NBC sitcom "Will & Grace" will spawn a compilation of music featured on and inspired by the show, as well as contributions from the cast. "Will & Grace: Who's Your Daddy?" is due Sept. 7 from NBC Enterprises and BMG Strategic Marketing.Among the songs confirmed to be on the set are Ella Fitzgerald's "Can't Help Lovin' That Man" and Cheryl Lynn's "Got To Be Real." Also slated is a version of the Kenny Loggins song "Footloose" by the Bacon Brothers, the band that features "Footloose" star Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael.
The cast of the show -- which includes Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally -- is also expected to appear on several tracks alongside "some of the world's most renowned artists," according to a statement. A dance track featuring dialogue from the show will also be included.
It is unknown is any of the artists who have appeared on the show will contribute to the disc. Since the show debuted in 1998, Cher, Madonna, Elton John and Barry Manilow have guest starred, while Harry Connick Jr. has appeared in a recurring role.
-- Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.
Due May 4 from Dafina Books, an imprint of Kensington Publishing, "Inside a Thug's Heart" will include letters and poems written during Tupac Shakur's stays at Rikers Island and Dannemora State Prison. The correspondence was conducted with author Angela Ardis, an actress/model/screenwriter who first sent the late rapper a letter in 1995 on a dare. The pair were in contact almost daily while Shakur was incarcerated, and his writings are said to be at times sensitive and emotional. Among the letters are denials of the crimes for which he was convicted, as well as discussion of a 1994 shooting in which he narrowly escaped death.
Shakur has been more prolific in death than in life, with no less than seven albums released under his name since his 1996 murder in Las Vegas. The most recent, last year's soundtrack to "Tupac: Resurrection" (Amaru/Interscope), bowed at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 1.43 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
-- Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.
The family of the late John Morris Rankin, one of the members of Canadian act the Rankin Family, has received $1 million (CDN) in compensation from the Province of Nova Scotia. The out-of-court settlement, announced on Mar. 10, comes after the estate sued the province and a snowplow operator in 2002 for negligence regarding the fiddler's death. On Jan. 16, 2000, Rankin was killed near Cheticamp, Cape Breton, when his sport utility vehicle left the road and crashed down a 75-foot embankment after hitting a large pile of road salt. The estate claimed that the snowplow driver, John Archie Chisholm, "carelessly permitted a large amount of salt" to go onto the highway. A Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigation concluded no criminal charges were warranted but said the pile of road salt played a part in the accident.
The Rankins, who earned several Juno and East Coast Music Awards during their career, disbanded after the tragedy.
-- Jason MacNeil, Toronto
Up for Discussion