Mojo - The Music Magazine

Spector Songwriter Ellie Greenwich Dies

Ellie Greenwich, the songwriter and '60s pop originator who penned hits including Chapel Of Love and Be My Baby, has died of a heart attack in a New York hospital at the age of 68.

During her career the Brooklyn-born songwriter collected 25 gold and platinum discs writing hits for bands including The Crystals, The Ronettes and the Beach Boys, records which sold tens of millions of copies. Operating as a team with her first husband Jeff Barry out of the New York's famous Brill Building she helped to shape the sound of '60s pop, and was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1991.

In a male-dominated industry Greenwich also had impeccable production credentials, and collaborated with Phil Spector to create some of the most iconic "wall of sound" recordings. She also helped to propel the career of a young Neil Diamond by producing early hits Cherry, Cherry and Kentucky Woman, just as her marriage to Jeff Barry began to break down. During these more troubled times the couple wrote the classic River Deep, Mountain High for Ike & Tina Turner.

Greenwich continued to contribute to pop well into the '80s, penning Right Track Wrong Train for Cyndi Lauper, the B-Side for Girls Just Want To Have Fun. Leader Of The Pack, a musical based on her life and music, ran on Broadway in 1985.

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Kurt Cobain To Feature In Guitar Hero 5

Kurt Cobain will return to the stage in pixellated form for the next instalment of Guitar Hero 5, Activision has confirmed.

Nirvana tracks including Nevermind's Smells Like Teen Spirit and their 1992 Reading festival performance of Lithium will feature in the set list. Tim Riley, Vice President of Musical Affairs for Activision, stated: "Kurt Cobain is one of the most recognizable frontmen in rock'n'roll history and it's an honor to have two of Nirvana's masterpieces included in Guitar Hero 5".

It has taken years for the licensing deal to be finalised, gaining the official stamp of approval from both former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl and Cobain's widow Courtney Love. Love contributed to the development by providing photos and videos to help design Cobain's computerised appearance, and apparently specified an "Adonis" type of figure for the singer, who appears in his instantly recognisable Jeremiah the Frog T-Shirt.

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Billboard Confirms Bob Dylan Christmas Album

As previously rumoured, Bob Dylan will emulate The Beach Boys, Dean Martin and The Muppets when he releases a surprise Christmas album, entitled Christmas In The Heart, in time for the coming holiday season.

His unlikely addition to the yuletide music genre will include both modern songs and traditional carols, including O Little Town Of Bethlehem, Must Be Santa, Here Comes Santa Claus, and I'll Be Home For Christmas, which have already been recorded during sessions in California.

Dylan's choice of religious carols will be a reminder of the Jewish singer's religious phase after his enthusiastic conversion to Born-Again Christianity in the late '70s, after which he released the explicitly Christian Slow Train Coming and Shot Of Love.

All of the US royalties from Christmas In The Heart will go to charity Feeding America, which serves more than four million meals to impoverished Americans every Christmas. "I join the good people of Feeding America in the hope that our efforts can bring some food security to people in need during this holiday season," said Dylan. For the record's international release Billboard reports that Dylan is talking to a similar charity in the UK, as well as a charity which focuses on developing countries.

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Brian Epstein Biopic To Tell 5th Beatle's Story

Beatles manager Brian Epstein is to be the focus of a new biopic based on a Tony Gittelson script titled A Life In The Day, reports Variety.

Producer David Permut has acquired the rights to tell the story of the Fabs' original manager, who has so far been surprisingly neglected by filmmakers, appearing only as a background character in previous Beatles films such as Backbeat. While Permut hopes to secure some Beatles songs for the film, he claims the main focus will be the formation of the band and Epstein's role in their rise to fame.

Epstein, who began his musical career selling records from his father's appliance store, became the Fabs' determined champion after discovering them during his lunch break at the Cavern Club. "Everybody turned down the band, even though Brian promised they would become bigger than Elvis, and he finally got George Martin at EMI to change his mind and give them an audition," said Permut.

Epstein's tragic death in 1967 from an overdose at the age of 32 was equally significant for the Fabs, as the loss of their most trusted adviser was a major factor in the band's eventual disintegration two years later.

News by Sophie Payne