wcre no i m-
Prince
settle his
· lawsuit with
ex-managers
PMn e has ettled a law uit
with hi former managers. The
management firm of Cavallo,
Ruffalo and Fargnoli wanted
royalty payments from projects
they had worked on with Prince.
Prince and hi' managers' went
their .eperate ways in 1 <JR<J.
Prince objected to their re-
qu t . rti
hould not pay royaltie on
publi hing income to managers.
According to Prince, an arti. t's
songs are a personal creation
and not the re ult of collabora­
tion with managers.
The terms of the settlement
were not di closed. In October
Prince ttled a lawsuit with the
law firm Manatt, Phelp , and
Phillip over it's handling of his
settlement with. hi former
managers. ,
The reality of .
the HIV virus
Hollywood is till reeling
from the news that Magic
John on ha tested HIV posi­
tive' and plenty of them have a
good reason to be worried.
And while former "227" co-
tar Alaina Reed Hall doe n 't fit
into that latter category, he
know all too well what can
happen.
It was three years after
having met actor Kevin Peter
Hall ("Predator" and "Harry &
The Hendersons'Y that he tested
mv positive. She married him
anyway two years later on what
was "227's" most watched
episode, featuring Luther
Vandross.
"It's not so much the di ease
but what people do to you and
he was afraid of that," said
Alaina Reed-Hall. And 0 they
kept it a secret.
Early thi year, he died of
AIDS. Today, she ays what
was mo t difficult was how
many people c�anged toward
her. She i till not over hi
death, but i devoting 8 great
deal of her energy to increasing
the awarene about AIDS.
By the way
Grace Jones has joined the
lineup of "Boomerang", Eddie
Murphy's next film. In the
fi I m Murphy plays a uave,
calculating New York ad exec.
Jone joins cast members
Robin Givens, Halle Berry,
Eartha Kitt, Martin Lawrence,
and Geoffrey Holder.
complied by K. BarlcJ
- contributors: Li Colli • Be­
hind the Seen ; and RadioSoopc the
Column.
1
Mixed Emotions, the n w MCA'
LP from D vid Pe ton, imply con­
finn wh t hi 1989 debut Ibum in­
dicated 11 long: that Pe ton'
unque tionably one of th b t oul
ingers to come long in years. Hi
debut Geffen album, Introducing
David Pe ton, featuring the R&B
chart hi ,"Two Wrongs Don't M .ak«
It Right," "Can 1," "God Bless The
Child" and "We're All In This .
Together," ug e ted potenti I
greatne . Now, with Mixed Emo­
tions, Peason fulfill the promise.
The new album, featuring the
groove-laden first Ingle, "String"
(featuring rap tar Harmony), re­
team Pea ton wi th producer
Michael J. Powell (Anita Baker, the
Winans, Glady Knight and Jennifer
Holliday), who produced Pe ton'
debut album, and pairs the singer
wi th fine R&B craftsmen like
ongwriter/producer Barry
Eastmond and songwriter/producer
Robert Kelly, among others.
The re ult is a collection of songs
that span the popular R&B genre-«
clever hip-hop/soul fusions like
"Nothin' (Can Separate Us)," the
sentimental "When I Remember,"
rich ballads like "Luxury of Love, "
"1, " "Everybody Needs Somebody, "
and the elegant "I Believe In You And
Me," the jazzy R&B gem "Do You
Still Love Me, "and sultry mid-tempo
numbers like "Keep The Home Fires
Burning," the melodic "Keep On
Giving Me Love" and a real treat for
rovers of true vocalists: Peaston and
special guest Gladys Knight, gettin'
busy mic-to-mlc during the u ie p.o
"Give Me-A Chance: ",
And at the center of all this is the
magnificent voice of David Peas ton,
who possesses the rare ability to
make a simple lyric and vocal
melody breathe. One minute he's
c re ing b- ection, the next
minute h ' unle hing t t mighty
falsetto on driving vamp. Either
w y, Pe ton i a oul tirrer, one of
tho e ingers who opens hi mouth
nd rattles emotions.
