Defense lawyers for Dr. Conrad Murray, the
physician
that was with Michael Jackson the day the singer died, say he is ready
to surrender to police. Murray is expected to be arraigned on
Friday and to be charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Prosecutors said that they'll file charges in the case on
Monday. Meanwhile, Murray was found in default on nearly
$132,000 in debt on Wednesday related to to office medical equipment
and services in a Las Vegas court for which he hired no lawyer and did
not attend. Meanwhile, A judge has ruled that co-executors of
the Michael Jackson estate, John Branca and John McClain, will each
receive a 5% cut of all profits they make for the estate (for all
except the This Is It concert rehearsal film and any payments on the
Sony/ATV catalog.)
Australian Federal Court Justice Peter Jacobson has ruled that he has
"come to the view that the flute riff in "Down Under"... infringes on
the copyright of Kookaburra because it replicates in material form a
substantial part of Ms. Sinclair's 1935 work." He has ordered
songwriters Colin Hay and Ron Strykert of Men At Work and their record
companies (Sony BMG Music Entertainment and EMI Songs Australia) back
to court on Feb. 26th with publishing company Larrikin Music to discuss
the compensation. A lawyer for Larrikin has said outside the
court that they might seek up to 60% of the royalties from the song
which could be millions of dollars.
According to Billboard, Steven Tyler's new manager Skip Miller has sent
a letter to Aerosmith's management threatening legal action if the
group goes on tour with a new singer. "Can you imagine the
manager of the Rolling Stones calling for the replacement of Mick
Jagger? Steven is Aerosmith, along with the others.
He's the guy the public knows. He's the singer."
Miller has asked for a band meeting with all 5 members on Feb. 9th to
discuss the future of Aerosmith. Meanwhile, Classic Rock
Magazine recently talked to guitarist Joe Perry and he confirmed that
Tyler had tried out to replace Robert Plant in Led Zeppelin after their
successful one-off 2007 London performance. Perry said,
"Steven disappeared and I called around. Somebody said he was
in London trying out for Led Zeppelin. It's something I've
never talked about before. It's a kind of window into how
hard it's been to keep the partnership together It's not the
first time things like this have happened -- that's the downside of our
relationship." The guitarist went on to say that Tyler hasn't
talked to the band about the incident to this day.
Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has checked himself into a rehab
clinic according to The Daily Mail. Mick Jagger and Ronnie's
daughter have reportedly been pressuring him for months to do
so. According to a friend of Wood's, "Ronnie has been in a
bad state of mind since his split with Katia. They were in a
terrible relationship, but since their break-up he has not been
himself. He has been lonely and drinking and has tried to
throw himself into new romances. Jo and the entire family are
just happy that he is seeking help again." Meanwhile, Johnny
Depp has reportedly started work on a documentary about the Rolling
Stones other guitarist Keith Richards.
John Lydon has settled the lawsuit filed against him in 2008 accusing
him of assault and battery. The claim comes from a reality
show producer that alleges she was punched in the face by the singer
because Lydon was unhappy with his hotel room in Los Angeles.
Bruce Springsteen has issued a statement saying he didn't know about
the lawsuit filed by the American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers (ASCAP) on Wednesday in federal court demanding licensing
fees from Connolly's Pub in Manhattan where a band played his
songs. Springsteen's representatives have demanded the
immediate removal of his name from the lawsuit and said that he
wouldn't have agreed to be a plaintiff if he had been asked.
The suit claims that the bar violated The Boss' copyrights by letting
an unidentified band perform two of his songs for profit.
Detroit concert promoter Roy Isaac has threatened to sue Tito Jackson
for the $7,500 he allegedly was paid for a planned benefit performance
that fell apart. Isaac says that if the money isn't returned
in 30 days, he'll be filing a lawsuit. A representative for
Jackson claims that Tito was never paid for the show and Isaac should
be talking with Jackson's former booking agent.
The 82nd Academy Awards nominees have been announced. Randy
Newman's "Almost There" and "Down In New Orleans" (from The Princess
And The Frog) and Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett's "The Weary Kind
(Theme From Crazy Heart)" are the songwriters in the Music (Original
Song) category.
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards were held last weekend.
Béla Fleck's "Throw Down Your Heart" won Best Pop
Instrumental Performance. Booker T. Jones' Potato Hole won
Best Pop Instrumental Album. Bruce Springsteen's "Working On
A Dream" won Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance. AC/DC's "War
Machine" won Best Hard Rock Performance. Judas Priest's
"Dissident Aggressor" won Best Metal Performance. Jeff Beck's
"A Day In The Life" won Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent's "Crack A Bottle" won Best Rap
Performance By A Duo Or Group. Carrie Underwood &
Randy Travis' "I Told You So" won Best Country Collaboration With
Vocals. Steve Wariner's "Producer's Medley" won Best Country
Instrumental Performance. Terence Blanchard won Best
Improvised Jazz Solo (for "Dancin' 4 Chicken.") Chick Corea
& John McLaughlin Five Peace Band's Five Peace Band - Live won
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual Or Group. Levon
Helm's Electric Dirt won Best Americana Album. Steve Martin's
The Crow: New Songs For The Five-String Banjo won Best Bluegrass
Album. Steve Earle's Townes won Best Contemporary Folk
Album. Buckwheat Zydeco's Lay Your Burden Down won Best
Zydeco Or Cajun Music Album. Béla Fleck's Throw
Down Your Heart: Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3 - Africa
Sessions won Best Contemporary World Music Album. Ziggy
Marley's Family Time won Best Musical Album For Children.
