A hometown gig is often something special for a performer — local friends and family bring a particular energy to the audience; the feel of a familiar room can enliven the show. Undoubtedly, there's a joy in performing for people who live in the same milieu that inspired your music. 

For singer, songwriter and pianist Neal Francis, a hometown show was the ultimate stage to capture his energetic performance via live album and concert film. Recorded live to tape at Chicago's Thaila Hall with an expanded 11-piece band, Francis Comes Alive could've been cut in 1973 or 2023 — as if the Band, the Meters, Wings and Dr. John had become unstuck in time. 

Fittingly, Francis and co. rollick through 12 originals on vintage analog equipment under moody lighting. Most of the band don custom jumpsuits; shaggy-haired Francis is centerstage wailing on the keys, his paisley-printed one-piece open to the navel. Through an occasionally hazy filter, the camera pans over the sold-out audience and the sound engineer, who is grooving backstage.

Compared to the incredible and bombastic stage shows documented in Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, Francis Comes Alive is stripped down. But it's clear Francis and his all-Chicago band are having a great time. Touring with such a large, local ensemble "felt like a high school band field trip," Francis tells GRAMMY.com. "We ham it up there…everybody's just so together and it feels like one unit."

Neal Francis will close 2023 — which saw him play 113 dates across the country — with a New Year's Eve show in Denver, Colorado. GRAMMY.com caught up with Francis to discuss Francis Comes Alive, his spiritual journey back to music, and receiving a blessing from the OG rocker to Come Alive. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

You've been touring heavily in the past few years, which would certainly hone your live show. Was that part of the thinking behind putting out a live album?

Definitely. We had talked about doing a live record and it just made sense: We've played hundreds of shows together, let's document it. But then of course adding an extra seven people to the equation, that was more of a separate vision.

What about your live performance did you think would translate well to a live album/film?

We've persisted in presenting this kind of old school rock show that may not be as common anymore, which I think resonates with people.  I think people don't expect it because my recorded music is a lot more laid back and chill than what they encounter live. We just pour all of our energy into it. 

I tried to make the presentation of the live album and the live film— as much as I could within the constraints of our budget— look special and ethereal. It all came from my initial brainchild, but I definitely would not have come close to pulling it off were it not for having that team around me: Al Basse is the director, [and] my stylist Rachel Epperson made all the jumpsuits from scratch for the entire band – including the one I was wearing.

There's one guy in a white suit that has all this fringe under his arms…

That's our guitarist. It was funny because that was what I envisioned myself wearing initially. What always happens with Rachel is I'll come in with some idea and then she'll just really go out in left field with it and end up creating something that's way more cool than anything I could ever think of.

Rachel makes a lot of what we wear on stage on any given night. She's been with us since early on. 

There have been quite a few concert films out this year, including massive ones from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. While yours is markedly different, did you think about any of those big tours as you were putting this concept together?

I don't want to say I have my head under a rock, but in some ways I do because I didn't have any idea that those were coming out! I don't have social media at all; I have a presence there thanks to my management team. I'm generally looking towards stuff I like from the past for inspiration, and [to] my spiritual journey. I read a lot. 

My range of influence is a little bit different than whatever's happening currently. And I'd love to see T Swift's movie. My dad actually went and saw it, and I didn't ask how he liked it, but I should. [Laughs.] 

As far as other concert films, there's two that really come off the top of my head: The Last Waltz and Stop Making Sense. I feel like a cue was taken from The Last Waltz in hiring a horn section, perhaps. 

I had this pretty strong visual experience doing some breathwork in January of 2023 that gave birth to the whole visual concept, and that gave me enough vocabulary and manic energy to start collaborating with Al and Rachel. And it just took shape from there. 

I wanted custom set pieces like you would see on a 1960s variety show, but ideas like that had to be pared down. We ended up dressing up the risers, et cetera instead. The people I have working with me are just ingenious, so I think it came off really well. 

Beyond the pandemic, the past five years or so have been quite a whirlwind for you. You broke up with a partner, you started a music ministry job in 2018, made your debut album Changes in 2019 and then put out In Plain Sight — which was recorded in that church, where you were also living, in 2021. How does your creative journey reflect those experiences?

I got sober in October of 2015 and I didn't really start investing back into my music career until I was a couple years sober.

The common thread for me has been as I develop a spiritual way of life — not to say a religious way of life, but just as I devote more time to things like meditation and increased mindfulness and awareness — it seems to translate to these gifts in my career that I didn't have at all before getting sober. The more I contribute to that side of things, the more everything else blossoms.

Have you seen yourself evolve as a performer as well?

Unquestionably. I'll just say inwardly, Wow, I'm able to sing so much better now. When that recording was made at Thalia Hall, unfortunately, I was still smoking. And that was something that I was actually in the midst of a relapse, smoking cigarettes. And I can really hear it, when I listen back. 

One of the things that has been getting more consistent is my commitment to my vocal process, warming up and the sort of exercises I do. Also just the way in which I sing — learning how to sing at all because I just wasn't a singer before starting this project. Changes is really my first recorded attempt at singing lead vocals on anything.

What was your favorite song to play during this live session?

I still really enjoy playing "Changes" because we have this arrangement that's been kicked around live for a while, and the audience always really responds to it. "Sentimental Garbage" is another one that's really fun to play because we've added this sort of spacey droning synth section that is really fun and funny. 

We ham it up there and it's really fun to play with this band because everybody's just so together and it feels like one unit.

I've always appreciated that your music sounds a bit out of time. I'd love to hear a little bit about the sonic fabric of Neal Francis.

When I was making Changes, I was kind of like, how close can I get to this? Specifically Allen Toussaint and Leon Russell and J.J. Cale and Curtis Mayfield— these are some of my heroes; what is in their playbook for these situations? That's sort of how I arrive at new things, just really trying to go for a certain aesthetic and then inevitably ending up somewhere different.

I've got a huge range of influences that I tried to open up more to on my second record. And now the record I'm working on currently, it's just another snapshot. I think the unifying element is probably the process; we do a lot of stuff analog, recording live as a band, and I think that's perhaps increasingly rare, and it yields a certain sound that's difficult to replicate. 

I don't know if this is a musical hero of yours, but I read that you received a congratulatory text from Peter Frampton.

I guess he was tipped off by my friend Tom Cusimano. And the music industry is tiny in that regard. Tom sent Peter this Chicago Sun Times article about the Francis Comes Alive shows, and he sent his blessing. He was like, "Congratulations in advance, here's hoping it goes smoothly for you." It was so funny to get that the day we were recording. A real nice nod from him.

I have to ask you about this because it happened to me: the Neal Francis/ Neil Frances confusion. How do you feel about getting mistaken for that pop/dance duo?

It's definitely been a process. It's my actual name and not having any control over it, especially early on, it was really a challenge to let it roll off and accept it. Now we're actually acquainted with those guys and I'm going out to record something with them in early January. 

We run into them: We had consecutive sets at Outside Lands and then they were on the same flight to L.A. recently from San Fran. It's very congenial and they're really in a different space musically. So there's not really a threat; if anything, I think, it's a boon to our individual success because people will mistakenly end up at the other person's shows, but end up enjoying it because it's a quality experience. So hopefully our collaboration will yield something interesting.

Beyond that collab, you mentioned that you're working on a new album. What else is on your plate?

That's the main thing on my horizon is getting rest and then making the album. Hopefully, having that wrapped the first couple of months of the year. Then I'm not really touring very much until that record gets released. We'll be doing more of those one-offs and festivals over the summer, starting with Jazz Fest in May, and then coming back with a proper album release tour. 

[I'm also] building my own recording rig here at home so that we can record more and release more. It's two years since our last studio effort, and [I want to be] less precious about it but still having quality releases, but just maybe them being more frequent. That's just another muscle that I'm really excited to be working— just recording stuff on my own. 

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A year and a half ago, Peter Frampton may have played his final concert. Standing alone at the Concord Pavilion, just north of San Francisco, on October 12, 2019, he didn't want to follow his band offstage at the end of his performance. He didn't want to stop. 

"I had to wait until the crowd would calm down," Frampton tells GRAMMY.com. "In the end, I had to shut them up to say 'Thank you.' And I never said goodbye. I just said, 'I'm not going to say goodbye.'" Despite the fact the 70-year-old is creatively active and taking care of himself, the time will come when he has to say goodbye to touring. When? His inclusion body myositis, or IBM, will dictate that. 

