December 17th, 2007Madonna, DuBrow Died of Cocaine Overdose
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 2008 inductees have been chosen. They include Madonna, John Mellencamp, the Dave Clark Five, the Ventures and Leonard Cohen. Also being inducted are Little Walter in the sideman category and producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff in the non-performer category. The 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in New York on March 10, 2008.
On December 12, 76-year-old guitarist and rock pioneer Ike Turner died at his home in San Marcos, California. The controversial legend hired Tina Turner (real name Anna Mae Bullock) in the late 1950s to front his band the Kings of Rhythm. Ike and Tina’s hits include “Proud Mary,” “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” and “Nutbush City Limits.” Tina divorced Ike in 1976 and wrote about the abusive relationship in her 1986 autobiography, “I, Tina.” They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. Ike was in prison at that time serving a sentence for cocaine possession charges. Following Ike’s death, the Recording Academy released a statement that said, “There is no doubt that Ike Turner was one of rock and roll’s great architects with his genre-defying sound as an instrumentalist and bandleader. His innovative musicality helped lay the foundation for rock n’ roll and R&B more than 50 years ago. As a bandleader, his well-rehearsed ensembles were some of the most exciting live groups the world had ever heard. As a two-time Grammy Award winner and recipient of The Recording Academy’s 2004 Heroes Award, Ike’s legacy as a groundbreaking pioneer in the music industry will never be forgotten.”
Toxicology reports show that 52-year-old Kevin DuBrow, singer for the hard rock group Quiet Riot, died of an accidental cocaine overdose. DuBrow was found dead on November 25 at his home in Las Vegas. Quiet Riot is best known for its 1983 Top 5 hit, “Cum On Feel The Noize.”
19-year-old Dancing With The Stars champion Julianne Hough will have a Country album released in early 2008. She was recently signed to Mercury Records in Nashville and will begin work on the album in January. Earlier this year, Julianne’s first single, “Will You Dance With Me,” was released on iTunes.
The Backstreet Boys’ Howie Dorough married his longtime girlfriend Leigh Boniello on December 8. The ceremony took place in Orlando, Florida. Dorough proposed to Boniello last New Year’s Eve. He says, “She wasn’t expecting it, and I was quite nervous - more nervous about proposing to her in front of 40 family and friends than about performing in front of 40,000 people onstage.” The Backstreet Boys’ latest album, Unbreakable, was released in October of this year. Beginning in February, the group will perform overseas shows in Japan, Australia and Europe.
Fergie came in at first and fifth place in single sales. Her hit “Big Girls Don’t Cry” was the top-selling single of the year for iTunes, while “Glamorous” finished in fifth. Gwen Stefani’s “The Sweet Escape” came in second place, followed by Plain White T’s “Hey There Delilah” and Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend.”
