STING has been selected to receive the MusiCares Person of the Year honor by the Recording Academy. The award -- previously bestowed upon BONO, PAUL SIMON and ELTON JOHN -- is given to musicians who also distinguish themselves as humanitarians and activists. Sting will be honored on February 6th in Los Angeles during the Grammy Fest week of events . . .

WYCLEF JEAN will give two free performances in New York City tomorrow, including a noon appearance in the center of Times Square . . . DIANA KRALL and 'N SYNC's JOEY FATONE have contributed tracks to the soundtrack for The Cooler, due November 11th . . . The ROLLING STONES will play two November shows in Hong Kong as part of the city's Harborfest celebration . . . TEMPTATIONS singer BARRINGTON HENDERSON filed suit against his former bandmates claiming he's owed outstanding royalties . . . New songs by SNOOP DOGG and WARREN G. will be included on the soundtrack to the video game True Crime: Streets of Los Angeles, due November 4th . . .

JOHN MELLENCAMP, GEORGE JONES and DWIGHT YOAKAM have been added to the lineup for the November 10th tribute to JOHNNY CASH in Nashville . . . PRODIGY's next album, tentatively titled "Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned," has been pushed back to a 2004 release . . . Little Buster Records teamed with the National Federation of the Blind for charity blues tour that wraps Saturday in New York City . . . Fans overturned cars and smashed windows after an EXPLOITED and TOTAL CHAOS was cancelled in Montreal on Tuesday . . . Ludacris will launch Da Hood Collection, a new footwear line, in February . . .

JIMI HENDRIX, recently named the Greatest Guitarist of All Time by Rolling Stone, will be the next musician immortalized with a figurine created by McFarlane Toys, who have also created toys honoring JERRY GARCIA and OZZY OSBOURNE. The Hendrix figure is based on the guitarist's landmark performance at the Woodstock festival in 1969, and its release next month is timed to coincide with that would have been Hendrix's sixty-first birthday on November 27th . . .

INCUBUS frontman BRANDON BOYD will begin selling White Puffy Clouds, a book of his poetry and art next month through brandonboyd.com . . . SIMPLE PLAN will release A Big Package for You on DVD on November 25th. The DVD will include all of the band's videos and tour footage . . . TRUTH HURTS and JOI have signed to RAPHAEL SAADIQ's new Pookie Entertainment Label and will release albums next year . . .

AIMEE MANN will release a two-CD version of her 2002 release, Lost in Space, on November 18th. The set will feature two new studio songs, five live cuts and three "Space" B sides . . . U.K. rapper MS. DYNAMITE was honored with the Capital Radio Big Voice Award this week for her work to end gun violence . . . The POLYPHONIC SPREE and DAMIEN RICE will headline the second annual A Sounds Eclectic Evening concert on November 22nd in Los Angeles . . . JAWBREAKERS' 1995 album Dear You will be reissued in February with bonus tracks . . .

THRICE and THURSDAY will perform at grand openings for Apple retail stores in Santa Monica, California, and New York City, respectively, on October 15th. The music performed will be made available for exclusive purchase at the iTunes Music Store and the sets will also be videotaped and placed for download at apple.com. The two bands will begin a joint tour on October 17th in Pittston, Pennsylvania . . .

CEE-LO's second album, Cee-Lo Green Is the Soul Machine, is scheduled for release on January 16th . . . KYLIE MINOGUE's next album will be titled Body Language, and is set for a November release in the U.K. and a February 10th release in the U.S. . . . Twenty-four additional tracks will be added to the reissue of DAVID BOWIE's formerly out-of-print box set, Sound + Vision, due December 2nd . . . EARTH WIND AND FIRE and the ISLEY BROTHERS will perform on the Crown Royal Comedy Soul Festival, which launches November 13th in Atlanta . . . The JORDANAIRES make a guest appearance on the radio edit of UNCLE KRACKER's new single, "Memphis Soul Song" . . .

50 CENT won five World Music Awards including Best Artist of 2003 last week in Monaco . . . YUSUF ISLAM, formerly CAT STEVENS, will give a rare musical performance at the Peace Train Charity Night concert in Kuala Lumpur tonight . . . Guitarist STEVE VAI will release a two-DVD set, Live at the Astoria London, on November 18th . . . Global Underground's new imprint, GU Music, will issue its first release, PAKO AND FREDERICK's Atlantic Breakers, on November 4th . . . Two members of the FLAMINGOS are suing Pepsi for more than $1 million, claiming the soft drink company used their songs in a commercial without authorization . . .

(October 15, 2003)