Search Results for: Thursday

Stevie Wonder has not performed at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 35 years, and has never headlined the event. Organizers want to change that this year. Wonder was scheduled to headline the second weekend of the 2008 Jazz Fest along with Billy Joel, Sheryl Crow and Louisiana native and country music star Tim McGraw, festival promoter Quint Davis said Thursday in announcing the lineup. Joel, Crow and McGraw are all festival first-timers. The last time Wonder took the stage at Jazz Fest was in 1973, when he participated in an impromptu jam session with The Meters, the… Read more »

Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash says the group is planning a significantly shorter turnaround for its third album. The Los Angeles rockers plan to start working in earnest on the follow-up to last year’s “Libertad” in April, almost immediately after they finish a tour that starts Thursday in Chicago and includes dates in North America, Australia and Europe. “That’s the big thing right now,” Slash says. “I’m really jazzed about doing it. I’ve been working on new ideas, and we’ve had a couple times where the guys all got together and worked on some stuff. I’m itching to see what this… Read more »

The Recording Academy has asked its members to sign a petition urging the Writers Guild of America to accept an agreement that would grant a waiver for writers to work on the upcoming Grammys, The fate of the Feb. 10 telecast was put in doubt after the WGA announced that it was unlikely to grant a waiver for music’s biggest night. If a waiver is not granted, its members could picket the event, set to be broadcast live by CBS. The online petition reads in part: “As a member of The Recording Academy, I would like to express my strong… Read more »

Veteran British rock band the Rolling Stones has signed an exclusive worldwide recording agreement to release its next album through Universal Music Group, prompting speculation that it could leave EMI. EMI has been hit by a wave of bad news in recent weeks, with key artists threatening to walk away from the company after its new owner, financier Guy Hands and his private equity group Terra Firma, unveiled plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs. A statement released by the band on Thursday said it had signed a one-album deal for the group’s next release which is due in March… Read more »

Donda West, Kanye West’s mother, died of heart disease and “multiple postoperative factors” after plastic surgery, a deputy medical examiner said Thursday. But a coroner’s report said the exact contribution these factors could have played in West’s death following breast reduction, tummy tuck and liposuction couldn’t be determined. The investigation found “therapeutic levels of medication” but no unusually high levels and no internal bleeding.” West, 58, died Nov. 10 at a Los Angeles-area hospital, a day after her surgery. “It is my opinion Ms. West died from some pre-existing coronary artery disease and multiple postoperative factors,” Dr. Louis A. Pena,… Read more »

Britney Spears was derailed yet again in her struggle to get her life back on track, losing custody of her two sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline. A court commissioner Friday gave sole physical and legal custody of the former couple’s two little boys to Federline and suspended the troubled pop star’s visitation rights. Spears was hauled away from her home to a hospital by paramedics a day before, after police had to intervene when she refused to return the children to Federline after a court-monitored visit. Commissioner Scott Gordon ordered another hearing to be held Jan. 14. Federline had previously… Read more »

Concert touring company Live Nation on Thursday said it reached a two-year, multimillion dollar, worldwide touring deal with tween rockers Jonas Brothers. Live Nation caused a stir in October when it lured pop star Madonna from her long-term music label Warner Brothers with an estimated $120 million multi-album, touring and merchandising global partnership. The Los Angeles-based company said the deal calls for the band, comprised of three siblings from New Jersey, to play more than 140 theatres and arenas around the world. The first wave of tour dates kicks off in Tucson, Arizona on January 31. The announcement follows the… Read more »

U.S. album sales plunged 9.5 percent last year from 2006, continuing a downward trend for the recording industry, despite a 45 percent surge in the sale of digital tracks, according to figures released Thursday. A total of 500.5 million albums sold as CDs, cassettes, LPs and other formats were purchased last year, down 15 percent from 2006’s unit total, said Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks point-of-purchase sales. The shortfall in album sales drops to 9.5 percent when sales of digital singles are counted as 10-track equivalent albums. About 844.2 million digital tracks sold in 2007, compared to 588.2 million in 2006,… Read more »

The estate of late funk singer Rick James has settled a lawsuit that claimed a music publishing company collected money from licensing his songs without permission. The estate’s attorney, Jennifer J. McGrath, announced the settlement in court Thursday. Trial had been set to begin Jan. 7. Dozens of James’ compositions, though not his biggest hit “Super Freak,” were involved in the suit filed in March in Superior Court. It accused California-based Brooklyn Music Publishing Group Inc. of collecting money from European music publishers and making new foreign deals without authority. Messages left Monday for McGrath and Brooklyn Music attorney Vincent… Read more »

Marilyn Manson will start the new year as a single man. The goth rocker’s marriage to model and burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese officially ended Thursday, and the two were “restored to the status of single persons,” according to a judgment filed in Superior Court. Von Teese, whose real name is Heather Sweet, and Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, have entered a marital settlement, but terms of the agreement were not disclosed for privacy reasons, court papers said. Her attorney declined to comment. An after-hours call Friday to Manson’s attorney was not immediately returned. Von Teese filed divorce… Read more »