What a week for Paul McCartney! He wowed the crowd at Lollapalooza with one of his three hour shows replete with Beatles and Wings hits on Friday. He even performed a proper version of the hit he wrote for Rihanna, “Four Five Seconds,” on acoustic guitar. What a treat!

So what to do for an encore? On Sunday night, McCartney and wife Nancy staged a Beatles reunion at an intimate dinner in West Hollywood. They joined brothers in law Ringo Starr and Joe Walsh, who are married to sisters Barbara and Marjorie Bach, for a sumptuous repast at Craig’s on Melrose.

It was the perfect place for Paul and Ringo since owner Craig Susser, who entertained Sylvester Stallone last night with wife Jennifer, as well as Nikki Haskell and Leba–Mrs. Neil-Sedaka, features a vegan menu as well as one for carnivores.

But wait– there’s more. Craig’s regulars Jane Fonda and Richard Perry showed up by accident and quickly joined in at the next table. It was a big reunion for Perry, who produced Starr’s classic “Ringo” album and its follow up “Goodnight Vienna” in the early 70s. Ringo and Perry scored a bunch of hits including “Photograph” and “You’re Sixteen.”

As a side note, Perry also convinced Paul and late wife Linda to sing background on Carly Simon’s “Night Owl” back then. And he gathered McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison together for that “Ringo” album– the only record all the solo Beatles played on or contributed to after the group’s break up. Perry is said to be writing his memoirs, full of amazing stories about his star filled career producing people like Rod Stewart, the Pointer Sisters, and Diana Ross as well as Carly, Ringo, and Harry Nilsson.

It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing: Tony Bennett turns 89 today. He’s just finishing his long our with Lady Gaga after their hit album “Cheek to Cheek” set records. If you caught the tour– I saw them at Radio City in June– you know that Tony starts his 90th year like a pro. His voice is intact, a Wonder of the World. But also, Tony gets high marks for his unwavering commitment to social causes. He was there with Martin Luther King, and he’s still there today with his Frank Sinatra School in Queens and his foundation Exploring the Arts (exploringthearts.org).

All hail the timeless and legendary Tony Bennett!

It’s been a few years since Aretha Franklin’s come west for a big Los Angeles show. The audience at the Microsoft (formerly Nokia) Theater downtown at LA Live was sold out to the rafters and ready for the Queen of Soul. They got their money’s worth and more in a two hour show that featured a rare sequence of numbers with Aretha playing virtuoso piano and taking everyone to church.

The audience included Berry Gordy, Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Shonda Rhimes, famed lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman, as well as Tika Sumpter and the cast of Tyler Perry’s show “The Have and Have Nots,” plus “Band of Gold” singer Freda Payne, her sister Sherrie (once a member of the Supremes) and Glodean White, widow of Barry White and once a member of his group Love Unlimited.

Ms. Franklin, looking svelte and moving on stage like it was 1968, kept the show swinging from Jackie Wilson’s “Higher and Higher” right through her closing numbers, “Freeway of Love” and “Respect.” During the two plus hours, Aretha — channeling her late father Rev. C.L. Franklin– creates a church like gospel segment based on her “Amazing Grace” album. This part of the show features the great Melvin Williams, who recently performed with her at the White House. It’s part and parcel of an Aretha Franklin show, that the religious and secular meet with such ebullience.

The synthesis of this comes with her take on Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” the show’s centerpiece. Aretha had a hit with “Bridge” after Simon & Garfunkel around 1973, and then Simon started using her gospelized arrangement. With Ms. Franklin as captain of the band, “Bridge” elevates to all new highs, a monumental and stunning effort.

She also treated the L.A. audience to more piano than usual, and it was about as wonderful as you can imagine. Aretha takes classical piano lessons but she is a natural musician, gifted in almost a genius like way when she hits the keyboards. She offered her lovely take on Ed Ames’s classic “My Cup Runneth Over,” a recent concert staple, which in the old days of vital radio would be released as a live single and hit number 1. She also played and sang on the Bergmans’ “How You Keep the Music Playing” and Lerner and Lowe’s’ “If Ever I Would Leave You” from “Camelot.” The range of composers is sort of staggering when you realize it’s Aretha leading the band. No other legendary vocalist does such a thing.

Her own hits? “Think,” “Chain of Fools,” “Natural Woman,” “Don’t Play that Song for Me,” “Giving Him Something He Can Feel,” and most seriously, “Ain’t No Way,” the other great anchor of the show, I think, an unheralded classic written by Aretha’s late sister Carolyn Franklin.

Musicians: HB Barnum conducted the orchestra as he has for over 40 years. Richard Gibbs played piano. Fonzie Thornton, Vaneese Thomas, Brenda White-King — all extraordinary.

Aretha et al move on to Santa Barbara, Oakland, and Las Vegas before returning to Detroit. She noted at the end of this magnificent night that she vowed never to come west again unless she flew in a plane. Well, she didn’t– she came in her custom tour bus. You never know if this is the last time. This is history in the making.