Singer, poet Leonard Cohen to release new album (Reuters)

MADRID, Oct 19 – Renowned Canadian singer-songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen said Wednesday he had recorded his first new album since 2004 and would release it next year.

Cohen told journalists in the northern Spanish town of Oviedo, where he had travelled to collect Spain's top award for authors who do not write in Spanish, that "Old Ideas" consisted of ten previously unpublished tracks.

"I've played it for a few people, and they seem to like it," the 77-year-old said in his trademark gravelly voice.

"God willing," Cohen said when asked if he planned to go on tour again. "I never quite know whether there's going to be a tour or not."

The writer and singer of "Suzanne," "Hallelujah," "Chelsea Hotel No. 2" and other hits apologized for cancelling a concert in Valencia in 2009 after he fainted, and said he would be delighted to appear in the eastern city again.

Cohen won the Principe de Asturias Prize for literature in June. Past winners include German Nobel Laureate Guenther Grass and U.S. playwright Arthur Miller.

The Montreal native also spoke of his deep admiration for Spanish culture and said he had named his daughter Lorca, after Federico Garcia Lorca, Spain's most famous 20th century poet, who was summarily shot by supporters of a military uprising in 1936 which started the Spanish Civil War.

Cohen first read Lorca when he was a teen-ager.

"He was the first poet that invited me to live in his world," Cohen said.

"His landscape was extremely familiar to me. It was a landscape that was very close to silence, a landscape that arose out of the struggle with silence, which I myself was struggling with at the time."

The writer said he still found writing hard work.

"You know, when you're writing, you're always an absolute beginner. Each time you take up your guitar or sit by a blank page, you start from scratch. It's a struggle."

The Asturias Foundation awards eight prizes every year for fields ranging from science to the arts. Winners get 50,000 euros ($69,000) and a statue by Catalan artist Joan Miro.

(Reporting by Jaime Ortiz; Writing by Martin Roberts; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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Toby Keith is never one to mince words in songs

Singer Toby Keith performs ''Somewhere Else'' at the 46th annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas April 3, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Steve Marcus

By Vernell Hackett

NASHVILLE | Wed Oct 19, 2011 12:52pm EDT

NASHVILLE (Reuters) - Toby Keith grew up in Oklahoma where a man's handshake is his word, family is of utmost importance and opinions are welcome.

Keith has never been shy when it comes to his music, an outspokenness that has served him well over the years and continues to do so today as he nears the release of his new album, "Clancy's Tavern," on October 24.

As a young artist, Keith asked to be let out of his contract with Mercury Records when executives didn't like his album, "How Do You Like Me Now?" because they thought women would view the title track's lyrics as disrespectful.

But "How Do You Like Me Now?" went on to attain gold status, selling more than 500,000 units, and Keith went on to sell 25 million albums for his new label, Dreamworks.

"It was the day of reckoning," Keith told Reuters about the day he told Mercury chief Luke Lewis he wanted off the label and demanded his album back.

"He said to me, 'You believe in this album that much?' and I said 'Yeah.' Two hours later my accountant cut me a check, and I went over and picked up the master and walked out."

The 50-year-old Keith has headed his own label, Show Dog/Universal, since 2004 and has several other ventures. His latest release, "Made in America," is near the top of Billboard's country singles chart.

Forbes magazine named Keith the top-earning country music artist for the past year, putting his earnings at $50 million.

"Those figures make me laugh," Keith said. "Who cares about stuff like that?"

Keith's enterprises include his "I Love This Bar and Grill" chain of restaurants and his "Wild Shot" premium mezcal liquor, imported from Mexico.

"I've not come up for air since 1993. I've not missed a tour, I've not missed putting out an album, I've not taken time off. That's why we are in Forbes, because of that work ethic."

My family knows of the sacrifices we've all made in order for me to be in this position, the time away from each other, and me being busy."

KICKING AND ROCKING

"When I decided to go out on my own in 2004 with Show Dog/Universal, people asked me 'What makes you think you can run a label?' I told them, 'Because I've seen the people who do it and I'd put a bullet in my mug if I couldn't do as good a job as they do! And here we are, six years later, still kicking and rocking."

Keith will release a new CD, "Clancy's Tavern," this coming Monday. The title song tells the story of his hard-working grandmother and her tavern where he fell in love with music.

"Her husband died and left her with three kids, 4 and under. She left them with her parents and went to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where she worked as plant manager for the Dixie Cup Factory," Keith said.

"It was unheard of for a woman to do that in the 1950's."

