SECTION D
April 21-27, 2010
Reflections
Good for a laugh
By Steve Holsey
In these challenging times, it is important
to have something to chuckle about, or at least smile at the recollection. As an encore — because they have appeared in this column before — we are sharing a few things that this columnist finds amusing.
Darlene Love, the veteran singer (and
actress) who recently starred on Broadway in the hit musical “Hairspray,” said, “There can be few things more un- nerving than facing a roomful of your peers, especially if your peers are Black women. Those eyes lock on you like lasers and there is no escape.”
A long time ago,
Darlene Love
Tina Turner, an R&B star as opposed to a rock icon, told
her audience, “When I think of soul I think of grease ’cause ain’t nothin’ no good without the grease.”
In “You’re All I Need to Get By,” the classic
hit by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell written by Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson, Gaye says, “Like an eagle protects his nest for you I’ll do my best.” A well-known singer from Detroit said he always thought Marvin was saying, “Like a nigga protects himself…” (He thanked me for correcting him!)
A fan of Tramaine Hawkins approached
the famed gospel songstress at a record promotion event in downtown Detroit. The fan said with great enthusiasm, “I’ve been a fan of yours for a long, long, long, long time.” Hawkins responded, “Thank you, but you can leave off some of those longs!”
IT IS A good
Tramaine Hawkins
idea to avoid using the word “never”
excessively because, as the legendary pia- nist/singer/songwriter Fats Waller used to say, “One never knows.”
I “never” thought the day would come
when I would be really into a Macy Gray album (although I did love her first hit, “I Try”). That “Donald Duckish” voice always grated on my nerves after a short period. However, her new album, “The Sell- out,” is great. Ex- ceptional, unique songs, fine produc- tion, outstanding musicians, and in this context, her voice works.
Pick up this
Macy Gray
album if you want a very different
listening experience from a strange lady who, admirably, avoids conformity.
FAMOUS people are displeased whenever
someone writes an unauthorized biography. Oprah Winfrey is no exception. Like many before her (Frank Sinatra, Jacqueline Kennedy Onas- sis, Elizabeth Taylor, etc.), she is upset that Kitty Kelley has written “Oprah: A Biogra- phy.”
Kelley, who has
Oprah Winfrey
never been suc- cessfully sued, refuses to back off from anything she
has written. In this particular case, she said she did four years of research and conducted over 800 interviews.
Janet Jackson says one of her dreams is
to portray the legendary Eartha Kitt in a film or television biopic. She has noted that the late star actually expressed support for such a project.
Good news for Usher. His album, “Ray-
mond V Raymond,” debuted at No. 1 on both the national R&B and Pop charts.
If you watched the “Soul Food” TV series,
you will remember Malinda Williams as Tracy “Bird” Van Adams. She just taped a pilot titled “Let’s Stay Together” for BET, about a newly engaged couple, and she has high hopes for it being picked up.
Brandy and her brother, Ray J, often talk
about how supportive they are of each other’s endeavors. That’s great, but wonder how she felt when Ray made that graphic sex video with Kim Kardashian in 2007.
TURNS OUT that talented singer/comedi-
an Jim Carrey is one of Tiger Woods’ biggest supporters. He said publicly that so many people love to “attack someone we envy who
See Reflections Page D-2
SJillcott:
Words, thoughts and a new movie
By Kam Williams
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
(Intro By Steve Holsey)
A
Detroiter-turned-New Yorker more knowledgeable about music, and more serious about its appreciation than the average person, recalls seeing a young singer/poet/songwriter named Jill Scott at a nightclub in the Big Apple.
This was in 1999, the year before the release of Scott’s intro- ductory album, “Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds, Vol. 1,” a
pivotal force in the emergence of the retro-soul movement as well as a launching pad for the artist.
The transplanted Detroiter said
there were fewer than 40 people in the club although the facility could hold far more than that. If Scott was disappoint- ed, she didn’t let it show.
On the contrary, she gave the small
audience her all, as though she was performing for thousands at Carnegie Hall.
The patron was impressed and felt
that, more than likely, a breakthrough was imminent. It was just a matter of time and circumstances.
Scott, born in Philadelphia, had at-
tended Temple University with plans of becoming a high school English teach- er. But her creative side beckoned and, like any true artist, Scott responded, initially entertaining audiences as a spoken word artist.
Response to her first album was
immediate, particularly from females who related to her highly personal yet universally resonating lyrics. Several more successful albums fol- lowed, including “Experience: Jill Scott 826+,” “Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds, Vol. 2,” “Collaborations,” “Live in Paris,” and “The Real Thing: Words and Sounds, Vol. 3.”
Scott also proved to be a formidable actress, mostly notably in Tyler Perry’s
“Why Did I Get Married?” and “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency,” filmed in Bots- wana and airing on HBO. Her latest film venture is Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married Too?” Following is a Q and A with Scott.
Kam Williams: Hi, Jill, thanks so much for the time. Jill Scott: My pleasure, thank you. KW: Congrats on doing a great job in this sequel which I feel improved on the
original. JS: Thank you. I’m really excited about it. KW: How was it being reunited with everybody? JS: It was so nice. It really was. It’s just a pleasure to be around people that
See Jill Scott Page D-2
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