Have You Heard the News... Here are current stories about Oldies Artists in the News: Two country legends who had success on the pop charts have died. Eddy Arnold, the "Tennessee Plowboy", who amassed 145 country chart appearances in 38 years, died Thursday morning (May 8) in Tennessee at the age of 89. Born outside Nashville in 1918, Eddy worked as an undertaker's driver while doing radio work before finally hooking up as the vocalist for Pee Wee King's band. He left Pee Wee for a solo career in 1943, but his continued appearances on the Grand Old Opry helped propel his first 57 releases into the country top ten, including #1 tunes like "It's A Sin", "I'll Hold You In My Heart" and "Anytime". The latter proved to be his first pop crossover hit, the first of 32 appearances there, including the top 20 hits "Bouquet Of Roses" (#13-1948), "Texarcana Baby" (#18-1948), "Just A Little Lovin'" (#13-1948), "I'm Throwing Rice" (#19-1949) and his biggest pop hit-- "Make The World Go Away" (#6-1965). Eddy was named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association in 1967 (while he was in the middle of a two-year string of seven #1 country hits) and was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966. He had several television shows and appeared in two movies-- "Feudin' Rhythm" and "Hoedown". His last album was released in 2005. And Jerry Wallace, who started out in pop music before beginning a long association with country, passed away Monday (May 5) of congestive heart failure at the age of 79 at his home in Corona, California. Born in Guilford, Missouri in 1928, he was raised in Glendale, Arizona. Jerry's father was a grocer, and traded a crate of eggs for his first guitar as a 14th birthday present. While he waited for a chance to record his own songs, Jerry honed his skills wrking for a company that released cheap soundalikes of the hits of the day. Early recordings for Allied Records in the early '50s went nowhere, but a switch to Challenge Records in 1958 yielded paydirt with the #11 hit, "How The Time Flies". "Primrose Lane" the next year gave him his biggest pop hit, reaching #8. But success continued to be spotty over the next five years. The country-tinged "Shutters And Boards" (#24-1963) and "In The Misty Moonlight (#19-1964) convinced Jerry to make the switch to country music permanently, and he chalked up 35 songs on the country charts from 1965 to 1980, including "Do You Know What It's Like To Be Lonesome" (#2-1973), "Don't Give Up On Me" (#3-1973) and "My Wife's House" (#9-1974) In 1972, his song "If You Leave Me Tonight, I'll Cry" was used in an episode on TV's "Night Gallery" and not only became a #1 country hit, but returned him to the pop top 40, as well. Jerry appeared in several television programs (including the aforementioned episode of "Night Gallery") and was heard as the voice on many commercials, as well. The Academy of Country Music announced Wednesday (May 7) the honorary winners of their annual awards. Brenda Lee, Conway Twitty, the Oak Ridge Boys and Porter Wagoner will all be given the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award. The Poets Award for outstand songwriting will be given to "Whisperin'" Bill Anderson and late Fred ("Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain") Rose. Dick Clark, who helped get the awards ceremony televised, will be honored with the Jim Reeves International Award. While the ACM awards will be held May 18 ion Las Vegas, these honorary awards will be given out at a Nashville event at an undetermined date. Speaking of Bill Anderson, he was named Tuesday (May 6) as a charter member of the Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication Fellowship by the Board of Trust at his alma mater, the University of Georgia in Athens. Bill will be officially inaugurated in ceremonies at the school November 20. Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman" Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' "Tracks Of My Tears" and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" are among the 24 recordings named to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress Tuesday (May 6). Martha Reeves, now a Detroit city councilwoman, says thieves kicked in the back door of her childhood home there Sunday night (May 4) and stole a million dollars worth of speakers, microphones, recorders and karaoke machines. The home is now owned by her father. The loss is uninsured. A stage musical written by John Mellencamp and author Stephen King will not be produced in Atlanta as scheduled next April. "The Ghost Brothers Of Darkland County" was to debut in Atlanta and eventually move to Broadway, but producers realized the script would not be ready by next Spring. They hope to mount the production durinhg the 2009-2010 season. The former Buck Owens Recording Studios in Bakersfield, California, where country music stars like Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash