Rock News Two: The week in pop

IT'S GOOD TO BE THE KING

Nicholas Cage has impersonated Elvis Presley in films, but now that he's married Lisa Marie Presley he can wander Graceland at will and try on all those Elvis stage costumes housed in the mansion. The couple exchanged vows at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel on the island of Hawaii last weekend. Cage is 38, Presley is 34. The marriage is Presley's third -- she was previously married to musician Danny Keough and pop icon Michael Jackson. It's the second marriage for Cage, who divorced actress Patricia Arquette in 2000. Guests at the wedding included Elvis Presley's wife and Lisa Marie's mom, Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie's two children and Cage's son. The British Web site Peoplenews.com reported the couple asked Elvis to approve the bond in a seance and The King granted his blessings.

PRESLEY TOPS DEAD CELEB CHARTS

Elvis Presley held his spot at the top of the dead celebrities earning's list compiled by Forbes magazine. For the second consecutive year Presley raked in more than any other deceased celebrity, a sweet $37 million from June 2001 through June 2002, including money earned from a British dance remix of his 1968 song "A Little Less Conversation," which hit No. 1 on the British charts. Charles Schulz of "Peanuts" fame was second, with $28 million in earnings. John Lennon and NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt tied for third with $20 million in earnings.

BATTLE OF ELVIS CLONES AND IMPERSONATORS?

Memphis officials are rolling out every conceivable promotion to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death this Friday, Aug. 16, but city official Tom Morgan may have the wildest idea. Morgan has proposed The King be cloned using a bag of Elvis hair given to him by Presley's barber. "We can do it," said Dr. Dan Goldowitz of the Center of Excellence for Genomics and Bioinformatics at the University of Tennessee. "The only problem is that there's a tendency for genetic abnormalities to occur. We'd get an Elvis, but maybe he would just want to deliver the mail."

ELVIS STUFF HITS THE ROAD

This week Presley fans have descended upon the artist's Graceland mansion in Memphis for a host of events leading up to the 25th anniversary of his death on Friday. For those who can't make it to Memphis, Trans World Entertainment's FYE division has plans to bring Elvis, or at least Elvis memorabilia, back on the road. The company is co-sponsoring a roving exhibit of Elvis memorabilia, "Mobile Graceland," a collection that features artifacts never before displayed outside of Presley's Memphis home. The memorabilia will be housed in an 18-wheel truck that will travel to 31 cities, appearing exclusively at 21 FYE stores and 22 Harrah's casinos.

DJ TRIBUTE TO ELVIS

DJ Rig Rocker -- aka Jeremy Tepper -- spins country disc every Monday night at Brooklyn's popular watering hole Union Pool, a former pool supplies store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn under the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. As big rigs sped by under the highway, Tepper mixed his usual program of truck driving songs with an unusual tribute to Elvis Presley. "His records are as good as they ever were," Tepper said. "You always get a response to them." Tepper proved his point with a set of Elvis rarities including "Gentle On My Mind" and "Polk Salad Annie."

OASIS AND ELVIS

Oasis singer Noel Gallagher told the New York Post he sometimes thinks he's Elvis Presley. "In everybody's life, especially if you're in a band, there comes a point where you actually believe you're Elvis," Gallagher told Mary Huhn. "You're doing loads of drugs, eating all this junk food, putting on weight. You're ----ing drinking. Everybody loves you. "You're trying to get into that cat suit and you just can't get in there and you're thinking 'Well, I'm Elvis.' I've been called Elvis on many occasions." Asked by Huhn how he responds, Gallagher answered: "Thank you. Thank you very much."

FROM ELVIS TO THE STONES

Guitarist Scotty Moore and drummer DJ Fontana, two members of Elvis Presley's classic backup band, are special guests on Ronnie Wood's new album, "Not For Beginners."

Wood, a veteran of the Rolling Stones, Faces and the Jeff Beck Group, is set to release his seventh solo album on SPV Records just in time to cash in on the upcoming Stones tour. Other special guests joining Wood on the record include Bob Dylan, Stereophonics vocalist Kelly Jones, former Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, former Roxy Music drummer Andy Newmark and renowned session bass guitarist Willie Weeks.

Son Jessie Wood joins his father on guitar and daughter Leah Wood contributes vocals. Wood's talents aren't limited to music. He's been an acclaimed painter for many years, and his own paintings comprise the "Not For Beginners" cover and liner notes artwork.

STONES TO ROLL OUT HITS SET

The Rolling Stones are set to release "Forty Licks," a two-disc, 40-song greatest hits package, Oct. 1 on Virgin records. The discs will include four new tracks and cover the band's entire career. One disc will collect material from the Stones early albums on the ABKCO label, while the other will cover the band's recordings for the Virgin label.

The Stones are set to begin a world tour in Boston on Sept. 3. Rumors are flying the band is planning to play a warmup show at a small Martha's Vineyard club. Tickets for three September concerts planned for New York are selling over the Internet for as much as $4,050.

