Amy Winehouse Foundation Launches U.S. Outreach

Mitch and Janis Winehouse attend the U.S. launch of the Amy Winehouse Foundation in New York.Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Before she died last year at age 27, Amy Winehouse told her family that she wanted to one day open a music school in St. Lucia, preserve jazz culture in New Orleans, and help heal children globally through the power of music. Her father, Mitch Winehouse, who has headed the U.K.-based Amy Winehouse Foundation since its inception nine months ago, pledged to grant all three wishes during last night's U.S. launch in New York.

The stage at Joe's Pub served as a fitting venue for the announcement: it was this intimate East Village club that hosted the late singer's American debut in January 2007, two months before Back to Black was released here.

"Unfortunately, Amy was not the biggest believer in rehab, and she thought that she could do it herself," her brother, Alex Winehouse, 32, told the group of foundation directors and guests. He said the family last saw Amy alive when they took her to a treatment facility in London last year. She died from alcohol poisoning in July.

"Only one person was responsible, and that's Amy," Mitch Winehouse told Rolling Stone following the event, during which he sang a few numbers backed by a five-piece jazz band. "She came from the most loving family, and that didn't protect her from her addictions. It can affect anybody. And I want to get that message across."

Mitch Winehouse, a former cab driver in London, now dedicates his time to the foundation, which has raised one million pounds for U.K.-based children's hospices. Its newly announced U.S. arm will lend support to music therapy and after-school programs for disadvantaged children, he explained.

Last night the foundation made its first U.S. pledge: $10,000 to the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. "We feel that if you put a musical instrument in somebody's hand, they're never going to put a gun in their hands," Winehouse said.

Amy's mother, Janis Winehouse-Collins, attended the event and stood by her former husband as he unveiled the title and cover of his forthcoming memoir, Amy, My Daughter, due through HarperCollins on June 26th. Sales will benefit the foundation; recent reports value Amy Winehouse's estate at more than $4 million.

Monte Lipman, president and CEO of Universal Republic Records, home to artists including Jack Johnson and Florence and the Machine, recalled spending time backstage with Winehouse following that first U.S. show at Joe's Pub. "She was unlike any other artist we had ever seen," he told Rolling Stone. "Here's an artist that just had the absolute opposite approach to things. And we loved it." 

The foundation also announced its first Amy Winehouse Inspiration Awards and Gala, which will feature performances in her honor on September 10 at the Waldorf Astoria. Tony Bennett is expected to perform, a source familiar with the gala plans told Rolling Stone, adding that Adele and Coldplay are among those being courted.

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Amy Winehouse Foundation Launches U.S. Outreach

Mitch and Janis Winehouse attend the U.S. launch of the Amy Winehouse Foundation in New York.Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Before she died last year at age 27, Amy Winehouse told her family that she wanted to one day open a music school in St. Lucia, preserve jazz culture in New Orleans, and help heal children globally through the power of music. Her father, Mitch Winehouse, who has headed the U.K.-based Amy Winehouse Foundation since its inception nine months ago, pledged to grant all three wishes during last night's U.S. launch in New York.

The stage at Joe's Pub served as a fitting venue for the announcement: it was this intimate East Village club that hosted the late singer's American debut in January 2007, two months before Back to Black was released here.

"Unfortunately, Amy was not the biggest believer in rehab, and she thought that she could do it herself," her brother, Alex Winehouse, 32, told the group of foundation directors and guests. He said the family last saw Amy alive when they took her to a treatment facility in London last year. She died from alcohol poisoning in July.

"Only one person was responsible, and that's Amy," Mitch Winehouse told Rolling Stone following the event, during which he sang a few numbers backed by a five-piece jazz band. "She came from the most loving family, and that didn't protect her from her addictions. It can affect anybody. And I want to get that message across."

Mitch Winehouse, a former cab driver in London, now dedicates his time to the foundation, which has raised one million pounds for U.K.-based children's hospices. Its newly announced U.S. arm will lend support to music therapy and after-school programs for disadvantaged children, he explained.

