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WALL OF SOUND ENGINNER DEAD

Larry Levine, the recording engineer who helped Phil Spector re-invent rock'n'roll with his "Wall of Sound" technique and won a Grammy for his work with Herb Alpert, died on his 80th birthday. Levine's wife, Lyn, said he died at his Encino, Calif., home on May 8. He had suffered from severe emphysema, according to relatives.

Their first collaboration was on the teen anthem "He's a Rebel," which Levine helped Spector record in 1962. It would bring stardom to the girl group the Crystals, just as "Be My Baby" would do for the Ronettes. Levine was the engineer on such Spector-produced classics as "Da Doo Ron Ron" and the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling," the song cited by BMI as the most played in the history of U.S. radio.

Levine was born in New York on May 8, 1928, and grew up in Los Angeles. After serving in the Army during the Korean War, he learned to be a recording engineer from his cousin, Stan Ross, who was co-owner of Gold Star Recording Studios in Hollywood.

Ross said he showed Levine how to use echo to make the small room sound larger. "It gave it dimension," Ross said. "It sounded like it was a football field."

In his interview with the AP, Levine said Spector's sessions began with a few guitar players but would eventually involve dozens of instruments, including pianos. Session guitarist Carol Kaye recalled people being packed shoulder-to-shoulder into a studio for the session that produced the 1966 Ike and Tina Turner classic, "River Deep-Mountain High," another Spector-Levine collaboration.

Although Levine's name was indelibly linked with Spector in music history, he also worked with Eddie Cochran, the Beach Boys, Sonny and Cher, Wings, the Carpenters, Dr. John and Herb Alpert. He won a Grammy for best engineered recording for Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' 1965 hit, "A Taste of Honey."

Besides his wife, Levine is survived by his sons, Rick, Rob and Michael, four grandchildren and a sister, Joyce Black.

JACKSON ALMOST LOST NEVERLAND

The seemingly perpetually indebted Michael Jackson narrowly escaped a foreclosure auction on his Neverland Ranch Sunday after the real-estate investment firm Colony Capital bought the loan to the property in a last-minute deal to save the estate.

The purchase of the 2,700-acre ranch was said to have set Colony back $23.5 million, and the company has wasted no time getting into discussions about possible repayment terms with the onetime king of pop, with founder Tom Barrack Jr. saying they were already speaking "with regard to the ranch and other matters."

A statement released by a Jackson spokesman said the singer was "pleased with recent developments involving Neverland" that would allow him to "focus on the future." As it is, the Santa Barbara property was previously the domain of the Fortress Investment Group, who held the loan to the estate and who was set to auction off the sizable and infamous home—which, like Jackson himself, has seen better days—on May 14, after the star defaulted on a series of payments.

We're no financial planners, but he may want to go easy on the midnight Vegas shopping sprees for awhile.

BURTON CUMMINGS TO RELEASE
PRE GUESS WHO

Burton Cummings is getting ready to release a collection of recordings from his pre-Guess Who band, “The Deverons”. Cummings stated, "This is a tremendously emotional project for me. I've already digitized seven cuts. We'll put it all together the best we can and it will really be time travel for me."
For upcoming tour dates for “Bachman Cummings” for June & July click here. It’s Burton Cummings & Randy Bachman, coming to stage near you.

TINA TURNERS TOUR ITENIARY MADE PUBLIC

In her first tour in eight years, Tina Turner has revealed the dates for her North American tour that kicks off Oct. 1 in Kansas City, Mo., and wraps Dec. 8 in Montreal. Tina said that since performing at the Grammy’s in February, she now as the bug to tour again. "The response was overwhelming," says Turner. “Everywhere I went people were asking me when I was going back on tour." To see if Tina will be coming through your area or to order tickets visit…TinaTurnerLive.com

ROD STEWART HAS MUCH TO DO
Rod Stewart has revealed that he has plenty to do these days. Along with a variety of projects that he’d like to do Stewart said there’s still an R&B album that he’d like to do, the possibility of doing a Country album, a fifth Great American Songbook volume and maybe a movie in the works. Of all the projects mentioned Stewart said he is still leaving open the possibility of doing a Faces reunion.

Kenny Loggins' Son Wins
“Rock the Cradle”
Kenny Loggins son Crosby Loggins has won in the finale of the MTV reality series Rock the Cradle. Against the odds of the other pop and rock-star offsprings and with the help of a duet with his father on a version of the latter's 1980 tune "I'm Alright," Crosby earned $100,000 and a recording contract for his victory.

NEW OLD STONES PHOTOS ON EXHIBIT There is a new Rolling Stones exhibit that is opening in San Francisco’s Art Exchange. Old never before seen photo’s taken of the Rolling Stones from 1966 to 1977 will be on exhibit staring July 12^th. “Beggars to Exiles: Unseen Photographs of the Rolling Stones, 66-71 will display around 60 pictures, including a number of previously unseen images, from photographers Michael Cooper and Dominique Tarle. Cooper documented the Stones' late-'60s life in London, while Tarle captured the band's stay in Southern France during the making of 1971's Exile on Main Street album.

