Country music legend George Jones passed away this morning at the age of 81 and tributes have been pouring in from across the web in stories and on Twitter.

No less an authority than Merle Haggard tweeted:"The world may have lost the greatest country singer that ever lived."

Keith Urban wrote: "If I'm blessed enough to make it there, I look forward to you giving me the grand tour. Rest in peace George Jones!!!!!"

Dolly Parton: "My heart is absolutely broken. George Jones was my all time favorite singer."

And the tributes were not limited to country music with everyone from rock stars like Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue, alt-rocker Mike Doughty, and comedian Patton Oswalt paying respect to the "Possum." Oswalt tweeted "George Jones has taken his last lawnmower ride. The Possum is a no-show. #RIPGeorgeJones"

You can read the Associated Press obituary here. Billboard has a Q&A looking back at his career here. Brian Mansfield from USA Today writes a lengthy obituary/appreciation here. And Country Weekly has his last interview, a great, candid read from just a few weeks ago, here.

There will truly never be another like him.

It could be time for Marky Mark to "bring forth the rhythm and the rhyme" once again.

Boston hunk Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg told a TMZ reporter that he would consider reuniting the Funky Bunch to raise money for Boston after the Marathon bombings. The rapper-turned-"Pain & Gain" actor chatted quickly with media as he left T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va. this morning.

"Mark, would you ever do a once in a lifetime concert for the victims of Boston?" the camera man asked him.

"Absolutely," Wahlberg replied.

The reporter then put his foot in his mouth by messing up the rest of the group's name (oops).

"As Marky Mark and the Fun Bunch?"

"Funky Bunch, but close," Wahlberg answered. "Why not?"

It feels like a lifetime ago that Wahlberg was out there rapping in tank tops and baggy jeans, but we'll be far from mad if he brings back hits like "Good Vibrations."

Wahlberg also commented on what he thought about the bombings when asked by another reporter on the scene.

"I think it's a horrible, horrible tragedy, but you know, we've felt so much support and love from the entire country and around the world," Wahlberg told the reporter in the TMZ clip. "You know, it's through those thoughts and prayers that people can start to heal."

Would you go see the show? Were you a fan of Marky Mark in the past? Fill us in via our comments section.

When a bearded Neil Diamond made a surprise appearance at Fenway Park on Saturday, leading Red Sox fans in an emotional version of "Sweet Caroline," he stood with Boston days after the Marathon bombing and mere hours after the capture of its remaining living suspect. Now, the legendary songwriter tells Rolling Stone he's planning to pen a song inspired by the tragedy.

"I'm writing now and obviously affected by this situation in Boston, so I'm writing about it just to express myself," Diamond told the magazine.

Diamond is currently preparing for a new record, though there's no release date yet announced. However, NBCNews.com reports that the singer has the song "on fast track."

"I spent the whole day recording it and I will spend tomorrow recording it. With a little bit of help from the man upstairs, I'll have it finished by the weekend," Diamond told the website at the end of last week.

What do you think? What do you expect from the song? Do you have any lyric suggestions for Diamond? Tell us in the comments.

Alfredo Estrella/Getty Images

Yeah Yeah Yeahs perform during the Vive Latino Music Fest in Mexico City on March 15.

Been to a concert lately? Had an urge to pull out your cell phone and record a sub-par video of the performance? Well, fans of the band around you might not like that too much --nor do the bands, apparently, like Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The rock group recently asked fans to shell their smart devices at a Webster Hall show, Spin Magazine reports.

The band (or someone working for the band) posted a sign on the doors of the venue that read:

"PLEASE DO NOT WATCH THE SHOW THROUGH A SCREEN ON YOUR SMART DEVICE/CAMERA.

PUT THAT [EXPLETIVE] AWAY as a courtesy to the person behind you and to Nick, Karen and Brian.

MUCH LOVE AND MANY THANKS!

