W.A.S.P. leader Blackie Lawless (a.k.a. Steven Duren) was
found not guilty by the Scottsdale Arizona Court on May 22nd on charges of assault going back to August of 2005.
Loretta Lynn recently underwent shoulder joint replacement surgery after breaking her left shoulder on June 4th
in her Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, home. The singer is expected to be sent home to recover. Lynn recently recorded
a guest vocal on "Country Music Has The Blues" for Billy Ray Cyrus' next album, Wanna Be Your Joe. (George
Jones recorded "I Want My Mullet Back" with Cyrus for the album.)
Guitarist Elliot Easton of The New Cars (and of the original line-up) fractured his left collar bone in a bus accident
on the way to Washington D.C. on June 4th and is not expected to miss any shows.
According to their official Web site, some members of Queensryche were reportedly arrested over the weekend at
the Amsterdam airport for smuggling illegal firearms.
Eazy-E's son, Lil Eazy-E (Eric Wright Jr.,) was arrested for gun possession on June 10th in Compton after being
stopped for a traffic violation. The rapper's two passengers were also arrested (one for possession and the other
for probation violation.) Lil Eazy-E released his debut album, Prince Of Compton, earlier this year.
According to Extra, Heather Mills McCartney received a court order on Friday granting her full custody of her daughter
with Sir Paul McCartney with the singer receiving visitation rights. Meanwhile, U.K. tabloids are buzzing over
the discovery of explicit pre-motorcycle accident photos of Mills in the 1988 German book Die Freuden Der Liebe
(The Joys Of Love.)
The San Jose Mercury News has reported that former Tubes/Grateful Dead keyboardist Vince Welnick committed suicide
at his home in the San Francisco area according to close friends of Welnick.
Paul Simon's new album, Surprise, debuted at #4 on the U.K. Albums chart followed by Primal Scream's Riot City
Blues.
Sirius Satellite Radio's Big '80s celebrated The Most Awesome Prom Songs of the Big 80's during the weekend. Several
thousand listeners voted for the songs in an online poll with the results announced by channel hosts (and original
MTV VJs) Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter and Nina Blackwood. The Top 5 were: Journey's "Faithfully," REO Speedwagon's
"Keep On Loving You," Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," Lionel Richie & Diana Ross' "Endless
Love" and Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes' "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life."
Bob Seger plans to release his first new studio album in 11 years, Face The Promise, on Sept. 12th. The first single
from the album will be "Wait For Me" which is due out after July 4th.
Suzanne Vega has signed a new recording deal with Blue Note. Her label debut will be her follow-up to 2001's Songs
In Red And Gray and is expected to be released in spring.
Janet Jackson's new studio album, 20 Years Old, will be released on Sept. 26th. The first single, "Call On
Me," is expected to hit U.S. radio stations on June 19th and features rapper Nelly.
Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has formed his own company, Metal God Entertainment, for the production and licensing
of his future solo releases. The first plans for the company is to reissue his Halford albums via the label later
this year.
Rhino Records has announced the signing of Sammy Hagar for the release of his new studio album, Livin' It Up, on
July 25th.
Elton John's collaboration with the Scissor Sisters, "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'," will be the first single
from the Scissor Sisters' sophomore album, Ta-Dah.
The Jets recently released a new studio album entitled Versatility via the Hip-O label. "She Wakes Up"
has been tapped as the first single. The album is available for download at many digital music distributors.
Barry Adamson will release his new studio album, Stranger On The Sofa, on June 6th in the U.S. with a digital release
on May 29th.
The Rembrandts will release a 20-track retrospective, Greatest Hits, on June 20th featuring music from all phases
of their career including their early days recording as Great Buildings. Meanwhile, Danny Wilde has co-written,
mixed and produced several tracks appearing on the Gin Blossoms upcoming album, Major Lodge Victory.
Queen Latifah will star and executive produce the HBO original movie Life Support which recently began production
in New York.
Sanctuary Visual Entertainment has announced they will release a 3-DVD Bruce Dickinson Anthology on June 20th featuring
over 6 hours of videos, live performances and previously-unreleased/archive material.
Blowoff (Bob Mould and Richard Morel) have finished work on their debut album which will be released on Sept. 5th
via their Full Frequency Music imprint. Mould has also been busy working on his next solo studio album due out
next year.
The Charlatans U.K. release their latest single, "NYC (There's No Need To Stop)," from Simpatico on July
3rd. Several bonus tracks will be scattered amongst two CD singles, a 7" single and digital download.
Nine Inch Nails mainman Trent Reznor has collaborated with EL-P on the track, "Flyentology," which is
expected to appear on EL-P's next album.
Rakim plans to release his third solo studio album, The Seventh Seal, this summer via his Ra Records label. A distribution
deal has not been confirmed yet.
Slayer's first new studio album with their original line-up since 1990's Seasons In The Abyss will be titled Christ
Illusion when released on Aug. 8th.
Nitzer Ebb will release their new compilation, Body Of Work 1984-1997, on June 5th and their mix collection, Body
Of Rework, Remixes, on July 24th. The compilation includes a bonus disc of rarities and mixes that are not found
on remix collection.
Ronnie Milsap will release his new Keith Stegall-produced 11-track studio album, My Life, on June 27th.
Vocalist Paul Roberts has amicably departed The Stranglers after 15 years with the band to focus on his Soulsec
project. Roberts' first album with the band after leaving Sniff 'n The Tears was 1993's Stranglers In The Night.
Satellite Party have signed with Columbia for their self-titled debut album later this year. The first single from
the album is expected to be "Dogstar."
MC Hammer will release his new digital album, Look 3X, on July 4th via iTunes and various digital stores.
Liza Minnelli's next studio album is expected to be a tribute to her godmother Kay Thompson. The album will be
titled The Godmother And The Goddaughter and include a duet they recorded in 1998 prior to Thompson's death. Thompson
is possibly best known for her 'Eloise' books. Minnelli will next appear in the upcoming film, The Oh in Ohio.
Kylie Minogue has recently told Sydney's Sun Herald that she has already returned to the recording studio and things
couldn't be any better. Minogue also made a surprise appearance performing as part of her sister Dannii's encore
set at the London club G-A-Y.
Stevie Wonder's mother Lula Mae Hardaway, 76, passed away on May 31st. Hardaway co-wrote several of Wonder's early
hits and appeared with him at the 1974 Grammy Awards.
Often referred to as "the fifth Beatle", Billy Preston died of kidney failure in Scottsdale, Arizona,
on June 6th at the age of 59. The keyboardist was the first musical guest on Saturday Night Live and recorded with
the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Diamond, Elton
John, Michael McDonald, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, George Clinton, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Carly Simon, The
Manhattans, Johnny Cash, Quincy Jones, Joni Mitchell, Dave Pirner, Richie Sambora, Peter Frampton, Rod Stewart,
Paul Young, Mick Jagger, Nils Lofgren, Gladys Knight, Al Green, Luther Vandross, DeBarge, Aretha Franklin and many
others. Preston also recorded many solo albums (several in the 80's) and scored had several hits as a solo artist.
Afro-Cuban jazz pianist Hilton Ruiz, 54, died on June 6th from complications following an accident in New Orleans.
Ruiz had recently recorded a benefit album for New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina and had flown to the
city to film a companion video last month. The cause of Ruiz' injuries (he was in a coma with a fractured skull
and trauma to his face when admitted) are still under investigation as conflicting stories say he was the target
of a beating or was injured in a fall.