Wire Entertainment - Music News

Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad will star on Broadway this fall in a modern take on William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," a revival that will add an intriguing element of racial contrast to the classic tale of two star-crossed lovers.

The Band Perry, "Pioneer" (Republic Nashville)

Paul Williams, a pioneering rock music journalist whose Crawdaddy! Magazine is considered the first U.S. publication to write seriously about rock 'n roll, has died in California. He was 64.

Gretchen Wilson, "Right on Time" (Redneck)

Charles Bradley, "Victim of Love" (Dunham)

That Phil Ramone was a musical force in the recording studio is undeniable, and the evidence lies in the range of his accomplishments. For example, within one three-year period in the early 1960s, Ramone mixed Lesley Gore's smash hit "It's My Party," recorded Marilyn Monroe seducing President John F. Kennedy in song on his birthday and engineered essential recordings by jazz innovators Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy.

"10," the sixth album from New Kids on the Block, offers up the boy band brand of catchy pop adapted to modern tastes - easy, swaying hooks melded with unexpected Euro beats, sensitive lyrics and vague echoes of retro sounds.

Amy Grant is set to release her first full album of all new songs in 10 years.

An 1877 Steinway grand piano used by Motown greats during the label's 1960s heyday, and restored thanks to Paul McCartney, is back home in Detroit, officials announced Monday.

Maroon 5 says they're working on a new album, but before that the pop-rockers will launch a summer tour that finds the fivesome playing outdoors.

Stephen Sondheim has won one of the top honors in the arts world, the Edward MacDowell Medal for lifetime achievement.

The sound of silence from the San Francisco Symphony appeared to be coming to an end as a tentative agreement was reached Sunday to end a 2 1/2-week strike.

Kiss frontman Gene Simmons made a surprise appearance at a Sioux Falls benefit concert Saturday, where he spoke of music's power to positively shape children's lives.

Reactions to Phil Ramone's death:

A list of some of the notable musicians who worked with Phil Ramone and the collaborations that they produced:

Some of the awards and honors given to music producer, arranger and engineer Phil Ramone:

Justin Bieber had to leave a monkey in quarantine after landing in Germany last week without the necessary papers for the animal, an official said Saturday.

CHICAGO - These are very sweet days for Sugar Blue.

Phil Ramone, the masterful Grammy Award-winning engineer, arranger and producer whose platinum touch included recordings with Ray Charles, Billy Joel and Paul Simon, died Saturday of complications stemming from heart surgery, his family said. He was 79.

India.Arie is laughing off talk that she may have lightened her skin.

A Moroccan rapper known for his protest songs said Friday after completing a yearlong prison sentence that he will be concentrating on his studies and improving his music and is unsure about further activism.

Ryan Tedder has been the mastermind behind hits for Adele, Beyonce and Leona Lewis, but on his band's new album, the Grammy winner gets help from other hit-makers.

Robin Thicke didn't plan on releasing the unrated version of his music video for the song "Blurred Lines," which features nude models prowling around him and rappers Pharrell and T.I.

MODESTO, Calif. - It started 18 years ago as an already-complex Southern Californian blend of Latino musical spices, of cumbia and merengue, chilies and cilantro, hip-hop and funk.

It feels like a generation ago, but it's only been 22 months since Trevor Powers, the easygoing mastermind of Boise breakout band Youth Lagoon, told me that "a little write-up" from online tastemaker Pitchfork was "like the biggest accomplishment of my life." That was before he was paid to perform in Tokyo and Amsterdam and Paris and Munich. Before he released two albums on Fat Possum Records. Before he gigged five times for eager fans and press at this month's South By Southwest festival in Texas - his second year showcasing at the event.

Dena Kaye frequently hears from people who have vivid stories about how her legendary father, Danny Kaye, affected their lives.

Lil Wayne says he's an epileptic and has had seizures for years.

The very title tells you this is no traditional version of the biblical story: "The Gospel According to the Other Mary."

Her show had been cancelled, but that didn't stop alternative folk and rock singer Michelle Shocked from showing up at a Santa Cruz nightclub where she staged a sit-in with tape across her mouth that read "Silenced By Fear."

A pair of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members took the stage Thursday in South Dakota for the first show in a week of concerts benefiting a music academy for Sioux Falls Boys & Girls Clubs members.

Robert "RZ" Zildjian, founder of the Sabian Inc. musical cymbal manufacturing company, has died. He was 89.

A representative for Charlie Daniels says the 76-year-old country singer is recovering after having a pacemaker implanted Thursday.

BLAKE SHELTON "Based on a True Story ..." (Warner Bros.) 2 1/2 stars

Gucci Mane has been denied bond on charges stemming from a fan's accusation that the rapper hit him in the head with a champagne bottle at an Atlanta nightclub.

ATLANTA - During a run of a couple of weeks in February, it seemed that you couldn't turn on a major sporting event without seeing Alicia Keys.

LOS ANGELES - He didn't quite hit the million-sold mark, though he came awfully close.

The Rolling Stones will be taking the stage again this summer at one of Britain's leading music festivals.

As a Boys Club kid growing up in the South Dakota city of Sioux Falls, Chuck Brennan never had the opportunity to learn an electric guitar lick or pound out a lengthy drum solo.

LOS ANGELES - Though it's still - on some nights - the most-watched show on television, "American Idol" is by all accounts a smaller proposition than it once was, with fewer viewers, less cultural clout and a seemingly diminished ability to produce megastars on the order of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

FRESNO, Calif. - Janis Ian never thought much about career longevity.

Rapper Gucci Mane was being held in jail on an assault charge after a fan told police the artist smashed a champagne bottle on his head in a downtown Atlanta nightclub.

LOS ANGELES - Chris Brown is in a Burbank studio previewing his forthcoming album, and pushing the reset button on a career bogged down by scandal. The embattled R&B singer takes a lengthy drag off his cigarette before pressing "play" on the title track of "X," his sixth disc, due out in late summer.

Dido had been planning a relatively quick return to the spotlight after 2008's "Safe Trip Home." She holed up in Los Angeles and London studios to record a set of electronic-tinged songs.

Gordon Stoker, a member of The Jordanaires vocal group that backed Elvis Presley, died Wednesday. He was 88.

Justin Timberlake's comeback album has sold nearly 1 million units its first week out.

Deputies were investigating claims made Tuesday by a neighbor that Justin Bieber attacked and threatened him during an argument in suburban Los Angeles, authorities said.

iTunes' Official Music Charts for the week ending March 25, 2013

Singer Dionne Warwick claims in a recent bankruptcy filing that she owes nearly $10 million in back taxes and her monthly expenses exceed $20,000.

Most folks know Memphis for its barbecue and Philly for its cheesesteaks, but how about Nashville and its hot chicken?

Usher, Carole King, John Fogerty, Spike Lee, Harry Belafonte and others have been added to the list of performers and presenters for the next Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.