The degenerative muscle condition, which has no cure, may one day claim his guitar mastery. And at that point, Frampton says, he will stop. But if it's cruel that the COVID-19 pandemic potentially robbed him of his final viable year as a live performer, Frampton doesn't carry any detectable resentment about it. The one-time GRAMMY winner and five-time nominee is too busy playing guitar—and every time he picks up the instrument, he says, it feels like the last time.

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That bittersweet parting between a man and his lifelong communication tool colors the Peter Frampton Band's latest instrumental album, Frampton Forgets the Words, which drops April 23 via UMe. (His last album 2007's Fingerprints, won a GRAMMY for Best Pop Instrumental Album; his cover of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" won Best Rock Instrumental Performance.)

Frampton Forgets the Words is a grab-bag of 10 covers of rock songs that just plain move Frampton, and he imbues every lick and line of tunes by Radiohead ("Reckoner"), Roxy Music ("Avalon") Lenny Kravitz ("Are You Gonna Go My Way") and other legacy artists with deep feeling and panache. 

GRAMMY.com gave Frampton a ring about the future of his touring career, why he chose these songs, and his relationships with David Bowie and George Harrison—both of whom he covered on this album. Check out Frampton Forgets the Words' version of Bowie's "Loving the Alien," which premieres exclusively above, and read on for the interview.

The pandemic interrupted your farewell tour, yeah?

Yes. We were lucky. I was so, so lucky that we decided to start it in May of '19 because we managed to get halfway through. We finished the U.S.-Canada portion in mid-October. And then, of course, by March, we were shut down. We were supposed to go to Europe in 2020, in May. Realistically, it was the right thing. We're all in the same boat, so it was definitely the right thing to do. But, yeah, it was disappointing.

Did you record Frampton Forgets the Words before or after COVID-19 hit?

Before. It was recorded before the finale tour. We did three, nay, four albums before coming off the road in 2018—again, in October-ish—with Steve Miller. Then, took nine or 10 days off, went straight into the studio and did the All Blues album and another blues album, which has yet to come out. Then, we took Christmas off and in early 2019, we did Forgets the Words.

And then, we started after that, all the way up to April sometime, we were working on my first new solo album since the last one. 

Peter Frampton in 1973. Photo: George Wilkes/Hulton Archive/Getty Images​

Were you playing some of the Frampton Forgets the Words tunes during the farewell tour?

No, we were playing stuff off All Blues, but we were not playing anything off the instrumental record. Because it wasn't out yet, and also, that meant we could do some of the Fingerprints instrumentals, like "Black Hole Sun" and occasionally some of the other ones in there from that album. 

This album feels very personal, in a sense. I remember reading a past interview where you said your playing has become more soulful over the past few years due to some of the physical issues you've been facing. It sounds like you're profoundly feeling every note of these songs.

I think it's a combination of things. I treasure being able to play so much, and of course, it's weighing on my mind that I do have my muscle disease clock—the IBM clock, I call it. Because I am slowly, slowly, slowly… but it's very slow. 

I think it's a combination of having played so many notes over the years—I've chosen what not to play anymore [laughs]—and I feel like every time I pick the guitar up, it's like I'm playing for the last time. So, I put my heart and soul into it, especially on stage. Especially on the finale tour, because the audiences were different every night, but the feeling I got from every audience was exactly the same. It was a phenomenal feeling of them all putting their arms around me and saying, "It's going to be OK." I got chills saying that. But I did, I felt that, and I realized I've touched a lot of people and their lives. 

It really brought it home to me, how much my music has meant to so many people. It was just a two-way "Thank you" the whole night, on every show. I have to say, every show. And at the end, I would be left on my own on the stage, the band would leave, and I had to wait until the crowd would calm down. In the end, I had to shut them up to say "Thank you."

They didn't want us to leave. And I never said goodbye. I just said, "I'm not going to say goodbye. I'm just waving." It was just phenomenal. The best experience of my whole career of touring.

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That's lovely, truly. I noticed while listening to Frampton Forgets the Words that even without lyrics, each song's intent came through loud and clear. Just your guitar "singing" them. Do you feel the emotions of "Isn't It a Pity" or "Reckoner" come through simply in the melodies and performances when you strip away the verbal element?

Well, I started as an instrumental player because of The Shadows, this incredible pre-Beatles instrumental band that was Cliff Richard's backup band as well. They had so many hits. You would call it "surf music," but we would call it The Shadows. So that's how I started—with very melodic stuff. 

Let's home in on "Isn't It a Pity," a song of compassion and tender concern. Your instrumental version telegraphs those emotions even without George's words.

My guitar is another voice. It's like I sing with my voice and I play with another voice. It's always been the most expressive part of what I do, is play. So, when I chose these songs to do instrumental versions of, I chose them because of my capability, of what I thought I could do.

"Isn't It a Pity," I tried to sound like George's voice but in my voice, if you know what I'm saying. It was an emulation of what he was singing. Obviously, with an instrumental, you don't have the second verse with different words to keep peoples' attention. So you have to make it more interesting as it goes along, with the notes you choose.

So, that one is what I enjoyed doing the most. That one and also Roxy Music's "Avalon." I'll play my own trumpet here, even though I play guitar: Brian Ferry's voice on "Avalon" is like, "Is there something coming out?" It's so laid back and I wanted to be able to emulate not the sound of his voice, but the effect his voice had on the listener. I'm very, very proud of the sound and the playing, especially on the verses of "Avalon."

You're terrific at building drama, too. You may not be able to add a second verse, but you can add embellishments that up the ante.

You have to do that. Otherwise, it would be boring.

We're touching a lot of spheres in rock history with this tracklist. What's the common thread between these 10 tunes, beyond the simple fact that you love them?

It's something that these songs all stir emotion within me. Especially Radiohead and even "Dreamland," which is the Jaco Pastorius tribute. I couldn't do most of these songs because as a guitar player, I can't play as fast as he could play on bass!

But it's all a choice of notes. That's the common thread. If you compare "Dreamland" with [Alison Krauss’] "Maybe," which is the end track, it's about the melody. It's about that choice of notes over that chord sequence. And I think it rings true with all of them.

"Isn't It a Pity" has got that diminished kind of chord that George does on the second line, and that just sets it apart from every other song on All Things Must Pass. And it was the first one I heard when I went into the studio. They had already done that track when I sat down and started cutting tracks with them, with George.

I've never forgotten… well, first of all, it's my first time walking into Abbey Road. I'm not going on a tour; I'm going to play on an album with George Harrison and all these incredible players, you know? Ringo, Jim Gordon, Klaus Voormann, Billy Preston. It was just unbelievable. So, I've never forgotten that moment when I heard "Isn't It a Pity." 

It's always been the one that just… again if I get goosebumps, you're in!

What was your relationship like with George?

I had a very, very good relationship with George. Apart from meeting him the same day as he asked me to play on the Doris Troy album, and then asked me back for All Things Must Pass, my wife and I—Mary, at the time—would go down to Friar Park, where they lived, and spend time on the weekends with George and Pattie. It became kind of a thing. He was a dear friend and I miss him terribly.

We've got David Bowie in there, with "Loving the Alien." Did you know him as well?

We went to school together. I met David when I was 12 or 13 [years old.] My father was his art teacher in high school for three years. He became—as well as my friend—almost closer to my dad because my dad was the head of the art department and it was every form of visual art known to man, from typography to fine art to you-name-it. History of architecture, the whole bit.

My dad obviously taught everybody, but when there was a student—in this case, a couple; there was George Underwood, who did the Ziggy Stardust cover as well as many others for David, who's a fantastic fine artist, a painter. I have some of his work here. He was Dave's best friend for life.

So, it was the two of them I met. At one point, my dad said, "Well, you boys all play these guitars and this rock 'n' roll music. Why don't you bring your guitars to school, and I'll stick 'em in my office, and you can play them at lunchtime? So we did, and David became sort of more of a family friend. 

When we did the introduction to the Glass Spider tour in London, my parents came up and afterward, there was a press conference and we played about four or five numbers. So afterward, my parents were backstage. And I'm talking to Mom and I'm saying, "Where's Dad?" She's saying, "Oh, I don't know. He went off with Dave somewhere!" They would just disappear off together. 

When I lost my dad, Dave was the first person to call. That gives you some idea.

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Such intimate connections! I also wanted to touch on Radiohead, since they're the most contemporary act of the bunch. What's your relationship with those guys and/or their music? I'm not sure if you know them personally.

