Whats Buzzing in the Streets – Page 66

El DeBarge

Eldra Patrick “El” DeBarge (born June 4, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter, producer and musician. DeBarge was the focal point and primary lead singer of the family group DeBarge throughout the early to mid-1980s. Popular songs led by El include “Time Will Reveal”, “Stay with Me”, “All This Love”, and “Rhythm of the Night”. As a solo artist, he is best known for his unique high tenor register, strong falsetto and the hits “Who’s Johnny” and “Love Always”, and for his collaborations with Tone Loc, George Clinton, Faith Evans, Quincy Jones, Fourplay, and DJ Quik. DeBarge is a three-time Grammy nominee.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, El was the sixth of ten children born to Robert Louis DeBarge, Sr. (1932-2009) and Etterlene (née Abney) DeBarge. DeBarge was already singing in his local church choir and playing piano as a child. Later after his family moved to Grand Rapids, he and the rest of his family began performing at their uncle’s Pentecostal church. When El was thirteen, his parents divorced after a difficult and stormy marriage. El is of African American, English, French, and Native American descent. Growing up, he was closest to eldest brother Bobby and began imitating his brother’s vocal styling.

For several years, El spent time being in private study with music educator Ricky Callier. By 1975, El had begun to express a desire to become a performer. El became a father for the first time at sixteen. He would eventually father eleven more children. In 1977, he dropped out of high school and began performing with his elder brothers in clubs and venues in Michigan. By 1979, Bernd Lichters was able to secure a deal with Source Records/MCA to release the Pall Mall Groove – Hot Ice album as SMASH for the USA/Canada market and moved El from Michigan to Los Angeles, to have him, his brothers Mark and Randy DeBarge, in addition to their cousin Andre Abney, Elliot Townsend, and Stanley Hood, to back up the release as the SMASH band. Eldest sister Bunny joined her brothers in California as well. In 1980, because of the success of their brothers Bobby and Tommy DeBarge with the hit group Switch, he was able to perform live at the piano and singing in front of Motown CEO Berry Gordy, who immediately signed the group, then known as The DeBarges, to the label.

Motown mentored them with members later working and contributing songwriting, arrangements, and production to the recordings of Switch, including the 1980 albums This Is My Dream and Reaching for Tomorrow. El DeBarge’s first professional recording was as background vocalist to Switch’s 1979 hit “I Call Your Name”. He later helped to arrange music for several Switch songs including “Love Over and Over Again” and “My Friend in the Sky,” which he, Bunny, and Bobby wrote. This song would later be sampled by the likes of Queen Pen and Raheem DeVaughn.

In 1981, The DeBarges was released after the family had worked in the studio for a year recording it. The album was noted for most of its songs produced and written by all four family members including Bobby DeBarge, who helped end the album track “Queen of My Heart” after El had led the song for most of its tenure. The following album, 1982’s All This Love featured younger brother James and saw much success with the compositions “I Like It” and the title track. El would remain the producer and arranger for all of the group’s Motown albums. In 1983, DeBarge released In a Special Way, which spawned the hits “Time Will Reveal (song)” and “Love Me in a Special Way”, and in 1984, the band became a sensation while touring for Luther Vandross on the singer’s Busy Body tour. Though the group enjoyed much success and appeared to be a family unit, there were growing tensions between El and his brothers, mainly because of Motown’s push to have El become the only noted star of the group, repeating a pattern that began with Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. By the end of the tour, El DeBarge was mainly called to handle the production of DeBarge’s next album, Rhythm of the Night, without much help from his siblings.

Rhythm of the Night became the group’s best-selling album ever, though some contended that El DeBarge was the only member present on the album with the exception of the title track, which became a top five hit in several countries including the US and UK becoming the group’s and El’s signature song. In late 1985, he appeared on The Facts of Life in the Season 7 episode “Doo-Wah” as himself and performed his single “You Wear it Well” with Lisa Whelchel, Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn, and Nancy McKeon singing backup. In 1986, El DeBarge left the group and began his solo career with the release of his self-titled debut album, which spawned the hits “Who’s Johnny” and “Love Always”. Three years passed, however, until DeBarge released his second album, Gemini in 1989. The album was a failure. DeBarge’s contract with Motown was terminated in 1990, and he signed with Warner Bros.. In the meantime, DeBarge was featured on the Quincy Jones single “The Secret Garden”, alongside Al B. Sure!, James Ingram, and Barry White, released in 1990.

