Officials vet song list as Dylan plays Vietnam

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam » Bob Dylan, whose anti-war anthems made him the face of protest against a war that continues to haunt a generation of Americans, finally got his chance to see Vietnam — at peace. Dylan, 69, took to the stage in the former Saigon yesterday, singing such favorites as "A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall" and "Highway 61 Revisited."

Only about half of the 8,000 seats were sold. A mix of Vietnamese and foreigners danced on the grass as Dylan jammed on guitar, harmonica and the keyboard at RMIT University.

Dylan is one of the top foreign artists to perform in Vietnam, where big-name concerts are still rare and the communist government maintains strict controls over expression. Dylan’s song list had to be pre-approved by the government, but promoter Rod Quin­ton said no restrictions were placed on the extensive set list submitted.

Apple chief Jobs OKs ‘iSteve’ biography

NEW YORK » Apple CEO Steve Jobs has finally agreed to participate in a book about his life.

Simon & Schuster announced yesterday that Walter Isaacson’s "iSteve: The Book of Jobs" will be published in early 2012. Isaacson has been working on the biography since 2009 and has interviewed Jobs, his family, colleagues at Apple and competitors.

Many books have been published about Jobs, but not with his approval. Isaacson has written best-selling biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein.

Jobs, 56, has had numerous health problems and announced in January that he would take his third leave of absence in seven years. During that time he has survived a rare but curable form of pancreatic cancer and undergone a liver transplant.

‘Partridge’ brothers reunite for single song

Atlantic City, N.J. » A miniature "Partridge Family" reunion was held Saturday in Atlantic City when David Cassidy and Danny Bona­duce played a song onstage together. They said it was only the second time in 40 years they’ve done so.

Bonaduce, a Philadelphia disc jockey, was Cassidy’s younger brother on the ’70s TV hit, but only pretended to sing and play the bass guitar on the show. On Saturday, after he did a comedy routine to open the show at Resorts Casino Hotel, Cassidy got him to play "Doesn’t Somebody Want to Be Wanted." Bonaduce learned that song for real when they played it together in October in Philadelphia.

"We did it five, six months ago," Cassidy said. "He learned it — and then he put the bass away and didn’t touch it. I know him."

"That’s not true," Bona­duce insisted. "I just dusted it the other day."