NEW YORK (Reuters) – Does a pickle or the Canadian band Nickelback have more fans? It may be a joke, but the answer might not have the band laughing — a pickle.
A group on Facebook called “Can this pickle get more fans than Nickleback?” hit its goal over the weekend, notching up 1.4 million fans. The post-grunge band Nickelback had 1.38 million on Facebook, but has since topped 1.4 million.
The group was started
LONDON (Reuters) – Music company EMI wants to retain ownership of the Abbey Roadrecording studios, immortalized by the Beatles album of the same name, though it is talking to other parties about revitalizing the site, EMI said on Sunday.
A source familiar with the situation told Reuters last week that loss-making EMI had put the studios up for sale and was talking to a few interested firms, although no deal was imminent.
NASHVILLE (Billboard) – With his fourth album, “Haywire,” country singer-songwriter Josh Turner has scored his third straight top 10 chart entry.
Fueled by national TV guest spots, a hit video and a No. 1 single with “Why Don't We Just Dance?,” the February 9 releas debuted on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart at No. 2 and on the Billboard 200 at No. 5.
Turner says of the MCA Nashville album, “We chose
LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) – The Knack's lead singer Doug Fieger, who co-wrote the 1979 hit song “My Sharona,” died on Sunday, aged 57, after battling lung cancer for six years.
His family said in a statement that Fieger passed away at his home in Woodland Hills, California, after outliving his doctors' prognoses “for many, many years.”
“Doug did not suffer. He is in a better place. And wherever he is,
NEW YORK (Billboard) – When art-rock band Devo performs live at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, it will be the band's first network broadcast performance in 20 years.
Devo will be one of 15 headlining acts, including Feist, Usher and the Fray, who will each perform one night at the Whistler Victory Ceremonies between February 13 and 27. The band's show will take place February 22 during a Victory Ceremony.
DETROIT (Billboard) – David Broza performed with Townes Van Zandt only once, during a Writers in the Round concert in Houston in 1994. After Van Zandt died three years later, the Israeli singer-songwriter was shocked to learn that the Texas music icon had left him a shoe box filled with unreleased poems and lyrics — and that he wanted Broza to write music to accompany them.
After some initial hesitation — during which Van
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Richard Delvy, a pioneering surf-rock drummer, composer, arranger, publisher and producer, died February 6 at West Hills Hospital in California after a long illness. He was 67.
Born on April 20, 1942, in Bridgeport, Conn., Delvy relocated to Southern California and became the drummer for the Bel-Airs, one of the earliest surf-rock groups. The band had a regional hit with the instrumental
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Rapper Lil Wayne temporarily escaped jail on Tuesday when his sentencing for possessing a gun was postponed on the same day he bid goodbye to fans in a video he posted on the Web.
Lil Wayne, 27, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, appeared in New York State Supreme Court where his sentencing was postponed until March 2 because he needed time to heal from a dental operation, his lawyer Stacey Richman told
NEW YORK (Billboard) – Most singers are satisfied with one album to work on at a time. Aaron Neville has three, which means that “2010 is going to be a stellar year,” the New Orleans native says.
The first one out is likely to be Neville's third gospel album, which he's working on with producer Joe Henry. “We're doing a lot of traditional-type stuff and some old stuff,” Neville says. “We might stick a couple of
NEW YORK (Billboard) – The Who took the stage for the Super Bowl halftime show in Miami on Sunday, and delivered a solid if expected medley of classic rock hits.
Singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist Pete Townshend, the two surviving members of the original quartet, appeared on a circular stage in the center of Sun Life Stadium, accompanied by their backing band.
They played a nearly 12-minute set that included all
