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UPDATE: Michael Jackson Estate Settles “Fake Vocals” Lawsuit, No Money Exchanged, Say Sources

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE: Michael Jackson Estate Settles “Fake Vocals” Lawsuit, No Money Exchanged, Say Sources

This is to update my earlier story from last night.

Sources tell me no money was exchanged in the settlement of the class action law suit brought by fans who didn’t believe Michael Jackson sang the vocals on “the Cascio songs.”

These were songs recorded by Michael in the summer of 2007 at the home of his friends, the Cascios, in New Jersey. Eddie Cascio and his friend James Porte wrote and recorded the songs with Porte’s vocals. Then when Michael and his family came to visit the Cascios, Michael re-recorded the lead vocals.

A few ardent fans who resented the Cascios refused to believe Michael recorded the vocals, and sued the Estate. Vocal experts testified that it was Michael’s voice. Michael’s manager, Frank DiLeo, also believed it, and so did most of the inner circle. But the fans persisted, and poisoned the release of an album containing three of the songs.

Now the Estate has settled the lawsuit to get rid of it. I’m told no one money was paid to the fans. Their satisfaction was realized in having the three songs removed streaming services. It’s unclear if the songs can be removed from the existing CDs of “Michael.” Also, there are at least seven other recordings. I’m glad I heard them back in 2010, when I first announced their existence. For other Michael Jackson fans, their censoring is unfortunate. A few people who manipulated the system have denied the larger Jackson fan base to decide on their own.

Mariah Carey, Metallica Will Headline Shady Global Citizen Festival Annual Central Park Show

Roger Friedman
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Mariah Carey, Metallica Will Headline Shady Global Citizen Festival Annual Central Park Show

Metallica, Charlie Puth, Jonas Brothers, MÅNESKIN, Mariah Carey, Mickey Guyton and Rosalía.

That’s the line up for the annual Central Park Show put on by Global Citizen. The date is September 24th.

Seemingly gone is Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay, who was once their ambassador but seems to have caught on to the real story, that Global Citizen does nothing for the poor or hungry in the world. It just has rock concerts with deep pocketed sponsors. The executive team of Global Citizen makes a fortune, at least $400,000 apiece for the CEO, Hugh Evans, and his top exec, six figure salaries for staffers. On their Form 990 IRS filing for 2020, Global Citizen lists $13.8 million, an increase from 2019’s $10.5 million. By contrast, their own charitable donations were $850K to Head Count, which deals in voter registration; another $50K to another voter advocacy group, and only $148K to the United Nations Foundation.

Global Citizen is one of the best cons in charity history. The money they get from corporate sponsors doesn’t go to feeding anyone in the world except themselves and their own partners. For example, in 2020 they spent TEN MILLION DOLLARS on outside consultants to produce the rock concerts. TEN MILLION DOLLARS. What if the corporate sponsors had just donated that money to world hunger organizations?

So, party on, rock stars!

For All People Named Cuomo, Not a Good Year: Weezer Cancels Broadway Run, Can’t Sell Tickets

Roger Friedman
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For All People Named Cuomo, Not a Good Year: Weezer Cancels Broadway Run, Can’t Sell Tickets

You thought Andrew Cuomo and Chris Cuomo were having a bad year.

So is Rivers Cuomo. He’s the not-related lead singer for the cult rock group, Weezer. They had planned on having a week of shows at the cavernous Broadway Theater on Broadway this September. But they couldn’t sell tickets. And now the shows are cancelled.

The shows were described on their website: “In celebration of Weezer’s innovative new SZNZ project – a collection of four EPs matching each season – each night’s show will not only correspond with a different season’s EP, but will see the band reaching deep into their catalog to play a unique set of Weezer classics, many of which have not been played in years. A fifth night of shows will be a mix of all the songs from SZNZ and Weezer fan favorites from the previous four nights.”

Rivers announced the cancellation on social media. He wrote: “I just learned that our Broadway shows have been cancelled (due to low ticket sales and unbelievably high expenses.) I’m very sorry to be telling you this now after we’ve already invested so much time, thought, and emotion. Extra apologies to those of you who cleared schedules and made travel plans to be with us. Thanks to @Broadway Producer for all your hard work and great ideas. I loved where we were going and I hope we can find a way to resurrect our vision.”

What a shame. But it’s a sign of the economy, certainly, and wariness of COVID that still lingers.