Last night the foundation made its first U.S. pledge: $10,000 to the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. "We feel that if you put a musical instrument in somebody's hand, they're never going to put a gun in their hands," Winehouse said.

Amy's mother, Janis Winehouse-Collins, attended the event and stood by her former husband as he unveiled the title and cover of his forthcoming memoir, Amy, My Daughter, due through HarperCollins on June 26th. Sales will benefit the foundation; recent reports value Amy Winehouse's estate at more than $4 million.

Monte Lipman, president and CEO of Universal Republic Records, home to artists including Jack Johnson and Florence and the Machine, recalled spending time backstage with Winehouse following that first U.S. show at Joe's Pub. "She was unlike any other artist we had ever seen," he told Rolling Stone. "Here's an artist that just had the absolute opposite approach to things. And we loved it." 

The foundation also announced its first Amy Winehouse Inspiration Awards and Gala, which will feature performances in her honor on September 10 at the Waldorf Astoria. Tony Bennett is expected to perform, a source familiar with the gala plans told Rolling Stone, adding that Adele and Coldplay are among those being courted.

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Ray Charles Foundation Sues the Singer's Children

Ray Charles performs in Montauk, New York in 1996.

The Ray Charles Foundation is suing seven of the late singer's children for attempting to obtain copyrights on some of Charles' songs, The Wrap reports.

According to the lawsuit, Charles gave each of his children $500,000 in 2002 under the condition that they would not seek further inheritance claims on his musical estate. The Ray Charles Foundation, which provides funding for research into hearing impairment and educational programs, currently owns all the rights to the intellectual property of Charles, who died in 2002.

The foundation claims that several of Charles' children are now violating their agreement by seeking copyrights for more than 50 songs.

"In complete disregard of the confidence, trust, and belief in his own children that their father reposed in them," the lawsuit says, "by undertaking the actions described below in this Complaint, Defendents have reneged on and are in breach or other violation of this agreement." 

According to the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Central California last week, the offspring in question applied in March 2010 to reclaim the copyrights of the songs, under a provision of the 1976 Copyright Act that is intended to allow artists to renegotiate their royalty rates after a certain number of years if the value of their work has increased.

The foundation claims that, in addition to the prior agreement not to seek any further portion of their father's estate, the "termination of transfer" rule does not apply because Charles had already renegotiated his royalty rates with his publishers in 1980. It also contends that some of the songs were works for hire, in which case the artist cannot claim the same rights.

The foundation's suit seeks to prevent the children from obtaining the copyrights, along with at least $500,000 from each defendant plus court costs, attorneys' fees and interest.

The Ray Charles Foundation argues that it would be particularly hard hit by the loss of those royalties because it is not allowed to solicit or accept any private donations.

"The self-serving attempts on the part of the Defendants to deprive The Foundation of its said intellectual property rights not only is contrary to the express wishes of their father and in breach of the agreement they signed and promises that they made," the lawsuit says, "but it is contrary to the best interest of those innocent parties who would be benefited by the grants made by The Foundation." 

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Ray Charles Foundation Sues the Singer's Children

Ray Charles performs in Montauk, New York in 1996.

The Ray Charles Foundation is suing seven of the late singer's children for attempting to obtain copyrights on some of Charles' songs, The Wrap reports.

According to the lawsuit, Charles gave each of his children $500,000 in 2002 under the condition that they would not seek further inheritance claims on his musical estate. The Ray Charles Foundation, which provides funding for research into hearing impairment and educational programs, currently owns all the rights to the intellectual property of Charles, who died in 2002.

The foundation claims that several of Charles' children are now violating their agreement by seeking copyrights for more than 50 songs.

"In complete disregard of the confidence, trust, and belief in his own children that their father reposed in them," the lawsuit says, "by undertaking the actions described below in this Complaint, Defendents have reneged on and are in breach or other violation of this agreement." 

According to the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Central California last week, the offspring in question applied in March 2010 to reclaim the copyrights of the songs, under a provision of the 1976 Copyright Act that is intended to allow artists to renegotiate their royalty rates after a certain number of years if the value of their work has increased.

