Whats Buzzing in the Streets – Page 77

Donna Summer

LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012), widely known by her stage name Donna Summer, was an American singer, songwriter, and painter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the late 1970s. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Summer was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach No. 1 on the United States Billboard 200 chart and charted four number-one singles in the U.S. within a 12-month period. Summer has reportedly sold over 140 million records worldwide, making her one of the world’s best-selling artists of all time. She also charted two number-one singles on the R&B charts in the U.S. and a number-one in the U.K.

Summer earned a total of 32 hit singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in her lifetime, with 14 of those reaching the top ten. She claimed a top 40 hit every year between 1975 and 1984, and from her first top ten hit in 1976, to the end of 1982, she had 12 top ten hits (10 were top five hits), more than any other act during that time period. She returned to the Hot 100’s top five in 1983, and claimed her final top ten hit in 1989 with “This Time I Know It’s for Real”. Her most recent Hot 100 hit came in 1999 with “I Will Go With You (Con Te Partiro)”. While her fortunes on the Hot 100 waned through those decades, Summer remained a force on the U.S. Dance/Club Play Songs chart over her entire career.

While influenced by the counterculture of the 1960s, Summer became the lead singer of a psychedelic rock band named Crow and moved to New York City. Joining a touring version of the musical Hair, she left New York and spent several years living, acting, and singing in Europe, where she met music producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.

Summer returned to the U.S., in 1975 after the commercial success of the song “Love to Love You Baby”, which was followed by a string of other hits, such as “I Feel Love”, “Last Dance”, “MacArthur Park”, “Heaven Knows”, “Hot Stuff”, “Bad Girls”, “Dim All the Lights”, “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)” (duet with Barbra Streisand), and “On the Radio”. She became known as the “Queen of Disco”, while her music gained a global following.

Summer died on May 17, 2012, from lung cancer, at her home in Naples, Florida. In her obituary in The Times, she was described as the “undisputed queen of the Seventies disco boom” who reached the status of “one of the world’s leading female singers.” Giorgio Moroder described Summer’s work with him on the song “I Feel Love” as “really the start of electronic dance” music. In 2013, Summer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In December 2016, Billboard Magazine ranked her as the 6th most successful dance artist of all-time.

Born in the Dorchester community of Boston, she was born LaDonna Adrian Gaines, one of seven children raised by devout Christian parents. She sang in church, and as a teenager joined a rock group called The Crow. At 18, she left home and school to take up a supporting role in the Broadway musical, “Hair.” The show moved to Germany shortly afterwards and she eventually became a German resident.

She settled in Munich, performed in German versions of several musicals, including “Godspell” and “Show Boat” and also performed with the Viennese Folk Opera. In 1971, she released her first solo recording in Europe titled “Sally Go ‘Round The Roses.” She then recorded the song that would make her an international breakout star, “Love to Love you Baby” in 1975.

She married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer (“Summer” is an Anglicization of his last name) in 1972 and gave birth to daughter Mimi the following year. She performed in various musical and did jobs in studios and theaters for several years, including with the pop group Family Tree from 1974-75.

While singing back-up for Three Dog Night, she met producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, signed a contract and issued her first album, “Lady of the Night,” which included the European hit, “The Hostage.” The couple divorced in 1976.

In 1978, she collaborated with the R&B Pop group the Brooklyn Dreams for the song “Heaven Knows.” While at the session recording the single, she met Bruce Sudano. The duo began a romance that culminated in their July 16, 1980, marriage, and later the birth of daughters Brooklyn and Amanda. Today, Mimi and Amanda sing alongside their mother and Brooklyn has done some acting. Summer is now a grandmother of three.

Summer dealt with controversy both professionally and personally in her career. In the early 1980s, she reportedly suggested that AIDS was a divine punishment from God. Her songs were banned for a number of years in some gay establishments. Summer has long denied such allegations, and finally took legal action against a newspaper which printed the rumors during a review of a concert. In 1991, during the height of the Gulf War, Summer’s song “State Of Independence” was banned from US radio play.

Her talent and musicianship (aided by Giorgio Moroder) are embraced as the epitome of the disco era. On September 27, 2007, Summer, was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Summer died on May 17, 2012, at her home in Naples, Florida, aged 63. The non-smoker had been diagnosed with lung cancer, which she believed was caused by inhaling toxic fumes and dust after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City.

Summer was survived by her husband, Bruce Sudano; her daughters Mimi (with ex-husband Helmut Sommer), Brooklyn Sudano, and Amanda Sudano; her siblings, Ricky Gaines, Linda Gaines Lotman, Mary Ellen Bernard, Dara Bernard, and Jenette Yancey; and son-in-law Rick Dohler.

Margot Webb and Harold Norton

From 1933 until 1947 Margot Webb and Harold Norton performed on the Afro-American vaudeville circuits of night clubs and theatres in Harlem, around the Northeast and the Midwest.

Margot Webb She was born Marjorie Smith IN 1910, and grew up in Harlem, was seduced by ballet and other “Europeanist” genres, dropped out of Hunter College, was a headline dancer in the Cotton Club 1933-1939. She danced Waltz, Tango, Bolero with her partner Norton in the dance team of “Norton & Margot” They performed in London, Paris and Germany before WW II.

Later in life, she became a physical education teacher and she may very well still be alive. Brenda Dixon Gottschild found her living in Miami as recently as 2000.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, director, and producer. He has received three Golden Globe awards, a Tony Award, and two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for the historical war drama film Glory (1989) and Best Actor for his role as a corrupt cop in the crime thriller Training Day (2001).

Washington has received much critical acclaim for his film work since the 1980s, including his portrayals of real-life figures such as South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko in Cry Freedom (1987), Muslim minister and human rights activist Malcolm X in Malcolm X (1992), boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter in The Hurricane (1999), football coach Herman Boone in Remember the Titans (2000), poet and educator Melvin B. Tolson in The Great Debaters (2007), and drug kingpin Frank Lucas in American Gangster (2007). He has been a featured actor in the films produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and has been a frequent collaborator of directors Spike Lee, Antoine Fuqua and Tony Scott. In 2016, Washington was selected as the recipient for the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards.

In 2002, Washington made his directorial debut with the biographical film Antwone Fisher.

His second directorial effort was The Great Debaters, released in 2007. Washington’s third directorial effort, Fences, in which he also starred, was released on December 16, 2016, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr., was born in Mount Vernon, New York. He has an older sister, Lorice, and a younger brother. His father, Virginia-born Reverend Denzel Washington, was an ordained Pentecostal minister, who worked for the Water Department and at a local department store. His mother, Lennis, a beauty parlor owner, was born in Georgia and raised in Harlem.