In 1992, DeBarge released his third album, the Maurice White-produced In The Storm, which featured the Chante Moore duet “You Know What I Like”, which was Moore’s first professional recording. Critics noted the album for its Marvin Gaye-styled productions, with El DeBarge later admitting that Gaye was a huge influence on his musical style. He once commented that he had initially written “All This Love” as a song he imagined Gaye doing, even imitating Gaye’s ad-libs during his I Want You era near the end. That same year, he had chart success on the R&B charts with a collaboration with Fourplay on their version of Gaye’s “After the Dance”. DeBarge’s next album, 1994’s Heart, Mind and Soul, was co-produced with Babyface, yielding modest charted singles such as “Slide” and “Where is My Love” (which featured Babyface on duet vocals).

While DeBarge continued to collaborate on other artists’ projects including brother Chico and rapper DJ Quik among others (the duo collaborated on Quik’s hit “Hand in Hand”), he didn’t release any more albums between 1994 and 2009. In 2010, he finally emerged from a sixteen-year delay with the appropriately titled Second Chance, released after a series of comeback performances and appearances including a well received performance at the 2010 BET Awards. The album yielded two singles, “Second Chance” and the Faith Evans duet “Lay With You”, and later resulted in three Grammy Award nominations: Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Album. He remains the only member of the DeBarges to have Grammy nominations outside of the group and in the family altogether.

Written by Dianne Washington

Angela Davis

On this date in 1972, Angela Davis was acquitted of all charges stemming from a failed escape and kidnap attempt in the Marin County, CA’s Hall of Justice two years earlier.

In the escape, kidnap attempt, and shooting, the trial judge and three others were killed. Though not at the crime scene, Davis was implicated when police claimed that the guns used had been registered in her name. Davis fled via underground and was consequently listed on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted Criminals list, setting off one of the most intensive manhunts in recent American history. Then California Governor Ronald Reagan, publicly vowed that Davis would never teach in that state again.

Davis was an American socialist organizer and professor who was associated with the Black Panther Party (BPP) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), among other organizations.

She was captured in New York City in August 1970, but was freed 18 months later and cleared of all charges by an all white jury. During the trial, an international Free Angela Davis movement had grown, and she used the momentum to found The National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which remains active today.

Written by Dianne Washington

Keith David

Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956), known professionally as Keith David, is an American film and television actor, voice actor, singer and comedian. He is known for his co-starring role as Childs alongside Kurt Russell in John Carpenter’s The Thing. He has acted in many mainstream films, such as Crash, There’s Something About Mary, Barbershop, and Men at Work.

He had memorable roles in numerous cult favorites, including John Carpenter’s films The Thing (as Childs) and They Live (as Armitage), the Riddick films Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick (as the Imam), General Kimsey in Armageddon, King in Oliver Stone’s Platoon, and Big Tim in Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream. David last starred as Elroy Patashnik in the sixth season of the comedy series, Community. In 2016, he began starring as Bishop James Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, Greenleaf.

His Emmy Award-winning voice-over career includes work as the narrator of numerous Ken Burns films such as The War. Characters that he has voiced include the Arbiter Thel ‘Vadam in Halo 2, Halo 3 and Halo 5, Goliath on the Disney series Gargoyles, Spawn/Al Simmons on Todd McFarlane’s Spawn which aired on HBO, David Anderson in the Mass Effect series, the Decepticon Barricade in Transformers: The Game, Julius Little in Saints Row, Saints Row 2, and Saints Row IV (as well as making a major guest appearance in the last game voicing himself), Sgt. Foley in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog, the Flame King in Adventure Time, and Chaos in the English versions of Dissidia Final Fantasy, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy and Solovar in The Flash.

David was born in Harlem and raised in Corona, Queens, both in New York City. His mother, Dolores (née Dickenson), was a manager at New York Telephone, and his father, Lester Williams, worked as a director of payroll operations.

He initially intended to become an actor after playing the Cowardly Lion in a school production of The Wizard of Oz and went on to study at Manhattan’s High School of Performing Arts. He attended the Juilliard School’s Drama Division (1975–1979, Group 8) where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1979.

