me peripherally since the Byrds.

Crosby laughed, remembering, "We recorded those at the same time and. . . he's got his own style! He tends to want to catch some kind of magic in the moment that isn't too rehearsed. He said, 'Well let's do this song,' and I said, 'Sure, why don't you show it to me so we can work out a harmony?' He said 'Urrgghh. . . okay" and sings me the song. I asked if he could do it again and he said, 'Let's just go in the studio.' We go in and I try my level best to sing something that makes with the song but, of course, when he goes in the studio he sings it different than the time before. That's his nature. He's anything but a harmony singer. He's fun to hang with, certainly fun to talk to, and writes fantastic lyrics, but he doesn't make it easy on somebody to sing harmony with."

When asked about Dylan's real personality, Crosby said: "He's brilliant, and he likes to puzzle people. He doesn't like to speak in direct, clear communication. Not that he doesn't tell you what he means to tell you, but it's usually not an outright statement. . . He's a brilliant lyricist and the fact that he continues to try his level best to write stuff that will make you think, make you feel, or both at the same time. He's one of the two best songwriters of the century I would say. Bob and Joni Mitchell."

It's been 25 years since Dylan joined the Grateful Dead for a string of summer stadium gigs. Drummer Mickey Hart remembers that it also took a while for Dylan to warm up to the band on a social level: "Dylan -- he was a wonderful fella, I really like him. At first he was very quiet, he didn't say much in rehearsal. Jerry (Garcia) said, 'Leave him alone, y'know, let him be. He'll come around.' And then one day he sat down by me on a couch while I was watching a baseball game and we just started talking sports or something. And once he felt non-threatened and at ease, he was a bright charming wonderful person to be around."

Happy Birthday to Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Carole King, who turns 70 today (February 9th)! Most fans associate King with her own hits, such as 1971's "It's Too Late," "I Feel The Earth Move," and "So Far Away," plus 1974's "Jazzman," but in the 1960's King was responsible for co-writing with her then-husband Gerry Goffin some of the biggest hits to come out of that decade. Most recently she hit the road with old friend James Taylor as part of the duo's joint sold out "Troubadour Reunion Tour."

Among the many Goffin/King-penned hits were the Number One records "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," recorded by the Shirelles in 1960; "Take Good Care Of My Baby," recorded by Bobby Vee in 1961; and "The Loco-Motion," recorded by Little Eva in 1962 and Grand Funk Railroad in 1974, when it again reached Number One. Other Goffin/King songs included "Up On The Roof" by the Drifters, "Chains," recorded by the Cookies and the Beatles, "One Fine Day" by the Chiffons, "Pleasant Valley Sunday" by the Monkees, "I'm Into Something Good" by Herman's Hermits, "Goin' Back" by the Byrds, "Don't Bring Me Down" by the Animals, "Go Away Little Girl" by Donny Osmond, and "(You Make Me Feel) Like A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin. Goffin and King were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 as non-performers.

In 1971 James Taylor scored his only Number One hit to date with a cover of King's "You've Got A Friend." Taylor explained that he and King almost immediately recognized a kindred spirit in one another:"It turned out we spoke the same language. We sat down and we slipped back into the mother tongue, really. It was great. We played on each other's records; we just had a common mind, y'know?"

In 1997, fellow singer-songwriter Billy Joel covered the Goffin/King song "Hey Girl" for his album Greatest Hits Volume 3. Joel spoke of his life-long respect for King: "Now, Carole King -- there's got to be some carving of her on Mount Rushmore. I mean, this woman has written so much music in the pantheon of popular music . . . I don't think people know how much this woman did! How she changed the face of popular music. . . The Beatles, I believe, were trying to emulate Goffin and King. I know that Lennon and McCartney wanted to be the next Goffin and King."

In 1999, King's landmark 1971 album Tapestry received a prestigious Diamond Award from the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), signifying sales of over 10 million units.

Tapestry was re-released in 2008 in an expanded 35th anniversary edition. The reissue includes a bonus disc featuring live performances of the entire album in its exact running order from 1973 and 1976 recorded in Boston, Columbia, Maryland, New York's Central Park and the San Francisco Opera House.

In December 2001, King was honored with a Heroes Award by the New York chapter of the Recording Academy. King was asked about her long-term plans: "Hopefully, continue to do the job I do, which is to write and record music and continue to inspire people with my work and my life and do the things I love to do and if I can do that, I'll be happy."

In 2007 King re-released her live album from her extended Living Room tour, which featured unplugged versions of most of her best-known songs.

Last year writer/director John Sayles signed on to adapt Girls Like Us: The Story Of Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell And Carole King into an upcoming major motion picture for Sony Pictures. The 2008 book wowed critics for it's in-depth study of the women's careers and placement in the singer-songwriter movement. The picture will be directed by Katie Jacobs, best known for her work on Fox's House. No shoot date has been announced.

King released her first Christmas album on November 1st, called A Holiday Carole. The set, which was produced by her daughter Louise Goffin, includes such standards as "Sleigh Ride," "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," "Do You Hear What I Hear," among others -- including King's tip of the hat to her own Jewish faith, with "Chanukah Prayer."

Van Halen's first album in 14 years, A Different Kind Of Truth, could debut at Number One on next week's Billboard album chart. According to Hits Daily Double, one-day sales reports compiled after the set arrived in stores on Tuesday (February 7th) indicate that it is likely to sell between 180,000 and 200,000 copies in its first week of release. That could be good enough to topple Adele from the Number One perch where she's been residing for the past few weeks.

