Rock News Two: The week in pop music

INTO THE HALL

This year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has a distinctly 1970s flavor -- with the announcement that the Ramones, Talking Heads, Isaac Hayes and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers will be inducted into the hall in Cleveland in March.

The selections also reflect the diversity of rock 'n' roll -- with the Ramones representing punk, Talking Heads standing for electronic and world music, Hayes bringing on the funk and Petty dishing out fairly straight-ahead rock.

The new class of Hall-of-Famers also includes '60s hit makers Brenda Lee and Gene Pitney. The late guitar virtuoso and super producer Chet Atkins was named in the "sidemen" category, and Stax Records co-founder Jim Stewart was named to the hall in the non-performer group.

The 17th annual induction ceremony is scheduled for March 18 in New York. It will be telecast on a tape delay basis on VH1.

(Thanks to UPI Feature Reporter Dennis Daily)

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

The Recording Academy says it has chosen Count Basie, Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Al Green and Joni Mitchell to receive its 2002 Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Producer-recording engineer Tom Dowd and pioneering rock 'n' roll deejay Alan Freed will receive Trustees Awards. All of the honors will be presented in conjunction with the 44th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony on Feb. 27 in Los Angeles.

"The recipients of these awards are in a rarified league all their own," said Recording Academy president/CEO Michael Greene. "They are a prestigious group of diverse and influential creators who have given us some of the most distinctive and seminal recordings of the last century. Their work exemplifies the highest creative and technical standards by which we all measure our own personal and professional contributions."

Past winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Louis Armstrong, Fred Astaire, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Patsy Cline, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Barbara Streisand and Stevie Wonder.

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors "lifelong artistic contributions to the recording medium." The Trustees Award recognizes "outstanding contributions to the industry in a non-performing capacity."

AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS

Rapper/recording mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and actress Jenny McCarthy have been named to host the 29th annual "American Music Awards," which will air live on ABC on Jan. 9 from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

The Grammy-winning Combs has produced multi-platinum records for such recording artists as Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, R. Kelly, LL Cool J, Smashing Pumpkins and Sting.

McCarthy parlayed her appearance as a Playboy Playmate into a gig hosting "Singled Out" on MTV, and went on to star in "Jenny," a half-hour comedy that ran on NBC in 1997-98. She has also appeared in several movies, including "Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead" and "Scream 3."

(The above two items thanks to UPI Hollywood Reporter Pat Nason)

REBA MCENTIRE

Country singer Reba McEntire will be among the presenters on "The 28th Annual People's Choice Awards," to be broadcast from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, Calif., on Sunday, Jan. 13 (9-11 p.m. ET) on CBS-TV. Additional presenters will include comedian Carol Burnett and actors Tony Danza and David James Elliott.

The winners in 18 categories will be announced on the star-studded special, hosted for the second consecutive year by Kevin James ("The King of Queens"). The broadcast honors America's favorites in the fields of television, motion pictures and music, as determined by a public opinion poll of thousands of Americans conducted by The Gallup Organization.

DESTINY'S CHILD

Destiny's Child says reports of their imminent demise have been greatly exaggerated.

In a statement released Thursday by their recording label, Columbia Records, the trio declares: "We are very much a group, very much together, and plan to be for many years. ... We just want to take a little time to work on some things that reflect our individual personalities and we're going to help and support each other with everything we do."

The group says its plans include a world tour next spring, work on a new album after that, and TV appearances in both the United States and in Europe.

In the meantime, fans can look forward to upcoming projects from each of the group's members. Beyonce Knowles appears as Foxy Cleopatra in "Austin Powers 3: Goldmember," due in theaters on July 26. Michelle Williams has been recording an album of inspirational music, while Kelly Rowland is working up material for an album of her own.

Destiny's Child has been nominated in two categories for this year's American Music Awards: Favorite Album, Pop/Rock (for "Survivor") and Favorite Band, Duo or Group, Soul/R&B. The 29th Annual American Music Awards ceremony will air Jan. 9 on ABC-TV. Last month, the trio entered the "Guinness Book Of World Records" for having more No.1 records on the U.S. charts than any girl group in music history.

(Web sites: columbiarecords.com, destiny'schild.com, dc-unplugged.com)

STEVIE WONDER

Tyrese, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, India.Arie, Brian McKnight and Ja Rule are among the artists who'll perform at Stevie Wonder's 6th Annual House Full Of Toys. The benefit concert will be held Saturday at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles.

Since 1995, the event --- co-sponsored by LA radio station radio station KJLH -- has provided a Merry Christmas for thousands of children throughout Southern California. Last year, more than a thousand needy families and their children benefited from the donations and proceeds collected by the show.

(Web site: kjlhradio.com)

PAUL MCCARTNEY

Paul McCartney headlined Tuesday's concert honoring U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The star-studded event in Oslo, Norway, marked the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, which this year was jointly awarded to the U.N. and Annan. Other performers included Destiny's Child, Wyclef Jean, Natalie Imbruglia and Anastacia.

The concert was hosted by actors Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson.

McCartney, whose new album is titled "Driving Rain," said it's a "privilege" to perform for Annan.

'HELPING HANDS II: HANDMADE IN AMERICA'

Jewel helped AOL Time Warner launch the online charity auction "Helping Hands II: Handmade in America" with a performance Wednesday evening at the American Folk Art Museum's new building in New York.

The event included the unveiling of the patriotic handicrafts donated by various celebrities for the auction, which will benefit nine organizations on the front lines of relief efforts: the American Red Cross, the WTC School Relief Fund, the New York Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund, the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund, the New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund, the September 11th Fund, the Survivors' Fund of the National Capital Region, the Twin Towers Fund and the WTC Police Disaster Relief Fund.