No, I don't know them. But from afar, I'm amazed by that band. It's one of the most inventive bands ever, I think, and they keep reinventing themselves with every album, every piece. It's something so special; it's very unique. I mean, every band is unique in some way, but Radiohead are way ahead of their time, I think, which is wonderful. 

I can learn so much from them just listening to the way [Thom Yorke] sings, plays, the way they all write, the basic chord sequence and the track and the riff. You know, I delve in there. It's a lesson for a musician. It's a really big lesson listening to any one of their songs.

Let's say, best case scenario, venues start to open this summer. Are you going to try to finish up your farewell tour?

This is where I have to give you the realistic chat. Not you—I have to be realistic because we all have one clock. Well, we've got two clocks right now, worldwide, that we live with. One is our life-clock and one is the COVID clock. 

The COVID clock is stopping everybody from being around each other, for good reason, right now, obviously. And the more we stay away from each other, unfortunately, at this time, the better it is. But I have a third clock, which is my IBM—inclusion body myositis—clock. Slowly but surely, unfortunately, I'm losing strength in my hands, my arms and my legs.

It's specific muscles it hits. It picks and chooses the muscles and there's no rhyme or reason for it. They don't know; there's no cure. If it takes another year before we can reschedule any dates, I will have to be realistic to see if my hands work or my legs will keep me up. 

That's what I have to deal with, and I think there's a certain level of playing where I won't perform anymore. If I can't play certain things the way I want to—I don't want to be that person to go out there and people feel bad for me because I don't play as good but I am Peter Frampton. That's not going to happen.

If I go out having played my last show [near] San Francisco on October 12, 2019, if that's my last show, then so be it. But obviously, I am hoping more than anybody else that within a year—or if it is a year; I'm imagining it's going to be at least a year—if things aren't doing good, then that will be it for me, unfortunately.

In the meantime, it seems like you're feeling good and you're creatively percolating. What are you listening to lately? If you were to make another instrumental record, what might be on it, based on what you're checking out these days?

Oh, gosh. I can't answer that question. That's a whole thought process I'd need, like, a month for!

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Following a Dec. 17 Christmas special, January 14 will mark 30 years since the official season premiere of "The Simpsons." Today, the show still holds the trophy as the longest-running primetime TV series. If you look back on the 670-plus episodes of the animated series, you're likely to find a few constants: Homer will undoubtedly cause a catastrophe, Lisa will voice her opinions on issues important to her, Bart will get into trouble and a musical guest or two will appear in nearly every season. In fact, since the series premiered, music has played an integral role in many of the storylines and has arguably helped "The Simpsons" become as venerable of a show as it is today.

As evidence of music's permanent place in "The Simpsons," we learn in multiple episodes that Homer is often regretful of not having lived out his dream to become a rock star; Lisa can often be found playing her baritone saxophone when not studying; the now-popular theme song was composed by GRAMMY winner Danny Elfman, and countless bands, artists and musicians have lent their voices to tons of episodes, often playing themselves but sometimes other characters.

What is it about music and "The Simpsons" that make the two pair so well together, and what has helped the show, after 30 years and counting, remain as popular and influential today? To help us understand the continued cultural impact of "The Simpsons," we asked a few of the guest stars, and one of the individuals behind the show, about the everlasting impression that Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and the rest of the cast have made on all of us.

"There's something so compelling about them," says supervising director Mike Anderson, who's been with the show for 30 years and was the one who made Sigur Rós' participation in season 24 happen. "I think somehow the Simpsons—the yellow Simpsons—represent all of us. I think we are them, we have seen the experiences, somehow, we understand them. And they're a part of us that we love. And also, we can watch from the safety of our homes as Homer bashes his head between a ship and a pier post or saws himself in half [Laughs]."

Peter Frampton, who appeared in the season seven episode "Homerpalooza" says it’s the juxtaposition of pairing artists who reach different demographics. "I’m on the same show as the Smashing Pumpkins, who started out much later," he says. "Everything put together makes the most impact for the script."

Read More: Peter Frampton On His Farewell Tour, Living With I.B.M. & Reclaiming 'Peter F**king Frampton'

Shawn Colvin, who appeared in two episodes as the lead singer of a church band named Rachel Jordan, adds, "'The Simpsons' has a certain edge and sophistication and irreverence in its humor and content, while still being silly and fun, thus making it relevant to all ages. The characters are so lovable and well-developed, not to mention well-played. They are relatable. Ultimately, it’s an intelligent show that also succeeds in being kind of stupid, in the best possible way."

Randy Bachman of Bachman Turner Overdrive, who appeared with the band in season 11, says having music play such a large role on the series has "made the Simpsons a very hip and relevant contemporary show. Besides the continuing family adventures of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and all the other characters, it was unique to see musicians cartooned and hear their music integrated into the shows. It was a win-win-win for all."

Welsh singer/songwriter Judith Owen, who appeared in two episodes of the show, says, "One of the charms of 'The Simpsons' is that it actually has a foothold in reality. The fact that you've got this father, who's doing a really boring job in a factory but feels the regret of having given up his dream to be a musician, how many people are like that in real life? These are real experiences that people feel, which is having to give up their youthful dreams because they can’t pursue it because they have a family or obligations. Those are things that make the show pertinent and real."

Owen adds, "The music acts, like it so often does in life, as being the thing that connects you to humanity, and that is what music does anyway. Whether it be artists, or the very nature of the characters being musical, it connects the viewer to them in a very human way because even though it’s all make-believe, it has real things that we all understand."

Anderson adds that what makes "The Simpsons" so relevant 30 years later, is that we can find ourselves in one of the characters. "They hold up a mirror to the craziness in the world going on, but they make fun of it. It's a safe way to look at problems."

As far as the impact "The Simpsons" as had on all of us, the viewers, Anderson posits, "It's in our DNA now. It’s hard to imagine a world without the Simpsons."

To celebrate the 30th anniversary since the show's premiere, we've compiled a complete list, with some highlights, of every musical guest appearance on the show. Take a walk down memory lane and see if you can imagine a world without "The Simpsons."

Season 1

Episode 6—Ron Taylor: "Moaning Lisa"

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In the inaugural season of "The Simpsons," Lisa is struggling to find purpose in the world. She finds solace in her saxophone, but characters, like her music teacher Mr. Largo, get in the way. Then, one night as she’s sulking in her room, feeling down and defeated, she hears the soulful sax sounds of "Bleeding Gums" Murphy, played by the late actor, singer and writer Ron Taylor. Lisa sneaks out of her room, follows the music and eventually meets "Bleeding Gums," who teaches her how to express her feelings through music. Together, they write "Moanin' Lisa Blues."

Season 2

Episode 5—Tony Bennett and Daryl Coley: "Dancin' Homer"
Episode 31—Ringo Starr: "Brush With Greatness"

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In Season 2 episode "Dancin' Homer," Homer and family attend a baseball game to see the Springfield Isotopes. "Bleeding Gums" Murphy makes another appearance to perform the National Anthem, and this time his voice is supplied by the late singer Daryl Coley. As the title suggests, "dancin' Homer" fires up the crowd with a spur-of-the-moment performance, impressing the baseball big shots so much that they promote him to work for the Capital City Capitals. As the Simpsons arrive in Capital City, a song of the same name, performed by GRAMMY winner Tony Bennett, plays as Bennett himself makes a quick cameo with the line, "Hey, good to see you."

Adding more star—er, Starr?—power to the second season, the former Beatles drummer appears in episode 31 as Marge's once-upon-a-time art muse. When Homer is looking for his athletic gear in the attic—after deciding he’s going on a diet when he gets stuck in a tube slide during a trip to Mount Splashmore — he comes across several portraits of Starr painted by Marge. Lisa becomes interested in her mother's hidden talent, which sends Marge back in time, recalling how she sent her paintings to Starr a long time ago but never received a response. When Marge is encouraged to pick up painting again, the episode travels to England where we see Starr responding to fan mail seemingly from decades past. He picks up Marge's package out of the pack and finds her paintings. Impressed by her work, he sends a letter to Marge thanking her for her "fab" painting, which he "hung on me wall."

