Entertaining Posts

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Amy Winehouse sales spike after her death

LOS ANGELES | Tue Jul 26, 2011 9:25pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Thousands of Amy Winehouse fans went to "Rehab" in the United States for a fresh listen to the British songstress who died late last week, according to figures released on Tuesday.

Record sales tracker Nielsen SoundScan said fans of the soul singer snapped up 50,000 copies of her CDs in the week ended July 24, compared to 44,000 units that were purchased in all other weeks of 2011.

Her 2006 smash hit album, "Back to Black," which includes the song "Rehab," accounted for 37,000 of those units sold in the United States, which was the highest weekly total since March 2008. Winehouse's debut album, 2003's "Frank," chalked up 7,600 unit sales, Nielsen SoundScan said.

Of the totals, more than 95 percent were digital downloads.

"Rehab," in which the singer with the beehive hairdo belted out the famous lyrics, "They tried to make me go to rehab. I said 'no, no no'," was the most downloaded single with 34,000 digital sales in the United States.

Fans purchased a total 111,000 Winehouse digital tracks via downloads, an increase of 2,000 percent over the previous week, Nielsen SoundScan said.

Winehouse died at her London home on July 24, at age 27, so it's likely the sales figures will spike even higher for the week ending Saturday, July 31, because fans were just learning of her death on the final day of the weekly tally.

Throughout much of her career, the singer struggled with drinking and drug problems, but on Tuesday, her father said she had been exercising every day and doing yoga recently.

An autopsy has been performed, but an official cause of death has not been determined as officials await results of toxicology tests.

The U.S. sales spike mirrors results in Britain where 24 hours after Winehouse's death, "Back in Black" occupied the top spot on iTunes album download chart.

(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Dan Peek, co-founder of rock band America, dies at 60

By Mary Slosson

LOS ANGELES | Tue Jul 26, 2011 7:40pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Dan Peek, a co-founder and musician for the folk rock band America, famous for the No. 1 hit "A Horse with No Name," has died. He was 60.

Peek, who died on Sunday, founded the band in the late 1960s with bandmates Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell while they attended high school together in London, where their fathers were stationed with the United States Air Force.

America's self-titled debut album, which featured "A Horse with No Name," shot to the top of the charts in 1972. The group won a Grammy for best new artist that year, and enjoyed a string of other popular hits including "Ventura Highway" and "Lonely People."

"We created lasting music together and experienced a life that we could never have imagined," wrote America co-founder and bandmate Dewey Bunnell on the band's website. "This news brings me great sadness. My sincere condolences go out to his wife, Catherine, and the entire Peek family. May Dan rest in peace, and his memory be cherished forever."

Neil Portnow, chief executive of The Recording Academy which gives out music's highest awards, the Grammys, called Peek "a dynamic individual and great talent."

He noted that Peek was a multi-talented musician who played guitar, bass, keyboards and harmonica.

Peek left America in 1977 and went on to perform contemporary Christian music, but never found the sort of fame he enjoyed with the popular band that recorded hit singles.

Beckley, who called Peek "a dear friend for many years," said the man "and his music will live on in the great songs he shared with us all."

(Reporting by Mary Slosson; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Winehouse funeral takes place in London

LONDON | Tue Jul 26, 2011 8:45am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - The funeral of British singer Amy Winehouse was being held Tuesday after an autopsy failed to pinpoint the cause of her death.

Early indications show her music is set to dominate the British singles and albums charts this weekend, mirroring what happened in the weeks following the death of Michael Jackson.

The 27-year-old Winehouse, who had long battled drug and alcohol problems, was found dead in bed at her home in London on Saturday. Her funeral was being attended only by family and close friends, a spokesman said.

An inquest opened Monday and was adjourned until October, with police describing the death as unexplained. More tests are being carried out, with the results expected next month.

Her family was quoted in newspapers as saying they thought she died of a heart attack or seizure. Her boyfriend, Reg Traviss, denied rumors that she died in a drug-fueled haze.

"She had been full of life and so upbeat recently, exercising every day and doing yoga," he told the Sun. "This terrible thing that happened is like an accident."

Record industry body the Official Charts Company said on Tuesday that the singer's music was expected to dominate the British charts.

She is on course to have seven singles in the Top 40 and 14 in the Top 200, with the biggest selling track currently "Back To Black" followed by "Rehab," "Tears Dry On Their Own," "You Know I'm No Good" and "Valerie."

In the year following his death in June 2009 Jackson sold more records in Britain than any other artist.

As she fought drugs and alcohol, Winehouse slid from being a chirpy teenage singer to someone who could barely walk at her final concert performance in Belgrade, Serbia.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Monday that material recorded before Winehouse's death could be released as a posthumous album. They cited sources who said Winehouse had recorded "a lot of material" and that her parents would have the final say on whether a new album was to be released.

Winehouse's spokesman told Reuters there was no news about the release of a third album. "I know there's material about, but no one's talked about it," he said.

(Reporting by Stephen Addison; editing by Robert Woodward)

Monday, July 25, 2011

Michael Jackson family members plan tribute concert

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Mon Jul 25, 2011 2:26pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Several members of Michael Jackson's family unveiled plans on Monday for a tribute concert to the late King of Pop, but performers were unnamed leading to a less-than-thrilling announcement for the "Thriller" singer.

The tribute show, supported by Jackson family matriarch Katherine Jackson, will be held on October 8 in Cardiff, Wales at the Millennium Stadium, which holds about 75,000 people. It will be broadcast live via satellite on pay-per-view television and into movie theaters around the world, some of which will screen it in 3D, said promoter Global Live Events.

Katherine Jackson told reporters at the unveiling in Los Angeles that she is proud of the event and the caliber of singers performing. No names were announced on Monday.

"If my son was here today, he would feel the same way, and so I'd like to say thank you very much for helping to keep my son's legacy alive," she said.

Michael Jackson, who rose to fame in his family of singers then embarked on a solo career that included smash hits such as "Thriller" and "Billie Jean," died in June 2009, of an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol he used as a sleep aid.

His physician at the time, Dr. Conrad Murray, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death. He has pleaded not guilty and a trial will start in September.

Jackson's brother, Jermaine Jackson, tried in vain to mount a tribute concert in Vienna in 2009, but plans were scrapped after he struggled to get big-name acts and the event's organizer went out of business.

Jermaine, and Michael Jackson's father Joe, were not on hand at Monday's announcement. Instead, Katherine was joined by family members, Tito, Jackie, Marlon and La Toya.

"I know that this tribute will be something spectacular," LaToya told reporters.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)