Clancy, a nickname bestowed by her second husband, also worked part-time at Billy Garner's Supper Club and eventually bought the club where Keith got the entertainment bug.

"The characters are real -- like there was a black dude named Elmo who cooked in the kitchen, and Clancy's best friend, Lillie, took over her old job. The song is true, right down to her taking her pistol and the money to the bank."

The song "I Won't Let You Down" from the album is about a character familiar to Keith, though not who fans think it is.

"My father had a lot of similar traits, but it is really about that generation. A lot of people come up to me and say 'That's my dad, that's my old man.'

"This guy is a kid at heart, probably around 30. He's met some girls in the past who he thought were right and it didn't work out, and he knows it was probably his fault. Now he's found someone who thinks she can change him and he's OK with that. The guy decides to be up-front with the girl, so he tells her 'Look, I love you and you love me, but I might not be capable of a relationship.'"

Another song, "Made in America," extols the virtues of American-made products. The Clinton, Oklahoma, native felt some backlash due to his business selling mezcal from Mexico and his strumming Takamine guitars from Japan. He has ready answers.

"Can you get mezcal in Milwaukee? If you find me some good Mexican moonshine here in the U.S., and it's good, I'll go for it. But until then, if somebody wants to drink mezcal, you've got to import it."

As for the Takamine, Keith said, "When we were too broke to buy guitars, Gibson and Fender wouldn't take care of us or give us anything. Takamine was right there. Now, if I've got a wounded soldier coming home, and he asks me if I can get him a guitar so he can learn to play while he's learning to walk on his new legs, I call Takamine and they send him one."

The singer heads for Europe at the end of October to promote "Clancy's Tavern,' with his first stop in Edinburgh on October 30.

(Editing by Andrew Stern and Bob Tourtellotte)

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T-Pain sets December release for new album (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – R&B artist T-Pain announced on Thursday that his upcoming album "rEVOLVEr" will be released on December 6, in time for the holiday season.

"rEVOLVEr" will be the fourth studio album released by the rapper/singer, and will include the platinum-selling "Best Love Song" featuring Chris Brown, and T-Pain's current single "5 O'Clock", featuring Lily Allen and Wiz Khalifa.

"rEVOLVEr is drawn from seven albums' worth of material," said T-Pain in a statement released by RCA Record Co. "There are so many different things on this album. I couldn't settle on what I wanted to include, but the final result I think will really hit all of my fans and different audiences."

Grammy-winning T-Pain, known for his use of auto-tune in his previous albums, said he would be staying away from using the voice-modying effect on his new album, in an interview with Billboard Magazine earlier this year.

The Florida native first entered the charts with his debut album, "Rapper Ternt Sanga" in 2005, and followed up with "Epiphany" in 2007, which featured his U.S. chart-topping single "Buy U a Drank," and his platinum-selling third album "Thr33 Ringz" in 2008.

T-Pain is currently supporting singer Chris Brown on his "F.A.M.E." tour until November.

(Reporting and Writing by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Colorado guitarist dies after fight with bandmate (AP)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A Colorado Springs rock musician has died after he was punched and knocked to the ground in a fight involving other members of his band.

Police say Terry Span died Thursday, 12 days after the fight outside a club where the band had played. The 48-year-old Aleister Wild guitarist had been in a coma.

The coroner says the cause of death was a closed head injury.

Thirty-nine-year-old Michael Sorden was arrested on assault charges after the Oct. 8 fight. Police say prosecutors will decide whether to file other charges.

Sorden is a bass player in the band.

Another Aleister Wild member, vocalist Ernie Munoz, told The Gazette of Colorado Springs (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_en_mu/storytext/us_band_brawl/43347058/SIG=10m5b6m0d/*http://bit.ly/qGeYHz) that Span was trying to calm Sorden after a dispute over loading the band members' equipment.

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Edmundo Ros, who took Latin sound to London, dies (AP)

LONDON – He introduced wartime Britain to the percussive rhythm of the rumba, so capturing the nation's imagination that its young princess chose his songs for her public dancing debut.

Bandleader Edmundo Ros, 100, died peacefully in his sleep, his family said Saturday.

Born in Trinidad to a Venezuelan mother and a Scottish father, Ros's musical career began in the Venezuelan army but took off after he moved to London in 1937. His five-piece Rumba Band was a runaway hit, playing for high society and international royalty.

His music was so popular that then-Princess Elizabeth had her first public dance to the sound of Ros' band in the 1940s. As queen, she would award him the Order of the British Empire for his services to entertainment.