STEVE MILLER TO RELEASE CLASSIC BLUES

Steve Miller plans to release recordings of dozens of classic blues tunes that he and his band made earlier this year. "I think I'm probably just gonna put them on my website and sell it that way," Miller says of the tracks, which include covers of cuts by Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley and others. The singer-guitarist adds that he intends to play many of the songs during his group's upcoming tour.

Foreigner Anthology Coming in July

Foreigner is getting ready to issue a double-album retrospective called “No End In Sight: The Very Best Of Foreigner” coming July 15. The album will include

three live performances and a brand new song entitled "Too Late." The band’s first original studio recording since 1994. It will be released as a single, and could spawn even more new Foreigner songs as well. Guitarist Mick Jones stated that "There's a long-range plan now that we really do have a great lineup of the band again."

DONNA SUMMERS MAID SAVED HER LIFE

The life of a disco queen wasn't all fun and glamorous for Donna Summer. The Grammy-winning singer reveals that she struggled with severe depression and once attempted suicide during the late 1970s. "I was on my way out the window and got caught in the curtain. The maid opened the door at exactly that time," discloses Summer. "Thank God that lady came because I would be gone today."

NEW WINE COMES COURTESY OF THE MONEY MAN

Eddie Money has lent the name of his latest album to a new Californian wine. Wanna Go Back is a 2005 Pinot Noir fromSonoma Coast winery De La Montanya. Only 20 cases of the vintage have been produced. Special bottles signed by Money and his bandmates sell for $75 each, while unsigned bottles cost $35. All the proceeds raised by the wine will go toward the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

De La Montanya Winery & Vineyards

BLONDIE TO RELEASE 30^TH ANNIVESARY CD

Blondie will issue a special 30th anniversary version of their breakthrough 1978 album, Parallel Lines, on June 24. The CD/DVD set will include four extra tracks, three music videos, a detailed booklet featuring exclusive photos from the original album's cover shoot and a performance clip from the BBC's Top of the Pops that had not been released prior to now. Among Lines' more prominent tunes is "Heart of Glass," Blondie's first-ever No. 1 single.

SKYNYRD ROCKS IN AUGUST

Lynyrd Skynyrd has unveiled dates for a brief summer tour of North America. The Rock and Rebels trek, which will feature fellow Southern rock aficionado Kid Rock, will launch Aug. 8 in Oklahoma City and is mapped out through an Aug. 31 stop in Hartford, Conn. In other live-performance news, Santana have extended their Live Your Light outing through Oct. 11^th with Elton John who will now play two shows later this month in Anchorage, Alaska.

JERMAINE JACKSON &
IRENE CARA REALITY SHOW

The Jackson 5's Jermaine Jackson will join Irene Cara ("Fame," "Flashdance . . . What a Feeling") and five other celebrities on the list of participants for the second season of CMT's Gone Country, which will premiere in August. The seven cast members will take part in a rigorous two-week program of "country immersion" and team up with noted Nashville songwriters in order to compose a country tune. The winner will have his/her song released to country radio.

NEIL YOUNG TURNS TO
BLU-RAY FOR ARCHIVE

Neil Young has announced plans to release his long-awaited archival box set via the Blu-ray format. During the keynote speech at Tuesday's JavaOne computer-programming conference in San Francisco, Young's comprehensive multiple-album collection, which will be fueled by Java technology, will be issued this fall as a groundbreaking interactive set that will offer music, movies, videos, photographs and more. Click here to watch footage from the event, which included a demo presentation of the project.

KIDMAN TO PLAY DUSTY SPRINGFIELD

Nicole Kidman is gearing up for a film based on the life of British pop singer Dusty Springfield.

Kidman will produce and star in the project, which will reunite the actress with scribe Michael Cunningham who penned the novel "The Hours." Cunningham is currently writing the Springfield screenplay.

Kidman is producing the untitled project through her Fox-based Blossom Films banner. Kidman's Blossom Films partner Per Saari will serve in some producing capacity.

Universal is developing its own Dusty Springfield biopic with Kristin Chenoweth attached to star. That project is being written and directed by Jessica Sharzer. Madonna has also talked about doing a small screen project based on the singer.

Dusty Springfield was a solo artist who became a breakout star of the British invasion of the 1960s. Her personal life was more tragic, filled with bouts of drug and alcohol abuse and mental illness. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995 and died in 1999.

Jackson Stops Legal Action Against Accountants

Michael Jackson has withdrawn a lawsuit he had against accounting the firm Bernstein, Fox, Whitman, Goldman and Sloan, which he had accused of making business deals and hiring people without his permission. No word on whether the singer reached a settlement with the financial house or dropped the case for another reason. The accounting firm had countersued Jackson, claiming that he owed it $1 million in unpaid bills, but the action was later dismissed.

