Jim Carrey launches Web site, professes love for Emma Stone (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Looks like Jim Carrey is ready to move on from Jenny McCarthy. Really, really, really ready to move on.

The "Mask" funny-man has launched a new video site, JimCarreyTruLife, which "showcases true life videos from Jim's daily life and serves as a more immediate way for Jim to connect to his fans," according to an announcement obtained by TheWrap.

One fan that he'd particularly like to connect with? "Easy A" beauty Emma Stone.

"Emma, I just wanted to let you know that you are all-the-way-beautiful -- not just pretty, but smart and kind-hearted," Carrey says in a video valentine to the actress posted on the site. "If I were a lot younger, I would marry you, and we would have chubby little freckle-faced kids."

Carrey goes on to elaborate on the domestic bliss they could enjoy. Camping trips. Board games. And the sex? Hoo-boy, to hear Jimbo tell it, the sex would be frequent and quite satisfying.

Watch Carrey awkwardly pitch woo over the Internet on his Web site here (after all, isn't watching Marines ask celebrities out via YouTube getting a little stale?):

http://www.jimcarreytrulife.com/video-post/jim-carreys-message-to-emma-stone

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The Sheepdogs win Rolling Stone cover contest (AP)

NEW YORK – Landing the cover of Rolling Stone is usually confirmation of superstar status. The Sheepdogs — winners of the magazine's first contest to be on the cover — aren't there yet, but they may be on their way.

The Canadian rock band beat out 15 other competitors in "Do You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star?" to land on the cover. The winner was announced Monday.

The magazine hits newsstands Friday.

The previously unsigned act is also getting a deal with Atlantic Records, and on Tuesday they'll release a digital EP "Five Easy Pieces" and perform on NBC's "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon."

"The biggest thing is ... just being able to tell everybody, and seeing what happens," Ewan Currie, lead singer of the quartet from Saskatoon, said in an interview last week with The Associated Press.

The runner-up is singer-songwriter Leila Broussard. Her soft, guitar-strumming tunes are a marked contrast to the hard-driving, rollicking rock offered by the Sheepdogs.

There was apparently no love lost between the two acts. Currie said of Broussard: "She could be rather sullen and not particularly friendly."

They battled it out at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., and in the end, readers showed their preference.

Currie said that while Rolling Stone has had its share of pop acts over the years, the Sheepdogs probably best embody the magazine's spirit.

"In the end, rock `n' roll won," he said.

While the Sheepdogs, all in their 20s, are being introduced to the masses, they're hardly a new group. The band — which also includes drummer Sam Corbett, guitarist Leot Hanson and bassist Ryan Gullen — have been around since 2006. They have released their albums independently, are regular road performers and have a website.

"We were helped by the fact that we are experienced, and we have been running this operation," Currie said. "We were fully formed ... we were ready to seize it."

The group is excited to be on Atlantic Records and to have access to the resources a major label can offer. But band members are hoping the label won't try to change them too much.

"Ultimately we want to put out a record that represents us, and we don't want to change ... so if it changed, it would be a shame," he said.

A massive billboard of the Rolling Stone cover was to be unveiled Monday evening in New York's Times Square.

"It's going to be pretty surreal," Currie said.

___

Online:

http://www.rollingstone.com

http://www.thesheepdogs.com

____

Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's music editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi

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Stone proves quick study on 'The Help,' 'Spidey' (AP)

SAN DIEGO – Emma Stone has gone from layperson to expert on the two publishing sensations she's helping to bring to Hollywood this summer and next.

Stone had not read Kathryn Stockett's "The Help" before auditioning for the lead role in the drama about a white woman who rocks the Deep South establishment by chronicling the hard lives of black maids in the early 1960s.

And before earning the female lead in "The Amazing Spider-Man," Stone knew the Marvel Comics superhero mainly from Sam Raimi's three past big-screen "Spidey" adventures and glimpses of the web-slinger on memorabilia.

"I knew Spidey from Halloween costumes and Band-Aids and erasers and pencils and notebooks," Stone, 22, said in an interview at last week's Comic-Con fan convention, where she and star Andrew Garfield joined the filmmakers to reveal footage of the 2012 summer blockbuster-in-waiting.