recorded as well, closed its doors on April 30. The one-time movie theatre had been leased most recently to Pig Studio and was home to the late Buck's memorabilia. Hopes are to open another studio theatre or turn the building into a museum. Artie Singer, who managed Danny & the Juniors and Diane Renay and produced (and is credited with writing) "At The Hop" (originally issued on Artie's Singular label), passed away Friday (May 2) after a short illness at the age of 89. Artie was a well-respected voice coach in Philadelphia and wrote the music for a Broadway-style musical called "Dreamweavers" just last year. There's good news from Billy Lee Riley. Despite and heart attack and emergency quadruple heart bypass surgery in February (following his third hip replacement), Billy Lee returned to the stage at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis Sunday night (May 4). His wife explained how serious this were, saying, "If he hadn't already been in the hospital when he had the heart attack, he may have died, "so that third failed hip turned out to be a blessing in disguise". A plaque was unveiled Saturday (May 3) in a pub in Derbyshire, England to mark the 50th anniversary of the first performance of Cliff Richard using that name (as opposed to his real name of Harry Webb) in 1958. In fact it was the owner of Ripley's Regal nightclub who gave Cliff his name. "The Regal played a huge part in my personal music history," said Cliff in a letter to the assembled crowd, "and I am thrilled that this is being marked by a plaque to mark my 50th anniversary, 50 years to the day since that first performance". Speaking of Cliff, it has finally come out that he was robbed of a victory in the Eurovision song competition in 1968 when Spain's dictator, Generalisimo Francisco Franco (who is still dead, by the way) fixed the voting for the Spanish entry. Cliff's "Congratulations" lost by just one point to Spanish singer Massiel's "La La La". Franco apparently ordered Spanish TV executives to buy second-rate European programs and book unknown acts in exchange for votes. Sir Alan Sugar (think "British Donald Trump") paid Elton John over a half million dollars to entertain guests at the 40th wedding anniversary party he threw Monday night (May 5) at his Essex, England estate. As if that wasn't enough, he also hired his favorite band from the '60s-- Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons-- to sing (no word on what they cost). An exhibition of more than stage costumes worn by the Supremes at various concerts in the '60s will debut May 13 at a museum in West London as part of a look at Motown Records. The dresses, donated by Supreme Mary Wilson, will travel on to Blackpool, Birmingham and Bristol over the next two years. Chuck Leavell, keyboard player for the Rolling Stones, was given an honorary doctorate in music at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant Sunday (May 4). He also addressed the graduating students, but kept his remarks light. "What's the difference between a musician and a municipal bond?" he asked. "A municipal bond matures and makes money". Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen were among the first fifteen honorees inducted Sunday (May 5) in the New Jersey Hall of Fame in Newark. Others honored include Buzz Aldrin, Albert Einstein, Yogi Berra, Thomas Edison, Vince Lombardi and Meryl Streep. An attorney for the woman who claimed to be James Brown's wife at the time of his death announced Friday (May 2) that a DNA test performed on her six year-old son proves he is the Godfather's son. Tomi Rae Hynie had the test performed last month before a South Carolina judge even ordered it. A Superior Court judge in Los Angeles threw out a felony "assault with a deadly weapon" case against Rod Stewart's son, Sean, Friday (May 2) after prosecutors apparently were unable to identify Sean's actions after the instigating traffic altercation in Hollywood last year. Sean is still involved in a civil suit over the incident, as well as a fight at a nightclub there in 2006. Those of us in the Windy City aren't surprised at all-- Sly Stone has cancelled a Chicago appearance set for Saturday (May 3) "due to health reasons". Hopeful there won't be a riot goin' on when the word gets out. There are no plans to re-schedule the date. Speaking of Chicago, Dennis DeYoung of Styx has written a stage musical version of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" at the Balliwick Reperatory Company there. Previews begin Thursday (May 8) with official performances scheduled for May 18 through July 6. Dennis says he originally got the idea to write the musical while touring as Pontius Pilate in "Jesus Christ, Superstar" in 1993. The musical includes 25 new Dennis DeYoung compositions. London's Daily Mail newspaper printed an apology to Lisa Marie Presley Friday (May 2) for speculating on her weight gain and