Washington was not allowed to watch movies by his parents, who divorced when he was fourteen. As a youth, he went through a rebellious stage, and several of his friends went to prison. His mother responded to his behavioral problems by sending him to preparatory school.

Washington later enrolled at Fordham University, where he discovered acting and earned a degree in journalism, while studying at Fordham, he came to prominence at the Negro Ensemble Company playing “Peterson” in the Pulitzer Prize winning play ‘A Soldier’s Play.” His first film role was in the 1975 made-for-television movie, “Wilma.” His big break came when he starred in the television hospital drama, “St. Elsewhere.” He was one of a few actors to appear on the series for its entire six-year run.

In 1983, Washington married actress Pauletta Pearson, whom he met on the set of his first screen role. The couple has four children, John David, who signed a football contract with the St. Louis Rams after playing college ball at Morehouse, Katia, Olivia and Malcolm. In 1995, the couple renewed their wedding vows in South Africa with Archbishop Desmond Tutu officiating.

Washington is known globally for his acting ability; in 1987, after appearing in several minor theatrical films and stage roles, Washington starred as South African anti-apartheid campaigner Steve Biko in Richard Attenborough’s “Cry Freedom,” a role for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1989, Washington won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing a defiant, self-possessed slave in the film “Glory,” in 1992.

He was nominated as Best Actor in a Leading Role in “Malcolm X.” In 1999, he was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role, “Hurricane.” In 2001, Washington won Best Actor in a Leading Role in “Training Day.” Other film credits include “John and Antwone Fisher” (2002), “Out of Time” (2003), “Man on Fire” (2004), “The Manchurian Candidate” (2004), “Inside Man” (2006), “Deja Vu” (2006), “American Gangster,” and “The Great Debaters” (2007).

On May 18, 1991, Washington was awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Fordham University, for having “impressively succeeded in exploring the edge of his multifaceted talent”. In 2011, he donated $2 million to Fordham for an endowed chair of the theater department, as well as US$250,000 to establish a theater-specific scholarship at the school. He also received an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Morehouse College on May 20, 2007 and an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania on May 16, 2011.

In 2008, Washington visited Israel with a delegation of African-American artists in honor of the state’s 60th birthday.[60] In 2010, he visited Israel again to meet with his friend, head of the Messianic Jews’ congregation in Haifa.

In April 2014, Washington presented at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Easter Bonnet Competition with Bryan Cranston, Idina Menzel and Fran Drescher, after raising donations at his Broadway show A Raisin in the Sun.

Written by Dianne Washington

John Amos

John Allen Amos Jr. (born December 27, 1939) is an American actor who is best known for his role as James Evans, Sr. on the CBS television series Good Times (1974–76). Amos’ other television work includes roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the miniseries Roots, for which he received an Emmy nomination, and a recurring role as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace on The West Wing. Amos also played the father of Will Smith’s character’s girlfriend, Lisa Wilkes, in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and he had a recurring role on In the House with LL Cool J, as Coach Sam Wilson. Amos played the Father of Tommy Strawn (Thomas Mikal Ford) on the long running sitcom, Martin, as Sgt. Strawn, and another recurring role on Two and a Half Men as Chelsea’s dad’s new lover, Edward Boynton. Amos also played Major Grant, the US Special forces officer in Die Hard 2. Amos has also appeared on Broadway and in numerous films in a career that spans four decades. He has received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and NAACP Image Award.

He has also appeared on Broadway and in numerous films in a career that spans four decades. He has received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and NAACP Image Award.

John A. Amos, Jr. was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Annabelle P. and John A. Amos, Sr., who was an auto mechanic. He grew up in East Orange, New Jersey and graduated from East Orange High School in 1958. He enrolled at Long Beach City College and graduated from Colorado State University qualifying as a social worker with a degree in sociology. Amos also played on the Colorado State Rams football team. Amos was a Golden Gloves boxing champion. In 1964, he signed a free agent contract with the American Football League’s Denver Broncos. Unable to run the 40-yard dash because of a pulled hamstring, he was released on the second day of training camp. He then played with Joliet Explorers of the United Football League. In 1965, he played with the Norfolk Neptunes and Wheeling Ironmen of the Continental Football League. In 1966, he played with the Jersey City Jets and Waterbury Orbits of the Atlantic Coast Football League. In 1967, he had signed a free agent contract with the American Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs. Coach Hank Stram told John “you’re not a football player, you’re a man who is trying to play football.” John approached Coach Stram with a poem he wrote about the mythical creature that passed the door of all players who are cut from the team. He read it to the team and received a standing ovation from all the players and coaches. Amos said Coach Stram pushed him in the direction of writing after he was released from training camp. He returned to the Continental League where he played that year with the Victoria Steelers.

Amos is best known for playing characters Gordy Howard (the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show) from 1970 until 1973. In 1971, he appeared with a young Anson Williams in a commercial for McDonald’s as well as for his portrayal of James Evans, Sr., the husband of Florida Evans, appearing three times on the sitcom Maude before continuing the role in 61 episodes of Good Times from 1974 to 1976. While playing a hard-working middle-aged father of three on the show, in real life Amos was only 34 when the show began, only eight years older than the actor who played his oldest son (Jimmie Walker) and 19 years younger than his screen wife (Esther Rolle). Amos, much like series’ co-star Rolle, wanted to portray a positive image of an African American family, struggling against the odds in the ghetto of Chicago, but saw the premise slighted by lower comedy, and expressed dissatisfaction. Amos was fired from the show after the third season ended because he had issues with Norman Lear and the writers of the show in regards to Jimmie Walker’s character JJ. His character James Evans died in a car accident in the first episode of the fourth season, and the series continued for three more seasons without him. Norman Lear said Amos had become a disruption and Amos agrees, saying he wasn’t very diplomatic about the direction of the show. Amos disagreed about the writers emphasizing J.J.’s stereotypical buffoonishness including his catchphrases, funny walk and “pigeon hats”, fearing it was turning the program into a weekly minstrel show. His character’s other son Michael wanted to be a Supreme Court Justice and his daughter Thelma wanted to be a surgeon. Amos could see the comedy that could be generated from that but the writers wanted to stay with the J.J. actions.

