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Posts published in “Music”

Quincy Jones Creates Music Ed Application "Playground Sessions"

By goodblacknews on February 26, 2013
Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones wants to improve our children’s music education and so the famed composer-producer has partnered up with app creator Chris Vance to launch Playground Sessions. The application will teach users how to read and play piano music with tutorials from pianist David Sides. Adults and children will receive real-time feedback as they attempt to master any of the 70 popular songs from artists like Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry included in the program.  There’s “such a need for this,” Jones said. “The concept is brand new. I have been praying for this for a long time. It has a learning concept similar to Rosetta Stone. I’m blown away by this.”

Jones also added that children in the United States are behind other kids when it comes to music education and that Playground Sessions will give them an edge. Jones’ alma mater, Garfield High School in Seattle, will be one of the first to introduce the app to its students.
article by Dorkys Ramos via bet.com

R.I.P. Cleotha Staples of the Staples Singers

By goodblacknews on February 26, 2013

 
APphoto_Obit-Cleotha Staples
Cleotha ”Cleedi” Staples (pictured), the eldest member of the famed soul/gospel group, The Staple Singers, passed away on Feb. 21 of causes related to Alzheimer’s disease. The performer had battled the disease for over a decade, according to Philly.com.  She was 78.  Cleotha was born in Drew, Miss., on April 11, 1934 to Roebuck “Pops” Staples and his wife Oceola. She was soon followed by siblings Pervis, Yvonne, Mavis and Cynthia.
After relocating to Chicago in search of better employment opportunities, Cleotha’s father managed to work a few manual labor jobs while Oceola toiled at a hotel stint overnight. Pops began to teach his children gospel songs in order to keep them entertained during the evenings while their mother worked. Pops’ sister Katie enjoyed her brother and his family’s singing so much that she invited them to sing at her church one Sunday morning in 1948. Congregants loved what they heard and begged for three encores.  This event marked the beginning of the Staples family’s professional singing career.
The Staple Singers “Respect Yourself” On Soul Train: 
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X-UPmTAWMg&w=420&h=315]

R.I.P. Former Temptations Member Otis "Damon" Harris

By goodblacknews on February 25, 2013
The Temptations in 1972 (L to R): Richard Street, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams, Dennis Edwards and Damon Harris. (Photo: Getty Images)
Otis “Damon” Harris, a former member of the Temptations, died at age 62 on Monday (February 18), according to the Baltimore Sun. The singer passed away at Baltimore’s Joseph Richey Hospice following a 14-year battle with prostate cancer which a family spokeman told the Sun had greatly worsened last summer.

Born in 1950, Harris joined Motown hitmakers The Temptations at age 21 in 1971 after a stint in a Temptations cover band called the Young Tempts with high school friends. The young musician, who sang lead on the Temptations’ Grammy-winning Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” in 1972, was in the group until 1975.
Harris went on to release two albums with his childhood friends in the group Impact, which produced the singles “Happy Man” and “Give A Broken Heart A Break.” Harris followed his time in Impact with a solo album, 1978’s “Silk,” before choosing to leave the music industry.   
During his later years, he was an activist for the group Stand Up to Cancer and his own Damon Harris Cancer Foundation, encouraging men to receive regular cancer screenings, as he himself had delayed in seeing a doctor prior to his cancer diagnosis.
article by Chris Payne via billboard.com

Born On This Day in 1933: Jazz Singer and Activist Nina Simone

By goodblacknews on February 21, 2013

ninasimoneEunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), born in Tyron, North Carolina and better known by her stage name Nina Simone, was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music. Simone studied at the Julliard School of Music in New York and worked in a broad range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop.  Among Simone’s most popular recordings were “My Baby Just Cares For Me”, “I Put A Spell On You”, “I Loves You, Porgy” “Feeling Good” and the civil rights protest song “Mississippi Goddam.”  Learn more about this amazing musician’s life and music here and watch her live performance of  “Ain’t Got No… I Got Life” below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUcXI2BIUOQ&w=420&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Prince to Headline 47th Montreux Jazz Festival

By goodblacknews on February 16, 2013
Prince will play three headline shows at the Montreux Jazz Festival this July, for what will be the famous fest’s first edition since its founder Claude Nobs passed away.  The master musician will perform over the three nights of July 13, 14 and 15, organizers of the Swiss music event have announced. Montreux is familiar turf for Prince. He first played at the fest in 2007 and returned in 2009, when he delivered two shows in the same evening.
Prince recently returned to the spotlight with the new track “Screwdriver,” and he was on hand at the Grammy Awards to present Gotye and Kimbra with the Record of the Year trophy. On May 19, Prince will receive the Icon Award and perform at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards.
Prince Returns with ‘Screwdriver’ Song: Listen
The Montreux Jazz Festival is entering a new era without its founder and former GM Claude Nobs, who died in January after sustaining injuries from a fall while cross-country skiing on Christmas Eve. Just months earlier, he’d stepped away from the event he created back in 1967.  The 47th Montreux Jazz Festival runs from July 5-20. The full line-up will be unveiled April 18.
article by Lars Brandle via billboard.com

Marvin Gaye-Inspired Stage Play to Hit Theaters Tonight

By goodblacknews on February 15, 2013
Marvin Gaye performing on stage (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)

