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ENTERTAINMENT
IN BRIEF
Hangln'�ou
In Tin Ion
Everyone w
wear paj , however m t
who did ho up t
he tar .. tudded premiere of
"House Party 2" wore
everyday cloth . M ny of the
t members includ Kid
N'Play and Martin
Lawerence, and Kamron (lead
member of the Young Black
Teenagers) did how in their
jammi .
Other tars joining in the
fun t the premiere and after
party included Georg Stanford
Brown, Ralph Tresvant, mem­
ber of Bell Biv DeVoe,
Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns,
and numerous record industry
luminaries. _
"House Party 2" follow
Kid as he goes off to college,
while Play wile away his time
trying to find musical fame
and fortune with get-rich­
quick schemes. The film also
tars Queen Latifah in a good
sized role.
./
Taking It to
the 'court
Donna Summer filed a $30
million libel suit against New
York Magazine over an article
that quoted her as once saying
that homosexuals were sinners
and that AIDS was a divine
ruling." (
summer says she never
made the remark and that no
one ealled to ask her about it.
ded the .story was com­
pletely false in saying he left
a song off her latest album be-
cause it served as an apology
to gays.' A visibly shaken
Summer contends she s utIered
serious damage to her career,
with sales of her recent album
adversely affected ...
No-show act
retha Franklin's "no-
s ow act" for some late":
August dates at the Greek
Theatre didn't go over too well
with the premoters, who are
suing her. .' , ,
The lawsuit, filed in Los
Angeles Superior Court, char­
ges the singer breachCd her­
contract after agreeing to per­
form three concert dates. The
promoters are asking fo
$450,000 plu interest.
Speculation is Aretha's fear of
flying is what prompted her to
cancel out.
Eddie
Murphy' , ,
back on a roll
Fans who have been mi
ing Eddie Murphy, won't be
missing him for long. Not
since Eddie' struck a new
deal with Paramount, to make
four movies, including Bever­
ly Hills Cop Ill, in almost
rapid-fire succession. He's al­
ready at work on the first
"Boomerang".
Then in April, Eddie Mur­
phy will go to work in a Disney
comedy titled "The Distin­
guished Gentlemen." After
wrapping work on-
"Gentlemen", Murphy i
cheduled to begin "Beverly
Hills Cop III".
,
ICH GA CITIZ
In additio to working double-time on her own new
album, Patti took time to record duets with some of her
best friend in the busin , including Ronnie Milsap and
Michael Bolton, and joined her Sisters in the Name of
Love co-stars, Glady Knight and Dionne Warwick, to
record "Superwoman" for Knight's new album. On a
more personal but equally important note, Patti rved as
the pokeswoman for the National Cancer Institute to
help alert wo�en to the importance orearly breast cancer
detection. Working to defeat breast cancer, which
claimed the lives of Patti' mother and three sisters, i a
cause to which the caring singer i very much dedicated.
She also continu to serve national poke woman for
the Black Health Research Foundation, an organization
dedicated to battling premature death among African­
Americans.
PERHAPS MORE THAN any other rtist in the
. his of popular music, the_di tinctive Patti LaBelle has
been tru to herself in every varied phase of her musical
. career. In the 19605, he led the uperstar "girl group"
P tti LaBelle nd th Bluebel ; in th '7 , h th
drivingforceo rock' fi tall-femaleb nd,LaB lle; nd .I
in th' , r lent 010 rti t domin t th m ic
cen . P tti La lle h d numerous hi ,from n Down
the Aisle" nd "Danny Boy" with the Bluebell, to "Lady
Marmalade" nd "TheRevolution WillNotBe Televised"
ith La Belle, to her 010 triump , n ewAttitutk," "Stir
It (/p" and "On My Own. H
LaBelle' himmering talent can be consi tenlly
-counted on, b . difficultto predic h t , with her
p ion for f hion, will wear next or wh t he will do
with her remarkably versatile, flam ant hair. And it'
virtually impo ible to imagin wh t poken-frorn-th
h rt m in h will utter, because no matter what
he' doing - an SRO tour like the recent Michelob
Cia Act Tour; a television special uch th annual
M ey' Than giving Day Parade; a topdrawer movie
like A Soldier's Story or the USA Cable dramatization of
the Delta Airline cra h, Fire and Rain; or ch mpioning
adopticn.anotherofherfavorite ca (hew recently
honored by the National Adoption Center) - fam can
alway depend on Patti LaBelle to be unab hedly Patti:
caring, good-natured, traightforward.
