BOOKER T. & THE MG'S, THE CRICKETS, & MUSCLE SHOALS RHYTHM SECTION SET FOR MUSICIANS HALL OF FAME

Booker T. & the MG's, the Crickets, and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section are among the acts set to be inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame, according to The Associated Press. Famous session musician and producer Al Kooper will also be among those inducted. The Crickets were best known for backing Buddy Holly on most of his 1950s hits, including "Rave On," "That'll Be The Day," "Peggy Sue," "Maybe Baby," and many others. The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section played on such seminal R&B classics as Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and the Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There," among others. In addition to their own hits such as "Green Onions," Booker T. & the MG's served as the house band on most of the classic singles for the Stax label, backing Otis Redding and Sam & Dave on numerous hits. Al Kooper was a co-founder of Blood, Sweat, & Tears, and also produced Lynyrd Skynyrd's first three albums. He played the distinctive organ part on Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone," and also appeared on many Rolling Stones albums in the 1960s, including playing the French horn, piano, and organ parts on "You Can't Always Get What You Want." Another inductee is producer Billy Sherrill, who produced records by Johnny Cash, Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Elvis Costello, and many others. The official Musicians Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held in October.

QUICK TAKES

Britain's Daily Mail ran a recent photo of a bald Art Garfunkel attending a celebrity dinner in Los Angeles. Garfunkel's signature full head of red curls worn afro-style was gone, and in their place was a close-cropped grey fringe. Garfunkel has only appeared bald in public once before, on his two guest spots on NBC's TV show American Dreams. NME.com reported that among the judges for the 2008 International Songwriting Competition will be Ray Davies, Loretta Lynn and Jerry Lee Lewis. Other judges will include Tom Waits, Robert Smith, Black Francis, Neil Finn, Rob Thomas, Chaka Khan, KT Tunstall, and "Weird Al" Yankovic. The competition is offering over $150,000 in prizes. The deadline for the competition is October 15th. For more information go to songwritingcompetition.com. Asbury Park, New Jersey fortune teller "Madam Marie" Castello, who was famously name-checked in Bruce Springsteen's 1973 song "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)," has died at the age of 93, according to The Asbury Park Press. Castello's fortune readings at the "Temple of Knowledge" booth were mentioned in the song's lyrics, "Did you hear the cops finally busted Madam Marie for tellin' fortunes better than they do." According to legend, "Madam Marie" had predicted to a pre-fame Springsteen that he would become a star.

ZZ TOP PLANS ALBUM WITH NEW RECORD LABEL

ZZ Top has a new studio album in the works, with producer Rick Rubin's American Recordings imprint through Columbia Records. According to Billboard.com, the trio expects to record something along the lines of "La Grange" rather than the more pop-friendly '80s sound. ZZ Top was on the Warner Bros. label for 20 years, and then moved to RCA in the mid-1990s, releasing their most recent album, Mescalero, in 2003. The trio hope to gain some commercial success by linking with Rubin, who helped revitalize the careers of Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond. The band plans to finish the album later this year. ZZ Top recently released a concert DVD, called Live From Texas 2007, which debuted this week at Number One on Billboard's Top Music Video chart. ZZ Top kicks off a European tour tomorrow (Friday, July 4th) in Oporto, Portugal. The group will return to the U.S. later this summer to do a batch of shows with Brooks & Dunn. A small theater tour is in the works for the fall.

SLASH, JERRY CANTRELL, JASON BONHAM JAMMING IN VEGAS THIS WEEKEND

Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash, Alice In Chains axeman Jerry Cantrell and current Led Zeppelin drummer Jason Bonham will jam together this Saturday (July 5th) in Las Vegas as part of a charity event at the Red Rocks Resort, according to Blabbermouth.net. The show will kick off a weekly poolside concert series at the resort called "Bottle Rock It," which features a wine-tasting opportunity that will send all proceeds to the Las Vegas Springs Reserve. Slash will perform at the hotel with what he's calling his Blues Ball Band. In addition to Cantrell and Bonham, Saturday night's show will feature former Spacehog frontman and actress Liv Tyler's soon-to-be ex-husband Royston Langdon. Jason Bonham sat in for his father, late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, at the band's reunion show last December in London. Tickets for the event are $30 at the door, with the wine-tasting event costing an additional $20. The next "Bottle Rock It" show on July 12th will be headlined by ex-Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell.

