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National Rhythm And Blues Music Hall Of Fame
The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame is an independent organization whose mission is to educate and to celebrate, preserve, promote, and present rhythm and blues music globally. History The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame was founded in 2010. Its name was originally the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame. It was founded and developed by the very successful American professional basketball player LaMont "ShowBoat" Robinson, who is also an R&B activist and an entrepreneur. Robinson is also the founder and owner/player of the comedy basketball team the Harlem Clowns. Robinson's love for R&B and soul music began at an early age. He would often attend music practice sessions with his musician uncle, a house band member at Leo's Casino, a night club in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the premier clubs in the Midwest during the 1960s for R&B, jazz, and African American comedians such as Redd Foxx, Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor and Moms Mabley. This love for R&B inspir ...
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Essence (magazine)
''Essence'' is a monthly lifestyle magazine covering fashion, beauty, entertainment, and culture. First published in 1970, the magazine is written for African-American women. History Edward Lewis, Clarence O. Smith, Cecil Hollingsworth and Jonathan Blount founded Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) in 1968. It began publishing ''Essence'' magazine in May 1970. Lewis and Smith called the publication a "lifestyle magazine directed at upscale African American women". They recognized that Black women were an overlooked demographic and saw ''Essence'' as an opportunity to capitalize on a virtually untouched market of Black women readers. Its initial circulation was approximately 50,000 copies per month, subsequently growing to roughly 1.6 million.Bynoe, Yvonne. ''Encyclopedia of Rap and Hip-hop Culture''. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2006, p. 263, . Gordon Parks served as its editorial director during the first three years of its circulation. In 2000, Time Inc. purchased 49 p ...
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The O'Jays
The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hit "Lonely Drifter" in 1963, but reached their greatest level of success once Gamble & Huff, a team of producers and songwriters, signed them to their Philadelphia International label in 1972. With Gamble & Huff, the O'Jays (now a trio after the departure of Isles and Massey) emerged at the forefront of Philadelphia soul with " Back Stabbers" (1972), and topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the following year with " Love Train". Several other US R&B hits followed, and the O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Career The group was formed in Canton, Ohio, in 1958 while its members were attending Canton McKinley High S ...
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The Chi-Lites
The Chi-Lites (, ) are an American R&B/soul vocal quartet from Chicago, Illinois, United States. Forming at Chicago's Hyde Park High School in 1959, The group's original lineup consisted of singers Robert Lester, Eugene Record, Creadel Jones, Clarence Johnson, Burt Bowen, Eddie Reed and Marshall Thompson. The Chi-Lites' greatest fame came during the late 1960s through the early 1970s (with members Record, Jones, Lester and Thompson), scoring eleven Top Ten R&B hits from 1969 until 1974. The group also charted 21 songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Chart, and had chart hits in Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada, as well as in the U.S. History Forming and early career The original members were lead singer Eugene Record, Robert "Squirrel" Lester, Clarence Johnson, Burt Bowen, and Eddie Reed of the Chanteurs. The group was formed at Hyde Park Academy High School where majority of the members attended (Record attended Englewood High School and Thompson would late ...
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Call And Post
The ''Call and Post'' (or ''Call & Post'') is an African-American weekly newspaper, based in Cleveland, Ohio. History The ''Call and Post'' was established around 1928 by a group of people including local African-American inventor Garrett A. Morgan, as a merger between the ''Cleveland Call'' and the ''Cleveland Post'', two newspapers that had been serving the African-American community since 1916 and 1920 respectively. William Otis "W.O." Walker, a black Republican who had been co-founder of the ''Washington Tribune'', became editor in 1932. The ''Call and Post'' provided extensive coverage of the social and religious life in the African-American community, and was known to feature sensational coverage of violence on its front page. The publication also extensively covered Larry Doby, the first black player to successfully integrate into the American League's Cleveland Indians baseball franchise. Reporter Cleveland Jackson communicated extensively with Indians owner and team p ...
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James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honorific nicknames "the Hardest Working Man in Show Business", "Godfather of Soul", "Mr. Dynamite", and "Soul Brother No. 1". In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres. Brown was one of the first 10 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural induction in New York on January 23, 1986. Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia. He first came to national public attention in the mid-1950s as the lead singer of the Famous Flames, a rhythm and blues vocal group founded by Bobby Byrd. With the hit ballads " Please, Please, Please" and " Try Me", Brown built a reputation as a dynamic live performer with the Famous Flames and his backing band, sometimes ...
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Chitlin' Circuit
The Chitlin' Circuit was a collection of performance venues throughout the eastern, southern, and upper Midwest areas of the United States that provided commercial and cultural acceptance for African American musicians, comedians, and other entertainers during the era of racial segregation in the United States through the 1960s. The Chitlin' Circuit was considered to be by, for, and about black people. There is debate as to when the Chitlin' Circuit peaked. Some say its peak was in the 1930s, some say it was after World War II, and others say it was the time of the blues. Etymology The name derives from the soul food dish chitterlings (boiled pig intestines). It is also a play on the term " Borscht Belt", which referred to particular resort venues (primarily in New York State's Catskill Mountains) that were popular with Jewish performers and audiences during the 1940s through the 1960s. Chitterlings are part of the culinary history of African Americans, who were often limited ...
