Joss Stone

In the news this week... Jermaine Jackson's name change approved. Michael Jackson's older brother filed papers in Los Angeles Superior Court in November (12), requesting to legally alter his surname to Jacksun for "artistic reasons". A decision was postponed until this year and on Friday (22Feb13), a judge approved his petition, according to Tmz.com. The 58 year old was not present for the hearing as he is currently on tour in Europe with his brothers as The Jackson's. They will be appearing at the N.I.A. in Birmingham on Tuesday 26th. February, tickets are £50.00 each

photo c/o Bill Randle

Damon Harris dies. The singer passed away at the Joseph Richey Hospice in Baltimore, Maryland last Monday (18Feb13) after a 14-year battle with prostate cancer. Harris joined the hit R&B group The Temptations  in 1971, aged 21, following the departure of original member Eddie Kendricks, and sang lead vocals on some of the band's biggest tracks, including Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are), Take a Look Around, Masterpiece and Papa Was a Rollin' Stone, which won The Temptations three Grammy Awards. He left the band in 1975, and went on to release several disco songs with his group Impact before retiring from music. After he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the 1990s, he set up the The Damon Harris Cancer Foundation in 2001 to raise awareness of the disease among African-American men. On Bill Randle's home page is a interview/show he made in 1992 for PCRL radio.

Cleotha Staples, the eldest sibling in the influential gospel/soul group The Staple Singers, has died. She was 78. Staples died Thursday at her Chicago home after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for the past decade, said family friend and music publicist Bill Carpenter. The family's music career had its roots with Roebuck "Pops" Staples, a manual laborer who strummed a $10 guitar while teaching his children gospel songs to keep them entertained in the evenings. They sang in church one Sunday morning in 1948, and three encores and a heavy church offering basket convinced Pops that music was in the family's future. The Staple Singers was born.

Rihanna's house broken into. What is it with Rihanna and random incidents these days? First she has a bottle thrown at her by a fan angry about her reconciliation with Chris Brown, and now someone is arrested for trying to break into her house. TMZ reports that neighbors spotted a man angling around RiRi's home in the Pacific Palisades and apprehended him.

According to law enforcement sources, the unidentified man told police that another person gave him instructions -- via email, no less -- on how to break into her house.

"Prince Charles said, 'Do drop off your new album when it's finished!' Will do Omar said!" It looks like this could just be Brighton based UK soul star Omar's year - having been recently signed by leading independent label Freestyle and now awarded an O.B.E for his contribution to the cultural life of the United Kingdom (thoroughly deserved) to boot! ...Life surely can't get much better ...or can it? With 20 years of music to his name and a seventh album "The Man" on the horizon, 2013 is set to mark both personal and creative milestones in the career of this master of the soul groove. With past collaborations coming thick and fast from a plethora of quality musical adversaries, inc; Stevie Wonder, Angie Stone, Common, Estelle, JC Bentley, Zed Bias, Rodney P, Ashman and Canitbe to name a few - we can't wait to hear who will be next on this esteemed list. Last word from the man himself... "To all my fans I say a big thank you! I’m a person that likes to do things differently and without your reassurance that I’m doing something right I’d just be some nutta making up beats and grooves in his mum’s basement! As long as I have music to put fire in my belly, I will keep on keeping on.” (Blues&Soul)


This Weeks Playlist Sunday 24th February 2013

Hour One
Marvin Gaye - After The Dance
Whitney Houston - For The Love Of You
Euge Groove - Sneak A Peak [welcome bed]
Mike Winans - You Deserve A Break
Shirley Brown - This Used To Be Your House

Charlie Wilson - I Still Have You
Plush - We've Got The Love
The Impressions - Minstrel & Queen
R-Kelly - Single ladies (feeling single rmx)
Antroine Dunn - I Just Want To Say
The Isley Brothers - I Once Had Your Love
The William Brothers - Still Here

