--Kid Rock Earns Seventh Top-Ten Album

Kid Rock's new album "Rebel Soul" finds itself in familiar territory on this week's Billboard 200.  According to Billboard.com, the record debuted at number five, giving the Michigan rocker the seventh top-ten album of his career.  But "Rebel Soul's" 146-thousand-copies sold marks the smallest entrance for Rock since "Devil Without a Cause" bowed with four-thousand back in 1998.  Still, Rock's album sales could have been worse had he not made "Rebel Soul" the first album in his catalog available on iTunes.  More than a third of the album's sales were digital, putting it at number three on this week's Digital Albums chart.


--Zeppelin Debuts

Led Zeppelin is making a top ten chart debut with their new album "Celebration Day."  Billboard.com says the disc saw first-week sales of 101-thousand, enough to enter the Billboard 200 at number nine.  The live set, taped at Zeppelin's 2007 London reunion concert, is the first collection of new material from the group in several years.  


--Steven Tyler Apologizes To Nicki Minaj, Denies Being A Racist

Speaking out of turn?  Steven Tyler says he may have done so.  But racist intentions?  He says he has none.  Aerosmith's frontman is apologizing to Nicki Minaj for comments the rapper  found to be racist in nature.  The new "American Idol" judge expressed outrage when the former "Idol" judge told MTV he thought Minaj would have sent Bob Dylan "to the cornfield" if he had come on the talent show.  Speaking on the Canadian entertainment show eTalk on Tuesday, the 64-year-old rocker said "I apologize if it was taken wrong Nicki.  Maybe I spoke out of turn.  But a racist I'm not Nicki."  Tyler says he only meant if "Bob Dylan came on the show, he would have been thrown off."

Responding to Tyler's original comments, Minaj questioned whether her skin color was why Tyler assumed she wouldn't have liked an artist like Bob Dylan.  She took offense to the fact that Tyler had not even seen her judge a single contestant before he passed judgement on her abilities to scout out talent.  Everyone will be able to see Nicki's judging abilities for themselves come January.  That's when the new season of "American Idol" is scheduled to launch.  Mariah Carey, Keith Urban and Randy Jackson are also on the judges' panel.


--Florence Welch To Take Stage At Rolling Stones Concert

It seems Florence is temporarily replacing the Machine with the Rolling Stones.  Florence and the Machine frontwoman Florence Welch is set to join Mick Jagger and company tonight at London's O2 Arena.  She and legendary guitarist Eric Clapton will serve as guest performers during the Stones' second of five scheduled "50 and Counting" concerts.  The iconic rockers kicked things off in London this past Sunday.  That show featured appearances from former Stones Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor, plus Jeff Beck and Mary J. Blige.  The Rolling Stones' anniversary shows will continue next month, with a gig in Brooklyn, New York, and two in Newark, New Jersey.  No word yet on who might be joining the band for those.


--Nick Oliveri Records New Queens Of The Stone Age Vocals

Queens of the Stone Age continue to add to the list of helping hands on their forthcoming album.  Fans already know that Dave Grohl is sitting in on drums and that Trent Reznor spent some time with frontman Josh Homme working on a new track, but now it seems original bassist Nick Oliveri has returned to lay down some new vocals for the record as well.  Oliveri's band Mondo Generator broke the news on their Facebook page Wednesday, and promised more information in the near future.  Oliveri formed Queens of the Stone Age alongside Homme, but was essentially fired in 2004.  And just last year, the rocker was arrested for a felony domestic violence incident that led to a stand-off with a Los Angeles S.W.A.T. team.


--New Found Glory To "Go Away For A Bit" After Tour

New Found Glory has spent the past year celebrating its past, but it looks like the band plans to spend some time on the sidelines before they start looking toward their future.  Frontman Jordan Pundik tells Billboard.com that once they wrap their current tour celebrating the tenth anniversary of their breakthrough album "Sticks and Stones," the band will probably "go away for a little bit."  He explains that they've been touring for a while now, and he doesn't think any of them are in the right "headspace" to start work on a new album.  But Pundik says New Found Glory "won't go away completely" and will probably do a few things here and there during the break.  But as for new music, he says the follow-up to 2011's "Radiosurgery" probably won't come out any sooner than 2014.

In the meantime, New Found Glory's "Sticks and Stones" trek will keep the guys busy through mid-December.  They're scheduled to take the stage tonight for a show in Denver.


--Today's Birthdays

Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau is 61.
Former Cure bassist Michael Dempsey is 54.
Los Lonely Boys drummer Ringo Garza Jr. is 31.


--Today In Rock History

In 1968
The Who released its first concept album, "The Who Sell Out."

In 1976
Jerry Lee Lewis was charged with shooting a firearm within city limits after he accidentally shot his bass player Norman "Butch" Owens" twice in the chest while trying to hit a bottle.

In 1978
AC/DC released the album "If You Want Blood You've Got It."

In 1979
KISS performed for what the group said would be the last time.

In 1986
Bon Jovi hit number one on the pop singles chart with "You Give Love A Bad Name."

In 1995
Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar married model Kari Karte.  Eddie and Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony were among the guests at the ceremony.

In 2001
Former Beatle George Harrison died following a lengthy battle against cancer.  He was 58.

In 2004
U2's "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" debuted at number one on the UK album chart.

Sid Vicious' 1979 version of the Frank Sinatra tune "My Way" came in third in a listing of the top cover tune of all time by Britain's "Daily Telegraph" newspaper. Jimi Hendrix's 1968 version of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" was number 1.


In 2005
Former Creed frontman Scott Stapp was reportedly drunk when he arrived at a Manhattan studio for an appearance on Spike TV's "Casino Cinema."  He was described as "extremely mean, sexist, and an all-around jerk" while on the set.

In 2006
Three Days Grace's Three Days to Change tour made a stop at Toronto's Centre for Addiction And Mental Health -- the facility where band frontman Adam Gontier received treatment a year and a half earlier.  During the visit the band played six songs and conducted a Q&A session about addiction and sobriety.

In 2011
Maroon 5's performance at "The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" in New York City aired on CBS.  The event also featured performances from Cee Lo Green, Kanye West and Nicki Minaj.