PAINTING OWNED BY U2 FETCHES OVER $10 MILLION AT AUCTION

A painting owned by U2 fetched the British equivalent of $10.1 million at an auction held in London on Tuesday (July 1st), according to the BBC. The painting by late New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, called "Untitled (Pecho/Oreja)," was purchased by the band in 1989 and hung in their Dublin studio until recently. Basquiat painted it at the age of 22, five years before his death from a drug overdose in 1988. The band bought it after bassist Adam Clayton saw it in a New York gallery. A spokesman for Sotheby's, which held the auction, said the painting sold to a European private buyer. The auction did not top the record for a Basquiat work, which stands at $14.6 million.

BAD COMPANY TO REUNITE WITH PAUL RODGERS FOR ONE NIGHT

Paul Rodgers will reunite with his Bad Company bandmates Simon Kirke and Mick Ralphs for just one night, on August 8th in Hollywood, Florida at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Rodgers told Billboard that the reunion plans initially came about to protect the Bad Company name against a group of other musicians who are planning on hitting the road using the band's name. While Rodgers said, "It'll be great to see the guys and play and go back down that road again just for one night," he also added, "By doing this one-night stand with Bad Company, we will be cementing our right to the trademark 'Bad Company' for touring, and anyone who attempts to challenge us and tour misusing our trademark and mislead the fans will be liable to legal action." Since Rodgers quit the band in 1982, Kirke and Ralphs have continued to record and tour under the Bad Company name using other musicians. Rodgers said the show will be based solely around Bad Company's classic hits and album cuts: "I think it should be pure Bad Company and nothing else. We're gonna dig into the catalog a little bit. There are some great songs there I'd like to revisit, like 'Simple Man,' and of course the favorites, too," such as "Can't Get Enough," "Bad Company," "Feel Like Makin' Love" and "Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy." Paul Rodgers says that unlike many harder rock bands, Bad Company never got caught up in copying themselves: "If we've had, like, a hit, like a 'Can't Get Enough' or a 'Feel Like Making Love' or a 'Run With The Pack' or a 'Shooting Star,' we never tried to say, 'Oh, let's write another one like that.' We look for a song that is...delivers a simple message in a fairly tough way. Not too sentimental." The band will feature Rodger's bassist from his solo band, Lynn Sorenson, who will be filling in for Bad Company's late bassist Boz Burrell, who died in 2006. Tickets for the show will go on sale Saturday, July 5th. The show will be recorded for inclusion on an upcoming Bad Company compilation due out before the end of the year, and also filmed for a DVD. Rodgers is currently working on the upcoming Queen + Paul Rodgers album, tentatively titled The Cosmos Rocks, which is due out this fall. Their world tour kicks off in September. AUDIO: PAUL RODGERS SAYS BAD COMPANY NEVER FELT PRESSURE TO WRITE HIT SONGS

RINGO STARR RELEASES DETAILS OF HIS BIRTHDAY 'PEACE & LOVE MOVEMENT'