BUILDING THE MAGIC
Born M y 24, 1944 (Patti has alway been frank
about her age) in Philadelphia, Patti was rai ed in th
melting pot of Southwest Philly. Although affected by
her parents' separation 'when she was only 12, Patti lived
a happy, wholesome teenage life - running track, ing­
ing in the glee club and acting in play 'at John Bartram
High School. But her extraordinary musical gift emerged
most clearly in the Beulah Baptist Church Choir, where
she remained a oloist even after embarking on a profe -
�sional career.
Patti was till only a teenager when he and Cindy
Birdsong (later a Supreme) sang wiQt the Ordette . When
the two girls left the group, Nona Hendryx and Sarah
Dash signed on nd Patti LaBelle and the Bluebell was
born. Thi w in 1961. By the following year, the girl
had their first multimillion seller, "I Sold My Heart to \he
Junkman." iVith other hi ,including "All Or Nothing"
nd "You:1I Never WaJJcAIQne, "th, Bluebell accrued a
devoted following and,a status as one of the foremost girl
groups of the era.
"
teppin" out, in
.
Cherrelle
even to the people closest to you,"
She says. "So many of us haven't
been able to do that, but there comes
a time when you just have to let go
and express how you feel."
"We actually tarted work on thi
album in February of last year,"
Cherrelle recalls. "I had the ti tle
befo we ever began looking for
songs d producers. We took our
time king thi record beca e I
want to how my creative growth
a ocali.st through the ongs we
chose. A lot of people would ee me
'live' and ay things like 'I didn't
know you could ing like that!' I
wanted thi lbum to capture that
energy, that park."
The kind of exci tement that Cher­
relle has generated through her work
on stage and in the tudio had its
genesis in her early years growing up
in Los Angeles. "I wanted to ing
ever since I was five years old!" he
recalls, noting that like 0 many
other great vocalists, he got her
early training inging in church.
"During my childhood, I ang in
musical, tage bows, I took piano
Ions, vocal I ons. If it had to do
with music, I wanted to be involved."
In 1976, Cherrelle (a self-taught
drummer) moved to Detroit and a
re ult of living next door to
� - -- - -��- --
Los Angeles-born Cherrelle is no
stranger to success: the petite, soul­
ful vocalist his been a consistent
chartmaker since the release of her
1984 debut album Fragile, scoring a
number of R&B/pop hits including
"[ Didn't Mean To Turn You On"
(later covered bf Robert Palmer),
"Saturday Love" and "Never Knew
Love Like This" (both duets with
Alexander 0 'Neal) and "Everything
I Miss At Home" which, like much of
tbe material she recorded on 1985's
High Priority and 1988' "Affair, was
written and produced by master hit­
makers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
With the release of TIu! Woman I
Ana, Cherrelle -is stepping out into
new territory as -co-executive
producer with rabu Records' owner
Clarence Avant, an album that she
says "is a milestone for me. I'm very
thankful for what Jimmy and Terry
and the other producers at Flyte
yme provided for me. It w n't
easy; I'd always had Jimmy and
Terry to turn to but with this album,
it was all about knowing who 1 am
and where I want to go musically."
The Woman I Am expresses the
many vocal facets of his multi­
talented performer, from the tender­
ne of the title cut (which she
co-wrote with producers David hl­
ueu, AI Richardson and Peter Scott)
to the soul-filled "Tears Of Joy."
