Sting, Sheryl Crow, John Mellencamp and Don Henley will perform at both nights of Music to My Ears, an October tribute and benefit concert that will raise money for the family of late Billboard editor-in-chief Timothy White. White, an esteemed veteran music journalist, died of a heart attack in June at age fifty, leaving a wife and twin ten-year-old sons.

"Brilliant writer, devoted husband and father, stalwart friend: Those things all describe Timothy, but what comes mostly to mind when I think of him is integrity. I loved and admired him greatly, and in his loss, we are all diminished," Henley said.

The first show, scheduled for October 7th at Boston's Fleet Center, will also feature Billy Joel and James Taylor, the subject of a biography by White, Long Ago and Far Away. Jimmy Buffett and Brian Wilson -- whom White also profiled, in The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys and the Southern California Experience -- will join the bill the following day for the second show, October 8th at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

"The music business lost a true giant when we lost Timothy so suddenly," Wilson said. "We must remember to celebrate his life and always remember that the integrity and generosity that this man exhibited should be a lesson to the entire industry, as well as the entire world."

Tickets for both events go on sale Monday, August 26th.

AUGUSTIN SEDGEWICK
(August 19, 2002)