Names and faces
An 1877 Steinway grand piano used by Mot own greats during the label’s 1960s heyday and restored thanks to Paul McCartney is back home in Detroit, officials announced Monday. Steinway technicians delivered the 9-foot Victorian rosewood to the “Hitsville, U.S.A,” building midday Monday, and workers set it up in a former recording studio in what’s now the Motown Historical Museum. McCartney, a longtime fan of the Motown sound who played and recorded several of the label’s songs during the Beatles’ early days, told museum officials after a 2011 concert in Detroit that he wanted to help with the piano’s refurbishment after learning the historic instrument no longer could be played. Work on the piano was completed last August, and the ex-Beatle and Motown founder Berry Gordy played it together during a September charitable event at Steinway Hall in New York City. The instrument first made its way to Motown when the label acquired Golden World Records in 1967, a facility redubbed Motown Studio B and used by musicians and songwriters to create songs for Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and other Motown greats. To celebrate the piano’s return, museum officials are inviting the public to visit Hitsville with free admission during Esther Gordy Edwards Community Day on April 25.
Glee star Cory Monteith is heading to rehab. In a statement, Monteith’s representative confirmed Sunday night that the actor has “voluntarily admitted himself to a treatment facility for substance addiction. “He graciously asks for your respect and privacy as he takes the necessary steps towards recovery.” People first reported the news on its website.