In 1980–81, David honed his craft touring the country with John Houseman’s The Acting Company in productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Less than two years later, he went on to star as Childs, opposite Kurt Russell in John Carpenter’s The Thing, and his lengthy on-screen career had begun. In the 1980s run of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, he portrayed Keith the Southwood Carpenter in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe segments. He also played Keith, the game coin collector in an episode where Rogers and a small child learn to play the arcade game Donkey Kong.

He went on to appear in films such as Oliver Stone’s Platoon, The Quick and the Dead, They Live (reuniting with The Thing director, John Carpenter), Men at Work, Marked for Death, and Stars and Bars. He played Kirby in the 1995 film Dead Presidents, and he appeared in the 1995 Spike Lee’s film Clockers. He followed this up with roles in other films such as Volcano, Armageddon, There’s Something About Mary, Pitch Black, Barbershop, Agent Cody Banks, The Chronicles of Riddick, Crash, ATL, Delta Farce and First Sunday.

He portrayed “Father” in the romantic comedy action film Mr. and Mrs. Smith. At the same time, he has appeared in numerous independent films including the critically acclaimed Requiem for a Dream, playing the role of Big Tim. He has also appeared extensively in television productions since the 1980s and as a regular character Lieutenant Williams on the short-lived television series The Job. He was a regular on another shoot made for ABC entitled The Big House in 2004. David portrayed Detective Jim Crenshaw in the 2010 horror film Chain Letter.

In 2010, David was cast as Max Malini for the NBC television series The Cape. On April 18, 2011, Keith appeared in the 21st episode of season one of Hawaii Five-0 as criminal tycoon Jimmy Cannon. In 2012, he appeared in the horror film Smiley and the science-fiction drama Cloud Atlas. In 2013, David appeared in the controversial drama Boiling Pot which is based on true events of racism. In 2014, David portrayed Command Sergeant Major Donald Cody in the Fox comedy series Enlisted. Later in 2014, David was cast as Elroy Patashnik in the sixth season of the sitcom Community.

In 2015, David was cast in the leading role alongside Lynn Whitfield in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, Greenleaf.

In 1992, David received a Tony Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his performance in Jelly’s Last Jam. David received raves for his Shakespeare work on stage in Central Park, New York City. In 1995, he played the lead as Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars on Broadway.

In May 2006, he appeared in the musical Hot Feet on Broadway in New York. David appeared in the 2013 revival of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Mark Taper Theater in Los Angeles. Directed by Phylicia Rashad, he played the part of innkeeper Seth Holly.

His performance in Ebony Repertory Theatre’s 2014 Paul Robeson by Phillip Hayes Dean previewed Wednesday, March 12, 2014, and opened on Friday, March 21, 2014.

From April 21, 2015, to May 10, 2015, Keith David starred as “Dolomite“ in the Off-Broadway play ToasT. The play (produced by Lemon Andersen and co-starred Hill Harper) was set in the Attica Prison around the time of its 1971 prison riot and told of the lives of its prisoners using poetic prose.

He has married twice. He has one son from his first marriage and two daughters from his second marriage.

David revealed that he is a Christian, and when asked in an interview on his narration work of The Bible if he was a religious man, he quoted: “I’m not a religious man. I’m a man of spirit. Religion can get political. I believe in God and spirit. I believe in church. I’ve been baptized. I’ve gone to Catholic, Baptist, Episcopal and God of Church and Christ.”

Written by Dianne Washington

Deniece Williams

Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and producer. She has been described her as “one of the great soul voices” by the BBC. Williams has won four Grammys with twelve nominations altogether.

Born in Gary, Indiana, Williams attended Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, in the hopes of becoming a registered nurse and an anesthetist, but dropped out after a year and a half. Of the experience she went on to say “You have to be a good student to be in college, and I wasn’t.” Williams went on to start up performing at the time. She later exclaimed “I got a part-time job singing at a club, Casino Royal, and I liked it. It was a lot of fun.” During those years Williams also worked in a telephone company and as a ward clerk at the Chicago Mercy Hospital. As Deniece Chandler, she recorded for The Toddlin’ Town group of labels. One of those early records, “I’m Walking Away”, released on Toddlin’s subsidiary Lock Records in the late 1960s, is a favorite on England’s Northern Soul scene. In the early 1970s she became a backup vocalist for Stevie Wonder as part of “Wonderlove”.