Season 3

Episode 1—Michael Jackson and Kipp Lennon: "Stark Raving Dad"
Episode 10—Aerosmith: "Flaming Moe's"
Episode 13—Sting: "Radio Bart"
Episode 17—Terry Cashman: "Homer At The Bat"
Episode 20—Beverly D'Angelo: "Colonel Homer"
Episode 22—Spinal Tap: "The Otto Show"

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In the season opener, Michael Jackson guest stars as the voice of an institutionalized man: Leon Kompowsky of New Jersey, who looks nothing like the real Jackson but claims to be the King Of Pop. Due to contractual obligations with his label at the time, Jackson couldn’t sing the songs in the episode, including "Happy Birthday Lisa," which Jackson wrote, so the singing parts were done by musician Kipp Lennon, a founding member of the folk/rock band Venice.

"Singing for the Simpsons over the years has always been a pleasure and a joy," Lennon tells the Recording Academy. "I always know that whatever they are calling me for it’s going to be clever and fun... It's quite a legacy to be a part of... a true icon of American pop culture that set the bar so very high indeed."

Meanwhile, Aerosmith make their "Simpsons" debut in episode 10 as the featured musical guest at the grand reopening of "Flaming Moe's," where the famous Moe joins them onstage for a rendition of "Walk This Way." 

Sting appears in episode 13 as part of a campaign to raise awareness about a young boy who had allegedly fallen down a well in Springfield. However, the audience knows that there really isn’t a boy in the well; instead, it’s Bart who throws a radio transmitter microphone down a well and tricks the town into thinking a little boy is stuck. In an ironic turn of events, Bart falls down the well and Sting helps dig him out.

Later, in "The Otto Show" episode, Bart attends a concert by Spinal Tap—a parody band who appeared in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap—and decides he wants to be a rock star. The episode guest stars Harry Shearer, a regular "Simpsons" cast member who reprises his role as Derek Smalls from This Is Spinal Tap.

Season 4

Episode 7—Tom Jones: "Marge Gets A Job"
Episode 9—Linda Ronstadt: "Mr. Plow"
Episode 20—Barry White: "Whacking Day"
Episode 21—David Crosby: "Marge In Chains"
Episode 22—Barry White, Bette Midler and Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Krusty Gets Kancelled"

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Season four features an episode that fans and critics would go on to name one of the best in the animated series' history: "Mr. Plow." In the episode, Homer starts a snowplow business and calls it "Mr. Plow." In an attempt to get more customers, he creates a commercial to advertise his new business. When Barney sees how successful he is, he starts his own snowplow business, getting an even bigger snowplow and creating his own commercial, which features a jingle sung by Linda Rondstadt.

Barry White appears as the Grand Marshall for "Whacking Day"— a day created to drive snakes into the town's square and club them to death. David Crosby appears in episode 12 as the 12-step sponsor for Lionel Hutz; the episode references the Crosby, Stills And Nash song "Teach Your Children," when Crosby tells Hutz "and know that I love you."

Episode 22 features an all-star cast including White, Bettle Midler and Red Hot Chili Peppers, who come together to perform on Krusty's comeback special. It features the Red Hot Chili Peppers singing "Give It Away" in their underwear, and Krusty and Midler singing "Wind Beneath My Wings."

Season 5

Episode 1—David Crosby, George Harrison and the Dapper Dans: "Homer's Barbershop Quartet"
Episode 4—The Ramones: "Rosebud"
Episode 7—James Brown: "Bart's Inner Child"
Episode 10—Robert Goulet: "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)"
Episode 15—James Taylor: "Deep Space Homer"

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In episode one of season five, viewers are reminded that Homer once had a promising career as a member of The Be Sharps, whose hit song "Baby On Board" won a fictitious GRAMMY. In a flashback, Homer meets George Harrison at the GRAMMY after-party, and David Crosby presents The Be Sharps with their GRAMMY. The Be Sharps end up reuniting for a performance at Moe's Tavern, with the signing voices provided by the Dapper Dans.

One of the most memorable episodes of season five is episode four, which featured The Ramones performing at Mr. Burns' birthday party. After the band sings happy birthday to Mr. Burns, which ends with them saying "go to hell you old bastard," Mr. Burns, mistaking the Ramones for the Rolling Stones, orders Smithers to "have the Rolling Stones killed."

James Brown appears in episode seven of the show for a performance of his 1965 song "I Got You (I Feel Good)" at the Do What You Feel festival. GRAMMY winner James Taylor appears in episode 15 to serenade Homer and fellow astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Race Banyon on their space shuttle mission.

Season 6

Episode 22—Ron Taylor: "Round Springfield"
Episode 25—Tito Puente: "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)"

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In episode 22, Ron Taylor reprises his role as "Bleeding Gums" Murphy and lends his saxophone to Lisa for a school recital when she bumps into him at a hospital. Before Lisa could return the sax, "Bleeding Gums" dies. Lisa is the only one to attend his funeral and vows to make sure everyone in Springfield knows who "Bleeding Gums" Murphy is.

In the final episode of the season—part one of the two-parter "Who Shot Mr. Burns?"—Lisa convinces Principal Skinner to hire Tito Puente as a music teacher, but Puente quickly loses his job when the school loses an oil opportunity to Mr. Burns. Puente would appear again in part two of "Who Shot Mr. Burns?"

Season 7

Episode 1—Tito Puente: "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)"
Episode 5—Paul & Linda McCartney: "Lisa The Vegetarian"
Episode 6—Paul Anka: "Treehouse Of Horror VI"
Episode 24—Cypress Hill, Peter Frampton, Smashing Pumpkins and Sonic Youth: "Homerpalooza"

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The highlight of season seven is an episode that many "Simpsons" fans consider to be their favorite: "Homerpalooza." In the episode, Homer, in an attempt to prove to Bart and Lisa how cool he is, takes them to the Hullabalooza music festival where he’s hired as a sideshow freak who can withstand the force of a cannonball blast. The episode features appearances by Cypress Hill, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth and Peter Frampton, who Homer upsets when he accidently sends Frampton's stage prop (an inflatable pig he apparently purchased at a Roger Waters yard sale) flying into the air.

Recalling when he received the phone call from "The Simpsons" crew asking him to be on the show, Frampton remembers saying, "I think you want me to play the old, crusty rock star that’s done everything, been there and is a little bit fed up with everything, and [the crew] said, 'nailed it.'"

But for his part on "The Simpsons," Frampton didn’t simply read his lines, he also contributed to the story by adding one of his own. As Homer gets ready to be shot in the belly with a canon, Frampton walks by and quips, "25 years in this business and I’ve never seen anything like it."

As far as being "Simpson-ized," a.k.a. drawn like a "Simpsons" character, Frampton recalls that seeing himself as that way was iconic. The legendary guitarist even has a backstage pass of his character hanging from his speaker in his music room. "I'm very proud of it," he adds. "It's like getting a GRAMMY.

Season 8

Episode 2—Sally Stevens: "You Only Move Twice"
Episode 3—Sally Stevens: "The Homer They Fall"
Episode 9—Johnny Cash: "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)"

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In episode nine of season eight of "The Simpsons," Homer eats several hot chili peppers and hallucinates, leading him on a mysterious voyage where he meets the "Space Coyote," played by Johnny Cash.

Season 9

Episode 15—Hank Williams, Jr.: "The Last Temptation Of Krust"
Episode 22—U2: "Trash Of The Titans"

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In season nine, Hank Williams, Jr. sings the song "Canyonero," which was used in a commercial for the SUV of the same name.

In the "Trash of the Titans" episode, Homer runs for the position of Springfield's Sanitation Commissioner, but his campaign gets off to a bad start when he's beaten up after interrupting U2's PopMart Tour concert by inserting himself on the stage screens to promote his campaign.

Season 10

Episode 6—Yo La Tengo: "D'oh-in In The Wind"
Episode 10—The Moody Blues: "Viva Ned Flanders"
Episode 11—Cyndi Lauper: "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken"
Episode 12—Dolly Parton: "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday"
Episode 14—Elton John: "I'm With Cupid"
Episode 15—Hank Williams, Jr.: "Marge Simpson in: Screaming Yellow Honkers"
Episode 20—NRBQ: "The Old Man And The 'C' Student"

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In a star-stacked season, "The Simpsons" welcomed musical guests for six episodes of season 10, including Elton John, who ends up at the Springfield airport when the chandelier on his private jet needs repairing and leads to an emergency landing. After John exits the plane, Homer greets him and tells him he’s his biggest fan. John responds by handing Homer one of his GRAMMYs. John later ends up performing a special Valentine's Day private concert for Apu and his wife.