Ros was effectively London's "ambassador for Latin American music," his son Douglas told The Associated Press.

Ros was a prolific artist, making more than 800 recordings over the course of his career. His 1949 number, "The Wedding Samba," sold 3 million copies.

His band was a fixture at Regent Street's Coconut Grove club, which he bought in 1951 and which counted Britain's Princess Margaret, Monaco's Prince Rainier and Sweden's Prince Bertil among its regulars, according to the musician's website.

The club's demanding standards — ladies wearing broad-brimmed hats or trousers were denied admittance — kept the clientele exclusive through the 1950s, but the relaxation of Britain's gambling laws in the 1960s began to hit his takings.

Ros sold the club and later retired to the Spanish resort city of Alicante, where he died on Friday night, according to a family statement.

Douglas Ros said a private funeral ceremony would take place in Spain.

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Online:

http://www.edmundoros.com/

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Jackson doctor's defense challenges key expert (AP)

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch, Ap Special Correspondent – Fri Oct 21, 11:21 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – The lead attorney for the doctor charged in Michael Jackson's death challenged a key prosecution expert Friday about his contention that the physician was responsible for the death of the singer.

Attorney Ed Chernoff cross-examined Dr. Steven Shafer, who previously testified that the only plausible explanation for the death was that Jackson had been hooked up to an IV drip of the anesthetic propofol then left alone by Dr. Conrad Murray.

"That's a bold claim, isn't it," Chernoff asked.

"It's an honest statement," Shafer replied.

Chernoff also questioned the Columbia University researcher and professor about his IV demonstration for jurors on Thursday.

The defense attorney suggested Shafer had drawn conclusions that weren't necessarily supported by the evidence. Chernoff said the type of IV line that Shafer used in the demonstration was never found at Jackson's house.

Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. He could face up to four years behind bars and the loss of his medical license if convicted.

Shafer was expected to be the last witness called by the prosecution. After Shafer's testimony ends, defense attorneys will begin presenting their case.

In a development outside the presence of jurors, Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor set a Nov. 16 hearing to determine whether he should find defense expert Dr. Paul White in contempt for talking to a reporter on Thursday in violation of a gag order.

E! Entertainment reported Thursday on its website that White called either Shafer or Deputy District Attorney David Walgren a "scumbag."

White said in court that he didn't recall making the statement.

He told Pastor that he had talked to Walgren after the prosecutor pulled a tab from the side of a bottle of propofol that was recovered at Jackson's mansion.

He said he told Walgren it was "inappropriate to tamper with evidence found at the scene."

White and Shafer have known each other for nearly 30 years.

In a closed chambers meeting before court started on Friday, Walgren asked that White be expelled from the courtroom for the remainder of Shafer's testimony.

The judge declined, and Chernoff said he was embarrassed by the incident and he would ensure it didn't happen again. He said White had been hurt by Shafer's criticism of him during testimony.

Pastor previously ordered Chernoff's partner, Matt Alford, to appear at a contempt hearing over comments made during a network TV interview.

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AP Entertainment Writer Anthony McCartney contributed to this report.

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McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

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Country singer Loretta Lynn in hospital with pneumonia (Reuters)

(Reuters) – Country music singer Loretta Lynn, who grew up poor in Kentucky's coal-mining country before rising to fame, has canceled two performances after being diagnosed with pneumonia, a statement on her website said on Saturday.

"Loretta regretfully must cancel her shows ... for this weekend, due to illness," the statement said of the 76-year-old music icon.

The Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, Kentucky, said on its website the singer had been hospitalized, and that her performance would be rescheduled. A spokesman for Lynn was not immediately available for comment.

"Doctors have diagnosed her as the beginning stages pneumonia, and (she) will continue to need rest. Loretta is doing well and is disappointed but feels confident she will be ready for upcoming November dates," the statement on the singer's web site said.

Lynn had been due to perform on Saturday in Ashland followed by a performance on Sunday in Durham, North Carolina. She has upcoming performances scheduled next month in Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and North Carolina.

Lynn, who performs hits including "If You're Not Gone Too Long" and "Don't Come Home A Drinkin'", has released 70 albums and charted 16 No. 1 hits in a career spanning five decades.

She has won two Grammys and written several books, including "Coal Miner's Daughter," which was made into a movie that earned Sissy Spacek an Oscar for her performance as the singer.

(Reporting by Cynthia Johnston. Editing by Peter Bohan)

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