Free Republic

Steven Tyler's attorneys can claim partial victory in a new court ruling as arguments continue in a child sex-abuse lawsuit brought by the former Julia Holcomb. Los Angeles County Judge Patricia A. Young has dismissed claims of alleged abuse in Oregon, Washington and Massachusetts, citing laws governing the age of consent and the statute of limitations. Crucially, however, the California-based charges against Aerosmith's frontman can go forward. In terminating the other claims, Judge Young would apparently stop them from being refiled again. She promised a written decision soon. "I have clearly signaled how I intend" to rule, Young said from...

Before producer David Foster completed their transformation into pop stars, Chicago had built an early reputation as a tough jazz-rocking outfit. Peter Cetera was just one of their vocalists, rather than the honey-sweet ballad-singing frontman. He actually played bass. Robert Lamm, one of Chicago's other prominent singer-songwriters, served as principal pianist. Foster changed all of that, beginning with 1982's Chicago 16. "I get it — I get why they were unhappy," Foster tells the Los Angeles Times. "I just came in like a young, arrogant barnstormer: 'OK, I'm playing all the piano now,' and Peter let me play the synth-bass...