Quick Takes: The Who, Jason Bonham, George Harrison, Bob Dylan

The Who will return to network TV on Friday, April 15th when they perform on CBS' The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. The band, who are gearing up for their upcoming "Who Hits Back" tour, will be promoting their patron charity Teenage Cancer America. The Who kicks off its North American dates on April 22nd at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida's Hard Rock.
Jason Bonham spoke candidly about the loss of Taylor Hawkins while appearing on New York's WBAB. Blabbermouth translated some of the chat in which the famed drummer and son of Led Zeppelin's John Bonham spoke about hitting the stage on March 25th with Sammy Hagar & The Circle moments after hearing the news: "For me, that was one of the hardest shows I've ever had to play, was 10 minutes after finding that out (that Taylor died). As I said, it's not just because of him. At that time, for me, and I think for a lot of us, when somebody like that passes, if we've lost somebody close to us, it brings back all of that. But we have to remember it brings back also the joy, the smile, the laughter. I'm fortunate — my dad, there's enough clips on YouTube and the Internet that you can go to, and I can say to my children who never met him, 'This is your grandpa. . . ' So for us, we're blessed — there is footage always there to show them what he was like. And some people don't have that. So, I feel very fortunate."
- Bonham went on to say, "When we lost Taylor, it opened a floodgate of memory for the day that I found out my father passed. And to (Taylor's) family and to his friends and his children, my love and best wishes go to them with every ounce of me. He was a wonderful person. I got to hang with him on several occasions and Dave (Grohl), and the whole band are just amazing guys." (Blabbermouth)
BMG announced it has entered into a global publishing agreement with the George Harrison Estate to administer the "Harrisongs" catalog comprising more than 200 songs written with the Beatles, George Harrison's solo career, and the Traveling Wilburys. The deal expands on the relationship with Harrison’s Dark Horse Records with BMG "serving as its global partner across recorded music, music publishing, and merchandise, while also developing further areas of business."
- George Harrison's son and Dhani Harrison, who heads up the Harrison estate with his mother Olivia Harrison, said in a statement: "I'm delighted to announce that my father’s song catalogue will be joining BMG/Dark Horse Records. We have had a longstanding and successful partnership with BMG over the years and we look forward to continuing to expand our relationship well into the future." (Press release)
Set for release on May 20th is the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's latest album, titled Dirt Does Dylan. The 10-track set of Bob Dylan standards features Larkin Poe joining the band for "I Shall Be Released" and such notables as Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle, Jason Isbell, and The War and Treaty joining in on "The Times They Are A-Changin'."
- Other tracks include such Dylan classics as "Forever Young," "Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You," "Girl From The North Country" "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry," "Country Pie," "She Belongs To Me," "Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right," and "Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)." (Best Classic Bands)