When news broke that Johnny Cash’s “Guess Things Happen That Way” was the 10 billionth download on iTunes, Cash’s daughter Rosanne remarked on Twitter that the honor was the perfect birthday present to her father, whose 78th birthday would have been today. Earlier this week, Cash’s final album of posthumous recordings, American VI: Ain’t No Grave hit stores, and today we’re paying tribute to the Man in Black by looking back at his remarkable career and the legendary musicians he inspired. Above is a clip of Cash and Bob Dylan performing Nashville Skyline’s “The Girl From the North Country” on the premiere episode of The Johnny Cash Show in 1969.

“In plain terms, Johnny was and is the North Star; you could guide your ship by him — the greatest of the greats then and now,” Dylan wrote in Rolling Stone in the days following Cash’s 2003 death. To read tributes to Cash by Bono, Merle Haggard and more, click below. Plus, watch a 1959 performance of Cash’s “Guess Things Happen That Way,” iTunes’ 10 billionth song:

• Remembering Johnny: Dylan, Bono and more remember his extraordinary impact

Entertainment Weekly reports that Rihanna is being considered to play the Vanity role in the remake of Berry Gordy’s 1985 kung-fu musical The Last Dragon. We’re usually skeptical when our cult faves are subject to reboots, but after rewatching Vanity’s performance of “7th Heaven” from the film in the clip up top, we actually can picture RiRi assuming the role of the VJ-in-distress. That said, we can also envision Chris Brown starring as the film’s naïve, Bruce Lee-worshipping protagonist originally played by Taimak, but the role of a violent hero might not be the best career move for the Graffiti singer right now. (That and his restraining order would make the romantic scenes with Rihanna difficult.)

Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA is listed as executive producer for the film, and while we’d love to see him play the film’s villain Sho’nuff, the Shogun of Harlem — picture a Blaxploitation version of Gene Simmons — Samuel L. Jackson reportedly is the favorite to appear in that role, which seems like it would be cater made for RZA’s Wu-mate Ol’ Dirty Bastard if the rapper was still alive. So yes, we approve of a Last Dragon remake, Hollywood, but promise to keep your hands off of Purple Rain.

Bonus Flashback: Two more clips from Last Dragon, Sho’nuff’s amazing entrance scene and Taimak learns of the power of “The Glow”:

Want a surefire hit single? Here’s a tip: put the word “boy” in the title. Take for instance the new video for Rihanna’s “Rude Boy,” which as Rolling Stone noted bites M.I.A.’s “Boyz.” It doesn’t just work for song titles; look what happened when Katy Perry named her album One of the Boys. In this week’s Flashback, we look back at the greats, from Britney Spears’ “Boys” to Beyoncé’s “Baby Boy.” Watch all the videos, and let us know who wins the Battle of the Boys in the comments.

Rihanna – “Rude Boy”

M.I.A. – “Boyz”

Lady Gaga – “Boys Boys Boys”

Beyoncé – “Baby Boy”

The Who’s greatest hits mash-up this Sunday promises to be another classic Super Bowl halftime show, so to honor the Tommy band, this week’s Flashback jumps back to a pair of stunning Who performances from almost 45 years ago. Up top, watch Daltrey, Townshend, Moon and Entwistle rock out to “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” from the 1965 National Jazz & Blues Fest in London. In the spirit of the Super Bowl prop bets, count how many times Townshend windmills his guitar and find out whether or not he smashes his guitar.

After the jump, the Who perform “The Kids are Alright” on Swedish television in 1966:

Photo: Cohen/WireImage
This Sunday night, we’ll find out how many of Beyoncé’s 10 Grammy nominations get converted into trophies, whether MGMT are too weird for the Academy’s voters, and whether Lady Gaga will start a fire onstage when music’s biggest night is televised live from Los Angeles. Before we look ahead to who biz insiders think can walk off with the most hardware, let’s look back at last year’s ceremony’s biggest winners, losers and memorable moments:

Look back at the ‘09 Grammys in photos.

• Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Lil Wayne and Coldplay scored the most Grammy Awards: Plant & Krauss grabbed five Grammys, including the night’s biggest award, Album of the Year, for Raising Sand.

