Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen (file)
Photo: Lester Cohen/WireImage

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are going to be busier than ever — the teen entrepreneurs are taking over management of their Dualstar company, for which they're already co-presidents. "We are very thankful that we are able to enjoy our college experience, run a business, and live our lives," Mary-Kate said in a statement. ...

R. Kelly was due in court on Friday (January 28), when prosecutors in his child-pornography case planned to file a motion asking the judge to reconsider a previous ruling on allowing a forensic pediatric expert's testimony without a separate hearing questioning the expert's validity. But Kelly's lawyer Ed Genson wasn't feeling well, so the hearing was postponed until February 18. ... Chingy is apparently a huge proponent of women in lingerie. Especially when they happen to be playing football. The St. Louis rapper will perform at "Lingerie Bowl 2005," a two-hour pay-per-view event that airs opposite the Super Bowl on February 6. ...

Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams and Angie Stone were among the performers at BET's Celebration of Gospel on Saturday. The show will air on the network February 24. ... Black Eyed Peas, John Legend and Paul Oakenfold are among the artists slated to perform at the Recording Academy's post-Grammy party February 13 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. BT, Deborah Cox and Chic featuring Nile Rodgers with Musiq are also on the bill. ...

New York radio station Hot 97's DJ Enuff celebrated his birthday Thursday night in the Big Apple at club Exit. Amerie, Cassidy, Mike Jones and Paul Wall all performed at the party. Meanwhile, not too far from the club at Table 50, Just Blaze played DJ for the night and spun a body-moving Nice & Smooth set. ... Mötley Crüe have added 25 more dates to their Red, White & Crüe reunion tour, but a stop at "Last Call With Carson Daly" won't be on the itinerary. Following singer Vince Neil's dropping of the f-bomb on Jay Leno's live New Year's Eve show, NBC/ Universal president Jeff Zucker said last week that the Crüe are banned from the network. The band's management said it had been booked on Daly's program, but a spokesperson for "Last Call" denied that the appearance was ever confirmed. The new dates run from a March 27 gig in Las Vegas to a May 1 show in Fort Collins, Colorado. The band is expected to announce plans for a major multi-act summer tour on March 3 in New York. ...

My Chemical Romance are asking fans to help them design their next T-shirt, which would be available for purchase with all proceeds going to help fight breast cancer. The band recently released an exclusive design via the Shirts for a Cure Project (http://www.shirtsforacure.com/sample.php?id=11). Send a jpg, gif or psd to info@syrentha.org before February 8 to enter a design. The winner will also get to choose between tickets to the band's upcoming tour or a signed CD or poster. ... Franz Ferdinand, Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie and Interpol are among the 30 artists contributing music to a two-disc compilation to raise money for UNICEF's Tsunami Relief Fund. The comp features 26 tracks of unreleased songs, B-sides and exclusive remixes, and will be available in Urban Outfitters stores and on its Web site on February 28. ...

Jim Capaldi, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and drummer for the late '60s/early '70s band Traffic, died on Friday (January 28) from stomach cancer, according to Reuters. The musician, 60, died in his sleep at the London Clinic. Capaldi was diagnosed with terminal cancer just months after being inducted into the Hall of Fame in March 2004. ... Two former Phish members have been added to the lineup for this year's Bonnaroo festival (June 10-12). Guitarist/singer Trey Anastasio will perform a late-night set with his solo band, and bassist Mike Gordon will play with the improvisational Benevento/Russo duo. Mouse on Mars and Old Crow Medicine Show have also been added to the bill, which already includes Modest Mouse, the Dave Matthews Band, Joss Stone and more than 20 other roots, jazz, rock and folk acts. Tickets for the festival go on sale Saturday. ...

P.O.D. are hard at work on the follow-up to 2003's Payable on Death. The band announced on Thursday that it has begun pre-production on its forthcoming album with producer Greg Fidelman (Slipknot, System of a Down). Once P.O.D. hit the studio, their official Web site promises to provide clips of the sessions. ... On March 8, a five-song "bonus disc" will be available as a free download to anyone who's purchased Wilco's A Ghost Is Born. The new songs, which can be found on the band's Web site www.wilcoworld.net, include tracks from the Ghost sessions ("Panthers," "Kicking Television") and three live tracks. Wilco's relentless tour schedule will now include 16 more U.S. dates in February and early March. ... Having recently finished recording their as-yet-untitled second album, tentatively slated for a summer release, Chicago pop-rock outfit OK Go will take off on a monthlong U.S. tour. The trek will kick off on February 18 in Madison, Wisconsin, and end on March 18 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ...