She left Wonder in 1975 and after signing to Columbia Records, she teamed up with two famed producers: Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire, and his frequent collaborator, Charles Stepney. Her 1976 debut album entitled This Is Niecy was released. The single “Free” reached No. 2 on the Black Singles chart, No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the British Singles chart. The album also featured “Cause You Love Me Baby” (which charted separately on the R&B chart as the flip side of “Free”) and “That’s What Friends Are For”. She also shared a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with pop singer Johnny Mathis in 1978 with the duet “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late”. The duet also topped the Black Singles and Adult Contemporary charts. Williams also topped the dance charts with her disco single “I’ve Got the Next Dance”. Mathis and Williams also recorded the popular theme to the 1980s sitcom Family Ties, “Without Us”. Williams moved on to the American Recording Company (ARC) in the early 1980s where she scored the top twenty R&B smash hit “Silly” in 1981. The following year, yet another famed producer, Thom Bell, helped Williams score another number-one R&B chart-topper with her remake of The Royalettes’ “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle”, which became a Top 10 pop hit as well, reaching No. 10. Williams released the album Let’s Hear It for the Boy in 1984. The title track reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was featured on the soundtrack to Footloose. The song would prove to be the biggest pop hit of her career – and the last. She also contributed vocals, along with Maurice White, to the song “And Then” from Weather Report’s album Mr. Gone released in 1978. Williams continued releasing albums during the 1980s such as Hot On The Trail (1986), Water Under The Bridge (1987), and As Good As It Gets (1988), which featured her last Top Ten hit to date, “I Can’t Wait”, written by Skylark. However, in part due to a lack of promotion from her record label, her mainstream popularity faded. During this time, she hit a low point in her career and decided to reinvent herself.

In 2003 Williams appeared in the holiday movie Christmas Child. In December 2005 she appeared on the reality-dating show Elimidate as part of their “Celebrity Week”. Other participants included fellow 1970s icons Leif Garrett and Jimmie Walker. After more than a decade Williams’ new R&B album, entitled Love, Niecy Style, was released on April 24, 2007, on Shanachie Records. The disc was produced by veteran “Sound of Philly” man Bobby Eli. It has received positive review from Starpulse, soultracks.com, the disc charted at No. 41 on Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Williams returned to her hometown of Gary, Indiana for a performance to mark the re-opening of the historic Glen Theater on October 13, 2007. After the performance, Williams was recognized by Indiana State Representative Vernon G. Smith as an Outstanding Hoosier.

Williams returned to Gospel music, charting again in October 2007. The song, “Grateful-The Rededication”, recorded with Wanda Vaughn of The Emotions and Sherree Brown debuted at No. 40 debut on the Billboard Adult R&B Singles chart. This was Williams’ first entry on the singles chart since 1989. On April 29, 2008, Williams announced that she was preparing a proposal to establish a program called KOP—Kids of Promise—in her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Williams said the program would include a center with classes and programs dedicated to education and the performing arts.[8] On August 27, 2008, a new song/video entitled “One Kiss” was posted on YouTube. The song is produced by the Haven Media Group and the video directed by director Dabling Harward (Idlewild, When We Were Kings). Also posted on the same date was an inspirational anthem entitled “A Change We Can Believe In”. The song was written by Williams, percussionist Jerry Peters, and songwriter Harvey Mason. On June 27, 2010, Williams performed her song “Silly” at the BET Awards featuring Monica. In January 2011, she performed “Free” on Way Black When: Looking Back at the 1970s on TVOne. On June 6, 2011, Williams was featured on Unsung, TV One’s signature music biography series about forgotten R&B, soul and gospel artists from the last 30 years.

Written by Dianne Washington

Aaron McGruder

The birth of Aaron McGruder in 1974 is celebrated on this date. He is an African American cartoonist and social commentator through media.

Born in Chicago, McGruder and his family moved to Columbia, MD, when he was six. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Afro-American Studies, and a concentration in social and cultural analysis. As a journalistic artist, his comic strip, “The Boondocks,” made its debut in the campus newspaper, The Diamondback, in late 1996. The material is entertaining and also filled with social and political commentary, so much so that it was yanked from the public in the months following the 9/11 tragedy in New York City, Pennsylvania, and D.C.

In 2002, McGruder was awarded the “Chairman’s Award” at the NAACP Image Awards. Additionally, USA Today has called McGruder “the most dangerous black man” and compared his voice (message) to that of Langston Hughes. McGruder is creative, driven, and astute. A frequent public speaker on political and cultural issues, McGruder gave a keynote speech at H2K2 (a hacker’s conference) in 2002, where he railed against the Bush administration, corporate-controlled mass media, political corruption, financial scandal and U.S. foreign policy.

