Music News & Notes

Eddie Van Halen Sues Nike

Eddie Van Halen is suing Nike over the color design on their "Dunk Low" sneakers. The new design is black with a red bottom side trim and black and white crisscrosses that Van Halen says is way to close to his signature Frankenstrat guitar. As a matter of fact, Eddie was so invested in that color scheme that he had it copyrighted back in 2001.

The suit is looking for money along with the "impoundment and destruction of all footwear.” It might also have something to do with the fact that Van Halen released his own sneakers with the Frankenstrat color scheme just last month through his EVH Shoes.

Good luck, Eddie, hope you make 'em pay!

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Uncle Kraker releases new album

Closing a 5 year gap between albums, Uncle Kracker will be releasing his latest album called "Happy Hour" on 15 September 2009.

Uncle Kraker who's real name is Matt Shafer told Billboard.com, "It's a pop-rocked record, still with a little country (and) soul fused through it. There's more uptempo than there is on my last three records. I'm pretty stoked about it."

The first single from the album is called "Smile" and is streaming on Kraker's website at http//:www.unclekracker.com

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Jay & the Americans Tribute

Collector's Choice Music is assembling a complete catalog of singles from a veteran 60's artist with their new Jay & the Americans: The Complete United Artist Singles. Release is scheduled for July 21.

Jay & the Americans first formed when Jay Traynor left the Mystics (Hushabye) and joined up with Kenny Rosenberg (later known Kenny Vance), Howie Kerschenbaum (Howie Kane) and Sandy Deane. A demo caught the ear of Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller who took them to United Artists where they would stay all the way into the mid-70's.

Their first single, a cover of Tonight from West Side Story, was only a New York City area hit. Their second release, Dawning, was also a national flop until it was turned over and the B-Side, She Cried, started to pickup airplay, eventually making it to number five.

The next few releases did not do well and Traynor left the group over creative differences. His replacement, David Blatt (who changed his name to Jay Black) and Marty Kuppersmith (Marty Sanders) were brought on board in early 1963 and, after a couple more flops, the group released Only in America, a moderate hit that reached number 25 and started the new group on a run that included eight more top 40 hits before the end of the decade.

The new album includes a whopping 68 tracks, both A and B sides, with all the hits and a number of obscurities. They are all in their original mono mixes and were all remastered from the original single master tapes. Ed Osborne produced and annotated the set, and got quotes from Americans Sandy Deanne, Marty Sanders and Kenny Vance. Single sleeves and photos round out the booklet.

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New George Harrison Tracks

On the heels of the new George Harrison LP, Olivia Harrison said that she would like to do something with a number of unfinished tracks left behind by her husband George when he passed away in 2001. She even went as far as to say "There are lots of tracks. Some are closer to completion than others and with those I'd ask for help."

Jeff Lynne may be coming to the rescue. A source says that Harrison's Traveling Wilburys partner will review the tracks and produce at least an album's worth. "George half-finished loads of songs and often just forgot about them. There is probably an album's worth of material.

"Jeff and George were very close and worked together a lot in the later period of George's life. He's the right man to work on the material."

Harrison's son Dhani will also be involved with the album. Lynne previously produced the Beatles "Free As A Bird" from their 1995 Anthology album.

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Julian Lennon Launches Tribute To His Dad

Julian Lennon - son of Beatle John Lennon - has launched a new exhibition in Liverpool that explores in tangible form for the first time the story of their lives together.

As he performed the official opening with his mother Cynthia, Julian revealed that touring the display galleries had unlocked lost memories and saw family photos he had never before encountered.

And Julian - immortalised in the song "Hey Jude" spoke about his gratitude to its author Paul McCartney for the love he had shown to him in his childhood.

Julian, 46, told how his mother reminded him that the Hey Jude lyrics were written for him.

Julian said: "I had been told when I was a kid but I'd forgotten.

"It was not until my early teens that I was reminded 'Hey Jude' was about me.

"I can't say it directly helped with any reconciliation but what it did mean to me was that there were other people on the fringe of our life that had a great deal of love, not only for myself but for mum too.

"To this I still have to appreciate and thank Paul for his love and care. It was a very, very kind gesture and one it seems that will never be forgotten."

Cynthia Lennon, 69, added: "We experienced what we experienced and we were in the public eye all the time. But Julian and I have always had these feeling of brotherhood - strange though that seem for mother and son."

Asked whether he had completely left behind feelings of rage against being deserted by his father Julian said:"It has definitely changed without a doubt.

"I realise myself that hate wastes a lot of time and energy and I would rather re-direct any energy that I have to good and positive use.

"It's a connection. It's a blood line. It's a love line - you can't just ignore that.

"The idea is to work through all those issues and problems. I feel that we have reached that level at this point. It is part and parcel of what we are trying to do with White Feather.

"It's to show that we still love the man - and the Beatles - and what we have all been through has been a tough few decades but we have come out the other side feeling strong.

"Hopefully we are educating and giving fans a slightly different aspect on how dad's life was with us in his earlier years, on his way to fame and obviously becoming famous."

Centerpiece of the exhibition are the pencil-scribbled original notes for the lyrics of "Hey Jude".

The 1968 Beatles chart-topper was composed by McCartney in a car as he headed to a meeting with Cynthia and Julian at their home. Originally titled ‘Hey Jules’ McCartney later changed the words to ‘Hey Jude’.

Julian bought the notes for £25,000 at auction in 1996 and has purchased many of the other items in the exhibition.

Other possessions on display include Julian’s Honda mini ‘monkey bike’ given to him by his father, and an electric guitar inscribed with the message “To Julian from Daddy, Christmas 1973’.

White Feather: The Spirit of Lennon runs from 17th June - 31st December at the new Mersey Ferries Terminal building at the Pier Head, Liverpool.

The title "White Feather" is a reference to a memorable conversation between father and son in which John told Julian that if he died and passed into an after-life he would send him a white feather signal.

Julian explains: ''One of the things my father said to me was that should he pass away, if there was some way of letting me know he was going to be ok, or that we were all going to be ok, it was by in some way, shape or form presenting me with a white feather.'

"About eleven years ago I was on tour in Australia and I was approached by an aboriginal tribe who gave me a white feather and asked me to help them - which I was taken aback by."

He told how he went on to make a TV documentary about the tribe and in the process decided to set-up the White Feather Foundation which had aided aboriginals and other struggling people directly and by supporting other charities.

Asked whether the white feather was a message he said: "That's difficult to say - but what it did do for me was to motivate me to do something positive and for me that is the most important thing."