forcing her to announce her pregnancy early. "On March 4, we published a photograph of Lisa Marie Presley while she was dining with friends. We suggested she might have an unhealthy appetite similar to her late father. We now accept that the suggestion is untrue and apologise to Ms. Presley for any distress caused." The apology is possibly a result of the lawsuit Lisa Marie filed against the paper. Meanwhile, Lisa Marie's ex-husband, Michael Jackson, dropped a lawsuit Thursday (May 1) against accountants he said filed taxes late, failed to pay worker's compensation payments and made deals and hired people without his knowledge. He filed the suit in December of 2006 and was counter-sued for $1 million in unpaid fees, which the courts dismissed. The Rhythm and Blues Foundation announced it's annual Pioneer Awards receipients Wednesday (April 30). Chaka Khan will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. The late Donny Hathaway will be honored with the Legacy Award. Al Bell, one-time head of Stax Records in Memphis receives the Leadership Award. In addition-- Bill Withers, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Teena Marie, Kool & the Gang, the Whispers and the Funk Brothers (Motown's sidemen) will be honored. The 20th annual ceremony will take place September 9 in Philadelphia. Speedy recovery wishes go out to Carl Dixon of the Guess Who (he sang lead after Burton Cummings left), who was involved in a head-on auto crash April 14 in Melbourne, Australia. After initial fears for his life (he was trapped in the wreckage for two hours and placed in an induced coma), he improved but is still hospitalized with two broken legs, a broken right hand an a badly injured eye that he will most-likely lose. "He has a long road ahead of him," says his wife, a children's television hostess there. Two members of the "Memphis Mafia" are refuting the claim by British singer Tommy Steele that Elvis flew to London while the King was stationed in the Army in West Germany in 1958 and toured the city with Tommy. Lamar Fike, who served with Elvis for 18 months, told the British Broadcasting Corporation Wednesday (April 30), "My apologies to Tommy, but it did not happen. I was with him the whole time. I got there [Germany] two days after he got there. He was confined to base. Had he gone to England, I'd have been there." Lamar's statement was backed up by another friend, Marty Lacker. This little piggy went to La Quinta, California. A two story inflatable pig was released/escaped during Roger (Pink Floyd) Waters' performance of "Pigs" Sunday (April 27) at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California. On Monday a jogger in La Quinta found the pile of latex on her driveway and put it in the trash until she saw on Tuesday that concert organizers had offered at $10,000 reward for its return plus four Coachella tickets for life. Actually, she only had half the pig-- a neighbor had the other half. There's no word on how they split the reward, but let's hope they weren't-- pigs about it. Bee Gee Robin Gibb was forced to withdraw from a charity luncheon in London Sunday (April 27) after staying all night at the bedside of his son in an Oxford hospital. 25 year-old Robin-John Gibb was hospitalized for treatment of a "flare up" of his pancreas. The last time it happened, the younger Gibb wound up in intensive care but this time he was able to go home later Sunday. A sex tape reportedly of Jimi Hendrix was released online Tuesday (April 29). And while commentary by "Cynthia Plaster Caster" (if you don't know, don't ask) says it's really Jimi, one of his former girlfriends says otherwise. "Jimi Hendrix: The Sex Tape" will be released on DVD May 6. Donny and Marie Osmond have been signed by the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas to perform Tuesdays through Saturdays there for 26 weeks over eight months beginning September 9. Paul McCartney met with publishers Monday (April 21) and is set to author a coffee table book about his late first wife, Linda. Paul will share intimate moments of his life with Linda. The book will mark the tenth anniversary of her death in 1998. Chaka Khan and her son Damien Holland were ordered to pay $1.3 million Friday (April 25) to the family of a 17 year-old shot by Damien at her home in 2004. Damien was acquitted of murder in a criminal trial in 2006, but the family brought wrongful death charges against Chaka, her son and her mother. Chaka's mother has already settled but Chaka's manager says the singer was never served with the lawsuit and knows nothing about the judgement. Make of it what you will, but in an interview with the London Times Friday (April 25), Phil Collins said he's through with touring and plans on no more albums, though he'll keep on writing. His "In The Air Tonight" song is currently being used in a British TV commercial for a chocolate company-- featuring a drumming gorilla. The Grateful