People talk 10/04/02

McCartney, Starr will head Harrison tribute

LONDON -- Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will headline a tribute concert in memory of their late colleague, George Harrison, officials announced Thursday.

The show at London's Royal Albert Hall is set for Nov. 29, the first anniversary of his death, and will feature Tom Petty, British pianist Jools Holland, and Ravi Shankar, the sitar virtuoso who greatly influenced Harrison.

The former Beatle died of cancer Nov. 29, 2001, at 58.

The concert, which Eric Clapton is helping to organize, will feature a mix of Harrison's own music and his favorite songs.

Proceeds will go to the Material World Charitable Foundation that Harrison funded.

Crow donates guitar to officer's family

RENO, Nev. -- Sheryl Crow has donated an autographed electric guitar to benefit the family of a Reno police officer killed in a motorcycle accident.

Officer Mike Scofield, 55, and another motorcycle officer were responding to an accident Sept. 26 when a sport utility vehicle apparently pulled in front of him from a business driveway partially obscured by trees.

The 25-year department veteran had planned to retire within a year. He left a wife and four grown children.

Crow donated the signed Squier by Fender guitar to radio station KNEV-FM after a concert Saturday night at the Reno Hilton, a spokeswoman at A&M Records in Los Angeles confirmed.

The guitar went up for sale Tuesday on eBay. Bids will be accepted until the afternoon of Oct. 11.

Proceeds from the auction will placed into a bank account set up for Scofield's family, the radio station said.

Robinson to receive award for achievements

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Smokey Robinson, 62, the Motown singer-songwriter behind a string of 1960s pop hits, will receive an award from a Michigan arts organization.

The man who performed "The Tracks of My Tears" and "I Second That Emotion" will be recognized for his lifetime international achievement in music at the 17th annual Governors' Awards for Arts & Culture.

Robinson's musical career spans more than 40 years. He's best known as the front man for the 1960s Motown group the Miracles and a solo career.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and entered the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1990.

The ceremony will be Nov. 19 at the Ford Community Performing Arts Center in Dearborn.

Jennings sets price too high for book

NEW YORK -- Fifty dollars apparently was too steep a price for ABC News anchor Peter Jennings' latest book, "In Search of America."

With sales slow despite a massive first printing of 725,000, Hyperion is offering to share with retailers a 40 percent discount that will cut the cost of the coffee-table book to $29.95.

Company president Bob Miller said Wednesday he wants the price to be competitive with other large-scale volumes coming out this fall.

"Looking back, I wish we had started out at a lower price," Miller said.

"In Search of America," co-written by Jennings and Todd Brewster, is an illustrated companion to the ABC television series about "the basic ideals that drive and define the American character," according to Hyperion's Web site.

The book was published in early September and likely was hurt by competition from dozens of Sept. 11 works coming out at the same time.

Miller said Jennings has just started a nationwide book tour and that he expects sales to increase during the holiday season. A previous Jennings' book, "The Century," was a major best-seller.

-- From wire reports