Thanks to Old Leadfoot...

FBI agent claims Sonny Bono was murdered

New accusations emerge over Cher's husband's death

A former FBI agent has claimed that 1960s pop star Sonny Bono was
assassinated.

Ted Gunderson said that Cher's former husband was targeted in a
politically-motivated assassination in January 1998.

However, Bono's autopsy concluded that he died of injuries sustained
after crashing into a tree while skiing at the Heavenly Ski Resort in
Nevada............

"It's nonsense for anyone to now try to suggest that Bono died after
crashing into a tree," Gunderson told America's Globe.

"There's zero evidence in this autopsy report to show such an accident
happened.. Instead, there's powerful proof he was assassinated.

"This was an evil plot that was carried out to almost perfection by
ruthless assassins."

Gunderson said hitmen hired by top US officials moved in on him because
Bono - a member of the US House Of Representatives - was believed to be
about to expose an international drug and weapons ring.

His claims are reportedly backed by several top forensic experts.

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Thanks to Courtney Reimer for these news stories...

BEATLES, JAGGER TOOK INTEREST IN CLOCKWORK ORANGE Many things made A
Clockwork Orange the memorable film that it was.  Stanley Kubrick¹s
direction, Malcolm McDowell¹s portrayal of the psychotic criminal
³Alex²
and the disturbing images in the movie certainly helped, but it turns
out that the flick could have even found a place in rock history.
That¹s because according to a letter from the film¹s executive
producer,
Mick Jagger wanted to star in the film and The Beatles were even
interested in doing the score for the movie.  Gigwise.com reports that
in a note producer Si Litvinoff wrote to potential director John
Schlesinger, Si reveals that the Rolling Stone wanted the lead role and
that ³The Beatles love the project.²  Schlesinger passed on the film
because he wasn¹t sure if it was ³the sort of subject I particularly
want to tackle.²  Things seem to have worked out though - in 1972, A
Clockwork Orange was nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture as well
as
Best Director for Kubrick.

SPRINGSTEEN, SINATRA IN NJ HALL OF FAME It turns out Bruce Springsteen
and Frank Sinatra have something in common with the likes of Thomas
Edison and Albert Einstein....  They all lived in New Jersey.  The figures
are among the first 15 people to be inducted into New Jersey¹s new Hall
of Fame.  According to the Associated Press, for now, the Hall of Fame
only exists as a virtual entity, but officials are raising money for a
permanent museum.  All of those chosen to join the Hall were selected
through an online vote after 25 finalists were announced in 2006.  To
be
eligible, a person must have lived in the state for at least five
years.
Other inductees include Yogi Berra, Meryl Streep, Buzz Aldrin, General
Norman Schwarzkopf, Toni Morrison and Vince Lombardi.  For more
information or to see the Hall of Fame as it now exists, head to
NJHallOfFame.com.

HENDRIX¹ BROTHER SAYS IT¹S NOT JIMI IN SEX TAPE Last week, Vivid
Entertainment released what they claimed was a Jimi Hendrix sex tape.
Experience Hendrix, the company that controls rights to the legendary
guitarist¹s music and likeness, already came out questioning the
authenticity of the nearly 40-year-old film footage and now, Jimi¹s
brother is speaking out against the tape as well.  Leon Hendrix issued
a
statement that reads, ³The person in that film is not Jimi from what I
have heard.  Yes, he had many female fans during that time and some may
have been filmed.  But this one is not Jimi Hendrix.²

TOM WAITS¹ MOCK PRESS CONFERENCE On his official Web site, Tom Waits
posted a video of a press conference in which he answers reporters¹
questions about his upcoming tour.  In the clip, after joking with the
press, the singer explains that he got the inspiration for the tour
from
the sky and the heavens, then pulls down a map to show how the path he
plans to take this summer as he treks from Phoenix to Atlanta, is
nearly
identical to the constellation Hydra.  Waits also goes on to describe
the acronym that is created with the first letter of each city he plans
to stop in.  Sound a little fishy?  Well, it turns out the entire press
conference was a fake.  At the end of the video, Waits takes a needle
off a record player and the murmur of reporters is silenced.  He then
walks off stage as the camera pulls back to reveal an empty auditorium.
See for yourself at TomWaits.com.  Meanwhile, Waits tour kicks off on
June 17th.

LOU REED'S BERLIN When Lou Reed's rock opera, Berlin, was first
released
in 1973, it was called one of the most depressing albums ever made.
Sales were horrible and reviews were mixed, but Julian Schnabel, the
Academy Award nominated director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,
always loved the album's power and passion.  Thirty-three years after
the album's original release, he and Reed collaborated to stage and
document the first performances of the album in decades.  The resulting
film, which incorporates footage shot by Schnabel, his daughter and his
brother-in-law, is a dreamy and intense collage of images and songs.  A
screening of the flick held at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday was
practically a family reunion with many of Schnabel and Reed's friends
and collaborators present.  During a post-show Q & A, Reed and Schnabel
dismissed the idea of the album being depressing.  If anything, Reed
felt uplifted by the joy of working with such close friends.  Reed
added
that all art, just by being made, is inherently optimistic by nature.
This upcoming year, Lou Reed will perform Berlin throughout Europe.  If
you're stuck Stateside, you can check out the movie, which opens in New
York and L-A in July.

