American rock & roll singer and songwriter, Bo Diddley, has suffered a brain stroke and is undergoing treatment in an Iowa hospital. The stroke befell when Diddley was performing at a concert in Council Bluffs, Iowa on May 13. The singer, who also has a history of hypertension and diabetes, was rushed to the intensive care unit after his motor skills showed a decline. Susan Clary, a publicist for the musician’s management team said: Tests indicated that the stroke affected the left side of his brain, impairing his speech and speech recognition. I have no other details on Diddley’s condition or how long he would be in intensive care. Diddley achieved stardom when his album “Bo Diddley” topped the R&B charts in 1955. His other major work includes: Who Do You Love, Before You Accuse Me, Mona and I’m a Man. The 78-year-old Diddley aka The Originator was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and in 1998 the singer was bestowed with Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The R&B singer R Kelly has affirmed himself the superlative black man of his generation. As he tells the Hip-Hop Soul magazine: I’m the Ali of today. I’m the Marvin Gaye of today. I’m the Bob Marley of today. I’m the Martin Luther King, or all the other greats that have come before us. And a lot of people are starting to realize that now. Well Kelly don’t you think you are too obsessed with your self? As I think you are you and no one can compare Ali, Marvin Gaye or Bob Marley. Pop-idol Kelly even says that no current musical artist can compare to his incredible talents. Well no comments in that Kelly! Meanwhile Kelly should be worried about his trial for charges of importuning a minor for pornography reasons is finally expected to begin this summer. As on February 2002, a video tape surfaced which showed the singer allegedly having sex with a 14 year old girl. Well Kelly what do you have to say about it?
Madonna, the material girl, recently released a new song, which she had written for Live Earth. The singer has penned ‘Hey You’ with super-producer Pharrell Williams and will bring the record out prior to the July 7 global warming charity concert at London’s latest Wembley Stadium. Rumoured to be headlining the event, Madonna is reported to be performing the song at the music show and looks forward to it to be the anthem of the day. The Hung Up singer has teamed up with Pharrell on her latest album, which is to be released in November. The passionately-anticipated LP is also said to be integrated with tracks that has been co-written by Madonna with Timbaland, the mastermind for a number of the world’s biggest pop stars, likeJustin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado. Other acts likely to be played at the concert are the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Keane, the Beastie Boys, Black Eyed Peas, James Blunt and the Foo Fighters. Fans can make download the Pharrell Williams-produced track for free on liveearth.msn.com throughout May 24. Microsoft, for the first million downloads, has promised to make a contribution of 25 cents per download to the Alliance for Global Climate Change.
Good news for the fans of Bo Diddley, as the legend has made a fast recovery after suffering a brain stroke on May 13. As a matter of fact, doctors are hopeful that soon the singer would be able to entertain his fans once again with his mesmerizing voice. The 78-year-old Diddley told his audience: I wasn’t feeling well during a show in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Saturday night. The singer, who also has a history of hypertension and diabetes, was rushed to the intensive care unit after his motor skills showed a decline while he was going to perform at a concert in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Diddley’s manager, Margo Lewis, said: Rock and Roll Hall singer had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance when he appeared disoriented at the Omaha airport on May 13. We’re going to get a guitar for him and put it in his lap and let him entertain people here. People think that would be good therapy for him. Though Diddley’s speech is still impaired and he would be on medication for some more time.
What’s with Beth Ditto? Giving plucky performance, just wearing bra and pants with her bulging body was some gutsy job. The singer stripped off during her set at North London’s The Barfly. According to sources Beth was in her bona fide party mood as she screamed, sang and flings sanitary towels on people, as one chap was hit on his face by a flying sanitary towel. But I may say every one were not in bad luck as he was, as the crowd loved it. The night ended Beth pilfering a camera from the paparazzi, but by the end she was flabby on the floor. Well Beth I may say you must have had one awesome night!
