Tag Archives: Stevie Wonder

An Evening With Chaka Khan

Posted on February 22, 2016 | Leave a comment

Чака Кан американска певица

Formerly Loew’s Kings Theatre, The Kings Theatre is a historical theater in Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Opened in 1929 and closed in 1977, the theater sat empty for decades until a complete renovation was initiated in 2010. The theater reopened to the public on January 23, 2015. Diana Ross was the featured artist for the gala reopening performance on February 3, 2015.

On February 19, 2016, almost one year later, the Kings Theater featured the legendary Chaka Khan.

Chaka Khan Concert Review

The Chicago-native Diva came on stage wearing a sexy burgundy-colored tunic with a wide black belt around her waist and black thigh-high boots over black tight pants.

The Queen of Funk heated up the theater packed with the rather mature audience with a set that spanned her greatest hits. She started off the soul/disco hit by Rufus and Chaka, “Do You Love What You Feel,” one of her last hits before fully going solo.

Oh, boy did she sing her heart out! One thing I love about her show is that it’s no gimmick, no props, no dancers, just her great voice.

Ms. Chaka Khan once mentioned that she didn’t like the Prince produced song “I Feel For You,” as it features Grandmaster Melle Mel on the classic Ch-ch-ch-chaka-chaka-chaka Khan rap which annoys her. But she sang just to touch on material that her more loyal fans would recognize.

Before she finishes the half set of her performance she said to the audience, “Something broke and I have to fix it,” then went off-stage. Puzzled three female backup singers and the band stayed behind to give the crowd some jazzy intermission instrumentals.

After for a while Ms. Khan finally came back on stage with black shiny outfit and the same black pants but no boots. She is getting laidback and went on singing her beautiful rendition of “Papillon (a.k.a. Hot Butterfly).”

“This was composed first as an instrumental. What’s his name……., oh yeah, David Foster wrote the lyrics, “ she introduced her next song then started to sing “Through The Fire.”

The song was sampled by Kanye West and “Through The Wire” became his breakthrough debut single.

The performance also includes jazzy “Funny Valentine,” the 1995 hit from the “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack, the sultry 1975 number one R&B hit “Sweet Thing,” and the 1974-hit written by Stevie Wonder “Tell Me Something Good,” followed by the LGBT anthem “I’m Every Woman.” Chaka Khan was supposed to end the night’s performance with her 1983 number 1 R&B chart signature hit “Ain’t Nobody” but due to her costume malfunction the show was cut in short. She walked off the stage abruptly.

2 black guys behind my seat started shouting, “You didn’t sing ‘Ain’t Nobody’, ‘Ain’t Nobody’,” then they started to sing off key. Not the great way to end the perfect night…..

It’s funky Brooklyn after all. Good Night!

Evening with Chaka Khan

Friday, 2/19

The Kings Theater

1027 Flatbush Ave
Brooklyn, New York

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Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Ain't Nobody, Brooklyn, Chaka Khan, Flatbush, I Feel For You, Kanye West, Kings Theater, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Sweet Thing, Tell Me Something Good

MLK Day Celebration : Stevie Wonder helped create Martin Luther King day?

Posted on January 12, 2016 | Leave a comment

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
ДЕНЬ МАРТИНА ЛЮТЕРА КИНГА

日本語

January 18^th is an American federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around King’s birthday, January 15.

King was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King’s honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later.

Did you know that Stevie Wonder is the one of people who helped create Martin Luther King day?

On the evening of April 4, 1968, teen music sensation Stevie Wonder was dozing off in the back of a car on his way home to Detroit from the Michigan school for the Blind, when the news crackled over the radio: Martin Luther King Jr. had just been assassinated in Memphis. His driver quickly turned off the radio and they drove on in silence and shock, tears streaming down Wonder’s face.

Five days later, Wonder flew to Atlanta for the slain civil rights hero’s funeral, as riots erupted in several cities, the country still reeling. He joined Harry Belafonte, Aretha Franklin, Mahalia Jackson, Eartha Kitt, Diana Ross and a long list of politicians and pastors who mourned King, prayed for a nation in which all men are created equal and vowed to continue the fight for freedom.

