Paul Mccartney

Bert Weedon was a legendary British guitar player who influenced a generation of budding rock stars with his popular "Play in a Day" instructional book. Eric Clapton, Brian May, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison are among those who received help in learning to play the guitar from Weedon's book, which was first published in 1957 and has sold more than 2 million copies. "I wouldn't have felt the urge to press on without the tips and encouragement Bert's book gives you," Clapton once said.

Bert Weedon was a legendary British guitar player who influenced a generation of budding rock stars with his popular "Play in a Day" instructional book. Eric Clapton, Brian May, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison are among those who received help in learning to play the guitar from Weedon's book, which was first published in 1957 and has sold more than 2 million copies. "I wouldn't have felt the urge to press on without the tips and encouragement Bert's book gives you," Clapton once said.

THROUGH MAY 16 Gardens of the World Where: Bellagio Highlights: Spring has sprung at the always delightful conservatory, with re-creations of English, French, Italian and Japanese gardens. Info: bellagio.com APRIL 5 Academy of Country Music Awards Where: Grand Garden Arena (MGM Grand) Highlights: Reba McEntire, who's won 11 of these awards, hosts the festivities, which will also be televised at 8 p.m. (CBS). Info: mgmgrand.

Sir Paul McCartney is one of the best-known musicians on the planet, thanks to his years as a Beatle and a chart-topping solo artist. Yet when he sang a newly released number on the Grammy Awards telecast Sunday, the response from some corners of the Internet was a blank stare. "Wait, who is Paul McCartney?" read one nonplussed tweet. "To be honest, I have no idea," read another. Although the overwhelming majority of music fans aren't so clueless, such reactions reflect what one label executive calls the high "noise floor" of the Internet: There's so much music being created and distributed, it's hard for anyone's work to get noticed.

Paul McCartney will be feted Feb. 10, two nights before this year's Grammy Awards ceremony, at a star-studded dinner at the Los Angeles Convention Center to raise funds and awareness of the Recording Academy's MusiCares philanthropic wing, which aids musicians in need of emergency financial or medical assistance, help with substance abuse and other issues. As previously announced, McCartney has been named the 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year, the Recording Academy's annual honorarium recognizing musicians' artistic and philanthropic efforts.

A chilly morning wind was blowing down Sixth Avenue, but it was warm inside Radio City Music Hall even though the grand old palace was hushed and its balconies deserted. A production team was busy preparing for the night's concert, an all-star charity event, and a few dozen lucky VIPs were loitering in the back and craning their necks to see the stage.

It's hard to think of much in the pop music world more impressive than a 67-year-old musician holding forth for nearly three hours, outdoors on a chilly March night, while delivering some three dozen songs, the least of which would be a career highlight for almost any other artist. Perhaps the only thing more mind-boggling than that description of Paul McCartney's sold-out show Tuesday on the first of his two nights this week at the Hollywood Bowl was the realization that without much trouble and no serious dip in quality, he could have filled another set of that magnitude with all the choice Beatles, Wings and solo tunes he didn't get around to: "She Loves You," "Can't Buy Me Love," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "Getting Better," "She's Leaving Home," "Maybe I'm Amazed," "Hi Hi Hi," etc., etc., etc. It was a no-brainer that he opened Tuesday's concert with "Venus and Mars" / "Rock Show," what with its line in the chorus celebrating "rock 'n' roll at the Hollywood Bowl."

Paul McCartney may be in the running for his own parking space in the White House lot: He's being honored yet again in the nation's capital, along with TV host Oprah Winfrey, country music stalwart Merle Haggard, choreographer Bill T. Jones and veteran Broadway composer and lyricist Jerry Herman , as a recipient of this year's Kennedy Center Honors. In June, McCartney performed for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama when he received the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

Paul McCartney is the author of "Blackbird Singing: Poems and Lyrics 1965-1999" (W.W. Norton: 186 pp., $22.95) to be published tomorrow. Used by kind permission of the author and publisher.

If you need proof that the generational divide that has defined American pop since the rock era is vanishing along with the rock era itself, look no further than the top of the bill for this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival: Paul McCartney headlines the main stage Friday, April 17. (The other listed name likely to cause maximum excitement belongs to Leonard Cohen, the 74-year-old Zen grandpa of the singer-songwriter clan.