Britney Spears and pop duo Evan and Jaron are among the stars who have created and donated handmade crafts and objects reflecting their interpretation of the American spirit. They include a signed patriotic BCBG T-shirt from Spears.

The items will be featured in a special holiday catalog on Shop@AOL and through eBay.

CREED, TANTRIC

Tantric has been confirmed as one of two opening acts on the first leg of Creed's tour, which kicks off in January. One additional band will be announced shortly.

Last weekend, tickets for concerts in 13 markets went on sale, and shows in six cities -- Houston, Dallas, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Boston -- sold out in less than an hour. Tickets for concerts in Detroit and Birmingham, Ala., were all snapped up within hours.

"The band's draw at the box office is staggering," said Creed's booking agent Ken Fermaglich. "To place over 150,000 tickets on sale without confirming any support attraction and have them basically disappear is a bright spot in an otherwise tough environment."

AEROSMITH

Aerosmith's "Just Push Play" fall tour has rolled into Cleveland and area Dodge dealers are pulling out all the stops to give fans a chance to see the band in concert. They're sponsoring various events prior to Sunday's Cleveland Browns football game, during which fans can win tickets to Monday night's show.

Dodge and Aerosmith announced this past summer a partnership in which the automaker is using the band's music in its Ram truck commercials.

DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES

Now in stores: the two-CD "Diana Ross & The Supremes: Anthology" (Motown/Universal Music Enterprises). The 50-song collection boasts not only all 12 of their No.1 pop singles but 10 classic covers and several rare tracks --- including half-a-dozen previously unreleased mixes from the vault.

Disc One spans the group's beginnings as The Supremes, 1961-1967. It includes the trio's five consecutive chart-topping singles as well as the first pressing of 1961's "Buttered Popcorn" (later withdrawn and previously unavailable on album); a previously unreleased extended mix of the Top 10 "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart"; the previously unreleased stereo mix of "He," a hard-to-find gospel recording; and the Phil Spector written-and-produced "Things Are Changing," a 1966 promotion-only single for the Equal Employment Opportunities Campaign.

Disc Two renames the group Diana Ross & The Supremes and covers 1967-1969 on 14 selections, highlighted by the No.1 hits "Love Child" and "Someday We'll Be Together" (in a previously unreleased alternate mix), as well as 10 additional tracks featuring classic covers from The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" and Sam Cooke's "(Ain't That) Good News" to Rodgers and Hart's "Bewitched Bothered And Bewildered" and "If A Girl Isn't Pretty" (from "Funny Girl").

TUPAC SHAKUR FILM

MTV Films is making a documentary on the life of the late rapper Tupac Shakur.

"It is only fitting that the Tupac story will mark our first foray into feature film documentaries," said Van Toffler, President, MTV: Music Television, MTV 2 and MTV Productions. "Tupac was an undeniable force in music, Hip-Hop culture and with our audience. He continues to sell millions of records and remains one of the most popular artists on MTV."

The film will be executive produced by Shakur's mother, Afeni Shakur, and directed/produced by filmmaker Lauren Lazin.

A title soundtrack from Amaru/Interscope Records will be released in conjunction with the film and the first official biography of the rapper's life will be released (date forthcoming) from Pocketbooks/MTV Books.

Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in Sept. 1996. His murder remains unsolved.

(Web site: mtv.com)

M.C. HAMMER

VH1 takes a look at superstar rapper M.C. Hammer in the original movie "Too Legit: The M.C. Hammer Story." The made-for-cable film starring Romany Malco premieres next Wednesday (at 9 p.m. ET/PT).

"Too Legit: The M.C. Hammer Story" features original master recordings, authorized by M.C. Hammer himself, of his hit songs including "U Can't Touch This," "Too Legit to Quit" and "Pray."

(Web site: vh1.com)

BIG COUNTRY

Former Big Country lead singer Stuart Adamson has not been seen in several weeks -- prompting his manager and ex-wife to issue appeals for him to contact them.

The 43-year-old Adamson -- who was born in Manchester, England, but now lives in Nashville -- has battled alcoholism in the past. He disappeared a couple of years ago, forcing his band to cancel a number of shows opening for Bryan Adams.

Adamson's manager, Ian Grant, says he's hired a detective to look for Adams. He says two American fans have also volunteered to look for him.

Adamson was last seen Nov. 15. A week earlier, he'd left a note for his son saying he'd be

"back by noon Sunday."

(Thanks to UPI's Mike Cooper in Atlanta)

TOP-20 ENTERTAINERS

Jennifer Lopez, 'N Sync, Destiny's Child and Britney Spears are among the artists who made E!'s list of the Top-20 Entertainers of 2001.

Madonna and Paul McCartney also are on the network's 12th annual list (in order of ranking):

20. Jennifer Aniston

19. The Rock

18. Mel Brooks

17. Paul McCartney

16. Sarah Jessica Parker

15. Johnny Depp

14. Denzel Washington

13. Renee Zellweger

12. Madonna

11. Reese Witherspoon

10. Kelly Ripa

9. Ray Romano

8. Britney Spears

7. Eddie Murphy

6. Destiny's Child

5. James Gandolfini

4. Julia Roberts

3. 'N Sync

2. Jennifer Lopez

1. Nicole Kidman

E! Online voters also crowned Michael Jackson as the "Celebrity with the Biggest Comeback" and Lopez's love affair with Chris Judd as the "Best Celebrity Romance of the Year."