Rock News: Music's high and low notes

SOUL TRAIN MUSIC AWARD NOMINATIONS

Alicia Keys leads the list of nominees for the 16th annual Soul Train Music Awards with four nods, while India.Arie, the late Aaliyah and the Isley Brothers featuring Ron Isley follow with three apiece, MTV News reports. Destiny's Child, Brian McKnight, Usher, Ja Rule, Jay-Z, Musiq Soulchild and Jagged Edge have two nominations apiece.

The Soul Train Music Awards will be given out March 20 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, where the O'Jays will be honored with the Quincy Jones Award for Outstanding Career Achievement. Alicia Keys will be given the Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Female Entertainer of the Year, and Dr. Dre will receive the male equivalent.

A taped broadcast of the awards ceremony is scheduled to air in syndication in late March. An album featuring tracks by several of this year's nominees is due in stores March 26.

The nominations:

-- Best R&B/Soul Single, Female: Aaliyah, "Rock the Boat"; India.Arie, "Video"; Alicia Keys, "Fallin'"; Angie Stone, "Brotha"

-- Best R&B/Soul Single, Male: Jaheim, "Just in Case"; Brian McKnight, "Love of My Life"; Musiq Soulchild, "Love"; Usher, "U Got It Bad"

-- Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo: Destiny's Child, "Survivor"; Isley Brothers featuring Ron Isley, "Contagious"; Jagged Edge with Nelly, "Where the Party At"; 'N Sync, "Gone"

-- Best R&B/Soul Album, Female: Aaliyah, Aaliyah; India.Arie, Acoustic Soul; Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor; Sade, Lovers Rock

-- Best R&B/Soul Album, Male: Jaheim, Ghetto Love; Michael Jackson, Invincible; Musiq Soulchild, Aijuswanaseing (I Just Want to Sing); Usher, 8701

-- Best R&B/Soul Album, Group, Band or Duo: 112, Part III; Destiny's Child, Survivor; Isley Brothers featuring Ron Isley, Eternal; Jagged Edge, Jagged Little Thrill

-- R&B/Soul or Rap Album of the Year: Aaliyah, Aaliyah; Ja Rule, Pain Is Love; Jay-Z, The Blueprint; Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor

-- Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist: Fabolous, "Young'n (Holla Back)"; India.Arie, "Video"; Alicia Keys, "Fallin'"; Bubba Sparxxx, "Ugly"

-- Michael Jackson Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video: Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, "Get Ur Freak On"; Isley Brothers featuring Ron Isley, "Contagious"; Jay-Z, "Girls, Girls, Girls"; Busta Rhymes, ""Break Ya Neck"

-- Best Gospel Album: Yolanda Adams, "The Experience"; Kim Burrell, "Live in Concert"; Donnie McClurkin, "Live in London"; Doug and Melvin Williams, "Duets"

BBC RADIO FOLK AWARDS

The Chieftains and Fairport Convention are scheduled to be given lifetime achievement awards at a BBC awards show being held Monday in London.

The Chieftains and Ralph McTell are expected to perform at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Singer Cerys Matthews, who quit the band Catatonia last year, is also set to perform with Eliza Carthy, who is one of the nominees for Folk Singer Of The Year and Best Album Of The Year for "Carthy Chronicles."

(Thanks to UPI's Mike Cooper in Atlanta)

NELLY FURTADO

Singer/songwriter Nelly Furtado is on the road on her first headlining tour of major North American venues. The "2002 Burn In The Spotlight Tour" kicked off Jan. 28 in Victoria, Canada.

More tour dates:

Feb. 11-12 -- Los Angeles, Calif.; Wiltern Theatre

Feb. 14-15 -- San Francisco, Calif.; Warfield Theatre

Feb. 16 -- San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Rec Center

March 1 -- Boston, Mass.; Avalon

March 2 -- Portland, Maine; State Theatre

March 4 -- New York, N.Y.; Hammerstein

March 6 -- Philadelphia, Pa.; Electric Factory

March 8-9 -- Washington, D.C.; 9:30 Club

March 10 -- Norfolk, Va.; Norva

March 12 -- Raleigh, N.C.; Ritz

March 13 -- Charlotte, N.C.; Grady Cole Center

March 15 -- Atlanta, Ga.; Tabernacle

March 16 -- Orlando, Fla.; Hard Rock Live

March 17 -- Miami, Fla.; Level

March 19 -- St. Petersburg, Fla.; Jannus Landing

March 20 -- Birmingham, Ala.; Five Points Music Hall

March 22 -- Nashville, Tenn.; Ryman Auditorium

March 23 -- Memphis, Tenn.; Omni New Daisy

March 24 -- New Orleans, La.; House Of Blues

March 26 -- Houston, Texas; Aerial Theatre At Bayou Place

March 27 -- Austin, Texas; Austin Music Hall

March 28 -- Dallas, Texas; Bronce Bowl

March 30 -- St. Louis, Mo.; Pageant

March 31 -- Kansas City, Mo.; Uptown Theatre

April 1 -- St. Paul, Minn.; Roy Wilkins Auditorium

April 3 -- Milwaukee, Wis.; Rave

April 4 -- Chicago, Ill.; Riviera Theatre

April 5 -- Detroit, Mich.; State Theatre

April 7 -- Indianapolis, Ind.; Egyptian Room

April 8 -- Cleveland, Ohio; Agora Theatre

(Web site: whoanelly.com)

OLYMPIC LENO

Britney Spears, the Foo Fighters and first lady Laura Bush will help NBC kick off "The Olympic Tonight Show with Jay Leno" Monday. The Foo Fighters are scheduled to perform on the show, which will be Olympic-themed during the next two weeks. The Winter Olympics opened last Friday in Salt Lake City.

'CROSSROADS'

Britney Spears, Taryn Manning, Zoe Saldana, Anson Mount and Kim Cattrall are expected to attend the world premiere of their new film "Crossroads." The event is being held Monday at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Also expected to attend -- Justin Timberlake, Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees, Jon Voight, Rita Wilson, Melissa Joan Hart, Frankie Muniz, Danny Masterson, Alan Cumming, KISS's Paul Stanley, Brittany Murphy, David Hasselhoff, Jennifer Blanc, Clare Kramer and Josie Bissett.

The movie -- marking Spears' motion picture debut -- opens nationwide next Friday.

CREED'S SCOTT STAPP

Creed's Scott Stapp is seeking to console the children of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. His With Arms Wide Open Foundation -- which works to encourage healthy, loving families -- has joined with Comfort Zone Camp to provide bereavement services to children who lost parents and loved ones in the attacks. The camp will be held April 26-28 at Camp Mason in Blairstown, N.J.

Meanwhile, the foundation is also providing scholarships to send 15 parent-child groups to US Space Camp's Parent-Child Program on July 26-28. US Space Camp is located in Titusville, Fla., and features parent-child centered activities such as mission-control-style team building challenges, weightlessness training, and a trip to Kennedy Space Center.

Parents who would like to attend the space camp with one of their children -- who must be between the ages of seven and 11 -- should write to the Foundation (PO Box 10230, Tallahassee, FL 32302) explaining why they would like to attend and why their financial situation precludes them from attending. The letter must be postmarked by May 1. Scholarship recipients will be notified in early May.

The With Arms Wide Open Foundation was founded by Stapp in October 2000. Mark Tremonti, the group's guitarist, and Scott Phillips, Creed's drummer, serve on the Foundation's Board of Ambassadors. To date, the Foundation has provided more than $300,000 in charitable donations to benefit children and families.

(Web sites: witharmswideopen.org, comfortzonecamp.org, campmason,org, spacecamp.com)

SHELDON ALLMAN DIES

The man who provided the singing voice for TV's talking horse Mr. Ed has died at age 77. The New York Times says singer/songwriter Sheldon Allman died recently at his home in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

The Chicago-born Allman not only sang as Mr. Ed but also wrote some of television's most enduring and catchy songs, including themes for "Let's Make a Deal," "Super Chicken" and "Tom Slick." He also crafted the music and lyrics for "George of the Jungle" ("Look out for that tree!").

Allman was also a popular character actor and appeared in several memorable films, including "In Cold Blood," "Dirty Harry," All the President's Men" and "Hud."

(Thanks to UPI's Dennis Daily)

BARRY WHITE

Curators at a British aquarium will be playing Barry White music to the sharks in the hopes of getting them in the mood for love.

The New Music Express's Web site quotes officials at the Birmingham National Sea Life Centre saying the experiment will begin this week. "Research showed that fish process music in a similar way to humans and can even appreciate different tunes and melodies," said curator Josie Sutherland. "We'll play lots of different types of music from Barry White to modern pop classics and note the reaction of the sharks to each."

"We'll soon know if it does the trick because in the early stages of shark courtship the male chases the female at high speed and attempts to bite her back and pectoral fin," Sutherland added.

If it works, the experiment may be extended to include different types of fish at the centre.