Depp, Beck announce joint album
Fresh off his legal battle with his ex-wife, Johnny Depp has announced that he and legendary guitarist Jeff Beck will release an album of mostly covers.
The 13-track album, titled “18,” will drop
July 15. Depp and Beck said they titled the album after the creative outburst they felt working together.
“We would joke about how we felt 18 again, so that just became the album title, too,” Beck said in a statement.
The album contains covers of The Velvet Underground’s “Venus In Furs,” the Everly Brothers’ ballad “Let It Be Me” and Marvin Gaye’s soul classic “What’s Going On.” Depp supplied two originals, including “This Is A Song For Miss Hedy Lamarr,” the set’s first single.
Depp, long a member of the rock group Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry, started recording with Beck in 2019, and Depp has joined Beck’s current European tour.
Earlier this month, a jury sided with Depp in his defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, vindicating his allegations that Heard defamed him by accusing him of abusing her before and during their brief marriage. But in a split decision, the jury also found that Heard was defamed by one of Depp’s lawyers.
Chrisleys will stay on air: The Hollywood Reporter says USA Network has no plans to stop airing new episodes of its reality series “Chrisley Knows Best.”
The second half of the ninth season of “Chrisley Knows Best” is set to kick off June 23, all taped before the trial began. USA Network also announced a 10th season, but it’s unclear when production will begin. USA did not shoot the show while the trial was happening.
USA Network has not responded to requests seeking comment and has not made any public statements regarding the Chrisleys since the convictions.
The two main stars, Todd and Julie Chrisley, were found guilty on all counts of bank fraud and tax evasion by a federal jury in Atlanta on Tuesday.
Grammys add new categories:
The Grammys are adding a special song for social change award and five new categories including songwriter of the year. The academy announced Thursday that the new non-classical songwriter category will recognize one individual who was the “most prolific” non-performing and non-producing songwriter for a body of new work during an eligibile year. The category takes a different approach than song of the year, which awards the songwriter or songwriters who wrote the lyrics or melodies to one song.
The other categories include best spoken word poetry album, alternative music performance, Americana music performance and score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media. The academy created a special merit award that determines best song for social change. The award will be based on lyrical content that addresses a timely social issue and promotes “understanding, peacebuilding and empathy.”
June 10 birthdays: Actor Alexandra Stewart is 83. Singer Shirley Owens is 81. Actor Frankie Faison is 73. Actor Jeanne Tripplehorn is 59. Actor Kate Flannery is 58. Actor Elizabeth Hurley is 57. Singer Faith Evans is 49. Actor Shane West is 44. Singer Lee Brice is 43. Actor Leelee Sobieski is 39. Bassist Bridget Kearney is 37.