YEAH YEAH YEAHS"

The band's lead singer, Karen O, later reiterated the written sentiment by telling the crowd to take as many photos as they wanted during the second song of the night, "Gold Lions," before putting those newfangled cellular phones away, according to Spin.

Think they were going overboard? Do you think smartphones take away from concerts? Let us know in the comments.

Rumour has it that 24-year-old British pop sensation Adele is back in the recording studio for the first time after giving birth to her son, Angelo, in October 2012.

The 9-time Grammy winner is said to be working with renowned producers James Ford and Kid Harpoon on a highly-anticipated follow-up to her album, "21," which sold over 10 million copies as of November 2012.

Adele claimed she will only record a new album when she "has something to sing about," According to NME.

Do you think Angelo will be the subject of Adele's newest album? Sound off.

[Photo credit: Brian Rasic]

The Rolling Stones announced dates for their upcoming "50 and Counting" tour including a stop at the TD Garden on June 12. (Full tour itinerary below.)

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood will hit the road in the U.S. and Canada in May and June.

In the press release Jagger said, "'50 And Counting' has been pretty amazing so far. We did a few shows in London and New York last year...and had such a good time that we thought...let's do some more. It's a good show. Lots of the classic stuff everyone wants to hear...with a few little gems tucked in here and there. The stage is shaped like lips and goes off into the venue so I get to run around in the crowd. It's great fun to be able to get that close to the audience."

"From day one at rehearsals it sounded so fresh. You could tell that everybody was dying to get their teeth into it. It was like... open the gates...let us out!" said Richards. "'Cause man, it is the life and blood of us to play in front of people."

Ticket details for the Boston show are TBA but tickets for Oakland, San Jose, Toronto and Chicago go on sale beginning Monday, April 8 at 10AM local time and will be available at www.rollingstones.com.

Mick Taylor, who was a member of the Rolling Stones from 1969-74, will be a special guest throughout the tour.

"50 AND COUNTING" TOUR DATES

TBA Los Angeles STAPLES Center TBA

May 5 Oakland Oracle Arena On sale April 8 @ 10AM PST

May 8 San Jose HP Pavilion On sale April 8 @ 10AM PST

May 11 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena TBA

May 15 Anaheim Honda Center TBA

May 25 Toronto Air Canada Centre On sale April 8 @ 10AM EST

May 28 Chicago United Center On sale April 8 @ 10AM CST

June 12 Boston TD Garden TBA

June 18 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center TBA

Did Harry Styles' breakup with a certain pop starlet (cough: Taylor Swift) inspire him to write a solo album? The One Direction singer reportedly worked on a few tracks in Hollywood during the group's world tour reprieve, according to the Mirror newspaper and Splash News.

Styles, who dated Swift in 2012, even consulted another of her rumored ex's, Ed Sheeran, according to a source for the Mirror.

One-D fans, don't fret. The source also told the Mirror that Styles' priority is "obviously" still with his group, and he doesn't plan to leave any time soon.

Are you excited to hear his solo album? Think it will be any sort of retaliation for Swift's supposed diss toward him after their split? Let us know in the comments.

Carole King, Willie Nelson, and Annie Lennox will share a stage when Berklee College of Music honors them on May 11. The trio of musicians will each receive an honorary doctorate from the famous school during its commencement ceremony, which will take place at Boston University's Agganis Arena, a 7,000-seat stadium on Commonwealth Avenue.

King, Nelson, and Lennox were selected thanks to their "achievements and influence in music, and for their enduring contributions to American and international culture," according to a press release from Berklee.

To pay tribute to the musicians, Berklee students will continue a tradition of playing music associated with the honorees' careers in a special concert at Agganis.

The concert and ceremony are closed to the public.

Have a favorite song by these artists? We picked one from each below for you to enjoy!