"I knew that every little boy at school was obsessed with Spidey. I saw all the Sam Raimi movies, but I had not read the comics until I got involved. And now I'm a ridiculously enormous `Spider-Man' fan. That's what happens. That character is one of the most incredible characters, I think, ever written, comic-book world or literary world. It's just such an inspirational character. I think that's probably the reason he's the president's favorite superhero."

Stone has been on a steady rise in Hollywood, co-starring in 2007's teen romp "Superbad" and 2009's horror comedy "Zombieland," then charming audiences with her first big-screen lead in last year's "The Scarlet Letter" twist "Easy A."

After supporting roles in back-to-back romantic comedies with last week's "Friends With Benefits" and this week's "Crazy Stupid Love," Stone's profile shoots higher with the Aug. 10 debut of "The Help," co-starring Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard and Octavia Spencer.

Stone recalled being as much a novice on "The Help" as she had been on "Spider-Man." She was about to meet with the filmmakers for the first time and happened to give her mom a call.

"I've got a meeting tonight for `The Help,'" Stone told her mother. "And she screamed so loud my eardrums burst. She said, `You've got to read this book! You have to go and read this book right now!' My mother is, like, she fainted, she was so beside herself."

"The Help" is expected to be a summer hit driven by the best-seller's female fans, a rarity in a season dominated by action tales and comedies aimed largely at young males.

As Gwen Stacy, the romantic interest for Garfield's Peter Parker in next July's "Spider-Man" reboot, Stone will be in the thick of a fan-boy frenzy. Yet the fact that Peter's a skinny, bullied kid who leaps to hero status through the bite of a mutant spider makes him an idol for everyone, not just comic-book and action fans, Stone said.

"Batman's great, but this isn't a rich guy building a suit. And Superman's great, but this isn't an untouchable guy like we've never seen before on this planet," Stone said. "This is someone you could go to school with and work with, that all of sudden, one day is able to fight off superhuman villains. It's pretty incredible. I get it now. I really do."

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Sharon Stone ordered to compensate yard worker (AFP)

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – US actress Sharon Stone has been ordered to pay $232,000 in compensation to a worker who injured his knee after slipping and falling in her back yard.

Peter Krause, who injured his right knee while installing a sound system in the star's yard in August 2006, had been seeking up to $1.5 million for pain, suffering and loss of earnings.

A jury at the Los Angeles Superior Court found her guilty of negligence, and on Wednesday ordered her to pay the much lower sum after considering arguments from both sides in the case, which started last week.

"We're very relieved it's over," said Krause as he hugged his wife, Melissa, after the verdict.

Stone's lawyer Jerry Popovich said he would speak to her before deciding whether to appeal, and lamented that the jury had not been convinced by the actress's testimony in court of why she did not consider herself negligent.

"We're disappointed they did not take her testimony at face value," he said.

Krause sued Stone in August 2008. He claimed he slipped on mud, but when he reached for a lattice fence to steady his balance it gave way, and he fell about 12 feet down a slope into the neighboring yard.

Stone was found guilty of negligence for only having a flimsy fence.

Stone's lawyer said earlier this week that both sides agreed Krause's medical damages were $33,000, but said he should receive no more than about $120,000 for the rest of his claims.

Krause's lawyer John Torjesen had said his client should get $900,000 for pain and suffering due to the accident, and the rest of the $1.5 million claimed for lost wages.

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Joss Stone sees positive side of kidnap/murder plot (Reuters)

DETROIT (Billboard) – Joss Stone has started her own label, recorded a new album and is working in the most talked-about supergroup of the year. Not bad for someone who was nearly the victim of a robbery and murder plot earlier this month.

And, for starters, the English singer can't say much about the latter. "I would love to tell you about it, but I've been told not to, for obvious reasons," the singer told Billboard.com.

Police in England arrested two men on June 13 near Stone's home in Cullompton, Mid Devon, who had plans to rob and kill her.

Nevertheless, she says, "I'm fine... It's weird. People are interesting in their heads but ... now I have a perfect excuse to get three really cute little puppies that are going to grow up to be really big, cuddly dogs who will protect me, so I'm actually excited and I have to send (the accused) a thank-you letter."