This season also features Homer running into the Moody Blues in a casino, Cyndi Lauper performing the national anthem at a Springfield Isotopes game, and Dolly Parton helping Homer and others get out of "Super Bowl jail" with her "extra-strength makeup remover." Yo La Tengo appear in episode six of the season as one of only a few artists invited to rework "The Simpsons" theme song, giving it a psychedelic touch.

Season 11

Episode 5—The B-52's: "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)"
Episode 8—NRBQ: "Take My Wife, Sleaze"
Episode 9—Clarence Clemons: "Grift Of The Magi"
Episode 12—Britney Spears: "The Mansion Family"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Episode 13—Bachman Turner Overdrive: "Saddlesore Galactica"
Episode 14—Shawn Colvin: "Alone Again, Natura-Diddly"
Episode 19—Joseph "Joe C." Calleja and Kid Rock: "Kill The Alligator And Run"
Episode 22—Willie Nelson: "Behind The Laughter"

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In episode 12, Britney Spears hosts the Springfield Pride Awards with Kent Brockman and accidentally kills Springfield’s oldest resident, Cornelius Chapman, when she kisses him on the cheek after handing him an award. Canadian rock band Bachman Turner Overdrive performs at the Springfield state fair as Homer shouts for them to play their hit "Takin' Care Of Business.” Shawn Colvin returns as Rachel Jordan, the lead singer of a Christian rock band Kovenant, and Ned is attracted to her. In the final episode of the season, Willie Nelson performs at the Phony Awards show, as a request from his longtime friend, Dr. Hibbert.

On playing the character of Rachel Jordan, Colvin says, "Playing Rachel was a blast. I recorded the song in Austin and they built the animation around my performance, but I did some overdubs in L.A. to the animation itself of Rachel, making grunting noises as she lifted her sound equipment back into her van. That was a first for me."

Season 12

Episode 2—The Who: "A Tale Of Two Springfields"
Episode 14—'NSYNC: "New Kids On The Bleech"
Episode 19—Shawn Colvin: "I'm Goin' To Praiseland"

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The Who perform in Springfield to destroy the wall that separates "Olde Springfield" from "New Springfield" with Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle voicing themselves. 'NSYNC appear in episode 14 to prevent L.T. Smash—who manage the short-lived boy band (featuring Bart) Party Posse—from destroying part of New York City. Colvin again reprises her role as Christian singer Rachel Jordan.

Season 13

Episode 3—R.E.M.: "Homer The Moe"
Episode 5—Judith Owen: "The Blunder Years
Episode 16—Phish: "Weekend At Burnsie's"

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In episode three of Season 13, Homer tricks R.E.M. into playing a concert in his garage bar, which he opened to steal regulars from Moe's Tavern. The band plays their hit song "It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." Judith Owen appears in episode five as herself, playing piano and singing at the Pimento Grove. Jam band Phish appear in episode 16 to play a rally in support of the benefits of medical marijuana, which Homer enjoys.

Recalling seeing herself animated for the first time on "The Blunder Years" episode, Welsh singer/songwriter Owen says, "It was absolutely hysterical. I had an enormous and mouth, and massive eyes, and it was just fantastic."

Season 14

Episode 2—Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz, Mick Jagger, Tom Petty, Keith Richards, Brian Setzer: "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation"
Episode 3—Tony Bennett: "Bart vs. Lisa vs. 3rd Grade"
Episode 4—Baha Men: "Large Marge"
Episode 6—Sally Stevens: "The Great Louse Detective"
Episode 7—Little Richard: "Special Edna"
Episode 11—Blink-182: "Barting Over"
Episode 17—"Weird Al" Yankovic: "Three Gays Of The Condo"
Episode 18—David Byrne: "Dude, Where's My Ranch?"
Episode 20—Jackson Browne: "Brake My Wife, Please"

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In one of the most rockin' seasons of "The Simpsons," the creators managed to get some of music's biggest stars to appear in "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation.” In this episode, viewers are again reminded of Homer’s long-lost rock star dreams, and the Simpsons family, realizing how they may have contributed to his dreams never becoming reality, send him to a Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp run by the Rolling Stones. At the camp, Homer and other Springfield residents learn about rock music from instructors such as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz, Tom Petty and Brian Setzer. The campers end with a mock rock concert that features Homer on guitar and vocals.

Also, Blink-182 appear in episode 11, performing at a party being thrown by skateboard legend Tony Hawk, who Bart happens to be neighbors with when he temporarily moves into a downtown loft.

Season 15

Episode 7—Jim Gilstrap: "Tis the Fifteenth Season"
Episode 15—Brave Combo: "Co-Dependent's Day"

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This season of "The Simpsons" featured appearances by singer Jim Gilstrap and polka band Brave Combo, who series creator Matt Groening learned about when he was a college radio DJ in the 1980s.

Season 16

Episode 9—50 Cent: "Pranksta Rap"
Episode 18—Fantasia Barrino: "A Star Is Torn"
Episode 19—Baha Men and Los Lobos: "Thank God It's Doomsday"

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In episode nine, Bart sneaks out of the house to attend a rap concert featuring hip-hop artist “Alcatraaz.” After Alcatraaz drops his microphone during the concert, it lands in Bart’s hands and the hip-hop artist challenges him to a rap battle. Bart wins and gets to ride home with Alcatraaz in his limo, meeting 50 Cent along the way. In episode 18, "American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino plays the role of Clarissa Wellington, who is one of the contestants of Krusty the Clown's Lil'l Starmaker singing contest.

Season 17

Episode 19—Jim Gilstrap: "Girls Just Want To Have Sums"
Episode 22—Mandy Moore: "Marge And Homer Turn A Couple Play"

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Mandy Moore plays the role of pop star Tabitha Vixx—the wife of Springfield Isotopes' Buck "Home Run King" Mitchell. After Tabitha embarrasses Buck by stripping down to lingerie during one of his games, he asks Homer and Marge for help with his marriage in exchange for season tickets. After a few hiccups in the relationship, Tabitha and Buck are able to patch things up.

Season 18

Episode 1—Metallica: "The Mook, The Chef, The Wife And Her Homer"
Episode 2—White Stripes: "Jazzy And The Pussycats"
Episode 4—Sir Mix-A-Lot: "Treehouse Of Horror XVII"
Episode 14—Stephen Sondheim: "Yokel Chords"
Episode 22 — Ludacris: "You Kent Always Say What You Want"

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In the opening episode of season 18, Otto is driving the kids to school when he sees Metallica’s tour bus broken down on the side of the road. Otto pulls over to talk to them and Bart hijacks the school bus, forcing Metallica to hitch a ride with Hans Moleman.

This season also features appearances by The White Stripes, who performed a parody of their video "The Hardest Button To Button" with Bart. When Bart’s drum kit crashes into theirs, Meg White says she’s going to kick Bart’s "ass," but before she has a chance, the band falls off a bridge into a landfill.

Ludacris, who plays himself as "Luda Crest," a toothpaste that’s "the enemy of the cavity." Luda Crest appears in an informational video Lisa watches while at the dentist's office called "Menace Tooth Society."

Season 19

Episode 1—Lionel Richie: "He Loves To Fly And He D'ohs"
Episode 2—Plácido Domingo: "The Homer Of Seville"
Episode 4—Ted Nugent: "I Don't Wanna Know Why The Caged Bird Sings"
Episode 7—Jack Black: "Husbands and Knives"
Episode 11 — "Weird Al" Yankovic: "That's '90s Show"
Episode 16 — Dixie Chicks and Beverly D'Angelo: "Papa Don't Leech"
Episode 17 — Zooey Deschanel: "Apocalypse Cow"

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The 19th season of "The Simpsons"—the first produced after "The Simpsons Movie"—opened with a guest appearance by GRAMMY winner Lionel Richie. When Homer saves Mr. Burns from nearly drowning in a fountain, Burns rewards him with a trip to Chicago on his private jet for some deep-dish pizza. On the plane, Homer gets serenaded by Richie, who sings him a song about beer upon his request.

In the second episode of the season, an injury Homer sustained when accidentally falling into an open grave (after he and family snuck into a wake for some food) gives him a powerful opera voice and he stars as Rodolfo in La bohème at the Springfield Opera House, subsequently giving advice to GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY winner Plácido Domingo.

This season also features Jack Black as the character Milo, the hipster owner of the comic bookstore Coolsville Comics & Toys—a rival to Comic Book Guy, the return of Beverly D’Angelo as Lurleel Lumpkin, and the Dixie Chicks.