Elvis Costello Announces 10 Night Run at NY’s Gramercy Theater Next February 2023

Roger Friedman
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Elvis Costello Announces 10 Night Run at NY’s Gramercy Theater Next February 2023

Elvis Costello is on tour right now, with Nick Lowe.

But next February he’ll “sit down” at New York’s Gramercy Theater for a 10 night run. He announced it on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show tonight.

Costello says he’ll play 200 different songs over the ten nights, from his very deep 45 year old catalog.

Costello has an EP out right now called “The Resurrection of Rusty,” with his teenage years bandmate, Alan Mayes.

But the Costello album of 2022, “The Boy Named If,” is his big release of the year. It’s an A plus record full of sensational songs. Look for it to be nominated in Traditional Pop for the 2023 Grammys.

Olivia Newton John Record Sales Soar After Death But Her Estate Won’t Get Much

Roger Friedman
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Olivia Newton John Record Sales Soar After Death But Her Estate Won’t Get Much

Before her death, Olivia Newton John had not sold many records in decades. The one time female queen of the charts had been relegated to middle of the road oldies stations with hits like “I Honestly Love You” and “Let Me Be There.”

But with her untimely passing on Monday, Olivia’s records took off like crazy. Right now, a dozen of her singles are on the iTunes top 100. About 8 albums featuring her singing including the soundtracks to “Grease,” and “Xanadu” (a huge flop of a movie) are all over the album charts. People are downloading ONJ like crazy.

It’s sort of in vain, however. Newton-John did not write her own songs. Most of her hits were written by her producer John Farrar. He wrote her big hits from “Grease,” plus “I Honestly Love You,” Magic,” and “Have You Never Been Mellow,” among others.

Steve Kipner and Terry Shaddick wrote her biggest hit, “Physical,” which Farrar produced.

Olivia’s estate will get royalties for sales, but the big money is from publishing. Airplay of her songs now will only result in the writers being paid. Performers do not get paid when music is played on the radio, although they do get a little bit from satellite stations like Sirius.

This is the reason that performers who don’t write their own music have lobbied Congress for decades for a performance royalty. Basically, all the oldies stations — like WCBS FM in New York and K-RTH 101 in Los Angeles — are getting away with playing free music. And you hear ads on those stations the time from the their lobbing organization, NAB– the National Association of Broadcasters– telling listeners to write their congressmen and women to keep terrestrial radio “free.” Of course, it’s not free. The owners of the radio chains make millions and the artists get crumbs.

So remember: Olivia’s heirs will not see much reward even as sales go on and on through the week and into next week. But it’s still a nice memorial tribute to her.

Broadway: The Great Musical “1776” is Coming Back with All the Forefathers Played by Women, Transgender, or Non-Binary Actors

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: The Great Musical “1776” is Coming Back with All the Forefathers Played by Women, Transgender, or Non-Binary Actors

The great musical, “1776,” is coming back for a revival — with a twist.

All the forefathers of the American revolution will be played by women, trans, or non-binary actors.

You heard me right. John Adams, who was played by the great William Daniels in the original 1969 production, will be shown to us in the person of Crystal Lucas-Perry, a Black female actor. Three-time Tony nominee Carolee Carmello will star as John Dickinson. In the 1997 revival Carmello played Abigail Adams, John’s wife.

Performances begin September 16th at the Roundabout Theater. This production, directed by Diane Paulus and Jeffrey Page, first played at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge.

All of the cast will be actors who identify as female, transgender, and non-binary. History be damned. After “Hamilton,” all bets are off.

The cast also includes Gisela Adisa as Robert Livingston, Nancy Anderson as George Read, Becca Ayers as Col. Thomas McKean, Tiffani Barbour as Andrew McNair, Allyson Kaye Daniel as Abigail Adams/Rev. Jonathan Witherspoon, Elizabeth A. Davis as Thomas Jefferson, Mehry Eslaminia as Charles Thomson, Joanna Glushak as Stephen Hopkins, Shawna Hamic as Richard Henry Lee, Eryn LeCroy as Martha Jefferson/Dr. Lyman Hall, Liz Mikel as John Hancock, Patrena Murray as Benjamin Franklin, Oneika Phillips as Joseph Hewes, Lulu Picart as Samuel Chase, Sara Porkalob as Edward Rutledge, Sushma Saha as Judge James Wilson, Brooke Simpson as Roger Sherman, Salome B. Smith as Courier, Sav Souza as Dr. Josiah Bartlett, Jill Vallery as Caesar Rodney, and Ariella Serur, Grace Stockdale, and Imani Pearl Williams as standbys.