Stone is on the promo trail for her new album "LP1," which comes out on July 26 as the first release on her own Stone'd Records imprint.

She's also in set-up mode for the September release of an album by Super Heavy, a band that also includes "LP1" co-producer David Stewart, Mick Jagger, "Slumdog Millionaire" composer A.R. Rahman and Damian Marley.

Stone says the Super Heavy album has "the weirdest sound...very eclectic. It's like world music, but it's not one style. It's just not normal."

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Funk icon Sly Stone pleads not guilty to cocaine charge (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sly Stone, the reclusive funk legend whose career was crippled by rampant drug abuse, pleaded not guilty to possession of cocaine rocks on Wednesday.

The 68-year-old frontman for Sly and the Family Stone was arrested April 1 when Los Angeles police pulled over a live-in van for a minor traffic violation.

Cocaine rocks were found in the clothing of both Stone, who was a passenger, and the driver, according to the singer's defense attorneys. Both men were arrested.

"A lot of musicians hang out with people who have drugs. How are they supposed to know?" said Peter Knecht, one of his attorneys. He insisted the cocaine did not belong to Stone.

Stone, whose real name is Sylvester Stewart, is next scheduled to appear in court in the Los Angeles suburb of Van Nuys for a pretrial conference on July 19. His arraignment was originally scheduled for last Friday, but he was hospitalized for heart problems.

Stone, a veteran of the San Francisco power scene, revolutionized soul music with tunes such as "Don't Call me Nigger, Whitey" and "I Want to Take You Higher" that both fed on and fueled the political and social turmoil of the time.

His career, however, was marred by decades of run-ins with the law. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, he was plagued by drug and gun possession charges.

"You can't punish a guy for what he did 40 years ago, 30 years ago," said Knecht.

Stone made his first major public appearance in almost 13 years at the Grammy Awards in 2006 when he was the object of an all-star tribute. Sporting a blond Mohawk and a shiny white jacket, he sauntered out on stage during a performance of "I Want to Take You Higher," but left before the song was over.

Stone just finished recording a new album that will be released on August 16, according to Tim Yasui, general manager for Cleopatra Records. It would mark his first album in almost 30 years.

(Editing by Dean Goodman)

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Men charged in Joss Stone plot had sword in car (AP)

LONDON – Two men charged with plotting to rob and assault British soul singer Joss Stone had a samurai sword in their car when they were arrested, a lawyer said Thursday.

Junior Bradshaw, 30, and 33-year-old Kevin Liverpool were arrested Monday morning near Stone's house in the town of Cullompton, 175 miles (280 kilometers) southwest of London, after residents reported a suspicious-looking vehicle.

They appeared Thursday at Exeter Magistrates' Court in southwest England on charges of conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

Prosecutor Ann Hampshire told the court that items including the sword and notes relating to Stone had been found in the suspects' car.

The defendants spoke only to confirm their identities and were ordered detained until their next hearing on July 1. No members of Stone's family were in court.

The 24-year-old singer, who is due to start a European tour next month, said in a statement that she was "absolutely fine and getting on with life as normal."

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Two men charged in plot targeting singer Joss Stone (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Two men have been charged over an alleged plot to target soul singer Joss Stone, police in southwest England said on Wednesday.

Devon and Cornwall Police were alerted by suspicious locals and arrested the pair near Stone's home in the town of Cullompton, in the county of Devon, on Monday morning.

The men Junior Bradshaw, 30, and Kevin Liverpool, 33, both from the northern English city of Manchester, were charged with conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm. They will appear at Exeter Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

British media reported that the men were involved in a suspected plot to target Stone, 24, who has sold around 11 million albums and has a personal fortune estimated at 9 million pounds ($15 million).

"I'd like to thank everyone for their concern but I'm absolutely fine and getting on with life as normal while the police continue with their inquiries," Stone said in a statement.

Stone, who attended the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in April, is due to go on tour next month.

It was not immediately clear whether she was at her home in the Cullompton area on Monday.

Detective Inspector Steve Parker, who is leading the investigation, said: "The two men in custody had in their possession information relating to an individual in the Cullompton area and items which lead us to suspect that they may have intended to commit a criminal offense.

