04.10.07 (AP) Apple Corps., guardian of the Beatles' commercial interests, said Tuesday its chief executive, a longtime friend of the Fab Four, has quit. Neil Aspinall, a school friend of Sir Paul McCartney and George Harrison, was the band's first road manager and would drive them between gigs in his van. He later became their personal assistant and in 1968 was given a management role at Apple Records, the band's own record label. Aspinall, now 64, was executive producer on the top-selling "Beatles Anthology" album and was behind other successes, including the "Beatles One" album. The company said in a statement that Jeff Jones, a former executive vice president at Sony BMG, has been appointed as Aspinall's replacement. There was no explanation for why Aspinall decided to quit. "This is astonishing news," said former Apple press officer Geoff Baker. "Neil was the fifth Beatle and the architect of all the Beatles' success over the past 15 or 20 years. I can't see how the Beatles' legacy will be looked after as well without him, and I'm amazed that Paul and Ringo are letting this happen." The Apple statement said Aspinall "had been with John, Paul, George and Ringo for a spectacular 40 plus years, during which he played an indispensable role for the four. He was there since the inception of the band in Liverpool and has meant so much to the Beatles' family for all these years, and still does. "However, he has decided to move on. Apple as a whole, and each member of this company, wishes him great success in whatever endeavor he chooses to pursue in the future."
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04.09.07 (AP) Florida Governor Charlie Crist is being asked to pardon the late Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, 38 years after he was convicted of exposing himself during a Miami concert. Dave Diamond, a cable TV producer from Dayton, Ohio, wrote to Crist last month asking for the pardon. Diamond said the goal is to remember the Melbourne, Fla., native as an artist, not a rock 'n' roll bad boy with a rap sheet. Crist is an alumnus of Florida State, which Morrison had attended. "Well, given that fact, I'm certainly willing to review it," said Crist. Morrison was charged days after a concert at Dinner Key Auditorium in Coconut Grove in 1969. He alleged exposed himself and simulated a sex act, which he denied doing. He was acquitted on a felony charge for lewd and lascivious behavior, but was convicted of indecent exposure and profanity. Many feel the Miami arrest put Morrison and the band in a downward spiral, which led to promoters canceling concerts and earned the band a stream of negative publicity. Diamond and other fans say Morrison wouldn't have been charged if the same situation occurred today. "We'd just like to see where we get to a point to let Morrison be judged because of the music and poetry and not be judged because of this Miami case," said Diamond. The hard-living Morrison died of heart failure in a Paris bathtub in 1971, while his case was still on appeal. He was 27. Morrison's father, retired U.S. Adm. George S. Morrison, 87, who lives in California, said he would support a pardon. Crist, however, cannot pardon someone by himself. He needs two of the three other members of the Florida Cabinet, which acts as the state clemency board. In addition, there are no procedures for posthumous pardons. In his letter to Crist, Diamond noted the former New York Gov. George Pataki pardoned the late comedian Lenny Bruce on an obscenity conviction. "It's not about Jim Morrison's image as the Lizard King or The Doors music. It's about a citizen of Florida who was convicted in a case where the law was not applied," said Diamond, 34.
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04.08.07 (AP) Prosecutors in the Phil Spector slaying case asked a judge Friday to limit the defense from suggesting shooting victim Lana Clarkson was suicidal because of a declining career. Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson said in court documents that the defense "will attempt to attack the character of victim Lana Clarkson by painting her as the kind of person who might kill herself, despite a medical history showing no depression or suicidal" ideas. Calling the evidence irrelevant and prejudicial, prosecutors also asked for limits on comments that Clarkson had a history of drug use and that she was an expert in handling firearms. Clarkson was shot Feb. 3, 2003, in the foyer of Spector's suburban Alhambra home. Best known for her role in the 1980s cult film "Barbarian Queen," she was a nightclub hostess at the time of her death. Prosecutors allege Spector - creator of the "Wall of Sound" that revolutionized the recording of rock music - shot Clarkson to death. The coroner's office called it a homicide, but also noted Clarkson had gunshot residue on both of her hands and may have pulled the trigger. Spector has pleaded not guilty and has suggested the shooting was an accident. Jackson also sought to exclude from trial an unfinished memoir found in Clarkson's home computer in which she discussed using cocaine in her youth and DVD clips of Clarkson acting in TV and movies, holding a gun and appearing in scenes with implied sexual content. There was no evidence that the guns in the scenes were real, Jackson said. "The most obvious point, however, is that the victim ... is acting. She is in scenes created by others, speaking lines written... [full story]
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04.07.07 (AP) Colin Graham, the artistic director of the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, died Friday. He was 75. Graham died of respiratory and cardiac arrest at St. John's Mercy Medical Center, a spokeswoman for the organization said. The Opera Theatre of St. Louis was formed in 1976, and Graham joined it two years later. He became artistic director in 1985. Graham, a native of England, received an Order of the British Empire award at Buckingham Palace in 2001. He earned a lifetime achievement award in 2004 from the Texas-based National Opera Association, which promotes excellence in opera through education. Robert Hansen, director of the National Opera Association, said that under Graham's artistic leadership, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis earned a reputation for innovative productions and presentation of new or neglected works. "I think it's a significant loss, any time we lose someone who is as innovative and successful in promoting opera," Hansen said. During his 29 years in St. Louis, Graham staged 48 new productions, Opera Theatre of St. Louis general manager Charles MacKay said in a statement. His world premiere production of David Carlson's "Anna Karenina" is scheduled to open April 28 at Florida Grand Opera in Miami, and in St. Louis on June 3. Graham's assistant, Mark Streshinsky, will take over as stage director. Graham was director of productions for English Opera Group from 1963 to 1975 and became artistic director of its successor, the English Music Theatre. He has staged productions for the Metropolitan, Washington, Minnesota, Omaha, San Diego, San Francisco and New York City operas as well as the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Opera Pacific. He also spent 10 seasons working for the Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico. At Graham's request, there will be no funeral. MacKay said a memorial service is planned, but a date has not been set.
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04.03.07 (AP) Keith Richards has acknowledged consuming a raft of illegal substances in his time, but this may top them all. In comments published Tuesday, the 63-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist said he had snorted his father's ashes mixed with cocaine. "The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father," Richards was quoted as saying by British music magazine NME. "He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared," he said. "... It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive." Richards' father, Bert, died in 2002, at 84. Richards, one of Rock's legendary wild men, told the magazine that his survival was the result of luck, and advised young musicians against trying to emulate him. "I did it because that was the way I did it. Now people think it's a way of life," he was quoted as saying. "I've no pretensions about immortality," he added. "I'm the same as everyone ... just kind of lucky. I was No. 1 on the 'who's likely to die' list for 10 years. I mean, I was really disappointed when I fell off the list," Richards said.
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