Hour Two
Joss Stone - Three-in-a-row (trk3 with Betty Wright)
1 Jet Lag 2  Super Duper Love 3 Whisper In The Wind
Leroy Hutson - Paradise
Gray & Hanks - How Can You Live Without Love
Phyliss Hyman - You Know How To Love Me
Thelma Houston - Saturday Nite, Sunday Morning
RJ's Latest Arival - Please Stay
Charlie Wilson - There Goes My Baby
Case And Joe - Faded Pictures
Mary J Blige - Before I Let Go
Maze - Before I Let Go

Joss Stone Biography

Born Joscelyn Eve Stoker, 11 April 1987, Dover, Kent, England. This precociously talented white soul singer made a notable impact with her 2003 debut album, The Soul Sessions, released when she was only 16 years old. Stone grew up in the rural village of Ashill, Devon. She began singing in her early teens, making her first public performance at Uffculme Comprehensive School with a version of Jackie Wilson's "Reet Petite". In 2001, Stone won a local audition to perform on a junior version of the BBC talent show Star For A Night. Her appearance on Junior Star For A Night (singing Donna Summer's "On The Radio") helped launch a career in music, with the teenage singer hiring a management team that brought her to the attention of London-based production team the Boiler House Boys. The latter passed the word on to US record company executive Steve Greenberg who flew Stone to New York for an audition, following which he signed the 14-year old singer to his S-Curve label. Greenberg introduced Stone to veteran soul artist Betty Wright, with the original intention being to co-write an album of contemporary material. The direction of the album took a different turn when Greenberg and Wright suggested bringing in some well-known names from the 70s soul scene, including keyboard players Latimore and Timmy Thomas, and guitarist Little Beaver.

Mainly produced at the Hit Factory in Miami by Greenberg, the album evolved as a "live in the studio" set-up which saw Stone tackling a wide range of classic soul and pop material, including Carla Thomas' "I've Fallen In Love With You", Harlan Howard's "The Chokin' Kind", John Sebastian's "I Had A Dream", Aretha Franklin's "All The King's Horses", and the Isley Brothers' "For The Love Of You". Two further tracks were cut in New York with Mike Mangini, while a cover version of the White Stripes' "Fell In Love With A Girl" (retitled "Fell In Love With A Boy") was recorded in Philadelphia with the Roots' ?uestlove.

Released in September 2003, The Soul Sessions earned rapturous acclaim from critics on both sides of the Atlantic. Stone's raw, passionate singing was trumpeted as a welcome antidote to both the glut of reality television stars and the overly slick style of much contemporary R&Born The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in July 2004, and though it failed to win the attendant publicity helped raise expectations for the singer's new album. Stone co-wrote all the material on Mind, Body & Soul, on which she dabbled in a number of musical styles including pop and reggae. Predictably enough, the singer sounded most at ease on retro soul numbers such as "Right To Be Wrong" and "Spoiled". The album topped the UK charts and broke into the US Top 20. (music.us/photo:contactnews)

After 7

 In the news this week .... Justin Timberlake's official "Suit & Tie" video is here! The "SexyBack" singer's musical hiatus is over and he's getting a little help from directer David Fincher. The classic black and white clip features JT and pal Jay-Z hanging around the studio, and performing in front of a dapper audience.Timberlake met the Oscar-nominated Fincher while filming "The Social Network" in 2010. The singer played Napster creator and extravagant Facebook co-founder Sean Parker to great acclaim.Since the film, JT has starred in several blockbusters, and hosted "SNL" numerous times. Fans have been worried that the singer had left music behind, making acting a full-time career. Thankfully, Justin delivered this past January by announcing his collaboration with Timbaland and Jay-Z on The 20/20 Experience, his first full length album in seven years. Check out the brand new "Suit & Tie" video below. The album comes out on the 18th February.

