Music producer Phil Spector, 69, was sentenced
to 19
years to life in prison today (Friday) for the murder of actress Lana
Clarkson.
In a nearly 3 year long battle over how to sort out James Brown's
estate, Judge Jack Early approved a settlement on Tuesday that sends
almost half of the funds to his charitable trust, almost a quarter to
his wife Tomi Rae Hynie Brown and young son James Brown II and the
remaining amount to be split between Brown's adult children.
A judge was forced to dismiss the case filed by Aerosmith's Steven
Tyler against some anonymous bloggers that have allegedly been using
his likeness without permission, impersonating him and making false
statements. The case was dropped when the anonymous bloggers
failed to show up in court.
Liberty DeVitto (a drummer for Billy Joel from 1975 to 2005) has filed
a lawsuit against the 'piano man' in Manhattan's state Supreme Court
claiming he is owed royalties for his work during that time.
Joel has sold over 100 million albums during his career
worldwide. DeVitto, 58, is currently working as a studio
musician and teacher to support his family.
Depeche Mode vocalist Dave Gahan's severe bout of gastroenteritis was
diagnosed after further medical tests to be a low-grade malignant tumor
in his bladder. Gahan underwent successful surgery to remove
the tumor and has been told to rest until June 8th to make sure he
fully recovers. The band's tour will resume in Germany on
that date.
Tony Carey has been diagnosed with a gastrointestinal disorder that
requires immediate treatment. His doctors have recommended
that he refrain from touring and traveling for a short period of
time. This will prevent him from performing with Over The
Rainbow at the Sweden Rock Festival and former Rainbow keyboardist Paul
Morris will be filling in.
Morrissey has been forced to cancel several other upcoming
performances. "Morrissey is on continued doctor's orders not
to sing, to ensure a complete recuperation." It was recently
revealed that he had been suffering from a throat infection.
Plans are to reschedule several of the canceled dates and ticket
holders have been advised to hang onto them until a further
announcement. The singer had just returned to the tour to
perform in Manchester for his 50th birthday.
Peter Tork, 67, of the Monkees has been attending physical therapy to
help his speech pattern return to normal after the successful and
complete removal of a cancerous tumor on the lower part of his
tongue. He is expected to begin radiation therapy in June for
6 weeks and hopes to continue playing on the road with his band Shoe
Suede Blues this spring and summer.
Ozzy Osbourne has released a statement about Black Sabbath:
"It is with great regret that I had to resort to legal action against
my long term partner, Tony Iommi, but after three years of trying to
resolve this issue amicably, I feel I have no other recourse.
As of the mid-1990's, after constant and numerous changes in band
members, the brand of 'Black Sabbath' was literally in the toilet and
Tony Iommi (touring under the name Black Sabbath) was reduced to
performing in clubs. Since 1997 when Geezer, Bill and myself
rejoined the band, Black Sabbath has returned to its former glory as we
headlined sold-out arenas and amphitheatres playing to upwards of
50,000 people at each show around the world. We worked
collectively to restore credibility and bring dignity back to the name
'Black Sabbath' which lead to the band being inducted into the UK and
US Rock & Roll Hall of Fames in 2005 and 2006,
respectively. Throughout the last 12 years, it was my
management representatives who oversaw the marketing and quality
control of the 'Black Sabbath' brand through OZZFEST, touring,
merchandising and album reissues. The name 'Black Sabbath'
now has a worldwide prestige and merchandising value that it would not
have had by continuing on the road it was on prior to the 1997 reunion
tour. Tony, I am so sorry it's had to get to this point by me
having to take this action against you. I don't have the
right to speak for Geezer and Bill, but I feel that morally and
ethically the trademark should be owned by the four of us
equally. I hope that by me taking this first step that it
will ultimately end up that way. We've all worked too hard
and long in our careers to allow you to sell merchandise that features
all our faces, old Black Sabbath album covers and band logos, and then
you tell us that you own the copyright. We're all in our 60's
now. The Black Sabbath legacy should live on long after we
have all gone. Please do the right thing." The
lawsuit has been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
claiming Iommi illegally assumed sole ownership of the Black Sabbath
name. The New York Post has said that Osbourne is seeking a
50% stake in the trademark and a portion of the profits generated by
Iommi's post-Osbourne version of the band. Iommi filed a
lawsuit against Live Nation in December claiming that they were selling
merchandise with the band's logo after their merchandising deal with
them expired.
According to Michael Schenker, his band can confirm their North
American tour will be able to start. "It is official, the
Visa situation has been sorted out and the US Tour is on as planned!"
Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Felix Cavaliere, Roger Greenaway,
Roger Cook and Crosby, Stills and Nash will be honored at the
Songwriters Hall Of Fame Awards to be held in New York City on June
18th. Tom Jones will be this year's recipient of the Howie
Richmond Hitmaker Award and Andy Williams will be presented the
Towering Song and Towering Performance awards for "Moon River."
Tori Amos' Abnormally Attracted To Sin debuted at #9 on the Billboard
200 albums chart on sales of 41,000 copies (becoming her 7th top 10
album.) Eric Clapton And Steve Winwood's Live From Madison
Square Garden debuted at #14. Bob Dylan's Together Through
Life fell 11 places to #17. The Twilight soundtrack (which
has been certified by the RIAA as double-Platinum) dropped 8 spots to
#19. Lionel Richie's Just Go debuted at #24.
