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Since the release of Time to Discover in the spring of 2000, Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise have had their record label, manager and two of their founding members leave them. Bradley, the voice behind the 1997 hit “Once Upon a Time,” thought about hanging up his well-worn hat, until he realized he would not only be leaving his passion, he would be losing his vision. “One of the great things about being in the music business and being blind is that you really get a chance to see,” Bradley, who was born blind, said Tuesday, the day his latest album… Read more »

A few punks, a scruffy “Refugee” and the most sex-crazed chef on television are crashing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Punk rock pioneers the Ramones and Talking Heads, Southern rockers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and soul singer Isaac Hayes will lead the class of 2002 when they are inducted into the rock hall on March 18, organizers announced Thursday (December 13). Other artists recognized include ’60s icons Brenda Lee and Gene Pitney, guitar great Chet Atkins, and Stax Records co-founder Jim Stewart. Atkins, who crafted the sound of country music before moving on to record with Elvis… Read more »

PressPlay, an online music venture between Universal Music and Sony Music, said on Thursday it signed licensing deals with six independent record labels that offer music by a wide variety of acts, from rappers 2 Live Crew to country singer Kenny Rogers to jazz legends Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday. PressPlay, set to launch its service to subscribers this fall, noted that its latest deals with Madacy, Navarre, OWIE, Razor & Tie, Roadrunner and Rounder will add music from hundreds of artists to its already large catalog of music for streaming and downloading. The company said the six labels were… Read more »

Bassist Jason Newsted toured, recorded and partied with Metallica 24-7 for some 13 years. After quitting the band in February, at least partly because of a ban on side projects, he suddenly found the flexibility to work on multiple projects with different artists. Newsted, 38, is producing an album by punk-metal behemoth Speedealer and anticipating the major-label debut of his trio EchoBrain. Toward the end of the year, he’ll begin producing New York noise-metal band Dragpipe before entering the studio with Voivod to play bass on the band’s allegedly final album. And if he has time, he’ll play drums with… Read more »

American songwriters and music publishers have reached preliminary agreement with the on-line file sharing service Napster to settle the class-action lawsuit currently pending in federal court in California. The agreement includes terms under which the songwriters and music publishers will license their music to Napster’s new membership-based service. The announcement of the proposed settlement was made jointly by Edward P. Murphy, president and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association, Inc., Gary L. Churgin, president and CEO of The Harry Fox Agency, Inc., George David Weiss, president of The Songwriters’ Guild of America, Inc., and Napster president and CEO Konrad… Read more »

The first glimmers of punk and New Wave have a chance to make their way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the 2002 class. The ballot of sixteen candidates has been released from which next year’s class will be chosen; a group that includes punk pillars the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, as well as iconic Seventies New York scenesters the Talking Heads and Patti Smith. This year’s first-time nominees also include Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Jackson Browne, Isaac Hayes, Gram Parsons, pop singer Gene Pitney, R&B ensembles the Dells, the Chantels and the… Read more »

Alice Cooper has been named the recipient of this year’s Living Legend Award from the International Horror Guild, marking the first time the Guild has reached beyond the literary world to give someone the honor. Previous winners have included authors Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, and Clive Barker, among others. The award is given to those “who have made a meritorious and notable contribution and/or have substantially influenced the field of horror and dark fantasy.” Cooper’s award will be handed out Saturday (September 1) at Atlanta’s Hyatt Regency Hotel as part of the weekend-long Dragon*Con, one of the largest conventions in… Read more »

The Who’s onstage collaborations with Eddie Vedder, Noel Gallagher and others at a U.K. benefit concert last fall are captured in a new home video due next month. “The Who & Special Guests, Live at the Royal Albert Hall,” which also features Bryan Adams, Paul Weller, Stereophonics singer Kelly Jones and violin virtuoso Nigel Kennedy, will be released September 25 on DVD and VHS, according to producers of the project. The two-disc (or two-tape) set will include bonus material such as rehearsal footage and a performance of “Pinball Wizard” that can be viewed from multiple angles. Filmed at London’s famed… Read more »

Once a hip-hop artist achieves any semblance of success, expect to hear about it from his friends. More than simply brag about their platinum-selling homie, though, chances are they’ll rap with him on their own album. Within the last two months, collections from the Nelly-backed St. Lunatics and the Eminem-featured D12 have stormed into record stores. The Lunatics’ Free City debuted on the Billboard 200 albums chart at #3 on June 13, while D12 earned the #1 slot with Devils Night two weeks later. Many other hip-hop acts have turned the same trick, piggybacking a new act on the strength… Read more »

“Come back to me,” the tiny figure onstage pleaded, her arms outstretched. Janet, they never left. At least that’s how it sounded as her attempt at that 1989 weeper was drowned out by two full minutes of a standing ovation – and that was three songs into the set. Pop Lolitas-of-the-week may come and go, but this Jackson, it seems, is forever, if Saturday night’s All for You tour kickoff was any indication. Following a sparsely attended set from opening R&B quartet 112 and a good 40 minutes of pre-recorded Motown hits, the arena lights went down and the screaming… Read more »