Tanglewood Music Festival has just announced a handful of additional pop artists for its summer programming. Joan Baez (above) will team up with the Indigo Girls on June 23, marking their return to the Shed since performing there in 1990. They join an impressive summer lineup that also includes:

June 21: Melissa Etheridge with Eric Hutchinson
June 22: Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration, featuring Warren Haynes with Keith Lockhart conducting the Boston Pops
July 4: Jackson Browne with Sara Watkins
July 23: Barenaked Ladies with Ben Folds Five and Guster
July 29: Steve Miller Band
Aug. 4: Esperanza Spalding
Aug. 19: Grace Potter & the Nocturnals with Josh Ritter

Tickets will go on sale on March 25 at www.tanglewood.org and 888-266-1200.

From a neon green school bus named the Gypsy Dancer, parked outside the CBS studio in Brighton, the WBCN crew broadcast live for the station's 45th anniversary (March 15) with interviews featuring past DJs, familiar Boston faces, and music fans alike.

Who was part of the celebration? Well, Charles Laquidara for one. The Boston-area radio legend called in from Maui to talk about the old days, when he broadcast from the WBCN studio originally on Newbury Street. According to the interview, Laquidara started at the station nicknamed "The Rock of Boston" in late 1968 or early 1969.

The radio station first hit the Boston-area airwaves in 1968. Its first song: "I Feel Free" by Cream.

Laquidara was with the station from the early years, and retired in 2000. Less than a decade later, after 41 years on the radio with the call letters WBCN 104.1, the station shut down in 2009. It now broadcasts digitally in HD at WBCN.com under the name "WBCN Free Form Rock."

The term "free form" is a tribute to the ideals of early radio, when the DJs had the liberty to play deep tracks and music from a range of genres. Kopper further defined the term when he talked to The New York Times in 2012:

The free form WBCN “is not a nostalgia trip,” Mr. Kopper insisted, but a revival of the old techniques that radio has lost in recent years, when D.J.’s took listeners on a musical tour.

The station returned on May 1, 2012, with Sam Kopper behind the mic, a longtime DJ who left WBCN in 1991 to sell swimming pools, according to the New York Times. Kopper resurrected the station last year with backing from Cohasset native Mark Hannon, the senior vice president of CBS Radio Boston.

Other notable guests included Fred Taylor who ran Paul's Mall & the Jazz Workshop in Boston for 15 years (from 1963-1978) and later produced concerts for Boston Symphony Hall and the Boston Garden.

The radio station is the subject of the documentary "The American Revolution," which is currently in production. Take a look at the trailer below.

It's a big day for T-Swizzle. The pop starlet released the music video for her new single "22," a seemingly autobiographical look at the pop star's "normal" life, on Good Morning America this morning.

The video features Swift donning a black-and-white T-shirt with the statement, "Not much going on," a reported dig at her critics' opinion of her love life -- or possibly a representation of how very, very little is happening in the video.

Taylor also kicks off her "Red" tour tonight, March 13, in Omaha, Nebraska. The pop star, who says her lucky number is 13, purposefully picked today for the video release and premiere show, tweeting the following:

The 22 video premieres AND the Red Tour starts on Wednesday! Yes, that's the 13th. Yes, that's on purpose.

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) March 11, 2013

What do you think of Tay's new video? Let us know in the comments!

When Michael Pollack stood up during "An Evening of Questions and Answers and a Little Bit of Music" on Jan. 30, and asked if he could join Billy Joel on stage, there was an almost audible mouth-gaping gasp from the audience.

Pollack's brave, brief request paid off (he didn't dance around the topic) because Joel welcomed the Vanderbilt University student on stage moments later and allowed him to play piano accompaniment for "New York State of Mind." Joel donned sunglasses and faced Pollack at the piano for an intimate, memorable rendition of his classic song.

A YouTube video (above) of the performance now has more than 550,000 views.

What do you think of the video? Anyone you would like to join on stage? Let us know in the comments.