OSBOURNES BRINGING UP 'BABY'

Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne have taken in Robert Marcato, their daughters' best friend, whose mother died recently from the same type of cancer for which Sharon Osbourne currently is being treated. Marcato, 18, will be a regular on the family's TV show, "The Osbournes." Marcato's mother Regan died last week at age 36 of colon cancer. Marcato aka "Baby Osbourne" will move into the Osbourne household and the family will pay for his college education. "He wants to go to drama school, and we're sending him to the best drama school we can find," Sharon Osbourne told the New York Post. "We're moving him in as part of the family."

SPRINGSTEEN STAYS ON TOP

Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising" topped the Billboard Top 200 chart for the second week in a row. Rapper Nelly's "Nellyville" was No. 2, followed by Eminem's "The Eminem Show." Scarface debuted at No. 4 with "The Fix." "Now 10," a compilation album was No. 5, and another debut, "Thug Holiday" by Linkin Park, checked in at No. 6. Two other debut albums posted strong out-of-the-box numbers -- the "XXX" soundtrack was No. 11, and "Layin Da Smack Down" by Project Pat was No. 12. Springsteen and the E Street Band began a marathon tour with a concert at New Jersey's Meadowlands.

CLASSIC JUDY GARLAND REISSUED

Judy Garland was at the peak of her career when she recorded for Capitol Records from 1955-1965, and on Sept. 24, Capitol will release the first compilation that covers every album Judy Garland recorded for the label, along with all of her singles. "Classic Judy Garland -- The Capitol Years, 1955-1965" is a two-disc set that features not only all of Garland's most legendary hits -- including "The Trolley Song," "The Man That Got Away," and "Over The Rainbow" -- but also all seven of her singles. It also has album outtakes, a rare alternate take and previously unreleased material. All tracks have been digitally remastered in 24-bit directly from the original session tapes. The set also includes a duet with daughter Liza Minnelli, in a newly discovered alternate take of a rare performance deleted from the original LP of Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli "Live at the London Palladium."

THE RETURN OF PHISH

Jam band superstars Phish are planning to regroup on New Year's Eve for a show at Madison Square Garden. The band, which has been on a two-year hiatus, also has scheduled three shows for Jan. 2-4 at Hampton, Va.'s Hampton Coliseum, the site of the group's 1999 live album, "Hampton Comes Alive." The band also plans to record a new studio album, the first since 2000's "Farmhouse."

DROWNING POOL SINGER DIES

Drowning Pool lead singer Dave Williams was found dead Wednesday in the band's tour bus. The cause of death was unknown. Williams, 30, and Drowning Pool were on tour as part of Ozzfest. A spokesman for the band was unsure if the band would finish out the Ozzfest tour, which runs to Sept. 8, without Williams. The Dallas-based band recorded a cover version of Metallica's "Creeping Death" for "Ozzfest 2002: The Live Album," which is scheduled for a Sept. 3 release.

ADAM ANT IN PUB BRAWL

British pop star Adam Ant pleaded guilty in a London courtroom to a charge he started a fight in a North London pub after patrons taunted him over the cowboy outfit he was wearing. The incident occurred Jan. 12 at the Prince of Wales pub when, according to prosecution lawyers, Ant was ridiculed by bar patrons who hummed the theme from "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." This humiliation prompted the pop star to return to the pub with a starter's pistol which he used to threaten bar patrons. He also allegedly threw a car alternator through the pub window, hitting a local musician. The 47-year-old Ant, who appeared in court under his real name of Stuart Goddard, was released on bail pending an Oct. 2 sentencing.

POP STARS TEAM UP ON FAITHFULL ALBUM

Beck, Blur, Dave Stewart and Billy Corgan all pitched in to help out singer Marianne Faithfull on her new album, "Kissin Time." The album -- her first in almost three years -- is a series of collaborations and specially commissioned songs from an illustrious line-up of Faithfull devotees. Faithfull currently is in the midst of a worldwide 100-date tour that began in May, 2002, and will bring her to the United States in September.

Corgan will join Faithfull for a special performance on the Late Show with David Letterman Sept. 2. "We did three songs," said Corgan, "two originals and a cover of 'Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good,' the Herman Hermit's song. I asked her what she had been listening to, and she told me somewhat sheepishly that she's been listening to Herman's Hermits. We talked about that sunny-ness in music, and how people don't trust that anymore. So, why not do the song? A mature woman singing about that happiness?

"When she understands what she's translating to that voice, it's unbelievable. Don't let the mature Marianne fool you. She is still a punk rocker and it's so refreshing. I'm like, here I go. I'm 34, it's a new phase, it's not about teenage pain anymore. But when you meet someone like that, and realize they're still all there, it's so inspiring," she said.

SPIN PICKS METAL TOP 40

In the September issue of Spin magazine editors have identified what they feel are the best Metal albums in rock history. "Appetite For Destruction," the 1987 album that put Guns 'N' Roses on the map, tops the list, followed by "Led Zeppelin IV," the 1971 album that includes "Stairway to Heaven." Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" (1971) checks in at No. 3. Next are "Master of Puppets" (1986) from Metallica, "Back In Black" (1980) from AC/DC, Van Halen's eponymous 1978 debut, "Led Zeppelin II" (1969), "Alive II" (1977) from KISS, Tool's "Aenima" (1996), and completing the Top 10, "British Steel" (1980) by Judas Priest.