SIRIUS will commemorate the legacy of Frank Sinatra, one of the most iconic entertainers of the 20th century, with a day-long broadcast celebration of his life and musical career.

The broadcast will air on Siriusly Sinatra channel 75 on Wednesday, May 14th starting at 9 am ET.

The day-long tribute to Frank Sinatra on the 10th anniversary of his passing will feature a special edition of Nancy for Frank, hosted by Nancy Sinatra and her daughter, A.J. Lambert, which will start at 1 pm ET. Frank Sinatra, Jr. will host As I Remember It, a personal retrospective on his father starting at 4 pm ET.

SIRIUS will start the broadcast event at 9 am ET with the premiere of a new “Live in Vegas” edition of The Chairman’s Hour, Siriusly Sinatra’s unique and innovative weekly show hosted by Frank Sinatra himself through the use of archival materials.

SIRIUS will broadcast the classic 1966 “Sinatra at the Sands” performance accompanied by the Count Basie Orchestra at 8 pm ET. Other exclusive programming includes Playing Favorites, with guest hosts Linda Ronstadt and Michael Feinstein, each playing their favorite Sinatra songs and sharing stories respectively at 10 am and 10 pm ET.

SIRIUS will also broadcast a 90-minute program featuring interviews and commentary on Nothing but the Best, a new collection of essential tracks from the Frank Sinatra songbook, including remastered favorites like “Strangers in the Night,” “Summer Wind,” “The Way You Look Tonight,” “My Kind Of Town,” plus many more songs. Sirius will feature the only coast-to-coast broadcast of this special edition program at 11 am and rebroadcast at 6 pm ET. Nothing but the Best will be available for sale on May 13th. For encore and up-to-date programming information, please visit www.sirius.com/siriuslysinatra.

The United States Postal Service will immortalize Sinatra with a commemorative stamp on May 13, 2008. In a career studded with accolades, Sinatra won an Academy Award®, several Grammy® awards, received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1971, and was recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983. Sinatra also gave generously to many charities. He was born in Hoboken, NJ, on December 12, 1915 and died on May 14, 1998.

Siriusly Sinatra, is the only 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, commercial-free channel to broadcast the entire spectrum of Sinatra’s career as well as artists and songs from the standards era. Produced by SIRIUS and the Sinatra family, the channel features regular blocks of Sinatra’s music, archival performances and is the home of Nancy for Frank, a weekly show hosted by his daughter, Nancy Sinatra.

SIRIUS will broadcast an up-close and personal interview with legendary singer-songwriter Neil Diamond on his Neil Diamond Radio channel available exclusively on SIRIUS.

“A Conversation with… Neil Diamond” will premiere on Neil Diamond Radio on SIRIUS channel 3, tomorrow, May 9th at 5 pm. Additional encores will air on Mother’s Day, May 11th at 12 noon, 6 pm and 9 pm, and Monday, May 12th at 9 am and 3 pm (all times Eastern). For more information, please visit www.sirius.com.

During the interview, Diamond will discuss his work with producer Rick Rubin on his latest album, Home Before Dark. He will also talk about growing up in Brooklyn, getting his first guitar and classic songs such as “I Am… I Said” and new songs from his latest album.

The Neil Diamond Radio channel on SIRIUS launched on May 2, 2008 for a limited engagement, offering non-stop Neil Diamond music and stories from a career spanning four decades.

In addition to his own SIRIUS channel and new album release, Diamond will also return to concert stages this summer for a 37-city North American tour starting in July. For tour dates and more information about Diamond’s new album, Home Before Dark, go to www.neildiamond.com.

BBC Radio 1, the music station heard on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, will broadcast a live performance by Madonna from one
of Europe’s biggest music festivals of the year—“Radio 1’s Big Weekend.”

BBC Radio 1, the U.K.’s legendary music station, will also go behind the scenes during the entire weekend of May 10 to provide SIRIUS listeners with backstagegossip, news, performance highlights and interviews with this year’s performers, including Usher, Nelly, The Raconteurs, Fatboy Slim, Duffy, Adele, Editors and others.

