Musical News - Bernie Worrell

George Bernard “Bernie” Worrell Jr., co-founder of Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s, died today (June 24, 2016), at the age of 72, of lung cancer.

 

Worrell (born in New Jersey on April 19, 1944), began playing piano at the age of three, wrote his first concerto at eight, and played with the Washington Symphony Orchestra at the age of 10. He attended the Juilliard School of Performing Arts and the New England Conservatory. He played for a time with the band later to be known as Tavares. While playing in bars, he met fellow Funkateer George Clinton, and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Worrell was a keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger with P-Funk, as well as a synthesizer pioneer. Among other works, Worrell was a co-writer of Flashlight, perhaps the group's most popular cut. He played with P-Funk throughout the 1970s in its various forms, including Bootsy's Rubber Band, the Parlets, the Brides of Funkenstein, and the Horny Horns, leaving the group in 1981. He thereafter worked on solo projects, as well as working with rock band Talking Heads, Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, and rapper Mos Def, as well as many others. He appeared in the 2015 film Ricki and the Flash as a keyboardist.

 

Parliament-Funkadelic and Worrell were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. A 2005 documentary film, Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth was produced about Worrell's life, exploring the paradox that even a "genius" sometimes has to struggle to make a living.

 

Though Worrell's name may not be familiar to most of you, his music will definitely live on!

 

 

George Bernard “Bernie” Worrell [1944 – 2016]

© 06/24/2016

Musical News - Billy Paul

Grammy Award winning singer Billy Paul (whose birth name was Paul Williams), associated with the Philadelphia Soul sound of the 1970s, died on April 24, 2016 of pancreatic cancer at the age of 81.

 

Mr. Paul began his music career at the age of 11, performing on a local radio station. He was formally trained in voice, attending the Granoff School of Music. At the age of 16, he played the Club Harlem in Philadelphia, alongside Charlie “Bird” Parker.

 

In 1968, Billy fortuitously met Kenny Gamble, and recorded "Feeling Good at the Cadillac Club" in less than four hours, helping to launch Gamble & Huff.
 

Mr. Paul sang briefly with the Blue Notes, and with the Flamingos.
 

Paul was best known for his 1972 hit, “Me and Mrs. Jones,” which was later covered by the Dramatics. In 2000, Nike used Paul's biggest hit for a commercial featuring track phenom Marion Jones, which sparked a lawsuit, which Paul won. Shortly thereafter, Paul sued Philadelphia International and Sony for miscalculating his royalties. He eventually won $.5 million, and many other artists profited from his battle with the record companies.

 

In 2009, the biographical film Am I Black Enough for You was released, titled after Paul's 1973 recording of that name.

 

In addition to his Grammy, Paul won an American Music Award, and an NAACP Image Award.

 

Although Mr. Paul absented himself from the popular music scene following his pseudo-retirement in 1989, he continued to play theaters, clubs, and jazz festivals. He will be missed for his unique voice and contributions to the music industry.

 

 

Billy Paul [1934 – 2016]

© 04/25/2016

Musical News - Prince

Prince: I know that all of you are already aware that possibly the most talented artist of our time has passed away. I know because everybody who has my phone number or e-mail address has contacted me.

 

It is hard for people to believe that Prince is gone. Prince is IMMORTAL! His music certainly is.

 

Prince Rogers Nelson was born on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, MN. He wrote his first song at the age of 7. Since that time, he wrote and arranged nearly all of his own music.

 

Although Prince was famous for his purple guitars, he played more than twenty instruments with ease and grace.

 

Prince sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and is one of the best-selling artists of all time.

 

His second album entitled "Prince", released when he was just 18, went platinum in 1979. He starred in his first film, Purple Rain, at the age of 26. I could tell you of my experience during the first weekend of the release, but I am already saddened enough by this news. The film grossed over $80M and won an academy award for best original song score. Prince also won seven Grammy Awards and four MTV Video Music Awards.

 

During the early 1990s, Prince went through a well-publicized disagreement with his recording company (Warner Bros.) and changed his name to a symbol. Many artists have been ripped off, but not everyone had the nerve to stand up for himself in exactly that way.

 

In addition to creating his own awesome music, he also produced such artists as Sheila E., Vanity 6, and The Time. Of course, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and was named one of the greatest artists of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.