01.27.2005

Original Nickelback drummer Ryan Vikedal is parting ways with the Canadian rock band, according to a statement released Wednesday. No replacement has been named. The group, currently in Vancouver, British Columbia, is gearing up to start recording its next album, the follow-up to 2003's The Long Road. ...

The list of bands hitching a ride on this summer's Warped Tour continues to grow. Warped founder Kevin Lyman said that more than 40 acts have now been confirmed, including just-named additions the All-American Rejects, Millencolin and Something Corporate on the tour's main stages, and Motion City Soundtrack, Reggie and the Full Effect and Strike Anywhere on the various second stages. The 2005 edition of Warped kicks off June 18 in Columbus, Ohio. ... Mariah Carey has pushed back her forthcoming album, which was due out March 22. The Emancipation of Mimi will now be in stores on April 12. ...

The week before the Grammys, the House of Blues in Los Angeles will host a four-night series of jam sessions, starting with Kanye West on February 9. Kid Rock, Alanis Morissette, Black Eyed Peas and John Legend will play throughout the week with additional surprise guests. Net proceeds will be donated to VH1's Save the Music Foundation. ... The Artist Empowerment Coalition will honor Kanye West, the late Ray Charles, Tyra Banks and actor Danny Glover at the third annual AEC Artist Celebration and Pre-Grammy Brunch at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on February 12. Hosted by "Access Hollywood" co-anchor Shaun Robinson, the event is a celebration of the arts and the diverse cultures from which they are born, and recognizes those who continue the mission of "giving back." Anthony Hamilton, who received his recording deal after performing at the first AEC event in 2003, will also be recognized. ...

Beyoncé Knowles and her mother have just signed a licensee agreement with Tarrant Apparel Group for their clothing line, House of Dereon (named after the singer's grandmother). The line is now expected to hit specialty stores by the holiday 2005 season, and will feature ready-to-wear, casual sportswear and denim. "It is such a rewarding feeling to be part of something that both my mother and I really believe in," Beyoncé said in a statement. "I hope that everybody loves the clothing as much as we do. We have really put our hearts into developing these fashions." ... The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana recently affirmed a 2003 ruling that sided with former Cash Money Records rapper Juvenile in a case that debated who owned the phrase "back that ass up." New Orleans artist DJ Jubilee filed a copyright-infringement suit against Juvenile arguing that his 1997 hit single "Back That Azz Up" was similar to a song Jubilee recorded that same year called "Back That Ass Up." The court's ruling on January 13 denied Jubilee's argument that the songs were similar. ...

Chris Carrabba is planning to reunite with his former band Further Seems Forever for one night only. The emocore quintet will play songs from its debut record, The Moon Is Down, with its original lineup — which includes the Dashboard Confessional singer — at the Bamboozle festival April 30 at the Convention Hall complex in Asbury Park, New Jersey. ... This year's Roskilde Festival will get a little more metal this year as Black Sabbath confirmed their appearance at the three-day event. Green Day and the Dears will also play the festival, which takes place in Roskilde, Denmark, from June 30-July 3. ...

Dick Clark is currently recuperating at home after suffering a stroke and spending more than seven weeks in a hospital. Clark, 75, who was unable to host "New Year's Rockin' Eve" for the first time in 32 years, was released on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. There is no word on the severity of Clark's stroke or how long it will take him to recover. ... Ludacris, Talib Kweli and the Roots' ?uestlove and Black Thought are among the artists scheduled to join Spike Lee in commemorating the 40th anniversary of the death of Malcolm X on February 7 at New York's Schomburg Center. The event will also include an advance screening of "By Any Means Necessary: The Making of Malcolm X," a documentary chronicling the making of the 1992 Spike Lee film about the life of the civil-rights leader. The documentary was created for the two-disc special-edition DVD of "Malcolm X" being released on February 8. ...

LL Cool J will next be seen on TV with two sexy women on his arm, thanks to a TV spot he's just shot for, of all things, Caress Body Wash. In the commercial, which will hit the air in early February, two women with glowing skin arrive at a New York club and are disappointed by the long line at the velvet ropes, but when they spot a stretch limo arriving at the front of the club, they jump in — and discover it belongs to the rapper. On LL's arm, they bypass the crowds and head straight through the VIP entrance, but once inside, they take off, leaving the stunned rapper behind. "These ladies knew what they wanted and went after it," LL Cool J said in a statement. "Making this spot was really cool: the club setting, the energy, and of course, the gorgeous women showing off their sexy skin." ... Nicole Richie has signed on to be the spokesperson for Bongo, for the brand's spring campaign, which will be advertised in March issues of fashion, entertainment and lifestyle magazines. "Bongo is a fun, young line and I think I am a good person to represent the brand," Richie said in a statement. "So when they approached me, I was really excited to do it." Richie shot the ads after a Bongo denim doghouse was built for her two puppies, Foxy Cleopatra and Honey Child. ...