FLICK SHOWS ALLMAN BROTHERS¹ TIME IN THE BIG HOUSE There is an 18-room,
turn of the century Tudor-style mansion in Macon, Georgia that might
just be a big house to some, but it means a lot more to the Allman
Brothers Band.  That¹s because in the early 1970¹s, the structure
served
as a home to members of the group as well as their families, the road
crew, friends and some wayward travelers.  The place is appropriately
called The Big House and inside its walls, some timeless songs were
written and some big parties were thrown.  Soon, fans can see just how
important The Big House was to the Allman Brothers thanks to a new
documentary.  It¹s called Please Call Home: The Big House Years and the
100 minute movie was directed by the band¹s long-time tour manager Kirk
West, who lived in The Big House for 14 years.  West spoke about the
film saying, ³This is not a comprehensive biography of the band per se,
but rather an intimate look at the family that was this band.  What it
really talks about is the life of a family in a particular house for
three years and in the story of this band, that is an amazing three
years.²  The documentary premieres in New York on May 16th.  You can
see
a trailer for the film at PleaseCallHomeTheMovie.com.

ROD STEWART¹S SON¹S LEGAL VICTORIES AND WOES Rod Stewart¹s son, Sean,
had some charges against him dropped last week.  The 27-year-old was
accused of punching and throwing bricks at two people last year after
getting into a dispute on a narrow road.  According to the Associated
Press, the situation arose on a tiny Hollywood street when Stewart
couldn¹t pass a truck.  Bystanders began throwing things at the truck
when Stewart got out of his car.  He was accused of taking part in the
violence and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.  Sean¹s lawyer
said, ³Over the course of time, it became apparent to the district
attorney¹s office that it may have been mistaken identity.  There were
a
lot of people on the street at the time and he was a recognizable
face.²
While a judge threw that case out, Stewart still faces a lawsuit from
the owners of the truck as well as one stemming from a different
incident in which a man claims Sean broke his nose in a Hollywood
nightclub in 2006.

DAVE STEWART TO TAKE PART IN PANGEA DAY On Saturday, the world is set
to
celebrate Pangea Day, a global effort designed to unite the globe
through the power of film.  During the day, four-hour programs of
films,
music and visionary speakers will be held simultaneously in Egypt,
America, England, India, Rwanda and Brazil.  Dave Stewart is scheduled
to perform for the event and is pretty excited about it.  He said in a
statement, ³I think the idea of Pangea Day is quite revolutionary and
is
a sign of bigger things to come.²  You can watch the Pangea Day
festivities starting at 2 PM Eastern on the Current TV Network.  For
more info, head to PangeaDay.org.

LEAD BELLY¹S HARD LIFE Folk and blues musician Lead Belly influenced
the
likes of The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, the Grateful Dead and many
others.  It turns out though, that he had a pretty hard life.  Recently
unearthed FBI records on display in a new book called Lead Belly: A
Life
in Pictures, reveal that the ³Goodnight Irene² singer was whipped while
doing time in a Louisiana prison, once getting ten lashes for
³laziness.²  In 1934, Lead Belly was pardoned and settled in New York.
His songs have been covered by people from Frank Sinatra to Jimmy
Buffett..  Lead Belly: A Life In Pictures is out now.

STING IS DEDICATED TO HELPING THE RAINFOREST This Thursday, big-name
stars such as Billy Joel, Brian Wilson and James Taylor will be coming
out for a benefit in support of Sting¹s Rainforest Foundation. Unlike
the fleeting do-gooder interests of most celebs, Sting and his wife,
Trudie Styler, devote serious energy to their environmental charity.

(Actuality #1) ³You cannot just say I¹m now going to save the
rainforest, you have to save bits of it and hopefully that idea will
take on. And it kind of has, I mean we¹ve raised 25-million dollars
over
the past 20 years, we¹re now on four continents, we¹re in Asia, Africa
Central and South America and were creating legal infrastructures,
allowing indigenous people to protect themselves.²

By way of thanking Sting for all his hard work towards saving their
precious natural resources, scientists have named a South American tree
frog after him. The dendrosophus stingi can be found in the heavily
degraded forests of Colombia.

JON ANDERSON TALKS ABOUT NEW YES Yes is currently working on new
material, but don¹t expect it to sound like their old stuff.  Singer
Jon
Anderson told Billboard.com that the group is currently working on four
opus-like songs noting, ³They¹re very, very different.  It¹ll be
interesting when we perform them, because we know that we want to try
and perform them in a unique fashion.²  But the upcoming disc won¹t be
all lengthy pieces.  Anderson added, ³Putting together an album really
isn¹t logical anymore.  Putting together a large piece of music or
something that is really a jump in a musical direction takes a lot of
commitment from everybody.²  Anderson even revealed that he¹d be up for
reunited the Yes lineup that created the hugely successful 1983 album
90125 as well as 1987¹s Big Generator and Œ94¹s Talk.  Jon is thinking
about touring some of that Œ80s-period music ³because it was very
special.²   Meanwhile, Yes is gear