Rosanne Cash, 52, is expected to make a complete recovery after undergoing a successful brain surgery to correct
a benign condition. She is currently resting in her New York home after leaving New York-Presbyterian Hospital
two weeks ago. Plans are for Cash to return to the recording studio early next year and to resume work on a book
due out in 2009.
Liza Minnelli was rushed back to the United States from Sweden for medical treatment after collapsing after she
walked off stage during a performance. According to a spokesperson for the concert's organizers, "She had
felt a bit dizzy before she got up on stage" but decided to perform anyhow. Her own spokesperson said the
singer "became very ill after the show began. As a result, she was unable to finish her performance and was
rushed back to her hotel by her manager." As of yet, a medical diagnosis hasn't been announced.
Chris Cornell has requested a restraining order against former sheriff's deputy Matthew Turner in Los Angeles.
Cornell claims that his ex, Susan Silver, has sent him "numerous and terrifying death threats." He also
claims that she has hired Turner to kill him and has "continually harassed, frightened and stalked" him
and his family. The Los Angeles Police's Threat Management Unit has taken the case and they plan to investigate
the singer's claims.
Michael Jackson has been given 25 days by a judge to pay or settle (by turning over his financial information to
his former legal representatives) outstanding lawyer's fees from his 2005 child-molestation trial. Rumors of a
3-month world tour next year beginning in March to pay these debts are circulating.
Twisted Sister and a Newport Beach couple, that organized a show to take place at the Bren Events Center at UCI
on Dec. 14th, are fighting over $25,000. The couple, Danny Peykoff and fiance Megan Moore, claim that they borrowed
$100,000 to put on a concert with the intent to pay half of that to the band and $40,000 to the venue. After selling
4,500 tickets, they expected that they'd be able to pay the loan back and give $100,000 to the troops. The couple
claim that they started to get the word out a week before the show and were forced to cancel the show after selling
only 87 tickets. The couple have been asking that the band give back the deposit given to them. Twisted Sister
have released a statement saying that they signed a contract with Peykoff and Niagara Distributing for the show
in October for a "corporate fundraiser." Two days prior to the event, the band flew from New York to
California for a nearby performance and learned the show was canceled via postings on Internet sites and were not
contacted by Peykoff or with a notice of cancellation. "As is the nature with any professionally contracted
live performance, deposits are kept if the promoter cancels the show, just as deposits are returned if the band
cancels the show." according to the statement. "Mr. Peykoff's statements to the press are a complete
distortion of the facts, and due to the inflammatory nature of his accusations, are potentially libelous."
Twisted Sister's agent Steve Green believes "they're entitled the whole $50,000." He also has stated
that "It's impossible for a group to sell tickets if you start two weeks out."
Aerosmith's Steven Tyler was questioned by police on Dec. 8th after security broke up Tyler's girlfriend Erin Brady
and a woman who was trying to take a picture of the couple while they were partying at the Hollywood club Pangaea.
Tyler was questioned as a potential witness to the incident but no charges have been brought forward at this time.
A $3 billion invasion of privacy lawsuit against Dr. Dre was dismissed by Wayne County Circuit Judge John A. Murphy
last week. The dealt with a conversation in 2000 between Detroit city officials and tour producers over the risque
videos shown during the rapper's concerts which ultimately appeared on the Dr. Dre and Eminem Up In Smoke tour
DVD. An attorney for the former city officials said that he would appeal the decision. Dre won a previous case
against the former city officials in 2003 and had a federal lawsuit filed by the officials dismissed in 2005.
Bon Jovi fan Dennis Schulz has filed a $14 million compensation claim after he suffered a dislocated spinal cord
during a show in Edmonton, Canada, leaving him paralyzed. Schulz filed the suit against 4 other fans who were involved
in a brawl during the show that he got caught in as well as the event staff, promoters and venue.
John Mellencamp, Madonna and Leonard Cohen are among those to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's
class of 2008 on Mar. 10th. Producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff will be inducted into the hall in the non-performer
category which was recently renamed in honor of the late Ahmet Ertegun.
The Eagles' Long Road Out Of Eden dropped a spot on the Billboard 200 album chart to #3. Garth Brooks' The Ultimate
Hits fell 3 places to #8. Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas Song fell a spot to #11. Led Zeppelin's Mothership slid
4 places to #16.