Wonder was still in shock—he remembered how, when he was five, he first heard about King as he listened to coverage of the Montgomery bus boycott on the radio. “I asked, ‘Why don’t they like colored people? What’s the difference?’ I still can’t see the difference.” As a young teenager, when Wonder was performing with the Motown Review in Alabama, he experienced first-hand the evils of segregation – he remembers someone shooting at their tour bus, just missing the gas tank. When he was 15, Wonder finally met King, shaking his hand at a freedom rally in Chicago.

At the funeral, Wonder was joined by his local representative, young African-American Congressman John Conyers, who had just introduced a bill to honor King’s legacy by making his birthday a national holiday. Thus began an epic crusade, let by Wonder and some of the biggest names in music – from Bob Marley to Michael Jackson – to create Martin Luther King Day.

To overcome the resistance of conservative politicians, including President Reagan and many of his fellow citizens, Wonder put his career on hold, led rallies from coast to coast and galvanized millions of Americans with his passion and integrity.

But it took 15 years.

“Happy Birthday,” a song celebrating King’s life was composed by Stevie Wonder. He held onto it until “the movement for the holiday was gaining steam,” and made it the centerpiece of his album, Hotter Than July released in 1980.

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Posted in Black History, Uncategorized

Tagged Civil Rights Movement, ДЕНЬ МАРТИНА ЛЮТЕРА КИНГА, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, MLK Day, Stevie Wonder

Motown: The Musical Opens Soon!!

Posted on March 7, 2013 | Leave a comment

Motown: The Musical

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The Debut For Motown: The Musical Is Just A Week Away.

“Motown: The Musical” which boasts the largest ensemble of any show currently on Broadway (over 35 performers and nineteen musicians), is scheduled to open at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater in New York City.

The show begins previews on March 11 and officially opens on April 14. It was written by Motown Records’ founder Berry Gordy Jr. and features music and lyrics from the Motown catalog.

Berry Gordy Jr.

The show traces Gordy’s rise from a struggling boxer and autoworker to a music mogul who made stars of Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5 and others.

The musical features hits ranging from The Contours’ “Do You Love Me”, “Dancing In The Street” by Martha and The Vandellas, “My Girl” by The Temptations.

Although the show is from Gordy’s perspective and pivoting around his romance with Diana Ross, it doesn’t duck some of the criticism that surrounded him.

Gordy told the hardest part in bringing Motown to the stage, was putting the story on paper.

Diana Left Him For $20 Million

“The hard part was writing it in the first place. When Diana left me for $20 million I was crying inside. I was crying. It was like horrible for me,” the 83-year-old admitted. “But I had to do what was best for her, because I promised her when we had our love affair that I wanted her to be the biggest star in the world, and would never let our relationship interfere with that.”

The show’s co-producer Kevin McCollum believes that “Motown: The Musical” will resonate well with audiences and he can envision the show being turned into a major motion picture.

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Posted in Music, Uncategorized

Tagged Berry Gordy Jr., Charles Randolph-Wright, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Motown The Musical, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations

2012 Soul Train Awards Premieres on Sunday, 11/25 at 8pm on Centric & BET

Posted on November 24, 2012 | Leave a comment

New Edition @ 2012 Soul Train Awards READ IN JAPANESE SOUL TRAIN AWARDS 2012 PREMIERES SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH AT 8PM ET/PT ON CENTRIC & BET On Thursday, November 8, 2012, the Soul Train Awards celebrated its 25th Awards show by honoring the best in music and entertainment at Planet Hollywood Live in Las Vegas. Hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, and backed by the musical direction of Raphael Saadiq, Soul Train Awards 2012 featured meaningful tributes to this year’s loss of Don Cornelius, hilarious Awards presentations, not-to-be-missed musical performances, and much more. The network premiere of Soul Train Awards 2012 will be televised simultaneously on Centric and BET on Sunday, November 25, 2012 at 8pm ET/PT. Keyshia Cole @ 2012 Soul Train Awards Today’s hottest artists and Soul Train Awards 2012 nominees took to the Planet Hollywood Live stage including: three-time 2012 nominee Miguel, who performed his hit “Adorn;” Ne-Yo, who wowed with his single “Let Me Love You;” 2012 Best R&B/Soul Female Artist nominee Keyshia Cole, who performed her single “Trust and Believe;” Tyrese, who performed his Song of the Year-nominated hit “Stay;” 2012 Best New Artist nominee Elle Varner, who sang a remix version of her single “Refill” with a human beatbox; and two-time 2012 nominee John Legend, performed his Song of the Year-nominated smash “Tonight (Best you Ever Had).” Bringing southern hip-hop to the Soul Train Awards 2012 stage was two-time 2012 Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year nominee, 2 Chainz, who performed a crowd-pleasing medley of his hits “Birthday Song,” “I’m Different,” along with a special duet of “Ghetto Dreams” with Charlie Wilson. Charlie Wilson @ 2012 Soul Train Awards Soul Train Awards 2012 couldn’t have been the year’s biggest night for R&B/soul without unforgettable, crowd-raising performances by legends like Stevie Wonder, Eddie Levert, and Charlie Wilson, as well as contemporary artists of today channeling classic soul icons of yesterday. Epic Records recording artist Leah Labelle brought down the house with her flawless performance of Teena Marie’s “Square Biz,” Grammy Award-winner Fantasia embodied the Queen of Soul with her rendition of the Aretha Franklin classic “Don’t Play That Song For Me,” while Anthony Hamilton belted Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day,” and The Voice season 1 winner Marcus Canty tore up the stage with his take on Luther Vandross’ “Never Too Much.” Cedric The Entertainer – Host New Edition―particularly Bobby Brown―gave a tear-inducing acceptance speech during the group’s much-anticipated and well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award presentation. The sextet later returned to the stage for a very special medley performance of their hits like “Candy Girl,” “Telephone Man,” and “If It Isn’t Love” that drove the crowd wild. Not to be outdone by the phenomenal music performances of the night, the caliber of star power the Soul Train Awards 2012 pulled together for the first-ever three-day Soul Train Awards experience in Las Vegas was legendary. Long-time Academy Awards host, actor, and comedian Billy Crystal, Donny and Marie Osmond, Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx, Las Vegas comedic icon George Wallace, basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, hit-making songwriter and producer Jimmy Jam, Vampire Diaries star Kat Graham, Tamar Braxton, 2012 Best New Artist nominee Luke James, radio personality Tom Joyner, and more came out to present Awards, introduce musical acts as well as provide hysterical advice, guidance, and encouragement to two-time Soul Train Awards host Cedric the Entertainer about moving the show to Las Vegas. Soul Train Awards 2012 presented by Centric Additional memorable moments include: the consistent threading of memories and images of the late Don Cornelius throughout the show―particularly the words from his son, Tony Cornelius; Charlie Wilson showing Cedric the Entertainer how to romance a woman; Eddie Levert singing “Casanova”; Jamie Foxx introducing a trailer for his upcoming film directed by Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained; and the super group TGT―composed of Tank, Ginuwine, and Tyrese. Fresh off the heels of the Presidential election and Barack Obama’s re-election, Cedric The Entertainer coined the phrase of the night―“2 Termz”―playing off the audience call-and-response of 2 Chainz’s name. Closing out the show was none other than the “8th Wonder of the World,” Stevie Wonder, who delivered a roof-blowing