Episode 11 features a cameo by MTV talking head Kurt Loder, and during a flashback we see another glimpse of Homer reminiscing on the early days when he could have become a rock star. The flashback involves his 1990s band Sadgasm inventing a new musical genre called "grunge.” In a sign that the band gained some popularity, "Weird Al" Yankovic covered their hit "Shave Me" as "Brain Freeze."

Season 20

Episode 9—Fall Out Boy: "Lisa The Drama Queen"
Episode 14—Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova: "In The Name Of The Grandfather"
Episode 19—Weezer: "Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh"

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A special version of the end credits theme for episode nine was performed by GRAMMY-nominated rock band Fall Out Boy, whose name was directly inspired by a character in the "Radioactive Man" comic book series. Episode 14 was inspired by a New York Times article on the effects of Ireland's smoking ban on pubs, and featured Irish singer/songwriter Glen Hansard as a street musician and Markéta Irglová—the other half of the Swell Season—as an Eastern European woman.

Though not technically an appearance, a reworked version of Weezer's classic "Beverly Hills" played during the credits for "Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh."

Season 21

Episode 8—Smothers Brothers: "Oh Brother, Where Bart Thou?”
Episode 10—Anne Hathaway and Eartha Kitt: "Once Upon a Time in Springfield"
Episode 11—Chris Martin: "Million-Dollar Maybe"
Episode 16—Yael Naim: "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed"

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Though technically known as an actress rather than a singer, Anne Hathaway appeared in episode 10 of season 21 and sang as "Princess Penelope," and her appearance ranks as one of Mike Anderson's most memorable.

"Anne Hathaway showed up at a table read and when she sang as Princess Penelope everyone at the table had their mouth hanging open just staring," he recalls. "The whole place was silent as she sang her part because it was so beautiful. Those are the memories I take away from the show."

Season 21 also featured Coldplay performing a private gig for Bart and Homer after Homer wins a million dollars in the lottery (the band must stop performing when Bart gets up to go to the bathroom).

Season 22

Episode 1—Flight Of The Conchords and "Glee" cast: "Elementary School Musical"
Episode 8—Katy Perry: "The Fight Before Christmas"
Episode 22—Joey Kramer: "The Ned-Liest Catch"

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Season 22 of "The Simpsons" opened with appearances by Flight Of The Conchords' Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement, who play hipster camp counselors Kurt Hardwick and Ethan Ballantyne at an art camp that Lisa attends. When she returns, Lisa has trouble acclimating to normal life and runs away to "Sprooklyn," described by the counselors as the "artistic hotbed of Springfield," but she quickly realizes it’s not as cool as they made it out to be. She returns home and the camp counselors create a mural in her honor.

GRAMMY-nominated pop star Katy Perry also appears in a live-action episode of season 22, the holiday special "The Fight Before Christmas." In the episode, Perry appears with the Simpsons as puppets and plays the part of Moe's girlfriend.

Season 23

Episode 10—Ted Nugent: "Politically Inept, With Homer Simpson"
Episode 11—The Tiger Lillies: "The D'oh-cial Network"
Episode 14—Alison Krauss: "At Long Last Leave"
Episode 15—Nick McKaig: "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart"
Episode 22—Lady Gaga: "Lisa Goes Gaga"

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Proving just how diverse the artists who guest star on "The Simpsons" are, the 23rd season featured the return of Ted Nugent, who is chosen by Homer to be the Republican candidate for the next presidential election, and an appearance by GRAMMY winner Lady Gaga. GRAMMY winner Alison Krauss and her band Union Station recorded a bluegrass version of the theme song over the closing credits in episode 14, and Nick McKaig—known for his covers on YouTube—performed "The Simpsons" theme over the closing credits in episode 15.

In the final episode of the season, "Lisa Goes Gaga," Lady Gaga visits Springfield, where everyone is in a state of depression, with Lisa being arguably the most depressed after having been voted the most unpopular student by her peers. Gaga attempts to lift her spirits, but instead Lisa unleashes her anger on Gaga, prompting her to realize that bottling up her feelings has been her problem all along. She apologizes to Gaga and the two sing a duet called "Super Star" together. In the end, Homer can be heard singing "Poker Face" over the credits.

Season 24

Episode 1—Zooey Deschanel and Anne Hathaway: "Moonshine River"
Episode 4—Marvin Hamlisch and Anika Noni Rose: "Gone Abie Gone"
Episode 7—The Decemberists, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein: "The Day The Earth Stood Cool"
Episode 9—Tom Waits: "Homer Goes To Prep School"
Episode 12—Zooey Deschanel and Max Weinberg: "Love Is A Many-Splintered Thing"
Episode 19—Sonny Rollins: "Whiskey Business"
Episode 20—Justin Bieber: "The Fabulous Faker Boy"
Episode 21—Sigur Ros: "The Saga Of Carl"

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Season 24 featured a plethora of guest artists, including singer Zooey Deschanel who appears in two episodes, including the season opener wherein she reprises her season 19 role as Bart's girlfriend, Mary Spuckler.

Episode seven of the season was packed with guest stars as Homer goes hipster after meeting a goateed food truck proprietor played by musician, actor and comedian Fred Armisen. The episode also featured guest star, and Armisen’s "Portlandia" co-star, Carrie Brownstein and the Decemberists, who were hired to replace M.I.A. music teacher Dewey Largo.

Justin Bieber plays himself in episode 20 when he tries to get into a talent show that Bart is performing in and gets turned away. "The Simpsons" head to Iceland in episode 21 of the season when Carl attempts to connect with his roots. Mike Anderson commissioned Icelandic band Sigur Rós to participate, and the band’s music was featured in the episode, along with their interpretation of the opening theme.

Season 25

Episode 9—Rob Halford: "Steal This Episode"

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Rob Hilford appeared in episode nine of season 25, an appearance that the Judas Priest lead singer would eventually call the "biggest thrill" of his life. In the episode, Homer gets involved in illegal film downloading, which leads the FBI to launch an anti-piracy investigation. When the Simpsons family seek refuge in a Swedish consulate, Halford ends up singing a parody of the band's classic "Breaking The Law" in an effort to get Homer out of the foreign building. 

Season 26

Episode 6—Katey Sagal and Billy West: "Simpsorama"
Episode 8—Sammy Hagar: "Covercraft"
Episode 13—Pharrell Williams: "Walking Big & Tall"
Episode 15—Richard Branson: "The Princess Guide"
Episode 17—Cat Deeley: "Waiting For Duffman"
Episode 20—Carice van Houten: "Let’s Go Fly A Coot"
Episode 21—Johnny Mathis: "Bull-E"

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In another point in "The Simpsons" where we catch a glimpse of Homer's long-lost rock star dreams, he starts a band in episode eight with Springfield dads and calls it Covercraft, featuring Apu on vocals. Apu is discovered by the famous (fictitious) '80s glam metal band Sungazer and they recruit him to replace their lead singer, who has passed away. Apu admits to Homer that he's feeling lonely and homesick, so Homer decides to take revenge on Sungazer by poisoning them with Kwik-E-Mart hot dogs, and is later arrested. In jail, he and Apu listen to a story from a Hawaiian shirt-wearing Sammy Hagar. This wasn’t the first time Hagar’s likeness has appeared on the show: in season 11 Hagar was spotted in the crowd at a pseudo-VH1 awards show next to Willie Nelson.

Season 26 also features appearances by Pharrell Williams, who offers to write a city anthem for Springfield in episode 13; Recording Academy Special Merit Award recipient Richard Branson, who plays himself as the neighbor of Mr. Burns, greeting him daily in a Ned Flanders way by saying "hey-dibbley-do, neighboroonie," to which Burns replies, "stupid Branson." 

Finally, Johnny Mathis appears in Smithers' dream in which Groundskeeper Willie is returning to Scotland and will be replaced by the standards singer.

Season 27

Episode 1—Zosia Mamet and Allison Williams: "Every Man's Dream"
Episode 3—Yo-Yo Ma: "Puffless"
Episode 14—Natalie Maines: "Gal Of A Constant Sorrow"
Episode 16—Jon Wurster: "The Marge-ian Chronicles"

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GRAMMY-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma makes a cameo as himself to help Mr. Burns serenade Mrs. Bouvier. He also performed the show’s theme song, which played over the closing credits. Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines returns as the singing voice of a homeless woman with a secret singing talent named Hettie Mae Boggs, who Bart and Lisa house in their closet.

