Hank Williams Jr. surrendered to Memphis authorities on Tuesday
after a warrant was issued for his arrest after allegedly assaulting waitress Holly Hornbeak. Williams had been
in town visiting his daughters who were being treated at Memphis Regional Medical Center for serious injuries sustained
from a car accident. Williams' representative issued a statement on Tuesday claiming his client was an innocent
"victim of greed" and that Hornbeak was attempting to extort money from Hank Williams Jr. (referencing
a demand letter dated Mar. 21st.) CMT is expected to honor him with the Johnny Cash Visionary Award during the
2006 CMT Music Awards airing live tonight.
Thomas Dolby has been considering legal action against K-Fed (Britney Spears' spouse Kevin Federline) over unauthorized
use of a sample from his 1983 hit, "She Blinded Me With Science." The sample used in the song, "America's
Most Hated," appears to come from a sample of Mobb Deep's "Got It Twisted" (who legally sampled
it.) The song which appeared on K-Fed's MySpace page was removed on Wednesday after Dolby mentioned it on his blog.
Dolby has turned the issue over to his lawyers and has been gearing up for his first tour in over 15 years as well
as recently assisting JJ Abrams with scoring Mission: Impossible III.
American Idol judge Paula Abdul filed a battery report with police on Tuesday alleging she was thrown against a
wall by a man causing spinal injuries and a concussion after a private party at Hollywood's Sunset-Gower Studios
a week ago. Abdul is said to have been receiving medical treatment for the injuries and has been on the set for
tapings of the show.
Garth Brooks' ex-wife Sandy Brooks was abducted by a worker on her farm, Quintine Cornelius Harper, at gunpoint
after she allowed a bail bondsman to come onto her property outside Tulsa, Oklahoma, to arrest Harper on an outstanding
warrant. Brooks was led to a car and told to drive away but pulled over at a convenience store a few miles away
and ran inside. Harper was caught and the incident added kidnaping and weapons charges to a previous embezzlement
case.
The historic 220 year-old house owned by William Lee Golden of The Oak Ridge Boys in Sumner County, Tennessee,
was severely damaged by a tornado but the singer and his family were able to escape without injury.
Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee had to take a break from the band's Carnival of Sins tour on Wednesday due to tendonitis
in his wrist with hopes to return later in the week. Broken Toyz drummer Harvey Warren filled in for Lee.
George Jones was recently honored in his hometown of Beaumont, Texas, with an induction into Ford Park's Walk of
Fame.
Morrissey's new studio album, Ringleader Of The Tormentors, debuted at the top of the U.K. album chart last week
becoming his 3rd solo chart-topper. The first single from the album, "You Have Killed Me," claimed the
#1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Sales chart in the U.S.
Bruce Hornsby will see his career celebrated with a 53-track 4-CD boxed set entitled Intersections on July 25th.
A 22-track DVD collecting music videos and live performances is also included.
Psychedelic Furs and former Love Spit Love frontman Richard Butler will release his self-titled solo debut on Apr.
18th. The first single from the album will be, "Good Days, Bad Days."
Donnie Iris & The Cruisers are scheduled to release their new studio album, Ellwood City, on May 1st. The first
single from the album will be, "Little Black Dress."
Reba McEntire will star as Nellie Forbush in South Pacific when it premieres on PBS on Apr. 26th. The one-night
only performance at Carnegie Hall was recorded in June of 2005. A cast recording will be released on Apr. 18th.
Velvet Revolver have tapped hip hop producer Pharrell Williams for their sophomore effort. The band have been in
the studio since March.
The Who plan to release a mini-opera entitled The Glass Household based on Pete Townshend's online novella "The
Boy Who Heard Music" as early as June with a conventional CD release expected in September.
TNT vocalist Tony Harnell has made a comment on his MySpace page about a press release that was prematurely given
out about his departure from the band. He has asked for fans to bear with him as a new full proper press release
with more information is issued by his new management.
Fatboy Slim will release a retrospective compilation entitled The Greatest Hits -- Why Try Harder. The album will
feature two new tracks including the new single, "That Old Pair Of Jeans." A DVD will be included in
the package titled Why Make Videos.
"Sam I Am" has been selected as the first single from Sammy Hagar & The Wabos upcoming studio album
Livin' It Up.
Wilco have been road-testing new material for their follow-up to 2004's A Ghost Is Born and expect to head back
to the studio for more recording next month.
The Rolling Stones performed their first-ever concert in China on Saturday and complied with the Chinese Ministry
of Culture's request to avoid playing 5 of their classic hits. The band was previously scheduled to perform there
in 2003 but had to cancel due to an outbreak of SARS that killed hundreds.
Matthew Sweet's 1991 album, Girlfriend, will be reissued in an expanded edition on June 13th featuring a second
disc of demos, live recordings and radio sessions from that time. Sweet's collaboration with Susanna Hoffs of the
Bangles, Under The Covers Vol. 1, hits stores on Apr. 18th.
VH1 will premiere their new series SuperGroup on May 18th featuring Ted Nugent, Scott Ian, Sebastian Bach, Evan
Seinfeld and Jason Bonham. Meanwhile, Bach recently told Shining Star Radio that he plans to release a new solo
album, Angel Down, as early as July.