Ringo Starr is planning a global "Peace & Love movement" for his 68th birthday on Monday (July 7th). Starr issued a press release asking fans to pause at 12 noon local time wherever they are, to "join him in making the peace sign and saying, singing, shouting, whispering, signing, writing or quietly thinking one simply beautiful and universal message: 'Peace & Love.'" Starr said in the statement, "Wherever you are, (the) office, home, bus, tube, sitting, standing, walking, alone or with others, doesn't matter -- at Noon on July 7th make the peace sign and think, say, shout, sing 'Peace & Love'." Starr will be in Chicago on Monday, and at 12 p.m. CT will be joined by others at the city's Buckingham Fountain for "a group expression of Peace & Love." The Chicago gathering, among others, will be covered by CNN, and on Monday night Starr will appear on Larry King Live. Other planned gathering spots include Abbey Road Studios in London; the Imagine Peace Tower in Reykjavik, Iceland; the Capitol Records building in Los Angeles; and Strawberry Fields in New York City's Central Park. Starr, who's back out on the road with the 10th edition of his All Starr Band, recalled his first All Starr tour back in 1989: "I was real nervous, I had never done it before. You know, it was presented to me -- 'Would you like to do this if we have a sponsor?' And I thought, 'Wow. Let's see.' And I was nervous, but it worked then and it's working now." In addition to his recent single "Liverpool 8" and other recent album cuts, Starr's portion of the show includes his solo hits "It Don't Come Easy," "Back Off Boogaloo," "Oh My My," and "Photograph." Starr also performs such Beatles classics as "Yellow Submarine," "What Goes On," "Act Naturally," "Boys," and "I Wanna Be Your Man," as well as a medley of "With A Little Help From My Friends" and John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance." Joining Starr on tour are Colin Hay of Men At Work, Billy Squier, Hamish Stuart of the Average White Band and Paul McCartney's band, Edgar Winter, and Gary Wright. Starr is sharing drum duties with Gregg Bissonette, who has played with Starr in his side band the Roundheads. Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band perform tonight (July 3rd) in Hollywood, Florida at the Seminole Hard Rock Live. AUDIO: RINGO STARR ON 1989 ALL STARR TOUR

MOTLEY CRUE KICKS OFF 'CRUE FEST' IN FLORIDA

Motley Crue launched its inaugural Crue Fest tour on Tuesday night (July 1st) at the Cruzan Amphitheater in West Palm Beach, Florida, with Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Trapt and Crue bassist Nikki Sixx's side band, Sixx: A.M., joining the headliners. The Crue's 13-song set only featured two songs from their new album, Saints of Los Angeles, which Sixx chalked up to time constraints and audience demand: "Obviously people want to hear the hits, you know, and if you don't play the hits, you're being one of those artists that go, 'We only play the new music.' Then the fans are disappointed. If you don't play any new music, fans are disappointed. So it's a balancing act. You have to struggle with how much time you have. That's the other problem, you know. It's like, you're playing a festival, how much time do you have to actually play?" Crue Fest next stops in Tampa, Florida on Thursday (July 3rd). The 40-city tour wraps up on August 31st in Pennsylvania. The band was joined by Buckcherry vocalist Josh Todd, Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix, Trapt singer Chris Brown and Sixx: A.M.'s James Michael for the song "Saints of Los Angeles." The album of the same name debuted at Number Four on this week's Billboard album chart, selling 99,000 copies. Motley Crue's Crue Fest opening night set list: "Kickstart My Heart" "Wild Side" "Shout at the Devil" "Saints of Los Angeles" "Live Wire" "Mutherf***er of the Year" "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" "Same Ol' Situation" "Primal Scream" "Looks that Kill" "Girls Girls Girls" "Dr. Feelgood" "Home Sweet Home" (encore) AUDIO: MOTLEY CRUE'S NIKKI SIXX ON BALANCING THE SET LIST

AC/DC SKATING ON 'BLACK ICE'?

AC/DC's new album may be titled Black Ice, according to Australian web site Undercover News. That title is apparently one of three that the band is considering for its first album of new material in eight years, with Runaway Train another possible contender. But a management representative confirmed that Black Ice was the favorite at the moment, with a decision coming in the next week. A release date has yet to be announced for the disc, but it could arrive as early as October. The new album will follow 2000's Stiff Upper Lip. It was recorded at a Canadian studio with Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen producer Brendan O'Brien. Sony BMG recently revealed that the disc will be sold exclusively through Wal-Mart stores, which has caused controversy with critics and fans.