Search Results for: the voice

The relationship between the Roots and its label MCA appeared estranged in October, when Philadelphia’s City Paper ran a cover story on the group lambasting its label over a number of creative conflicts. Months after the much-discussed article hit the newsstands, group member Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson says that the relationship has been improving. In the controversial expose, Roots members Black Thought and Thompson voiced their dissatisfaction with the staff of MCA, including president Jay Boberg. They were upset that the label strongly suggested that Erykah Badu replace the then-unknown Jill Scott on the group’s song “You Got Me,” which went… Read more »

While Dec. 31, 2001, may not rank up there with the millennium celebrations, there’s still plenty of top-notch live music being presented in the clubs and arenas of the U.S. this New Year’s Eve. So, if you’re planning to get off the couch while Dick Clark rings in 2002 in Times Square, rest assured that there are worthwhile options in most major cities. In New York, band of the moment the Strokes will open for perennial indie favorite Guided By Voices at the famed Apollo Theatre. Further downtown, Phish’s Page McConnell will premiere his new band, Vida Blue, which features… Read more »

Bono, lead singer of the Irish rock band U2, has been named “European of the Year” for his campaign for debt relief in developing nations, in a poll conducted by the weekly European Voice. Danish film director Lars von Trier was named “Visionary of the Year.” Ten winners were selected by European Voice readers from a list of 50 nominees compiled by journalists and opinion leaders from across the 15 European Union nations. The announcement was made earlier this month. Each winner received $4,458 to donate to a charity of his or her choice. Bono, 41, said his prize would… Read more »

Pop stars including Elton John, Billy Joel, Sheryl Crow and the Eagles will perform a series of concerts the night before the Grammys to raise money for a fledgling group of performers seeking better treatment by major record labels, organizers said Wednesday. At least five shows sponsored by the Recording Artists Coalition, a group spearheaded by Crow and Eagles singer Don Henley, are planned at various Los Angeles-area venues for Feb. 26, the eve of the glittering awards ceremony honoring the industry’s best music and biggest stars, spokesmen said. Among other artists committed to performing at the shows are country… Read more »

Hip-hop pioneers the Sugarhill Gang were awarded $3 million in damages last week in a suit brought against Snapple Beverage Corporation and Turner Broadcasting System over the wrongful use of their images and voices in a television ad that aired in 1998. The group-which comprises Big Bang Hank, Wonder Mike, and Master Gee-filed suit in New York City on January 19, 1999, after a commercial featuring them performing “Rapper’s Delight ” aired on TV as a promotion for the Goodwill Games, which Snapple sponsored. Members of the Sugarhill Gang maintain that they were told the commercial would only air on… Read more »

The world’s largest record company will be the first of the major labels to release a copy-protected CD in the United States, signaling a new chapter in the industry’s efforts to stem music piracy. When Universal Music Group on Tuesday releases the soundtrack, “Fast & Furious – More Music,” consumers won’t be able to copy the music onto another CD or use their PCs to “rip” tracks in digital MP3 format. The copy-protection technology will also render the disc unplayable on Macintosh computers, DVD players and game consoles, such as Sony’s PlayStation 2. It might not even play in some… Read more »

Four years after the divorce, Vivendi Universal and USA Networks are poised to tie the knot again in a $12.4 billion deal, expected to be announced today in New York. The deal will put the TV assets acquired by USA in 1997 back under Universal’s control and install USA chairman and CEO Barry Diller as the head of the studio’s film, TV and theme park operations. Sources said the complex transaction was structured as the creation of a joint venture between Vivendi Uni and USA encompassing Universal’s film studio and theme parks and USA’s cable channels, including USA Network and… Read more »

Recipients of the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award and Trustees Awards were announced today by Michael Greene, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. Pianist and band leader Count Basie and recording artists Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Al Green, and Joni Mitchell will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards. Engineer/producer Tom Dowd and original rock disc jockey Alan Freed will be honored with Trustees Awards. Formal acknowledgment of the awards will be made in conjunction with the 44th Annual GRAMMY ® Awards ceremony, which willbe held at Los Angeles’ Staples Center on Wednesday, Feb. 27. The show will be a prime-time television special on… Read more »

While those within sightline of a TV can catch P.O.D., Ja Rule, O-Town, Sum41 and City High performing on “MTV’s New Year’s Eve 2002” and Blink-182, Pink, Busta Rhymes and others ring in the new year on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve”, those in search of activities away from the tube needn’t look far. With special New Year’s Eve shows popping off around the country like so many magnums of bubbly at midnight, finding a suitable place to get your celebration on shouldn’t be a problem. From Guns N’ Roses’ Great Pumpkin-like return to the Las Vegas strip to… Read more »

The three “bootylicious” vocalists from the Grammy-winning R&B act Destiny’s Child are parting ways to pursue solo projects for the near future, they said in a television interview aired on Wednesday. “Well, Destiny’s Child put out four albums in four years, which is unbelievable,” lead singer Beyonce Knowles told cable network E! Entertainment Television in an interview conducted last week. “We’ve been working… nonstop. So I think Destiny’s Child is gonna take a little break.” She added, “I think the great thing about us doing this is we will all have to develop individually. You’re in a group and it’s… Read more »