Dead announced Thursday (April 24) that they will donate their "archives" (correspondence, business records, props-- but no recordings) to the University of California-Santa Cruz. The University chancellor joined the Dead's Mickey Hart and Bob Weir at a press conference held at the Fillmore Auditorium. The trustees of James Brown's estate filed suit in South Carolina Monday (April 21) against investment bankers Morgan Stanley, charging them with allowing James' former manager to withdraw up to $12 million over the ten years period before the Godfather's death. And South Carolina State University is putting together a James Brown exhibit that will debut during Homecoming Week in October at the I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium there. The exhibit will showcase James' original music scores, costumes, portraits-- even red shoes with the initials "JB" on them. The school will be allowed to showcase the memorabilia for up to three years while lawsuits surrounding his estate go through the courts. Yoko Ono filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Wednesday (April 23) against an anti-evolution movie that used her late husband John Lennon's song, "Imagine" without permission. "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" uses writer/TV host Ben Stein to refute the prevalent theories of Charles Darwin. The producers say the small portion of "Imagine" that they used constitute "fair use". The film debuted at #10 I last weekend's box office list, earning $3 million. Yoko also filed suit in Boston Tuesday (April 22) to stop filmakers from using footage of John smoking pot and discussing putting LSD in former U.S. President Richard Nixon's tea in a movie they are calling "Three Days In The Life". The footage was shot by Yoko's former husband, Tony Cox, in 1970. The producer of the "American Pie" and "Final Destination" movie has secured the rights to make a film about Jim Croce's "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" character. Amazingly, Warren Zide's uncle had tried (and failed) to get the rights 25 years ago. Lou Reed has reported that he and singer/performance artist Laurie Anderson finally tied the knot April 12 in a private ceremony in Colorado. The two have been living together since 1996. Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire will give the commencement address at the Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts May 8. Philip will also receive an honorary doctorate, as will fellow EWF member Maurice White and Steve Winwood. Film composer Howard Shore, who graduated from Berklee, will also be honored. Al Wilson, who charted with ten pop hits between 1968 and 1976, including the #1 song, "Show And Tell", died of kidney failure Monday (April 21) in a hospital in Fontana, California. He was 68. Born in Meridian, Mississippi in 1939, Al moved to San Bernardino, California with his family while in high school. After graduating he spent four years touring with Johnny Harris and the Statesmen before joining the U.S. Navy. Relocating to Los Angeles after his discharge, he sang in such groups as the Jewels, the Rollers and the Souls before being discovered by manager Marc Gordon (husband of Florence LaRue-Gordon of the 5th Dimension, who got Al a contract with their label, Johnny Rivers' Soul City). Johnny, in fact, produced Al's first singles, "Do What You Gotta Do"-- which made the top 40 of the R&B charts but stalled at #102 pop and "The Snake", which reached #27 on the Hot 100. Covers of Johnny's "Poor Side Of Town" and Credence Clearwater Revival's "Lodi" were minor hits in 1969 but Al went largely unnoticed until he joined Marc in a switch to Bell Records' Rocky Road label in 1973, which led him to record "Show And Tell". The song had been recorded originally by Johnny Mathis but Al (with production by its composer, Jerry Fuller) made it a Northern Soul classic. Unfortunately, the follow-up, "Touch And Go" was too similar (barely scratching the top 60) and Al never achieved that level of success again-- though "La La Peace Song" in 1974 and "I've Got A Feeling (We'll Be Seeing Each Other Again)" both returned him to the top 30. Summing up his philosophy, Al once said, "If you do a thing well, it doesn't matter if it's a ballad, soul, blues or rock. You can reach people of many tastes, and please them all." Paul Davis, known for his two top ten hits-- "I Go Crazy" (#7-1977) and "'65 Love Affair" (#6-1982), died Tuesday (April 22) from a heart attack at a hospital near his home in Meridian, Missisippi, one day after his 60th birthday. Born in Meridian in 1948, Paul first recorded there in 1966 with the Six Soul Survivors (later known as the Endless Chain). After working as a songwriter for Malaco Records, he was signed as a solo singer to Bang Records in 1969. A re-recording of the Jarmels' "A Little Bit Of Soap" (written by Bang's co-owner, Bert Berns) in 1970, got to #52. Over