Paul McCartney will be feted Feb. 10, two nights before this year's Grammy Awards ceremony, at a star-studded dinner at the Los Angeles Convention Center to raise funds and awareness of the Recording Academy's MusiCares philanthropic wing, which aids musicians in need of emergency financial or medical assistance, help with substance abuse and other issues. As previously announced, McCartney has been named the 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year, the Recording Academy's annual honorarium recognizing musicians' artistic and philanthropic efforts.

I'd been working as a lowly scrub at the Nation in New York when, in 1979, I was asked to track down Christopher Hitchens on a trip I happened to be taking to London. My assignment: To lure him to come work for us. I was a convincing emissary, because from the minute I met Christopher, all I could think of was how I had to get him to work in New York, since I couldn't live without him. He seemed to me then like a mature step-up from Beatle worship; he was a heady mix of John Lennon (the clever riposte)

It's classic McCartney Following in the footsteps of other baby boomer crooners dipping into the classics, Paul McCartney said Monday he'll be releasing a new album of cover songs, along with two new compositions, on Feb. 7. The as-yet-untitled album will feature American songs that McCartney said were key early influences on him and fellow former Beatle John Lennon. The titles are being kept under wraps for now, but there will be guest appearances by Diana Krall, Stevie Wonder and Eric Clapton.

MUSIC Steve Lukather Best known as the guitarist for Toto, Lukather also is one of the world's top session men, having played on more than 1,500 records by artists such as Paul McCartney, Miles Davis, Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper and Aretha Franklin. Hear him in discussion about his lengthy career followed by a performance of some of his signature guitar licks. The Grammy Museum, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles. 8 p.m. $15. (213) 765-6800. http://www.grammymuseum.org. Gold Panda The U.K. producer deftly blends crackly vinyl samples with ambient synths and a consistent ear for screwball melody.

SERIES Up All Night: Reagan (Christina Applegate) comes to grips with the idea of giving up her convertible in favor of a safer, more practical family car in this new episode (8 p.m. NBC). Suburgatory: In this new episode, Tessa (Jane Levy) is shocked to realize she's attracted to her neighbor Ryan (Parker Young), a jock who's her exact opposite in every way (8:30 p.m. ABC). Harry's Law: As the "trial of the year" gets underway, Adam (Nate Corddry) prepares Eric's (Alfred Molina)

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Friday. Roseanne Barr says she's running for president. ( Entertainment Weekly ) Brett Ratner, yes, the "Rush Hour" guy, will be producing this year's Oscars with Don Mischer. ( Los Angeles Times ) A "Sex and the City" prequel is coming, but as a TV series set in high school. ( Los Angeles Times ) Sarah Michelle Gellar is returning to "All My Children" for a short run before the series finally ends. ( Los Angeles Times )

Paul McCartney's next studio album will be the first release from Starbucks' newly formed Hear Music label, a high-profile attempt to bring big-name credibility to the venture. It will be the former Beatle's first release on a label other than EMI Records, the company that started releasing the Fab Four's records in 1962, or one of the affiliates where he's spent virtually his entire career.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney and his second wife, Heather Mills McCartney, said Wednesday they are separating after nearly four years of marriage, blaming intrusion from the media and insisting their split is amicable. Rumors of a rift between Mills McCartney and the singer's children, especially Stella McCartney, have circulated for years. Talk centered around the idea that Mills McCartney, who is nearly half his age, wanted to devote more time to campaigning against land mines and fur.

It says so on Rodolfo Vazquez's business card: He's the owner of the world's biggest collection of Beatles memorabilia, a claim backed by none other than Guinness World Records. So how did an accountant from Argentina — which seems about a million miles away from Liverpool, England — amass a staggering 8,600 Beatles-related items? Hint: Being a self-confessed pack rat helps. "My history shows there is a virtue in collecting things, and I think schools should do more to encourage kids to do it," says Vazquez, a gregarious, heavyset guy with a ready laugh, often directed at himself and his obsession.

Linda McCartney may have married a Beatle, but it was the Rolling Stones who gave the budding photographer her big break. It was 1966, while working as a receptionist in Manhattan, that Linda Eastman, as she was known then, wangled her way aboard a yacht on the Hudson River, a publicity event for the Stones. Soon she was embedded in the late-'60s rock 'n' roll scene, photographing her future husband, Paul McCartney, at a "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album launch party in 1967.