Led Zeppelin, Buddy Guy, David Letterman to Receive Kennedy Center Awards

Buddy Guy, David Letterman and Robert Plant of Led ZeppelinDonna Ward/Getty Images; Ray Tamarra/FilmMagic; Heidi Gutman/NBC NewsWire

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has announced the seven recipients of the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors. Buddy Guy, Led Zeppelin, David Letterman, Dustin Hoffman and ballerina Natalia Makarova will be honored by the Kennedy Center. Though Led Zeppelin will receive honors as a band, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant will each receive Kennedy Center Honors.

"Buddy Guy is a titan of the blues and has been a tremendous influence on virtually everyone who has picked up an electric guitar in the last half century," said Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein in a press release. "David Letterman is one of the most influential personalities in the history of television, entertaining an entire generation of late-night viewers with his unconventional wit and charm . . . and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant transformed the sound of rock & roll with their lyricism and innovative song structures, infusing blues into the sound of rock & roll and laying the foundation for countless rock bands."

The Kennedy Center Honors will be presented on December 1st, with the Honors Gala on December 2nd. The gala will air December 26th on CBS.

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John Lennon's Killer to Receive Another Parole Hearing This Week

Mark David Chapman's booking photo from 1980.

The New York State Department of Corrections announced today that Mark David Chapman, the man who shot and killed John Lennon, will receive another parole hearing this week, Reuters reports.

This will mark the seventh parole hearing for the 57-year-old, who was sentenced to 20 years to life for his murder of the former Beatle. Chapman shot Lennon four times in the back outside Lennon's apartment in New York City on December 8, 1980, shortly after the musician had signed an album for him. Chapman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and had been held at Attica state prison until May, when he was transferred to Wende Correctional Facility.

The hearings have been held every two years since 2000, and Chapman has been denied parole each time. Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has lobbied the parole board against Chapman's release in the past, saying that she feared for her own safety as well as Lennon's two sons, Julian and Sean Lennon. 

In 2000, a member of the Correctional Association of New York told the Associated Press that "If Jesus Christ returned to earth for the sole purpose of decreeing that it would be appropriate to release Mark Chapman, the parole board wouldn't be willing to take the political heat they would get by doing it." 

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John Lennon's Killer to Receive Another Parole Hearing This Week

Mark David Chapman's booking photo from 1980.

The New York State Department of Corrections announced today that Mark David Chapman, the man who shot and killed John Lennon, will receive another parole hearing this week, Reuters reports.

This will mark the seventh parole hearing for the 57-year-old, who was sentenced to 20 years to life for his murder of the former Beatle. Chapman shot Lennon four times in the back outside Lennon's apartment in New York City on December 8, 1980, shortly after the musician had signed an album for him. Chapman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and had been held at Attica state prison until May, when he was transferred to Wende Correctional Facility.

The hearings have been held every two years since 2000, and Chapman has been denied parole each time. Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has lobbied the parole board against Chapman's release in the past, saying that she feared for her own safety as well as Lennon's two sons, Julian and Sean Lennon. 

In 2000, a member of the Correctional Association of New York told the Associated Press that "If Jesus Christ returned to earth for the sole purpose of decreeing that it would be appropriate to release Mark Chapman, the parole board wouldn't be willing to take the political heat they would get by doing it." 

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Song Premiere: Alanis Morissette Learns to Love Herself on 'Receive'

Listen to Alanis Morissette's "Receive":

On her new track "Receive," Alanis Morissette sings over an unrushed mid-tempo beat about accepting that it's OK to channel your giving nature inward for your own well-being. Though the lyrics at first seem to profess a sense of selflessness, as Morissette addresses a loved one's needs, she bursts apart in the chorus, relating how she's learning to love herself and move forward with greater confidence. "It's all about me, learning how to receive," sings Morissette over powerful arena-ready guitars and wordless vocal eruptions, affirming her new sense of self-reliance. "No better time than now to be sharing a song about self-care and responsibility for filling one's cup!" she tells Rolling Stone.

"Receive" is on Alanis Morissette's upcoming album, havoc and bright lights, out August 28th.

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Song Premiere: Alanis Morissette Learns to Love Herself on 'Receive'

Listen to Alanis Morissette's "Receive":

On her new track "Receive," Alanis Morissette sings over an unrushed mid-tempo beat about accepting that it's OK to channel your giving nature inward for your own well-being. Though the lyrics at first seem to profess a sense of selflessness, as Morissette addresses a loved one's needs, she bursts apart in the chorus, relating how she's learning to love herself and move forward with greater confidence. "It's all about me, learning how to receive," sings Morissette over powerful arena-ready guitars and wordless vocal eruptions, affirming her new sense of self-reliance. "No better time than now to be sharing a song about self-care and responsibility for filling one's cup!" she tells Rolling Stone.

"Receive" is on Alanis Morissette's upcoming album, havoc and bright lights, out August 28th.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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