J.M. “Jimmy” Van Eaton, a pioneering rock ‘n’ roll drummer who played behind the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and Billy Lee Riley at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, died Friday (Feb. 9) at age 86, a family member said.

Van Eaton, a Memphis native who came to the famous record label as a teenager, died at his home in Alabama after dealing with health issues over the last year, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis reported, with his wife, Deborah, confirming his death.

Van Eaton was known for his bluesy playing style that the newspaper said powered classic early-rock hits at Sun like “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” by Lewis and “Red Hot” by Riley. He also played with Bill Justis and Charlie Rich.

James Mack Van Eaton initially began playing trumpet in a school band, but he soon moved to drums, saying in a 2015 interview that “it was an instrument that intrigued me.”

Van Eaton had his own rock ‘n’ roll band called The Echoes that would record a demo at the recording studio operated by Sam Phillips. His work there led him to connect with Riley and later Lewis.

“The hardest man to play with in the world was Jerry Lee. I told every musician to stay out of this man’s way,” Phillips told The Commercial Appeal in 2000. “The one exception was JM Van Eaton.”

Van Eaton became part of a core of musicians that performed at Sun through the 1950s, the newspaper reported.

Van Eaton drifted away from the music business in the 1960s, but he resumed performing by the 1970s, particularly as interest in rockabilly grew following the death of Elvis Presley.

By the early 1980s, Van Eaton began four decades of working in the municipal bond business. But he also was part of the team that played the music for the film Great Balls of Fire, about Lewis, and he put out a solo album in the late 1990s. He was a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and Memphis Music Hall of Fame. He moved from Tennessee to Alabama a few years ago.

In addition to his wife, Van Eaton is survived by a son and daughter.

Drake‘s on Taylor Swift‘s team for the 2024 Super Bowl. He appears to have bet more than a million in cryptocurrency that the Kansas City Chiefs will defeat the San Francisco 49ers on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 11).

“I can’t bet against the swifties,” Drake wrote Saturday on Instagram, where he posted a screenshot of a $1,150,000 bet on Stake. Should the Chiefs win, his estimated payout is $2,346,000.

Drake has an endorsement deal with Stake, an online crypto casino where users bet on sports games and play traditional casino games.

Swift (and many of her fans) will be cheering on the singer’s boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, at the big game on Sunday. She’s wrapped her fourth Eras show in Tokyo and is expected to make it to Las Vegas to support Kelce while she’s on break from her tour until Friday, when she plays Melbourne, Australia.

The Embassy of Japan assured Swifties that the pop icon will have time to attend the Super Bowl after her Eras Tour concerts in Tokyo.

“Despite the 12-hour flight and 17-hour time difference, the Embassy can confidently Speak Now to say that if she departs Tokyo in the evening after her concert, she should comfortably arrive in Las Vegas before the Super Bowl begins,” read a statement released last week. “We know that many people in Japan are excited to experience Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, so we wanted to confirm that anyone concerned can be Fearless in knowing that this talented performer can wow Japanese audiences and still make it to Las Vegas to support the Chiefs when they take the field for the Super Bowl wearing Red.”

Swift rushed from the Tokyo Dome to a private jet at Haneda Airport right after her Feb. 10 show, the Associated Press reports, likely embarking on the long journey to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. At her Tokyo concerts, Travis Kelce jerseys and hats were spotted among the crowd’s Swift-inspired looks.

During a press conference on Monday, Kelce gushed over his girlfriend’s exciting night at the Grammys, where she announced her next album, The Tortured Poets Department, and became the first artist to win album of the year four times.

“She’s unbelievable,” said the NFL player. “She’s re-writing the history books herself, and I told her I’d have to hold up my end of the bargain and come home with some hardware too.”

Kanye West‘s album listening parties have become one of the more interesting music events in the last eight years. As a Kanye fan, given the mystique surrounding the iconic rapper, we always flirt with the idea of attending these events. However, we know to always expect the unexpected from him.

Back in 2016, Ye threw the first of his big listening parties at the world-famous Madison Square Garden in New York for The Life of Pablo, and it was one that I’m still upset I missed. Kanye has been a part of my life since he debuted as an artist with The College Dropout in 2003 when I was 12 years old. As hard as it is to say these days, I’m an OG fan of the Chicago rap legend and will make every attempt to attend a show or listening event.