The foundation claims that, in addition to the prior agreement not to seek any further portion of their father's estate, the "termination of transfer" rule does not apply because Charles had already renegotiated his royalty rates with his publishers in 1980. It also contends that some of the songs were works for hire, in which case the artist cannot claim the same rights.

The foundation's suit seeks to prevent the children from obtaining the copyrights, along with at least $500,000 from each defendant plus court costs, attorneys' fees and interest.

The Ray Charles Foundation argues that it would be particularly hard hit by the loss of those royalties because it is not allowed to solicit or accept any private donations.

"The self-serving attempts on the part of the Defendants to deprive The Foundation of its said intellectual property rights not only is contrary to the express wishes of their father and in breach of the agreement they signed and promises that they made," the lawsuit says, "but it is contrary to the best interest of those innocent parties who would be benefited by the grants made by The Foundation." 

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Amy Winehouse Foundation Establishes Singing Scholarship

The Amy Winehouse Foundation will provide a new scholarship at a London theater school where the late singer studied voice as a young girl. The Winehouse scholarship to the Sylvia Young Theater School will be reserved for a child whose family cannot afford the tuition, according to the singer's father, Mitch Winehouse.

Amy Winehouse auditioned for the Sylvia Young Theater School at age 13 and got in on the strength of her performance of "On the Sunny Side of the Street." The school is hopeful that the scholarship will help bring fresh, deserving talent into their program. "It would be wonderful to find another Amy, but there was only one Amy," the school’s founder, Sylvia Young, told Reuters. "We would be happy to find a singer, dancer or actor who has a special talent."

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Amy Winehouse Foundation Establishes Singing Scholarship

The Amy Winehouse Foundation will provide a new scholarship at a London theater school where the late singer studied voice as a young girl. The Winehouse scholarship to the Sylvia Young Theater School will be reserved for a child whose family cannot afford the tuition, according to the singer's father, Mitch Winehouse.

Amy Winehouse auditioned for the Sylvia Young Theater School at age 13 and got in on the strength of her performance of "On the Sunny Side of the Street." The school is hopeful that the scholarship will help bring fresh, deserving talent into their program. "It would be wonderful to find another Amy, but there was only one Amy," the school’s founder, Sylvia Young, told Reuters. "We would be happy to find a singer, dancer or actor who has a special talent."

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Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey Launch Born This Way Foundation in Boston

Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey Launch Born This Way Foundation in BostonAndrew H. Walker/Todd Williamson/WireImage

Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey will appear at an event at Harvard University today celebrating the launch of the pop star's Born This Way Foundation. The launch will be attended by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who will later join 30 Boston public school students for a youth summit on the issue of bullying in schools as part of Gaga's anti-bullying campaign.

Gaga started the Born This Way Foundation last year with her mother, Cynthia Germanotta. "My mother and I have initiated a passion project," Gaga said in a statement in November. "Together we hope to establish a standard of bravery and kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment." The singer visited the White House in December to meet with President Obama's senior advisor Valerie Jarrett on the topic of bullying.

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Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey Launch Born This Way Foundation in Boston

Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey Launch Born This Way Foundation in BostonAndrew H. Walker/Todd Williamson/WireImage

Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey will appear at an event at Harvard University today celebrating the launch of the pop star's Born This Way Foundation. The launch will be attended by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who will later join 30 Boston public school students for a youth summit on the issue of bullying in schools as part of Gaga's anti-bullying campaign.

Gaga started the Born This Way Foundation last year with her mother, Cynthia Germanotta. "My mother and I have initiated a passion project," Gaga said in a statement in November. "Together we hope to establish a standard of bravery and kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment." The singer visited the White House in December to meet with President Obama's senior advisor Valerie Jarrett on the topic of bullying.

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Decemberists Withdraw Support of Susan G. Komen Foundation

The Decemberists perform at the Lands End Stage during the Outside Lands Music And Arts Festival.