the next seven years, Paul managed to chart, but had no real hits-- his biggest success coming from "Ride 'Em Cowboy" (#23) in 1975 and "Superstar" (#35) the following year. Even "I Go Crazy" was not an immediate hit, spending a then-record 40 weeks on Billboard's Hot 100. It led to a string of other hits though, including "Sweet Life" (#17-1978), "Do Right" (#23-1980) and "Cool Night" (#11-1982)-- all written by Paul himself. Paul was the victim of a shooting during a robbery outside a Nashville hotel in 1986. Though at one time he was in critical condition, he survived, and scored two #1 country hits with "You're Still New To Me" (a duet with Marie Osmond) in 1986 and "I Won't Take Less Than Your Love" (recorded with Tanya Tucker and Paul Overstreet). Our best wishes go out to Nathaniel Mayer of "Village Of Love" fame, who was rushed to a Detroit hospital April 13 after suffering a brain hemmorhage. A message on his Web page is optimistic saying, "Nathaniel is still in the hospital, slowly recovering from the stroke. His right side and speech have been affected. He is more alert now, and though speech and movement are difficult for him at the moment, the slight improvements he's made are encouraging. The X-rays reveal that the damage from the stroke was limited to a small area, so the doctors think a considerable recovery is possible." Nathaniel is 64. Former Ramones drummer Richie "Ramone" Reinhardt has lost his lawsuit contending he was owed more than a million dollars in royalties for songs he wrote that were sold over the Internet. A U.S. District Court judge in New York ruled Tuesday (April 22) that his contract with the group clearly covered digital uses of the songs. Barbra Streisand cancelled an appearance at the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the state of Israel May 13 in Jerusalem, it was announced Tuesday (April 22). She was among a number of celebrities scheduled to perform for Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and dignitaries such as U.S. President George Bush, singing the Hebrew prayer Avinu Malkeinu. No reason was given for the cancellation. A Nevada restaurant chef who met Sting (from the Police) in "1977 or 1978" filed a complaint last month with the real police in Reno, claiming he helped write two of the group's 1979 hits. Roy Smith says he told Sting about a prostitute ex-girlfriend of his named Roxanne and about putting a message to his mother in a bottle and throwing it into the sea. He says Sting agreed to compensate him if the songs became hits and did try to call him once, but the chef never got the message (his mother thought the real police were trying to find Roy). The real police advised Roy, who claims to have passed a lie detector test, to take the matter up in court. Sting denies the entire affair ever happened. Bruce Springsteen has postponed Florida concerts scheduled for Friday (April 18) and Saturday because of the death of long-time E-Street Band member Danny Federici. Danny Died Thursday of cancer in a New York hospital at the age of 58. He had played keyboards with "The Boss" as recently as mid-March. "Danny and I worked together for 40 years-- he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much ... we grew up together," said Bruce on his Web site. The Jefferson Starship's Paul Kantner spoke to a group of high school students in Sullivan, Maine Tuesday (April 15) before a concert in nearby Ellsworth and showed he certainly hadn't mellowed with age. After blasting the Democrats for their "fascist nanny syndrome" and the Republicans for "giving all our money away to people like Halliburton", he then called Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI "an ex-Nazi, I understand, and one of the most evil people ever. When I watch him on television, there is just evil exuding from this guy". He went on to say that the Bible was written by "old Jewish men who wanted to kill lesbians and kill homosexuals". In other Jefferson Starship news, Paul settled a lawsuit Friday (April 18) filed by Grace Slick and the group's ex-manager over the use of the band's name. Paul will be allowed to keep using the "Jefferson Starship" name, while paying a "modest" licensing fee to Grace and Bill Thompson, who were acknowledged as the owners of the name. Barbra Streisand donated $5 million to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for a women's heart and education program, it was announced Wednesday (April 16). It will be called (naturally) the Barbra Streisand Women's Cardiovascular Research and Education Center. As if Chicago's Union Station isn't noisy enough, Amtrak plans on offering a free concert there May 10 in celebration of National Train Day, featuring former members of Santana, Journey, Boston, Steppenwolf, Toto and Lynyrd Skynyrd. That's a Saturday, though, so at least the Great Hall won't be filled with commuters. The theme for the day is "Get Your Choo Choo