Sunday May 5th, 2002
New CD's this week:
No new CD's to report this week
Short news stories this week:
Ernie Isley Says Isley Brothers Still Making Legacy
The Isley Brothers featuring Ron Isley have
beaten the odds by continuing to make an
indelible mark on the music scene after more than 40 years in the business. The
group
received this year's Soul Train Music Award for best R&B/soul album, group,
band, or
duo, besting contemporary R&B acts Destiny's Child, 112, and Jagged Edge.
When group guitarist Ernie Isley was recently asked to discuss the impact of the
legendary group, known for such hits as "Between The Sheets,"
"Shout," and "At Your
Best," he noted that the group still had more things to accomplish:
"We're still making the
legacy. Lord willing, we got some more albums to do. And I think if anybody
looks at
where we are presently, the Beatles have influenced a lot of people, but the
Isley Brothers
influenced the Beatles. Jimi Hendrix was a houseguest and an employee up to a
year and
a half before Monterey Pop. And our catalog is the most sampled than anybody in
the
whole hip hop, rap genre. So, we're all over the place. Plus, we have Mr. Biggs
here. So,
and he's the top in terms of respect that all the rappers and everybody gives to
my brother
Ronald."
The group's album Eternal, released last summer, includes the top R&B hit
"Contagious"
featuring R. Kelly and Chante Moore.
Ruff Endz Explains Single 'Someone To Love You'
If the Ruff Endz song "Someone To Love
You" sounds a bit familiar, it should. It was
featured on the soundtrack to the Chris Rock and Regina King film Down To Earth,
released last year.
Group member Davinch recently explained the song and its origins to LAUNCH:
"'Someone To Love You' is a song produced by Corey Rooney. We did this a
while ago.
Actually, we did this on a soundtrack, the Down To Earth soundtrack. That was
like the
first song recorded for the new album. And we just decided to name it, let that
be the
whole idea of the album, Someone To Love (You)."
"Someone To Love You" reached Number 25 on Billboard's Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles
& Tracks chart last week. "Cash, Money, Cars," released last fall,
was the first single
from the album, due out on May 14.
Destiny Child's Beyonce Goes Gospel In Next Movie Role
After playing a "Foxy" detective
and leading lady to Mike "Austin Powers" Myers,
Beyoncé Knowles will return to familiar territory for her next role in
"The Fighting
Temptations."
The Destiny's Child star will play a member of a gospel choir that a hip-hop
producer -
played by Academy Award-winner Cuba Gooding Jr. - must lead to success before he
can collect a large inheritance. Along the way, Gooding's character falls for
Knowles'
character.
Jonathan Lynn ("The Whole Nine Yards," "My Cousin Vinny")
will direct the film,
which is scheduled to begin shooting in mid-June, according to Mathew Knowles,
Beyoncé's manager and father.
Music World Music, Mathew's label, will provide a collection of pop, R&B and
gospel
tracks for "The Fighting Temptations" soundtrack.
Knowles, who first acted in "Carmen: A Hip Hopera" (from MTV Films,
who are also
producing "Temptations"), will make her big screen debut in
"Austin Powers in
Goldmember" in late July
Nnenna Freelon Celebrates Stevie Wonder
Grammy-nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon
will release a new album consisting entirely
of Stevie Wonder covers. Tales Of Wonder: Celebrating Stevie Wonder, will hit
stores on
June 11, and will feature a collection of 11 tunes penned by Wonder,
reinterpreted by
Freelon in the jazz idiom.
Along for the ride is an impressive collection of jazz players, including
guitarist Chuck
Loeb, percussionist Bashiri Johnson, bassist Gerald Veasley, and drummer Woody
Williams. Among the tunes that Freelon croons on the set are
"Overjoyed," "My Cherie
Amour," "Another Star," and "All In Love Is Fair."
Chico DeBarge Working On DeBarge Reunion
DeBarge, one of the biggest R&B
families of the '80s, is planning a reunion. Family
member Chico DeBarge is spearheading the effort that he hopes to get in the
works this
summer.
Chico, who was recently in Los Angeles to host the album release party for the
Roger
Troutman tribute album An Evening Of "Still More Bounce" … The
Celebration said that
getting everyone together will be the biggest obstacle of the reunion:
"It's so many people
in different areas. You know. El's up in the Bay Area now. James is here. And
then my
sister Bunny, she's in Michigan. Then Randy is in West Virginia. So it's kinda
like, they
want to do it. But then it's like, all about somebody making it happen. And
doing the
footwork. So, hopefully, I can be that."
Though Chico was not a member of the group, he enjoys a solo career that he
launched
with his 1986 album Talk To Me. His 1997 album, Long Time No See, was critically
acclaimed in the neo-soul movement. He is expecting to release his latest album,
Free, on
Olive Entertainment this summer.
"I think a lot of music has a lot of DeBarge in it, so they've been a great
influence on me,"
Chico added. "And I definitely think I can be instrumental in helping them
put the group
back together. I don't think anybody has really come and replaced that sound as
a group."
Formed in 1978, DeBarge included family members El, Mark, Randy, Bunny, and
James
who were known for their hits "I Like It," "Love Me In A Special
Way," "All This Love,"
and "A Dream." Tupac Shakur sampled "A Dream" in his song
"I Ain't Mad At Cha."
DeBarge family members Bobby and Tommy were a part of the influential '70s
R&B
group Switch, which was discovered by Jermaine Jackson.
Chilli Says TLC Will Move Forward As A Duo
Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas told the
Atlanta-Journal Constitution that TLC would continue
to perform and record as a duo, "As for Lisa being replaced--never. You
can't replace a
TLC girl. The chemistry we have is something God gave us. You can't put that
together."
Group member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes was killed last Thursday in
Jutiapa, approximately
150 miles form Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. The singer's SUV--which was
carrying seven other people including her sister and brother--flipped over.
While others
in the vehicle sustained non-life-threatening injuries, the singer was killed
after sustaining
severe head trauma. Lopes's funeral is scheduled for Thursday (May 2) in
Lithonia,
Georgia.
Chilli also shared that the group's forthcoming set would be consistent with
past efforts,
"The last couple of albums, Lisa was only on, like, three songs, and she's
on a few songs
on this one. So music-wise, it's the same."
Lopes had named all of TLC's previous albums and provided a title for the
forthcoming
set before her untimely death. Producer Jimmy Jam, who was working on the
project,
shared, "I don't know if I'm supposed to give away what her thoughts were,
but she had
definite ideas for what the album should be titled and the way the music should
sound.