He also portrayed Captain Dolan on the television show Hunter from 1984 to 1985. He co-starred in the CBS police drama The District and appeared in the 1977 miniseries Roots, based on Alex Haley’s book of the same name, as the older Kunta Kinte. In 1980, he starred in the TV film Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story.

Amos played an Archie Bunker-style character for the 1994 sitcom 704 Hauser which was a modern spin-off of All In The Family, but this series was cancelled after only five episodes (in the series he played a different character than he played in the All in the Family spin-off Maude). He was a frequent guest on The West Wing, portraying Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, who serves as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for most of the show. He played Buzz Washington in the ABC series, Men in Trees. Amos co-starred with Anthony Anderson in the TV series All About the Andersons in 2003. In 2010, Amos also appeared as recurring character, Ed, on Two and a Half Men, and in 2016 as another recurring character, also (coincidentally) named Ed on the Netflix sitcom The Ranch.

He has guest-starred in a number of other television shows including Police Story, The A-Team, The Cosby Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, In the House, Martin as Sgt. Hamilton Strawn (Tommy’s father), Touched by an Angel, Psych, My Name Is Earl, Lie to Me, and Murder, She Wrote

He has also appeared as a spokesman for The Cochran Firm (a national personal injury law firm).

Amos is the writer and producer of Halley’s Comet, a critically acclaimed one-man play that he performs around the world. Amos performed in August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean on Broadway and then later at the McCarther Theatre in Princeton, NJ.

Amos was featured in Disney’s The World’s Greatest Athlete (1973) with Tim Conway and Jan-Michael Vincent, and also starred as Kansas City Mack in Let’s Do It Again (1975) with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier. His other film appearances have included Vanishing Point (1971), The President’s Plane Is Missing (1973), Touched by Love (1980), The Beastmaster (1982), Dance of the Dwarfs (1983), American Flyers (1985), Coming to America (1988), Lock Up (1989), Two Evil Eyes (1989), Die Hard 2 (1990), and Ricochet (1991). He appeared in the 1995 film For Better or Worse and played a police officer in The Players Club (1998). He played Uncle Virgil in My Baby’s Daddy (2004), and starred as Jud in Dr. Dolittle 3 (2006). In 2012, Amos had a role in the movie Madea’s Witness Protection, as Jake’s father. He also appeared in Ice Cube’s and Dr. Dre’s video for Natural Born Killaz in 1994.

In 2009, he released an album of original country music songs.

Amos has the distinction of winning more TV Land Awards than anyone, taking home trophies for his roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Good Times and the TV miniseries Roots.

Amos is a veteran of the 50th Armored Division of the New Jersey National Guard and Honorary Master Chief of the U.S. Coast Guard. Amos has been married three times. Amos’s first marriage, between 1965 and 1975, was with artist and equestrian Noel Mickelson, with whom he has two children: Shannon Amos, a successful writer/producer and founder of Afterglow Multimedia, LLC, and Grammy nominated director K.C. Amos. Amos’s second marriage was to actress Lillian Lehman from 1978 until 1979. Since 1982, Amos has been married to Elisabete De Sousa. Amos has been a resident of Tewksbury Township, New Jersey.

Amos has been a resident of Tewksbury Township, New Jersey.

Written by Dianne Washington

John Legend

John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor.

Prior to the release of Legend’s debut album, he collaborated with already established artists. At various points in his career, Legend has sung in Magnetic Man’s “Getting Nowhere,” Kanye West’s “Blame Game,” on Slum Village’s “Selfish,” and Dilated Peoples’ “This Way”. Other collaborative appearances include Jay-Z’s “Encore”, backing vocals on Alicia Keys’ 2003 song “You Don’t Know My Name,” the Kanye West remix of Britney Spears’ “Me Against the Music,” and Fort Minor’s “High Road”. Legend played piano on Lauryn Hill’s “Everything Is Everything”.

For his solo work, he earned a Billboard Hot 100 number-one single with “All of Me” in 2013. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2015 for writing the song “Glory” from the film Selma. He has also won ten Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. In 2007, Legend received the Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2017, Legend received a Tony Award for co-producing Jitney for the Broadway stage.

Legend was born on December 28, 1978, in Springfield, Ohio. He is one of four children of Phyllis Elaine (née Lloyd), a seamstress, and Ronald Lamar Stephens, a factory worker and former National Guardsman. Throughout his childhood, Legend was home-schooled on and off by his mother. At the age of four, he performed with his church choir. He began playing the piano at age seven. At the age of 12, Legend attended Springfield North High School, from which he graduated salutatorian of his class four years later. According to Legend, he was offered admission to Harvard University and scholarships to Georgetown University and Morehouse College. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied English with an emphasis on African-American literature.

While in college, Legend served as president and musical director of a co-ed jazz and pop a cappella group called Counterparts. His lead vocals on the group’s recording of Joan Osborne’s “One of Us” (written by Eric Bazilian of The Hooters) received critical acclaim, landing the song on the track list of the 1998 Best of Collegiate a Cappella compilation CD. Legend was also a member of the prestigious senior societies Sphinx Senior Society and Onyx Senior Honor Society while an undergraduate at Penn. While in college, Legend was introduced to Lauryn Hill by a friend. Hill hired him to play piano on “Everything Is Everything”, a song from her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

During this period, he began to hold a number of shows around Philadelphia, eventually expanding his audience base to New York, Boston, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. He graduated from college in 1999, and thereafter began producing, writing, and recording his own music. He released two albums independently; his self-titled demo (2000) and Live at Jimmy’s Uptown (2001), which he sold at his shows. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Legend began working as a management consultant for the Boston Consulting Group. He subsequently began working on his demo and began sending his work to various record labels.

In 2001, Devo Springsteen introduced Legend to then up-and-coming hip-hop artist Kanye West; Legend was hired to sing during the hooks of West’s music. After signing to West’s label, he chose his stage name from an idea that was given to him by poet J. Ivy, due to what he perceived as an “old-school sound”. J. Ivy stated, “I heard your music and it reminds me of that music from the old school. You sound like one of the legends. As a matter of fact, that’s what I’m going to call you from now on! I’m going to call you John Legend.” After J. Ivy continued to call him by the new moniker “John Legend,” others quickly caught on, including Kanye West. Despite Legend’s reluctance to change his stage name, he eventually announced his new artist name as John Legend.