The Glee Cast cover of Journey's 1981 hit "Don't Stop Believin'"
debuted at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart becoming the
biggest debut of the week. Flo Rida's "Right Round" featuring
Kesha fell 9 places to #21. Kristinia DeBarge (daughter of
DeBarge founding member James DeBarge) has a #33 hit with "Goodbye."
Manic Street Preachers' Journal For Plague Lovers debuted at #3 on the
U.K. Albums chart. Madness' The Liberty Of Norton Folgate
debuted at #5. Jim Reeves' The Very Best Of Jim Reeves
climbed a spot to #8. Bob Dylan's Together Through Life fell
9 places to #17. Jarvis Cocker's Further Complications
debuted at #19. Tori Amos' Abnormally Attracted To Sin
debuted at #20. U2's No Line On The Horizon dropped 9 spots
to #29. Annie Lennox's The Collection fell 9 places to
#31. Steve Earle's Townes debuted at #37. Madness'
Complete Madness debuted at #38. ABBA's Gold: Greatest Hits
climbed a spot to #39. Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood's
Live From Madison Square Garden debuted at #40.
Ironik's "Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)" featuring Chipmunk and Elton
John fell 4 places to #11 on the U.K. Singles chart.
Tina Marie has a #16 hit on the Billboard Adult R&B singles
chart with her latest, "Can't Last A Day." The song is the
lead track to her 13th studio album, Congo Square, due out June 9th via
Stax Records/Concord Music Group.
Daniel Ash (of Bauhaus/Tones On Tail/Love & Rockets) has teamed
with Zak Ambrose to cover "Rock On." The Dirty Queen mix of
the track will be released as a new single to iTunes and other digital
download outlets. The song is the first track off of the
upcoming album Swinghouse Sessions: Volume 1.
The Beastie Boys have announced that their new studio album will be
titled Hot Sauce Committee. The band also appeared on Late
Night with Jimmy Fallon to talk about the album they've
finished. Meanwhile, they will reissue Ill Communication on
July 14th.
Paul Rodgers has talked about his plans post-Queen. He will
spend the rest of the year at home and focus on writing new solo
material.
A new 8-track live collection, Life, Death, Live And Freedom, viewed as
a companion piece to John Mellencamp's 2008 album, Life, Death, Love
And Freedom, will be released on June 23rd.
Judas Priest plan to release a new live album, A Touch Of Evil: Live,
on July 14th. Instead of a standard collection of their
biggest hits live, the band has chosen 10 songs that haven't been
previously released in a live version including two tracks from last
year's Nostradamus.
George Strait will be honored as the Academy of Country Music's artist
of the decade during an all-star event airing on CBS on Wednesday
night.
Cheap Trick will self-release their upcoming new studio album, The
Latest. They plan to take pre-orders for the 13-track disc at
their official Web site, CheapTrick.com and at Amazon.com starting
today. Meanwhile, the band has recorded a version of the
Transformers theme for the Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
soundtrack due out June 23rd.
Steve Vai will release his Web site and iTunes exclusive Naked Tracks
on CD for the first time. The special limited edition
digi-pack box set can be purchased at Guitar Center stores and if
outside the U.S. can still be downloaded at iTunes and Vai.com.
Howard Jones' 1983 single, "What Is Love?," has been covered by Aswad
and Sweetie Irie. Aswad has previously teamed with Sweetie
Irie on the 1989 single "On And On."
The Mission U.K.'s Wayne Hussey recently announced that he is currently
recording an album with All About Eve's Julianne Regan.
According to a recent Billboard.com interview with Chicago's Robert
Lamm, the band have been contemplating the recording of a collaborative
album with Earth, Wind & Fire. Meanwhile, Chicago's
Bill Champlin will release his new solo album, No Place Left To Fall,
on Aug. 4th and the other band members have been doing a little
recording in the studio.
Phish have released their new single, "Time Turns Elastic," via
iTunes. The track is the first from their currently untitled
album due out July 28th.
Eagle Vision will release B.B. King Live At Montreux 1993 on DVD and
Blu-Ray disc on June 2nd. The special Blu-Ray edition will
include 3 exclusive tracks from King's 2006 Montreux appearance.
Ricky Ross of Deacon Blue and Lorraine McIntosh have been working in
the studio on a new album due out in September via Cooking Vinyl.
Sade has launched a new Web site www.Sade2009.com. They
recently announced that she would be releasing a new currently-untitled
album before the holidays but a representative from Sony has confirmed
the date to be unknown yet changed.
Nine Inch Nails mainman Trent Reznor decided to set up a special
donation page on the band's Nin.com Web site after seeing the mention
of 27 year-old Eric De La Cruz who needs to raise $780,000 for a heart
transplant (as he is unable to get medical insurance) on a television
show. Reznor has been offering special incentives to fans for
their donations and within two days had raised $260,000. Less
than a week later, they've raised over $850,000.
The release of Chickenfoot's self-titled debut has been moved up to
Friday, June 5th (or Footday.) They will appear that same day
on NBC's The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.
Y&T's Dave Meniketti has recorded a guest guitar solo for the
title track to Irish rock act Glyder's upcoming album, Yesterday, Today
And Tomorrow.
After months of health problems, former Snowy Red frontman Micky Mike
[born Marcel Thiel], 52, died in a Brussels hospital. He
began his career as a guitarist for Chainsaw before starting electronic
act Snowy Red with a self-titled LP in 1981 ending with 1989's The Beat
Is Over. Re-issues of their 4 albums were in the works via
the German-based label Cabinett as well as plans for a new studio album
in 2004 but Cabinett Records closed before anything surfaced.