Adele has cleared up rumors of a Grammy Awards fight between herself and Chris Brown. The 'Skyfall' singer said on her Twitter account that the two were actually exchanging compliments during the February 10 event. Adele and Chris Brown at the Grammys Although Adele looked to be shouting at Brown in a photograph taken at the ceremony, she wrote: "Chris Brown and I were complimenting each other in that photo actually!" The singer's explanation comes after speculation of a fight between the two artists based on the photograph. Adele glances at Chris Brown when he fails to stand for Frank Ocean at the Grammy. (RNBNews)

Future And Lil Wayne Remix Pulled Over Emmett Till Reference. Record label bosses have issued a public apology following the accidental leak of a Future and Lil Wayne track containing a controversial reference to assassinated African-American teen Emmett Till. The unauthorised remix of Karate Chop, by hip-hop star Future, features a verse by Lil Wayne in which he raps about 14-year-old Till, who was beaten and shot to death in Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly flirting with a white woman.

Emmett Till

On Wednesday (Feb13), Epic Records executives apologised and vowed to remove the song from the Internet. A statement from Epic reads, "We regret the unauthorised remix version of Future's Karate Chop, which was leaked online and contained hurtful lyrics. Out of respect for the legacy of Emmett Till and his family... we are going through great efforts to take down the unauthorised version." According to a message posted on the Mamie Till Mobley Memorial Foundation's Facebook.com page, Epic CEO Antonio 'L.A.' Reid also personally reached out to the family to extend his apologies. The post from the charity, named after Emmett's mum, reads, "Mr. Reid stated the song was leaked out and he had not heard the lyrics. He is a man of integrity that values our family's legacy and wouldn't allow such heinous usage of Emmett Till's name or dishonor his memory." (contactmusic.com) On to this weeks tunes....



Sunday 17th February 2013 playlist

Hour One
Keni Stevens - You

Keith Barrow - If It's Love Your Looking For 
Norman Connors - Easy Living [welcome bed]
Anita Baker - Will Be Mine
The Emotions - Eternally
Will Downing - Love We Share
Freddie Jackson - Tasty Love
Keith Sweat - How Deep Is Your Love
Luther Vandross - Think About You
Midnight Star - Love Song
Angie Stone - Do What Cha Gotta Do
Babyface/Gweneth Paltrow - Just My Imagination

Hour Two
After 7 - 1 Truly Something Special 2 How Did He Love You 3 One Night
Rahsaan Patterson - Where Are You
Jon B - They Don't Know
Maxwell - Don't Ever Wonder / Sumthin' Sumthin'
The Staple Singers - Let's Do It Again
Betty Wright - Keep Love New
Barry White - September
Kim Waters - In The Name Of Love

After 7 Biography

After 7 is an R&B group founded in 1987 by brothers Melvin and Kevon Edmonds, and Keith Mitchell. The Edmonds brothers are the siblings of popular pop and R&B singer-songwriter-producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds" (Melvin is older, and Kevon - born Kevin - is younger). Mitchell was long thought to be the cousin of Babyface's then-partner, songwriter-producer Antonio "L.A." Reid, however, this was actually set up as a marketing tool for the group and was actually incorrect.

Virgin Records released their self-titled debut album in autumn 1989, which included the hits "Heat of the Moment", "Can't Stop" and the quiet-storm staple "Ready or Not". After promoting the album and seeing it go platinum, they scored a hit with the Motown-influenced "Nights Like This" on 1991's The Five Heartbeats soundtrack. The trio returned with Takin' My Time in 1992, which included the hit cover of The Originals' "Baby I'm For Real". The trio released their last album, Reflections in 1995, which included the hit "'Til You Do Me Right".

The group members went their separate ways after leaving Virgin Records due to creative differences and silently broke up. Despite this, in 1997, the Edmonds brothers released a cover of Hall & Oates' "Sara Smile" as a single (and sole new track) from the career retrospective The Very Best of After 7 before completely stopping releases under the group's name.

Following the group's split, Kevon released a solo album, 24/7, in October 1999 which included the hit single "24/7". Keith went on to manage white rapper Sarai and is working today on a solo gospel album.

