MUSIC NEWS: FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015
JEFFERSON STARSHIP'S PAUL KANTNER HOSPITALIZED
Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship is hospitalized with a suspected heart attack. The band writes on its Facebook page that Kantner's health took a bad turn last week. They say he's stable now and undergoing tests. Jefferson Starship will continue with the tour and will dedicate every show to Kantner until he's well enough to rejoin them.
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ICE CUBE REMEMBERS EAZY-E
Ice Cube says N-W-A. could not have existed without Eazy-E. Ice Cube tells Billboard magazine Eazy-E was ``bold and not scared of anything.'' Even though N.W.A. was upset when Ice Cube left, he says later they got back together as friends and he thought N.W.A. was about to reunite, but Eazy-E died. He says money and fame creates a fog, but once they got through the fog, they realized they were talented men. He says they would have made another N.W.A. album. Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of Eazy-E's death at the age of 31.
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STUDY: HALF OF RAPPER DEATHS ARE MURDERS
Among rappers who die, one in two die of murder. That's according to a study by Dianna Theadora Kenny, professor of psychology and music at the University of Sydney. She examined the deaths of more than 13,000 musicians and found that 51 percent of deaths in rap and 51.5 percent in hip-hop were murders.
Her study found murder was the cause in just 6 percent of musician deaths overall. Kenny tells The Washington Post it does not mean rappers will die from murder, but the study provides a retrospective on past deaths. Her other findings: metal and punk musicians are at the biggest risk for accidental deaths; country, folk and jazz musicians tend to die of cancer; blues musicians tend to die of heart problems and gospel musicians have the lowest suicide rates.
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ZAYN MALIK DRIVES BUSINESS TO EBAY
When Zayn Malik announced his decision to quit One Direction, eBay lit up. Dozens of listings of memorabilia for sale related to Malik have been posted to eBay since his announcement. One is a t-shirt featuring the names of the five group members with Malik's name crossed out. Another is a shirt that says, ``Keep calm and love Zayn Malik.'' Another is a former fan of the group who is selling a Twitter account that has Malik as a follower.
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TAYLOR SWIFT GETS APOLOGY FROM PRINCETON REVIEW
The Princeton Review is acknowledging its mistake to Taylor Swift. A fan had sent Swift a sample question from a Princeton Review SAT prep book using Swift's song ``Fifteen'' as an example of poor grammar. The question had the lyric as ``Somebody tells you they love you, you got to believe 'em.'' It's actually ``Somebody tells you they love you, you're gonna believe 'em.''
Swift's response to the fan, ``Not the right lyrics at all pssshhhh.
You had one job, test people. One job.'' Princeton Review has tweeted an apology to Swift and asked her to choose a grammar fan for two tickets to one of her shows, on the company's dime.
Technically, the grammar in the correct lyric is still wrong. Proper English would be, ``If somebody tells you he or she loves you, you're going to believe him or her.''
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JUSTIN GUARINI STARS IN DR. PEPPER COMMERCIAL
You may not recognize the singer in the new Diet Dr. Pepper commercial who goes by the name Little Sweet. It's original ``American Idol'' runner-up Justin Guarini. In the commercial, he slides down a banister dressed as a glam-metal singer with long burgundy hair, offering Diet Dr. Pepper to two dads at a birthday party.
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CARLY RAE JEPSEN CASTS TOM HANKS IN HER VIDEO
The hot guy in Carly Rae Jepsen's new video is -- Tom Hanks? Jepsen says she knew she wanted a man to lip-synch in the video for ``I Really Like You.'' Her manager, Scooter Braun, mentioned it to his friend Hanks over dinner, and Hanks said, ``Well, why don't you ask me?'' Jepsen says she thought it would be funny to have a curveball to the video, instead of what she calls ``sweet on sweet.'' ``I Really Like You'' is the first single off an album she hasn't finished yet. Jepsen says she's thrown herself into writing hundreds of songs, and now she's just trying to narrow them down.
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DIXIE CHICK NATALIE MAINES SELLS HOUSE IN AUSTIN
Natalie Maines of The Dixie Chicks has sold her house in Austin, Texas, for $1.82 million. Variety reports Maines and her husband, ``Agents of SHIELD'' actor Adrian Pasdar, sold the house in January. It's a 4,600-square foot yellow house built in 1938. It has a pool with a waterfall. Maines and Pasdar still own a house in Los Angeles.
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FALL OUT BOY WILL PLAY MLB OPENING DAY CONCERT
Fall Out Boy will headline Major League Baseball's first opening night concert. They will perform before the Cardinals-Cubs game April 5 at Wrigley Field. They will perform the songs ``Centuries,'' ``Uma Thurman'' and ``My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'Em Up).'' Bassist Pete Wentz, who grew up in the Chicago area, says it's been a dream for him to play Wrigley Field -- and that the band used to pass out fliers for their concerts after Cubs games.