A Different Kind Of Truth is the band's first full-length offering with original singer David Lee Roth since 1984 was released on the very last day of 1983.

Van Halen's last all-new album, 1998's Van Halen III, debuted at Number Four on the Billboard chart and was certified gold for sales of 500,000 copies, a disappointment compared to their previous platinum efforts.

Today's a big day for Paul McCartney -- at 2 p.m. PST he'll receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and tonight he'll take part in a live concert videocast at L.A.'s Capitol Studios which will be streaming on iTunes at 7 p.m. PST. McCartney will be premiering live renditions of songs from his new critically acclaimed standards set, Kisses On The Bottom.

The events of the day help make February 9th an ongoing benchmark for McCartney's career; 48 years ago today the Beatles made their American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, and 40 years ago today, "Macca" made his first-ever solo appearance at England's Nottingham University during Wings' inaugural gig. The weekend will be rounded out with his MusiCares Honor on Friday (February 10th), and possibly several appearances at the Grammy telecast on Sunday (February 12th).

One of the standouts on Kisses On The Bottom is the song, "The Glory Of Love" -- a track McCartney admitted to us was nearly dropped during the sessions: "We were doing 'Glory Of Love' and we couldn't get it. It was one of those tracks that was not happening, and it was all going wrong. And then Dianna (Krall) just in the spirit of this, making it up and being very organic, she just said, 'Why don't we just try John Clayton -- the bass player -- why don't we just try John and Paul alone; Paul's vocal and the bass. And it was like, a really good idea. And that unlocked it then and we did the version you hear on the album. That take is right after she said that."

Ringo Starr and his 12th All Starr Band will kick off their 25-date summer tour on June 14th in Niagara Falls, Ontario at the Fallsview Casino and wrap up the trek on July 21st at L.A.'s Greek Theater. Joining Ringo on the road will be returning All Starrs Todd Rundgren, saxophonist Mark Rivera, Mr. Mister's Richard Page, and drummer Gregg Bissonette. New to Ringo's band are Santana and Journey co-founding keyboardist Gregg Rollie, and Toto's co-founding guitarist Steve Lukather. In addition to each member's greatest hits, Ringo will perform songs from his new, critically acclaimed album, Ringo 2012.

We caught up with Ringo and asked him if he's getting excited to spend another summer onstage criss-crossing North America: "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. It's exciting. Every time I put the All Starr's together, we end up in a room in some country -- we like to call it 'rehearsals' and, y'know, we've never played together and it works. We all know what we're supposed to do, we get on with it, and we have a lot of fun. That's the only rule I have; do you wanna have fun in the summer? Then let's go. I'm not here to be tortured."

Todd Rundgren who toured as an All Starr in 1992 and 1993 made no bones about where his allegiance lies as a Beatles fan: "Well, my favorite Beatle is Ringo, now that I've worked with him. He's just the easiest to get along with (laughs). I haven't been much of a Paul McCartney soloist fan, and John Lennon hasn't done any recordings in a real long time."

Steve Lukather has a long history with the Beatles. Prior to becoming close friends with George Harrison in the early-'90s, Lukather and Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro played on several Paul McCartney sessions -- including those for his Michael Jackson duet, "The Girl Is Mine" and the sessions for McCartney's 1984 movie Give My Regards To Broad Street -- in which he also appeared. Lukather recalled to us the scene going into the Broadstreet sessions during the winter of 1982: "But in-between takes it was so funny, because someone comes up to me and Jeff between takes and says, 'Whatever you do, don't play any Beatles songs in front of Paul.' And I'm going, 'What the. . . are you crazy?' I got Paul McC. . . .Paul McCartney's here!' So, the first thing I did was, like, play 'Please Please Me' and then Paul starts singing along, and I'm singing the Lennon part, and he starts laughing and telling stories. And the guy's looking and staring me down. And then later on I said to Paul, 'Man, I hope I didn't piss you off, I just wanted to -- I couldn't help myself. I was told not to do that.' He goes, 'Who told you that?' Y'know, like, 'That's crazy, I'm proud of my legacy.'"

Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band tour dates (subject to change):
June 14, 15 - Niagara Falls, ON - Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort
June 16 - Bethel, NY - Bethel Woods Center For The Arts
June 17 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
June 19 - Boston, MA - Bank Of America Pavilion
June 22 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon At Jones Beach Theater
June 23 - Atlantic City, NJ - Caesars Atlantic City
June 24 - Baltimore, MD - Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
June 26 - Easton, PA - State Theatre Center For The Arts
June 27 - Morristown, NJ - Mayo Performing Arts Center
June 29 - Saint Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amphitheatre
June 30 - Hollywood, FL - Seminole Hard Rock Live
July 1 - Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
July 3 - Tuscaloosa, AL - Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
July 4 - Orange Beach, AL - Amphitheater At The Wharf
July 6 - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
July 7 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium (***Ringo's 72nd Birthday!!!)
July 18 - Hammond, IN - The Venue At Horseshoe Casino
July 11 - Salt Lake City, UT - Usana Amphitheatre
July 13 - Airway Heights, WA - Northern Quest Casino
July 14 - Woodinville, WA - Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery
July 15 - Troutdale, OR - McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater
July 17 - Saratoga, CA - The Mountain Winery
July 19 - San Diego, CA - Humphrey's Concerts By The Bay
Juy 21 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre