MUSIC NEWS: THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2016
ACMS ADD MORE PERFORMERS
Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church and Sam Hunt have been added to the lineup for the Academy of Country Music Awards. Previously announced performers are Cam, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and Florida Georgia Line. The ACMs will be April 3 and shown live on CBS.
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NINA SIMONE MOVIE WILL COME OUT NEXT MONTH
The movie about Nina Simone starring Zoe Saldana is finally getting released. ``Nina'' will come out in theatres, on digital HD and video-on-demand on April 22. The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival two years ago but its release has been delayed several times. Simone's life is a hot topic lately. The documentary ``What Happened, Miss Simone?'' was nominated for an Oscar but lost to the documentary about Amy Winehouse.
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MADONNA AND GUY RITCHIE GO TO COURT OVER SON
A New York State Supreme Court judge has told Madonna and Guy Ritchie to get it together for the benefit of their 15-year-old son, Rocco. Justice Deborah Kaplan says the parents are at fault for failing to reach a resolution over where Rocco should live. A court-appointed attorney for Rocco says he's stressed about his future since he left Madonna's tour last year to stay with Ritchie in London. Madonna wants Kaplan to enforce an order returning Rocco to his mother's custody. Kaplan says if the parents don't resolve the matter, the court will. Madonna and Ritchie divorced in 2008.
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UNIVERSITY OF TULSA PLANS TO HOUSE BOB DYLAN ARCHIVES
Bob Dylan says he's glad his archives have found a home near those of his hero, Woody Guthrie, and alongside artifacts of Native Americans. More than 6,000 Dylan-related items will have been acquired by the University of Tulsa and the George Kaiser Family Foundation. The items include his 1974 notebook with his handwritten lyrics for the ``Blood on the Tracks'' album, his handwritten lyrics to ``Chimes of Freedom'' written on hotel stationery in 1964, and lyrics and chord progressions to songs he never recorded in 1970. The archive also includes Dylan's 1966 wallet, complete with Otis Redding's business card and a piece of paper with Johnny Cash's name and address written on it.
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SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES NEW CLASS
Elvis Costello, Tom Petty and Marvin Gaye are among the acts who will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic (SHEEK) will also be inducted. So will Chip Taylor, who wrote ``Wild Thing,'' ''Angel of the Morning`` and ''I Can't Let Go.`` The induction ceremony is set for June 9 in New York.
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MAVIS STAPLES
Mavis Staples was warned about M. Ward of She And Him. They worked together on her new album, ``Livin' on a High Note,'' and her friend tipped her off that Ward was a quiet type. Staples says she thought, ``If I could get Prince to talk, I'll get him to talk.'' And she did. She says they got along fine. The album features Staples singing songs written for her by acts like Ward, Aloe Blacc, Ben Harper and Neko Case. Staples is 76 and she's got too much to do before retirement. She says she doesn't feel like it's time to sit in a rocking chair and she feels ``so frisky.'' She says she still has the gift the Lord gave her and she intends to use it.
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THOMAS RHETT EXPLAINS ``DIE A HAPPY MAN''
Thomas Rhett's latest hit is a result of his wife giving him a kick in the pants about his songwriting. Rhett says his wife, Lauren, told him he needs to write songs about something besides beer and parties. He realized he had never written a song about her, and so he cranked out ``Die A Happy Man.'' Rhett says Lauren is not the type of woman who would want a cheesy song written about her, but they both felt ``Die A Happy Man'' nailed their relationship perfectly.
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MAJOR ELVIS ATTRACTION IN LAS VEGAS SHUTS DOWN
Elvis Presley Enterprises plans to go to court to make sure hundreds of Elvis Presley artifacts are protected after a Las Vegas exhibit abruptly closed. EPE loaned the artifacts to the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino for the attraction ``Graceland Presents Elvis: The Exhibition - The Show - The Experience.'' The Westgate is in a leasing dispute with the attraction's operators, Exhibit A Circle LLC. The exhibit opened last April with Priscilla Presley acting as maid of honour at the facility's first wedding.
Westgate says it's guarding the memorabilia until there's a resolution.
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JOHN LENNON'S STAMP COLLECTION GOES ON DISPLAY
John Lennon's boyhood stamp collection will be one of the highlights of the World Stamp Show in New York later this year. Rolling Stone reports Lennon started collecting stamps when his older cousin gave him an album that was partially filled in.
Lennon was fond of stamps from the U.S. and from New Zealand. The collection is not valuable in itself, but it does show Lennon's early creativity: Lennon drew a moustache on Queen Victoria and a beard on King George the Fourth on the title page. The World Stamp Show will run May 28 through June 4, with free admission.
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THE WHO MAKE A LATE-NIGHT TALK SHOW APPEARANCE
The last time The Who performed on a nighttime talk show in America, Pete Townshend's hair was singed and Keith Moon ended up with shrapnel in his arm. The Who will perform on ``The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon'' tomorrow, their first such appearance since their notorious performance on ``The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' in 1967. During that show, Moon packed explosives in his drum kit, but he put several times the amount he usually did. It went off as Townshend was destroying his guitar during the finale of ``My Generation.''
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A$AP ROCKY WILL HOST NEW FORMAT OF MTV WOODIE AWARDS
A$AP Rocky will host the new version of the MTV Woodie Awards. Rocky will host the March 16 show from the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. The Woodies used to hand out music awards based on votes by college students. Now the show will spotlight ten music artists on the rise in 2016. Rocky says it's all about shedding light on the musicians who influence a lot of people and maybe don't get credit. Those ten acts will be announced later.
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(The Associated Press)