Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell's wife, Leighanne, gave birth to Baylee Thomas Wylee Littrell on November 26 in Atlanta, Georgia. The 6 lbs., 7 oz. baby boy is the couple's first child. ...

Afeni Shakur, mother of late rapper Tupac Shakur, donated $15,000 to W.H. Knuckles Elementary School in Lumberton, North Carolina, which she attended as a child, according to the Associated Press. Shakur also plans to donate proceeds from Better Dayz, the just-released double album she produced featuring unreleased Tupac songs, to the Tupac Shakur Foundation, which provides training to aspiring artists. ...

Slipknot's DJ Sid Wilson is manning the wheels of steel for rapper Marz while he opens for Korn and Trust Company. Dates with the Slipknot scratcher began Sunday and will run through the end of the tour, December 12 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Marz's next album will be released through Korn's Elementree label. ... The Murderdolls were forced to cancel dates in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin this week due to a serious illness in guitarist Joey Jordison's family. Jordison, who also drums in Slipknot, flew home to Des Moines, Iowa, earlier this week, according the Murderdolls Web site. ...

Giving all new meaning to the term "supergroup," 2,500 musicians culled from 12 Atlanta school bands will attempt to set the record for the largest marching band when they perform the song "Been Away," a track from the "Drumline" soundtrack, at the premiere of the film at the Atlanta Civic Center on December 5. Producer Dallas Austin, on whose life the film is loosely based, will conduct the massive procession. ...

Simon & Garfunkel, Etta James, Johnny Mathis, Glenn Miller and Tito Puente will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 45th annual Grammys on February 23 in New York, the Recording Academy announced on Wednesday (November 27). Folk music archivist Alan Lomax and the New York Philharmonic will be honored with Trustees Awards. ...

11.26.2002

R. Kelly is still a man of the people. On Monday, while hosting an album-release party for Selena Johnson at the Biology Bar in Chicago, Kells shunned the VIP section to mingle amongst the partygoers and exchange pleasantries. The crowd showed it still had love for the embattled singer by applauding as he went into a surprise performance of "Fiesta" with his former protégés Boo and Gotti. ...

3LW have announced the first location for new-member auditions. On Saturday, girls wanting to be down should report to the 16th floor of the Ripley Grier Studios, 520 8th Avenue in New York City, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. For more information call (212) 799-5441. ... As the official spokesperson for M&M's, Ashanti will perform on the "melts in your mouth, not in your hand" candy company's float at the 76th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In June, Ashanti made the announcement that purple would be the new M&M color. ...

A Georgia judge denied a motion Monday to drop misdemeanor charges against singer/ Whitney Houston hubby Bobby Brown stemming from a 1996 traffic stop, according to the Associated Press. The charges included driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to maintain a lane, speeding and no proof of insurance. A January 21 court date has been set. ... Wrestling star Stone Cold Steve Austin pleaded no contest on Monday to beating his wife. The wrestler, whose real name is Steve Williams, faced up to a year in jail but instead received a year-long probation and a fine of $1,000. Austin was also ordered to perform 80 hours of community service and to attend a family violence counseling course. ... Prince has settled his copyright infringement complaint against a Seattle webmaster out of court. In exchange for Prince dropping the $7.5 million lawsuit, Matthew Lankford of FreeMyHeart.com admitted to posting downloads to unauthorized songs and agreed to never do it again. ...

Coldplay have added a month of dates to their 2003 tour, which will now end March 13 in Minneapolis. A spokesperson for the British rockers, who will perform on "The Late Show With David Letterman" on December 16, said the group may also return to the States in May and June. ... 3 Doors Down will kick off a headlining tour January 9 in Biloxi, Mississippi, in support of their new album, Away From the Sun, which was released November 12. Saliva and Theory of a Dead Man have been tapped to open the trek, which is expected to run through late February or early March. ...

Supergrass will release their fourth album, Life on Other Planets, in North America on February 11. The record debuted at # 9 on the U.K. album chart in October on the strength of the singles "Never Done Nothing Like That Before" and "Grace." ... Ex-Megadeth axeman Marty Friedman will reunite with a couple of his former bandmates for a tour next year in support of his forthcoming solo album, Music for Speeding. Bassist David Ellefson, drummer Jimmy DeGrasso and an as-yet-unnamed second guitarist will join the curly-locked guitar slinger on the road "around March," according to his Web site. ...