The producers have hedged their bets. This is a limited run in the Roundabout’s subscription calendar. It ends on January 8, 2023 before hitting the road with a national tour.

Michael Jackson Estate Allegedly Pays Off Fans Who Sued Claiming Posthumous Songs Were Fake (Read the Original Story)

Roger Friedman
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Michael Jackson Estate Allegedly Pays Off Fans Who Sued Claiming Posthumous Songs Were Fake (Read the Original Story)

It’s come to this.

Way back on May 2, 2010 I reported exclusively that in the summer of 2007 Michael Jackson recorded vocals over songs written by family friend Eddie Cascio at his New Jersey home. The Estate accepted the vocals as genuine, and they were.

But crazy fans wouldn’t hear of it. So they filed a class action suit against the Estate that has dragged on for years. They ruined the album that three of the songs were included on, and poisoned everything around the recordings.

Two weeks ago, knowing a settlement was coming, the Estate pulled the songs off of streaming services. This seems to have been part of the settlement. I do not know if the Estate actually paid something to these warped fans. But today the settlement was announced. The Estate didn’t want to keep fighting with these people while they’ve got a hit Broadway show, a movie in development, and so on.

Poison is the right word here. These fans hated the Cascio family for being Michael’s surrogate family when he was alive. But Michael loved these people, there was no question about it. There’s also no question that he recorded the vocals on Eddie’s songs that he wrote with James Porte. I actually heard the songs with James’s original vocals a year earlier. They were very good songs. They still are. But now they’ve been forced into obscurity.

By the way, experts verified that the vocals were Michael’s. His security guards wrote in their book that they’d seen Michael working with Eddie Cascio in his basement studio. Even with all the accusations, no one has turned up saying they were the real singer, like a Jackson impersonator. The fans won’t accept that this is what Michael sounded like in 2007.

Here’s a link to the original story I wrote in 2010.

Jerry Hall Appears to Get What She Wants in Rupert Murdoch Divorce, Applies for Dismissal of Case

Roger Friedman
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Jerry Hall Appears to Get What She Wants in Rupert Murdoch Divorce, Applies for Dismissal of Case

Jerry Hall will never be anyone’s Beast of Burden. The mother of four of Mick Jagger’s children has asked a Los Angeles court to dismiss the divorce petition she filed five weeks ago against aged right wing publisher Rupert Murdoch.

Hall has evidently reached a settlement out of court with Murdoch. If he hadn’t caved to her demands, Murdoch’s finances would have been splashed all over the place in open court.

There would have been a lot of press attention except in publications he owns, like the New York Post. They have yet to report that Hall and Murdoch even separated.

It does seem like Murdoch’s adult children pushed ol dad to dump Hall before they would have to deal with her in his estate. They were married six years. Now Hall presumably will be set for life without having to ask Mick Jagger for help. So it all worked out. Murdoch has so much money he won’t miss a few mil, not to mention a house or two.

Murdoch has been married a few times. He’s 91, so he could fit in a few more tries, at least one. His kids may miss Jerry since she was at least taking care of him, something none of them want to do.

Britney Spears Can’t Deal with Her Kids, But She’s Happy to Have “A Beautiful Pool, 5 Dogs, and a Supportive Husband”

Roger Friedman
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Britney Spears Can’t Deal with Her Kids, But She’s Happy to Have “A Beautiful Pool, 5 Dogs, and a Supportive Husband”

Britney Spears is really a damaged person. She’s not capable of dealing with her two teen sons, but she says she’s happy to have “a beautiful pool, 5 dogs, and a supportive husband.” That’s the gist of her latest post in which she demonstrates quite clearly that she’s not an adult and has no skills for parenting. This girl has the IQ of a lemon. She needs intense therapy but it’s unclear if she can even process it. After reading this, I felt terrible for her kids. They’re going to have rise to the occasion and parent her at some point.

 
 
 
 
 
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Olivia Newton John’s Husband Posts Memoriam: “The most courageous woman I’ve ever known…her soul soars”

Roger Friedman
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Olivia Newton John’s Husband Posts Memoriam: “The most courageous woman I’ve ever known…her soul soars”

Olivia Newton John married her second husband, John Easterling, in 2008. He is NOT the guy who famously disappeared. By all accounts they had a happy if difficult marriage because she was constantly dealing with cancer.

Easterling has posted a memorial to Instagram. Here it is:

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