medley of his hits including “Superstition” and President-Elect Barack Obama’s acceptance speech entrance song “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours,” which was backed by projected photos of the “2 Termz” President. Additional celebrity attendees and appearances by Estelle, Melanie Fiona, Jody Watley, Doug E. Fresh, Tony Rock, Mike Bivins, Gary Owen, Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones, Kenny Lattimore, Lil Mama, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, and many more. The Soul Train Awards is a presentation of Centric Network. Executive Producers of the telecast are: Paxton Baker, Tami Willis-Arasli, Derek Lewis, CENTRIC; Bart Phillips, Sunseeker Media; and Soul Train Holdings’ Kenard Gibbs, along with Cedric Kyles; Eric Rhone; Doug E. Fresh; and Damien Smith. The Soul Train Awards is directed by Tony McCuin and produced in cooperation with the City of Las Vegas and Clark County Nevada. SOUL TRAIN AWARDS 2012 NOMINEES AND AWARD CATEGORIES Best New Artist Elle Varner Emeli Sande J. Cole Luke James Robert Glasper Centric Award Daley Esperanza Spalding Gary Clark Jr. Leah Labelle Santigold Best Gospel/Inspirational Performance BeBe Winans-America America Fred Hammond – I Feel Good Marvin Sapp – My Testimony Mary Mary-Go Get It Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks-Celebrate Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year 2 Chainz feat. Drake – No Lie Wale feat. Miguel – Lotus Flower Bomb Nas-Daughters Kanye West feat. Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz -Mercy Young Jeezy feat. Ne-Yo-Leave You Alone Best R&B/Soul Female Artist Beyoncé Estelle Keyshia Cole Mary J. Blige Melanie Fiona Best R&B/Soul Male Artist Miguel Robin Thicke Trey Songz Tyrese Usher Album of the Year The One- Eric Benet Channel Orange-Frank Ocean Life Is Good-Nas Write Me Back-R. Kelly Looking For Myself-Usher Song of the Year Estelle-Thank You John Legend feat. Ludacris-Tonight (Best You Ever Had) Trey Songz- Heart Attack Tyrese-Stay Usher-Climax Wale feat. Miguel-Lotus Flower Bomb The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award Thank You-Estelle (Writers: Arden Altino, Akene “The Champ” Dunkley, Jerry Duplessis, Doug F. Edwards, Thomas D. Richardson, Aliaune Thiam) Tonight (Best You Ever Had)-John Legend feat. Ludacris(Writers: Allen Arthur, Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges, Keith Justice, Miguel Pimentel “Miguel”, Clayton Reilly, John Stephens) Daughters-Nas(Writers: Nasir Jones, Ernest D. Wilson, Patrick Adams, Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer, Paul Leka) Share My Love-R. Kelly (Writer: Robert Kelly) Climax-Usher(Writers: Usher Raymond IV, Sean “Redd Stylez” Fenton, Thomas “Diplo” Pentz, Ariel Rechtshaid) Best Dance Performance Beyoncé-Love On Top Chris Brown-Turn Up The Music Nicki Minaj-Starships Rihanna-Where Have You Been Usher-Scream CentricTV.com awards: CENTRICTV.com Best Caribbean Performance Cover Drive -Bajan Style Damien “Junior Gong” Marley-SuperHeavy Jimmy Cliff-Rebirth Matisyahu -Spark Seeker Sean Paul -Tomahawk Technique CENTRICTV.com Best International Performance Amy Winehouse-Our Day Will Come Daley feat. Marsha Ambrosius-Alone Together Emeli Sande-Next To Me Estelle-Thank You Gotye feat. Kimbra-Somebody (That I Used To Know) Rebecca Ferguson-Nothing’s Real But Love CENTRICTV.com Best Traditional Jazz Artist/Group Chris Botti-Impressions Kenny Garrett-Seeds From The Underground Melody Gardot-The Absence The Robert Glasper Experiment -Black Radio Tony Bennett-Isn’t It Romantic CENTRICTV.com Best Contemporary Jazz Artist/Group Ben Tankard-Full Tank Brian Culbertson-DREAMS Cassandra Wilson-Another Country Esperanza Spalding-Radio Music Society Peter White-Here We Go The Soul Train Awards 2012 will premiere simultaneously on BET and Centric on Sunday, November 25th at 8pm ET/PT. For more information, go to www.BETcom/SoulTrain and Tweet on Twitter using: #SoulTrainAwards. About CENTRIC: Centric is a 24-hour music and entertainment channel that reflects the lifestyle and sophistication of today’s African-American and multicultural adult viewer. With a finger on the pulse of an ever-changing beat, its compelling music content fuses Soul, R&B, Neo-Soul, Hip Hop, Reggae, Gospel, Jazz, Old School, New School and everything in between with today’s hottest artists. It is a unique of mix of music, culture and lifestyle programming that embodies the lives, tastes and aspirations of the CENTRIC viewer: All you. All day. All night. About BET Networks: BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is the nation’s leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks – BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.