A guitar stolen from The Rolling Stones more than 50 years ago has resurfaced in a collection recently acquired by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The instrument in question is a 1959 sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard, which – at the time of the burglary – had been owned by former guitarist Mick Taylor, who had previously purchased it from Keith Richards in 1967. 

At the time of its theft, the instrument had already been part of musical history, having been played by Richards during the Stones’ debut appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in October 1964, and later by Taylor during their infamous Altamont Free Concert in December 1969. Famed guitarists such as Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page were also said to have played the instrument as well.

However, the location of the guitar has remained a mystery since September 1971, having been reportedly stolen during the band’s recording sessions for 1972’s Exile on Main St. at Villa Nellcôte on France’s Côte d’Azur.

The story goes that the robbery occurred in broad daylight while occupants of Villa Nellcôte watched TV, having reportedly been conducted by Marseille drug dealers that Richards was said to have owed money to. The theft ultimately resulted in the loss of nine guitars, a saxophone belonging to Bobby Keys, and Bill Wyman’s bass guitar.

The trail was left cold until May of this year, when the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art announced it had received a “landmark gift” of more than 500 guitars from the “golden age of American guitar making,” consisting of instruments made between 1920 and 1970.

Notably, the Met’s own announcement of the collection also included specific mention of Taylor’s long-lost Les Paul and its famed appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. 

Now, in a statement shared to Page Six, Taylor’s business manager and partner, Marlies Damming, has claimed that the “flaming” pattern on the body of the guitar confirms it as Taylor’s elusive instrument.

“There are numerous photos of Mick Taylor playing this Les Paul, as it was his main guitar until it disappeared,” Damming explained. “The interesting thing about these vintage Les Pauls (from the late 1950s), is that they are renowned for their flaming, which is unique, like a fingerprint.”

Additionally, an unnamed source stated that Taylor is “mystified as to how his property found its way into the Met’s collection,” and noted the musician had “never received compensation for the theft.”

Matt Cameron might no longer be sitting behind the kit for Pearl Jam, but the decorated drummer has refuted the notion that he’s officially retired.

Cameron announced last week (July 7) that after more than a quarter century spent keeping the beat for the Seattle grunge icons, he had left the group. “After 27 fantastic years, I have taken my final steps down the drum riser for the mighty Pearl Jam,” he announced in a statement. 

“Much love and respect to Jeff [Ament], Ed [Vedder], Mike [McCready] and Stone [Gossard] for inviting me into the band in 1998 and for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, filled with friendships, artistry, challenges and laughter,” he added. “I am forever grateful to the crew, staff and fans the world over. It’s been an incredible journey. More to follow. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”

However, while Cameron hasn’t publicly detailed the reasons leading to his decision, he has however taken to social media to reveal he’s far from done with the music game.

As Rolling Stone reports, Cameron took to his Instagram account to share a since-expired Story that gave an update as to his current status. “Thank you for the kind words of support,” he wrote, “and for the record, I’m still an active musician.”

Cameron joined Pearl Jam in 1998, serving as the drummer for every one of their albums from 2000’s Binaural until 2024’s Dark Matter. His joining the band occurred just one year after the initial dissolution of Soundgarden, with whom he had sat behind the kit since 1986. 

Having been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 as a member of Pearl Jam, Cameron will become the latest two-time inductee upon Soundgarden’s inclusion in November 2025.

Though Soundgarden officially split for good following the passing of frontman Chris Cornell in 2017, Cameron has performed with his bandmates at various reunion performances since, including a December benefit gig under the moniker Nudedragons with vocalist Shaina Shepherd in December.

Members of Soundgarden had also previously been announced as performers for the recent Back To The Beginning farewell concert for Ozzy Osbourne at Villa Park in Birmingham, England on July 5, though ultimately did not attend.

“We are very grateful to Tony, Ozzy, Geezer and Bill, as well as Sharon Osbourne and music director, Tom Morello for the honor and invitation to Soundgarden to perform at the Back to the Beginning festival!” a post on Soundgarden’s official Instagram account read this week. 

“We are super bummed and regret that we were unable to coordinate the schedules of our individual and collective projects to attend and contribute to the festival.”

As the evidence collection process gets underway in Drake’s defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) over the Kendrick Lamar diss track “Not Like Us,” Drake’s legal team has included some high-profile names on a surprisingly long list of potential witnesses.

Drake’s so-called “initial disclosure” filing lists 63 people and entities whom he believes have evidence that could help his bombshell case against UMG. The document is dated June 2 but wasn’t made public until Monday (July 14) as an attachment to Drake’s motion to subpoena a man named Kojo Asamoah, whom the rapper claims was involved in paying bots to artificially inflate streaming numbers for “Not Like Us.”

While inclusion on this list doesn’t necessarily mean someone will be deposed or called to testify at trial, the individuals and companies named here could be asked to hand over documents to Drake’s legal team as part of the evidence discovery process.  