 

There is no such thing as a favorite Prince song. He had so many truly great songs that it would be hard for anybody to choose.

 

Prince defined the word “unique” and he is already missed greatly!

Rest in Peace, Purple Prince! [1958 – 2016]

© 04/21/2016

Musical News - Phife Dawg

Malik Izaac Taylor, better known as Phife Dawg, a founding member of A Tribe Called Quest, left this earthly life on March 22, 2016, as a result of complications of diabetes. He was born in Queens, New York on November 20, 1970, and died at the age of 45. In 2008, he received a kidney transplant from his wife, but by 2012 he needed another transplant.

 

The group Quest was initially formed in 1985 and released their first album on Jive Records in 1990. This album, “People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm” went gold. Their second album from 1991, “The Low End Theory,” contained “Check the Rhime” and “Scenario,” and eventually went platinum. Quest’s initial life span was from 1990 through 1998, during which time they were heralded as pioneers in the fusion between rap and jazz. The group was honored by VH-1, labeled “the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s”, and were listed as among the best hip hop groups of all time.

 

Phife contemporaneously enjoyed a solo career, and was featured on the work of such artists as Fu Schnickens and Pete Rock. He was also featured in the video games NBA 2K7 and NBA 2K9.

 

Rest in peace, my brother!

  

Malik Izaac “Phife Dawg” Taylor [1970 – 2016]

© 03/23/2016

Musical News - Vanity

Vanity (née Denise Katrina Matthews), the lead singer of Vanity 6 (a group orchestrated and promoted by Prince in the 1980s), died on February 15, 2016 at the age of 57. She had been suffering from kidney problems and other ailments in recent years.

 

At the time Vanity came into the public eye, she was the love interest of Prince, and as the relationship went, so went her career. She was replaced in the group, in Prince’s life, and in the movie Purple Rain by Apollonia Kotero.

 

Vanity went on to an unmemorable solo music career, and to a more successful acting career. She appeared in The Last Dragon (1985), Action Jackson (1988), and in The New Mike Hammer and Miami Vice television series, both in 1987.
 

Vanity 6 did not last very long, nor did it produce a ton of hits, but I am sure everyone remembers “Nasty Girl.” I am also sure that it has been a while since you have heard it. Play it, Sam.

 

 

Denise Katrina “Vanity” Matthews [1959 – 2016]

© 02/16/2016

Musical News - Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire

Imagine my shock to learn of the death of Maurice White, founder of Earth, Wind & Fire, on February 3, 2016 (at age 74), in his sleep. Mr. White had suffered from Parkinson’s disease for many years, and had not toured with EWF since the mid-1990s.

 

Mr. White was born in Memphis in 1941. He began his career as a session drummer in the 1960s in the Chicago area. Also in the 1960s, he backed Muddy Waters, the Impressions, and others.

 

He and his brother Verdine formed EWF in 1969, creating such hits as “Evil,” “Keep Your Head to the Sky,” “Devotion,” and “Sun Goddess” (with Ramsey Lewis). Mr. White produced other artists, including Barbra Streisand and Cher. In the 1970s, he co-wrote and co-produced the “The Best of My Love” for the Emotions.

 

EWF won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have sold over 100 million albums worldwide. Earth, Wind & Fire was ranked at number 60 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll.

 

Maurice White was responsible for so much awesome music that it is impossible to list it all here. This legendary artist was one of the greats of our time!

 

 

Maurice White [1941 – 2016]

© 02/04/2016

Musical News - Mic Gillette of Tower of Power

Mic Gilette:

I don’t know how I missed this one. Legendary trumpet, trombone player, and founding member of Oakland-based Tower of Power Mic Gillette died last month of a sudden heart attack, at the age of 64.

 

Thanks in great measure to Gillette, Tower of Power’s horn section has several times been ranked among the best of its kind.

 

Gillette was a musical prodigy, reading music by the age of four.

 

Gillette was instrumental in bringing the “Music in the Schools” program to Bay Area aspiring musicians.

 

Although Gillette stopped playing with the band in the mid-1980s, he still can be heard on such great TOP hits as “You’re Still a Young Man,” “So Very Hard to Go,” and “What is Hip.” I can still remember seeing them in the early 1970s in San Francisco, although it was so long ago that I cannot recall the venue.

The great music still lives on!

 

 

Mic Gillette [1951 – 2016]

© 02/15/2016