Latest news with #JeffJampol
Washington Post
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Why the music industry is skeptical of a Diddy comeback
Sean 'Diddy' Combs may have celebrated emotionally after being acquitted of the most serious charges in his federal trial, but music industry figures did not see this victory as a first step to reclaiming his career. In fact, they see little to no path for him to return to the hip-hop empire he ruled so successfully for decades. Combs was convicted on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution in cases involving two former girlfriends. Though he was acquitted of the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, the depth of testimony that emerged during the eight-week trial will make Combs virtually untouchable as a marketable entity, they say. 'It's not just somebody found guilty of bank fraud,' said Jeff Jampol, whose JAM Inc. manages the works and images of classic artists, including the Doors, Janis Joplin and Juan Gabriel. 'It was a crime against women. It was that horrible video of him dragging Cassie down the hall by her hair. That's a heavy load to come back from,' he said, referring to video involving singer Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura. Rey Roldan, a music publicist who once represented Britney Spears and R. Kelly at Jive Records in the 1990s, likened Combs's fall to 'an overthrow of the patriarchy.' 'That fact that he was exerting his influence and his power, over women especially, that becomes a rallying cry,' he said. Roldan noted three entertainers who faced scandals far less damning than Combs, none convicted of crimes. Ryan Adams, the singer-songwriter accused of taking advantage of younger artists and sexting with a teenager, has resumed his career with a fraction of his former audience buying tickets to shows. Ellen DeGeneres has not yet recovered from the reports of her mistreating workers and creating a toxic workplace that prompted her to end her long-running talk show. 'Even somebody like James Corden, who was accused of being rude to waiters,' took a reputational blow, Roldan says. Jim DeRogatis — whose reporting in the Chicago Sun-Times on sexual-abuse allegations against R. Kelly formed the basis for the case that got the R&B superstar sentenced to 30 years in prison — now teaches college-age students and notices they are far less willing to forgive those whose views they disagree with. That includes once-beloved Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, whose critical comments on transgender people have created controversy. Another barrier for Combs: He's actually better known now for being a mogul and advertising icon than a musician or producer. He hasn't had a chart-topping album since the George W. Bush era, and his most recent record, 'The Love Album: Off The Grid,' never cracked the Top 10. 'Look, his career over the last 15, 20 years was over except through branding,' DeRogatis says. 'Both Diddy and Kelly aged out of the core audience they had when they were at their musical peaks, and my students have no problem whatsoever with never listening to Kelly and walking out of the room when he's playing. And I imagine it'll be the same with Diddy.' The trial damaged Combs in other ways. A prominent record executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve industry relationships, said the first person he thinks of when Combs is referenced is Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced and convicted former film mogul. He also thinks of rapper Ye, formerly Kanye West, who has also not found anyone willing to work with him after public scandal. 'He's going to have a very tough time because he still has civil charges up the wazoo that harken back to the MeToo era [of] rampant sexual harassment and sexual abuse scandals,' the executive said. 'There are no circumstances under which I'd work with him again.' But one music executive believes there is an important difference between the convicted Combs and the work he produced. Merck Mercuriadis, who has specialized in acquiring and managing song rights, was horrified by what he saw during the trial. But he thinks that many of Combs's songs, with which listeners formed deep connections, will still resonate. 'Diddy consumption is at an all-time high in the streaming era, which is the perverse nature of people,' says Mercuriadis, founder of Hipgnosis Songs. 'There is no way back for Diddy as an artist or a public person. But these songs, whether with Biggie or Faith Hill, they have a life of their own.'
CBC
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Marble bust of rock legend Jim Morrison found, 37 years after it disappeared
The bust was uncovered in Paris during an unrelated investigation Image | CORRECTION Jim Morrison Bust Caption: The grave of American rock singer and poet Jim Morrison stands in France's most famous graveyard, Le Pere LaChaise cemetery, in a photo taken Dec. 8, 1982. The bust disappeared in 1988, and was recovered earlier this year. (Herve Merliac/The Associated Press) Media Audio | As It Happens : Marble bust of rock legend Jim Morrison found, 37 years after it disappeared Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. A marble bust of rock legend Jim Morrison vanished without a trace in 1988, leaving behind only rumours, speculation and a mystery that baffled fans for decades. Now, 37 years later, it's finally been found — unexpectedly uncovered in Paris during an entirely unrelated investigation. On May 16, the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office announced the recovery of the long-missing sculpture. The police's Financial and Anti-Corruption Brigade discovered the bust while executing a search order from an examining magistrate at the Paris Court. For Jeff Jampol, manager of Morrison's estate, the discovery was as unexpected as it was surreal. "I thought, 'Wow, it's a really interesting twist,'" Jampol told CBC's As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "It was really interesting how they came across it while they were undergoing a different operation." Croatian sculptor Mladen Mikulin installed the bust, carved from Macedonian white marble, to place on Morrison's tombstone in 1981, on the tenth anniversary of the Doors frontman's death. But over time, it was vandalized — its nose and lips chipped, covered in graffiti. And in 1988, it disappeared completely. Now recovered, the sculpture is reportedly in the same condition it was when it disappeared — still marred by decades-old graffiti, the nose still broken. There was no immediate word on whether the bust would be returned to the grave or what other investigation might take place, according to The Associated Press. Jim Morrison of The Doors: Rock and Roll Poet for a Generation Larger than life Morrison and the Doors left an indelible mark on the music scene of the 1960s. Co-creating the groundbreaking psychedelic rock band with keyboardist Ray Manzarek in Los Angeles, Morrison helped launch a sound that was dark, experimental and provocative. "The Doors were a very edgy, dark, psychedelic band, and they sang about and spoke of things that most bands do not," said Jampol. "It taps into a certain zeitgeist and a certain part of the conscious and unconscious. [They] stood apart from every other band I knew." The band exploded from obscurity to stardom with their 1967 breakout hit Light My Fire. At the heart of that mystique was Morrison — nicknamed The Lizard King — whose magnetic voice and outlandish performances, became a symbol of rebellion and counterculture. Before his days on stage, Morrison studied film at UCLA was a devoted reader of William Blake, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg — poets whose influence bled into his lyrics. More than a bust In 1971, at the height of his fame, Morrison moved to Paris with his longtime partner, Pamela Courson. He hoped to devote himself to writing poetry. But just months later, he was found dead in their apartment bathtub at the age of 27. Though no autopsy was performed, his death was ruled a heart attack. Morrison was buried in Paris's famed Père-Lachaise Cemetery, resting among cultural giants like Oscar Wilde, Édith Piaf, and Frédéric Chopin. "Jim had commented he would love to be buried there. He's with his fellow artists," said Jampol. Morrison's grave quickly became one of the most visited in Paris. Tourists and fans alike continue to flock there each year on the anniversary of his death. "In a country where you have the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe and the Notre-Dame Cathedral and Euro Disney and the Louvre Museum and the Champs d'Elysées, Jim's gravesite at Père-Lachaise is one of the top five most visited sites in France," Jampol said. For fans, the bust is a tangible connection to Morrison's legacy. But for Jampol, his essence lies elsewhere. "There's so much mythology and lore ... tied up in Jim Morrison and the band," he said. "Some [fans] are attached to physical objects.… They attach some kind of outsized lore to them." "But for us [and] for the Morrison family, we're interested in the art, the music, the poetry and the filmmaking of Jim. That's what's important to us [than] which guitar Robby Krieger played, or which shirt Jim Morrison wore. 'The art and the message is what's key to us."