He now lives in Los Angeles, where he is working on projects that include animating Boondocks. He is also the co-author of a graphic novel, Birth of a Nation, published in 2004.

Rebbie Jackson

Maureen Reillette “Rebbie” Jackson Brown (born May 29, 1950) is an American singer. Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, she is the eldest child of the Jackson family of musicians. She first performed on stage with her siblings during shows in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in 1974, before subsequently appearing in the television series The Jacksons. Her sister La Toya was born on Jackson’s 6th birthday. At age 34, Jackson released her debut album Centipede (1984). The album featured songs written by Smokey Robinson, Prince, and Jackson’s younger brother Michael, whose contribution (the title track “Centipede”) became Rebbie’s most successful single release. By the end of the 1980s, the singer had released two more albums in quick succession: Reaction (1986) and R U Tuff Enuff (1988).

Written by Dianne Washington

Gladys Knight

Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the “Empress of Soul”, is an American recording artist, songwriter, businesswoman, humanitarian and author. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, she is best known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s and 1970s, for both the Motown and Buddah Records labels, with her group Gladys Knight & the Pips, the most famous incarnation of which also included her brother Merald “Bubba” Knight and her cousins Edward Patten and William Guest.

Knight was born in Oglethorpe, Georgia, the daughter of Sarah Elizabeth (née Woods) and Merald Woodlow Knight, Sr., a postal worker. She first achieved minor fame by winning Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour TV show contest at the age of 7 in 1952. The following year, she, her brother Merald, sister Brenda, and cousins William and Elenor Guest formed a musical group called The Pips (named after another cousin, James “Pip” Woods). By the end of the decade, the act had begun to tour, and had replaced Brenda Knight and Eleanor Guest with Gladys Knight’s cousin Edward Patten and friend Langston George.

Gladys Knight & the Pips joined the Motown Records roster in 1966, and, although regarded as a second-string act, scored several hit singles, including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”, (recorded first by Marvin Gaye but released a year later), “Friendship Train” (1969), “If I Were Your Woman” (1970), “I Don’t Want To Do Wrong” (1971), the Grammy Award winning “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)” (1972), and “Daddy Could Swear (I Declare)” (1973). In their early Motown career Gladys Knight and the Pips toured as the opening act for Diana Ross and The Supremes. Gladys Knight stated in her memoirs that Ross kicked her off the tour because the audience’s reception to Knight’s soulful performance overshadowed her. Berry Gordy later told Gladys that she was giving his act a hard time.

The act left Motown for a better deal with Buddah Records in 1973, and achieved full-fledged success that year with hits such as the Grammy-winning “Midnight Train to Georgia” (#1 on the pop and R&B chart), “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination,” and “You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”. In the summer of 1974, Knight and the Pips recorded the soundtrack to the successful film Claudine with producer Curtis Mayfield. The act was particularly successful in Europe, and especially the United Kingdom. However, a number of the Buddah singles became hits in the UK long after their success in the US. For example, “Midnight Train to Georgia” hit the UK pop charts Top 5 in the summer of 1976, a full three years after its success in the U.S.

During this period of greater recognition, Knight made her motion picture acting debut in the film Pipe Dreams, a romantic drama set in Alaska. The film failed at the box-office, but Knight did receive a Golden Globe Best New Actress nomination.

Knight and the Pips continued to have hits until the late 1970s, when they were forced to record separately due to legal issues, resulting in Knight’s first solo LP recordings–Miss Gladys Knight (1978) on Buddah and Gladys Knight (1979) on Columbia Records. Having divorced James Newman II in 1973, Knight married Barry Hankerson (future uncle of R&B singer Aaliyah), then Detroit mayor Coleman Young’s executive aide. Knight and Hankerson remained married for four years, during which time they had a son, Shanga Ali. Upon their divorce, Hankerson and Knight were embroiled in a heated custody battle over Shanga Ali.

In the early 1980s, Johnny Mathis invited Gladys to record two duets – “When A Child Is Born” (previously a hit for Mathis) and “The Lord’s Prayer”.

Signing with Columbia Records in 1980 and restored to its familiar quartet form, Gladys Knight & the Pips began releasing new material. The act enlisted former Motown producers Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson for their first two LPs–About Love (1980) and Touch (1981). During this period, Knight kicked a gambling addiction to the game baccarat.