Boston's Scholz Reveals his Next Album

Tom Scholz will be releasing Boston's first studio album since 2002's Corporate America in early 2009. The guitarist says late band frontman Brad Delp will appear on a couple of tracks on the recording, which will include "really straightforward rock & roll songs and some things that are pretty esoteric." In addition, the set will feature reworked versions of a few Corporate tunes. "I'd like to give some of these songs another chance," said Scholz.

Withers To Receive Pioneer Honor

Bill Withers will be receive an Individual Artist Award at the Rhythm & Blues Foundation's 20th anniversary Pioneer Awards, set for Sept. 9 in Philadelphia. The group Kool & the Gang, meanwhile, will receive one of the two Group Awards, while noted session players the Funk Brothers will be presented with the Sidemen Award. Rufus' Chaka Khan, the Whispers and the late Donny Hathaway are among the other artists who will be saluted at the event.

EX-EAGLE RELEASES BOOK ABOUT EAGLES

Ex-Eagles guitarist Don Felder says his 2001 removal from the group occurred because he complained when Don Henley and Glenn Frey reduced the share of the other band members' profits. "It was time for me to be David and face Goliath," explains Felder. "I had my one little rock to hurl, to try to do what was fair for everyone." Meanwhile, Felder will sign copies of his new book “Heaven and Hell” My Life With The Eagles.

GET READY FOR “HIPPIEFEST”

“HIPPIEFEST” featuring the “Turtles”, “Badfinger” “Animals” and Jonathan Edwards(1971’s “Sunshine”) are ready to rock With dates, venues and lineups all confirmed forthe 2008 version of the show. Tour opener is schedule July 11^th in Phoenix. Ex-Hollies singer-guitarist Terry Sylvester will join up for three shows on the trek, which winds down Aug. 10 in Pompano Beach, Fla.

TINA TURNER PLANS A RETURN

Tina Turner said in a special weekend taping of the Oprah Winfrey show in Las Vegas that she is returning to the road after an eight year absence. Turner who is in LV filming scenes for an episode in Caesars Palace along with Vegas veteran Cher, revealed that she intends to start a new tour Oct. 1 in Kansas City, Mo. More details on the outing are expected later. Tina will be on Oprah’s show May 8.

YOKO FILES SUIT Yoko Ono has filed a lawsuit inManhattan against an anti-evolution movie that used her late husband John Lennon's song, "Imagine" without permission. "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" uses writer/TV host Ben Stein to refute the prevalent theories of Charles Darwin. The producers say the small portion of "Imagine" that they used constitute "fair use". The film debuted at #10 last weekend's box office list, earning $3 million.

Additionally, Yoko has also filed suit in Boston to stop filmmakers from using footage of John smoking pot and discussing putting LSD in former U.S. President Richard Nixon's tea in a movie they are calling "Three Days In The Life". The footage was shot by Yoko's former husband, Tony Cox, in 1970.

JIM CROCE FILM IN THE WORKS The producer of the "American Pie" and "Final Destination" movie have secured the rights to make a film about Jim Croce's "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" character. It was 25 years ago that Warren Zide's uncle had tried (and failed) to get the rights.

LOU REED HAS TIED THE KNOT Singer/Songwriter Lou Reed has tied the knot with longtime girlfriend songwriter Laurie Anderson. The two married in a private ceremony in Colorado. They’ve been living together since 1996.

PHILIP BAILEY COMMENCEMENT Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire will give the commencement address at the Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts May 8. Philip will also receive an honorary doctorate, as will fellow EWF member Maurice White and Steve Winwood. Film composer Howard Shore, who graduated from Berklee, will also be honored.

PHIL COLLINS SAYS HE’S FINISHED Phil Collins said he’s going to keep on writing but he said other than that he is through with touring and is planning no more albums according to an interview with the London Times.His "In The Air Tonight" song is currently being used in a British TV commercial for a chocolate company featuring a drumming gorilla.

GRATEFUL DEAD DONATES The Grateful Dead has announced that they will donate their "archives" including correspondence, business records and props but no recordings to the University of California-Santa Cruz. The University chancellor joined the Dead's Mickey Hart and Bob Weir at a press conference held at the Fillmore Auditorium.

JAMES BROWN ESTATE BACK IN THE NEWS The trustees of James Brown's estate has filed suit in South Carolina against investment bankers Morgan Stanley, charging them with allowing James' former manager to withdraw up to $12 million over the ten years period before the Godfather's death. Meanwhile, the woman who claimed to be James Browns wife at the time of his death was told by a South Carolina judge to have a DNA test performed on her six year-old son within the next 30 days to determine if he is an heir to the Brown estate. Tomi Rae Hynie says she has never objected to that and, according to her lawyer, "would do the test, provided that the other children also took the test."

And finally, South Carolina State University is putting together a James Brown exhibit that will debut during Homecoming Week in October at the I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium there. The exhibit will showcase James' original music scores, costumes, portraits-- even red shoes with the initials "JB" on them. The school will be allowed to showcase the memorabilia for up to three years while lawsuits surrounding his estate go through the courts.