MUSIC NEWS: THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016
NICHOLAS CALDWELL
Singer Nicholas Caldwell of The Whispers has died. A representative for the group says Caldwell died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his home in San Francisco at the age of 71. The Whispers' biggest song was ``Rock Steady,'' a number-seven hit in 1987. Their other hits include ``And The Beat Goes On,''
''Innocent`` and ''It's A Love Thing.`` Their career had longevity:
they had songs that first charted in 1970 and last charted in 1995.
---
PETER CETERA
Peter Cetera seems to be open to the idea of performing with Chicago at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction after all. Cetera posted an open letter on his website to the other members of the band. He suggests they could all walk onstage together one last time as a group, and he'll strap on the bass for ``25 Or 6 To 4.'' Cetera says it would a fantastic moment and ``satisfy those who have always wanted some sort of a reunion.''
He also suggests Chicago's past and current members be invited to play on the song, since they've all contributed to Chicago's legacy.
The other band members have not yet responded. Chicago keyboardist Robert Lamm had said last week he spoke out of turn when he said Cetera would play at their induction.
---
SCOTT WEILAND
The ex-wife of Scott Weiland wants to be named executor of his will, even though Weiland remarried. People magazine reports Mary Forsberg filed court documents on December 30 that include a will Weiland wrote in April 2007 that names her the executor. Weiland's estate is worth about $2 million, and he had a trust with undisclosed funds. Forsberg is the mother of Weiland's two children. Weiland married Jamie Wachtel in 2013. A hearing has been set for February 5.
---
SCOTT WEILAND - MORE
The transcript from the 911 call made when Scott Weiland's body was found suggests he had been dead for a few hours when he was discovered. A transcript obtained by The Associated Press indicates an unidentified caller told a dispatcher in Bloomington, Minnesota, Weiland was ``stiff'' and ``not moving.''
Another dispatcher asked the caller to do chest compressions on Weiland, and the caller said Weiland was ``hard as a rock right now, not moving.'' Police say Weiland's tour manager, Aaron Mohler, found Weiland on his tour bus on December 3. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office has said Weiland had cocaine, alcohol and MDA in his system.
---
LEMMY FUNERAL
Lemmy's funeral will be streamed live on the Internet. Only family and close friends will be allowed to the service at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Motorhead's official YouTube channel will show a live feed of the event. The memorial service will accept flowers through www.flowersbymichael.com , or fans can donate to the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund in Lemmy's memory.
---
MOTORHEAD
Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses and Mark Damon of The Pretty Reckless are among the more than 33,000 people who have signed a petition to name an element after Motorhead frontman Lemmy.
British fan John Wright started the petition on Change.org to ask the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry to consider the name Lemmium for one of four newly discovered heavy metals on the periodic table. The petition says Lemmium would be fitting because Lemmy was ``a force of nature and the very essence of heavy metal.'' Or was he? Other fans have pointed out that Lemmy himself said that Motorhead was a rock and roll band, not heavy metal.
---
PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS
Meghan Trainor got emotional as she accepted her People's Choice Award. Trainor won for favourite album for ``Title.'' She told the crowd last night that she ``wanted to be an artist so bad'' and that the fans made her dreams come true. The favourite male and female musicians are Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift.
The group honours go to Fifth Harmony, while ``What Do You Mean?'' by Justin Bieber gets favourite song.
---
MADDIE AND TAE
The art department at Maddie and Tae's record label were not thrilled with them before the release of their ``Start Here'' album. Maddie and Tae did an extravagant photo shoot for the cover and they scrapped the whole thing at the last minute.
Taylor Dye says the pictures were beautiful but did not reflect the stripped-down music on the record. Maddie and Tae staged their own photo shoot, did their own hair and makeup and wore clothes from T.J. Maxx. It's a photo from that session that's on the cover of ``Start Here.''
---
JASON MACKENROTH
Rollins Band drummer Jason Mackenroth has died. His publicist says Mackenroth died after a four-year battle with prostate cancer at his home in Henderson, Nevada, on Sunday. He was 46. Mackenroth was in the Rollins Band from 1988 to 2004. He put out two solo albums and was in the Nevada edition of Blue Man Group for eight years.
---
ALBUM SALES DOWN, MUSIC STREAMING UP
Why buy the record when you can stream it online? That seems to be the mentality of music lovers in the past year, as Nielsen Music reports a 6.1 per cent decline in album sales. Digital track sales dropped 12.5 per cent in 2015 versus the previous year. Streaming, on the other hand, is hot. Activity at on-demand streaming sites increased 92.8 per cent in 2015. Lest you think it's all about high-tech, consider that vinyl record sales were up nearly 30 per cent in 2015.