In 1987, Knight decided to pursue a solo career, and she and the Pips recorded their final LP together, All Our Love (1987), for MCA Records. Its infectious lead single, “Love Overboard”, was a #1 R&B hit and won another Grammy for the act as well. After a successful 1988 tour, the Pips retired and Knight began her solo career. Gladys Knight & the Pips were inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

While still with The Pips, Gladys joined with Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John on the 1986 AIDS benefit single, “That’s What Friends Are For”, a triple #1 mega-hit, which won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. In 1989, she recorded the title track for the James Bond movie Licence to Kill, a top 10 hit in the UK and Germany.

Gladys released her third and most successful solo LP, Good Woman, on MCA in 1991. It hit #1 on the R&B album chart and featured the #2 R&B hit “Men”. It also reached #45 on the main Billboard album chart – her all time highest showing. The album also featured “Superwoman”, written by Babyface and featuring Dionne Warwick and Patti LaBelle. Knight and LaBelle would collaborate the same year on “I Don’t Do Duets”, a duet with Patti LaBelle from LaBelle’s album Burnin’.

Her fourth solo LP, Just for You, went gold and was nominated for the 1995 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album.

In 1992 Vernon Ray Blue II, choir master of the year asked Gladys to record his first single “He Lifted Me”

Knight joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1997. She had occasionally teased LDS Church president, the late Gordon B. Hinckley, that his flock needs to inject some “pep” into their music. Knight created and now directs the Mormon-themed choir Saints Unified Voices. SUV has released a Grammy Award-winning CD titled One Voice, and occasionally performs at LDS church firesides.

In 2005, a duet between Knight and the late Ray Charles of “You Were There” was released on Charles’ duets album Genius & Friends.

In 2008, a duet between Knight and Johnny Mathis was released on Mathis’ album A Night to Remember. Knight is ranked number eighteen on VH1 network’s list of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock.

In the spring of 2008, Knight appeared alongside Chaka Khan, Patti Labelle and Diana Ross at the ‘Divas with Heart’ concert in aid of cardiac research, at New York’s Radio City Hall.

In 2008 Gladys, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Stiller performed on American Idol to raise money for charity. In March 2010, Randy Jackson mentioned on a new episode of the same show that he is back in the studio with Gladys Knight working on a new album.

In 2009 Knight sang “His Eye Is On The Sparrow” and “The Lord’s Prayer” at the funeral service for Michael Jackson.

On December 21, 2010, Knight released the single “Settle” on iTunes and Amazon. In September 2011, a new, updated recording of Tom Jones’ 1970 classic I (Who Have Nothing) was released on iTunes and Amazon.

In 2013, Knight recorded the Lenny Kravitz written and produced song “”You And I Ain’t Nothin’ No More” for the soundtrack from Lee Daniels’ motion picture The Butler. The song was added to the movie’s soundtrack of older songs by various artists so that the producers had a song to compete in the Best Song from a Motion Picture category at the Academy Awards.

Gladys will celebrate her 70th birthday in May of 2014. She is currently working on tracks for a new album, to be released sometime in 2014.

In 1963, after having her only daughter, Kenya, Knight returned to recording with the Pips in order to support her family.

In the early 1960s, Gladys, James, and the Pips moved to Detroit, Michigan. Knight and her family lived on Sherbourne in Sherwood Forest, then an upscale neighborhood on Detroit’s West Side. She also resided on LaSalle for a time. Her children attended Gesu Catholic Grade School.

James and Knight divorced in 1973. In 1974, Knight married producer and Blackground Records founder Barry Hankerson, who is the uncle of the late R&B singer Aaliyah, in Detroit. Around 1977, they relocated to Atlanta. (The Pips, however, remained in The Motor City.) The couple had one son, Shanga Hankerson, and divorced in 1981.

Knight married motivational speaker Les Brown in 1995, but they separated and divorced in 1997. Also in 1997, she was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, following her son and daughter.