Legend released his debut album, Get Lifted, on GOOD Music in December 2004. It featured production by Kanye West, Dave Tozer, and will.i.am, and debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard 200, selling 116,000 copies in its first week. It went on to sell 540,300 copies in the United States and was certified gold by the RIAA. An international success, Get Lifted also reached number one of the Norwegian Albums Chart and peaked within the top ten in the Netherlands and Sweden, resulting in worldwide sales of 850,000 copies. Critically acclaimed, it won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, and earned Legend another two nominal awards for Best New Artist and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Altogether, the album produced four singles, including debut single “Used to Love U,” which entered the top 30 of the New Zealand and UK Singles Chart, and Grammy Award-winning “Ordinary People” which peaked at 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. John Legend also co-wrote Janet Jackson’s “I Want You”, which was certified platinum and received a nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.

A highly sought after collaborator, Legend was featured on several records the following years. He appeared on albums by Fort Minor, Sérgio Mendes, Jay Z, Mary J. Blige, The Black Eyed Peas, Stephen Colbert, Rich Boy, MSTRKRFT, Chemistry, and Fergie, among others. Legend also tentatively worked with Michael Jackson on a future album for which he had written one song. In August 2006, Legend appeared in an episode of Sesame Street. He performed a song entitled “It Feels Good When You Sing a Song”, a duet with Hoots the Owl. He also performed during the pregame show of Super Bowl XL in Detroit and the halftime show at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game.

In October 2006, Legend’s second album, Once Again, was released. Legend co-wrote and co-produced the bulk of the album, which saw him reteaming with West and will.i.am but also spawned production from Raphael Saadiq, Craig Street, Sa-Ra, Eric Hudson, Devo Springsteen, Dave Tozer and Avenue. Released to major commercial success, it reached number three on the Billboard 200 and debuted on top of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA, and reached gold status in Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. At the 2007 Grammy Awards ceremony, the song “Heaven” was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, while lead single “Save Room” received a nod in the Best Male Pop Vocal category. Legend won a second Grammy that year for “Family Affair,” a collaboration with Sly & The Family Stone, Joss Stone and Van Hunt, for the former’s Different Strokes by Different Folks album.

In January 2008, Legend sang in a video for Barack Obama, produced by will.i.am called “Yes We Can”. The same year, Legend had a supporting, singing-only role in the 2008 movie Soul Men, where he plays the deceased lead singer of a fictitious soul group that includes Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac. In October, he released his third studio album, Evolver. Speaking about the reasons for calling the album Evolver, he stated: “I think people sometimes come to expect certain things from certain artists. They expect you to kind of stay in the same place you were at when you started out. Whereas I feel I want my career to be defined by the fact that I’m NOT gonna stay in the same place, and that I’m always gonna try new things and experiment. So, as I think this album represents a manifestation of that, I came up with the title ‘Evolver’.” The album was preceded by dance-pop-influenced uptempo single “Green Light” which featured rapper Andre 3000 of OutKast and became his highest-charting single since “Ordinary People”; it was also released for the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

In 2009, Legend performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. Also in 2009, Legend and the Roots teamed up to record a collaborative album, Wake Up!, which was released on September 21, 2010. The first single released from the album was “Wake Up Everybody” featuring singer Melanie Fiona and rapper Common. In February 2011, Legend won three prizes at the 53rd Annual Grammy Music Awards. He was awarded Best R&B Song for “Shine”, while he and the Roots won Grammy Awards for Best R&B Album and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for “Hang On in There”. In March 2011, Legend and the Roots won two NAACP Image Awards – one for Outstanding Album (Wake Up!) and one for Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration.

On July 5, 2011, songwriter Anthony Stokes filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against John Legend in United States District Court, in the District of New Jersey, alleging that Legend’s song “Maxine’s Interlude” from his 2006 album Once Again derives from Stokes’ demo “Where Are You Now”. Stokes claimed he gave Legend a demo of the song in 2004 following a concert at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Legend denied the allegations, telling E! Online, “I never heard of his song until he sued me. I would never steal anyone’s song. We will fight it in court and we will prevail.” However, nearly 60,000 people took a TMZ.com poll that compared the two songs and 65% of voters believed that Legend’s “Maxine’s Interlude” is a rip-off of Stokes’ “Where Are You Now”. A year later, Legend confirmed that he settled the lawsuit with Stokes for an undisclosed amount.

Also in 2011, Legend completed a 50-date tour as a guest for British soul band Sade. In the San Diego stop, Legend confirmed that he was working on his next studio album and played a new song called “Dreams”. Later, via his official website, he revealed the official title of the album to be Love in the Future, and debuted part of a new track called “Caught Up”. The album has been executive-produced by Legend himself, along with Kanye West and Dave Tozer – the same team who worked on Legend’s previous albums Get Lifted and Once Again. Legend has stated that his intention for the record was “To make a modern soul album – to flip that classic feel into a modern context.”

Legend was granted an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Howard University at the 144th Commencement Exercises on Saturday, May 12, 2012. Legend was a judge on the ABC music show Duets along with Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Thicke. Legend’s spot was originally for Lionel Richie but he had to leave the show due to a scheduling conflict. Duets debuted on Thursday, May 24, 2012, at 8/7c.

He released his fourth studio album, Love in the Future, on September 3, 2013, debuting number 4 on the Billboard 200, selling 68,000 copies in its first week. The album was nominated for Best R&B album at the 2014 Grammy Awards. Legend’s third single from the album, “All of Me”, became an international chart success, peaking the Billboard Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks and reaching the top of six national charts and the top ten in numerous other countries, becoming one of the best-selling digital singles of all time. It was ranked the third best-selling song in the United States and the United Kingdom during 2014. The song is a ballad dedicated to his wife, Chrissy Teigen, and was performed at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.

In 2014, Legend paired with the rapper Common to write the song “Glory”, featured in the film Selma, which chronicled the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. The song won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song as well as the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Legend and Common performed “Glory” at the 87th Academy Awards on February 22, 2015.

Legend was featured on Meghan Trainor’s “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” from her debut studio album, which reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. On February 1, 2015, he sang “America the Beautiful” in the opening ceremony of Super Bowl XLIX. He provided guest vocals on Kelly Clarkson’s song “Run Run Run” for her album Piece by Piece. He also co-wrote and provided vocals for French DJ David Guetta’s song “Listen”, as part of the album Listen.

Legend released his new album Darkness and Light, with first single “Love Me Now,” on December 2, 2016 with songs featuring Chance the Rapper and Miguel.

For the 2017 film Beauty and the Beast, Legend and Ariana Grande performed a duet on the title track, a remake of the 1991 original version sung by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson.

Legend performed a benefit concert in Springfield, Ohio in 2005 in support of a tax levy for the Springfield City School District.

