An internationally televised special that brought together some of the biggest names in show business raised more than $150 million in pledges for victims of the Sept. 11 air attacks and their families, organizers said on Monday. The two-hour, commercial-free program, “America: A Tribute to Heroes,” aired Friday night on more than 35 U.S. broadcast and cable networks, the Internet and 8,000 radio stations nationwide. It also was beamed to TV outlets in more than 210 countries and carried on the Armed Forces Network to U.S. military personnel stationed in 175 nations around the globe. The unprecedented simulcast drew an… Read more »
Rock troubadour Bruce Springsteen sang the prescient “My City of Ruins” and pop diva Mariah Carey gave a comeback performance of “Hero” during an internationally televised pledge drive on Friday benefiting victims of the Sept. 11 attacks on America. The unprecedented, commercial-free show, dubbed “America: A Tribute to Heroes” and simulcast live from candle-lit studios in Los Angeles and New York, was carried on at least 31 U.S. broadcast and cable networks and beamed to 156 countries around the globe. Dozens of stars from the movie, television and music industries took part in the emotional but subdued event, providing entertainment… Read more »
Clear Channel has identified 150 songs that are considered to be “lyrically inappropriate” for airplay in the wake of the terror attacks carried out in the U.S. on Tuesday, September 11. A Clear Channel spokesperson has confirmed that the list has been circulated among its stations across the country. The lyrical content targeted by the list includes any references to death, flying, September, or general destruction. The popular (and highly political) band Rage Against The Machine received the dubious honor of having their entire catalogue on the list. Pam Taylor, a spokesperson for Clear Channel stations in the San Francisco… Read more »
Rob Thomas’ pre-Matchbox Twenty recordings are finally seeing the light of day, thanks to a former bandmate who spent a half a decade trying to put “the nail in the group’s coffin.” Don’t Play With Matches, the only studio album by Tabitha’s Secret (which featured Matchbox Twenty bassist Brian Yale and drummer Paul Doucette as well as Thomas), is due for October 9 release. Guitarist Jay Stanley – who, along with guitarist John Goff, parted ways with the band in 1995 – fought a five-year legal battle to get the album released. “It’s about putting the past behind me, putting… Read more »
Irish boy band Westlife will rock Indonesia’s capital on Thursday under heavy security as police take no chances following the death of four fans in a stampede when another band toured Jakarta in March. Organizers said 2,000 security personnel including police would guard the 15,000-seat concert stadium in central Jakarta, along with 200 paramedics backed up by a number of ambulances and fire engines for the late afternoon event. Bands such as the chart-topping Westlife are hugely popular with Indonesian teenagers, but visits have become less common since the country sank into crisis in the late 1990s. The British boy… Read more »
Clive Davis, widely recognized as the record industry’s most innovative and influential executive, will receive the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement from UCLA on May 4. Two-time Golden Globe winner Katherine Helmond will present the award. The only non-performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Davis was the founder and guiding force behind the powerhouse label Arista Records for more than 25 years, launching the careers of Billy Joel, Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston and Dido, among others. Recently, Davis reunited with Santana to produce Supernatural, the Grammy-sweeping album, which has sold… Read more »
Maybe the Recording Industry Association of America had better watch its back. The Recording Artists Coalition – which counts founder Don Henley, Sheryl Crow, and Alanis Morissette among its members – is making strides toward becoming a formidable opponent. The RAC, which claims that the RIAA doesn’t always operate in the best interests of artists, has recently hired an executive director, laid out plans for offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and folded another high-profile artists’ rights group under its wing. In March, Henley said the RAC boasted 57 high-profile members, including Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, and Bruce Springsteen.… Read more »
In what promises to be one of the most exciting concert events of the summer season 200l, singer/songwriter Paul Simon and his 11-piece band will kick-off a 28-city tour of the United States Saturday, June 9th, at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Seattle, Washington. Simon will be joined on the tour by one of rock’s most deeply revered figures, the legendary Brian Wilson, co-founder of The Beach Boys. Wilson will be accompanied by his 10-piece band, which includes the four-member group, The Wondermints. The Paul Simon Summer 200l tour comes hot on the heels of Simon’s Grammy Nomination for Album of… Read more »
Properties featured: Koala Man, 80th Golden Globes Awards, Vikings: Valhalla, Hunters, The Last of Us
A special extended episode of First Person airs this Sunday, November 6 at 8pm ET. Josh Madden joins his brothers, Joel and Benji Madden, in LA to talk about their new mix tape. The twins will discuss the evolution of the album and explain how each track came to be.
