Oscar winning singer/songwriter Jimmy Griffin, 61, of the
Remingtons and Black Tie died at his home near Nashville of complications from cancer. Griffin had been undergoing
treatment for several months. After his successful band Bread broke up in 1977, Griffin returned to solo recording
and released an album with Terry Sylvester of the Hollies in 1982. In the late '80s, he formed a country trio with
Randy Meisner and Billy Swan named Black Tie. He formed the Remingtons with Richard Mainegra and Rick Yancey in
1991 and had a Top 10 country single with the band, "A Long Time Ago," a year later.
Drummer Spencer Dryden of Jefferson Airplane, 66, died of cancer on Tuesday in Petaluma, California. Dryden born
in New York and raised in Los Angeles and was a nephew of Charlie Chaplin. He began his career with Jefferson Airplane
until leaving in 1970 to found New Riders Of The Purple Sage. In 1988 he and his longtime Dinosaurs side project
bandmates released a self-titled album. Although he was the only member of the classic Jefferson Airplane line-up
not to appear at the 1989 reunion tour and album, he did show up for the group's induction into the Rock &
Roll Hall Of Fame in 1996.
Manhattan Federal Court Judge Naomi Buchwald has dismissed former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson's $18.5 million
lawsuit against band frontman Dave Mustaine.
Ronald Isley pleaded not guilty on Jan. 10th in Los Angeles to charges of failing to report performance and royalty
income. Isley is charged with 5 counts of tax evasion and 1 count of failing to file an income tax return. He will
stand trial on Mar. 8th and faces up to 26 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors in the Michael Jackson child molestation case have asked Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville to keep
the courtroom open during hearings on whether to admit into evidence allegations of prior sexual offenses by the
singer. The judge on Wednesday delayed a ruling on whether jurors at the trial could hear those allegations. The
defense has also strongly objected to the leak of sealed grand jury testimony of which some graphic quotes have
aired on ABC news. E! Entertainment Television and British Sky Broadcasting have partnered together to produce
a daily half-hour courtroom re-enactments of the trial. Each will provide their own hosts and may include a panel
of legal analysts to provide commentary. Meanwhile, a new lawsuit has been filed against Jackson in Los Angeles
Superior Court by Sholeh Bocchelli claiming that he fathered newborn twins on Nov. 26th as a result of in vitro
fertilization but hasn't given her access to the babies.
Madonna's publishers have filed a lawsuit against Mary J Blige and her collaborators Dr. Dre and Eve for the song
"Not Today" from Barbershop 2 claiming it is a rip-off of Madonna's 1983 hit "Holiday." Madonna
was also recently honored with a Blue Peter badge after being interviewed by the U.K. children's TV show about
her children's book, The Adventures Of Adbi.
Jimmy James Johnson, who started a brawl at the Vibe Music Awards by allegedly attacking Dr. Dre, appeared in Los
Angeles Superior Court last Monday and pled not guilty to an assault charge stemming from the incident. Johnson
remains in custody on $1.4 million bail and is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 26th when the judge will set
a preliminary hearing date. There is no word if this incident violated the conditions of Johnson's parole. Johnson
also reportedly confessed to Santa Monica Police that Suge Knight paid him $5,000 and agreed to forgive his brother's
debt to him if he assaulted Dre. Knight made an appearance at the event even though he is on parole, has a restraining
order against him by Dre and he didn't have an invite.
Chris Goss of Masters Of Reality was released from the hospital last week and is now recovering at home. He plans
to jump into work on various music projects.
Bob Marley's wife Rita has denied plans to move his body from Jamaica and rebury him in his "spiritual resting
place" of Ethiopia during a month-long celebration of Marley's 60th anniversary of his birth.
Martika will see the release of her new 15-track compilation, Toy Soldiers: The Best Of Martika, this week which
includes a Japanese version of "Toy Soldiers" as well as a few rare mixes. Meanwhile, Martika will be
releasing a new self-titled studio album as part of the duo Oppera in April. The group will be appearing in People
magazine's Jan. 13th edition.
Midnight Oil have announced that they will reunite for Australia's second major fund-raising concert on Jan. 29th
to benefit tsunami victims dubbed Wave Aid. Also among concert performers will be Nick Cave and the Finn Brothers.
Meanwhile, a superstar charity single for tsunami disaster victims is being worked on by INXS. The song will be
a cover of the Pretenders hit, "I'll Stand By You," for which vocals will be recorded in 5 different
continents.
Christian fans of Wynonna Judd have been complaining about her decision to perform on a lesbian cruise on Jan.
29th even though she is Christian. Wynonna responded to the issue during a Nashville event on Tuesday saying that
she will never discriminate. "I have the biggest gay following in the history of country music ... since 1980-something.
I think it's just the more you talk about love, the more you talk about God, the bigger of a target you are. And
so, bring it on."