The Edmonds brothers occasionally reunite for the odd show here and there. Both Kevon and Melvin Edmonds appeared with Babyface in the film Soul Food as members of the R&B group Milestone, performing the song "I Care About You". In 2006 the group minus Melvin Edmonds appeared on the New Jack Reunion Tour with Kevon Edmonds, Keith Mitchell, and Jason Edmonds who happens to be the son of Melvin Edmonds and the nephew of Babyface and Kevon Edmonds. However Mitchell briefly left the group again to pursue other interests was replaced by Keith Floyd . Throughout 2007–2008, Kevon Edmonds, Jason Edmonds, & Keith Floyd toured the US as After 7. In 2009 Keith Mitchell returned to the group & currently the group consists of Kevon Edmonds, Keith Mitchell & Jason Edmonds. There is no word of why Melvin is no longer performing with the group. (wiki)

Lauren Hill

Soul legend Smokey Robinson will launch his new clothing line with a fashion show on the eve of the Oscars. The dapper singer has teamed up with late boxer Joe Frazier's tailor, James Andrew, to create a signature collection of suits and casual sportswear and the items will be modeled at a pre-Oscar, red carpet event in Los Angeles. Andrew tells Wenn, "Men and women's suiting and sportswear dominate the collection and are intended for today's fashion conscious urbanites." The fashion show will be held at Couture on 23 February (13). The Smokey Robinson Collection will be exclusively available online at: www.JamesAndrewClothing.com.

Alicia Dixon

The Britain's Got Talent judges arrived in Birmingham to scour the cream of what the midlands has to offer. Will there be the next big dance troop? Another top-dog ready to charm its way to the top? Or are we just round the corner from the next big pop star? That's what Simon Cowell, David Walliams, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon were there to find out. Music mogul, Simon Cowell was sporting a near full-length blue jacket and grey v-neck while eager autograph hunters jostled for his signature. In addition to his significant musical exploits, Simon is apparently considering launching a cooking show. We're not sure about that one, Mr Cowell. David Walliams - in a jovial mood as ever - was joking around with Stephen Mulhern, signing a picture of himself for the BGT host, while genuine fans had to wait their turn! An ever present on Twitter, Walliams used the social networking site to poke fun at his colleague. “I am in Birmingham, the final city of the BGT audition tour. Fingers crossed we find some talent or my Simon may have to downsize his yacht,” he posted to the usual drove of re-tweets. Amanda Holden can now be considered a stalwart of the show, having been a judge since 2007. Alesha Dixon is known for her honest words on the show. So will she be able to find any talent in Birmingham? Will they, as she loves to put it, 'bring it?' (ContactNews)

The time Bob Marley played New Zealand has been turned into a family drama starring singer Stan Walker and Temuera Morrison. Writer and director Tearepa Kahi tells Tom Cardy about his own journey to make Mt Zion. 

The kernel for what can grow into a movie can come from anywhere - and sometimes it's from out of the blue.

For new Kiwi feature film Mt Zion, the idea of setting a film in 1979 when Bob Marley and the Wailers played in New Zealand came to writer and director Tearepa Kahi by accident.

Kahi was directing a series for Television New Zealand when one day he was nosing around in an archive room during his lunch break. Kahi spotted a VHS videotape.

"It was totally random. It really was a stab in the dark," he says. Curious to know what was on it, he popped it into a VCR and pushed play. It was an old news clip by television journalist Dylan Taite called Good Morning, Come a Long Way. It showed Marley in 1979 at a powhiri, which included a wero or challenge.

Up until he viewed the video, Kahi was only vaguely aware that a powhiri had been given for Marley, who died in 1981, before his 1979 show in Auckland. More:  http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/8277960/Bob-Marley-and-me

Jazz-man Donald Byrd dies.  The news was announced by the trumpeter's nephew Alex Bugnon, who told AmoebaMusic.com that certain family members were trying to keep the death under "an unnecessary shroud of secrecy."

Byrd reportedly passed away on Monday, but details of his death have not been released.

The jazz man launched his career with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the 1950s and performed alongside the likes of John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and Herbie Hancock.

His Blue Note Records album "Black Byrd" became a bestseller for the iconic company and led to the trumpeter forming a group called The Blackbyrds in the 1970s.

