CMA to give memberships to award nominees
NASHVILLE, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- The Country Music Association said Saturday that final nominees for a CMA award will be granted complimentary membership for life in the association.
"We want to acknowledge the career achievement and contributions of all Grand Ole Opry members and all artists who have been nominated on the final ballot for a CMA award by granting these performers lifetime membership in CMA," said CMA Executive Director Ed Benson.
"Their accomplishments warrant our gratitude and this is a sincere token of our appreciation."
Previously, CMA only granted lifetime membership to those inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
CMA's Artist Relations Committee, which is chaired by Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn, made the recommendation at CMA's September Board meeting and approved unanimously by the board of directors.
The Grand Ole Opry is celebrating its 78th birthday Saturday, on the Opry's new cable network home Great American Country.
Modern day Eliot Ness TV show
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- ABC-TV has committed to a pilot of a "modern-day tale of good versus evil," inspired by federal agent Eliot Ness' 1920s pursuit of Al Capone.
The still unnamed program is being written by Shane Salerno and will be directed by Michael Bay, the duo who made the 1999 blockbuster, "Armageddon."
While Bay is a veteran of the movies "The Rock," "Pearl Harbor" and the "Bad Boys" films, this will be his first effort in television.
The show will follow an idealistic U.S. attorney and family man who leaves his powerful Washington position to return to his hometown of Chicago, the New York Post reported.
There he must take on a childhood friend, who has become a powerful mobster controlling the city with his criminal network, the Post said.
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Vandross singing again
NEW YORK, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Six months after suffering a stroke, soul legend Luther Vandross is singing again, the BBC reported.
The 52-year-old singer fell ill in April after a blood vessel ruptured in his brain and he was hit by meningitis and pneumonia, the report said.
Friends and family of the star told People magazine that he is in rehabilitation, having five hours of therapy a day on most days.
"His voice is the same as it ever was. He's back," his friend and singer Patti LaBelle said.
Vandross is now learning how to get in and out of a car and does physical exercises to regain his strength, People magazine said.
The singer has sold more than 20 million records during his career, and won four Grammy awards in the 1990s.
His latest album, "Dance With My Father," was released after he fell ill and went to the top on U.S. chart.
Duran concert tickets sold out
LONDON, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- It took only five minutes for British fans to buy all 2,000 tickets for Duran Duran's U.K. comeback show next Tuesday in London, the BBC reported.
The concert at London's Forum is the first U.K. show by the original band members in 18 years, and follows a string of shows in Japan and the United States.
The band was one of the biggest pop acts of the 1980s, with hits like "Save A Prayer," "The Reflex" and "Wild Boys."
"The band (is) absolutely delighted at the prospect of playing at the Forum," said lead singer Simon Le Bon.
The sold-out tickets are now going for more than $150 each on the internet auction site eBay.
Duran Duran's will also will appear Wednesday at the charity Fashion Rocks event at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