The central allegation of the lawsuit is that UMG plotted to boost the popularity of Lamar’s chart-topping Interscope Records track, in which he called Drake a “certified pedophile.” UMG, which also owns Drake’s label Republic Records, vehemently denies the claims as “meritless.”

To that end, Drake’s initial disclosure names lots of UMG employees as potential witnesses in the case. But beyond seeking information from the people who handle music marketing on a day-to-day basis, the Canadian rapper seems to believe the conspiracy went all the way to the top of UMG, since he names CEO Sir Lucian Grainge as a source of information about “all causes of action” in the case.

And Grainge isn’t the only UMG bigwig on the list. Also named are Universal Music Publishing Group chief Jody Gerson, Interscope CEO John Janick and Republic co-founders Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman.

Drake has not accused Lamar himself of defamation, and the Los Angeles rapper is notably absent from Drake’s potential witness list. But he does name multiple high-profile people and businesses associated with Lamar, including former Top Dawg Entertainment president Dave Free and manager Anthony Saleh.

As Drake’s lawyers look for evidence of an alleged conspiracy to inflate the popularity of “Not Like Us,” the list states that streaming platforms like Amazon Music, Apple, Deezer, Soundcloud, Spotify and TIDAL should share details about UMG’s “promotion and licensing of the defamatory material” and “use of covert tactics to promote the defamatory material.”

Social media sites like TikTok, Twitch, YouTube and Instagram are also named as sources of this same information, as is Billboard.

Drake’s list targets live events as well. A number of the possible witnesses are entities involved in the production of Lamar’s 2025 Super Bowl halftime show performance, which, according to an updated version of the lawsuit, included a rendition of ”Not Like Us” out of an alleged desire to “assassinate the character of another artist.”

Lawyers for the Canadian superstar say the NFL, Fox and Roc Nation could all have information about the “decision to play the defamatory material at the 2025 Super Bowl.” Drake is seeking similar details from the Recording Academy, asking what actions UMG took “to have the defamatory material featured at the 2025 Grammy Awards,” where “Not Like Us” swept up five trophies.

UMG’s initial disclosure is also attached as an exhibit to the Monday motion. The music giant’s witness list, dated March 24, is significantly shorter than Drake’s by a factor of seven. It names just nine potential witnesses, including Drake and various record executives.

Unlike Drake, though, UMG’s potential witness list also names Lamar himself.

“Lamar is likely to have discoverable information concerning the creation of the recording, image and video, and the distribution and promotion of the recording and video,” write UMG’s lawyers.  

Reps for UMG and Drake’s legal team both declined to comment on the witness lists on Monday.

These revelations come amid a wait for a decision on UMG’s motion to dismiss the case outright. Judge Jeannette A. Vargas in New York federal court held a hearing at the end of June on the question, and her upcoming ruling will determine whether or not Drake’s claims are legally viable enough to move forward.

Travis Scott and the Cactus Jack boys released their JACKBOYS 2 compilation on Sunday (July 13), and La Flame didn’t waste any time releasing another visual from the project with the woozy “DUMBO” arriving on Monday (July 14).

Directed by Gabriel Moses, Scott raps his wispy flow from the comfort of his penthouse living room while surrounded by plenty of beautiful women. He then heads outside for a spin in his exotic Lamborghini with a cameo from Sheck Wes.

At one point, one of the girls is seen touching up the Houston rapper’s fresh tiger ink on his stomach. “Confetti, let it fall to your waistline/ You get wasted, just don’t waste mine,” he sings over dreamy production.

“DUMBO” has been tabbed an early fan-favorite on JACKBOYS 2 and came in at No. 5 on Billboard‘s entire ranking of the 17-track compilation.

JB2 arrived in celebration of 713 Day, an homage to Scott’s hometown of Houston. The project features the entire Cactus Jack roster in addition to appearances from NBA YoungBoy, Future, Playboi Carti, GloRilla, Tyla, Vybz Kartel, 21 Savage, Kodak Black, SahBabii and Waka Flocka Flame.

Bun B also plays host while guiding the project’s transitions. The project was preceded by singles such as Sheck and Trav’s “ILMB” and “2000 Excursion,” which features the duo alongside Don Toliver.

“I FUCKING LOVE YALLL CANT EXPRESSS ENOUGH. AN REMEMBER ANY YOUNG WILD YOUTE OUT THERE WITH SOME WILD IDEAS THAT U SHARE WITH YOUR HOMIES U CONSIDER FAMILY GET TOGETHER AND GO AFTER IT,” Scott wrote to X following JB2‘s release. “COULD INSPIRE THE WORLD ONE DAY.

The first installment of JACKBOYS arrived in December 2019 and the compilation album debuted at No. 1 atop the Billboard 200.

Watch the “DUMBO” video below.