A remastered and expanded reissue of The Power Station's eponymous album has been delayed until March but will
include a DVD among extras when released.
Morrissey is planning to release a concert album, Live From Earl's Court, and DVD, Who Put The "M" In
Manchester, in the spring. The tracklisting for the album is being culled from his London, Glasgow, Birmingham,
Brighton and Dublin performances during his 2004 tour. The DVD was filmed during his Manchester homecoming performance
during the same tour.
The System will see their 1984 album, X-Periment, and 1985 release, The Pleasure Seekers, re-issued this week as
a 17-track compilation entitled X-Periment/The Pleasure Seekers.
Billy Idol has made a sample of his new single, "Scream," available for fans to hear on the front of
his official Web site at http://www.billyidol.com. The single is due to hit radio on Jan. 24th with the album,
Devil's Playground, is due out on Mar. 22nd.
U2's first single from How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, "Vertigo," was the top-selling legal digital
download in the U.K. during 2004.
Dwight Yoakam is back in the recording studio finishing vocals on his new studio album which should be released
in spring followed by a tour. He also has film appearances this year in Bandidas, The Three Burials Of Meliquiades
Estrada and Wedding Crashers.
KMFDM terminated their contract with Sanctuary Records during the summer and have signed with Metropolis. They
plan to release their new album, FUBAR, through the label in early September.
A new Cinderella 17-track compilation entitled Rocked, Wired & Bluesed: The Greatest Hits is expected to be
released on Jan. 25th. Also out that day will be a companion DVD entitled Rocked, Wired & Bluesed: The Greatest
Video Hits.
Dave Stewart and Mick Jagger have won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song as well as Best Song at the 10th
annual Critic's Choice Awards. "Old Habits Die Hard" from the movie Alfie was one of the songs written
by the duo for the soundtrack.
Canadian acts Blue Rodeo, Bryan Adams, Rush, Anne Murray, Bruce Cockburn, Tom Cochrane and Celine Dion will perform
during a 3-hour CBC radio and television broadcast event to benefit the tsunami victims on Thursday.
Gene Simmons has created a new comedy/reality series called Mr. Romance which will premiere on Mar. 14th on Oxygen
TV. The show is essentially a "romance boot camp" with a $50,000 cash prize as the Harlequin romance
books search for their next coverboy. The 12 men will learn how to pose, kiss for the camera and walk on the catwalk
during their 5, one-hour episodes which are judged by Simmons, Fabio and Tina Malave.
Lynyrd Skynyrd will headline a live CMT special in Veteran's Memorial Arena in Jacksonville the night before the
Super Bowl. CMT will air Lynyrd Skynyrd's Super Bowl Saturday Night Special at 9 p.m. ET.
Erasure's new single "Breathe" is the #1 Breakout on the U.S. Billboard Club Play Chart for the week
of Jan. 22nd. The duo release the single in the U.S. this week. Meanwhile, Andy Bell has been putting the final
touches on his solo album debut which will include a duet with Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters. The album is
expected to be released later this year or early 2006.
Phil Collins is scheduled to release a DVD from his First Final Farewell tour entitled Farewell on Jan. 25th which
was filmed in Paris. Included in the release is a collection of his videos as well as a U.S. TV special from 1990
and other goodies.
It seems that Damageplan had laid down some recordings which remain near completion for their follow-up to 2003's
New Found Power. According to Vinnie Paul, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott would have wanted his music to be
heard.
End Of The Century: The Story Of The Ramones will air on PBS on Apr. 26th as part of their Independent Lens' April
Music Month. The documentary traces the history of the band up until now with interviews of the late Joe Strummer
and Deborah Harry.
Wounded Bird Records will re-issue Aztec Camera's 1987 album, Love, and 1990 album, Stray, as a single 18-track
collection entitled Love/Stray this week.
Later With Jools Holland will finally be seen in the United States via Rave HD which is available via Voom. The
former Squeeze keyboardist launched the live music showcase in 1992 at the U.K.'s BBC.
A 2005 version of Ratt is being rumored to include Stephen Pearcy and Bobby Blotzer but without Warren DeMartini
and Juan Croucier. How this can happen with the name ownership issues? Who knows?
Queen Latifah has been signed to host the 47th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 13th at Los Angeles' Staples Center
broadcast live on CBS. She is also expected to perform a track from her nominated, The Dana Owens Album.
Congratulations go out to first-time father and Pixies mainman Frank Black. His son, Jack Errol Thompson, was born
on Jan. 7th weighing in at 7lbs. 9oz.
Willie Nelson is scheduled to release a 20-track compilation entitled Songs on Feb. 15th. The album will include
the original 1961 demo for "Crazy" and a live version of "On The Road Again" recorded in 2002.
Ambrosia are scheduled to re-issue their 1982 final studio album, Road Island, this week via Wounded Bird Records.