Listen in on SIRIUS channel 11, BBC Radio 1, Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11 from 12 pm –11 pm ET

Madonna’s live performance scheduled to air on Saturday, May 10 at 9:15 pm ET

SIRIUS RadioClassics celebrates Bing Crosby’s 105th birthday a day early as SIRIUS airs a four-hour “Happy Birthday Bing” block starting at 10 am ET Friday, May 2, with a repeat airing at 6 pm ET on RadioClassics channel 118.

Mary Crosby, Bing’s daughter, hosts and offers a bit of insight into her Dad’s 30-plus years of radio as she introduces a number of Bing’s programs. These vintage treasures include guests Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Al Jolson, Peggy Lee, and Bob Hope.

Tune in and help celebrate Bing’s 105th!

For more information on Bing Crosby please visit www.BingCrosby.com.

*Bing’s special day has always been celebrated a day early due to a long-standing family tradition. His younger sister’s birthday was ALSO May 3, so to give his sister her own ’special day’, Bing’s was traditionally celebrated on May 2. Following Bing’s lead, RadioClassics will celebrate his birthday May 2nd.

Exclusive SIRIUS channel to play 24/7 Neil Diamond music spanning his four-decade career

“Neil Diamond Radio” will premiere in advance of new Neil Diamond studio album “Home Before Dark”

SIRIUS announced today that legendary singer-songwriter Neil Diamond will host an exclusive music channel for two weeks starting tomorrow, May 2nd, at 12 noon ET on SIRIUS channel 3.

“Neil Diamond Radio” will feature Neil Diamond music 24/7, spanning four decades, including a preview of songs from Diamond’s highly anticipated new album, Home Before Dark, being released on May 6th.

The limited engagement channel will also feature stories and insights from Neil about the many classic songs that have defined his iconic career, as well as his new Rick Rubin-produced album.

“Neil Diamond is the quintessential songwriter, recording artist and performer with an endless catalog of memorable hits,” said Scott Greenstein, SIRIUS President of Entertainment and Sports. ”We are thrilled to launch ‘Neil Diamond Radio’ and offer SIRIUS subscribers the ultimate Neil Diamond listening experience.”

In addition to his own SIRIUS channel and new album release, Diamond will also return to concert stages this summer for a 37-city North American tour starting in July. For tour dates and more information about Diamond’s new album Home Before Dark go to www.neildiamond.com.

With a four-decade long career that has seen more than 125 million records sold worldwide, 36 Top 40 hits, a Grammy®, a Golden Globe® and thousands of sold-out shows all over the globe, Neil Diamond remains one of the most vital and innovative forces in modern music.

Diamond’s prolific body of work includes “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” (the powerful duet with Barbra Streisand), “I Am, I Said” and “Cracklin’ Rosie,” as well as hits from his album and movie The Jazz Singer (“America,” “Love on the Rocks”) and from his acclaimed 2005 album 12 Songs. The album marked his first project with Rubin, which entered the Billboard Top 200 at No. 4 – marking Diamond’s highest-charting debut to date – and offered a stripped-down, emotionally honest and passionately compelling approach that continues on Home Before Dark.

Neil Diamond Radio continues SIRIUS’ tradition of creating exclusive artist branded channels dedicated to iconic figures at the top of their game. Recent limited engagement artist channels heard exclusively on SIRIUS include Rolling Stone Radio, Garth Brooks Radio, Radio R.E.M., Jay-Z Nation, Duran Duran’s Red Carpet Radio, among many others.

In a letter sent to FCC chairman Kevin Martin today, Congressman John Dingell (D-MI) chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee argues that 2 conditions ought to be set by the FCC before they approve the merger.

The first condition would be to hold the merged company to it’s proposed pricing models.

The second is that they open up manufacture of their radios.

They do NOT take a position on whether the merger should be approved. More details here.