MUSIC NEWS: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018
TAYLOR SWIFT GROPER HIRED
The Denver radio D-J who was fired for groping Taylor Swift has a new job at a radio station in Greenwood, Mississippi. The New York Daily News reports David Mueller co-hosts the morning show ``Jackson and Jonbob'' under the name Stonewall Jackson on KIX 92.7. Mueller sued Swift last year for getting him fired after she accused him of groping her. She countersued and won damages of one dollar. Station owner Larry Fuss says he believes Mueller's story and ``he's either the world's best liar, or he's telling the truth.'' Fuss says the station's Facebook page has been deleting negative comments from Swift fans from out of state.
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LORDE CONCERT CANCELLATION - LAWSUIT
An Israeli legal rights group is suing two New Zealanders for allegedly convincing Lorde (LORD) to call off her Tel Aviv concert. The group Shurat HaDin is suing Justine Sachs and Nadia Abu-Shanab under a 2011 Israeli law that allows lawsuits against anyone calling for a boycott against Israel. The group says the New Zealanders, one Jewish and one Palestinian, wrote an open letter to Lorde last year urging her to ``join the artistic boycott of Israel.'' Lorde responded with, ``Noted! Been speaking (with) many people and considering all options. Thank u for educating me. I am learning all the time too.'' She called off the show a few days later. Sachs says she is unaware of any lawsuit.
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LORDE - THANKS NEW ZEALAND
Lorde has taken out a full-page ad in a New Zealand newspaper to thank fans in her native country for supporting her. Lorde hand-wrote a letter that appeared yesterday in The New Zealand Herald. Lorde thanks people for supporting her ``Melodrama'' album and ``believing in female musicians.'' The ad also includes Lorde's doodles, like ``SZA'' with a crown over it and comments like ``Jay-Z's hands are really soft.''
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LORDE - DIAMOND AWARD
Lorde (LORD) has earned a rare Diamond Award from the Recording Industry Association of America, the people who hand out gold and platinum records. Lorde's song ``Royals'' was certified for 10 million sales, which earns the Diamond Award. She's only the fifth woman to have achieved that, along with Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Meghan Trainor and Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen.
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SIR SLY - MEGACHURCH - CONCERT HALL
If going to a Sir Sly concert ends up being a religious experience for you, they can empathize. Singer Landon Jacobs and drummer Hayden Coplen used to perform in a megachurch.
Coplen says every now and then during a show, he'll close his eyes and feel the same electricity he did back in church. Jacobs says he does too, only it's sweeter now because it's electricity he earned rather than inherited.
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CARRIE UNDERWOOD - HUSBAND - NHL RETURN
Carrie Underwood is absolutely fine with giving up her house-husband back to the ice after just a few months of retirement. Her husband, Peterborough, Ontario native Mike Fisher, is returning to the Nashville Predators for his 18th season in the N-H-L. The 37-year-old announced his retirement in August. Underwood tweets, ``This is happening! Fish is back! So proud of you, baby! We want the cup!!!''
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MARTY STUART - MUSEUM AND PERFORMANCE SPACE
Marty Stuart has unveiled plans for a museum complex in his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi. Stuart showed off artist renderings of what he's calling the Congress of Country Music during a visit at the Mississippi state capitol in Jackson yesterday. Stuart says ``congress'' means ``gathering place'' and that's what he intends to create. It will include a museum, concert venue and education centre. Stuart plans to showcase his collection of 20-thousand country music artifacts, which include handwritten Hank Williams lyrics, Johnny Cash's black suit and Patsy Cline's boots. Stuart hopes to open the complex within three years.
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PAUL MCCARTNEY - TV HABITS
Here's something you may not know about Paul McCartney: he's a huge fan of ``Family Feud.'' A fan asked on his website for his favourite American T-V shows and McCartney says he loves ``Family Feud'' -- but he used the British name for it, ``Family Fortunes.'' McCartney says he almost always has it on in the dressing room because ``you don't have to think too hard and it's not depressing.'' He plays along, too. His other favourite American shows are ``Breaking Bad'' and ``Veep.''
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``WE SHALL OVERCOME'' - PUBLIC DOMAIN SONG
A court has determined that the civil rights anthem ``We Shall Overcome'' is in the public domain. Song publisher Ludlow Music had claimed ownership of the song based on a copyright filed in 1960. Ludlow Music agreed in a New York federal court last week to back down on its copyright claim after losing a summary judgment in the case. The origins of the songs are unclear, but a similar song called ``We Will Overcome'' was used by striking tobacco workers in South Carolina around 1945. Peter Seeger popularized it in the late 1940s. The lawsuit was filed by the We Shall Overcome Foundation, a group that wanted to make a documentary about the song, and Butler Films, which made the 2013 film ``The Butler.''
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CALVIN HARRIS - BEARD
Calvin Harris' beard only took him so far in awards season. Harris tweets he grew a beard to be taken seriously as a producer for Grammy consideration. He was nominated for producer of the year, but he says, ``Unfortunately this weekend I learned that even a new beard has its limitations.'' He lost to Greg Kurstin, who has produced music for Adele, Sia, Beck and Pink.
Harris has gotten rid of the beard and declares ``the experiment completed.''
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