Led Zeppelin's Mothership climbed 4 spots over the week to claim #4 on the U.K. Album chart. The Eagles' Long Road
Out Of Eden fell a place to #5. Whitney Houston's The Ultimate Collection fell 3 spots to #10. The Beautiful South/Housemartins'
Soup - Cream Of The Beautiful South/Housemartins rose 2 places to #15. Kylie Minogue's X plunged 14 spots to #19
in its third week on the chart.
"Fairytale Of New York" by the Pogues featuring Kirsty Maccoll climbed 4 places to #8 on the U.K. Singles
chart becoming the third year in a row that the song has placed in the Top 10 (four total with it's original release.)
Wham's "Last Christmas" has returned to the chart for the holiday season claiming the #14 spot. Kylie
Minogue's "2 Hearts" fell 7 places to #18.
Jody Watley has a #10 hit on the U.K.'s Music Week magazine Cool Cuts Club Chart (the British equivalent of Billboard
magazine) with her "I Want Your Love" remixes.
Reba McEntire's Reba Duets has been certified platinum (with sales of over 1 million copies) in the U.S. The next
single from the collection will be "The Only Promise That Remains" with Justin Timberlake.
The recent reunion tour by the Police has led all tours in 2007 and earned the title of Top Grossing tour raking
in a gross of more than $212 million and selling over 1.8 million tickets before the Billboard Boxscore cutoff
date of Nov. 13th.
USA Today listed their Top 12 new Christmas songs with a chance to become a potential classic. Olivia Newton-John's
"A Mother's Christmas Wish" came in at #3, The Smithereens' "Christmas (I Remember)" placed
at #5, "My Angel (Christmas)" by Jim Brickman with Gerald Levert came in at #7, Patti LaBelle's "Holidays
Mean More To Me" placed at #10 and the Minus 5's "Your Christmas Whiskey" rounded out the list at
#12.
Anthrax have announced that their new lead singer will be Dan Nelson. Nelson has fronted several Long Island/New
York area acts in the past. The group hired Nelson after talks fell through with former vocalist Joey Belladonna.
Recording of an album of all-new material has begun. Meanwhile, their Sound Of White Noise and Stomp 442 albums
are being made available this week on iTunes as expanded editions with bonus tracks.
Delicious Vinyl release the new maxi-CD Wild Thing - Peaches RMX by Tone Loc + Peaches this week. The disc includes
a 2007 remix of Loc's hit "Wild Thing" that was remixed by and features Canadian rapper Peaches to celebrate
the song's 20th anniversary. YouTube has a video for the single posted at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWFNfAQwen4
Chris De Burgh is scheduled to become the first Western musician to play a show in Iran since the 1979 Islamic
revolution. The singer recently recorded with Iranian pop group Arian and will be holding a joint performance next
year.
Iron Maiden have signed a deal with longtime label EMI which will see the company branch out into touring, merchandise
and sponsorship. The recording deal covers all areas of the world except the U.S. where Sanctuary handles things.
The first single from Janet Jackson's Island Def Jam debut album, Discipline, will be "Feedback." The
song is currently streaming at the z100.com before being released on Jan. 7th. The album is due out on Feb. 26th.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will celebrate their 40th anniversary this year by launching the Party In The Dirt tour
next year with Poco and Jim Messina.
Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder plans to provide music for a documentary mini-series based on Howard Zinn's book A People's
History Of The United States. Vedder is also nominated for a Golden Globe award for best original score for Into
The Wild and his song "Guaranteed" from the film is up for best original song. Other best original song
nominees during the 65th annual Golden Globe awards are Carole Bayer Sager (for the title song form "Grace
Is Gone") and Marshall Crenshaw (for "Walk Hard" the title song to Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.)
Celine Dion has finished her run at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace with her 717th performance. The initial 3-year $100
million contract broke records for a live entertainer and would later be extended to a 5-year run. Dion's A New
Day... opened in March 2003 grossed over $400 million and was seen by almost 3 million fans. Tickets for her final
show were selling on eBay for nearly $2,000.