In May 2007, Legend partnered with Tide laundry detergent to raise awareness about the need of families in St. Bernard Parish, (Chalmette, Louisiana), one of the most devastated areas hit by Hurricane Katrina; he spent a day folding laundry at the Tide “clean start” mobile laundromat and visited homes that Tide is helping to rebuild in that community. On July 7, 2007, Legend participated in the Live Earth concert in London, performing “Ordinary People”. After reading Professor Jeffrey Sachs’ book The End of Poverty, Legend started his Show Me Campaign in 2007. In this campaign, Legend called on his fans to help him in his initiative for residents in Bosaso Village, Somalia and non-profit organizations partnered with the campaign. Also in 2007, Legend was the spokesman for GQ magazine’s “Gentlemen’s Fund”, an initiative to raise support and awareness for five cornerstones essential to men: opportunity, health, education, environment, and justice.In October 2007, Legend became involved with a project sponsored by The Gap, a retail clothing store chain in the United States.

In early 2008, he began touring with Alexus Ruffin and Professor Jeff Sachs of Columbia University’s Earth Institute to promote sustainable development as an achievable goal. Legend joined Sachs as a keynote speaker and performer at the inaugural Millennium Campus Conference. Legend then joined the Board of Advisors of the Millennium Campus Network (MCN), and has aided MCN programs through online support and funding fellowships for MCN summer interns through the Show Me Campaign. In 2009, Legend gave AIDS Service Center NYC permission to remix his song “If You’re Out There” to create a music video promoting HIV/AIDS awareness and testing.

On January 22, 2010, he performed “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” on the Hope for Haiti Now telethon show. On September 8, 2010, John Legend joined the national board of Teach For America. Legend also sits on the boards of The Education Equality Project, the Harlem Village Academies, and Stand for Children. He serves on the Harlem Village Academies’ National Leadership Board. On September 9, 2010, he performed “Coming Home” on the Colbert Report as a tribute song for the end of combat operations in Iraq, and for the active troops and the veterans of the United States Armed Forces. In 2011, he contributed the track “Love I’ve Never Known” to the Red Hot Organization’s most recent album Red Hot+Rio 2. The album is a follow-up to the 1996 “Red Hot+Rio.” Proceeds from the album sales were donated to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues. On March 6, 2012, John Legend was appointed by the World Economic Forum to the Forum of Young Global Leaders. Later that year, Legend stopped by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for a surprise visit and acoustic performance as a part of Get Well Soon Tour. On June 1, 2013, Legend performed at Gucci’s global concert event in London whose campaign, “Chime For Change”, aims to raise awareness of women’s issues in education, health and justice. At a press conference before his performance, Legend identified himself as a feminist saying, “All men should be feminists. If men care about women’s rights the world will be a better place.”

In 2016, Legend co-signed a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon calling for a more humane drug policy, along with people such as Richard Branson, Jane Fonda and George Shultz.

Legend donated $500,000 to Springfield City School District to renovate an auditorium, which is named in his honor, within the Springfield Center of Innovation. He performed at the John Legend Theater on October 9, 2016.

Legend met model Chrissy Teigen in 2007 when she starred in the music video for his song Stereo. After four years of dating, Legend became engaged to her in December 2011. They got married on September 14, 2013, in Como, Italy. The 2013 song “All of Me” was written and is dedicated to her; the music video was reportedly displayed at their wedding. On April 14, 2016, the couple’s first daughter, Luna Simone Stephens, was born through IVF. On November 21, 2017, Legend’s wife announced via Instagram that she’s expecting the couple’s second child.

Elmer Calloway

Elmer Calloway (1911-1979)

The name “Calloway” was a huge success. Before Cab, of course, there had been Blanche, the elder sister (born in 1903) who had made her debut with Louis Armstrong before having her own orchestra in 1931. But what few of us know, Is that Cab also had a little brother who also had his orchestra. But to find out more about Elmer Calloway, you have to search and search again. And especially not Cab … Elmer Calloway did not play any instrument, but an “investor” had the idea to take advantage of the fashionable name. Also, as early as 1931, was erected an orchestra in his name in Washington, DC. According to Fred NORMAN (1910-1993), trombone and arranger, it was a good orchestra, mixing musicians even Washington and Baltimore . None of them was known. The orchestra played two seasons at a club in Washington’s Black Quarter, the Prudhomme Club , at the intersection of 11th Avenue and the famous U Street. Everything was made to suggest that it was the Cotton Club of the capital.

The orchestra enjoyed some local fame – even having the Bernie’s Banjo Alabamians as substitutes at the Club Prudhom when they were playing private parties – having their radio show on Mondays and Thursdays on WOL station in December 1931 .

Calloway was invited to play in New York in a battle of the big bands Savoy Club . On the way, the bus that carried everyone stopped, and while the musicians and their leader stretched their legs, Elmer was knocked down by a car. Elmer was taken to the hospital and was forced to give up.

The whole band went to New York. Luckily for him, the Savoy Club was a stone’s throw away from the Cotton Club …

You can imagine the following: Cab replaced his little brother Elmer at the foot of the stage, accompanied by his bassist (probably Al Morgan). They won the battle and left for Washington.

Soon after, the orchestra was dissolved.

Elmer left the music scene and enrolled at Cheyney State College in Pennsylvania (the joke had circulated in the press that Cab would pay school fees to his younger brother if he decided to go home!). A graduate, he left for Atlanta where he became professor in a technical high school where he took his direction.

Elmer died suddenly at age 67 in Atlanta, Georgia, in April 1979.

When he died he left behind his wife Alma and his daughter Carol Baugh.

What is certain is that given his almost absence in the autobiography of Cab, one can easily imagine that the big brother had little esteem for the scenic attempt of his little brother.

Written by Dianne Washington

Cicely Louise Tyson

Cicely Louise Tyson (born December 18, 1924) is an American actress.

She was nominated for the Academy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress for her performance as Rebecca Morgan in Sounder (1972). For this role she also won the NSFC Best Actress and NBR Best Actress Awards. She starred in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974), for which she won two Emmy Awards and was nominated for a BAFTA Award. During her career she has been nominated for thirteen Primetime Emmy Awards, winning three.

In 2011, she appeared in the film The Help, for which she received awards for her ensemble work as Constantine from the BFCA and SAG Awards and she has an additional four SAG Award nominations. She starred on Broadway in The Trip to Bountiful as Carrie Watts, for which she won the Tony Award, Outer Critics Award, and Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a Play. She previously received a Drama Desk Award in 1962 for her Off-Broadway performance in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl.