OF'MIXEDEMOTIONS, P
ton y, "We worked hard on thi
lbum. I have fears, because you
want your new album to be a
good-better-th n the I t one. I
think we came up with omething
special though, if I must say so
myself."
Crafting the LP called for Peas ton
and producer Michael Powell to sift
through some 80 ongs in order to
find the right one. "We elected
songs that felt right and demoed
them," ay Peaston. "If they didn't
work with my voice on them, they
were eliminated and we'd look for
more songs. I have a problem with
uptempo songs, because they have to
say something, too; it can't just be,
'Let's Party.'" In the creative fray,
Peaston, who doesn't consider him­
self a songwri ter, co-wrote one of the
songs on the album - "Keep The
Home Fires Burning." "The great
thing about making the record is that
the producers were open to my ideas.
It's not about sounding like someone
else, and they were sensitive to that,"
says Peaston.
The duet with Gladys Knightwas
tricky. They tried cutting the track in
Los Angeles and New York, but it
. was a session in Las Vegas with both
artists singing together in the studio,
that 'pJ'Q t
tried it wi th e h of us j t singing to
each other's voice track and it just
didn't work," says Peas ton. "We
needed to be in the studio together,
feeling each other's vibe. That's
what made it work."
s.o.s. Band
Rem r ly, D vid, mod t -
fable m n, m de how b in hi­
tory without recording even one
note. He did it in 1986, wh n he
became the fi t cont tant to rem in
the "Sup r Top Dog Winner" of th
famed Apollo Theatre' legend ry
weekly talent how for full year,
inging everal terling versions of
the Billie Holiday cIa ic, "God
Bless The Child. " Wh n h appeared
on th televi ion eri ,"Showtime
At The Apollo" in 1987, he flatt ned
the competition for an unprece­
dented seven traight weeks and was
retired undefeated.
Indeed, Pea ton unwittingly
changed the rul for the TV how.
"After I left, they changed it to allow
a contestant to win only five times.
The show' producer aid they had to
do it or el e name the show after me!
It was an honor to win like that,
because the audiences t the Apollo
know real talent and they don't ac­
cept anything less."
DAVID PEASTON, born and
raised in St. Loui , comes from a
musical fa ily, His mother is Mar­
tha Bass, who for many years aug­
mented go pel's famous Clara Ward
Singers. An older sister is Fontella
Bass, who scored with the 60' clas­
sic, "Rescue Me, " among other hits.
Despite the family musical legacy,
Peaston was reluctant to choose
singing as a career.
"As a kid, I felt like a bass voice
should come out of this big body and
I was always ashamed that it (my
�o' .so hi "he y. "In the
church choir, I'd play piano and
organ, but I wouldn't sing. When I
sang with a vocal group in college,
I'd sing hannony but not lead. It
wasn't until I got drafted into singing
a solo in church-my mother was
s.o.s. BAND MEMBERS - (I-r): Bruno Sp Ight, guitar , percu ion; Jason
Bryant, keyboard, vocal ; Ch ndr Currelley, lead vocal and Adbul Ra-oof,
trump t, percu lon, vocal .
I •
suppo ed to be there but hecouldn't
make it, 0 they ked me to lng
instead-then I began to have con­
fidence in my voice."
Even 0, Peaston, who considers
himself a reasonable man, went on to
Harris Stowe Teachers College and
was teaching in St. Loui when a
rna sive lay-off helped him make the
deci ion in 1981 to re-tccate to ew
Yor Ci With t hi
Brow VIlle serving as fety net,
Peas ton began hi pursuit of a career
in music. He gigged locally an�
auditioned for various show, but it
was his triumph at the Apollo that
trul Y put the ball in motion.
Millions of people had een him,
win weekly on the Apollo show; 0
did A&R execs from various labels.