Season 28

Episode 4—Donald Fagen and Judith Owen: "Treehouse Of Horror XXVII"
Episode 12 & 13—Jim Beanz, Common, Dawnn Lewis, RZA and Snoop Dogg: "The Great Phatsby Parts 1 & 2"
Episode 18—Brian Posehn: "A Father's Watch"
Episode 20—Jennifer Saunders: "Looking For Mr. Goodbart"

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In the 600th episode of "The Simpsons," Judith Owen sings the song "600" in "Treehouse Of Horror XXVII," and a quick cameo from Donald Fagen performing with Steely Dan at Duff Stadium, annoyed at the drunks in the audience. In the two-part, hip-hop-themed, Great Gatsby-inspired episode titled "The Great Phatsby," Common, RZA and Snoop Dogg play themselves. The hour-long special tells the story of a condemned friendship between Mr. Burns and a cryptic hip-hop mogul named "Jay G." Original songs for the episode were created by Jim Beanz, a producer on Fox's hip-hop drama "Empire."

Season 29

Episode 1—Billy Boyd: "The Serfsons"
Episode 2—Rachel Bloom and Martin Short: "Springfield Splendor"
Episode 8—Kipp Lennon: "Mr. Lisa’s Opus"
Episode 9—Shaquille O'Neal: "Gone Boy"
Episode 10—Ed Sheeran: "Haw-Haw Land"
Episode 14—Damian Kulash and Tim Nordwind (OK Go): "Fears Of A Clown"
Episode 17—Trombone Shorty: "Lisa Gets The Blues"

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Martin Short (of the Steep Canyon Rangers with Steve Martin) guest stars as theatrical director Guthrie Frenel, who wants to make Marge and Lisa’s comic book, Sad Girl, into a stage musical. Shaquille O’Neal (part retired basketball player, part rapper) searches for Bart when he falls down a manhole. GRAMMY winner Ed Sheeran plays the voice of a crooning jazz pianist that Lisa falls for named Brendan Beiderbecke. In a New Orleans-flavored episode, the Simpsons end up in the Crescent City and stumble upon a group of jazz musicians, including Trombone Shorty, playing under a banner that said "celebrate." Marge asked Trombone Shorty what he was celebrating, and he replied with "humidity at 98 percent."

Season 30

Episode 1—Jonathan Groff: "Bart's Not Dead"
Episode 2—George Segal (also a musician): "Heartbreak Hotel"
Episode 12—Patti LuPone: "The Girl On The Bus"
Episode 18—Awkwafina: "Bart vs. Itchy & Scratchy"
Episode 19—Dave Matthews: "Girl's In The Band"
Episode 20—Okilly Dokilly and Josh Groban: “I'm Just A Girl Who Can’t Say D’oh”
Episode 21—Awkwafina: "D'oh Canada"

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GRAMMY winner Dave Matthews lends his voice to a bartender named Lloyd in "Girl's In The Band" and gives Homer advice to kill his family; fortunately, Homer didn’t take it. Josh Groban plays the singing voice of Professor Frink in episode 20 after his songs "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)," "So She Dances" and "In Her Eyes" were played in the season 20 episode "Lisa The Drama Queen." Rapper/actress Awkwafina appears in two episodes of the 30th season, as Carmen, sixth grade student and member of the gang Bossy Riot, in episode 18, and Canadian doctor, Dr. Chang, who treats Lisa after she goes over Niagara Falls in episode 21.

Season 31

Episode 3—Dawnn Lewis: "The Fat Blue Line"
Episode 5—Dawnn Lewis: "Gorillas On The Mast"
Episode 6—Jill Sobule: "Marge The Lumberjill"

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On the current season of "The Simpsons," singer/songwriter Jill Sobule wrote and sang the song "Lumberjill" for the episode "Marge The Lumberjill." In the episode, Marge takes up lumber-jacking when she realizes everyone thinks she's boring. (As if that were even possible.)

And there you have it: The last three decades of music on "The Simpsons." Now go get a donut and a can of Duff. You've earned it.

Nicholas Britell On Scoring 'Succession' And 'The King' & Learning From Steve McQueen

The first thing you notice when speaking to guitar-rock pillar and GRAMMY winner Peter Frampton is what a sweet, upbeat guy he is. Calling me directly from a break on his Peter Frampton Finale—The Farewell Tour, Frampton is in cheery spirits as he recounts how Eric Clapton asked him to perform at Crossroads Guitar Festival, which takes place this weekend in Dallas. 

Frampton's own tour, his ostensible last-ever one, wraps up in mid-October, but he could always add on more dates—it just depends on his overall health.

In February of this year, the "Baby, I Love Your Way" singer revealed to CBS This Morning that he had been living with a disease called inclusion body myositis (IBM), a progressive muscle disorder characterized by muscle inflammation, weakness and atrophy. For a performer like Frampton, who has been playing guitar since he was eight years old and is best known for his early work with '60s supergroup Humble Pie and for popularlizing the "talk box" as a solo artist (among other things), a diagnosis like this could be brutal. But it's only making him work harder: In June he and the Peter Frampton Band released All Blues, a collection of grooving classics featuring guest spots from the Fabulous Thunderbirds' Kim Wilson and guitarists Larry Carlton, Sonny Landreth and Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs, Deep Purple).

And there's more music coming. When asked how this diagnosis has changed his professional life, he says frankly, "It's forced me into to not being lazy. I've never made three albums, four albums in a three-month period in all my life. It's very enjoyable to know that we can do that. I just want to do more of it. Whether it comes out or it doesn't come out, it's for me. I'm doing it for me. That's the only way an artist should work is to do it for yourself."

Below, Frampton dives deeper into his ongoing creative renaissance, his state of mind in dealing with the day to day of I.B.M. and why he's now totally fine with you calling him "Peter F**king Frampton." 

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Where are you on the touring timeline right now?

Well, right now we're in our second break. We've got four days off. Then we would've had a week off, only then Eric Clapton asked me to be on Crossroads. We're doing that on Friday. That's wonderful.

I looked at the remaining tour dates. According to Ticketmaster, your final tour date is on Oct. 12. Is that actually the case? Might you add some more?

Well, this is the thing. Yes, that is the last date of the official Farewell Tour. At that point, I'm going to reassess within November how I am, how my playing is and how much my playing is being affected by IBM. First of all, I don't ever want to stop playing.

That's obvious because of my passion for so many years. They say music is my life, but guitar playing is what I do for all my life. I do not want to go out and not play as well as I can play today, if you know what I mean. Because right now I'm doing really well. I'm really enjoying playing. But things are starting to change. I have to be realistic.

Have you found that by continuing to play every day that you’ve in some ways slowed what might be a typical progression of this disease? 

I was on a plateau, we call them. But now it has started to speed up. It's such a slow moving thing. It's like watching paint dry, thank goodness. But I am noticing changes. Yes, in legs and arms. That's just the way it is. As far as there is no specific drug yet for IBM. It's the only myositis that doesn't have a drug, a known drug. I will be starting in October my first, when this tour finishes, I'm going straight to Baltimore to Johns Hopkins to start a drug trial.

Right. I'm sure that they have talked to you about what that entails, but what specifically does that look like when they say there's a drug trial for this?

I'm not a doctor, but basically they test your muscles the first visit. Then you go away and they take, it's a needle biopsy, and they send you away for three months. Nothing, you don't get the drug yet. Then you come back three months later and do the same thing to see how you have progressed in three months or what or not, or plateaued or whatever in that time. Then the second visit is when they do that. Then they give you the drug. Then it's eight months I believe on the drug. You come back and you do it again. That's when they get all the results from everybody as to progression, plateau, whatever at that point.

I also read that you do work out every day to strengthen your muscles. Is it tricky to work that into the touring schedule?

Well, it was an imperative thing for me. Whether I want to or not, every day I have someone that travels with me that it was necessary added expense. I've never had, that's like a luxury. Have a trainer on the road with you, but it sounds like very over the top. But for me it's a necessity. Health-wise it helps some, I can't tell you how much it helps exercising. It's just strengthening what you have left and confusing the IBM. Because now you're a little bit stronger than that last week maybe. You've just got to go at it full force.

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Even if you don’t tour regularly—or at all—after The Farewell Tour, will you still record? Based on your output this year, I get the sense that you will.