On November 16, 2016, it was announced that Tyson would be one of 21 new recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

During her career she has been nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards, winning three. In 2011, she appeared in the film The Help, for which she received awards for her ensemble work as Constantine from the BFCA and SAG Awards and she has an additional four SAG Award nominations. She starred on Broadway in The Trip to Bountiful as Carrie Watts, for which she won the Tony Award, Outer Critics Award, and Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a Play. She previously received a Drama Desk Award in 1962 for her Off-Broadway performance in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl.

Tyson was born and raised in Harlem, the daughter of Theodosia, a domestic and William Tyson, who worked as a carpenter, as a painter, and at any other jobs he could find. Her parents were immigrants from Nevis in the West Indies. Her father arrived in New York City at age 21 and was processed at Ellis Island on August 4, 1919.

Tyson was discovered by a photographer for Ebony magazine and became a popular fashion model. Her first acting role was on the NBC series Frontiers of Faith in 1951. Her first film role was in Carib Gold in 1956, but she went on to do more television work, such as the celebrated series East Side/West Side and the soap opera The Guiding Light. In 1961, Tyson appeared in the original cast of French playwright Jean Genet’s The Blacks, the longest running off-Broadway non-musical of the decade, running for 1,408 performances. The original cast also featured James Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee Browne, Louis Gossett, Jr., Godfrey Cambridge, Maya Angelou and Charles Gordone. She appeared with Sammy Davis, Jr. in the film A Man Called Adam (1966) and starred in the film version of Graham Greene’s The Comedians (1967). Tyson had a featured role in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968), and appeared in a segment of Roots.

In 1972, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the critically acclaimed Sounder. In 1974, she won two Emmy Awards for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Other acclaimed television roles included Roots; King, in which she portrayed Coretta Scott King, The Marva Collins Story, When No One Would Listen, and The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, for which she received her third Emmy Award. In 1982, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women, who through their endurance and the excellence of their work have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.

In 1991 she appeared in Fried Green Tomatoes as Sipsey. In her 1994–95 television series Sweet Justice, Tyson portrayed a civil rights activist and attorney named Carrie Grace Battle, a character she shaped by reportedly consulting with noted Washington, D.C. civil rights and criminal defense lawyer Dovey Johnson Roundtree. In 2005, Tyson co-starred in Because of Winn-Dixie and Diary of a Mad Black Woman. The same year she was honored at Oprah Winfrey’s Legends Ball. The Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts, a magnet school in East Orange, New Jersey, was renamed in her honor. She plays an active part in supporting the school, which serves one of New Jersey’s most underprivileged African-American communities. In 2010, Tyson narrated the “Paul Robeson Award”-winning documentary, Up from the Bottoms: The Search for the American Dream. In 2010, she appeared in Why Did I Get Married Too? In 2011, Tyson appeared in her first music video in Willow Smith’s 21st Century Girl. That same year she played Constantine Jefferson in The Help.

At the 67th Tony Awards on June 9, 2013, Tyson won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Miss Carrie Watts in The Trip to Bountiful. She also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for the role.

Tyson has been married once, to legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis on November 26, 1981. The ceremony was conducted by Atlanta mayor Andrew Young at the home of actor Bill Cosby. Tyson and Davis divorced in 1988. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. On May 17, 2009, she received an honorary degree from Morehouse College, an all-male college. In 2010, she was awarded the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP. On May 21, 2014, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Columbia University.

In 2010, she appeared in Why Did I Get Married Too?, and also narrated the Paul Robeson Award-winning documentary, Up from the Bottoms: The Search for the American Dream. In 2011, Tyson appeared in her first music video in Willow Smith’s 21st Century Girl. That same year she played Constantine Jefferson in the critically acclaimed period drama The Help. At the 67th Tony Awards on June 9, 2013, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Miss Carrie Watts in The Trip to Bountiful. She also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for the role. In 2013, Tyson had a supporting role in the horror film The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia. Since 2014, Tyson has guest starred in How to Get Away with Murder as Ophelia Harkness, the mother of main character Annalise Keating (Viola Davis), a role for which she has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in both 2015 and 2017.

Written by Dianne Washington

Bruce McMarion Wright

Bruce McMarion Wright (born Marion Bruce Wright, December 19, 1917 – March 24, 2005) was an American jurist who served on the New York State Supreme Court. Judge Wright was also the father of Geoffrey D.S. Wright, a New York State Supreme Court Justice, and Keith L.T. Wright, a member of the New York State Assembly.

Wright was born in Baltimore, Maryland, raised in Princeton, New Jersey, and spent the majority of his adult life living in Harlem, New York.

In 1939, Wright was awarded a scholarship to attend Princeton University, but denied admission when he arrived and the university learned that he was black. Wright was denied admission to Notre Dame on the same grounds. He studied at Virginia Union University, and graduated from Lincoln University in 1942.

Wright then served in a U.S. Army segregated medical unit during World War II. He volunteered for combat duty, and was assigned to Company K, 16th Infantry Regiment. After the war, he went AWOL, making his way to Paris, where he was befriended by Senegalese poet Leopold Senghor, who later became his country’s first president.

Wright’s early ambition was to become a poet and was introduced and later became a friend of Langston Hughes. Wright’s first book of poetry, “From the Shaken Tower,” was edited by Hughes and published in 1944. He studied at Fordham University Law School, and obtained his law degree from New York Law School.

New York City Mayor John V. Lindsay appointed Wright as general counsel for the New York City Human Resources Administration in 1967, and named him to the New York City Criminal Court bench in 1970. Judge Wright was soon publicly critical of the judicial system and voiced his belief that race and class all too frequently determined the outcomes of trials. He denounced what he called racism in the criminal justice system, and created a furor by often setting low bail, and sometimes no bail, for poor or minority suspects. In one case, in which bail of $100,000 was requested by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for Joseph Gruttola, who had been accused of shooting a police officer, he set it at $500. After Gruttola posted bail and was released the same day, another judge revoked it and ordered him rearrested. When Grullota was brought into court the next day, Wright again set bail at $500. (Grutolla was eventually acquitted of attempted murder but convicted of assault and robbery.) In another case involving a man named Seymour Popkin, who had been charged in the beating of another man to death in a fistfight in Times Square, Judge Wright released him on his own recognizance after an assistant district attorney declined to release the name of a potential witness, despite Popkin’s criminal record extending back 20 years. (The charge was eventually reduced to simple assault, and Popkin was acquitted at trial.)

