Arch MUSIC NEWS for 10/12/12

Arch MUSIC NEWS is compiled by Jay Philpott -

Rihanna has named her new album “Unapologetic” and it will be released on November 19th. It’s her seventh album.

Michael Jackson‘s “Bad” album is 25 years old this year. To celebrate the milestone, fans in New York and Los Angeles will be able to watch the Spike Lee documentary “Bad 25″ in theaters, for one week only. The exclusive screenings will take place in New York, starting October 19th and in Los Angeles, beginning October 26th. Fans who can’t make it to either of the cities can see the film when it airs on ABC on November 22nd.

Michael Bolton is planning on making television a full-time job. “Deadline” says the singer will be playing a fictional version of himself in an upcoming comedy series for ABC. The show will be called “Michael Bolton’s Daughter Is Destroying My Life,” and is currently in development. It’s based on an idea by NBC’s “Go On” actress Allison Miller and is loosely inspired by her real-life celebrity encounters when she first came to Hollywood.  Bolton’s most notable role in the TV world so far has been his stint on “Saturday Night Live’s” digital short, “Captain Jack Sparrow.” “Michael Bolton’s Daughter Is Destroying My Life” will mark a return to ABC, where Bolton appeared as a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars” two years ago. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter also recently had a guest spot on CBS’ “Two and a Half Men.”

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Gary Rossington and .38 Special are being recognized by the state of Georgia this weekend. The Southern rockers will be among the honorees at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards Show. The Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist is set to receive the Songwriter Award at the ceremony, while .38 Special will earn the Group honor.

The Bret Michaels Hospitality and Music Room is now up and running at St. Joseph’s Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. “The Arizona Republic” says the Poison frontman was on hand for Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the room. Michael says the “sole purpose” of the space is to “provide comfort, serenity, and peace to families that are going through a very trying time in their lives.” Michaels was inspired to build the room when he was at the hospital recovering from his life-threatening brain hemorrhage in 2010, and could see how stressful it was for the patients’ visitors. He says his goal with the room is to give those people “a break,” and “something to take their mind off what’s going on.”

The Rolling Stones have delivered on schedule. As promised, the band unveiled its first single in seven years, “Doom and Gloom,” Thursday on BBC Radio 2. The track is now available on iTunes and will be included on the Stones’ upcoming compilation, “Grrr! Greatest Hits,” due out on November 13th. Though the song’s lyrics make references to current events like the Iraq War, fracking, a plane crash in the Louisiana swamp and even zombies, Stones frontman Mick Jagger tweeted ahead of “Doom and Gloom’s” release that the song is, “a really raunchy rocker you can dance to.”

Over 20 years after his death, Freddie Mercury is returning to the spotlight. In a statement on his website, guitarist Brian May revealed some new details about the upcoming biopic of the flamboyant Queen frontman, who passed away from AIDS in 1991. May has confirmed that the film should be ready for release in early 2014. He says the production is “on course” and even though they started slightly later than anticipated, filming is now scheduled to start in the spring. May has also confirmed that Mercury will be played by “Borat” star Sacha Baron Cohen. May said that he had a meeting with Queen drummer Roger Taylor and longtime manager Jim Beach earlier this week to discuss how they would be involved in the making of the film.

Journey is performing for a cause this weekend. The band is set to headline the 13th Annual Paul Reed Smith Guitars and Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center Charity Weekend. The event will also feature the Journey of Hope Fashion Show, which Neal Schon’s girlfriend, former “Real Housewives” star Michaele Salahi, will host. The benefit will take place at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore, Maryland on Sunday.

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