SoundCheck hears that Lou Adler -- pictured, at left, in his natural habitat, sitting next to Jack Nicholson courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game -- is working on a book about the Monterey International Pop Festival of 1967 with L.A. writer Harvey Kubernik. Adler wrote the afterword for Kubernik's lavish 2009 book "Canyon of Dreams," about the Laurel Canyon scene of the '60s.

Adler, along with John Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas and Alan Pariser, was one of the principals in the Monterey festival, held June 16-18, 1967, on the Monterey County Fairgrounds. The first big rock fest, it mounted famous performances by Jimi Hendrix, the Who, Otis Redding and Big Brother and the Holding Company (fronted by Janis Joplin), and spawned director D.A. Pennebaker's 1968 documentary. Hey, that's a good excuse to look at Hendrix incinerating his guitar in Pennebaker's film:

Back to Adler: The man's had quite a career, and one that could fill another volume quite easily. He ran Dunhill Records and Ode Records (where Carole King became a star), operated the Sunset Strip's Whisky A Go Go, Roxy and Rainbow and produced everybody from Sam Cooke to Cheech & Chong. Hopefully the Monterey tome is just a warm-up.

Ex-Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher has become rock's latest fashion victim: The graphic above announces today's opening of his new boutique Pretty Green on Carnaby Street in London.

What's wonderful about the graphic for this new venture (which is also one of the store's opening-day window displays) is that Gallagher -- whose purloining of the Beatles and other '60s rock icons was the backbone of Oasis' sound and image -- couldn't resist pirating Art Kane's iconic photo of the Union Jack-bedecked Who, which was used as the key art for Jeff Stein's 1979 documentary "The Kids Are Alright."

Liam and his brother Noel have always made pilferage a fine art; nice to see the tradition is continuing.

Americana singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash will take to the book-junket road to promote her new memoir "Composed," which Viking will publish Aug. 10.

Cash has been on a roll: Her 2009 album "The List" garnered stunning reviews, entered at No. 22 on the national album chart, and notched a Grammy nomination (for her duet with Bruce Springsteen on "Sea of Heartbreak"). The Blue Note release is up for album of the year honors in this year's Americana Music Assn. Awards, which will be handed out Sept. 9 at the Ryman in Nashville; Cash will be in attendance.

Brian Wilson likes a Gershwin tune. How about you?

The Beach Boys' musical architect was on hand at Spectra in L.A.'s Pacific Design Center on Wednesday night for the unveiling of his forthcoming album "Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin," due on CD Aug. 17 from the Disney Pearl imprint. The 14-track collection arrives on vinyl a week later, and an LP of the set was played for a herd of press and industry schmoozers on a high-end Sterling Lyngdorf audio set-up.

After an introduction by liner note scribe David Wild in which the writer recalled hearing Wilson perform "Rhapsody in Blue" at an '80s party in Hollywood, Wilson (who, typically, had little to say) and five members of his working band launched into an acappella version of Gershwin's 1924 masterwork, which begins and concludes the new collection. And then the record was spun.

Cutting an album of George Gershwin's music -- incorporating two newly penned numbers mating fresh lyrics to previously unpublished Gershwin music -- is an act of real chutzpah on the part of Wilson, who claims the late American composer-songwriter as a role model. Singers from Fred Astaire to Frank Sinatra have memorably interpreted Gershwin's songs since the 1920s, and albums devoted to his work, from the Miles Davis/Gil Evans "Porgy and Bess" to "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook," have entered the canon of great recordings. Wilson has many a hard act to follow.

George Wein, who is to live jazz what the late Bill Graham was to rock, will be honored Sept. 16 at the Jazz Legends Gala at Mission Ranch in Carmel, Calif. Clint Eastwood, that city’s most famous resident, will host with his wife Dina.

The event will take place on the eve of the 53rd Annual Monterey Jazz Festival, the maiden voyage of which took place four years after the first Newport Jazz Festival, which Wein produced. (Newport eventually morphed into the JVC Jazz Festival in New York before Wein sold his Festival Productions to Shoreline Media in 2007). The 84-year-old impresario, considered the godfather of music festivals, also helped spearhead the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the Playboy Jazz Fest.