David Byrne and Brian Eno's Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
won Best Recording Package. Brendan O'Brien (who worked on
albums last year by Pearl Jam, AC/DC and Bruce Springsteen) won
Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical. Yo-Yo Ma's Yo-Yo Ma
& Friends: Songs Of Joy And Peace won Best Classical Crossover
Album.
The Hope For Haiti Now album dropped a spot to #2 on the Billboard 200
chart on sales of 143,000 copies. Barry Manilow's The
Greatest Love Songs Of All Time debuted at #5 on sales of 57,000
copies. Michael Jackson's This Is It soundtrack climbed 11
places to #6 on sales of 55,000 copies. The 2010 Grammy
Nominees collection dropped 3 spots to #8 on sales of 45,000
copies. The Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
soundtrack fell 11 places to #23. Michael Jackson's Number
Ones climbed a spot to #31.
"Hallelujah" by Justin Timberlake & Matt Morris featuring
Charlie Sexton climbed 35 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart
to #13.
"You Are" by Tony Moran featuring Frenchie Davis climbed 3 places to #5
on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs chart. Madonna's
"Revolver" featuring Lil Wayne climbed 4 spots to #7.
The Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel soundtrack climbed 16 spots
to #6 on the U.K. Albums chart. Del Shannon's Runaway: The
Very Best Of Del Shannon debuted at #25. Fleetwood Mac's The
Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac climbed 4 places to #31. Dolly
Parton's Live From London debuted at #33. Queen's Absolute
Greatest dropped 2 spots to #34.
Glee Cast's "Don't Stop Believin'" climbed a spot to #2 on the U.K.
Singles chart. Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" dropped a
spot to #8.
"The Best Of Me" will be the first new single off of Ratt's new studio
album, Infestation, due out Apr. 20th. The single heads to
rock radio on Feb. 21st and will be available at all digital
stores. Vocalist Stephen Pearcy has called the new album a
cross between 1984's Out Of The Cellar and 1985's Invasion Of Your
Privacy.
24 Hour Service Station and MVD Audio have announced the release of the
32-track double-CD, Ceremony: A New Order Tribute, on Mar.
9th. Dedicated to Tony Wilson, founder of Factory Records,
who died of cancer in 2007, the tribute will be released digitally on
Feb. 20th to celebrate what would have been his 60th birthday with a
portion of the proceeds from the album benefiting the Salford
Foundation Trust's Tony Wilson Awards. Participants on the
album come from Europe and America, and includes the "sonically
enhanced" spoken word dedication "Strangely Enough Impact" to Wilson by
New Order bassist Peter Hook introducing the album.
The video for "Superman Tonight," the new single off of Bon Jovi's
latest album, The Circle, debuted on VEVO on Wednesday and makes its
broadcast premiere on VH1 on Feb. 6th.
Mary J. Blige enlisted Steve Vai and American Idol Judge Randy Jackson
as her band in the studio last week to record an all-star reworking of
Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" that will appear on Blige's new
album.
The 25th anniversary version of "We Are The World" entitled "We Are The
World - 25 For Haiti" was recorded in the same Hollywood studio as the
original on Monday. Singing on this version were more than 75
stars that included Celine Dion, Natalie Cole, Barbra Streisand, Janet
Jackson, LL Cool J, Patti Austin, Harry Connick, Jr., Earth Wind
& Fire, Randy Jackson, 3T, Al Jardine, Gladys Knight, Carlos
Santana, Brian Wilson, Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, BeBe Winans and Tony
Bennett. The video will premiere in 3D on Feb. 12th during
the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympics on NBC.
Proceeds from the recording and video will go directly to Haitian
relief efforts through the newly formed We Are The World Foundation.
The 81-track 4-disc Bee Gees collection, Mythology: The 50th
Anniversary Collection, will be released in the U.K. on Mar. 22nd.
Killing Joke have announced that they will release, Feast Of Fools,
their follow-up to 2006's Hosannas From The Basements Of Hell in April
According to a post on their official MySpace page, Whitesnake "will
not be touring in all of 2010 because they are working on several
projects. Any information to the contrary is
wrong." Frontman David Coverdale added to the statement, "My
main focus, of course, will be writing and recording a new Whitesnake
studio album for spring 2011."