Yes. We've done 3.6 projects right now. We have 0.4 to finish on the fourth project, which is a solo album. Then once we've done that, I think I just want to record and play as much as I can while I can with my incredible band. They are incredible as you can tell by the blues record. That's no session, well they are session players. Because if they're not playing with me, they could play with anybody. Because their that caliber of player. I'm so lucky to have them.

I know we joke but, but we would say, "Well, we've done four albums in three months, why don't we do, next is the Christmas album." I've never done a Christmas album. Maybe there'll be a Christmas album. Maybe there'll be an Easter album. I don't know at this point. All I know is I want to write and record whether they be my songs or cover other people's songs. I just want to have fun with my band in the studio for as long as possible. Yeah, that's it. I mean I have the studio in Nashville. I'm so lucky. It doesn't cost me anything to go in there, which is wonderful.

As somebody who has such a long, storied history with the guitar, do you ever feel a sense of frustration in the moment if and when your playing level isn’t what it used to be, due to the progression of IBM?

Yes, I do. Luckily, my frustration level is not high because I'm able to do pretty much everything I could do last year today. It's just getting a little bit more difficult. I'm 69. I think even Segovia, the legendary classical player, I remember he would and he would come to England and play. I remember seeing him once and he made a flub. He was in his 70s. He stopped. He put the guitar down. No, I mean he verbally put the guitar down and said, "She is not treating me well today." He made a joke about it, which I thought was so great and so positive. I know how to act if that sort of, but luckily I haven't had any really frustrating moments yet. I'm lucky.

Yes, absolutely. Backing up for a second to your recent release, All Blues, I would love to know what the genesis was of your deciding to go in this direction, sonically speaking?

Well, two-fold really. I wanted knowing what I had and knowing how it progresses, I just wanted to get into the studio as soon as possible. The easiest way to do that was to do covers. Then we had just done 71 shows last year. Maybe 50 of them were with Steve Miller Band. Steve I've known since I was 20. He came to England. I was obviously big friends with his producer/engineer, Glyn Johns, who'd worked with Humble Pie and The Stones and everything. It was all a very small circle.

I've got to meet Steve in 1970. We've been friends ever since. When we decided to go out and do a tour together, we actually ended up doing two summers together. He would ask me up to play some blues every show during his act. I really got back into it. It reminded me of Humble Pie days. That's part of my playing too. On the way home, I just said to the guys in the bus, I said, "When we get home, what do you think we take like a week, 10 days off. We just go into my studio and we do a blues album. Send me all your favorite blues numbers. Let's make a huge list and see how many we can do.”

That's what we did. We did not record that much, but in time we got a lot of tracks. We had enough for over 35 blues songs. We attempted 23, we kept, or 24 like that. There's another bunch, there's another album's worth of a blues album, but I wouldn't put that out next. Then we moved on to again, because I didn't have time to write, we did an instrumental record of covers of all different styles or whatever. Now we've done two blues albums, an instrumental album. Then I said, "I'm starting to write here guys. Why don't we go back in a couple of weeks. I've written a half a dozen songs." We went back in. We did some new stuff as well. That's the one we have to finish. It's like I say it's three quarters done, whatever. Then we'll move on to something else. But it's just, the more I play ... what's the thing, if you something you lose it?

If you don't use it, you lose it.

Right. If you don't use it, you lose it, right? The more I played, the better and longer I'll be able to play. That's why I want to go straight into the studio again when we come off the road. Maybe do another couple of 10-day sessions with my band or something. I don't even know what that will be yet. It's just so much fun to take them in the studio and create.

It sounds like this has been something of a creative Renaissance for you. Does that sound true?

Yes, absolutely. It's forced me into to not being lazy. In my later career life, now become prolific in a way that I ... I've never made three albums, four albums in a three-month period in all my life. It's very enjoyable to know that we can do that. I just want to do more of it. Whether it comes out or it doesn't come out, it's for me. I'm doing it for me. That's the only way an artist should work is to do it for yourself.

Because yes, you hope that other people will like it. But that's not the way I work. I did for a very short period in my career. It was the worst time trying to worry about what people might want from me. Instead of as always how I started was, you don't follow a trend, you make a trend by being a unique, hopefully. That's what I still maintain. I don't do things for anybody else but myself and the band. We're all on the same page. Who knows what we'll come up with.

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One of the things that also struck me about just your career as a whole is the friendships you’ve formed. You’re such an affable guy. That quality seems to have birthed some really rewarding relationships and friendships in your career. Who were some of the most rewarding relationships that you can think of right off the top of your head when you look back.

Well, the first person that I met because Humble Pie first came over in '69 and we opened for Mountain. Those guys became really close friends. Felix Pappalardi, who produced Cream, I really looked up to. He was a mentor. He had a tragic end to his life, but he was someone that I really respected. He was an early mentor of mine and Leslie West, they were just good friends. They looked up the Humble Pie for that first tour. I mean the people that have meant the most to me, obviously George Harrison taking me under his wing and inviting me in to be part of the session group of these incredible players as I was leaving in 1970, '71 was a giant thing for me in my life to be accepted by all these top session musicians.

Beatles, it's tough when you're trying to work out a part for a track and you look up and half The Beatles are in the room.

No pressure.

It's intimidating, but they were such, and are ... Ringo is still one of my closest friends. I think he's someone that's, him and Bill Wyman of The Stones discovered me in this band The Preachers when I was 14. He became my older brother basically. David [Bowie], obviously, we went to school together. He was three years older than me. But we maintain friendship right until the end. Yeah, he was always, even then for the instrumental record, I told him I was going to do an instrumental record. He said, "Perfect." I said, "But I need," there was this one track, I needed a great sax player. I knew that Dave is cutting edge with musicians or was, always was. Even a sax player too, Dave. He loves sax playing. He recommended Courtney Pine from England. I called up Courtney Pine. David was even helping when I did my instrumental album.

Wow. That's amazing. Well, I’m afraid I can’t let you go without asking an obvious question. And I apologize if you’ve heard it a million times before. But the name “Peter Frampton” is a bit of a favorite to reference in pop culture, like, say, in Reality Bites, and then the obvious example of High Fidelity. I really do wonder to what extent people approach you and just say, "Is that Peter F**king Frampton?" If that does happen, how do you respond and what's your feeling around that? Do you laugh?

Well, I think one of my daughters walked out of the cinema, she was upset. So I didn't see it.

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Oh, my gosh. I'm sorry.

But I said, "It's okay. It's okay." Then yes, for a while there it was, but it's still there. But after a while we started having one of our crew members dress up like the master of ceremonies at the circus and come out. He's a great character, Cody. He would go say, "Are you ready da, da, da?" Go, "Are you ready for Peter F**king Frampton?" He would announce me like that and they would go nuts. It was kind of a shock to start with, but I see it as a term of endearment.

I guess it's like the Affordable Care Act was then called by the right, Obamacare and Obama used it. It's the same thing, really.

David Crosby On 'Remember My Name': "It's An Opportunity To Tell The Truth"

With a career spanning more than five decades, GRAMMY winner Peter Frampton has announced his farewell tour this summer. The extensive Peter Frampton Finale Tour will kick off June 18 in Tulsa, Okla., and wind through North America over the following months before wrapping in San Francisco on Oct. 12.

John Bonham's Led Zeppelin will serve as supporting act for most of the shows, and the tour will hit major cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and more.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Announcing Peter Frampton Finale - The Farewell Tour Presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/SIRIUSXM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SiriusXM</a>! Looking forward to seeing everyone this summer and fall. We have <a href="https://twitter.com/Jason_Bonham?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jason_Bonham</a>&#39;s Led Zeppelin Evening joining us for most of this run &amp; my son, Julian, with <a href="https://twitter.com/JulianFrampton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JulianFrampton</a> Band on the west coast dates. <a href="https://t.co/B6Lcbh921t">pic.twitter.com/B6Lcbh921t</a></p>&mdash; Peter Frampton (@peterframpton) <a href="https://twitter.com/peterframpton/status/1098965111207796738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Prior to launching his solo career in 1972, Frampton fronted the '60s psychedilic rock outfit Humble Pie. His classic 1976 live album, Frampton Comes Alive!, produced the now-ubiquitous live hits "Show Me The Way," "Baby, I Love Your Way" and "Do You Feel Like I Do." The album was nominated for a GRAMMY for Album Of The Year, the first of Frampton's five career nominations. His first win came 30 years later for his 2006 album, Fingerprints, which won Best Pop Instrumental Album.

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A full list of dates and ticket info for the Peter Frampton Finale Tour is available via his website.

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