the Rock Report

Of all the soul artists of the Sixties, the one I most admired was the legend himself, James Brown. (Hmph … in that photo, he looks like he just saw Superman™ in the distance. Anyway …)
For awhile now, fans have been wonderin’ what they were gonna do about the late great’s estate.
Well, that brouhaha appears to be over.

A judge in SC decided yesterday on a settlement that gives half of his money to a charitable trust that’ll pay for his grandkids’ education (also, it’ll be used to help needy children in the state as well as in Georgia). Twenty-five percent will go to James’ widow, Tomi Rae Hynie (and, yes, she was determined to be Mr. Brown’s legal wife at the time of his death) and their son, James II. The rest will be divided among his adult children.
(To answer a question from Carol in Cincinnati: Why do u call him MR. Brown all of the time? Well, I had the honor of meeting the “Godfather of Soul” a few years ago and found that everyone called him that, face-to-face. ‘Sides, it’s more respectful, right? Ya wouldn’t call the President “Barack” wouldja? And you wouldn’t call Ringo … ever …)

WHEN IN GNOME, DO AS GNOMANS DO …

Yesterday, flamboyant activist/ivory-tickler Elton John said he was gettin’ involved in a new 3-D animated movie called Gnomeo and Juliet, which will be produced by Starz Animated Toronto.

It’s supposed to be an “irreverent comedy set in the back-drop of suburban English gardens and inspired by Shakespeare’s renowned love story” (or so the blurb goes!) and the characters are … garden gnomes from feuding families!

With the lead … er, figures voiced by James McAvoy and Emily Blunt, it’ll feature old and new songs by Sir Elton. It has sortuva socioeconomic (whew! long word for this blog …) slant, too: The venture’s gotten over $23 million in funding from the Government of Ontario’s Next Generation of Jobs Fund.

A WORTHWHILE SITE TO JOIN …

Awhile back, guitarist-supreme Carlo Santana — a man who actually lives the “peace and love” theme, unlike a certain drummer who was withpsst … it’sRingothe Beatles — designed a site dedicated to the creation of a new global network, featuring uplifting and positive media.

It lives up to its purpose, and, natch, I’ve already joined. Now, lemme introduce you to Architects of a New Dawn. Click the link … read more about it — and tell me whatcha think.

Now, till later this evening, remember …
Keep your head level, your spirits high, your heart with the music…
and I’ll see ya on the flip side …

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