The 2005 Noise Pop festival, set to run from February 22-27 in San Francisco, will feature performances from the Hot Hot Heat, the Walkmen, the Polyphonic Spree, Mission of Burma, Nada Surf, Amon Tobin, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Les Georges Leningrad, Louis XIV and a host of other underground artists of every stripe. ... Just three years after they broke up, Los Angeles hard rockers Buckcherry are prepping a reunion. Well, singer Josh Todd and guitarist Keith Nelson, are, anyway. The band's songwriting core has reunited and is recording its third album with a new rhythm section and second guitarist. The as-yet-untitled album is due out later this year. ...

• Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen
• R. Kelly
• Chingy
• Fantasia
• My Chemical Romance

Kid Rock at New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel Monday night
Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images

NEW YORK — Outkast, Alicia Keys, Kid Rock and Dave Matthews were just a few of the artists who introduced their favorite new inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday night.

At the celebration, held as usual at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, Outkast and Keys ushered in Prince, Kid Rock introduced Bob Seger, Matthews honored Traffic, Bruce Springsteen greeted Jackson Browne, and the late George Harrison was inducted by his former Traveling Wilburys cohorts Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne. Also inducted: the Dells, ZZ Top and Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner.

The four-hour event featured film montages of the inductees, lengthy speeches and performances from everyone who was inducted. The show, capped by an all-star jam, will air Sunday on VH1.

Before the event began, many of the inductees and artists introducing them walked the red carpet to pose for pictures and sing each other's praises. "Prince's performances are always such an inspiration," Keys said. "I love his songwriting, his music, just him as an individual. So I'm looking forward to helping to put him where he belongs."

	Click here for photos from the ceremony

"God, I've been a nervous wreck about the whole thing," Kid Rock said about inducting childhood hero Seger. "Being from Michigan and Detroit, it's like Bob Seger is shot into your veins as a kid. We were just raised on it. I just wanna make everyone from the hometown proud and really give him his dues. I think he's really one of the most underrated singer/songwriter heroes of our generation."

The ceremony began with a film collage of artists who died in 2003, accompanied by Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" and the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody."

Then the hall paid tribute to Prince. "Back in the day, entertainers were singers, they were dancers, they had great style, they had great personality," Outkast's Andre 3000 said in his introduction. "We've lost a lot of that today, and so when it comes for me to do music, Prince is most definitely one of my greatest inspirations."

Prince's acceptance speech was brief and sentimental. He even thanked Warner Bros., with which he battled for years and once protested by writing "Slave" across his face to illustrate the label's ownership over him. "When I first started out in this music industry I was most concerned with freedom," he began. "Freedom to produce, freedom to play all the instruments on my records, freedom to say anything I wanted to. And after much negotiation, Warner Bros. Records granted me that freedom, and I thank them."

Instead of thanking his mentors and peers, Prince talked about how he discovered the importance of spirituality and friendship. "All praise and thanks to Jehovah," he said. "Without any real spiritual mentors other than artists whose records I admired, I embarked on a journey more fascinating than I could have ever imagined. But a word to the wise: Without real spiritual mentoring, too much freedom can lead to the soul's decay."

During his performance, Prince played an energized medley of "Let's Go Crazy" "Sign 'O' the Times" and "Kiss."

Traffic played a lengthy version of "Dear Mr. Fantasy," replete with expressive guitar and keyboard solos; Seger played the dusky, reflective "Turn the Page"; and Browne performed emotive versions of "The Pretender" and "Running on Empty."

When Springsteen introduced Browne, he praised the singer's politics and songwriting but was even more effusive about his power over the ladies. "Jackson Browne was a rock and roll sex star. ... At a time when we were drawing rooms full of men, Jackson was drawing more women than an Indigo Girls concert."

About 30 minutes later, a slightly flustered Kid Rock began his introduction of Seger by saying, "I'm freaked out because Bruce Springsteen is talking about all the women that went to Jackson Browne's shows and how good lookin' they were. My mom used to go to those shows."

Sixties doo-wop and R&B group the Dells were introduced by filmmaker Robert Townsend, who based the singing group in his 1991 movie, "The Five Heartbeats," on the Dells.

Mick Jagger introduced Wenner, and Keith Richards introduced ZZ Top. During their set, the Texas boogie band played "La Grange" and "Tush."