According to Europe's Joey Tempest, his former Force bandmate John Norum is working on his solo album. Europe have
also started work on songs for their next disc. They expect to head into the studio after touring next summer.
Paul Weller will re-release his 1993 solo album, Wild Wood, via Yep Rock on Feb. 5th. The set will include 2 previously
unreleased songs from that period, 2 demos and a cover of the title track, expanded liner-notes and an interview
with Weller.
Kurtis Blow, the Sugar Hill Gang and Grandmaster Mele Mel with Grandwizard Theodore have teamed up for the Hip
Hop Anniversary tour for European dates in March and U.S. dates May and June.
"That's How People Grow Up" will be Morrissey's new single from his upcoming 15-track 'greatest hits'
collection due out in February. The song features Kristeen Young, who was the opening act for his fall tour before
getting fired after comments made on stage.
Anne Clark plans to release her first new studio album in 12 years, The Smallest Act Of Kindness, in September
followed by a tour at the end of 2008.
Testament are working in the studio on their new album, The Formation Of Damnation, which will be released on Apr.
29th via Nuclear Blast. Their earlier albums, The Gathering and Demonic, will be reissued soon through Prosthetic
Records.
Toad The Wet Sprocket's Glen Phillips plans to head into the recording studio with "the new band" this
week. The 'group' is actually a project with him, Sara Watkins, Sean Watkins and Luke Bulla and they are currently
seeking a name for the outfit. Chris Thile will not be involved in the project (replaced by Luke Bulla) so Mutual
Admiration Society will not be used and a new name is needed.
Dokken have posted a rough mix of a new track entitled "Oasis" for fans to hear on their MySpace page
(www.myspace.com/dokken1).
A biopic about Queensbridge, New York, hip-hop collective the Juice Crew is in the works. Casting has begun and
the roles of Marley Marl, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shante and Big Daddy Kane have been filled.
Alan Jackson will follow his new single, "Small Town Southern Man," with his 15th album, Good Time, on
Mar. 4th.
A new Tiffany documentary is on the way... well not really about her but, I Think We're Alone Now, examines obsessive
relationships between some fans and the singer. The film by first-time feature director Sean Donnelly will screen
at Slamdance 2008 on Jan. 17th to 25th.
Ringo Starr plans to release his new album, Liverpool 8, on Jan. 15th via Capitol/EMI. The title-track debuted
as a single on Dec. 4th.
Cathy Dennis (who debuted on D-Mob's 1989 album Little Bit Of This, Little Bit Of That) has a new project entitled
Sexcassettes. A debut album is expected followed by a tour.
Bauhaus' reunion and final album, Go Away White, has been scheduled for release on Mar. 4th worldwide.
Dwight Yoakam has signed on to star in the upcoming New Line Cinema romantic comedy, Four Christmases.
Grammy award-winning legendary rock and soul guitarist/pianist/bandleader Ike Turner, 76, passed away at his San
Marcos, California, home on Dec. 12th. No cause of death has been announced. Turner's 1951 hit, "Rocket 88,"
with his band the Kings Of Rhythm is often credited as one of the first rock 'n' roll songs. He will most likely
be remembered for his turbulent marriage to Anna Mae Bullock (a.k.a. Tina Turner) which lasted from 1958 to 1976.
Turner recorded several solo albums including 1988's You're Still My Baby but his cocaine addiction and drug-related
offenses (which led to incarceration) stalled his career. During the 90s he found much studio work that led to
his 2001 Grammy-nominated album, Here And Now, 2006's Risin' With The Blues and even an appearance on the Gorillaz'
Demon Days.
Singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg, 56, lost his battle with prostate cancer on Dec. 16th. According to a statement
posted at his Web site, "Dan left us this morning at 6:00 a.m. He fought a brave battle with cancer and died
peacefully at home in Maine with his wife Jean at his side. His strength, dignity and grace in the face of the
daunting challenges of this disease were an inspiration to all who knew him." The singer was diagnosed with
advanced prostate cancer one year after releasing his final album of original material, 2003's Full Circle. Fogelberg
earned several platinum and multi-platinum records during the late '70s and early '80s scoring 11 Top 40 hits (4
of which, "Longer," "Same Old Lang Syne," "Hard To Say" and "Leader Of The Band",
were Top 10 hits.)