All Articles Tagged "stephanie mills"
The Beautiful Ones…And The Hot Messes: The Best And Worst Covers Of Prince Songs Over The Years
There’s not too many people in music who can put out the caliber of music Prince has since he debuted in the late ’70s. And maybe it’s for that reason so many artists, young and old, new and veterans, have tried to cover his joints and make them their own. Even Janelle Monáe and Tina Turner have done his work live and in concert. But it’s hard to outdo or really “cover” the Purple One. However, these people gave it a try and released their attempts as singles. Some to great success, others to some “what-the-hot-hell??” results. But hey, it never hurts to try, right? Check out these cover attempts and let us know which ones were good, and which one’s you thought missed the mark.
*The original Prince tracks (which were hard to find) have been hyperlinked in the descriptions if you’d like to take a walk down memory lane…
Say What Now? An All White Cast Of “The Wiz” Causes An Uproar In New York
Well, isn’t this interesting.
According to an EURweb report, a high school in Syracuse, NY will be performing their version of The Wiz but the problem is all the lead characters are…white.
Parents spoke to the NBC and CBS affiliates in upstate New York and they are outraged that the musical will not be more diverse, mixing all races that embody the school.
One parent, Letice Titus, whose daughter was cast in an ensemble role rather than a lead, says that the school should recast the play or acknowledge the elephant in the room:
“They have black talented kids at the school, but they chose to put them at the ensemble because they’re not theater kids. They should have made a collaborative effort based on diversity, cultural awareness, [and] sensitivity. How are the black kids going to feel when they see a play?”
As just about everyone knows, The Wiz, which starred Michael Jackson and Diana Ross in the movie and Stephanie Mills in the actual Broadway musical, was created as a more “soulful” version of the original The Wizard of Oz. Many have argued that it is the “better” version.
North Central Syracuse superintendent Kim Dyce Faucette says that while she can relate as an African-American woman, she is not willing to pull the card on the play just yet. Instead, she is going to do some further investigation and then she will make a more informed decision.
Hopefully, the school will come to their senses before the superintendent makes up her mind and diversifies the lead characters.
Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind The Making Of “The Wiz”
Source: abagond.wordpress.com
In October of 1978, The Wizard of Oz was flipped, reversed and remixed to feature an all-black cast, with musical heavy hitters like Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Lena Horne. The movie has become a cult classic but it wasn’t always that way. Check out the behind the scenes secrets of how this movie came together.
Stephanie Mills Talks New Music and Why She Won’t Be Going The Brian McKnight-Erykah Badu Route
Source: BlackVoices.com
Stephanie Mills’ knack for hitting both the theater stage and the recording booth made her one of the most respected vocalists in R&B music. And while you may not be able to catch the pint-sized diva appearing on any of your favorite reality television shows in the near future, she has her eyes set on the coming months with a new album, various shows and a forthcoming children’s book, titled “Little Joseph.”
During an exclusive, candid interview with The Huffington Post, the Brooklyn-bred Grammy Award-winner opened up on an array of topics, including her thoughts on veteran artists starving for attention, recording a tribute album, and the idea of forming a super group with other sisters with voices.
Check out what Stephanie had to say about veteran artists appearing starved for attention on BlackVoices.com.
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Things You Won’t See: Stephanie Mills’ Story on “Unsung”
Source: thesavvysistah.com
Since its debut in 2008, TV One’s hour-long music series, “Unsung,” has been one of the network’s crown jewels, covering the sometimes tragic careers of an array of celebrated music acts such as Teddy Pendergrass, DeBarge, Teena Marie, Melba Moore, Alexander O’Neal, Minnie Ripperton and Phyllis Hyman. Earlier this year the NAACP Image Award-winning series earned its highest rated, most successful season to date as it started airing in 27 percent more homes via various cable carriers.
Though the African-American targeted network is set to premiere the show’s sixth season with Sly and the Family Stone on June 25, one veteran music act who viewers will never see on the series is Stephanie Mills.
The Brooklyn-bred songstress, who catapulted to the top of music charts in the 1980s and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Michael Jackson and Pendergrass after acclaimed stints on Broadway in “The Wiz” and “Maggie Flynn,” seems to have a story that’s ripe for “Unsung,” which is often considered “the black version of ’Behind The Music’ – VH1′s longtime biographical series.” But according to the sometimes reclusive Mills, the retrospective show is just not her cup of tea.
“I don’t like that show,” the Grammy Award winner revealed in a recent interview with The Huffington Post. “They have approached me quite a few times, but I [won't] do that show.”
“I’ve always been very private and at 55 I don’t want to open up my life to that,” the “Never Knew Love Like This Before” belter continued. “They’ve done Angela Winbush and they even wanted me to say something about her on that show, and I love Angela, we’re sisters. But I had to tell her, ‘I don’t want to do that.’ … I’m not that girl.”
Find out the other reasons Mills is not having it at BlackVoices.com.
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