Graham Nash revealed that his bandmate Stephen Stills has been diagnosed with prostate cancer during an appearance
on Larry King Live. The 62 year-old is scheduled to have surgery on Jan. 3rd (his birthday) and the early diagnosis
may potentially save his life.
The Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement honorees for the 50th annual Grammy Awards have been announced. The
late Cab Calloway, Burt Bacharach, Max Roach, Itzhak Perlman and Earl Scruggs are among those to receive the award
which will be presented on Feb. 9th during the televised ceremony.
The Eagles' Long Road Out Of Eden kept the #3 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart on sales of 241,000 copies.
Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas Song climbed 6 places to #5 with sales of 180,000 copies. Garth Brooks' The Ultimate
Hits fell two spots to #19 with 119,000 copies sold. Led Zeppelin's Mothership climbed two places to #14. Celine
Dion's Taking Chances fell 3 spots to #15.
What was old is new again on the U.K. Singles chart. The quest for the Christmas #1 brought many older hits and
artists back to the charts. The 1987 hit "Fairytale Of New York" by The Pogues featuring Kirsty Maccoll
climbed 4 spots to #4. Wham's 1984 hit "Last Christmas" dropped slightly to #16. Meanwhile, downloads
of Kylie Minogue's next single, "Wow," broke it into the top 40 at #32.
The Eagles' Long Road Out Of Eden retains the #5 spot this week on the U.K. Album chart. Led Zeppelin's Mothership
dropped 2 places to #6. Whitney Houston's The Ultimate Collection fell one spot to #11. Soup - Cream Of The Beautiful
South/Housemartins dropped one place to #16. Kylie Minogue's X gained a spot at #18. Celine Dion's Taking Chances
climbed 7 places to #20.
70 recordings dating back to 1905 up to 1982 have been added to the Grammy Hall Of Fame. Willie Nelson's 1982 single,
"Always On My Mind," Prince's 1982 double album, 1999, and Michael Jackson's 1982 album, Thriller, were
among the recordings added among the 798 titles on the list which started in 1973 by the Recording Academy.
White Lion have been signed by Frontiers Records for the release of, Return Of The Pride, their first new studio
effort in 16 years. The band features vocalist Mike Tramp who also produced the album with bassist Claus Langeskov.
Return Of The Pride is due out on Mar. 14th in Europe. King Records will release the album in Japan.
Buzz plan to release their new CD, Minimal & électronique, next year. A remix of the title track is
due out in early January.
Keith Sweat is scheduled to release his new studio effort, Just Me, on Mar. 18th. The disc is his first in a new
deal with Rhino's Atco imprint. The first single from the album will be "Suga Suga Suga."
Paul Rodgers wants to spend New Year's Eve with you. Well... not personally but he is inviting fans to a webcast
at eq.tv of his performance in Reno, Nevada, beginning at 6 p.m. ET. The 10-hour production will include his performance,
interviews and backstage footage when broadcast via the Equilibrium Project. Meanwhile, Queen + Paul Rodgers have
responded to public demand and made their newly recorded song, "Say It's Not True," available as a commercial
CD single with royalties to be donated to Nelson Mandela's AIDS cause 46664. The song was released as a free download
on Dec. 1st for World AIDS Day.
According to Michael Stipe, R.E.M. will release their new studio album on Apr. 1st. The band plan to countdown
the release every day starting Jan. 1st with a daily video to appear at NinetyNights.com.
The March Violets' 25th anniversary performance in Leeds was filmed for a possible DVD release next year. Meanwhile,
the band have been taking video submissions from female fans. They have asked for video of girls shaking their
long black hair to be used in a video for their new song "Long Black Hair."
Kenny G is one of the latest artists to sign with Starbucks Entertainment and Concord Records. The jazz instrumentalist
will release Rhythm And Romance, a set of Latin love songs, on Feb. 5th at Starbucks locations and traditional
retail stores.
Ice Cube's new film, First Sunday, heads to theaters on Jan. 11th. The film's official Web site is www.CrimeDoesntPray.com.
The B-52's have pushed back the release of their new studio album, Funplex, about a month to Mar. 25th. The 11-track
disc will be their first release via Astralwerks and first new studio album in 16 years.
The Eagles played the Country Music Association Awards this year. Their hit, "How Long," has done well
on the country chart. Their album, Long Road Out Of Eden, claimed the top spot on the country album chart. See
a trend here? To solidify this trend, the band have confirmed that they turned down an offer to perform at the
Super Bowl this year and, according to Don Henley, performing at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry "would be an honor."