The art, music, and film festival "South By Southwest" in Austin, Tex., kicked off March 8, and will feature a series of Boston-based bands, including The Parkington Sisters, Millyz, and former Berklee students Air Traffic Control, among others.

The festival's musical component began on March 12, and will run through March 16. So far, it's drawn stars like James Franco, Selena Gomez, and Steve Carrell.

From left: Steve Carell, Olivia Wilde, and Jim Carey, cast members of the new film, "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone."

"Girls" star and executive producer Lena Dunham at the festival.

Check out more scenes from SXSW.

New Kids on the Block released the video for their newest song, "Remix (I Like The)," off their album, "10," which drops April 2.

The video features the fellas in suits performing at a party, where a wallflower has a blast after she breaks free from her restrictive shell, jamming out to the song in the process. We're glad to see a video featuring such a positive message from our hometown boys.

The "kids" will join fellow boy bands 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men on "The Package Tour," which kicks off on May 28 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut. The tour stops at TD Garden on June 2 and 3.

What do you think of the video? Let us know in the comments.

He's bringing sexy back to Fenway. Twice.

Due to overwhelming demand, Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z's Legends of the Summer tour has been extended to include a second show at Fenway Park on Aug. 11, piggybacking on its originally scheduled Aug. 10 performance.

Fans will be able to access tickets via two pre-sales: one for Citi cardmembers on March 4, and another via a Facebook pre-sale on March 7. LiveNation mobile app users will also have access to the March 7 pre-sale. Text LNAPP to 404040 to download the app. If you miss those early opportunities, regular tickets go on sale March 8.

Tickets to the rest of the tour, including the first Fenway show but excluding New York's Yankee Stadium stop, went on sale today.

Boston's famous ballpark is the only venue on the 12-city tour to have two scheduled dates so far.

FULL ENTRY

Want to see bands like Fun., the Shins, the National, and Andrew Bird play City Hall Plaza this summer? You can pick up tickets starting on Friday, March 1.

Boston Calling, the city's first multiday, multistage, ticketed rock festival, will begin selling early bird weekend passes at 10 a.m. on Friday. General admission will cost $120 while a VIP pass goes for a cool $325. Single day tickets for the event, which runs May 25-26, will go on sale for $75 soon after.

The first night's headliner, Fun., just won Grammy Awards for song of the year ("We Are Young") and best new artist. Aaron Dessner, guitarist for the second night's headliner the National, helped curate the lineup, which includes two bands with local ties, the Beverly-bred post-rock instrumental group Caspian and Boston's own Bad Rabbits, formerly known as the Eclectic Collective.

Are you going to buy tickets? Who are you most excited to see? Who would you have liked to have seen added to the bill? Check out the full lineup after the jump.

FULL ENTRY

Rumors have been swirling for weeks that the pop/hip-hop power duo of Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z would be teaming up for a mega stadium tour and Timberlake took to Twitter to confirm the rumors with a photo (below).

What are you doing this summer?!?! #LegendsOfTheSummer w. @s_c_ : stipple.com/photos/37173232

— Justin Timberlake(@jtimberlake) February 22, 2013

The Legends of the Summer tour will make a stop in Boston for a Fenway Park show on Aug. 10 while the Red Sox are in Kansas City for a series against the Royals.

All dates on sale to the public on Feb. 28th, except New York. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning today through the Private Pass Program. Fans who like the tour's Facebook page will have presale access to tickets beginning Feb. 27. All regular sale tickets will be available Feb. 28, except for the show at New York's Yankee Stadium.

Live Nation mobile app users will have access to presale tickets beginning Feb. 27th. To download the app for your iPhone or Android device, text “LNAPP” OR 404040. All presales end at 5 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 27th.