Byrd's work has been sampled by hip-hop artists including Public Enemy, Nas and the Pharcyde.

A statement from his nephew reads: "Let's remember Donald as a one of a kind pioneer of the trumpet, of the many styles of music he took on, of music education. In sum, Donald was an avid, eternal student of music, until his death." (MSN) Also departed last week was singer Cecil Womack, brother of Bobby and husband to daughter of Sam Cooke, Linda Cooke. Onto this weeks show...


 
Sunday 10th February 2013's playlist

 Hour One 
Ray, Goodman & Brown - Where Did You Get That Body?
Lalah Hathaway - Breathe
Kenny G - G-Bop [welcome bed]
Tania Marie - Come Go With Me
Alexander O'Neal - Look At Us Now
Teddy Pendergrass - When Somebody Loves U Back
Marcus Miller - Much To Much
Teena Marie - Marie Banita
Luther Vandross - Better Love
RJ's Latest Arival - Please Stay
Daving - So Good

 Hour Two 
'Three-Inna-Row' Lauren Hill:
1 Tell Him 2 Nothing Ever Matters 3 Can't Take My Eyes Of You
Gap Band - Keep Holding On
Steve Parks - Moving In The Right Direction
Micia Paris - I Should've Known better
Roberta Gilliam - All I Want Is My Baby
Billy Paul - Bring The Family Back
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
Maze feat: Franlie Beverly - Joy & Pain

Lauren Hill Biography

Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actress. Early in her career, she established her reputation as an actress in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, and then as the front woman of the hip-hop group Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the critically successful album and the 19m-seller, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The album earned Hill five Grammy Awards, including the coveted Album of the Year and Best New Artist. To date, she has won a total of eight Grammys.

Following the success of her debut album, Hill co-produced the commercially successful Supernatural for Carlos Santana, in 1999, for which she won another grammy for album of the year. This made her the only female artist to win two album of the year grammys consecutively, which set a record for most album of the year wins by a female artist (tied with Norah Jones). Shortly after this she mainly dropped out of public view, in part due to her displeasure with fame and the music industry. After a four-year hiatus, she released MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, a live recording of "deeply personal songs" performed mostly solo with an acoustic guitar.

In more recent years, she has recorded songs for soundtracks and mixtapes, as well as performing live at several music festivals, such as Coachella. She has also collaborated with artists, such as Ronald Isley, and Joss Stone. She has six children, five of whom are with Rohan Marley, son of reggae musician Bob Marley.

Charlie Wilson

Fake?

This week brought us.....'Beyone Branded 'A Fake'' for miming. Read the headline this week She is renowned for having one of the best voices in the business, but according to reports, pop singer Beyonce mimed the US national anthem at President Obama’s recent inauguration.Fans around the world praised the 31-year-old for her pitch-perfect performance, however, recent images on her Tumblr page have caused many to criticise the singer, with some branding her a “fake.”

Beyonce posted several pictures of what appears to be her rehearsing the anthem in a studio accompanied by the Marine Corps Band – even though they did not play at the ceremony. Twitter users were shocked at the revelation she mimed, calling her “Queen Fraud” and comparing it to when “I found out Santa Claus wasn’t real … how can do you do this humanity?” While Beyonce is still yet to confirm the reports, soul singing legend Aretha Franklin said she never even considered lip-synching when she performed at Obama’s first inauguration ceremony in 2009.“I wanted to give people the real thing and pre-recording never crossed my mind,” she told ABC News.“When I heard that [she mimed] I just really cracked up. I thought it was really funny, but she did a beautiful job with the pre-record.” However, not everyone was as quick to criticise Beyonce – Jennifer Lopez defended the singer, saying that some situations call for miming.“In certain venues they do pre-record things because you’re gonna have that terrible slapback,” she said on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show recently.

 Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner, leader of the funk band the Ohio Players, has died at the age of 69. No cause of death has yet been reported. The Ohio Players had seven Top 40 hits in the 1970s, including "Love Rollercoaster," "Fire" and "Skin Tight," and helped define a movement that included Parliament Funkadelic and Kool & the Gang. The band's success stemmed partly from Bonner's playfully commanding lead vocals and gusto. The oldest of 14 children, Bonner ran away from home as a young teenager and played the harmonica on street corners for change. A few years before he died, he took to his Twitter the night that a documentary about his band was broadcast on television. "I am happy doing what I love," he wrote. "This IS pure heaven. The fans out there are like family to me. Every night is like a homecoming."

BJ & The Chicago Kid A giant question mark has loomed over the R&B lately- is the form changing? Not in the eyes of BJ the Chicago Kid. As the latest balladeer to burst out of the windy city's blossoming music scene, it's all about the motivation. "The soul man, where I sing from," he says while posted up in an office at Island Def Jam. "That will never change, the place where I come from when I sing, that will never change." Last year was life-changing for BJ. He released his mixtape Pineapple Now-Laters in February and by August he'd inked a recording contract with Universal/Motown. He dismisses the term alt-R&B, and says his influences range from Jodeci to indie rockers Kings of Leon. "I'm such a fan of different types of music and how they pour their heart into it," he says. "Their recipe of coming up with this finished product. It's all about the individual and what inspires them, what gives them their individuality and how they show that. I think that's what begins to create the branches of the tree." As for BJ's branch, it stems from a much more traditional blues and jazz background. Still, Pineapple Now-Laters includes cuts with rising Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar, and he's got a noticeable hip-hop swag. "We did like three or four records for good kid, m.A.A.d city," BJ explains. "Those records I have will come out after good kid... and everyone loves his record! I don't look [at the songs not making it onto his album as a] negative at all. I got called there to work. Kendrick, if he called me today, I'd be there today. That's how we work." 2013 has a lot in store for the young singer as he works on his major label debut and adjusts to life as a full-time artist. Which is, well, an adjustment. "I put out projects and released music without a label before," he says. "That was work. It's still work here now. It just continues; the grind increases. The hours increase. Less sleep, of course. [But I have to ] put the proper time where it's needed." Download his latest mixtape Pineapple Now-Laters here  (theboombox.com). Onto this weeks radio show - enjoy......


Today's playlist Sunday 3rd February 2013

Hour One
Monday Michiro - No Woman No Cry
Norah Jones - Don't Know Why
Rhythm - Skippin' [welcome bed]
Aretha Franklin - If She Don't Want Your Lovin'
The Impressions - Gypsy Woman
Anthony David - Body Language (rmx)
Jermaine Jackson - There's No Better Way
Quincy Jones feat: John Legend - Tomorrow
Donell Jones - This Luv
Kenny Lattimore - Weekend
Jaheim - Hush
Joe - Very Special Friend

Hour Two

all tracks found here

'Three Inna Row': Charlie Wilson
1 Show You 2 Our Anniversary 3 I Still Have You 

Collage - When You Smile
Side Effect - Midnight Lover
Richard Fields - After I Put My Spell On You
The Manhattans - Crazy
Curtis Mayfield - She Don't Let Nobody
Larry Grayham - I Just Have You
The Whispers - Let's Go All The Way
Keni Burke - Hang Tight

(my pcast is in mono this week - sorry)

Charlie Wilson Biography

 Charles Kent "Charlie" Wilson (born January 29, 1953) is an American R&B singer-songwriter-producer and the former lead vocalist for the Gap Band. As a solo artist he has been nominated for six Grammy awards, received a 2009 Soul Train Icon Award, and was a recipient of a BMI Icon Award in 2005. In 2009, he was named Billboard magazine's #1 Adult R&B Artist, and his song "There Goes My Baby" was named the #1 Urban Adult Song for 2009 in Billboard Magazine.

Wilson is the national spokesperson for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. As of July 2009, the PCF has raised over $380 million for research and funded more than 1,500 research projects at nearly 200 institutions worldwide. The PCF has set up a Creativity Award in Charlie's name which donates hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to researchers across the country. The Creativity Award allows for the development of creative science that conforms to PCF funding principles but is short-term and designed to allow development of otherwise unfunded ideas.