After Harrison was inducted, Tom Petty, ELO's Jeff Lynne and Harrison's son performed the Traveling Wilburys' "Handle With Care" and the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

The show ended with a mega-jam of Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Rock & Roller" and Traffic's "Feelin' Alright," in which most of the new inductees performed, along with Richards.

Musicians qualify for induction once they've been in the business for 25 years; they are then voted on by a committee of peers and industry professionals.

The 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/PT and 7 p.m. CT. For more information, visit VH1.com.

• Prince
• George Harrison
• Traffic
• Jackson Browne
• ZZ Top

George Harrison
Photo: Radical Media, Inc.

Beatles guitarist George Harrison, Prince and ZZ Top will be among next year's seven new arrivals to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The 2004 class also includes Jackson Browne, the Dells, Bob Seger and Traffic, the hall announced Thursday (November 20). The artists will be formally inducted at a March 15 ceremony at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

Harrison was the first Beatle to go solo, releasing Wonderwall Music in 1968, the score to a film by the same name, but on All Things Must Pass, originally released as a triple album in 1970, "the quiet Beatle" made his true voice heard. The album, featuring the classics "My Sweet Lord" and the title track, is considered among the greatest ever recorded.

The all-star two-day concert he organized the following year, the Concert for Bangladesh, raised money to help the famished Third World country. In the eight albums that followed, Harrison proved himself an accomplished musician, with guitar technique far more advanced than his work with the Beatles, and impassioned songwriter.

Harrison died of cancer in November 2001 (see "Former Beatle George Harrison Dead At 58"). His last album, Brainwashed, was released posthumously the following year. The guitarist becomes the third Beatle to enter into the hall, following John Lennon in 1992 and Paul McCartney in 1999. The group was inducted in 1988.

Prince was one of the more eccentric performers of the 1980s and '90s, having changed his name to a symbol translated verbally as "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince." Quirks aside, his body of work is among the most revered in music, blurring the genres of funk, R&B, rock and soul. Two years after his 1978 debut, For You, the Minneapolis resident's Dirty Mind was a harbinger of the overtly sexy sounds to come, including the 1983 classic 1999 and his masterpiece soundtrack to the 1984 film "Purple Rain," loosely based on his life, and in which he also starred.

Through the 1990s, his popularity diminished but his prolificacy did not. Prince released 10 LPs during that decade, including the triple-album Crystal Ball. Prince's influence, both musically and stylistically, can most recently be seen in the Andre 3000 half of Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.

No band says big Texas guitar rock like ZZ Top. Guitarist Billy Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard — the lone member without the chin hair that became the group's trademark — have released 15 albums in their 33-year career, including this year's Mescalero. Their '70s material, such as 1973's "La Grange," 1975's "Tush" and 1979's "Cheap Sunglasses" are staples of classic-rock radio.

ZZ Top peaked in popularity in the 1980s, with music videos that exemplified their love of hot rods and hot bods. Clips for "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs," all from 1983's Eliminator, featured a dejected main character whose social life was greatly enhanced with the help of three fairy hotties that magically appeared in a souped-up roadster.

Jackson Browne is the epitome of the sensitive California bohemian singer/songwriter. His deeply personal songs, especially from 1974's Late for a Sky, put him in the same class as Joni Mitchell and James Taylor. He co-wrote the Eagles' "Take It Easy" and made his mainstream breakthrough with 1972's "Doctor My Eyes." He got his rock on with later hits "Running on Empty" (1977) and "Somebody's Baby" (1982), which was ingrained in the pop culture canon thanks to "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."

Bob Seger's 1978 hit "Old Time Rock and Roll" best sums up the style of his Silver Bullet Band. Seger's piano-based boogie is exemplified on songs like "Night Moves," "Katmandu," "Rock & Roll Never Forgets" and "Hollywood Nights."

Before Steve Winwood's solo career in the 1980s and after his 1960s stint with the Spencer Davis Group, he formed Traffic with guitarist Dave Mason, horn player Chris Wood and drummer Jim Capaldi. The group's biggest hits include "Dear Mr. Fantasy," from their 1967 debut, Mr. Fantasy.

The Dells have been recording and performing in every decade since the vocal quintet formed in 1953. Even more remarkable, they haven't changed their lineup since 1960.

Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after releasing their first record, and they are selected by criteria such as their influence and their contributions to rock and roll's continued development.

John Mellencamp, Black Sabbath, the Sex Pistols, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gram Parsons, the Stooges and Patti Smith were also eligible this year but did not receive enough votes (see "George Harrison, Prince, John Mellencamp Among 2004 Rock Hall Nominees").

• George Harrison
• Prince
• ZZ Top
• Traffic
• The Dells