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Juke Joint
Juke joint (also jukejoint, jook house, jook, or juke) is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African Americans in the southeastern United States. A juke joint may also be called a "barrelhouse". The Jook was the first secular cultural arena to emerge among African American Freedmen. Classic Jooks, found for example at rural crossroads, catered to the rural work force that began to emerge after the emancipation. Plantation workers and sharecroppers needed a place to relax and socialize following a hard week, particularly since they were barred from most white establishments by Jim Crow laws. Set up on the outskirts of town, often in ramshackle, abandoned buildings or private houses — never in newly-constructed buildings — juke joints offered food, drink, dancing and gambling for weary workers. Owners made extra money selling groceries or moonshine to patrons, or providing cheap room and ...
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Tim Marshall (radio Host)
Tim Marshall is a South Jersey radio personality, music producer, journalist, concert promoter, educator, and humanitarian. His career in broadcasting began in 1987 at Rowan University in Glassboro New Jersey. Tim Marshall's professional radio affiliations include WTMR, Camden NJ; WAYV FM Atlantic City, NJ; WPWT FM, WEJM FM, and 610 WIP-AM in Philadelphia; and WNAP Norristown, PA. His R&B Showcase radio program currently airs on WBZC-FM Pemberton, NJ. Marshall has been a resident of Willingboro Township, New Jersey. R&B Showcase Radio Show Marshall is a graduate of Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey with a bachelor's degree in communications and a master's degree in education. His Rhythm & Blues Showcase radio show made its debut on the college's WGLS-FM. He was mentored in radio by WGLS-FM program director Frank Hogan. Marshall patterned his show after Philadelphia radio personalities Harvey Holiday, Butterball, Georgie Woods, Jerry Blavat, and Hy Lit; and then co ...
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Tom Joyner
Thomas Joyner (born November 23, 1949) is an American retired radio host, former host of the nationally syndicated ''The Tom Joyner Morning Show'', and also founder of Reach Media Inc., the Tom Joyner Foundation, and BlackAmericaWeb.com. Early life Joyner was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, the son of Frances and Hercules L. Joyner. Tom came from an educated family: his grandfather Oscar was one of only 3,000 black physicians in the United States, earning a degree in medicine in 1909. Both of his parents were graduates of historically black colleges, and both Tom and his brother Albert attended Tuskegee Institute, now known as Tuskegee University. Tom Joyner graduated with a degree in sociology. While a student at Tuskegee, Joyner joined the fraternity Omega Psi Phi. At first, his goal was to be a musician, and he joined a band, the Commodores, that included his college friend Lionel Richie, but the band did not make any money and his family encouraged him to seek another way to ma ...
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Jimmy Scott
James Victor Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Little Jimmy Scott or Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs. After success in the 1940s and 1950s, Scott's career faltered in the early 1960s. He slid into obscurity before a comeback in the 1990s. His unusual singing voice was due to Kallmann syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that limited his height to until the age of 37, when he grew by . The syndrome prevented him from reaching classic puberty and left him with a high voice and unusual timbre. Early life James Victor Scott was born on July 17, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The son of Arthur Claude Scott (born Chester Stewart) and Justine Hazel Stanard Scott, he was the third child in a family of 10. As a child he got his first singing experience by his mother's side at the family piano and later in church choir. At 13, he was orphaned w ...
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Jerry Bell (musician)
Jerry Bell may refer to: * Jerry Bell (American football) (born 1959), American football player * Jerry Bell (pitcher) (born 1947), American baseball player * Jerry Bell (baseball executive) (born 1937), American baseball executive See also * Jeremy Bell (other) * Gerry Bell (other) *Jerome Bell, musician *Gerard Bell, actor, see Bryony Lavery Bryony Lavery (born 1947) is a British dramatist, known for her successful and award-winning 1998 play '' Frozen''. In addition to her work in theatre, she has also written for television and radio. She has written books including the biography ... * Gerald Bell (born 1890), Canadian World War I flying ace {{hndis, Bell, Jerry ...
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Dazz Band
The Dazz Band is an American R&B/funk band most popular in the early 1980s. Emerging from Cleveland, Ohio, the group's biggest hit songs include " Let It Whip" (1982), "Joystick" (1983), and "Let It All Blow" (1984). The name of the band is a portmanteau of the description "danceable jazz". History The Dazz Band formed in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, in 1976 stemming from the jazz fusion band Bell Telefunk. Founded by Bobby Harris, the Dazz Band has performed since 1976 and continues to perform today. Original Kinsman Dazz/ Dazz Band members included Bobby Harris (saxophonist, vocalist), Kenny Pettus (lead vocalist, percussions), Isaac "Ike" Wiley, Jr. (drums), his brother Michael Wiley (bassist), and Michael Calhoun (songwriter/guitarist). The group was originally named Kinsman Dazz at the suggestion of Ray Calabrese, who later became its manager along with Sonny Jones, owner of The Kinsman Grill, located near the street Harris grew up on, and where the band worked as a hou ...
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