"We're unable to say any more at this time but I would like to thank the local residents for reporting the suspicious car."

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White and Michael Holden; editing by Steve Addison)

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Two in court over alleged plot against Joss Stone (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Two men were remanded in custody in Britain on Thursday in connection with an alleged plot targeting soul singer Joss Stone.

Junior Bradshaw, 30, and Kevin Liverpool, 33, both from Manchester, are charged with conspiracy to rob and commit grievous bodily harm.

They were arrested in the Devon town of Cullompton on Monday, near the home of 24-year-old Stone, whose hits include "Super Duper Love' and "Fell In Love With A Boy', and who is worth an estimated 9 million pounds ($15 million).

Bradshaw and Liverpool spoke only to confirm their identities during the hearing, the Press Association reported.

They will next appear at Exeter Crown Court in western England on July 1.

(Reporting by Jonathan Gilbert; Editing by Steve Addison)

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Men charged in Joss Stone plot had sword in car (AP)

LONDON – Two men charged with plotting to rob and assault British soul singer Joss Stone had a samurai sword in their car when they were arrested, a lawyer said Thursday.

Junior Bradshaw, 30, and 33-year-old Kevin Liverpool were arrested Monday morning near Stone's house in the town of Cullompton, 175 miles (280 kilometers) southwest of London, after residents reported a suspicious-looking vehicle.

They appeared Thursday at Exeter Magistrates' Court in southwest England on charges of conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

Prosecutor Ann Hampshire told the court that items including the sword and notes relating to Stone had been found in the suspects' car.

The defendants spoke only to confirm their identities and were ordered detained until their next hearing on July 1. No members of Stone's family were in court.

The 24-year-old singer, who is due to start a European tour next month, said in a statement that she was "absolutely fine and getting on with life as normal."

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Funk icon Sly Stone pleads not guilty to cocaine charge (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sly Stone, the reclusive funk legend whose career was crippled by rampant drug abuse, pleaded not guilty to possession of cocaine rocks on Wednesday.

The 68-year-old frontman for Sly and the Family Stone was arrested April 1 when Los Angeles police pulled over a live-in van for a minor traffic violation.

Cocaine rocks were found in the clothing of both Stone, who was a passenger, and the driver, according to the singer's defense attorneys. Both men were arrested.

"A lot of musicians hang out with people who have drugs. How are they supposed to know?" said Peter Knecht, one of his attorneys. He insisted the cocaine did not belong to Stone.

Stone, whose real name is Sylvester Stewart, is next scheduled to appear in court in the Los Angeles suburb of Van Nuys for a pretrial conference on July 19. His arraignment was originally scheduled for last Friday, but he was hospitalized for heart problems.

Stone, a veteran of the San Francisco power scene, revolutionized soul music with tunes such as "Don't Call me Nigger, Whitey" and "I Want to Take You Higher" that both fed on and fueled the political and social turmoil of the time.

His career, however, was marred by decades of run-ins with the law. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, he was plagued by drug and gun possession charges.

"You can't punish a guy for what he did 40 years ago, 30 years ago," said Knecht.

Stone made his first major public appearance in almost 13 years at the Grammy Awards in 2006 when he was the object of an all-star tribute. Sporting a blond Mohawk and a shiny white jacket, he sauntered out on stage during a performance of "I Want to Take You Higher," but left before the song was over.

Stone just finished recording a new album that will be released on August 16, according to Tim Yasui, general manager for Cleopatra Records. It would mark his first album in almost 30 years.

(Editing by Dean Goodman)

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Police arrest 2 men near home of singer Joss Stone (AP)

LONDON – Two men have been arrested near the rural home of singer Joss Stone on suspicion of conspiracy to rob and murder, police said Wednesday.

Devon and Cornwall Police say the men, aged 30 and 33, and from the Manchester area of northwest England, were arrested Monday morning near Stone's house in Cullompton, southwest England after residents reported a suspicious-looking vehicle.

Detective Inspector Steve Parker said the men "had in their possession information relating to an individual in the Cullompton area and items which lead us to suspect that they may have intended to commit a criminal offense."

The force would not confirm a report in The Sun newspaper that the men had swords, rope and a body bag, as well as maps and aerial photos of Stone's secluded property.