• Blink-182 reunited onstage to announce their return. “We used to play music together, and we decided to play music together once again,” said Travis Barker.

• The altercation between Chris Brown and Rihanna nearly overshadowed the actual Grammy ceremony; the pair dropped out of their scheduled appearances after Brown assaulted then-girlfriend Rihanna following Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy party.

• M.I.A. performed while practically giving birth. The rapper-singer took the stage with T.I., Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Kanye West for an all-star rendition of “Swagga Like Us” while experiencing contractions; she had her son a few days later.

• Paul McCartney birthed a bromance with Dave Grohl. The pair teamed up on “I Saw Her Standing There” and palled around all weekend.

• Whitney Houston returned to the stage at Davis’ pre-Grammy bash with a brief set that had Jennifer Hudson, Katy Perry and Jamie Foxx screaming for an encore.

Look back at 2009’s Grammys in photos:

• U2, Kanye West, Coldplay and More: The 2009 Grammys in Photos

• Backstage at the 2009 Grammy Awards

• Rihanna and Chris Brown’s Grammy Weekend: The Days and Hours Before the Infamous Fight

In light of the recent late-night wars that threaten to end Conan O’Brien’s too-brief tenure as host of the The Tonight Show, this week’s Flashback reminisces about one of our all-time favorite performances from Conan’s gig on Late Night. One special night in 1997, David Bowie performed an intimate, stripped-down version of his Earthling song “Dead Man Walking.” The track selection seems melancholy and fitting considering O’Brien may be entering his final days in NBC’s coveted 11:35 p.m. time slot. Wherever Team CoCo winds up, we hope he continues to bring us incredible performances like the one above.

Bonus Flashback: As Rolling Stone reported just under a year ago, the White Stripes came out of hiatus to help Conan say goodbye to Late Night and New York. Check out Jack and Meg White’s performance of “We’re Going to Be Friends” below and read our O’Brien interview where he explained his special relationship to the band :

Related Stories:

• Jay Leno on Conan O’Brien: Read the Late-Night Legend’s Rolling Stone Interview
• Jay Leno: Conan O’Brien Doesn’t Need My Advice
• White Stripes Help Conan O’Brien Say Goodbye to “Late Night,” New York City

Friday eve, kids. It’s time to pile into Doc Brown’s Delorean and do a little time traveling. Back to purposely shoddy dye jobs, second-hand clothes, and the first wave of major label alt rock.

When Radiohead released their second album, The Bends, in 1995, they were, on these shores, living out the twilight of their one-hit-wonder (“Creep”) status.

Propelled by the heartbreaking falsetto and epiphany-inducing crescendo of “Fake Plastic Trees,” The Bends became one of those every-few-years albums whose commercial success matches the critical plaudits thrown its way. They went on to become… well they went on to become Radiohead!

This performance of “Fake Plastic Trees” is taken from MTV’s 120 Minutes back in 1996. Five more albums, countless life-changing shows and groundbreaking videos and industry shaking career moves later, it still screws with your head to watch these shy, awkward Oxford kids make their way through the song that would change their lives.

Photo: Araya Diaz/WireImage.com; FilmMagic

For the past two weeks, we’ve been looking back at the decade in music — the top albums and songs as sweated over by the Rolling Stone editors. Before you dive into our Best Albums and Songs of the 2000s, check out the final two years of our flashback: 2007 and 2008. M.I.A. started her global party, Springsteen gave us Magic, Rihanna took refuge under her “Umbrella” and TV on the Radio rocked with defiance:

• The Best of 2007

• The Best of 2008

Previously:

• Top 50 Albums & 100 Best Songsof 2006
• The Top 50 Records of 2005
• The Top 50 Records of 2004
• The 50 Best Albums of 2003
• The Top 50 Albums of 2002
• Best 10 Albums of 2001
• Top 50 Albums of 2000

It was the year that gave us our Number One single of the entire decade: Gnarls Barkley’s 2006 hit “Crazy.” Bob Dylan got the friskiest he’d been since 1968’s John Wesley Harding on his stellar Modern Times, the Red Hot Chili Peppers churned out the two-disc Stadium Arcadium and T.I. had everyone chanting “What You Know.” As we continue to look back at the Best Albums and Songs of the 2000s, check out what had the Rolling Stone editors raving in 2006:

