Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe LAST OF MISSISSIPPI JUKES "Last of the Mississippi Jukes," a documentary tribute to the blues and juke joints of Mississippi by filmmaker Robert Mugge, will be made available on DVD by Sanctuary Records March 18. The featured music -- performed by such artists as Alvin Youngblood Hart, Chris Thomas King, Bobby Rush, Vasti Jackson, Patrice Moncell, the King Edwards Blues Band, and many more -- also will be made available on an audio CD soundtrack. Advertisement From the single-room plantation shacks where the blues was born a hundred years ago to the handful of urban and rural lounges that rapidly are becoming extinct, "Last of the Mississippi Jukes" captures the essence of the blues and the juke joint legacy. The Sanctuary Records DVD and soundtrack document and celebrate the origin of blues in America and an important part of our musical heritage. Advertisement The film takes you on a musical journey to Clarksdale, Mississippi's Ground Zero Blues Club, established by actor Morgan Freeman and his partners to recreate the mood and style of a traditional juke joint. Then it's on to Jackson and the remarkable 35-plus-year-old Subway Lounge, a thriving urban club now on the verge of losing its home in the historic but rapidly crumbling Summers Hotel, Jackson's first black-owned hotel. The hotel/lounge played host to many notable jazz and blues performers in the days of segregation, including Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton, James Brown and Aretha Franklin. J-LO, CHRIS ROCK JOIN SOUL TRAIN AWARDS The 17th Annual Soul Train Music Awards has added several stars to it's already stellar line-up, including actress and music diva Jennifer Lopez, actor/comedian Chris Rock and comic and actor Orlando Jones ("Biker Boyz," "Drumline"). The lineup already includes Mariah Carey, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, Justin Timberlake, Nelly, Dru Hill and others. Advertisement "We're extremely excited, overall, by the star power participating in this year's live show and we would rank J-Lo, Chris Rock, Orlando Jones and the very smooth super group, Dru Hill, among the very hottest on our 2003 wish list!" said Executive Producer Don Cornelius. The 17th Annual Soul Train Music Awards will be broadcast live this year March 1 from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. This year's show will be co-hosted by Oscar-nominated actress Queen Latifah and actor Arsenio Hall. BEST OF CHER Warner Music is releasing "The Very Best Of Cher," the ultimate collection of the diva's hits, April 1. It's the only release to have all of her American No. 1 hits on one disc. The package contains more than 70 minutes of music -- 21 songs in all -- encompassing Cher's five-decade string of unforgettable songs. The Oscar winner and musical legend also will celebrate her enduring career with a live, two-hour NBC-TV concert special, scheduled to air April 15. The album includes "Believe," "If I Could Turn Back Time," "I Found Someone," "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)," "Half-Breed," "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves," "The Beat Goes On," "I Got You Babe" and others. Advertisement SPOCK'S BEARD DRUMMER TO SING The progressive rock band Spock's Beard has announced drummer Nick D'Virgilio will step from behind his kit and become the group's new lead vocalist. He will play drums on Spock's Beard's studio albums and occasionally live, but primarily a touring drummer will be used for all future concert dates. D'Virgilio, guitarist/cellist Alan Morse, keyboardist Ryo Okumoto and bass guitarist Dave Meros decided to continue the band and move forward after the departure of vocalist/keyboardist/guitarist Neal Morse in October 2002. "I'm taking all that practice I got by singing background vocals and bringing it out front," D'Virgilio said. "I am still playing drums on the recordings and will also play live some, but yes I am doing the Phil Collins and Dave Grohl drummer-to-frontman thing." A new studio album targeted for release in June will be Spock's Beard's first with D'Virgilio as the frontman. "It has definitely been a strange time in the band's history, but life is always full of surprises so why should music be any different? Neal leaving the band was one of those surprises, but after the shock wore off the four of us knew we wanted to keep this thing going. And that is just what we are doing," D'Virgilio said. "We are in the studio cutting a brand new Spock's Beard record to hopefully be released in June with touring to follow in the not too distant future." Advertisement SONGS OF LIFE Singer/songwriter Bret Michaels will release his first full-length enhanced solo CD, "Songs Of Life," April 22 on his own Poor Boy Records. Written and produced by Michaels, all 14 tracks on "Songs Of Life" are inspired by events in his life. The music tells his story and the CD booklet is loaded with photographs and images of Michaels' life, including a photo of him after his horrific car crash. "This is my sound and these are my songs," Michaels said. "Love it or hate it, 'Songs Of Life' is me, a straight-up rock record and the fans are getting the real deal. Always have and always will. I don't know any other way." Michaels, who turns 40 March 15, has been an insulin-dependent diabetic since the age of 6. The vocalist has suffered and survived the complications of the deadly disease. "In many ways, diabetes is as much a blessing as a curse," he said "It's taught me that even if I've had to work twice as hard to get half as far, it's shown me to never give up, no matter what the conditions."