Full list of tour dates:

July 17 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre
July 19 New York, NY Yankee Stadium**
July 22 Chicago, IL Soldier Field
July 26 San Francisco, CA Candlestick Park
July 28 Los Angeles, CA Rose Bowl
July 31 Vancouver, BC BC Place Stadium
August 4 Hershey, PA Hershey Stadium
August 6 Detroit, MI Ford Field
August 8 Baltimore, MD M&T Bank Stadium
August 10 Boston, MA Fenway Park
August 13 Philadelphia, PA Citizens Bank Park
August 16 Miami, FL Sun Life Stadium

Before the Grammys, Timberlake sat down with Ryan Seacrest and told him that there would definitely be a tour and that it would be "very fun."

Will you buy tickets for the Fenway show? Let us know in the comments.

(John Shearer/Invision/AP; Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)

Kelly Clarkson (pictured at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 10) has issues with the memoir of Clive Davis, the music mogul who signed her.

While Clive Davis's new memoir, "The Soundtrack of My Life," is garnering attention because the legendary record executive reveals his bisexuality, another section of the book caught the ire of superstar singer Kelly Clarkson.

In a post on her website, the original "American Idol" champ (who was signed to RCA by Davis) takes issue with how parts of her career are characterized in the book, which is out today.

"So I just heard Clive Davis is releasing a memoir and spreading false information about me and my music. I refuse to be bullied and I just have to clear up his memory lapses and misinformation for myself and for my fans. It feels like a violation. Growing up is awesome because you learn you don't have to cower to anyone -- even Clive Davis."

In his book, Davis writes that she burst into "hysterical sobbing" in his office during a disagreement over her 2004 hit "Since U Been Gone." Clarkson's post clarifies that she was indeed moved to tears, though over an argument about a different song. She writes that Davis deemed her an "[expletive] writer who should be grateful for the gifts that he bestows upon me" after hearing "Because of You," which was on the same album as "Since U Been Gone."

Clarkson and Davis have long been rumored to have a rocky relationship, and the murmurs got louder around the release of her 2007 album, "My December." The singer defused the speculation of a fallout that summer, posting on her website, "Contrary to recent characterizations in the press, I'm well aware that Clive is one of the great record men of all time. He has been a key advisor and has been an important force in my success to date. He has also given me respect by releasing my new album when he was not obligated to do so."

Clarkson's most recent post also addresses the quarreling over "My December," stating that Davis's book says "My December' wasn't successful because I co-penned the album and it didn't have 'pop hits.' Well, first let me say, I've co-penned many of my 'pop hits.' Secondly, 'My December' went platinum (It sold 20,000 less than 'All I Ever Wanted,' which followed 'My December'). Hardly a huge failure."

In closing, Clarkson takes one final (subtle) shot at her former executive producer, writing, "I love my job. I love my music. I love my fans. I love my label and all of my professional relationships… now. And I am grateful for Clive for teaching me to know the difference."

What's your take? Do you like Clarkson standing up to Davis? Or is she over the line to criticize the man who signed her? Tell us in the comments.

Lady Gaga has canceled the remaining dates on her "Born This Way Ball" tour due to a labral tear of the right hip. The injury will require surgery and recuperation time. That means all the Little Monsters planning to pay homage to their Mother at the TD Garden on Feb. 27 should now be looking to their point of purchase for a refund.

"Diamonds" singer Rihanna, who recently confirmed her on-again-off-again relationship with Chris Brown, released the video for her new single, "Stay," off her album, "Unapologetic," on Monday.

"Stay," a simple and emotional ballad, features singer/songwriter Mikky Ekko, who performed with the Barbados-born star during Sunday's Grammy Awards. She also took home the award for Best Short Form Video for "We Found Love."

Drake, who won a Grammy for Best Rap Album for his 2011 album, "Take Care," also released his new video for the single, "Started from the Bottom," this week.

Drake ~ Started From The Bottom from OctobersVeryOwn on Vimeo.

The song and the video, like most of Drizzy's music, is the classic rags-to-riches tale. "Stared from the Bottom" comes off his newest album, "Nothing Was the Same," set to drop sometime this summer.

What do you think of the videos? Comment here.