The Decemberists have withdrawn their fundraising support for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation after the organization's decision to stop providing funding for Planned Parenthood.

The rockers have realigned themselves with Planned Parenthood's Breast Health Emergency Fund since Komen withdrew funding for breast cancer examinations on Tuesday. Komen claimed that a change in their grants policy prevented them from contributing further, though Planned Parenthood insisted that the foundation had bowed to pressure from anti-abortion groups.

Following Komen's announcement, the Decemberists redirected funds from their "Team Jenny" t-shirts (created for keyboardist Jenny Conlee, currently in remission for breast cancer) to Planned Parenthood. They stated on their website:

The Decemberists are deeply troubled by Komen for the Cure's recent decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, a vital resource in the battle against breast cancer. Providing cancer screenings to low income women is integral to the prevention and defeat of breast cancer and it is unconscionable that Komen should politicize this very important issue by bowing to the fear campaign being waged against PP by the right. We've decided to redirect the proceeds of the Team Jenny t-shirts and buttons away from Komen for the Cure. 100% of the net profits of these items will be instead donated to Planned Parenthood's Breast Health Emergency Fund.

Please help to support this essential institution. And, if you've supported the Team Jenny effort in the past, please write to Komen for the Cure via their site or via twitter (@komenforthecure) and let them know that undermining women's health for political reasons is unacceptable.

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Decemberists Withdraw Support of Susan G. Komen Foundation

The Decemberists perform at the Lands End Stage during the Outside Lands Music And Arts Festival.

The Decemberists have withdrawn their fundraising support for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation after the organization's decision to stop providing funding for Planned Parenthood.

The rockers have realigned themselves with Planned Parenthood's Breast Health Emergency Fund since Komen withdrew funding for breast cancer examinations on Tuesday. Komen claimed that a change in their grants policy prevented them from contributing further, though Planned Parenthood insisted that the foundation had bowed to pressure from anti-abortion groups.

Following Komen's announcement, the Decemberists redirected funds from their "Team Jenny" t-shirts (created for keyboardist Jenny Conlee, currently in remission for breast cancer) to Planned Parenthood. They stated on their website:

The Decemberists are deeply troubled by Komen for the Cure's recent decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, a vital resource in the battle against breast cancer. Providing cancer screenings to low income women is integral to the prevention and defeat of breast cancer and it is unconscionable that Komen should politicize this very important issue by bowing to the fear campaign being waged against PP by the right. We've decided to redirect the proceeds of the Team Jenny t-shirts and buttons away from Komen for the Cure. 100% of the net profits of these items will be instead donated to Planned Parenthood's Breast Health Emergency Fund.

Please help to support this essential institution. And, if you've supported the Team Jenny effort in the past, please write to Komen for the Cure via their site or via twitter (@komenforthecure) and let them know that undermining women's health for political reasons is unacceptable.

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Velvet Underground Sue Andy Warhol Foundation For Copyright Infringement

The Velvet Underground have filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan federal court against the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts over the iconic banana image found on the cover of their 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground and Nico. Band leaders Lou Reed and John Cale claim that the foundation has illegally licensed the image for use on various products, including iPad cases. According to papers filed by the musicians, Cale and Reed have accused the foundation of seeking to "deceive the public" into believing that the band have given their "sponsorship or approval" to this merchandise.

The band is seeking unspecified damages for trademark infringement and unfair competition. "Inasmuch as the Warhol Foundation has such a large number of Andy Warhol designs, all of which are presumably unique works that are highly valued in the marketplace, there would appear to be no economic need to include the banana design among the designs that defendant licenses," the court papers say.

Warhol served as the band's manager and producer, and he created the logo – which includes the phrase "peel slowly and see" - from an image of a banana taken from the public domain. Warhol was paid part of the band's label advance for the design but never copyrighted the image.

The Velvet Underground have not objected to licensing the cover image in the past. In 2001, the group licensed its use for an Absolut Vodka advertisement in which the stem of the banana was changed to look like a bottle cap for the "Absolut Underground" campaign.

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