Parker said it was "important to stress that no properties have been burgled and no individuals have been harmed."

Police officers stood guard Wednesday outside the gates to the house, which is on a quiet country road.

Stone's London publicists, DWL, said the singer was aware of the arrests and was being kept up to date by the police.

They would not say whether 24-year-old Stone was at home when the men were arrested.

The men were being questioned Wednesday at a police station and have not been charged.

Stone came to fame in 2003 as a small-town teenager with a big, soulful voice, showcased on her best-selling debut album "The Soul Sessions."

She has also taken acting roles, including that of Henry VIII's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, in TV drama "The Tudors."

With a fortune estimated last month by the Sunday Times Rich List at 9 million pounds ($14.6 million), she still lives in the southwestern county of Devon where she was raised.

She is a friend of Prince William and was a guest at his wedding to Kate Middleton in April.

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Two held over plot to murder soul star Joss Stone (AFP)

LONDON (AFP) – Police said on Wednesday they had arrested two men near the home of soul singer Joss Stone on suspicion of conspiracy to murder and rob.

Officers detained the men, aged 30 and 33, in Cullompton, southwest England, at 10:00 am Tuesday near the star's isolated country home and reportedly found them in possession of swords, rope and a body bag.

They also had detailed maps and aerial photos of the 24-year-old singer's property, The Sun newspaper reported.

The arrests came after neighbours spotted two men driving slowly round remote country lanes in Cullompton and reported them to police, said the paper.

"Police attended an address in Cullompton yesterday morning after alert residents notified officers about a suspicious-looking vehicle," said a local police spokesman.

"Officers attended the area at around 10:00 am and subsequently arrested the occupants of a red Fiat Punto."

Stone has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide and has worked with music legends including Rolling Stone Mick Jagger and the late US soul superstar James Brown.

She is estimated to have a personal fortune of ?9 million, according to a list of Britain's wealthiest people published by the Sunday Times last month.

Stone is a friend of Prince William and attended his wedding to Catherine on April 29.

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UK police detain two near home of singer Joss Stone (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Police in southwest England have arrested and detained two men on suspicion of conspiracy to rob and murder near the home of chart-topping soul singer Joss Stone, they said in a statement on Wednesday.

Devon and Cornwall Police were alerted by suspicious locals and arrested the pair in the town of Cullompton, in the county of Devon, on Monday morning.

The men, aged 30 and 33, were initially held for possessing an offensive weapon and being equipped for burglary and theft.

"As a result of enquiries the two men are now being detained for the further offences of conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to murder," the police statement said.

"Major crime detectives are continuing to investigate."

The Sun newspaper reported that the men were involved in a suspected plot to kidnap Stone, 24, who has sold around 11 million albums and has a personal fortune estimated at nine million pounds.

Police did not name Stone in the statement.

But Detective Inspector Steve Parker, who is leading the investigation, said: "The two men in custody had in their possession information relating to an individual in the Cullompton area and items which lead us to suspect that they may have intended to commit a criminal offence.

"Police enquiries continue and the men remain in custody. We're unable to say anymore at this time but I would like to thank the local residents for reporting the suspicious car.

"Our officers are currently carrying out reassurance patrols and it's important to stress that no properties have been burgled and no individuals have been harmed."

A spokesman for the singer said she was aware of the arrests and was being kept informed of developments. It was not immediately clear whether she was at her home in the Cullompton area on Monday.

Stone, who attended the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in April, is due to go on tour next month.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; editing by Keith Weir)

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Rolling Stone selects final 2 for cover contest (AP)

NEW YORK – Bonnaroo will be more than a gig for two acts: It will help serve as the final battle for the cover of Rolling Stone.

Lelia Broussard and The Sheepdogs have been announced as the finalists for the magazine's "Do You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star" contest. It started in February with 16 acts.

The winner also gets a deal with Atlantic Records.

The victor will be picked by Rolling Stone readers. They can see both acts perform at next month's Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee; their performances will be streamed on the magazine's website.

The winner will be crowned on NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" and also perform on the show. The Rolling Stone cover will appear on the Aug. 18 issue.

