Christian songwriters team up for charity

Christian songwriters
team up for charity

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — How many songwriters does it take to write a hit? A group of big names from the Christian recording industry is hoping it’s a lucky 13. Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Chris Tomlin and others are scheduled to gather for a retreat Jan. 7-11 in Perthshire, Scotland, with a plan to collectively write 10 to 12 songs for charity. Any money the tunes generate is designated to help the poor for as long as the songs are around. “All those names on the list at some stage have written with each other over the last five years,” Martin Smith, lead singer for the British-based group Delirius?, said during a recent phone interview. “We thought ’Hey, let’s all get together for a week and see what we can all do together on a creative level, and why don’t we give the songs away before they’re written?”’ The 37-year-old singer-songwriter is organizing the retreat. He said the project has drawn some attention from the secular music world, and he would welcome their involvement, too. “It has a ‘We Are The World’ vibe,” Martin Smith said, referring to the star-studded 1985 effort to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. All proceeds from the songs will be donated directly to the poor: Half will go to the songwriters’ charity of choice, and the other half to a yet-to-be-determined charitable program agreed on by all the writers.

Swedish cops detain
Minelli crew member

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — One of Liza Minelli’s crew members was detained by police in Stockholm late Saturday on suspicion of beating up a photographer who was filming the U.S. singer’s performance, police said. Minelli, 61, was performing in Sweden as part of the big gala event “A Classic Christmas Night,” alongside a string of Swedish artists. Police spokesman Gunnar Samuelsson told The Associated Press the man was suspected of beating up and threatening the photographer. He said the man was a member of Liza Minelli’s crew, but that he did not know his exact position. Minelli won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Sally Bowles in the 1972 film “Cabaret.” She won an Emmy for the 1972 TV special “Liza with a Z.” She also won Tony Awards in 1974 and 1978.

Today’s birthdays

Nobel Prize-winning author Alexander Solzhenitsyn is 89. Actor Jean-Louis Trintignant is 77. Actress Rita Moreno is 76. Former California state lawmaker Tom Hayden is 68. Pop singer David Gates (Bread) is 67. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is 66. Actress Donna Mills is 65. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., is 64. Singer Brenda Lee is 63. Actress Lynda Day George is 63. Music producer Tony Brown is 61. Actress Teri Garr is 59. Movie director Susan Seidelman is 55. Actress Bess Armstrong is 54. Singer Jermaine Jackson is 53. Rock musician Mike Mesaros (The Smithereens) is 50. Rock musician Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue) is 49. Rock musician Darryl Jones (The Rolling Stones) is 46. Singer-musician Justin Currie (Del Amitri) is 43. Rock musician David Schools (Gov’t Mule, Widespread Panic) is 43. Actor Gary Dourdan is 41. Actress-comedian Mo’Nique (“The Parkers”) is 39. Rapper-actor Mos Def is 34. Actor Rider Strong is 28.