The Specials' performance at Wolverhampton Civic Hall on Nov. 10th was
filmed by director Lindy Heymann for a live DVD to be released on Mar.
1st.
Kenny Rogers will celebrate his 50 years in the music business with the
star-studded TV special, Kenny Rogers - The First 50 Years, set to tape
on Apr. 10th at the MGM Grand At Foxwoods in Connecticut.
Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, The Oak Ridge Boys and Wynonna have
reportedly signed on to appear at the event.
Cheap Trick have teamed with Audi of America for a project that will
debut during the Super Bowl. The band went into the studio to
re-record their 1979 hit "Dream Police" to be renamed "Green
Police." The song will be featured in the music for the Audi
A3 TDI clean diesel commercial.
The official trailer for Bastard Art, the new documentary about U.K.
post-punk/goth rocker Andi Sex Gang has made its way to
YouTube. The film features interviews with him and current
and former members of Sex Gang Children as well as rare video clips.
Rick Springfield plans to re-release his Venus In Overdrive album via
Frontiers Records in Europe with the addition of the Live In Rockford
DVD on Feb. 26th.
Bassist John Paul Jones told Stuff magazine that the sophomore effort
by Them Crooked Vultures isn't far off. "We'll do a second
album this year. By the end of summer, something like that."
Black Sabbath plan to reissue expanded double-disc versions of their
1980 album, Heaven And Hell, 1981's Mob Rules and 1982's Live Evil via
Universal on Apr. 5th.
Boy George has previewed the video for his new solo single, "Amazing
Grace," (due out on Mar. 22nd) at www.TheSun.co.uk. The
simplest way to find it would be by doing a search at the site for Boy
George Amazing Grace.
Bad Religion plan to head into the recording studio to work on their
15th album later this fall after wrapping up a short 30th anniversary
tour.
Ozzy Osbourne's song, tentatively titled "Crucify Me Again," with Slash
was originally scheduled to be the first single off of Slash's upcoming
solo debut album. Reportedly due to legal issues, it has been
pushed back and the first single will be "Nothing To Say" featuring M.
Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold. Meanwhile, Ozzy will avoid
calling his next album Soul Sucka or anything less likeable by letting
fans vote on a list that he will post at his Web site.
The Cutting Crew are finishing up writing new studio material and are
also readying several album re-releases (to contain rare bonus tracks.)
Runaways vocalist Cherie Currie will release her personal memoir, Neon
Angel: A Memoir Of A Runaway via It Books/Harper Collins on Mar. 16th.
The Revolting Cocks have announced that they will release a new studio
album, tentatively titled God Cock, this spring. A
side-project by many of the band members, Capt. Bigshot, are also
likely to release an album later this year.
Work on a Milli Vanilli biopic is moving forward with the full support
and assistance of Fabrice Morvan.
The 1984 film, Suburbia, which featured live performances by T.S.O.L.,
The Vandals and D.I. and included the acting debut of Flea of Red Hot
Chili Peppers, heads to DVD in a Collector's Edition version on May 4th.
Kip Winger's new musical, Ghosts, premieres next week through Feb. 20th
at San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House.
The new label Collectors' Choice Music Live will debut with 4 releases
on Apr. 20th which will include John Denver's Live At Cedar Rapids
12/10/87.
Nikki Sixx will launch his new syndicated radio show called "Sixx
Sense" on Feb. 8th -- airing weekdays from 7pm to midnight ET.
Yes bassist Chris Squire recently told the Weekender that there are
plans to record a new studio album with the current band line-up of
guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Oliver Wakeman,
vocalist Benoit David and himself. He also hasn't ruled out
working with Jon Anderson or Rick Wakeman again.
KMFDM have announced the release of their new single, "Day Of Light."
The single (and bonus track "Beach" are new, exclusive,
never-before-released songs) is available exclusively at their Web
store at www.KMFDMstore.com.
Slash has announced that he is pairing up with Guitar Center for their
new contest, Your Next Record with Slash. The contest offers
the chance to write, record and perform an album with the
guitarist. Interested bands are urged to submit their music
to YourNextRecord.com from now until Apr. 30th with the winners picked
by Slash and former Guns N' Roses producer Mike Clink. As
part of the prize package, the first single will be featured on iTunes
and will include management and distribution opportunities as well as
gear from Guitar Center and Ernie Ball Music Man.
Sow will release their 3rd studio album, Dog, on standard CD and
digitally on Mar. 16th via I, Absentee. Sow is project headed
by Anna Wildsmith who's earliest release was the 1988 single "Beat Boy."
The annual concert celebrating Bob Marley's birthday has been canceled
for the first time since it started in 1992 due to noise complaints.
From The Ashes: Surviving The Station Nightclub Fire, A Personal Story
Of Tragedy And Triumph, a new book by Gina Russo and Paul Lonardo is
due out on Feb. 20th (7 years after the fire.) Russo survived
the fire and awoke from a long coma to learn she lost her
fiancée and would have months of physical therapy and
psychological scars to overcome.