--Tickets For "12-12-12" Concert Available Today

Tickets for the all-star Hurricane Sandy benefit concert go on sale today.  Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Foo Fighers frontman Dave Grohl are among the artists on board for the upcoming fundraiser "12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief."  Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Neil Young, Kanye West, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters and more are also slated to participate in the charity event.  The show will take place at New York's Madison Square Garden on December 12th.  Tickets will be available to the general public starting at noon Eastern through Ticketmaster outlets, www.thegarden.com, and www.radiocity.com.  Additional details are available at www.121212Concert.org.

Plans to broadcast the concert are in the works.  Money raised through the event will go to the Robin Hood Relief Fund, which is working with local organizations to help those in the areas hardest hit by the devastating late October storm.


--Metallica Launches Blackened Recordings Label

Metallica is taking stock of its recordings, past and future.  The metal icons have announced the launch of a new record label, Blackened Recordings, which Metallica says will now serve as home base for all of their recording projects.  In a statement on its website, Metallica also announced it had taken ownership of all of the band's master recordings, ending a nearly-30 year relationship with the Warner Music Group.  Drummer Lars Ulrich says forming Blackened Recordings "is the ultimate in independence," giving Metallica 100-percent control and putting the band "in the driver's seat" of their own "creative destiny."  The first release from Blackened will be the "Quebec Magnetic" DVD on Monday, December 10th.  Fans can order it from the band's website at www.metallica.com.


--Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong Selling California Home

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and his wife are apparently parting ways with their Newport Beach cottage.  According to RadarOnline.com, the rocker recently put the family's secondary home on the market with an asking price of almost one-point-nine-million-dollars.  The Armstrongs bought the house back in 2006, and then gave it a massive makeover.  The two-story cottage sits just a block from the ocean, and now includes three bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, and a private patio.  Billie Joe and his family spend most of their time living in the San Francisco suburb of Piedmont, but the singer has recently been spending time at rehab facility after an onstage meltdown earlier this year.


--Eddie Vedder, Marilyn Manson On West Memphis Three Doc Soundtrack

Many of the rockers who spoke out in support of the West Memphis Three are now contributing to a new documentary about the Arkansas men who were released from prison last year.  According to "Rolling Stone," the soundtrack for "West of Memphis: Voices for Justice," includes songs from Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Marilyn Manson, Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, Patti Smith, Henry Rollins and more.  Nick Cave and Warren Ellis composed the original score, which is included on the album as a suite.  The disc will be released on January 15th, while the film -- which was directed by Amy Berg and produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh -- is set to hit theaters on December 25th.


--Led Zeppelin Saluted, Ribbed At Annual Kennedy Center Honors Weekend

Led Zeppelin is being recognized for their music as one of this year's Kennedy Center Honors recipients.  But surviving band members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones were also remembered for their offstage antics at a White House reception Sunday.  During the event President Obama mentioned how the group "redefined the rock and roll lifestyle," and drew laughs as he added it was "fitting" that the event was taking place "in a room with windows that are about three inches thick -- and Secret Service all around."  Obama saluted and joked with each of the 2012 honorees, which also includes blues great Buddy Guy, David Letterman, Dustin Hoffman, and ballerina Natalia Makarova.

The reception was just one of several events celebrating the honorees.  On Saturday they attended a State Department dinner with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  After Sunday's reception they received an all-star concert salute featuring Bonnie Raitt, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and others.  Highlights from the concert will air as a CBS special on December 26th.  Zeppelin, meanwhile, will team up once again with fellow honoree Letterman Monday night as guests on CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman."


--Today's Birthdays

Ozzy Osbourne is 64.
Former Starship singer Mickey Thomas is 63.
.38 Special guitarist Don Barnes is 60.


--Today In Rock History

In 1968
Elvis Presley's comeback TV special, "Elvis," aired on NBC.

In 1976
The Sex Pistols released the single "Anarchy in the UK."

Reggae superstar Bob Marley and wife Rita were among those injured when a number of gunmen shot up Marley's home in Kingston, Jamaica.

A giant pig was seen floating over London as the inflatable prop used for the cover of Pink Floyd's album "Animals" broke loose.

In 1979
Eleven fans were trampled to death at a Who concert in Cincinnati when the crowd rushed through the entry way at a general admission seating venue.

In 1986
Judas Priest and CBS Records were sued.  The suit alleged that two fans shot themselves after listening to the band's music for six hours.

In 1988
Def Leppard's "Armageddon It" broke into the Top 40.

In 1991
Gilby Clarke took the place of Izzy Stradlin as Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist.

In 1996
The Bloodhound Gang released the album "One Fierce Beer Coaster."

In 2005
Marilyn Manson and girlfriend Dita Von Teese were married in a ceremony at a castle in Ireland.