The Pablo listening had Kanye smiling from ear to ear while partying with other rappers such as Pusha T and Kid Cudi, letting Young Thug get some shine on the auxiliary cord, and more. It was a moment all Kanye fans cherished. Little did we know it would be the last such event we’d get from the troublesome multihyphenate. The listenings for his non-gospel albums, Ye and Donda, were marred by several issues, including late start times and incomplete albums.

Being an older fan of Kanye, the desire to attend or even check for his events has slowly dwindled, especially as he’s become known more for his controversial actions than his music lately. When the 46-year-old announced he would host a pair of listening parties in Chicago and New York for Vultures, his collaborative project with Ty Dolla $ign as the group ¥$, I wasn’t clamoring to go. There was a good chance it wouldn’t even happen. Before he and Ty performed the album in Miami during Art Basel, he attempted to host a big listening event in Italy. It never happened. Still, a sense of intrigue pushed me to see where Ye was going in this new chapter of his career.

I went into the Vultures New York listening on Saturday (Feb. 10) wondering what to expect. Was the album finished? Would Ye go on a wild rant? Will the listening start on time? How would people react to Kanye this time after all the antisemitic comments and odd behavior? There were no true answers to those questions until I began my trip to the grounds of the UBS Arena.

Like a regular New Yorker, I took public transportation. Droves of fans bolted through Grand Central Station in Midtown Manhattan to catch the iron horse that brought guests directly to the arena. People were hyped over what they could hear from Kanye and Ty Dolla, but there was also a universal feeling that something could make this whole experience go haywire.

“We don’t even know what’s going to happen! Is he even done with the album? This IS Kanye,” someone a few rows over told their group of friends on the train. Another person didn’t even know why they were making the trip but said, “F— it, it’s Kanye.” Others were shameless and admitted they passed on sex to see Mr. West.

Postponing romantic dates for a Kanye event is insane, but knowing I wasn’t the only one unsure of this listening was a good feeling. Little did we know, though, that Ye was about to flip the switch on us again.

Various chants of “We want Yeezy” and “Kanye” filled the air inside UBS Arena as people made their way to their seats and a DJ spun various tunes. Doors had been open since 8 p.m., and people grew restless as minutes turned into hours with no sign of ¥$ in sight.

In my mind, I already felt things were going south. I saw people yawning in their seats while others scrolled through their phones with barely a flair of excitement on their faces. Some were reminiscing about the “old Kanye” and his most legendary tours, including 2008’s Glow in the Dark tour and 2013’s Yeezus tour, possibly to reassure them that Ye is indeed capable of putting on a memorable show. The event in Chicago Thursday night (Feb. 8) had fans upset as it started late and lasted all of 45 minutes before ending abruptly.

People seemed to be over Ye’s antics and the whole experience before it even started. However, all those initial thoughts were squashed once the clock hit 11 p.m. and “Carnival” rang out through the UBS Arena speaker system. As the bass rattled the venue, Kanye and Ty Dolla showed up on the hazy stage to a roaring crowd with guests like Rich That Kid in tow.

From there, Ye and Ty took the crowd on a journey filled with hard-hitting anthems and head-bopping tunes. At one point, I forgot I was at a listening and thought this was a full-fledged concert with people screaming at the top of their lungs while bopping in their seats, a far cry from the tired and bored faces that walked through the doors of UBS at 8 p.m.

Kanye is known for teaming up with other artists on his albums and Vultures is no different. Although North West wasn’t in attendance, the crowd burst into cheers at her feature on “Talking.” Quavo’s appearance on “Paperwork” got a warm response, as did YG’s verse on “Do It” and Freddie Gibbs’ lyrical assault on “Back to Me.” However, no one got a more fiery response than the enigmatic Playboi Carti, who actually joined ¥$ on stage, rapping on “F-k Sumn” and “Carnival.”

Initially, I was shocked to hear how good the album sounded, and I wondered if Kanye had actually finished an album before playing it for the public rather than continuing to work on it until the deadline as he has in the past. The production was on point, and although his bars were incoherent and juvenile at times, Ye’s verses felt complete and Ty’s vocals sounded immaculate.

