ENTERT AINMENT
BRIEFS
Another B d Cre lion
i n 't 10 ing any leep over the
rap group Kri Kro , - or
are they? Seem ABC
couldn't re i t di ing Kri
Kro . Everybody know
ABC claims they were wear­
ing their clothe b clew rds
before Kri Kro did.
Not content to let it go at
that, ABC aid "we don't
want to say we were first, but
that should tell you orne­
thing right there.
Lover' Lane
Mark your calendar for
July 18. That' if you're one
of an e timated 700 guests
who will be invited to the
wedding of Whitney Houston
to Bobby Brown. The wed­
ding will take place at
Whitney's New Jersey es­
tate ...
Montel Williams
Skipped the formalitie , op­
g 1Dstcad to tic th knot in
Las Veg to actres Grace
Moerhle ...
Song' of
My Peopl
An historic photographic
event highlighting African­
American contributions to
our American cuI ture, -
breezed into Los Angeles
with a star-studded opening
at the California Afro­
American Museum.
Billed as a loving self­
portrait of the Black com­
munity through its own eyes,
the exhibit captures the diver­
sity of the Black experience
on film.
Quincy Jones was the cen­
ter of attention, at the lavish
affair, which also attracted
the likes of Meshack Taylor,
Anna Maria Horsford, Dick
Anthony Williams and
numerous celebrities. Jones
announced that he is making
a 9O-minute film for HBO,
entitled "Songs of My
People", which will show­
case a century of African­
American music performed
by some of today's top
recording artisits. Each
decade will be spotlighted by
a song telling the story of the
trial , tribulations and tri­
umphs of Black America.
The program is tentatively
scheduled to air on HBO
during the -93-94 broadcast
season. The exhibition is part
of a national tour to 23 cities.
By the Way
The Vanessa William
who landed a regular slot in
the new Fox series, "Melrose
Place", (the highly touted
spinoff of Beverly Hills
90210), is not the singer. "In-
tead, it is the actress who
played a gun-toting gangster
in "New Jack City".
Williams, often confused
(in name) with the former
Mis America, will play an
aerobics instructor.
- oompled by K. Bark.
- epeoI" oontrlbutora: UN
CoIllna (Behlnd- The-Soenee) &
RadtoSoope ••• The CoI�n
She' not j t the tunning
wom n who we tho e di tinctive
ha • Nor i he merely the ext or­
dinary vocali t who enjoyed a
tring of Chart-topping R&B ingle
from "Raw," her fi t Ibum on the
OBR [Original Black
Record ]/Columbia label, includ­
ing the top five "Just Call My
Name," which has become virtually
her mu ical anthem. Aly on Wil­
liams is, is a multi-talented per­
former who e me merizing tyle
has endeared h r to udience from
London to Tokyo, and from
Amsterdam to New York, her home
town.
� Aly on Williams," her izzling
elf-titled second album, is the per­
feet vehicle for an artist primed to
make the all-important move to a
whole new level in her career, to
achieve the success she so richly
deserves. With typical down-to­
earth humor, Alyson declares, "Tell
Arsenio to keep the seat warm!"
Working with a host of talented
producers including AI B. Sure!,
L.A. & Babyface proteges Daryl
Simmons and Kayo; and Vinnie
Bell and Alvin Moody (who
produced several tracks on Raw),
Alyson has delivered an album that
brims with soul, sass and style.
From the slinky groove of its
opening cut and first single, "Can't
Have My Man,. " to the slow, burning
"Everybody Knew" (de tined to be­
come another ignature for her)
, AJy on is in full effect, and in total
control.
"I feel that this album is more
adult," she says. "I had a lot more
input in term of my vocal ap­
proach. The caliber of producers
we used says a lot about the way it
was put together. There was a real
cohesiveness to it and I feel that,
artistically, there was no com­
promise on my part. "It truly
reflects many different aspects of
what I can do musically."
INDEED, AL ,¥SON covers the
gamut on this standout album. The
hypnotic "Here Comes the Rain"
and the bluesy "She's Not Your
Fool" (featured in the Livin' Large
movie and its DefJam/Columbia
soundtrack issued July 1991) both
bear that special Alyson stamp, as
she pours her heart into each song,
wringing every last bit of emotion
(rom the lyrics. For good measure,
"Do It" (one of two cuts on the
album produced by AI B. Sure!) is
a ure-fire dance floor winner.
While thi is only her econd
album, the Harlem-born entertainer
has gained a wealth of musical ex­
perience since embarking on her
profe ional career. Daughter of
the late jazz trumpeter and
bandleader Bobby Booker (known
for his work with Count Basie, Sy
Oliver and others), - Aly on wa
training as a dancer by age four.