---
BOYZ II MEN
The live version of the musical ``Grease'' will feature three people in the role of the Teen Angel: Boyz II Men. The group announced on their social media all three of them will play the role for ``Grease Live!'' on Fox on January 31. Frankie Avalon played the role in the 1978 movie.
---
WALE
Wale has recorded a new theme song for the ESPN2 show ``First Take.'' Wale tells Billboard he was honoured to create the song ``Every Word Great'' for the show because he's a big sports fan and a former college athlete. ``Every Word Great'' replaces the old theme song, which was also created by Wale.
---
BRANDY
Brandy will continue to balance being a singer and an actress. She's released a new single called ``Beggin' and Pleadin,'' and it's a song she says she wrote two years ago. She says her fans have been starving for new music and they've been so patient. She has not released an album in three years. Brandy also stars in the new BET show ``Zoe Ever After.'' She plays a newly single mom whose ex-husband is a famous boxer. She will not sing on the show.
---
SNOOP, BIRDMAN, DUPRI AND DASH
Snoop Dogg, Birdman, Jermaine Dupri and Damon Dash will appear in a BET reality show about their busy, busy lives. ``Music Moguls'' will be an eight-episode series that follows the four men in their business dealings and in their home lives.
Shooting begins in Los Angeles next month. ``Music Moguls'' will premiere sometime this year.
---
MONKEES
The Monkees will mark their 50th anniversary this year by re-releasing their cereal box singles. Four limited edition ``cereal box'' cardboard records will feature ``Last Train to Clarksville'' and previously unreleased TV mixes of ``Words,'' ''I Never Thought It Peculiar`` and ''Valleri.`` Post Cereals originally offered the one-sided records on the back of its cereal boxes in the late 1960s.
---
(The Associated Press)
The following is HMV Canada's top 10 CDs based on national sales for the week ending Jan. 7.
CDs
1. 25 _ Adele
2. Purpose _ Justin Bieber
3. Made in the A.M. _ One Direction
4. A Head Full of Dreams _ Coldplay
5. Beauty Behind the Madness _ The Weeknd
6. If I Can Dream'' _ Elvis Presley with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
7. Much Dance 2016 _ Various Artists
8. ``Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' Soundtrack _ John Williams
9. Traveller _ Chris Stapleton
10. Royalty _ Chris Brown
COUNTRY
1. Montevallo _ Sam Hunt
2. Traveller _ Chris Stapleton
3. 1989 (Deluxe Edition) _ Taylor Swift
4. Storyteller _ Carrie Underwood
5 What is Love All About (Deluxe Edition) _ Johnny Reid
6. Mr. Misunderstood _ Eric Church
7. Country Hits 2016 _ Various Artists
8. Kill the Lights _ Luke Bryan
9. Reloaded: 20 No. 1 Hits _ Blake Shelton
10. Jekyll + Hyde _ Zac Brown Band
(The Canadian Press)
Here's a list of some new CD releases for the week ending Jan. 9:
The Andrews Sisters _ ``Swinging Hits''
Pete Astor _ ``Spilt Milk''
Mark Bishop and Forget the Sea _ ``Mark Bishop and Forget the Sea''
David Bowie _ ``Blackstar''
Cauldron _ ``In Ruin''
Decyfer Down _ ``The Other Side of Darkness''
Federico Durand _ ``A Traves Del Espejo''
Exmortus _ ``Ride Forth''
Fallujah _ ``Nomadic''
The Grascals _ ``And Then There's This...''
Grizfolk _ ``Waking Up the Giants''
Hinds _ ``Leave Me Alone''
Ignite _ ``A War Against You''
The Inspirations - ``Pray for Me''
It Lies Within _ ``Paramount''
Henry Jackman _ ``The 5th Wave'' OST
KSI _ ``Keep Up'' (EP)
The Lion's Daughter _ ``Existence is Horror''
Jan Lisiecki _ ``Schumann _ Works for Piano and Orchestra''
The Mamas & The Papas _ ``The Complete Singles: 50th Anniversary Collection''
Andrew Marcus _ ``Constant''
Master's Voice _ ``Undivided''
Stevie McCrorie _ ``Big World''
Mechanimal _ ``Delta Pi Delta''
The Order of Elijah _ ``War at Heart''
Dave Pearce _ ``90s Dance Anthems''
Sons of Kemet _ ``Lest We Forget What We Came Here to Do''
J.D. Souther _ ``John David Souther'' (reissue)
Villagers _ ``Where Have You Been All My Life?''
John Williams & London Symphony Orchestra _ ``Star Wars: The Ultimate Digital Collection''
John Williams _ ``Star Wars: The Ultimate Soundtrack Collection''
Zusha _ ``Kavana''
(The Canadian Press)