Sound Bites: Dr. Dre, Trammps, Paul McCartney

April 25 -- Doctor Gets His Due

Dr. Dre settled a fraud and breach of contract suit with accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers for an estimated $15 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The hip-hop producer had argued that the firm took millions from his accounts when he helped run Death Row Records. Several people formerly involved with the label, including Suge Knight, did not testify in the case to avoid incriminating themselves. Both parties said they were satisfied with the outcome of the 3-year-old lawsuit, the paper said.

Ex-Trammps Singer Sent up the River

Jerry Collins, former singer for disco band the Trammps, was sentenced to 12 and a half to 25 years in prison in a hearing yesterday in Philadelphia, according to The Associated Press. Collins, who is 44, was convicted in February 2000 of attempted murder and aggravated assault. The judge said at the sentencing that Collins showed no remorse or awareness of how serious the case was, according to the AP. Collins had accused journalists and prosecutors of being involved in a conspiracy against him, and he accused his wife, Veronica Collins, of sleeping with the judge. Collins joined the Trammps after the group scored its biggest hit, "Disco Inferno," in 1977.

Paul Spouts Poetry Stateside

Paul McCartney's poetry was greeted by a wildly cheering audience of 1,000 people when he read from his collection, Blackbird Singing, yesterday in New York. The 58-year-old former Beatle told the audience that he saw little difference between writing lyrics and writing poetry. He also admitted that his first book of poetry, published Monday, was not well-received by some critics. "They don't like me stepping out of my chosen field," he said. "But, hell, I want to do it, so, tough." Several poems in the book — including "City Park" and "Her Spirit" — were inspired by his late wife, Linda, who died of cancer in 1998. Another poem touches on the topic of the murder of former bandmate John Lennon, and refers to killer Mark Chapman as "Jerk of All Jerks." (Reuters contributed to this report.)