On". Elvis Presley's ex-wife, Priscilla was eliminated from the ABC-TV program, "Dancing With The Stars" Tuesday (April 15). Votes from viewers weren't enough to overcome the 62 year-old's last-place finish among the judges. Edwin Hawkins-- whose gospel group's "Oh Happy Day" was a surprise pop hit in 1968 and who sang behind Melanie on her hit, "Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)", along with his brother-- group member and co-producer Walter Hawkins, were announced Tuesday (April 15) as among the recipients of the President's Merit Awards by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences at the GRAMMY Salute to Gospel Music June 18 in Washington, DC. Also being honored are Sandi Patty and the Winans. The Academy also announced that it will give Beatles producer George Martin its 2008 Leadership Award for his "immeasurable" impact on music and popular culture. The Award will be given on their annual Starry Night event July 12. Clifford Davies, former producer and drummer and for Ted Nugent (he played drums on "Cat Scratch Fever") died from what is believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in suburban Atlanta Sunday (April 13). He was59. Olivia Newton-John will continue her 21-day charity trek across the length of the Great Wall of China, though her boyfriend, John Easterling returned home after being told his sister-in-law was diagnosed with a brain tumor and has just days to live. "It just reinforces why we're doing it and John very graciously wants me to stay," said Olivia. She began her walk April 6, raising $5 million for breast cancer research. Queen's Brian May (PhD) was installed as the Chancellor of John Moore University in Liverpool Monday (April 14). He takes over from former Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife, Cherie. Brian also indicated at the ceremony that he's working on a sequel to his British stage musical, "We Will Rock You", which has been seen by 2 million people since 2002. Rod Stewart has signed a multi-million dollar deal with Brtish publisher Harper Collins to write his autobiography. He will delve into his first job as a grave digger, his rise through groups like Steam Packet and Faces, and his loves-- such as Britt Eklund, Alana Hamilton and Penny Lancaster. Lawrence Brown, Sr., an original member of Harold Melvin's Blue Notes, died last Sunday (April 6) in Philadelphia from a respiratory condition at the age of 63. Lawrence sang in various streetcorner groups in his native North Philadelphia, including one he started with his childhood friend, Bernard Wilson, called the Chordsteppers, singing second tenor and creating the group's choreography. They evolved into the Charlemagnes and then the Blue Notes, finally settling on Harold Melvin & the Blues Notes when Harold began to sing lead. Later, Teddy Pendergrass handled those chores before leaving in 1976. Harold died in 1997 and the group continued on as the Blue Notes, with Lawrence performing the entire time, up to last January when he fell ill. The group charted a dozen times from 1960 to 1977, including the top 15 hits "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (#3-1972), "The Love I Lost" (#7-1973), "Bad Luck" (#15-1975) and "Wake Up Everybody" (#12-1976). The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band are among the artists who will be inducted into Nashville's Music City Walk of Fame April 20. That brings to 24 the number of artists honored. Also inducted this year will be country stars Steven Curtis Chapman, the late Merle Kilgore, Steve Wariner, Kirk Whalum and the late Hank Williams, Sr. On the heels of the scandal at UCLA Medical Center over unauthorized access to the medical records of Britney Spears comes word that this is nothing new. The Los Angeles Times reports that the records of George Harrison, John Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas and Mariah Carey (among others) were all breached in 2001. Who's killing our rock and soul singers? A tabloid is saying that James Brown was poisoned by thieves wanting to dig up a fortune he had buried on his South Carolina estate. Friends are reportedly asking that his body be exhumed for toxicology tests. Last week that same tabloid quoted an ex-FBI agent as saying that Sonny Bono (who supposedly died in a skiing accident in 1998) was actually beaten to death to keep him from exposing members of an international drug and weapons ring. "It's nonsense for anyone to now try to suggest that Bono died after crashing into a tree," said the agent. "This was an evil plot that was carried out to almost perfection by ruthless assassins." Meanwhile, James' home town of Augusta, Georgia is trying to get a gimmick ready for vistors to the Masters Golf Tournament this weekend (April 10-13). A statue of James on Broad Street has a camera next to it and visitors can reportedly dial a cell phone number to trip the camera and have a