Marvin Gaye performing on stage (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)

The story of the late, legendary Motown artist Marvin Gaye will be coming to a stage near you, thanks to the efforts of his sister Zeola “Sweetsie” Gaye.  My Brother Marvin is said to provide behind-the-scenes insights in the life of the “Let’s Get It On” singer.  “Through the years, I became taken aback and disappointed with everything that had been written, said and published about my family, especially my brother Marvin that wasn’t accurate,” Zeola Gaye said in a press release.  The cast for the show includes Lynn Whitfield in the role of Gaye’s mother and Keith Washington as the singer himself.
“In the play, I simply wanted to set the record straight. I wanted to leave a true account about Marvin the man and our family. People need to know what really happened and Marvin would want his fans to really know what happened. We are finally bringing the truth the world needs and must know,” Zeola added in her press release.  The show will be on tour throughout several major American cities including Houston, Baltimore and Motown’s birthplace of Detroit starting today (February 15) and concludes in the spring.  Click here to buy tickets.
article via thegrio.com

Whitney Houston Wax Figures Unveiled at Madame Tussauds

By goodblacknews on February 7, 2013

whitney-houston-wax figures
Madame Tussauds has turned its attention to Whitney Houston, remembering the legendary singer who died last year with not one, but four separate wax figures.  “We were extremely honored when Madame Tussauds approached us about doing four figures of Whitney from different points in her 30-year career,” Houston’s manager and sister-in-law Pat Houston said in a statement on behalf of the family. “This is something we are excited to do for the fans.”
The unveiling marks the first time in 200 years that the museum has simultaneously created so many different figures of the same subject. While each took shape at the Tussauds studio in London, they will be displayed in separate cities.

Born On This Day in 1945: Reggae Music Legend Bob Marley (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on February 6, 2013

Bob MarleyNesta Robert Marley, OM (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981), more widely and commonly known as Bob Marley, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands The Wailers (1963-1974) and Bob Marley & The Wailers (1974–1981). Marley remains the most widely-known performer of reggae music, and is credited with helping spread both Jamaican music and the Rastafari movement to a worldwide audience.
Marley’s music was greatly influenced by the social issues of his homeland, and he gave voice to the political and cultural nexus of Jamaica as well other oppressive, racist societies throughout the world. His best-known hits include “I Shot the Sheriff“, “No Woman, No Cry“, “Could You Be Loved“, “Stir It Up“, “Get Up Stand Up“, “Jamming“, “Redemption Song“, “One Love” and “Three Little Birds“, as well as the posthumous releases “Buffalo Soldier” and “Iron Lion Zion.” The compilation album Legend (1984), released three years after his death, is reggae’s best-selling album, going ten times Platinum which is also known as one Diamond in the U.S., and selling 25 million copies worldwide.  To learn more about his life and music, click here, and watch “Could You Be Loved” below:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qo42heoLUs&w=420&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Sting to Perform Together at Grammys

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2013
From left, Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Sting will perform together at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.From left, Evan Agostini/Invision, via Associated Press; Jon Furniss/Invision, via Associated Press; Hussein Malla/Associated PressFrom left, Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Sting will perform together at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.

To the ever-growing list of artists already scheduled to perform at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, add this unlikely combination: Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Sting. The trio will perform together during the show, the Recording Academy announced Monday, as will Kelly Clarkson. All but Sting also are nominees for awards this year.
In another unusual pairing, the show will also have Sir Elton John and the 21-year-old British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran performing together in a live setting for the first time. The Black Keys, Fun., the Lumineers and Frank Ocean will also be making their debuts as Grammy performers on the Sunday night broadcast on CBS.
The ranks of Grammy presenters is also swelling, with Prince, Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Lopez now confirmed in that role. They join a list that also includes Carly Rae Jepsen and Katy Perry from the pop world; the country music stars Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban; and two stars of hit television series, Kaley Cuoco and Neil Patrick Harris.
article by Larry Rohter via nytimes.com
 

How Super Bowl-Winning City Baltimore is Celebrating Black History Month

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2013

baltimoreAll eyes are on Baltimore this week as the Ravens took the Super Bowl title and Beyoncé cranked out perhaps the most electrifying halftime performance in history. It’s a great time to recognize that “Charm City” – a nickname created by then Mayor William Donald Schaefer and a bunch of ad agencies to boost the city’s national profile – is once again on the map as a vacation destination.
In honor of Black History Month, here’s a list of Baltimore’s events and exhibitions that pay tribute to the African-American men and women who helped shape the nation. Baltimore is a city shaped by the contributions of African-American visionaries including the likes of world famous jazz singer Billie Holiday; great orator Frederick Douglass, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; and female abolitionist and “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman.

“Girl with Flag,” Bryan Collier  

“The Mountaintop” and Beyond

“The Mountaintop”
CENTERSTAGE
Through Feb. 24
The Lorraine Hotel. April 1968. In room 306, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. unwinds and prepares. A visit from a hotel maid offers welcome diversion and a challenging new perspective – but also raises profound and surprising questions. 
Already a worldwide sensation and recently hailed in a star-studded Broadway production, Katori Hall’s new play receives its Baltimore premiere.