___

Online:

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_en_mu/storytext/us_rolling_stone_contest/41520514/SIG=10uk0g9he/*http://www.rollingstone.com/

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Stone Sour scraps tour after drummer suffers stroke (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Billboard) – Stone Sour has announced that the remaining shows on its spring U.S. headlining tour have been canceled due to drummer Roy Mayorga suffering a "minor stroke."

In a message posted on the hard rock group's website Tuesday, the band explains that Mayorga, who joined Stone Sour in 2006, suffered the stroke following the group's May 15 performance in Des Moines, Iowa.

"He's doing great and is expected to make a 100% recovery," the band wrote. "We apologize to all the fans and look forward to getting back out on the road with Roy in the coming months."

Prior to the Des Moine show, Mayorga told Billboard.com that Stone Sour was enjoying its time on the road and particularly having a headline run after being part of packages such as the Nightmare After Christmas and Avalanche tours.

"It's great, man. We're not constricted to any kind of time or anything like that," the drummer explained. "With some of the package tours you have to play a certain amount of time and can't go over. With this we can play as long as we want."

Mayorga's stroke led to the cancellation of five shows, including an appearance at this weekend's Rock on the Range. The group was then planning some time off -- during which frontman Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root are regrouping with Slipknot for summer shows in Europe -- before reconvening to play this year's Rock in Rio IV during September 23-October 2 in Brazil.

Meanwhile, Mayorga said, Stone Sour was already starting to eyeball its four album.

"We've definitely talked about that," he said. "It probably won't start 'til next year, but we all have little ideas rolling around in our heads right now. We don't write too much on the road because our headspace isn't really there -- at least mine isn't. For the most part we tend to write a little bit more in our off time. For ('Audio Secrecy') we all wrote separately and sent each other stuff over e-mail, then when we got together for pre-production we learned each other's songs and developed them as a band. I think that's probably the way it'll go this time, too."

Exactly one month before Stone Sour posted the news, the group announced on its website that bassist Shawn Economaki had "gone home for personal issues," and would not be joining the rest of the quartet on their spring tour. The band's trek was scheduled to conclude on Sunday in Columbus, Ohio.

Since its September release, Stone Stour's third album, "Audio Secrecy," has moved 172,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The disc's first single, "Say You'll Haunt Me," topped the Rock Songs chart for nine weeks beginning last October; it currently resides at No. 14.

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

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"Like a Rolling Stone" Dylan's best song (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – No reason to get excited, as Bob Dylan once sang, but the bard's 1965 anthem "Like a Rolling Stone" has been declared his greatest song by none other than Rolling Stone magazine.

Its latest cover story, marking Dylan's 70th birthday on May 24, lists his 70 greatest songs, as determined by an expert panel of writers, academics and musicians.

Additionally, celebrity rockers such as Bono, Mick Jagger and Lucinda Williams have weighed in with essays about various songs on the list.

"Like a Rolling Stone," which Bono described as "a black eye of a pop song," was followed in the rankings by "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," "Tangled Up in Blue," "Just Like a Woman" and "All Along the Watchtower."

Jagger raves about the three-chord simplicity of the 11-minute "Desolation Row (No. 12), Williams zeroes in on the theme of jealousy over artistic success in ""Positively Fourth Street" (No. 16), and Keith Richards says "Girl from the North Country" (No. 30) was better in its original incarnation as a solo tune than as a later duet with Johnny Cash.

Even though Dylan has enjoyed a resurgence in the past 14 years, the highest-ranking song from the era came in at a modest No. 21 -- "Mississippi," a tune from 2001's "Love and Theft." Sheryl Crow, who recorded the song three years before Dylan did, said it introduces him "as somebody facing mortality with an upbeat attitude."

A list published on Rolling Stone's Web site lists 20 "overlooked classics," a handful from Dylan's difficult '80s period when albums such as the gospel release "Saved" and the synth-heavy "Empire Burlesque" left many fans scratching their heads.

Other lists identify the best covers of Dylan songs -- inevitably including Jimi Hendrix's overhaul of "All Along the Watchtower" -- his most inscrutable songs, and his best bootleg recordings. A 30-question quiz will keep Dylan nerds entertained, briefly.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

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