Soul Asylum will release their new 12-track studio album, The Silver Lining, on July 11th. The album features some
of the final recordings of late bassist Karl Mueller who lost his battle with throat cancer in June.
Prince's 3121 dropped to #8 on the Billboard 200 but climbed from #8 to #1 on the European Top 100 Albums chart.
Former Japan multi-instrumentalist Mick Karn will release his 7th studio album, Three Part Species, on June 5th
via MK Records. The albums first single, "Of & About / All You Have," will be released on May 29th.
Remastered versions of Helloween's 1985 album Walls Of Jericho, 1991's Pink Bubbles Go Ape, 1993's Chameleon, 1994's
Master Of The Rings, 1996's The Time Of The Oath and 1998's Better Than Raw are being reissued as remastered deluxe
expanded editions on Apr. 15th
LL Cool J's new studio album, Todd Smith, (the rapper's name at birth) hits stores this week. The first single
from the album, "Control Myself.," features Jennifer Lopez.
Rush's vintage home videos (1982's Exit...Stage Left, 1985's Grace Under Pressure and 1991's A Show Of Hands) will
debut on DVD as part of the boxed set Rush Replay X 3 on June 13th. New stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes have
been created by guitarist Alex Lifeson for the set.
A 25th anniversary release of the film 9 To 5 has been released. The Oscar-nominated title song was a #1 hit in
1980 for Dolly Parton who starred in the film.
Rick Springfield's return to General Hospital as Dr. Noah Drake has also brought him to the 33rd Annual Daytime
Emmy Awards where he will perform a live medley of his hits during the ABC broadcast on Apr. 28th.
Michael Bolton has recorded a duet of "The Second Time Around" with fiancee Nicollette Sheridan for his
upcoming album, Bolton Swings Sinatra, due out May 23rd.
Marylin is expected to release a new single, "How Do I Live," later this year and is working on a DVD
featuring performance clips and original videos.
Rob Zombie's new studio album, Educated Horses, debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200 album chart selling 107,000
copies matching the same spot as his successful 1998 solo debut, Hellbilly Deluxe. The album also debuts at #1
on the Top Rock Albums chart.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are scheduled to perform on the May 6th episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live. Expect
the band to perform, "Dani California," the first single from their double-disc new studio album Stadium
Arcadium which hits stores on May 9th.
Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon will make a guest appearance with their young daughter Coco on the
May 9th season finale of WB's Gilmore Girls. Moore, Gordon and Coco will perform an acoustic version of "What
A Waste" from their upcoming album, Rather Ripped, on the episode.
Glenn Hughes is scheduled to release his new 11-track solo studio album, Music For The Divine, on June 9th in Europe.
The B-52's have decided to postpone their summer European dates to focus on finishing their new studio album which
they hope will hit shelves next year.
Janet Jackson's new studio album has a tentative title of 20 Years Old. The title most likely celebrates the 20th
anniversary of her breakthrough album, Control, which has sold over 5 million copies and allegedly is referenced
in the new album. The first single from the album heads to radio in May.
It seems that the next album by the Alarm, Under Attack, will be under the name the Alarm MMVI when released on
June 13th. The album release was pushed back to accommodate frontman Mike Peters' final round of chemotherapy treatments
in his battle with leukemia.
Expect to see expanded editions of Siouxsie and the Banshees' first 4 studio albums (including 1980's Kaleidoscope
and 1981's Juju) in the U.K. on June 1st. The albums include many demos and unreleased tracks. Also in the works
are a DVD of their 1983 home video Nocturne, a double-disc deluxe edition of Juju and a reissue of bassist Steven
Severin and the Cure's Robert Smith's 1983 album Blue Sunshine recorded under the name the Glove. Severin and Smith
have even had discussions of possibly recording a new album together.
Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid will release his next studio album with Masque, Other True Self, on Apr. 18th
featuring a cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence."
The first VH1 Rock Honors will be taped on May 25th at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay saluting and featuring performances
by Queen, Kiss, Def Leppard and Judas Priest. Hosts and presenters have not been named but VH1 plans to broadcast
the event on May 31st.
The Flaming Lips' new studio album, At War With The Mystics, landed at # 6 on the U.K. album chart becoming their
first top 10 album there.
2002 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Gene Pitney, 65, was found dead of natural causes in his Cardiff, Wales,
hotel room on Wednesday while in the middle of his spring U.K. tour. Pitney scored many of his hits early in his
career but had a resurgence in the 80's with 1982's Love My Life Away, 1984's Gene Pitney and a 1988 U.K. chart-topping
duet of his hit "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart" with Soft Cell vocalist Marc Almond. Almond who
has been working on a new solo album has announced he will cover Pitney's "Backstage" in tribute to the
late singer.
Former Wonder Stuff drummer Martin Gilks, 41, passed away on Monday in a London hospital due to internal injuries
from a motorcycle accident on Sunday. Gilks was with the band from their 1988 debut until they broke up in 1994
and went into talent management with his company Furtive. A new version of The Wonder Stuff resurfaced last year
around original members Miles Hunt and Malc Treece releasing Escape From Rubbish Island. Their new album, Suspended
By Stars, is due out on Apr. 18th.