Wright was given the nickname “Turn ‘Em Loose Bruce” by the police officer’s unions in New York City because of his bail practices, and it was repeated often in the New York newspapers.

After continued protests by the police officer’s unions, Wright was transferred to New York City Civil Court in 1974 by David Ross, the city’s administrative judge, who said it was just part of the usual rotations of judges and denied that the move had anything to do with his bail policies. Judge Wright then sued in federal court, seeking reinstatement, but in 1978, as hearings on his long-delayed lawsuit were about to begin, he was transferred back to Criminal Court.

The controversy promptly resumed, with the Transit Police union making their first complaint about Judge Wright a week after he returned to the Criminal Court bench. It peaked in April 1979, when Jerome Singleton was charged with slashing the throat of a white decoy officer, Robert Bilodeau. After bail had initially been set at $10,000 cash by another judge, Judge Wright released Singleton on his own recognizance, saying that he had no previous criminal record, strong family and community ties, and that prosecutors had offered no convincing reason to bar Singleton’s release. (Singleton was eventually found guilty of second-degree assault and acquitted of first-degree assault and attempted murder.)

However, while some criticized Wright, others thought he was fair. Despite his outspoken views and practices, Wright was elected to the New York State Supreme Court in 1979.

Throughout his career, Wright held onto his belief that the judicial system, including bail, was stacked against poor and minority defendants. In a lecture at Columbia University Law School in 1979, he said that a more appropriate name for him would have been “Civil” Wright. He retired on December 31, 1994. Several days before his retirement, he said,

“I have never changed my mind about the Eighth Amendment. To say that I would’ve done things differently means to me I would have been a good boy, kept my mouth shut and availed myself of the benefits of the system. I don’t think I can do that. I don’t think I could ever do that.”

Judge Wright spent 25 years on the bench hearing criminal and civil cases, and had a reputation as a scholarly and provocative jurist who sprinkled his opinions with literary quotations. He was the author of a 1987 book, Black Robes, White Justice, about the role of race in the judicial system, which won a 1991 American Book Award. He later authored an autobiography, “Black Justice In A White World.” Sixty-five years after being denied admission to Princeton because of his race, he was made an honorary member of their Class of 2001.

Judge Wright died in his sleep on March 24, 2005, at his home in Old Saybrook, Connecticut at the age of 87.

Written by Dianne Washington

Maurice White of Earth Wind & Fire

Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger, and bandleader. He was the founder of the band Earth, Wind & Fire. He was also the older brother of current Earth, Wind & Fire member Verdine White, and former member Fred White. He served as the band’s main songwriter and record producer, and was co-lead singer along with Philip Bailey.

He won seven Grammys, and was nominated for a total of twenty Grammys. White was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of Earth, Wind & Fire, and was also inducted individually into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Also known by his nickname “Reece”, he worked with several famous recording artists, including Deniece Williams, the Emotions, Barbra Streisand, and Neil Diamond. White was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the late 1980s, which led him eventually to stop touring with Earth, Wind & Fire in 1994. He retained executive control of the band, and remained active in the music business until his death.

White was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on December 19, 1941. He grew up in South Memphis, where he lived with his grandmother in the Foote Homes Projects and was a childhood friend of Booker T Jones, with whom he formed a “cookin’ little band” while attending Booker T. Washington High School. He made frequent trips to Chicago to visit his mother, Edna, and stepfather, Verdine Adams, who was a doctor and occasional saxophonist. In his teenage years, he moved to Chicago and studied at the Chicago Conservatory of Music, and played drums in local nightclubs. By the mid-1960s he found work as a session drummer for Chess Records. While at Chess, he played on the records of artists such as Etta James, Ramsey Lewis, Sonny Stitt, Muddy Waters, the Impressions, the Dells, Betty Everett, Sugar Pie DeSanto and Buddy Guy. White also played the drums on Fontella Bass’s “Rescue Me” and Billy Stewart’s “Summertime”. In 1962, along with other studio musicians at Chess, he was a member of the Jazzmen, who later became the Pharaohs.

By 1966, he joined the Ramsey Lewis Trio, replacing Isaac “Red” Holt as the drummer. Holt and bassist Eldee Young left and formed Young-Holt Unlimited with pianist Hysear Don Walker. Young was replaced by Cleveland Eaton. As a member of the Ramsey Lewis Trio, Maurice played on nine of the group’s albums, including Wade in the Water (1966), from which the track “Hold It Right There” won a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental in 1966. White featured on other Ramsey Lewis albums including: The Movie Album (1966), Goin’ Latin (1967), Dancing in the Street (1967), Up Pops Ramsey Lewis (1967) and The Piano Player (1969). While in the Trio he was introduced in a Chicago drum store to the African thumb piano or kalimba and on the Trio’s 1969 album Another Voyage’s track “Uhuru” was featured the first recording of White playing the kalimba.

In 1969, White left the Trio and joined his two friends, Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead, to form a songwriting team who wrote songs for commercials in the Chicago area. The three friends got a recording contract with Capitol Records and called themselves the Salty Peppers. They had a moderate hit in the Midwest area with their single “La La Time”, but their second single, “Uh Huh Yeah”, was not as successful. White then moved from Chicago to Los Angeles, and altered the name of the band to Earth, Wind & Fire, the band’s new name reflecting the elements in his astrological chart.

With Maurice as the bandleader and producer of most of the band’s albums, EWF earned legendary status winning six Grammy Awards out of a staggering 14 nominations, a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame, and four American Music Awards. The group’s albums have sold over 90 million copies worldwide. Other honors bestowed upon Maurice as a member of the band included inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, The Songwriters Hall of Fame and The NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame.

White brought the kalimba into mainstream use by incorporating its sound into the music of Earth, Wind & Fire. He was also responsible for expanding the group to include a full horn section – the Earth, Wind & Fire Horns, later known as the Phenix Horns. White began showing signs of the Parkinson’s disease in 1987, and was finally forced to retire from Earth Wind & Fire in 1994. He retained executive control of the band and was still very active in the music business, producing and recording with the band and other artists. Messages of encouragement from celebrities including: Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, Isaac Hayes, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine were published for White.

From time to time, after his retirement, he appeared on stage with Earth, Wind & Fire at events such as the 2004 Grammy Awards Tribute to Funk, and alongside Alicia Keys at Clive Davis’s 2004 pre-Grammy awards party where they performed the band’s 1978 hit “September”.

