Aretha Franklin is one of six inductees announced for the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame. The Queen of Soul grew up in the church as the daughter of a prominent Baptist minister. She’s joined by bluegrass star Ricky Scaggs, The Hoppers,Dallas Holm, Christian rock band Love Song and late TV evangelist Rex Humbard. There’s no word yet on whether Franklin will attend the August 14th ceremonies in Hendersonville, Tennessee (near Nashville).
Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton are among the organization’s prior inductees
The Eagles‘ Glenn Frey has made a video for one of the songs off his new album, After Hours, a collection of classic love songs from the ’40s to the present. He is seen on nightclub stage doing his take on “Route 66.”
When it came time to record that song, Frey says he modeled it after Nat King Cole‘s version. “That was our model, although we added drums and a few other things,” says Frey. Among the other 13 songs are “Sentimental Reasons,” “My Buddy,” Brian Wilson‘s “Caroline, No” and Randy Newman‘s “Same Girl.”
Frey did his first show in support of the album last night in New York and he’ll resume next Monday in Washington, D.C. with dates through May 26th in Los Angeles.
Billy Joel seems to buy and sell houses quicker than he goes through girlfriends and certainly more frequently than he releases albums. He’s now listed his 8800-square-foot Miami mansion for $14.75 million dollars. The home has seven bedrooms, eight-and-a-half bathrooms, a gourmet kitchen, a wine cellar, a pool and 150 feet of waterfront property. The neighborhood also boasts homes owned by Cher and rapperLil’ Wayne.
Earlier this year, Joel took his oceanfront home in the ritzy Hamptons enclave on Long Island, New York off the market. There apparently were no takers at $16.75 million, down from $22.5 million. He bought that home from actor Roy Scheiderin 2004 for $19 million for his third wife, Katie Lee. They split in 2009, and the house has been sitting empty on its 2.4 acres ever since.
Crosby, Stills and Nash start a three-city tour of Brazil tonight in Sao Paulo followed by Belo Horizonte on Saturday and Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. The North American leg starts on June 7th in suburban Philadelphia.