Sanjaya Malakar, the Indian-American singer, was apparently reported telling that he was turned down to sing the song of his choice at the ‘American Idol’ talent hunt show. He further added that the song he picked was not shown the green signal by the sponsors of the show. During a chit-chat on a radio station in Seattle, Sanjaya revealed that he very keenly wanted to sing Janis Joplin’s ‘Mercedes Benz’ through the show’s country week. But his choice was rejected because the show was sponsored by Ford. The tete-a-tete with Malakar turned out to be great as he let slip various lovely experiences from his American Idol session and a bit of his personal life as well. When he was asked about one thing he missed about his home, the singer chuckled, I really miss those days when I used to stroll around the streets singing at the top of my voice and I never had to be bothered about anyone recognizing me. That was simply wonderful.
THE SPICE GIRLS are back together and they are recording a song. An insider said that they were pretty excited about it. Ginger and Baby Spice were seen all giggling and hugging each other after laying some vocal tracks for their first CD in seven years. Emma and Geri were also spotted leaving Richard Stannard’s £4m house. The band split in 2001, but it was a huge success before. Wow! Great news for all music lovers and especially the fans of Spice girls.
The Irish band U2 rocked in a big way at the Cannes Film Festival with a live set on the red carpet on their way into the main cinema for the premiere of a new film “U2 3D”. The act attracted loads of fans. Large number of people crammed around the VIP entrance of the Grand Theatre Lumiere to hear them. The performance really gave the festival a rocking start and also emphasized the importance of music. Finland’s monster rock act Lordi too performed hits like “Who’s Your Daddy?” and “They Only Come Out at Night” at a special party. ‘U2 3D’ which was premiered at Cannes is a recreation of a live concert according to its makers. The film has been shot in South America during the band’s “Vertigo” tour. The film takes resource through a number of camera’s that cover some 80,000 audience and zoom back within inches of the performers. Journalists at the preview were quite impressed with the genuineness of the images and sound. Producer John Modell said, “We are replicating the physiology of sight, and that’s a very tricky thing to do. If you get it off by just a hair it creates actual physical problems — eye strain, nausea. We don’t have that at all.” The 3D film is expected to be released in around 1,000 theatres equipped with digital projection systems. It can be shown only in 3D.
Scott Stapp, the lead vocalist of the defunct grunge band Creed, has been charged for assaulting his wife. Scott was arrested in Florida on May 21. After spending a night in prison the ‘My Own Prison’ singer was freed on supervised release. He was accused for assaulting his wife with a bottle of orange juice. No injuries were reported when the deputies were called to their residence on the 8800 block of Twin Lake Drive in Long Lake Estates around 10.30 a.m on Sunday. His wife, former Miss New York Jaclyn Nesheiwat, said that Stapp came home drunk around 8 a.m and when questioned, he threw a bottle of orange juice, Orangina, at her. She said the bottle missed her head and broke when it fell on the floor. She ran away and called 911 for help, she said. The ‘With Arms Wide Open’ singer has been asked to stay away from his wife and their home. However, he can use the recording studio in their home. He has also been asked to take drug tests and refrain from alcohol and drugs. They got married in 2006. And they had a baby girl in January. The controversial band, Creed, was sued in 2003 over Stapp’s drug addiction issue. Stapp is pursuing a solo career after the band broke up in 2004.
The 17-year old Jordin Sparks is the new American Idol winner! Sparks has been crowned the youngest and newest ‘American Idol’ leaving behind 25-year old Blake Lewiswith. Sparks mesmerized the show’s judges and the viewers who gave her a majority of the record 74 million votes. Jordin Sparks, the daughter of retired NFL player Phillippi Sparks, burst into tears and said, ‘I can’t thank you for keeping me around, and thank you so much for everything. Mom, dad, I love you.’ The show opened with Lewis and Sparks duet on the Beatles ‘I Saw Her Standing There,’ followed quickly by a touring Gwen Stefani singing ‘Four in the Morning’ via satellite from Massachusetts. (Kelly Clarkson) Former American Idol winners and this season’s contestants got an immense share of attention, starting with first-season winner Kelly Clarkson. She performed her new single ‘Never Again’. American Idol 4 winner Carrie Underwood also performed ‘I’ll Stand By You’ for which Clive Davis presented her an award for achieving six million sales on her debut album. And American Idol 5 winner Taylor Hicks performed ‘Heaven Knows.’ (Carrie Underwood) Well, the best singer Jordin, who was the first choice of judges Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell won the night while Paula Abdul refused to make a choice.