The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation recently announced its list of 2004 induction nominees. They include the late former Beatle George Harrison, Jackson Brown, John Mellencamp, the Sex Pistols, Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the late Gram Parsons, Patti Smith, the Dells, the 5 Royales, Bob Seger, the Stooges, Traffic and ZZ Top. George Harrison is already in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the Beatles. Artists are eligible to be inducted after at least 25 years have passed since the release of their first album. The class of 2004 will be announced later this year.
September 23, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release Johnny Cash, A Concert: Behind Prison Walls. Both CD and DVD formats will be issued. The set features performances from Johnny's 1976 concert at the Tennessee State Penitentiary in Nashville. Also on the bill were Linda Ronstadt and Roy Clark. Billboard reports that its release is purely coincidental and unrelated to Johnny's death on September 12.
Dave Matthews makes his solo debut this week with the September 23 release of Some Devil. One day later, he'll perform a benefit concert in New York's Central Park. The event is expected to draw up to 100,000 people. RCA Records will record the concert for CD and DVD releases in November. Proceeds will go to the AOL Concert for the Schools program to benefit the Music Resource Center in Dave Matthew's hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia and the Fund for Public Schools of New York City.
On September 23, Epic Records will release Gloria Estefan's new album Unwrapped, her first English language collection in nearly six years. The set includes duets with Steve Wonder and the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde and Spanish versions of four of the tracks. Gloria wrote most of the songs on Unwrapped, which is described as having a "lush, acoustic sound." Estefan plans to support the album with U.S. and European tours in 2004. She'll perform seven shows October 10-19 at the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
82-year-old entertainer Sheb Wooley died on September 16 after a five-year battle with leukemia. During his career, which spanned seven decades, he enjoyed success in motion pictures, radio, television, songwriting, comedy performance, screenwriting and recording. His best known hit was the 1958 Number One single Purple People Eater. It sold three million copies in three weeks and topped the chart for six weeks. Wooley's last public appearance was at the September 14 visitation held for Johnny Cash. Sheb suffered a health setback at the funeral home. His wife, Linda, also noted that he had been deeply distraught over the sudden death of his friend, actor John Ritter. Funeral services for Wooley will be held on September 22 in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
NEW ALBUM RELEASES FOR SEPTEMBER 23:
MUSICAL EVENTS/FESTIVALS/BENEFITS:
Country stars Brad Paisley and Montgomery Gentry will headline the Farm Progress Show, which marks its 50th anniversary this year. The three-day event will take place September 23-25 in Vermilion County, Illinois. In addition to nightly concerts, festivities will include farming and livestock exhibits and demonstrations. Farm Progress is the country's leading agricultural publishing company.
AWARDS PRESENTATIONS/WINNERS:
Nominations for the 31st annual American Music Awards (AMAs) were announced last week. This year's list has no clear favorite. Celine Dion, R. Kelly, Luther Vandross, Ashanti, Beyonce, 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake, Norah Jones, Shania Twain, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw, Sean Paul, Eminem, Missy Elliott and Kid Rock all received two nominations. The AMAs will be presented on November 16th in Los Angeles, California.
The 55th annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony will take place on September 21 in Los Angeles. The NBC-TV special Cher - The Farewell Tour leads the music-related categories with six nominations. FOX-TV's talent search program American Idol follows with five, HBO's Rolling Stones 40 Licks World Tour, Live From Madison Square Garden received four nominations, and NBC's American Dreams and the CBS special Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band each earned three.
LOOK WHO'S GOING ON TOUR!
September 25, Country star Shania Twain will kick off a North American concert tour in Hamilton, Ontario. The trek marks her first worldwide tour in more than three years. She'll be promoting her latest album Up!, which includes the hit singles I'm Gonna Getcha Good and Forever and For Always.
The 2nd annual Country Music Television (CMT) Most Wanted Live Tour will begin on September 26 in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The 30-city outing will feature Rascal Flatts, Chris Cagle and Brian McComas. CMT personality Lance Smith will host the shows. Dates will wrap up on December 4 in Anaheim, California.
September 27, Mariah Carey will perform the first of two concerts in Moscow, Russia. Her second show in the Russian capital takes place September 29. From there, Mariah will head to St. Petersburg, Russia for a performance on October 2. On October 5, she'll begin a month-long European tour that includes stops in Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England, France and Italy.