picture taken with the statue, which they can then download from the Web. Foliage seems to be blocking the transmision of the pictures, but they hope to solve that problem. CBS cancelled its new reality show, "Secret Talents of the Stars", after only one episode Wednesday (April 9). Only 4.6 million people watched former "Star Trek" actor George Takei sing "On the Road Again" or country star Clint Black do standup comedy or singer Mya tap-dance. We will apparently never know what former "Partridge Family" star Danny Bonaduce's secret talent is. Marie Osmond is writing another book, just in time for Mothers Day, 2009. The mother-of-eight has written "Might As Well Laugh About It Now" as a follow-up to her previous autobiography. This Mothers Day (May 11), Marie will team up with brother Donny to crown "America's Favorite Mom" on a TV special on NBC. That's in addition to their hosting chores Friday (April 11) at the Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas. A musical on the life of British singer Kathy Kirby will premiere in Leeds, England May 9. "Secret Love: The Amazing Kathy Kirby Story" explores how the BBC-TV star (who only charted once in America with "The Way Of Love" in 1965) left the spotlight after the death of her manager. California Institute for the Arts will name its music school for Herb Alpert after he and his wife-- singer Lani Hall-- gave them a $15 million donation Wednesday (April 9). That brings their total charitable gift to CalArts to nearly $24 million. Last November, you may recall, the Herb Alpert Foundation gave $30 million to UCLA and received a similar honor. Condolences to Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Hollies, whose youngest sister, Sharon died Sunday (April 6) in Manchester, England. She was just 53. In a statement, Graham said he was, "deeply grateful for all of the thoughts and kind wishes being expressed at this time as we remember dear Sharon and mourn her passing. Thank you most sincerely." He mised last year's Indianapolis 500 because of illness, but Jim Nabors will be at the Brickyard May 25 to sing "Back Home Again In Indiana", it was announced Tuesday (April 8). Jim has been singing the song before the race since the early '70s. 87 year-old Dave Brubeck received the Ben Franklin Award for public diplomacy from U.S. Secretary Of State Condoleeza Rice in Washington, D.C. Tuesday (April 8). Ms. Rice told the "Take Five" performer, "As a little girl I grew up on the sounds of Dave Brubeck because my dad was your biggest fan. Thank you for your patriotism and your leadership in representing America by introducing the language, the sounds and the spirit of jazz to new generations around the world." Roger Daltrey of the Who is behind a charity raffle in England of a restored 1965 VW van that is being called "The Magic Bus", after the Who's hit. The van is painted with the Who logo and its stereo system (hardly vintage) has the Who music on it. The £5 chances will support the Teenage Cancer Trust-- of which Roger is a supporter-- to build specialist hospital wards for teens. Said Roger, "It is horrific that there are so few specialist wards for teenagers with cancer. I am delighted to launch such a unique competition." Everyone who buys a chance at thewhomagicbus.com, will be given a free download of a previously unreleased version of "Magic Bus". Kiss has cancelled a concert in Belgrade, Serbia for May 15, citing political unrest. The group said it didn't want to play so soon after elections, held in February, but the real reason is probably a feared backlash from U.S. support of the declaration of independence from Kosovo. Bob Dylan was given an honorary Pulitzer Prize on Monday (April 7) for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." It's the first time a Pulitzer of any kind has been given to a rock music artist. It's happened again. Having already defaced a tribute to Ringo Starr at his old school in Liverpool, vandals on Sunday (April 6) decapitated the foliage statue of Mr. Starkey erected just two weeks ago at the city's South Partway railway station. Models of the other three Beatles were left intact. Ringo angered many residents in Liverpool when he said on a London television talk show in January that there was "nothing" he missed about his home town. Ringo was absent from the funeral of former Beatles manager Neil Aspinall in London Monday (April 7). His wife, Barbara Bach, represented him. Paul McCartney sent his son and daughter and Stella McCartney warmly greeted Yoko Ono with a kiss. Former Beatles drummer Pete Best was there, as was producer George Martin. Pete Townsend of the Who sang two of Neil's favorite songs-- Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" and George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord". Neil passed away from cancer last month in New York. to Oldies Music Home Page © 1997-2008, Ronald P. Smith. All rights reserved.