MUSIC NEWS: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2017
CANADIAN GRAMMY NOMINEES
Canadian Grammy nominees Justin Bieber, Alessia Cara, Leonard Cohen, Michael Buble and Sarah McLachlan are among the Canadian nominees for this year's Grammy Awards.
Bieber is up for his vocal contributions to ``Despacito,'' the global hit by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, which is in the running for record of the year, song of the year, and best pop duo and group performance.
Cara is also nominated in the song of the year category for her vocals on ``1-800-273-8255,'' a song performed by rapper Logic and named for the U.S. suicide prevention hotline. The song is also nominated for best music video.
Cara grabbed another nod for the best new artist award and the best pop duo and group performance trophy for the song ``Stay'' with Zedd.
Buble and McLachlan have nominations in the best traditional pop vocal album category. Buble is up for the deluxe edition of ``Nobody But Me'' and McLachlan for ``Wonderland,'' her second Christmas album.
Cohen is nominated in the best rock performance category for his song ``You Want It Darker'' and best American roots performance for the track ``Steer Your Way,'' both off his final album.
DONALD FAGEN SUES WALTER BECKER'S ESTATE
Donald Fagen is going to court to claim control of Steely Dan. Fagen is suing the estate of Walter Becker, saying it's obligated to honour an agreement Steely Dan made 45 years ago. It stipulated that if a member died or quit, Steely Dan would buy back that member's shares. Fagen and Becker were the last original members, so Fagen says he should be declared the owner of the band's name and music. Representatives for Becker's estate say the agreement was not in effect when Becker died in September. They say Fagen is trying to deprive Becker's family ``the fruits of their joint labours.'' Fagen's attorney, Skip Miller, says Becker's estate will still get normal royalties, and the lawsuit is about the band's future.
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GRAMMY NOMINATIONS PREVIEW
MIRACLES SINGER PETE MOORE DIES
Bass singer Pete Moore of The Miracles has died.
The New York Times reports Moore died in Las Vegas on his 79th birthday on November 19th from complications from diabetes, according to his wife. Moore co-wrote the Miracles hits ``Ooo Baby Baby,'' ''The Tracks of My Tears`` and ''My Girl Has Gone.`` Moore met Smokey Robinson when he was 12 and they formed a singing group in high school. The Miracles were the first group signed to Motown Records. Moore last performed with The Miracles in 1972. He became a solo artist, a vice-president at Motown and the founder of a music production company.
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MITCH MARGO OF THE TOKENS DIES
Mitch Margo, founding member of The Tokens, has died. The group's Facebook page says Margo died peaceably in his sleep Thursday. Details were not given. Margo was 14 when The Tokens recorded ``The Lion Sleeps Tonight,'' which became a number-one hit in 1961. Bandmate Jim Leslie writes on Facebook Margo was ``someone who inspired me to always appreciate life, art, music and just being kind to one another.'' He describes Margo's death as sudden.
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HOUSE WHERE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN ONCE LIVED IS FOR SALE
Bruce Springsteen's boyhood home is for sale. The Asbury Park Press reports the two-family house at 39 Institute Street in Freehold, New Jersey, is on the market for 269-thouand dollars U-S. Springsteen's family lived there from 1955 to 1962. Springsteen mentions being 7 years old and watching Elvis Presley on ``The Ed Sullivan Show'' in that house. Real estate agent Barbara Conti says the house is not overpriced because of the Springsteen connection and most of the people who have viewed it are investors because it's a two-family house.
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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN EXTENDS BROADWAY RUN
Bruce Springsteen seems to be having such a good time with his Broadway show that he's added more dates. Springsteen had planned to end his 16-week stint on Februaary 3rd. He's added more shows from February 28th through June 30th.
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MAVIS STAPLES
Mavis Staples is offering her own interpretation of what should go in the places of Confederate statues that have been taken down. The video for Staples' song ``If All I Was Was Black'' imagines if the Confederate tributes were replaced with statues of black people. A black woman stands where a statue of Confederate president Jefferson Davis was. Another shows a black man in a hoodie dangling his legs off a pedestal where a General Robert E. Lee statue once stood. Filmmaker Zac Manuel says he wanted to play with the notions of converting contemporary symbols into something positive. The video comes out in December.
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ANNIE LENNOX BECOMES CHANCELLOR OF GLASGOW CALEDONIAN UNIVERSITY
Annie Lennox will head up a Scottish university.
Her website reports she has been named chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University. Lennox is the first female to hold that position. Lennox calls it ``truly a remarkable honour.'' She will have formal and ceremonial duties that include conferring degrees upon students and supporting university policies. She will be formally installed during a university ceremony in July.
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NICK CARTER - DENIES RAPE ALLEGATION
Nick Carter says he didn't do it. And he says he's ``shocked and saddened'' that someone said he did. ``It,'' in this case, is rape. And the allegation is being made by Melissa Schuman of the girl group Dream. She writes in a blog post that Carter had sex with her against her will. She says Carter, a member of the Backstreet Boys _ took her virginity when she was 18 and he was 22. Carter says everything the two of them did _ was consensual.
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RUSSELL SIMMONS - DENIES SEXUAL HARASSMENT ALLEGATION
Consensual _ not violent. That is how Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons describes the sexual relationship between himself and model Keri Claussen Khalighi. But the model sees things differently, accusing Simmons of sexually assaulting her in 1991. In a letter written to The Hollywood Reporter, he says he loathes any kind of violence _ and suggests the model's allegations may have stemmed from her feeling ashamed.
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JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE - GRAMMYS
A lot of people won't forget how his part in the infamous ``wardrobe malfunction'' nearly ruined the Super Bowl more than a decade ago. But did you know Justin Timberlake once stepped in to help save the 2009 Grammys? That was the year Chris Brown dropped out of the show hours before it was supposed to start. So Timberlake decided to get hold of veteran Grammy producer _ and they improvised a piece featuring Timberlake performing with soul legend, Al Green.
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TRACE ADKINS - MARDI GRAS
Country music star Trace Adkins will serve as grand marshal for the Krewe of Centaur's 2018 Mardi Gras parade in Shreveport. Adkins is a native of Sarepta, Louisiana _ and he says he will visit with fans as he travels along the parade route.
The party takes place Saturday, Feb. 8th.
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DIPLO - TRAVEL
Globe-trotting star Diplo recently checked another locale off his performance wish-list: Cuba. Back in March of last year, Diplo and his crew became one of the first American acts to take advantage of the easing of travel restrictions by U-S artists. He says he'd like to go back again _ if travel restrictions now back in place are ever loosened again.
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(The Associated Press)
