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Was James Brown murdered? A new three-part CNN investigation is raising new questions about the Godfather of Soul's 2006 death.

Brown was 73 at the time of his death, which was due to congestive heart failure due to complications from pneumonia...but there was never a autopsy on his body. CNN says their reporter Thomas Lake traveled to nine states and interviewed well over 100 people for the long story, which started when a former Brown associate reached out with copious documentation that opened a host of questions about the life and death of both Brown and his ex-wife Adrienne, who died in 1996.

According to the CNN report, over ten people who knew Brown are calling for further investigation...but then, Brown knew a lot of people. The CNN report details a vast web of connections and suspicions dating back over three decades, all complicated by the fact that its main source, Jacquelyn Hollander, says she collected all her documentation because she felt she was "up against" Brown, who she says raped her in 1988 and who she describes as running an empire of "mob, control, fear, intimidation, lies."

Yeah, it's a lot. It's never been a secret that James Brown lived a complicated and controversial life, which involved numerous brushes with the law. People are taking this story seriously because first of all, CNN is not known for tabloid journalism — and secondly, it's pretty plausible that there are some very seedy secrets lurking in his past.

Whether this ends up leading to further revelations or just fueling conspiracy theories, you'll probably be hearing more about it. A future documentary series seems likely, because we're living in America. (Rolling Stone)

Pink gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Congratulations to pop star Pink, who was honored Tuesday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the ceremony, she spoke about the obstacles she's overcome: "I have achieved exactly what I wanted to achieve. Because I always knew what my strong points were. I don't sell sex, I don't sell perfume, I'm not the prettiest, I'm not the best. [...] I wanted to be a f-king touring artist and I wanted to be great at what I did. And at almost 40 years old, I can say I'm great at what I do." (Billboard)

Cher's costumes headed to the Met

Some of Cher's stage costumes are headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they'll be part of a new exhibit called Camp: Notes on Fashion. That's according to Bob Mackie, the designer responsible for some of Cher's most infamous outfits — including her huge-haired harness outfit for the 1986 Academy Awards and that butt-baring bodysuit she wore while straddling a cannon in the video for "If I Could Turn Back Time." The Met exhibit opens this coming May. (Fashionista)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsKbwR7WXN4

"M.T.A." lyricist dies at 94

Lyricist Jacqueline Steiner has died at age 94. She's best-known for a 1949 song she wrote with Bess Lomax Hawes, originally as a jingle for a mayoral candidate in Boston. The song, called "M.T.A." after Boston's mass-transit system, is all about a poor schmuck named Charlie who just can't get off the train.

Why can't he get off the train? Because of a then-recent fare increase: you paid a dime to get on the subway, but if you transferred to an above-ground train, you'd have to pay an extra nickel to get off. If you didn't have that nickel, well, you just might end up like poor Charlie.

Ten years later the song was recorded by the folk revival group the Kingston Trio, who made it the opening track on their chart-topping album At Large. Steiner's creation gained further immortality in 2004, when the Boston transit system introduced a card you could use to store value to pay your fares. What did they call it? The CharlieCard, of course. (New York Times)

Artists launch class-action lawsuit against Sony and Universal

Five musicians are leading a class-action lawsuit against Sony and Universal, claiming that the labels are disregarding a provision of the Copyright Act of 1976 that allows artists to take control of their own recording copyrights after 35 years.

The artists filing the suit are John Waite (Bad English), Southside Johnny, Paul Collins (the Nerves), Joe Ely, and David Johansen (the New York Dolls)...a.k.a. Buster Poindexter. The plaintiffs say they've sent notices of copyright termination to the labels, which have "routinely and systematically refused to honor them."

Their attorney says, "The legal issues in these class action suits have never been decided by a court, and are of paramount importance to the music industry." That seems right, since there's both a lot of money at stake and the right to control songs' placement in ads, TV shows, and compilations. If the suit succeeds, the New York Dolls wouldn't have to split "Personality Crisis" with their label. (Pitchfork)

Who won the Super Bowl? Fine Young Cannibals

The numbers are in, and unsurprisingly a lot of songs saw sales boosts from their placement in Super Bowl ads. Digital downloads soared for songs like "Stand Up" by Ludacris, "Blowin' in the Wind" by Bob Dylan, and "Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum.

The biggest winner? "She Drives Me Crazy," a 1988 number one hit by Fine Young Cannibals that was featured in an ad for T-Mobile. The song saw a 2,235% jump in sales. Fun fact: it was recorded at Prince's Paisley Park studio in beautiful Chanhassen, Minnesota. (Billboard)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEezKZ5XM4g

Audio sampled in podcast
Jahzzar: "Comedie" (CC BY 4.0)
BoxCat Games: "Against the Wall" (CC BY 3.0)
Pink: "Whatever You Want"
Cher: "Turn Back Time"
Kingston Trio: "M.T.A."
Ehohnke: "News Report Music" (CC0-1.0)
Jesse Spillane: "Dance Rocket" (CC BY 4.0)
New York Dolls: "Personality Crisis"
Fine Young Cannibals" "She Drives Me Crazy"