HAIL, HAIL ROCK'N'ROLL: Look for hot producer Matt Serletic (matchbox 20, Edwin McCain) to ink an imprint deal with Arista Records. Based in Atlanta, Melisma Records will focus primarily on rock acts, an area in which Arista has had trouble gaining a stronghold. Among the acts planned for the label is male singer Angie Aparo.

STANDARD ISSUE: Joni Mitchell is working on an album of standards with an orchestra. "I got hooked," she says, "when I performed with the El Nino Orchestra [at a 1998 benefit organized by Don Henley]. An arranger is working on the material now. I'm just going to come in to the studio and sing the songs like Frank." Among the songs she's recording are Billie Holiday's "Comes Love" and "You've Changed," as well as "Answer Me My Love" and "Stormy Weather." Mitchell, a past winner of Billboard's Century Award, notes that she's also singing a few standards she wrote, including "Both Sides Now." "The album starts with how nice love is and then goes into the pits," she adds with a laugh. The project is being produced by her ex-husband, Larry Klein.

WISHFUL THINKING: Being sampled is nothing new for Stevie Wonder, but he says he's always interested to hear how the new creations turn out. The latest song to wrap itself around one of his melodies is Will Smith's "Wild Wild West." Built on the melody of "I Wish," the song is the theme to Smith's upcoming movie of the same name. "I heard the song for the first time when Will and I did the video," says Wonder. "I was really impressed. I loved it. Will's very tasteful with what he does in songs, so I didn't have to worry about [the content]."

Wonder honored Joni Mitchell May 17 at ASCAP's pop music awards, where Mitchell was recipient of the Founders Award. Wonder, a past winner, performed a soulful version of Mitchell's "Woodstock." Not so incidentally, Wonder has been added to the list of performers for Woodstock '99.

STUFF: The legendary songwriting team of Hal David and Burt Bacharach has reunited to pen tunes for the new Bette Midler movie "Isn't She Great," a biopic about author Jacqueline Susann. "We hadn't written in a few years, but it was just like we'd never been apart," says David. While Midler may sing a track, the pair's primary thrush, Dionne Warwick, is already on board to record a tune . . . Paul McCartney's next album will feature the singer covering 17 rock oldies, including Gene Vincent's "Blue Jean Bop" and Otis Blackwell's "Ready Teddy." The set, which started as a jam session with David Gilmour, will come out in July on Capitol in the U.S. and EMI in the rest of the world (BillboardBulletin, May 18) . . . Michael Jackson will headline two concerts in Germany to aid the children of Kosovo (BillboardBulletin, May 19). Both shows will take place June 27, one with pop artists and the other with classical acts . . . Montell Jordan has been asked to play at the inauguration of the new president of Nigeria on Friday (28). Although Jordan hasn't performed in the country before, a number of his songs, including "This Is How We Do It," have been tremendously popular there . . . Jewel, Carole Bayer Sager, Don Was, and composer Jerry Goldsmith will receive Governor's Awards from the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) on June 15. The award honors NARAS members for creative talents and community service.

GOOD ROCKIN': The Hard Rock Cafe is launching an outdoor concert series this summer to build excitement for its annual mega-concert, the Hard Rock Rockfest.

This year's Rockfest takes place June 5 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and will feature 12 rock acts, including Collective Soul, Sugar Ray, Everlast, and Live.

After the concert, the Hard Rock will hold six smaller shows featuring three acts (Marvelous 3, Smash mouth, and another act to be announced). Obviously too late to boost sales for the preceding Rockfest, the shows are meant to boost anticipation for future Rockfests. "It's a way to keep the momentum of Rockfest going after the event and give different parts of the country a taste of Rockfest," says Chris Tomasso, director of productions for Hard Rock Cafe International. The series starts June 23 at Sunken Gardens in San Antonio.

The first Rockfest was held two years ago, but given the success of this year's show--with 50,000 tickets already sold--the Hard Rock has committed to another three years of the all-day extravaganza.

Tickets for the smaller shows in the concert series, which will be at nontraditional locations like parking lots, will be $15. While the idea of Rockfests in several different locations annually isn't out of the question, Tomasso says he wants to start with the smaller concert series. "We've been surprised by the sheer geography of where the tickets from Rockfest are being purchased. People are buying them from all over the country, so we're not sure if multiple Rockfests will make sense. But we have talked about eventually having one on the East Coast, the West Coast, and in Canada."