• The Top 50 Albums of 2006

• The 100 Best Songs of 2006

Previously:

• The Top 50 Records of 2005
• The Top 50 Records of 2004
• The 50 Best Albums of 2003
• The Top 50 Albums of 2002
• Best 10 Albums of 2001
• Top 50 Albums of 2000

As we continue to look back at the Best Albums and Songs of the 2000s, today we journey back to 2005, a year that featured the best Rolling Stones album in two decades, Kanye West’s second LP and the rookie discs from M.I.A. and LCD Soundsystem. It was also an eclectic year for music, and Rolling Stone’s list ranged from The Rough Guide to Music of the Sahara to Sweden with Dungen’s Ta Det Lungt to Mali with Amadou & Mariam’s Dimanche a Bamako and finally Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois. Which album was named the best of 2005? Check out our Top 50 below:

• The Top 50 Records of 2005

Previously:

• The 25 Best Albums of 2009
• The 25 Best Songs of 2009
• The Top 50 Records of 2004
• The 50 Best Albums of 2003
• The Top 50 Albums of 2002
• Best 10 Albums of 2001
• Top 50 Albums of 2000

To get you into the last-minute holiday spirit, this week’s Flashback journeys back to an era when the Man in Black was the master of ceremonies for his own seasonal special. In this clip from The Johnny Cash Christmas Special, watch as Cash and family and friends take part in a medley of “Silent Night” and “Little Drummer Boy.”

Bonus Flashback: Another clip from the 1979 Cash Christmas special, with comedian Andy Kaufman making a guest appearance as Santa Claus:

As we look back at the 2000s’ top songs and albums and the best LPs and tracks of 2009, journey back to see the best records from the year that brought us Beck’s Sea Change, Missy Elliott’s Under Construction and Queens of the Stone Age’s Songs for the Deaf — 2002:

• The Top 50 Albums of 2002

Previously:

• Best 10 Albums of 2001
• Top 50 Albums of 2000

John Frusciante finally confirmed this week that after two tours of duty he is no longer a member of the Red Hot Chili Members. Frusciante was the guitarist behind five of the Rock Hall-nominated band’s best albums, and while he says the split was amicable, we have to admit we’re saddened by his departure. To pay tribute to Frusciante, this week’s Flashback jumps back to the 1990 Pinkpop Festival, with the RHCPs performing Mother’s Milk’s “Knock Me Down,” a song that’s reportedly about the death of the guitarist that preceded Frusciante, Hillel Slovak. As evidenced by the clip, we’ll miss Frusciante even more than we already miss Anthony Kiedis’ “adjustable hat worn backwards” look.

Bonus Flashback: As a fitting send-off to Frusciante, watch as he performs Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” at the 1990 Pinkpop:

The man himself said “30 is the new 20″ on Kingdon Come and now he’s officially going to have to rewrite those lyrics. Old enough to retire a second time, Jay-Z is celebrating his 40th birthday today—feel free to relive the moment via his mom’s intro on The Black Album’s “December 4.” Although he’s barely old enough to run for president, Jay-Z is a veteran among hip-hop veterans, recording since rap’s golden age in the late ’80s. To help congratulate the youngest old-schooler alive, we’re going to take a look back at some of his earliest material. Watch a young Jigga Man fall hilariously from the sky around 36 seconds into this 1989 video by his mentor The Jaz. Much later into his career, our man Jay founded the ever-fashionable Rocawear clothing line, so we assume he won’t be rocking the Hawaiian shirt and low-top fade any time soon.

As previously reported by Rock Daily, Jay-Z has been everywhere in the last month of his 30s: sampled by Lupe Fiasco, covered by Snoop, raised the eyebrows of 50 Cent and even garnering a Grammy nomination or four.

Bonus Flashback: Watch one of Jay-Z’s very first solo singles circa 1994, “I Can’t Get With That.” Before he solidified the effortless cool of Reasonable Doubt, Jay had the hyperkinetic stiggidy-wiggidy flow of early ’90s crews like Fu-Schnickens and Das EFX. Dope!