MUSIC NEWS: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 2017
CHUCK BERRY'S FINAL ALBUM IS OUT FRIDAY
Part of the reason Chuck Berry took 25 years to release an album is because he had to start all over.
Berry worked on his ``Chuck'' album in bits and pieces since the release of his 1979 album, ``Rock It.'' In 1989, his studio burned down, along with all the tapes. He built another studio and started anew. ``Chuck'' comes out Friday. His son, Charles Berry Junior, plays guitar on it and says his father did not consider the album a cap on his legacy. He says his father thought of it as the next record in his body of work and it just took a long time to release.
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USHER EXPLAINS WHY HE DID NOT APPEAR AT MANCHESTER CONCERT
Where was Usher during the One Love Manchester concert? He was originally announced as part of the bill but did not appear at Sunday's concert in Manchester, England, to raise money for victims of a suicide bomber at Ariana Grande's concert on May 22. Usher writes on Instagram it was his son's first day at a camp for kids with diabetes. Usher says he would have loved to have been at the concert but it was an important day for his son and for himself as a proud father.
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MUDDY WATERS MURAL WILL BE DEDICATED IN CHICAGO
A giant Muddy Waters is watching over Chicago's Loop. A nine-story mural of Waters will be dedicated today at the corner of State and Washington streets. The dedication will feature appearances by Rhymefest, bluesman Billy Branch and the Muddy Waters Legacy Band, featuring two of Waters' sons. Brazilian muralist Eduardo Kobra created the mural with three other artists over two weeks. The Chicago Blues Festival opens Friday.
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BRAD PAISLEY SURPRISES GRADS
Brad Paisley recently held a video contest for graduating seniors to describe what they'll miss most about high school. The 2017 class of Barrington High School of Barrington, Illinois, did not find out they had won until Paisley showed up at their commencement Friday. Paisley told the grads to strive to make moments in their lives, because highlights will make up for the low points and the boring parts. He also said students having to pay for their bright red graduation robes were ``a scam.''
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CYNDI LAUPER TAPPED TO WRITE ``WORKING GIRL'' MUSICAL
Cyndi Lauper is hoping to work her magic on another Broadway musical. She has been tapped to write the music for a stage version of the Melanie Griffith movie ``Working Girl.''
Lauper won a Tony Award in 2013 for writing the music for ``Kinky Boots.''
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BRYSON TILLER RESTORES PARK IN HOMETOWN
Bryson Tiller is in his native Louisville, Kentucky, today to unveil the renovations to a park in his old neighbourhood. Tiller teamed with Nike to redo the basketball courts at Wyandotte Park. ``It's Possible Here'' is painted along the courts, because that's a special slogan for Tiller. He says he remembers flying into Louisville after working on his debut album and seeing a sign that said that. Tiller says everyone thinks you have to move and go to the music industry, but he says it's possible in Louisville if you believe. Tiller's new album, ``True to Self,'' is the number-one album in the country right now.
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HANSON RELEASES NEW SONG TO MARK 25 YEARS AS A BAND
Hanson recalls one of the questions that cracked them up the first time they were in London was, ``What are you going to do when you grow up?'' Zac Hanson, who was 11 at the time, says their response was, ``We're DOING what we're going to do when we grow up.'' Hanson is putting together a greatest-hits compilation to mark their 25 years as a band that comes out September 8th. They've released a new song called ``I Was Born.'' Zac Hanson says it's great to have 25 years under their belts. He says it's also great to be able to say that and he's 31.
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(The Canadian Press)