Eastwood, of course, is a lifelong jazz fan and the director of the best biopic about a jazz figure, 1988’s "Bird." Blue Note recording artist Dianne Reeves will be among the performers on hand. Past recipients of the Jazz Legends Award include Dave Brubeck (2007) and Gerald Wilson (2008).

The Wein gala should act as a splendid kickoff to what is shaping up to be a typically strong Monterey lineup, including Reeves, Chick Corea, Ahmad Jamal, Billy Childs, Roy Haynes and New York cabaret wunderkind Nellie McKay.

Playbill, the theater-goer's bible, has just issued a list of the top five rock musicals on its blog. And, of course, we beg to differ.

There's no getting around "Hair" as the biggest gun among rock musicals. Rado, Ragni and McDermott's 1967 production opened the door for rock, or something resembling it, on the Great White Way, and the show spawned some top 40 hits, albeit lightweight ones. (Cowsills, anyone?)

After that, things get...arguable. "Jesus Christ Superstar?" Hm. Was there once a time when Andrew Lloyd Webber's music was considered "rock?" "Rent" and "Spring Awakening" don't seem particularly rock-centric to these ears, instrumentation aside. But "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" does have the requisite perversity and attitude to be tagged as a legitimate entry.

Truth be told, it's a thin field. History has had a way of writing some significant shows out of the picture: The Broadway production of "The Rocky Horror Show" -- maybe now, thanks to its celluloid incarnation, the most beloved rock musical of 'em all -- folded after just 45 performances. And SoundCheck is rather surprised that Playbill ignored the most truly deserving of rock musicals, "American Idiot," a show based on an actual rock album of genuine merit.

Old Schoolin': The top debut outside the top 10 this week is back-dated on a number of accounts. Marc Cohn's Saguaro Road album "Listening Booth: 1970" enters at No. 28, with 12,000 sold. Cohn's new set finds the 1992 winner of the best new artist Grammy essaying hits of the album's titular year by Van Morrison, Cat Stevens, Bread, the Grateful Dead and others. And if you remember what a listening booth was, you're probably as back-dated as those tunes!

Soundtracking: Some fans of the bestseller "Eat, Pray, Love" are already panting for the movie version starring Julia Roberts: Though the pic doesn't open until Aug. 13, the soundtrack album -- with tracks by Marvin Gaye, Neil Young, Sly Stone and Kenny Burrell, among others -- enters at No. 43 this week with sales of 9,500. Taking the very next chart slot is Hans Zimmer and Johnny Marr's "Inception" soundtrack, which moves up nine rungs from No. 53 to No. 44 with 9,200 sold.

As previously noted, we weren't at the White House on June 2 when Paul McCartney got his Gershwin Prize, but PBS will air highlights from the tribute performance at the East Room in a special Thursday night.

The public web has mounted a generous page devoted to "In Performance at the White House," which includes clips of numbers by Jack White and Dave Grohl.

This horribly edited clip from the Associated Press is the best evidence we can post at the moment that Aretha Franklin did in fact perform "I Say a Little Prayer" with former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice at a Philadelphia charity event on Tuesday night. Hopefully the raw footage will turn up elsewhere on YouTube. Lady Soul was in good voice, while Rice displayed some chops without impressing with any deep knowledge of The Funk.

Remixers/producers The Jump Smokers first gained recognition when their 'Chris Brown should get his ass kicked' track went viral online and invaded the club scene last Spring. The Chicago-based foursome (aka Roman, Reydeon, V-Skratch and Johnny Digital) have parlayed that initial interest into a successful remix operation, churning out pop-friendly chart-topping dance remixes for some of the top names in the Biz - Rihanna, Beyonce, Pitbull, Mariah Carey and more.

Now the men behind the mix step out in front, as their electro-infused debut album 'Kings of the Dancefloor' drops today. (It is now available in iTunes.)

The guys were kind enough to take some time to talk up their whirlwind journey with SoundCheck. Get the complete Q&A after the jump.