Ye isn’t the most lyrically gifted rapper on the planet, but we know he can put more effort into his rhymes. Bars such as “She fell in love with the sword, I sliced, I diced, I hit it from the back/ Whore, whore” on “Hoodrat” or “Wish somebody woulda warned us/ When I was 15, my soulmate wasn’t born yet” and “We got multiple wives too, just at different times/ Picture this, if every room got a different b—-/ Do that make me a porn-gga-mist?” on “Problematic” are just plain bad.

Kanye clearly can’t help himself and his controversial rhetoric with various mentions of being antisemitic and committing acts against Jewish women on tracks such as “Vultures” and “King.” He also didn’t stray away from comparing himself to controversial figures accused and/or found guilty of sexual assault on “Carnival,” where he raps, “Now I’m Ye Kelly, b—-/ Now I’m Bill Cosby, b—-/ Now I’m Puff Daddy rich/ That’s Me Too rich.”

We’ve heard Ye and Ty Dolla’s collaborative brilliance on tracks such as “Real Friends” and “Fade,” but Vultures has these guys showing more of their raw chemistry. The two are giving a convincing argument that they’re a formidable one-two punch with their new joint effort.

After about an hour, the listening was over, and fans were left satisfied. “Kanye is the GOAT, are you f—ing kidding me?” one person was heard yelling on their way out of the arena. Others shouted they needed the Chicago native to drop the album and that “he’s done it again,” proving people approved of his and Ty Dolla’s efforts.

Being a Kanye fan who’s seen it all, this listening was a welcomed surprise as Ye seems as if he has a clear vision for the music for the first time in years. He appeared to be so focused that Vultures 1 was released early Saturday morning, a day after the listening, which is a shocker given he’s delayed this album and other projects several times in the past.

Despite his best efforts to destroy it with controversial and offensive statements, Kanye’s musical legacy is already cemented. Vultures isn’t a make-or-break moment for the enigmatic rapper. But it is a bright spot in what has been a dark and gloomy few years. With Vultures reportedly being a trilogy and the first sounding as good as it does, I’m hoping Kanye can keep this momentum going into the next two parts. When he’s on, he can create something worthwhile.

As a follow-up to his last official release, Donda, which won two Grammys, Vultures has the potential to see the same success with heat-seeking tracks such as “Hoodrat,” “Do It,” “F-k Sumn,” “Carnival, “Burn,” and more propelling it. Do we need another album from Kanye West? No, not really. But with the ever-evolving hip-hop landscape and his ability to connect with different generations, Ye won’t be leaving the culture anytime soon. He just needs to stay focused on the music and drop on time.

Sony Music Publishing’s administration division in Nashville will relocate to Nashville’s Music Row area, having signed a lease to move into the 17th + Grand building (located at 1001 17th Ave.) from its current location in downtown Nashville at 424 Church Street, a source has confirmed to Billboard. The move is slated to take place later this year.

Sony Music Publishing’s entire administration division is located in Nashville and will now occupy a 24,000-square-foot space on the eighth floor of the 17th + Grand building. The move will shift the admin division closer to SMP Nashville’s creative office, located at 8 Music Square West. Among the songwriters signed to Sony Music Publishing Nashville’s roster are Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Gabby Barrett, Kane Brown, Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson.

17th + Grand is a nine-story building totaling over 166,000 square feet of retail and office space, with amenities including a roof terrace, club-level fitness and locker rooms, a conference center and more. Other tenants in the building include property management company Carter-Haston and City National Bank.

Nashville Business Journal first reported the relocation.

Other major music company moves in the city in recent years include the Universal Music Group Nashville office relocation from 401 Commerce Street to its current location at 222 2nd Ave. S. in 2019. The Academy of Country Music moved its headquarters from California to Nashville’s Wedgewood-Houston area in 2022, leasing space at Nashville Warehouse Company. Meanwhile, AEG Presents is set to relocate its regional headquarters to Nashville Yards by 2025, while CAA is also set to relocate its Nashville office to Nashville Yards that year.