She started singing for fun; it didn't
take long for tho e around her to
recognize Aly on' innate ability
a vocalist.
"RAW" WAS unleashed on an
unsuspecting world in February,
1989. The first single, the too­
tough "Sleep Talk, n w an instant
#3 R&B hit nd the beginning of an
18 month-pi chart tre which
propelled Aly on to n lion I
prominence. The uptempo "My
Love Is So Raw" (featuring rapper
Nikki D) w followed by the uper
oulful "Just Call My Name" (a '4
R&B hit). "I Need Your Lovin'"
(#5) bridged the gap into 1990, nd
proved major hit in the U.K.
well, where Alyson' album went
gold. The last ingle, remake of
the Moments ' "Not On tbe OuuiM"
charted into early ummer.
In 11, Raw pent an unprecen­
dented 69 weeks on Billboard'
R&B Ibum chart, a feat matched
only by pop crossover cts Paula
Abdul and MilU Vanilli, and an in­
dication that the record-buying
public appreciated the kind of
honest, down-to-earth inging that
Alyson Williams displayed on her
dynamic debut album.
Since the album' release,
Alyson has been caught up in a
veritable whirlwind of activity.
She played selected U.S. date in
1989 with After 7 and David Peas­
ton; went to Europe for her first
headlining date at the end of the
year; and ended up spending mo t
of the winter and spring in Europe
and Japan, wowing audience with
her powerhouse live performance .
BY THE TIME she went tQ
Germany in the fall of 1990, Aly on
had established herself as major
artist in many parts of the world: "It
was trange getting on the plane in
the State , just another singer, and
getting off the plane in London,
Tokyo or Amsterdam, and being
treated like I was some kind of
major starl Europe's been like a
whole other life for me," she laughs.
Alyson took some time off that
fall, began looking at material for
her second album, and began cut­
ting tracks in November. "Then I
fled to London to do some dates.
The diva has to pay the rent, you
know!" she chuckles.
In early 1991, she returned to the
studio to record more songs; she hit
the road again in February on a 70-
city tour playing the lead role in the
hit musical, "Wicked Ways."
"I've done theater and off­
Broadway for years in New York,"
she says of her "Wicked Ways"
stint, "so acting wasn't new for me.
Playing the role of Sister Doreen
ALYSO
WILLIAMS
album."
Building on "the legitimate
foundation we established with the
first album," Alyson is' proud the
new album covers so much musical
territory. "I love the first single,
'Can't Have My Man, , because it's
really about promoting men. I
guess with my very first record,
'Sleep Talk, , I busted the guys, told
them they had to treat me with
re pect. This song is about show­
ing my appreciation and admiration
for the guys," ay Aly on. "Then,
we have 'Heaven, which is a great
pop/soul kind of song; and 'Second
Time Around, , which I call the 11th
hour ballad that Whitney Houston
didn't getl"
The new album includes two
great duets: "So Special" recorded
with Jeff Redd; and "Your Love Is
All" with Chuck Stanley, again
focusing on Alyson's ability to
work in the traditional medium of
traditional R&B, a talent rarely
found in today' crop of ingers.
"What makes this album impor­
tant," she says, "is that it's .the
chance for me as - the girl who
wears the hats' or the Singer who
sang 'Just Call My Name.' I want
the public to hear that I can
all."
LIVING IN Detroit sina
1991, Alyson feels that her
album reflect personal cll;
she's made in her life well.
creative growth she's experi.
in the last few years. For tho ..
were touched by the vocal I
AI yson Williams expreue
Raw, here's a new album thai
forces this talented lady' po
as one of the mo t impc
vocalists on the cene today.
Franklin w a wqnderful ex-
-perience. the show had such a
powerful message and I felt like we
were really doing a 'musical minis­
try for the many people who came
to ee it during those ten months we
were on the road."
.. , ',.
All local artists, musicians and entertainers.
Let the world know what you have to offer.
Let the Michigan Citizen do a story about you'
and your group. Send photos, facts & phone:
number to Michigan Citizen, P.O. Box 03560,�
Highland Park., MI 48203.
. FINALLY, WITH almo t all
the elements of her new album in
place by November 1991, the I t
song wadded. "L.A. and
Babyface had indicated that they
wanted me to record 'Just My
Luck'," explains Alyson, "a tune
they'd originally done part of the
Deele back in August of 1990.
Now 1 was in Atlanta cutting it with
Daryl Simmons and Kayo, who are
member of the L.A./Babyface
production team, and that was the
last ong we recorded for the new