Whirlwind Gaga jam session for Clemons
NEW YORK, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Springsteen saxophonist Clarence Clemons said he dropped everything when whippersnapper Lady Gaga summoned him to lay down a track on her new CD.
Clemons told The Hollywood Reporter he immediately flew from his home in Florida to New York three weeks ago and before dawn had wrapped up work on Gaga's upcoming "Born this Way" album.
"It's a day I'll never forget," said Clemons, a stalwart in Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band since the 1970s.
Clemons said he began recording on the song "Hair" at midnight with Gaga telling him to basically improvise and play from the heart. "It was very pure," he said.
Clemons told The Hollywood Reporter Gaga is no upstart and certainly no poser. "She's the real deal," he said. "All the craziness and stuff, there's a purpose to all of it. She has no boundaries."
Aniston selling Beverly Hills mansion
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Actress Jennifer Aniston is asking $42 million for her Beverly Hills, Calif., home and may be looking for a new place in New York.
Aniston, who said recently she wants to simplify her life, put the mansion on the market four years after she bought it for $13.5 million.
The Los Angeles Times said Aniston is basically flipping the plush property. She had some extensive upgrades done, including a koi pond, a travertine bridge and a custom glass chandelier that dominates the entry way.
But, the Times reported Saturday, Aniston has since decided it was too much of a good thing and she would more content if she downsized.
Robinson, Crow to perform at White House
WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- The White House has announced plans to celebrate Black History Month with a tribute to the legacy of Motown Records featuring a performance by Smokey Robinson.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have invited music icons and contemporary artists to perform Thursday in a program called "The Motown Sound: In Performance at the White House."
The lineup of performers will include Natasha Bedingfield, Sheryl Crow, Jamie Foxx, Gloriana, Nick Jonas, Ledisi, John Legend, Amber Riley, Mark Salling, Seal and Jordin Sparks, with Greg Phillinganes as the night's music director.
Produced by public broadcaster WETA, Washington, in association with Bounce, a division of AEG, and the National Black Programming Consortium, the program will be broadcast on PBS stations nationwide March 1. It will be broadcast via the American Forces Network March 11 to American servicemen and women and civilians at U.S. Department of Defense locations around the world, the White House said in a news release this week.
Arquette set for 'Oprah' chat
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick has scrapped plans to appear on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," the chat show's representatives said.
Vick missed two seasons of professional football to serve 18 months in prison on dogfighting charges.
"He said personal reasons. We're not going to push it," Winfrey told The Hollywood Reporter.
"We did a field trip with him. We had been shooting with Michael Vick. And the fact that he pulled out and all his people ... " Winfrey said. "We move on."
Instead of interviewing Vick, Winfrey sat down with actor David Arquette and talked to him about his separation from his wife, actress Courteney Cox, and recent trip to rehab for alcohol addiction.
"I can now confirm that next Thursday's episode of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' will now feature an exclusive sit-down with David Arquette in his first interview post-rehab," Winfrey's publicist, Don Halcombe, told The Hollywood Reporter Thursday.
