I
o c
2-2 , 1 1
ms highly ttin
uld �ir SPalt1Clll'Ul
bumrel
not imply
m i covers who rang 0 tyl
from pop hip-bop or that they're
talen team of yo I i woo can
reany si and
Consi r that Motown wa the
recording borre for me 0 tb: grea t
femaJ grou in pop m i hi ry (try
The Sup , Martha the Yandell
and The Marvele for tanersl) aM
you'll wxlerstarxl why Pretty In Pink,
new, h and exciting, and M town
Records belong together.
Pretty In Pink consists of Milini
Khan (daugh r of music' legendaIy
Khan), Tameika Chaney, Shey
Sperry, Mauri Tancharoen and
Taniya Robirsonand collectively, these
ymmg ladies come from a diversity of
backgrowxJs and cultures.
Milini, 17, was born in Chicago and
been sunounded by music and
mesic makers all her life. "I really
looked on music as a hobby," say
Mil ini , who says her main influences
included her famous mom and Aretha
Franklin. "I got to travel a lot with my
mother: he told me that everything in
this business wasn't alJ glamour but she
also didn't Y 'no' to the idea of me
pursuing a career in music."
MILINI, who says she like "dating,
roller skating and swimming," was one
of the founding members of Pretty In
Pink, a group that evolved at the end of
1989 from The Baby Dolls which
originally also included Tameika and
Taniya.
Los Angeles-born Tameitm: 16, first
got inspired to pursue music as a career
after she entered a local talent contest
when she was eight years old. Tameika,
woo names Anita Baker and Whitrey
Houston among her favorite artists, won
first prize for her reIXlition of Denieee
Williams' "Black Butterfly," not exactly
the easiest song for even tbernostmature
singer to. master! "I took dance classes
(roodem jazz) and I've played around a
little with keyboard," says Tameika,
who likes dancing and swimming when
she's not working on her music.
Originally from Colorado, Shey
Sperry, 15, has been treading the boards,
so to speak, since she was five. "I've
always had musical ambitiors," ys
S s." fa SteisarKt
i n 1 vi ion 0 night."
S Y performed with nwn r
different gro in Col ,vering
the m ical gamut from pop and r&b to
g I w II cting in vari I
production and appearing in
Chris I· . n movi with John
Den r. "I also performed on am teur
night at The Apollo in w York," ys
Shey, wh incl wimmi and kat­
ing among her oobbi and a that her
musical influences include everyone
from Patti La Ue to Patsy Cine. ''That
was a pretty great experien and al­
though the audiences trere can be ugh,
I didn't get booed!"
THAI-BOR M urissa
Tancharocn, 1 , began dancing when
she was ix years old and by the time he
was ten, he w appearing in t lcvision
comm rcial for Disneyland. She w
selected to appear in uperstar Michael
Jackson' Moonwalker. pedal, an ex­
perience she describes as "very excit­
ing. " and has performed with a number
of renowned dance companies.
Maurissa, who likes playing key­
boards and swimming, says that her
favorite artists include Michael and Janet
Jackson and Cissy Houston, Whitney's
gospel- inging mom.
Taniya Robinson, 14, moved to Las
Angeles from Tucson, Arizona, when
she was just three. She began singing
and dancing just a few years later and
mad her public debut at actress Marta
Gibbs' Memory Lane club in Lo An­
geles in a lead role in the 'musical ..
Alexandra Bear Detector at age ven.
She al 0 appeared in a version of
Chorus line although, until she began
working in Pretty In Pink, Taniya (who
includes Regina Belle, Whitney Hous­
ton and Aretha Franklin among her
musical favorites) says, "I didn't neces­
sarily think of having a career in music
-1 just enjoyed it as a hobby."
When she's not working with her
friends in the group, Taniya likes-swim­
ming, skating and dancibg.
Together the five members of Pretty
In Pink, who all sing lead vocals on
different tracks on their Motown debut,
Wake Up, collaborated on lyrics for
songs for their album which Covers a
range of subject matter from
"Girlfriend" ("that's what we call 'girt
talk'!") to "Wake Up Everybody" (the
IFERHOLLIDA Y display h r
how her thinner look help revive her c r
PRETTY IN PINK
Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes clas­
sic), a plea for understanding and har­
mony.
Gene Griffin. John Barnes. Jr. and Mark
Stevens on their first album, with Chaka
Khan lending her support with vocal
arrangements for "Two Heerts, One
Love," produced by Tom Keane.
"Our music has a positive message
for everyone," the five young ladies
agree. "There are songs for young
people and for adults on our record.
We're interested in appealing to a wide
audience altlx>ugh we do feel that w�11
young people see what we cando, �y'U
realize that they can do it �!"
Displaying determination and e
tbusiMm, these five vivacious yo
women say, "We're like sisters, lilca
family!" and es their debut :Motown
album displays, Pretty In Pink are iIxJeed'
inhannony.
ENTERTAINMENT
BRIEFS
Digi I
Underground
m mb r fil d
cl rm
Am m r of th rap group
Digital Und rground ha
filed a S10 million cI im
again t two Oakland (Cali)
polic 0 IC who he y
choked him, threw him to the
ground and slammed his head
everal time on the idewalk,
after citin him for jaywalk­
ing.
Ironically, a part of Digi­
tal Underground, 20-year old
Tup c Amaru Shakur's me -
age centers on the plight of
young, Black men.
Did you know?
Whitney Houston' con­
cert tour wa one of this um-
mer big 10 er. That'
accordin to a recent urvey
conducted by the North
American Concert Promoters
As ociation.
By the way: Whitney's
wearing a big diamond ring
and gue who gave it to
h r ... Believe it or not a wed­
ding between she and Bobby
Brown could be in the making
after the holiday .
On the
home front
Christmas has come just a
hit early for Star Trek co-star
LcVar Burton, who's gifted
himself with a new house.
Burton, a first time home
buyer, paid about $700,000
for the 20-year old house ig
the hills of Sherman Oaks.
The 34-year old actor is
adding a large master suite to
the 3,000 square foot home,
which has three bedrooms, an
office, swimming pool, and
city view.
The Bob
Marl�y story
Bob Marley's story will
. make its way to the silver
screen as a New York-based
film company has entered
into a partnership with Bob
Marley's widow Rita on "The
Bob Marley Story. "
Production for the $11
. million biopic who died of
cancer 10 years ago is set to
get underway in April.
Give Em A
Break Nell!
Nell Carter is being
slapped with a law uit from
her former talent agency.
The agency is' alleging that
they didn't receive the com­
mission due them when
Carter sold her syndication
and profit rights to the TV
series, "Gimme A Break" for
S2 million.
Their take would have
been $200,000. The suit,
which is also seeking puni­
tive damages, charges the
actress with fraud, recision
and breach of contract.
Who could
blame her?
Police found more Sammy
Davis memorabilia stashed in
a storage unit. Davis' widow,
Altovise, denied having any­
thing to do with the hidden
valuables.
. The lRS, of course,
reclaimed the property.
- complied by K. Barka
contributor: Lila Collina
(Behind the Scene.)
FULL OF ENERGY and highly
original ("we got our name because we
always wear pink, whichjusrhappers to
be my favorite color!" says Milini), Pret­
ty In Pink have worked with a number
of top producers including Tena Clark,
Dr am girl, " nd reve