Knight has been married four times and has three children. In 1960, she married her high school sweetheart, James Newman. They had one son, James “Jimmy” Newman (1962–1999). She retired from the road to raise their child while the Pips toured on their own. In 1963, after having her only daughter, Kenya, Knight returned to recording with the Pips in order to support her family. In the early 1960s, Gladys, James, and the Pips moved to Detroit, Michigan. Knight and her family lived on Sherbourne in Sherwood Forest, an upscale neighborhood on Detroit’s West Side. She also resided on LaSalle for a time. Her children attended Gesu Catholic Grade School. Newman and Knight divorced in 1973. In 1974, Knight married producer and Blackground Records founder Barry Hankerson, who is the uncle of the late R&B singer Aaliyah, in Detroit. Around 1977, they relocated to Atlanta. (The Pips, however, remained in Detroit.) The couple had one son, Shanga Hankerson, and divorced in 1981. Knight married motivational speaker Les Brown in 1995, but they separated and divorced in 1997.

Previously a Baptist, in 1997 she was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, following her son and daughter. She had occasionally teased LDS Church president, the late Gordon B. Hinckley, that his flock needs to inject some “pep” into their music. Knight married William McDowell in 2001. They have sixteen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

In 2017, Knight helped raise $400,000 for the Children’s Learning Centers of Fairfield County. The April 22nd event was held at the Palace Theatre and was co-hosted by Carol Anne Riddell and Alan Kalter.

Written by Dianne Washington

Lenny Kravitz

Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. His “retro” style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop, folk, and ballads. In addition to singing lead and backing vocals, Kravitz often plays all of the instruments himself when recording.

Written by Dianne Washington

Left Eye

Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, an African American singer, writer and entertainer, was born on this date in 1971.
She was Born in Philadelphia, PA, and first learned how to play songs on a toy piano she received at the age of 5. Lopes moved to Atlanta in 1992, forming the super singing group TLC with Tionne Watkins and Rozonda Thomas. As talented as She was with the group, she was very extroverted and outspoken regarding business dealings with TLC and her own career aspirations. She was also often in the news with her personal life too.
She even went so far as to burn the house down of her on-again off-again football star boyfriend, Andre’ Rison. Lopes was fined and sentenced to five years probation, then entered an alcohol rehab program. Her brother said his sister’s life had its share of turmoil, but that the changes she underwent in the last few years made her a better person. On March 20, 2002, Lopes traveled to Honduras where she visited often. She was volunteering at a children’s development center and The Usha Herbal Resource Institute, an herbal healing center.
Lopes was driving a rented SUV, a spokesperson said, when the vehicle tipped over while were traveling from La Ceiba to San Pedro Sula. Lopes died from a head injury. A capacity crowd of about 10,000 people filled New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia, and hundreds more waited outside the church during the 30-year-old singer’s funeral.
A host of music industry VIPs attended, including singers Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Keith Sweat, and producer Kenneth “Baby Face” Edmonds.

Written by Dianne Washington

Jadakiss

Jason Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known as Jadakiss, is an American rapper. He is a member of the group The LOX. (a member of the hip hop collective Ruff Ryders) Jadakiss is one of the three owners of the imprint known as D-Block Records. In early 2007, Jadakiss signed to Roc-a-Fella Records / Def Jam Records. Jadakiss has also released three studio albums with the most recent being The Last Kiss (2009). Recently he has been releasing mixtapes and plans to release his fourth studio album Top 5, Dead or Alive in 2014.
By age 16, Jadakiss was a freestyle rapper. He and some of his friends were given the opportunity to compete in the “Jack the Rapper Competition” in Florida, where Jadakiss had been noticed for his battle rap ability. He met Dee and Wah of the Ruff Ryders (then a management company), and began hanging out and battling outside of the Ruff Ryders’ studio where artists such as DMX made their first hits.
Jason Phillips founded the rap group The Warlocks in 1994 with friends, Sheek Louch and Styles P. They later signed to Bad Boy Entertainment, where it was suggested that they change their name simply to “The LOX”, which came to stand for Living Off eXperience.[citation needed] They made their first appearance on The Main Source’s 1994 LP Fuck What You Think on the track “Set it Off.”
The group, especially Jadakiss, developed a close relationship with The Notorious B.I.G., during which time Jadakiss was taken under Biggie’s wing. The LOX’s first hit was the tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. called “We’ll Always Love Big Poppa” (the B-side to Puff Daddy’s “I’ll Be Missing You”) in 1997. In 1998, the LOX released Money, Power & Respect. Though the record was successful, eventually going Platinum, The LOX grew unhappy with Bad Boy Records and Puffy’s glossy, radio friendly production. Following this album, they left the label to sign with Ruff Ryders Entertainment.

Written by Dianne Washington