In 1987, Peastonsigned with Geffen,
which rele ed his debut album.
When David 'Geffen old the label to
MCA in 1990, Peaston became a
member of the MCA family of ar-
t #
David toured behind the first
Ibum, openi for . t
and singer Milc.ki Howard, as well as
headlining his own dates in 5;000-
eat venue. Considering his for­
midable talent, it' not urprising
that Peas ton prefers the stage to the
studio.
otsucce
The retumofthe The S.O.S. Band
is marked with a fresh outlook and a
new approach as evident on their
eighth and newest album, One Of
Many Nights (for Tabu Records, dis­
tributed through A&M). Abdul Ra­
oof, trumpet player, percussionist
and spokesman for the band, states
"Our overall sound hasn't changed.
We want to keep the audience that
we've had, but we also want to
bridge the gap to capture the younger
audience that may not have heard us
before."
One Of Many Nights contains a
few new tricks but still maintains the
sound of the S.O.5'. Band that
audiences worldwide have come to
know and love, while definitely
having the right stuff to be able to
"bridge the gap." The uptempo title
track makes use of excellent lead and
background vocals. Ra-off explains
that "There are no more [musical]
notes today than there were years
ago, there are just new ways of ex­
pressing them." One Of Many.
Nights was produced by Curtis Wil­
liams, formerly ofKool & The Gang.
Williams also produced the S.O.S.
Band's "I'm Still Missing Your
Love," a Top 5 single from their
Diamonds In The Raw album.
"Broken Promises" features the
talents of lead vocalist Chandra Cur­
relley, who effortlessly carries, the
audience along a heavy bas line
she sings about a lover who has let
her down. "Chandra is a phenomenal
Singer," says Abdul. "But her talents
don't top there, as she write many
of the ongs hCrself. Before joining
the S.O.S. Band she was involved
with many projects including work­
ing with Roy Ayers."
Filled with brash live horns, "Get
Hyped On This" i a very hyped,
vibrant track. The constant upbeat
snare i matched perfectly with
rapid-fire rap .. S.O.S. i excited
about the po ibilities of incorporat­
ing rap into the band's already potent
mix. "We're alway appreciated rap
music but now we can take rap music
and the structure of band music,
combine the two and come out wi th
something really trong."
"Sometimes I Wonder," the first
single from the new album, sound
very much like the S.O.S. Band of
the early Eighlie - there is no
denying that this is the S.O.S. Band.
The s.o.s, or "Sounds of Suc­
cess" Band was formed in the late
Seventies, at which time there were
'eight members. Once they were
signed to Tabu Records, their debut
release, The S.O.S. Album (1980)
went gold and produced a double
platinum single, "Take Your Time
(Do it Right)." Since then they have
released six albums, Too, S.O.S.
Band III, On The Rise (Certified
Gold), Just The Way You Like It,
Sands of Time (also certified Gold)
and Diamonds In The Raw. Along
the way, they accumulated eight Top
Twenty Black singles including,
"Just Be Good To Ml!, " "Tell Me 1/
You Still Care" and "The Finest. "
The S.O.S. Band is:
Abdul Ra-oof-trurnpet,
percussion, vocals
Bruno Speight-guitars,
percussion
Chandra Currelley-Iead vocals
Jason Bryant-keyboard, vocals
Al though these four make up the
basic band as uch, they don't take
credit for the entire range of their full
ensemble sound. "We have a whole
band backing us up." Ra-oof points
out, "This I a band project. You
can't see it, but you can feel it in the
tracks and in the vocal."
One Of Many Nights will have
listeners, new and old, feeling it. Al­
though they've added some new
ideas to their sound, they've retained
their trademark such as live horns
and outstanding vocals, This perfect
blend of new and old should have
Sounds Of Succes at the top of the
charts once more. S.O.S. believe
that this is their finest work to date.
"We're very excited about One Of
Many Nights, " ay Ra-oof. "This is
the first time we've ever felt 0
strongly about a complete album."