MUSIC NEWS: TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2016
MIRANDA LAMBERT CREATES LINE OF DOG TOYS AND ACCESSORIES
Miranda Lambert hopes that outfitting your dog will help other dogs find homes. Lambert has teamed with Petmate to create a line of dog toys, collars, bedding and other items.
Proceeds will benefit her MuttNation Foundation, which funds dog adoption programs. The items for sale include a bandanna collar, beds with cow print patterns and tambourine and guitar chewie toys.
Don't have a dog? Lambert's collection also includes six plush toy puppies that are based on real-life rescue dogs.
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RANDY HOUSER TALKS ABOUT GETTING FIRED UP AND RELEASING ``FIRED UP''
Randy Houser admits he was a little freaked out the first time he stood in front of a crowd of 50-thousand people.
Houser says he never played for audiences that big until he toured recently with Luke Bryan, and his adrenaline just went nuts. Houser says sometimes he pretends it's his back yard and he's just hanging out with friends. Houser just released a new album called ``Fired Up.'' He calls it ``a good representation of where I have been, where I am and where I am going.''
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GOGI GRANT DIES
The woman who took the song ``The Wayward Wind'' to number one in 1956 has died. Billboard reports Gogi Grant died Thursday at the age of 91. ``The Wayward Wind'' was the song that knocked ``Heartbreak Hotel'' by Elvis Presley off the top spot after an eight-week run. Grant was also used as actress Ann Blyth's singing voice in the 1957 movie, ``The Helen Morgan Story.'' Grant took two decades off to raise her family but returned to singing in 1987. She performed into her late 80's.
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ERNESTINE ANDERSON DIES
Jazz singer Ernestine Anderson has died at the age of 87. The Seattle Times quotes the King County Medical Examiner's Office as saying it received a report that Anderson died of natural causes at a nursing home on Thursday. Anderson's 1958 album ``Hot Cargo!'' received rave reviews and hit number 15 on the Billboard
200 chart. She quit singing in 1966 and returned to music in the 1970's. Her ``Now and Then'' album was a hit on the jazz charts in 1993. Her childhood friend, producer Quincy Jones, once described her voice as the sound of ``honey at dusk.''
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SONY BUYS MICHAEL JACKSON'S STAKE IN MUSIC CATALOG
Michael Jackson's stake in a massive music catalogue has been sold to Sony for 750 million dollars. Sony and Jackson's estate announced the sale in a joint press release yesterday. Jackson's estate owned a half share of the catalogue, which includes The Beatles and Bob Dylan. But the sale doesn't transfer to Sony ownership of Jackson's master recordings or rights to the songs he wrote.
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RACHEL PLATTEN HAS HER DOUBTS
Not everything Rachel Platten sings is about conquering the world. Platten says when she feels inspired and empowered, she will write songs about that. She says she also writes songs when she has demons in her head and she doubts herself.
Platten says it's important for her as an artist to share who she is, and honesty is what helps her connect. She says both kinds of songs feel just as good to sing.
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MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK ANNOUNCE FINAL CONCERTS
Motion City Soundtrack will embark on a farewell tour this spring. It will begin May 5th in Portland, Oregon. The tour ends in their hometown of Minneapolis on June 24th, and they have a one-off show in Sayreville, New Jersey, on August 6th. The band says in a statement they've been having conversations about the future of the band, but they have concluded, ``For now we are done.'' They say if you have been touched by their music, come out and sing with them one last time.
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JACK ANTONOFF GETS FIRST BAND BACK TOGETHER FOR FESTIVAL
Jack Antonoff's first band will reunite for his ``Shadow of the City'' music festival this summer. Antonoff will get back together with Steel Train at the festival set for June 18th in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. The 1975 will headline, and other performers include Carly Rae Jepsen and BORNS. Antonoff staged the first ``Shadow of the City'' festival last year. He says year two gives him so much joy because it makes him feel like he can really keep doing it.
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GOOD CHARLOTTE REUNITE FOR NEW RECORD
You can thank 5 Seconds Of Summer for giving Good Charlotte the boost they needed to get back together. Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden says writing with 5 Seconds Of Summer made them nostalgic for Good Charlotte again. They will release an as-yet-untitled album this summer. Guitarist Benji Madden says they took a break after their ``Cardiology'' album in 2010 because they needed to find out who they were outside of the band.
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BET HONORS RIHANNA, GLADYS KNIGHT
Rihanna and Gladys Knight will be honoured at BET's ``Black Girls Rock!'' awards. Other honorees include T-V producer Shonda Rhimes, ``Walking Dead'' star Danai Gurira and actress Amandla Stenberg. ``Black Girls Rock!'' will tape April 1st in Newark, New Jersey. It will air on B-E-T on April 5th.
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(The Associated Press)