MUSIC NEWS: MONDAY, JULY 13, 2015
JOEY FEEK RECOVERS AFTER CANCER SURGERY
The manager for Joey + Rory says Joey Feek is doing ``great'' following surgery for cervical cancer. Aaron Carnahan says Feek had the surgery Thursday at a facility in Chicago. Her husband, Rory Feek, writes on their blog the surgery took ten hours but the surgeon told him he believes he got all the main tumour and some other places that were affected. Rory Feek says they can go home in a week, then Joey will start a course of radiation and chemotherapy.
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ARIANA GRANDE - DONUT SHOP
Ariana Grande has apologized for a second time for the doughnut shop incident. Grande posted a four-minute video on YouTube saying she didn't convey her feelings clearly in her first apology. She says seeing the video from the southern California doughnut shop was ``a rude awakening'' and she wanted to shove her face in a pillow and disappear. The video showed Grande appearing to lick doughnuts without paying for them, using an expletive and saying, ``I hate Americans. I hate America.'' Grande does not admit to licking doughnuts but she does say she understands the criticisms against her. Meanwhile, the doughnut shop has had its health rating bumped down from an ``A'' to a ``B.'' Health officials say it's because the clerk left the doughnuts exposed to customers, in this case, Grande and her friends.
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50 CENT ORDERED TO PAY $5 MILLION OVER SEX TAPE COMMENTARY
50 Cent has been hit with a $5 million judgment over someone else's sex tape. A jury in New York has ordered 50 Cent to pay Lastonia Leviston because he posted the tape online after he added himself as a crude commentator. Leviston has a child with Rick Ross, and 50 Cent had been trading insults with Ross when the video surfaced. Lawyers for 50 Cent say the man in the video is Leviston's then-boyfriend, who gave 50 Cent the tape and told him she wouldn't mind if 50 Cent put in on the Internet. Leviston says she was horrified when the video was posted online.
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JOHN FOGERTY SUES FORMER CCR BANDMATES
John Fogerty and his former bandmates in Creedence Clearwater Revival are at odds again. Fogerty is suing Stuart Cook and Douglas Clifford, who tour as Creedence Clearwater Revisited. Fogerty had sued them for using the Creedence Clearwater Revival name, and he settled in 2001 for a share of their touring and merchandise income. Fogerty's latest lawsuit claims he has not been paid that share since December 2011. He does not say how much he is seeking. Representatives for Cook and Clifford have not responded to requests for comment.
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DAVE GROHL: BROKEN FOOT MAKES FOR BETTER SHOWS
Dave Grohl says breaking his foot has been great for Foo Fighters concerts. Grohl says because of the challenge of getting on stage, the shows are ``more passionate...more energetic.'' He says when the audience sees him in his throne, ``they realize we're all in this together.'' Grohl broke his foot in a fall onstage during a show in Sweden last month. He drew the plans for the throne while thinking of ways he could still perform. It has a seat belt to keep him from getting too excited and falling over.
Grohl says his foot is healing nicely and he's not supposed to put weight on it for six weeks.
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JUDGE LAYS OUT RULES FOR JOURNEY'S DEEN CASTRONOVO
Journey drummer Deen Castronovo will be required to wear an ankle monitoring device and go directly to rehab as soon as he's out on bail in Oregon. KATU-TV reports Marion County Judge Thomas Hart set out the rules for Castronovo in a hearing on Friday and set bail for $200,000. His attorney says Castronovo will likely remain in rehab until his trial in October. Castronovo is accused of assault and rape. Castronovo said in court on Friday his drug addictions have cost him the loss of his job and his freedom.
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ROB THOMAS DELAYS CONCERTS WHILE WIFE RECOVERS
Rob Thomas is postponing several dates of his tour because his wife is having brain surgery. Thomas' website reports his wife, Marisol, is having a possible lesion removed from the base of her brain. He is postponing his shows from today through July 29, although he still intends to perform Saturday outside Chicago.
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SOPHIE B. HAWKINS GIVES BIRTH AT THE AGE OF 50
Sophie B. Hawkins is 50 years old and just gave birth to a baby girl. Her representative tells People magazine Hawkins gave birth on Tuesday in New York to a girl she's named Esther Ballantine Hawkins. Hawkins is also the mother to a 6-year-old boy, Dashiell. Hawkins used her own frozen embryo. She told the ``Today'' show last week her fertility doctor told her she was old, and she said, ``That's the point. My son has an old mother.
Why can't I give him somebody young to be his family for the rest of his life?''
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X GUITARIST BILLY ZOOM HAS CANCER
Guitarist Billy Zoom of X has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer. Zoom, who is 67, will begin chemotherapy this week. He revealed in early 2010 that he had been treated successfully for prostate cancer. Jesse Dayton will fill in on guitar through at least August 3. The band started a GoFundMe campaign to raise $50,000 to help Zoom pay his medical costs. In three days, fans raised $69,000 for him. Zoom says he was wiped out financially from his last bout with cancer and he's ``overwhelmed and deeply humbled'' by the fan support.
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GEORGE JONES' HOUSE IS SOLD
George Jones' widow has sold their estate outside Nashville for $1.98 million. The Nashville Tennessean reports Jones' wife, Nancy, sold the property to Nathan and Patricia Overton. The home sits on nearly 25 acres and has four bedrooms, seven full and one half bathrooms, plus there's a swimming pool, a seven-car garage, an RV tour bus garage, a guest house and two barns.
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TAYLOR SWIFT HAS SPECIAL GUESTS AT NEW YORK-AREA CONCERT
Taylor Swift brought the U.S.women's soccer team onstage at her concert outside New York on Friday. She let them sing with her on the song ``Style.'' They let her hold the World Cup trophy. Swift also brought her pals from the ``Bad Blood'' video on stage. Lena Dunham, Hailee Steinfeld, Gigi Hadad and Lily Aldridge all dressed in character from the video.
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MEEK MILL IS NUMBER ONE IN UNUSUAL CHART WEEK
Meek Mill will have the honour of being the only artist who was number one in a week that lasted 11 days. New music is usually released on Tuesdays, but the record labels have agreed that's a relic from the past and have agreed to release new music on Fridays. That started with this past Friday. Billboard magazine charts will reflect that, but this week is the transition period, so the week is four days longer. Mill's album ``Dreams Worth More Than Money'' was the top seller for a second week, putting it at number one for the transition chart.
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BILLBOARD ANNOUNCES FIRST HOT 100 MUSIC FESTIVAL
The Weeknd, Skrillex, Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne will headline the first Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival. Justin Bieber will be a special guest. The festival will be held in New York on August 22 and 23. Other acts who will appear include Jason DeRulo, American Authors, The Chainsmokers, Fetty Wap, Little Mix and ZZ Ward.
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NATIONAL MUSIC COUNCIL HONOURS
The National Music Council is honouring the life-long musical contributions of Kris Kristofferson, Charley Pride and Jim Lauderdale.
The trio was honoured on Saturday at the 32nd Annual American Eagle Awards during a Nashville trade show gathering of the National Association of Music Merchants.
According to a news release, Rosanne Cash delivered a tribute to Kristofferson with a rendition of ``Loving Her Was Easier.''
The awards also honoured artist manager Jim Halsey and country music producer/director Sherman Halsey, who died in 2013.
Speaking of the later, Dwight Yoakam said, ``Managers are in fact artists, and that's who Sherman was.''
The Oak Ridge Boys and Jack Ingram also performed in celebration of this year's honorees.
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