Taking Names

Spiritual cat<

Steve Beard, a contributing author to “Spiritual Journeys: How Faith Has Influenced Twelve Music Icons” and creator of Thunderstruck.org, notices in an article for National Review Online that retro rocker Brian Setzer is a serious Catholic with an allergy to liberal journalism.

“You’ve got MTV and Howard Stern and shock jocks who make fun of religion,” Mr. Setzer told the Desert Sun, a Palm Springs, Calif., newspaper. “It’s something to be derided, almost, and nobody seems to say anything about it. I’m shocked by that. I’m shocked by the lack of respect for spirituality and religion.”

The ex-Stray Cat continued: “I’m a religious person. I’m a Catholic. But I think any kind of spirituality is good. My chosen spirituality is Catholicism, and I believe in Jesus. Now, if I was to say that in Rolling Stone, it would probably either get edited out or there would be some snide comment about that.”

He blames disgraced televangelists such as Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart, but only in part: “A lot of it is the fault of these people, and a lot of it is the fault of the whole left-wing journalism of Spin magazine or Rolling Stone. It’s not ‘cool.’”

To which we say, “Cool.”

Beatle doc sued

The family of late Beatle George Harrison has planted a $10 million lawsuit on Staten Island’s Dr. Gilbert Lederman, who treated him in his last days. The suit accuses the doctor of being a publicity hound and coercive souvenir seeker.

British Broadcasting Corp. reported yesterday that court papers filed in a Brooklyn, N.Y., federal court by Mr. Harrison’s family, which runs his estate, claim that Dr. Lederman “preyed upon Mr. Harrison while he was in a greatly deteriorated mental and physical condition by coercing” him to sign his son’s guitar and autographs for his two daughters.

The lawsuit also says that when Mr. Harrison, who died in November 2001, resisted signing autographs, Dr. Lederman held his hand to help him write. “[H]e absolutely and categorically denies that,” said the doctor’s lawyer, Wayne Roth.

“As recently as a few hours ago, we gave them the opportunity to avoid this proceeding by simply returning the guitar and the autographs,” Harrison lawyer Paul LiCalsi said yesterday in a statement.

“We even offered to give him a replacement guitar, and the doctor refused.”

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