Maurice’s younger brother, Verdine, an original member of Earth, Wind & Fire, still tours with the band as its bassist and a backing vocalist. Additionally, their brother Fred joined the band in 1974, when the band recorded “Devotion”. Maurice was a married father of three and owned two homes in California; one in Carmel Valley, and the other, a four-level condominium in Los Angeles. As recorded in his obituary, his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Verdine Adams, Sr., MD, had a total of ten children, and Maurice White was the oldest. He was affectionately called Reese by many of his brothers and sisters, according to his obituary which was distributed at his Memorial Service held at Agape International Spiritual Center March 22, 2016 in California.

White died in his sleep from the effects of Parkinson’s disease at his home in Los Angeles, California, on the morning of February 4, 2016, at the age of 74. He was survived by his wife, Marilyn White, sons Kahbran and Eden, daughter Hamia (nicknamed MiMi on his obituary) and brothers Verdine and Fred. As written in his obituary, he was the eldest of nine siblings.

Written by Dianne Washington

Esther Phillips

Esther Phillips (born Esther Mae Jones; December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984) was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals. She was a versatile singer and also performed pop, country, jazz, blues and soul music.

Born Esther Mae Jones in Galveston, Texas, she began singing in church as a young child. When her parents divorced, she divided her time between her father in Houston and her mother in the Watts area of Los Angeles. She was brought up singing in church and was reluctant to enter a talent contest at a local blues club, but her sister insisted. A mature singer at the age of 14, she won the amateur talent contest in 1949 at the Barrelhouse Club, owned by Johnny Otis. Otis was so impressed that he recorded her for Modern Records and added her to his traveling revue, the California Rhythm and Blues Caravan, billed as Little Esther. She later took the surname Phillips, reportedly inspired by a sign at a gas station.

Billed as Little Esther, she scored her first success when she was teamed with the vocal quartet the Robins (who later evolved into the Coasters) on the hit single “Double Crossin’ Blues.” It topped the R&B charts in early 1950 and paved the way for “Mistrustin’ Blues,” “Misery,” “Cupid Boogie,” and “Deceivin’ Blues.” In 1951, Little Esther and Otis had a falling out, reportedly over money, which led to her departure from his show.

Her first hit record was “Double Crossing Blues”, with the Johnny Otis Quintette and the Robins (a vocal group), released in 1950 by Savoy Records, which reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart. She made several hit records for Savoy with the Johnny Otis Orchestra, including “Mistrusting Blues” (a duet with Mel Walker) and “Cupid’s Boogie”, both of which also went to number 1 that year. Four more of her records made the Top 10 in the same year: “Misery” (number 9), “Deceivin’ Blues” (number 4), “Wedding Boogie” (number 6), and “Far Away Blues (Xmas Blues)” (number 6). Few female artists performing in any genre had such success in their debut year.

Phillips left Otis and the Savoy label at the end of 1950 and signed with Federal Records. But just as quickly as the hits had started, they stopped. She recorded more than thirty sides for Federal, but only one, “Ring-a-Ding-Doo”, made the charts, reaching number 8 in 1952. Not working with Otis was part of her problem; the other part was her deepening dependence on heroin, to which she was addicted by the middle of the decade. Being in the same room when Johnny Ace shot himself (accidentally) on Christmas Day, 1954, while in-between shows in Houston, presumably did not help matters.

In 1954, she returned to Houston to live with her father and recuperate. Short on money, she worked in small nightclubs around the South, punctuated by periodic hospital stays in Lexington, Kentucky, to treat her addiction. In 1962, Kenny Rogers discovered her singing at a Houston club and helped her get a contract with Lenox Records, owned by his brother Lelan.

In 1954, she returned to Houston to live with her father, having experimented with hard drugs, developing an addiction to heroin. Short on money, Little Esther worked in small nightclubs around the South, punctuated by periodic hospital stays in Lexington, Kentucky, stemming from her addiction.

In 1962, Kenny Rogers got her signed to his brother’s Lenox label, rediscovering her while singing at a Houston club. She re-christened herself Esther Phillips, choosing her last name from a nearby Phillips gas station. Phillips recorded a country-soul rendition of the soon-to-be standard “Release Me,” which was a smash, topping the R&B charts and hitting the Top Ten on both the pop and country charts. Back in the public eye, Phillips recorded a country-soul album of the same name, but Lenox went bankrupt in 1963. Thanks to her recent success, Phillips was able to catch on with R&B giant Atlantic.

Her remake of the Beatles song “And I Love Him” (naturally, with the gender changed) nearly made the R&B Top Ten in 1965 and the Beatles flew her to the U.K. for her first overseas performances. Encouraged, Atlantic pushed her into even jazzier territory for her next album, but none of the resulting singles really caught on and the label dropped her in late 1967.

With her addiction worsening, Phillips checked into a rehab facility; while undergoing treatment, she cut some sides for Roulette in 1969 and upon her release, she moved to Los Angeles and re-signed with Atlantic.

In 1971, she signed with producer Creed Taylor’s Kudu label, a subsidiary of his hugely successful jazz-fusion imprint CTI. Her label debut, “From a Whisper to a Scream,” was released in 1972 to strong sales and highly positive reviews, particularly for her performance of Gil Scott-Heron’s wrenching heroin-addiction tale, “Home Is Where the Hatred Is.” Phillips recorded several more albums for Kudu over the next few years and enjoyed some of the most prolonged popularity of her career, performing in high-profile venues and numerous international jazz festivals.

In 1975, she scored her biggest hit single since “Release Me” with “What a Difference a Day Makes” (Top Ten R&B, Top 20 pop), and the accompanying album of the same name became her biggest seller yet. In 1977, Phillips left Kudu for Mercury, but none matched the commercial success of her Kudu output and after 1981’s “A Good Black Is Hard to Crack,” she found herself without a record deal.

Esther Phillips was perhaps too versatile for her own good; her voice had an idiosyncratic, nasal quality that often earned comparisons to Nina Simone, although she herself counted Dinah Washington as a chief inspiration.

Phillips died at UCLA Medical Center in Carson, California, in 1984, at the age of 48, from liver and kidney failure due to long-term drug abuse. Her funeral services were conducted by Johnny Otis. Originally buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave at Lincoln Memorial Park in Compton, she was reinterred in 1985 in the Morning Light section at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, in Los Angeles. A bronze marker recognizes her career achievements and quotes a Bible passage: “In My Father’s House Are Many Mansions” (John 14:2).

Written by Dianne Washington