Julian Lennon

A new song featuring lyrics penned by John Lennon might see the light of day. Written by the late Beatle sometime in the 1960s, the lyrics consist of two verses and a chorus. No accompanying music was ever composed, but according to the U.K.’s The Sun, the rock icon’s son Julian Lennon is considering integrating the lyrics into a full-fledged musical composition.  “I don't believe the lyrics have been used anywhere,” Julian Lennon said. “If the time was right, if it felt right, then I would consider looking at the lyrics and maybe trying to work with them and write something. But obviously only in honor of Dad. I guess in some respect it would be like coming home."

Julian Lennon acquired the lyrics, which you can read below, as part of a private collection following his father’s death in December 1980. The lyrics are on display at the Beatles Story in Liverpool as part of a new exhibition, White Feather: The Spirit of Lennon.

Here are the lyrics:

Little girl I've come to stay
And this time I just have to say
I love you
If she turns you down and you're rejected
Try again the best you can
Call to see her when you're least expected
Tell her now she'll understand.

It’s unknown precisely when the words were written, but thematically the lyrics bring to mind the work Lennon was doing circa 1965.

Just because their original singer died in a bizarre hotel room accident and his reality TV-picked replacement was unceremoniously booted from the band and ended up living out of his car doesn’t mean INXS is out for the count.

Now, word comes from Australia that Matchbox 20 singer Rob Thomas, on a promotional tour behind his new album, Cradlesong, is entering the studio with the surviving members of the band to provide vocals for a “greatest-hits-with-different-vocalists” album they’re working on.

Thomas will reportedly sing on remakes of two of INXS’ biggest ‘80s hits, “Original Sin” and Never Tear Us Apart.” He told a local news outlet that he was sold on taking part in the project after he’d heard the Killers’ Brandon Flowers had signed on to do “Beautiful Girl,” and an unnamed French female singer was knocking out “Need You Tonight.”

He also added that he’s glad the group kept playing after Michael Hutchence’s death.

"It's hard when that's what they do – they want to continue to make music,” Thomas said. “This is just from me, this isn't coming from them, but I get the sense that once they do this, they can move forward – and do it this time without a circus attached.”

Thomas, it turns out, has been auditioning for this gig for a while. Matchbox 20 covered a couple of INXS tunes on its tour of Australia last year, including “Never Tear Us Apart” with the band’s drummer Jon Farris sitting in, and “Need You Tonight.”

Watch below …

Recently my band, Alabama Lo-Fi, played our annual benefit gig at the Berlin Relay for Life.  While on stage we recapped how the members of the band have been touched by cancer.  I lost a brother and my mother-in-law is a survivor.  Andy’s father is a survivor; Steve’s sister and Nick’s dad are both currently fighting this horrific disease.  Oftentimes it seems rock & roll artists live exalted lives untouched by the frailties and vulnerabilities that loom over the rest of us. But of course that’s an illusion. Through the years countless artists – often in their prime – have been stricken with cancer. Many have lost their lives to the disease, but others have survived and subsequently made it their mission to bring attention to issues such as early detection and alternative treatments.

Even before she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, at age 44, Sheryl Crow was no stranger to the disease – as both her ex-fiance Lance Armstrong and her close friend Melissa Etheridge had previously fought their own battles with the illness. Physicians caught Crow’s cancer early, and since undergoing a lumpectomy and radiation therapy, she’s been cancer-free.

Marianne Faithfull describes her 2006 breast cancer diagnosis as the most frightening thing that’s ever happened to her. Because her cancer was caught very early, doctors were able to remove the tumor without the need for subsequent chemotherapy or radiation treatments. While lying in a hospital bed in a Parisian clinic, recovering from the emergency surgery, she received a call from Mick Jagger – the first phone call she had received from her former lover in 35 years.

Levon Helm – the voice behind the Band classics “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” – was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998. Doctors advised he undergo a laryngectomy, but Helm instead opted to have the tumor surgically removed, to be followed by a grueling regime of 28 radiation sessions. The treatments reduced his powerful tenor to a quiet rasp, but he now estimates that his singing voice is near its original strength. Helm’s 2007 album, Dirt Farmer, was widely acclaimed.

Legendary surf guitar great Dick Dale credits a health-driven lifestyle (no alcohol or drugs, and no red meat in nearly 40 years) for helping him in his battle against colorectal cancer. Last year Dale underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumor, with radiation treatment and chemotherapy as follow-ups. Fiercely optimistic, Dale has been delivering talks to patients at Cancer Foundations.

Barenaked Ladies keyboardist Kevin Hearn was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia – a form of blood cancer – in the spring of 2008. Following blood marrow transplants with his brother Sean Hearn as donor, plus chemotherapy, the cancer was forced into remission. A grueling ordeal, the treatments required that Hearn be hospitalized in strict isolation for one month.

Since winning her long battle with breast cancer, which was diagnosed in 1992, Olivia Newton-John has been a tireless advocate for self exams and better detection methods. To that end, she promotes a detection device called the Liv Aid. More ambitiously, plans are underway for the Olivia Newton-John Center, a facility at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, that will provide an array of complementary therapies for treatment of various forms of cancer.

Other musicians who have survived cancer include: Kylie Minogue, Peter Tork (The Monkees), Mike Peters (The Alarm), Melissa Etheridge, Anastacia

Notable musicians who died from cancer include: George Harrison, Bob Marley, Mick Ronson, Joey Ramone, Warren Zevon, Nat King Cole, Eric Carr (Kiss), Frank Zappa, Richard Wright, Sterling Morrison (Velvet Underground), Carl Wilson, Ricky Wilson (B-52s), Laura Nyro, Minnie Ripperton

At long last, Eddie Van Halen fans who’ve coveted the guitarist’s trademark on-stage sneakers can now own a pair of their own. Through a partnership with FEA Merchandising, the “EVH Brand Signature Striped Sneakers” are now available online at EVHGear.com and at department and specialty stores worldwide.

The sneakers are available in three varieties: a red, white, and black model based on EVH’s current striped Frankenstein guitar; a white with black stripes model based on the guitar Van Halen played on the band's 1978 debut; and a black with yellow stripes model in tribute to the guitar displayed on the back cover of Van Halen II. The sneakers also come in low-top and high-top versions.

"So many people would ask me, ‘Where can I get a pair of those?’” the guitarist said, in a statement. “After hearing that for about 15 years, I figured they were something that people obviously wanted, so making them available and official seemed like a natural progression.”

Prices for the sneakers range from $54 to $59.  Doesn't Eddie have enough money already?