R. Kelly Pleads Not Guilty

R. Kelly pleaded not guilty to twenty-one counts of child pornography in a Chicago court yesterday.

The singer, whose real name is Robert Kelly, was indicted by a grand jury on June 5th. The charges stem from a videotape that authorities claim shows Kelly engaged in sex with an underage girl.

Kelly has denied he is the man on the tape, and his attorney, Edward Genson, has said that the other person on the tape was of age at the time the video was made.

Meanwhile, Kelly is free on $75,000 bond and has addressed the charges in a new song, "Heaven, I Need a Hug." The song, which is slated for Kelly's next album, Loveland, accuses fans of rushing to judgement in the case. "You smile in my face and tell me you love me/But then before you know the truth you're so quick to judge me," Kelly sings. The song premiered last week on Chicago radio station WGCI FM.

If convicted, Kelly could be sentenced to fifteen years in prison and fined $100,000 dollars.

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Song Stories

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette | 1973

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."

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