Quick Takes: Cracker Barrel to sell Smokey Robinson CD

Forty-five years after Smokey Robinson found himself “Going to a Go-Go,” he is now headed into Cracker Barrel restaurants — a sign of change not just in music but for the roadside diners too.

The former lead singer of Motown sensations the Miracles on Monday released his latest album not through record outlets, but via a program offered by the chain of nearly 600 diners known for home-style cooking and selling folksy merchandise.

The album, called “Smokey Robinson Now & Then,” mixes live performances of six classic Miracles’ hits such as “Going to a Go-Go,” “The Tears of a Clown” and “The Tracks of My Tears,” with six studio-recorded tunes from Robinson’s recent CD, “Time Flies When You Are Having Fun.”

—Reuters

Charlie Sheen seeks divorce

Charlie Sheen filed to end his marriage to his third wife on Monday and stated in documents that the couple separated the same day as a Christmas 2009 altercation that led to assault charges against the veteran actor.

The divorce filing came less than a week after the “Two and a Half Men” star was briefly hospitalized in New York City after security at a luxury hotel reported he was being disorderly.

Sheen cited irreconcilable differences for the divorce and indicated in court filings in Los Angeles that the couple have a prenuptial agreement. He and Brooke Mueller Sheen were married in May 2008 and have twin sons together.

Within hours, Brooke Sheen had filed her own petition for divorce, seeking sole custody of the boys and spousal support. He is seeking joint custody, but is asking a judge not to award his wife any spousal support.

Sheen, 45, pleaded guilty in Aspen, Colo., in August to misdemeanor third-degree assault after a Christmas Day altercation with Mueller Sheen.

—Associated Press

‘The Walking Dead’ romps

The Halloween premiere of AMC’s zombie drama “The Walking Dead” netted more than 5.3 million viewers, the largest audience for any original-series debut on the network. By comparison, AMC’s “Mad Men” scored only 2 million for its premiere.

Based on the comic-book series written by Robert Kirkman, the show follows Rick Grimes, a police officer who wakes up alone in a hospital in a post-apocalyptic world where zombies are always looking for a hot meal.

—Melissa Maerz

After turkey, some Beyoncé

Beyoncé and the ABC network may become a Thanksgiving tradition.

For the second year in a row, ABC is airing a prime-time special with the singer on turkey night. “Beyoncé’s I Am … World Tour” will start at 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 25.

The show will be a combination of performance clips from the tour and backstage moments. Beyoncé’s husband, Jay-Z, and Kanye West will make guest appearances.

—Associated Press

T.I. reports to prison again

The rapper T.I. reported Monday for a second time to a federal prison in Arkansas to serve time for a weapons violation.

The 30-year-old T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, showed up shortly before noon at the gates of the Forrest City low-security prison, traveling in an entourage of two black Chevrolet Suburbans.

Harris served about seven months in the prison in 2009 before he was released last December on probation. Last month, a federal judge sentenced him to serve another 11 months for breaking probation after he was arrested on Sept. 1 in Los Angeles on drug charges.

—Associated Press

Two million watch rally

Comedy Central’s “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear” on Saturday may have drawn 250,000 or more to the streets of Washington, D.C., but it was no ratings landslide on television.

A total of 2 million viewers tuned in to the three-hour event, which aired from 9 a.m. to noon on the West Coast and was led by “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart and his compatriot Stephen Colbert of “The Colbert Report.”

Those are strong numbers for a basic cable network during a midday Saturday before Halloween, to be sure, but pale in comparison to, say, a college football game.

—Scott Collins