One night Gregg Allman came into Elaine’s. It was late, and the restaurant was pretty empty. He came in with a lady friend, said hello to Gianni, the head waiter, and walked to the back. Gianna put them at a table sort of nowhere, kind of hidden. I watched this from where I was having dinner with Elaine Kaufman, the famous owner and raconteur and hostess, as if it were happening in slow motion. Hundreds of celebrities had come to Elaine’s. But this seemed like an apparition.

I said to Elaine, “Oh my god, is that really Gregg Allman?” She nodded. “Whaddaya think? Of course it is. He’s been here before. No big deal.”

Really? Gregg Allman is a rock god. I have listened to “Jessica” and “Whipping Post” and “Live at Fillmore East” my whole life. He is an icon, with pink skin and white hair and a pony tail. He was in town for one of those annual 10 day gigs at the Beacon Theater.

“Go say hello to him,” Elaine said, because she always said that. I met a lot of people with the words, “Elaine says hi. She sent me over.” I’m already sitting down now, staring at Gregg Allman. What do I remember now? I thanked him for “Melissa” and “Blue Sky” and “Midnight Rider.” I did not tell him how many speeding tickets I’ve almost gotten listening to “Jessica.” I was cool, don’t worry. He was very nice. We talked about the tour. I didn’t ask about Cher or his late brother Duane or anything else.

I knew a few weeks ago when Cher said she had a family problem and couldn’t go shoot a movie, it was Gregg–father of her son Elijah Blue– who was ill. Everyone else said it was the mother. But Allman had cancelled all his 2017 shows. It was known that he was pretty sick. The end was near.

The Allman Brothers Band is far more important in rock history than given credit for. The music, the songwriting, the structure of it. The Allman Brothers surprise you still when you listen to them. It’s part big band, part swing, jug band, Texas blues. So original and so American. It’s the creme de la creme of what is called Southern Rock, and so much more. What a legacy. If I met Gregg Allman again, I couldn’t say thank you enough times.

Fifty years later, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” is marching to the top again.

The 50th anniversary box set is number 1 on amazon.com. The lavish package with 4 CDs and 2 DVDs retails for $117.99. It’s been at the top with pre-orders for a month. But now it’s here, and it’s outselling all regularly priced albums.

The downloadable version (which is great but as extensive as the offerings in the box set) is number 6 on iTunes. That version includes the remixed original album plus a sequence of outtakes that form a ‘reimagined’ version of the album. “Strawberry Fields” and “Penny Lane” are included in new stereo mixes.

But you have to get the box set to get the Mono version (with those extra songs– including the famous piccolo ending on “Penny Lane”) plus two CDs of outtakes and two DVDs (one is a Blu Ray).

The limited version can be streamed, too, on Spotify.

The 50th anniversary box is really an occasion. Hats off to Jeff Jones and Jonathan Clyde and the Apple Records staff. They’ve really done the Beatles justice. There so many spectacular small things about the box set. For one thing, all the songs are great. There isn’t a dud. The more you listen, thanks to Giles Martin’s remix, the more you hear. I’ve been listening to this album for five decades and find surprise after surprise. The outtakes, instrumentals, and “work drafts” so to speak reveal layer after layer. “Sgt. Pepper” is an astonishing achievement. “Revolver” prefaced it, and the three subsequent albums– the White Album, Abbey Road, Let it Be– plus “Hey Jude”– fulfilled its promise.

Ariana Grande says she’ll return to Manchester for a memorial concert. “We will not quit or operate in fear,” the singer said on Twitter.

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— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) May 26, 2017