The cover for the newest Harry Potter book has been released today. J.K. Rowling’s fantasy series has sold over 325 million copies and her latest, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” has already announced a first printing of 12 million.

As always, the cover was designed by illustrator Mary GrandPre, U.S. publisher Scholastic, Inc. “The structures around Harry show evident destruction and in the shadows behind him, we see outlines of other people,” David Saylor, Scholastic’s art director, said in a statement. “For the first time, the cover is a wraparound. On the back cover spidery hands are outstretched toward Harry. Only when the book is opened does one see a powerful image of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, his glowing red eyes peering out from his hood.”

This is the seventh and last book in as series that has made J.K. Rowlings the richest writer in literary history. The new release is rumored to be the longest with 784 pages of adventure. In her online diary, Rowlings wrote “I always knew that Harry’s story would end with the seventh book, but saying goodbye has been just as hard as I always knew it would be.” She continued by saying, “Even while I’m mourning, though, I feel an incredible sense of achievement. I can hardly believe that I’ve finally written an ending I’ve been planning for so many years.” Rowlings has also admitted that the final book is also her favorite.

Potter fans are filled with mixed emotions. On the one hand this is a long anticipated book that continues what has become no more of a children’s book than Stephen King’s “Cell”. There is a prophecy yet to completely unfold and there are strong rumors that Draco Malfo dies. However, the story has to end at some point and that’s the reality Potter fans unfortunately will have to face.

Click Here to Pre-order

In The News: It has been rumored that Emma Watson will not return for her role as Hermione Granger in movies 6 & 7. Warner Bros. has announced that Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson will all return for the final two Harry Potter films, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

About Harry Potter:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harry Potter is a series of fantasy novels by English author J. K. Rowling about a boy with the same name. Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the United States) in 1997, the books have gained immense popularity and commercial success worldwide, spawning films, video games and assorted merchandise. The six books published to date have collectively sold more than 325 million copies, and have been translated into more than 63 languages.[1][2] The seventh and last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is scheduled to be released on 21 July 2007.[3] Publishers announced a record-breaking 12 million copies for the first print run in the US alone.[4]

The story is mostly set in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and focuses on Harry Potter’s fight against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, who used the Dark Arts to kill Potter’s parents.
Due to the success of the novels, Rowling has become the richest writer in literary history.[5] English language versions of the books are published by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic Press in the United States, Allen & Unwin in Australia and Raincoast Books in Canada.

The first four books have been made into very successful motion pictures by Warner Bros.. The fifth, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, began filming in February 2006, and is scheduled for release on 13 July 2007.[6]

References
1. ^ Kloer, Phil. “Predicting Potter”, AccessAtlanta, 2007-03-01. Retrieved on 2007-03-09.
2. ^ “Global Potter sales top 300m mark”, BBC, 2005-10-04. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
3. ^ “Final ‘Potter’ launch on July 21″, CNN, 2007-02-01. Retrieved on 2007-02-12.
4. ^ McLaren, Elsa. “Harry Potter’s final adventure to get record print run”, The Times, 2007-03-15. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
5. ^ Watson, Julie and Kellner, Tomas. “J.K. Rowling And The Billion-Dollar Empire”. Forbes.com, 26 February 2004. Accessed 19 March 2006.
6. ^ Confirmed: ‘Phoenix’ flies on July 13, 2007. HPANA (2006-04-05). Retrieved on 2006-10-23.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio has admitted its first Rap group. Yes that’s right! Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five were honored last week for their contribution to Rock n Roll.

If I didn’t grow up in the era of Bboys and Emcees, I might have questioned the link between the two genres. Although I am not sure which of the pre-determined qualifications Flash, Melle Mel, Scorpio, Raheim, Kid Creole and Cowboy fell into, I do know this:

Rap music, like Rock has its roots in traditional African music with strong drumlines and rhythmic beats. When rap was pioneered it featured samples of catchy rock songs to create music for Emcees to rhyme over. It can probably be said that NYC street style in the late 70’s also had something to do with the leather pants and spiked bracelets commonly associated with metal or punk bands.

While I don’t profess to be an expert on the correlation between Grandmaster Flash and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, one thing is for certain. Rap helped spawn a generation of hip hoppers that now enjoy fame as rock artists (e.g. Kid Rock, Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit). In fact it can be said that a three man group out of Hollis Queens saved the career of Aerosmith with the collaboration “Walk This Way”.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is described as “A permanent Museum exhibit that celebrates the lives and work of Hall of Fame inductees.” The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honors the legendary performers, producers, songwriters, disc jockeys and others who have made rock and roll the force that it is in our culture. For a decade and a half, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation has been nominating and electing those figures, and honoring them at an annual ceremony that has become one of the most celebrated events of the year, and certainly one of the hottest tickets in rock.

What are your thoughts? Do you think that Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five belong in the Rock Hall? Feel free to add your comment below.

About Elections of Inductees:

Leaders in the music industry joined together in 1983 to establish the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. One of the Foundation’s many functions is to recognize the contributions of those who have had a significant impact on the evolution, development and perpetuation of rock and roll by inducting them into the Hall of Fame.

The Categories

Performers
Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artist’s contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.
The Foundation’s nominating committee, composed of rock and roll historians, selects nominees each year in the Performer category. Ballots are then sent to an international voting body of about 1,000 rock experts. Those performers who receive the highest number of votes, and more than 50 percent of the vote, are inducted. The Foundation generally inducts five to seven performers each year.

Non-Performers
Songwriters, producers, disc jockeys, record executives, journalists and other industry professionals who have had a major influence on the development of rock and roll.

Early Influences
Artists whose music predated rock and roll but had an impact on the evolution of rock and roll and inspired rock’s leading artists.
The special selection committee elects the inductees in the Non-performer and Early Influences categories.

Side Men
This category was introduced in 2000. It honors those musicians who have spent their career out of the spotlight, performing as backup musicians for major artists on recording sessions and in concert. Though they often play a key role in the creation of memorable music, the public rarely knows them by name. A separate committee, composed primarily of producers, selects the inductees in this category.