To understand the international significance of their new album, Long Road Out Of Eden has sold over 2.1 million
copies outside the U.S. In Australia, where a gold album is awarded for sales of 35,000 copies (which per capita
is equal to 500,000 in the U.S.), the band has sold 149,000 (35,488 sold just last week.)
The Ian Curtis/Joy Division biopic Control will reportedly head to DVD shelves on Mar. 25th (Feb. 11th in the U.K.)
The rock opera based on and titled after Neil Young's 2003 Greendale album will make its world premiere at the
Dallas Undermain Theatre from Mar. 29th to May 3rd.
The Charlatans U.K. have announced that "Oh Vanity" will be released on Feb. 23rd as the second single
from their upcoming currently-untitled new album due out in March. The song can be heard at xfm.co.uk currently.
Shirley Bassey's first new album in a decade, Get The Party Started, will be released via Decca on Mar. 4th. The
timing of the album couldn't be any better as it also marks her 70th birthday. Bassey's last album was her live
1998 Birthday Concert.
Queen Latifah has signed on to star in the big-screen adaptation of Sue Monk's The Secret Life Of Bees for Fox
Searchlight. The project begins production next month and should be released later next year. Latifah also has
roles in the upcoming films Mad Money and What Happens In Vegas.
Kenny Loggins will see his latest album, How About Now, will be re-released with brand new cover art in 2008. Plans
are to release the disc online and at standard retail outlets.
Agnostic Front spent Sunday filming a new video for "For My Family" from their latest album Warriors.
The band invited fans to Toads Place in Connecticut for the filming.
A Brazilian compilation entitled Wave Klassix Volume 1 has been released by Wave Records. The set includes 14 tracks
by 14 artists recorded from 1979 to 1986.
Producer Timbaland reportedly leaked a new song, "4 Minutes To Save The World," from Madonna's upcoming
new studio album (rumored to be titled Licorice) which features Justin Timberlake. He aired the song during Philadelphia's
Jingle Ball in Philadelphia on Dec. 16th.
A Web site has been launched (www.u23dmovie.com) to promote the 92-minute concert film U2 3D. A teaser trailer
as well as film details are up at the site.
Songwriter/pianist/bassist Andy Fraser has released a new Christmas song entitled "Take Me Home For Christmas"
as a free MP3 download at his official Web site (www.andyfraser.com). The song reportedly tells the story of two
gay male American soldiers at war in Iraq and deals with the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. A video
for the song has been placed on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO_ixw5fThQ
You may have wondered why Yazoo (Yaz in the U.S.) have launched their first official Web site (www.yazooinfo.com)
or MySpace Page (www.myspace.com/yazooofficial) during the last few months. The duo (who disbanded after 1983's
You And Me Both) will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut single, "Only You," with re-mastered
reissues of their albums (1982's Upstairs At Eric's and You And Me Both.) A rumor of the duo performing live for
the event has been circulating but remains less than credible.
Bootsy Collins will release his new album, The Money Monster, in the summer. He headlined an event this weekend
honoring his funk mentor James Brown with proceeds going to rebuild King Records (home of Brown's early recordings)
and launch of a museum. Brown died on Christmas Day last year.
A musical based on the life and music of Tina Turner is reportedly in the works entitled Simply The Best. The show
is expected to debut at a venue in London's West End.
Dave Gahan's 7-track Live From SoHo has been released exclusively via iTunes. The set was recorded during Gahan's
Oct. 23rd appearance at New York's SoHo Apple store to play some tracks in support of his new album, Hourglass.
The House Of Lords' new studio effort, Come To My Kingdom, will be released via Frontiers Records on Mar. 14th.
Willie Nelson plans to release his new studio album, Moment Of Forever, on Jan. 29th via Lost Highway. The album
is co-produced by Kenny Chesney and Buddy Cannon.
Return To Forever will reunite for the first time in 25 years to tour North America in support of an anthology
of remixed and re-mastered songs. The jazz/rock fusion group includes Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola
and Lenny White.
The Young Gods will see 5 of their albums (1989's L'eau Rouge, 1991's Play Kurt Weill, 1992's T.V. Sky, 1993's
Live Sky Tour and 1995's Only Heaven) reissued next year via the Belgian independent label Play It Again Sam. The
reissues are not expected to include bonus material.
Legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, 82, died late on Sunday (according to CBC Television) from kidney failure
at his Mississauga, Ontario, Canada home. He had earned the highest civilian honor in his country, the Companion
of the Order of Canada for his work during his career and held the distinction of being the first living Canadian
depicted on a stamp. Peterson's career began in the 1940s and was consistently recording and playing until a serious
stroke in 1993 side-lined him for 2 years.