Benjamin Orr, former Cars bassist and more recently a member of Atlanta's Big People, is currently hospitalized with a growth on his pancreas. A message on Big People bandmate Derek St. Holmes' Web site (www.dstholmes.com) states that Orr is in Atlanta's Piedmont Hospital awaiting diagnosis.
In related Cars news, Rhino Home Video has planned an October DVD release for a 1979 concert documentary shot for German television. To compliment the performance of material from the band's 1978 self-titled smash debut album and its follow-up, "Candy-O," Rhino plans to reunite all five members of the Cars -- singer/guitarist Ric Ocasek, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes, drummer David Robinson, and Orr -- in August for a series of interviews.
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CDnow has linked with Dr. Pepper/7Up for a custom-CD promotion. The $90 million campaign features an instant-win game, "Tune Into 7Up," marked on 75 million soda products through September. One out of every 12 products will award a free custom CD, which consumers can create at www.cdnow.com/7up.
More than 200 songs from 26 labels are available, by artists that include Moby, Coolio, and Widespread Panic. Cdnow -- which will manufacture the discs at its Ft. Washington, Pa., facility -- will offer discounts on select albums by the participating artists.
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Seven U.S. folk and traditional musicians were among 13 artists chosen yesterday by the National Endowment for the Arts as National Heritage Fellows. They include gospel group the Dixie Hummingbirds, accordionist Santiago Jiménez Jr., and Afro-Cuban drummer Felipe García Villamil. The fellowship includes a $10,000 award.
In related Cars news, Rhino Home Video has planned an October DVD release for a 1979 concert documentary shot for German television. To compliment the performance of material from the band's 1978 self-titled smash debut album and its follow-up, "Candy-O," Rhino plans to reunite all five members of the Cars -- singer/guitarist Ric Ocasek, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes, drummer David Robinson, and Orr -- in August for a series of interviews.
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CDnow has linked with Dr. Pepper/7Up for a custom-CD promotion. The $90 million campaign features an instant-win game, "Tune Into 7Up," marked on 75 million soda products through September. One out of every 12 products will award a free custom CD, which consumers can create at www.cdnow.com/7up.
More than 200 songs from 26 labels are available, by artists that include Moby, Coolio, and Widespread Panic. Cdnow -- which will manufacture the discs at its Ft. Washington, Pa., facility -- will offer discounts on select albums by the participating artists.
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Seven U.S. folk and traditional musicians were among 13 artists chosen yesterday by the National Endowment for the Arts as National Heritage Fellows. They include gospel group the Dixie Hummingbirds, accordionist Santiago Jiménez Jr., and Afro-Cuban drummer Felipe García Villamil. The fellowship includes a $10,000 award.
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