You want some fast-paced dance
grooves? Cherrelle's got "Nothing's
Ever Gonna Stop (The Way I F eel), "
co-written with hitmaker Narada
Michael Walden, who produced four
cuts on the album, and "Love Me
Tonight," produced by Derek
Bramble. Cherrelle breathes new
life into two 60's classics, "Baby It's
You," originally recorded by the
Shirelles, and "Gee Whiz," Carla
Thomas' first hit. The songs "Whe;e
Do We Go From Here" and "7 Days
A Week" will instantly remind the
lady's many fans of the distinctive
"Cherrelle sound" created through
her earlier work with Jam &, Lew' .
THE ALBUM'S first Ingle, the
moody "Never In My Life, " typifie
the personal approach that Cherrelle
brings to her la t album. "That
song very Important to me because
it I bout never peaking your mind
.,
'91
singer/producer/musician Michael
Henderson, she found herself in the
studio while Henderson was work­
ing on his In The Night Time LP.
Cherrelle ended up singing with
Henderson both on wax and onstage
for the next few years. She then com­
pleted a demo with local Detroit
musicians that found its way to
Clarence Avant at Tabu Record .
Impressed with her obvious vocal
stills, Avant teamed Cherrelle with -
Jam & Lewis in 1984 and the lady
began a streak that encompassed
three albums and a string a hit
singles, cu minating in "Everything I
Miss At Horne," which afhieved
Number One status in early 1989.
WITH EACH succe sive album
Cherrelle has expanded her creative
. role, co-writing a number of ongs
on her last two album . The Woman
I Am contains three new collabora­
tions: the title cut, "Nothing's Ever
Going To Stop" and "Where Do We
Go From Here." Cherrelle notes,
"On the title track, I'm not just talk­
ing about "lyself but about all
women, about the sassy, ensitive
and sensuous sides of women.
Today we might have on jeans,
tonight we might be wearing a ful -
length evening gown!" -
Wor ing with new producers like
Zack Harmon and Christopher Troy
(protegees of Jam & Lewis) and
Keith Cohen a well as Narada
Michael Walden, one of the music
scene's hottest creative talents ("a
real treat, the ultimate in producers
and omeone who really know how
to work with ing rs"), Cherrelle has
come up with an album that show­
cases her maturi ty and development
as a recording arti t. "Naturally, it'
a little scary for me the co-execu­
tive producer on this record, know­
ing just how involved I wa with it
and wondering whether the public i
going to accept an album that Jimmy
and Terry didn't produce for me. All
I know is that I have no regrets-I
couldn't be more ati.sfied with the
work everybody did on The Woman
I Am, I look at it as the beginning of
a new phase in what I intend to be a .
truly long-term career. I've till got
a long way to go and a lot more music
to hare."
Hyman'
hits th
Motor �ity
Phyllis Hyman has been
one of the most celebrated
female vocalists of our time. .
From her career with the
legendary Broadway play
"Sophisticated Ladies, " Phyl­
li.s has built a reputation as a
consummate performer. Her
h ws over the last five years,
-without a hit record, by the
way-have treated audience
to total entertainment from
jazz to R&B and pop.
,
Pbyliis Hym n
Now with the success of
.her single "Don't Want T9
Change The World, " which I
number one on all the music
charts, Phylli.s is towing again,
this time with a "new altitude"
and fresh approach. The ap­
propriately entitled album,
"The Prime Of My Life, " rep­
re ents Phylli Hyman at a
time when he is at her beSt
and in total control of her
career and life.
A Phyllis man concert i
a night of m . cal enchant­
ment. "(he opportunity to wit­
nes this consummation of art
and performer at her prime i
f t approaching.
Phyllis will be coming to
Detroit with Keith
Wa hington on Friday,
November 15 at the Fox
Theatre.