.U
ic
You Satisfied." Cove of the Temp
tations' "Just To K«p You In My
Life" and George Michael' "Ctu"e
less Whisper" were high points.
Every Columbia album ince then
h been an "event": 19875 Forbid
denLoverw earmarked Nancy's
50th album, and celebrated the 35th
anniversary of her entry into show
busin
Nancy Now I wa released in
1988, her third full album with pro
ducer Itoh, and again distinguished
by a flaw I program.
UNUKE HER previous Colum
bia albu ,1990s A Lady With a
Song drew on a wide array of new nd
veteran producers, songwriters and
artis contributors. The Emotio
and Philip Bailey joill¢ Nancy for a
're-working of the Bmonons' 1m
hit, "Don't Ask My Neighbors."
But mu ic i only a part of
Nancy life. She h been a major
force behind everal charitable
CUI nd or nization. h
Often you
mlllity rd
CD'
marlcably low P .
d rna orreoordcom
panies and record to will not be
allowed I used m ic,
Sellin mat music carries a
vere penalty and maybe prosecu
tion. The record eornpani
inVolved are itot, Sony arid
Warner (owm the majority of re-
cord ).
This decision will definitely
hwt the Block am mall chain re
cord D . M t will dose be
of kyrocketing P
Rumors,
Rumors,
Rumors
This is a horrid speculation.
Sources say the recent failure of
Black rockers Living Colour
"Stain" and PM Dawn "The BI'
Album?" were flops because
mem 0 both groips appar
emly 'cemeout doset'.
In the past, musiciam who pub-
licly anoounced m- pref-
Rapp Wiz'
Public Enemy's Chock D' re
ally makingahitwithM new Rapp
Style clothing line. H ' ecquired
the righe furnish clothing for
motion pictures "Who'! The Man"
and "Menace 2 Society. "
--- ---------------------
-- ------------- --------------------------------
Few vocal arti ts in contemporary
music po a tyle so distinctiv , a
nse of art 0 timely, and a reputa
tion 0 critically hailed as Nancy
Wil on. For more than three decad ,
over the course of more than 50 al
bums Nancy has remained at th
forefront of her craft. Her abili ty to
inject a lyric with a certain, magic that
breath life into a song has been the
key to 'ati fying legions of long-time
fans, while waking up the ears of a
whole new audience year after year.
Voted "Female Vocali t of the
Year" in counties publications, in
cluding the annual Playboy and
Down Beat poll ,Nancy' influence
on, other ong tylists is unquestion
able.
Nancy's remarkable way with-a
song h never been howcased with
more fin e than on her sixth album
for Columbia, With My Lover Beside
Me, featuring newly discovered lyr
ics by the late Johnny Mercer, as
arranged and produced by Barry
Manilow. The r ult i an album that
pi mi m teal lOrna
gt In
y 1 h 0
ica' great tune mith (''Jeepers'
Creeper, , " "Fools Rush In," "Satin
Doll; " "Moon River, " "Days of W�e
and Roses," "Come Rain or Come
Shine, " and so many more). Mercer's
widow had di covered a stack of po
em he'd left behind, and asked
Manilow to put music to them. One
of these "When October Goes, " was
eventually � ued in 1984 on
Manitow 's album 2:00 A.M. Para
dise Cafe.
RadioScope
The
Column
People,
.Places &
Things
• Congratulations are in oro r
for Gladys Knight and En Vogue'
Cindy Herron on their engage
mens, Glooys aJX1 motivational
speaker Les Brown plan o� tyi�
the knot later this year. Omy IS
paired with Glenn Braggs, fanner
baseoell player with the Cincinati
Reds. They'replanningaNovem
ber wedding.
• V Williarm and her
hubby, publi . t and marager Ra
mon H rvcy welcomed their first
son, Devin � tian I t month.
Weighing in at nire pounds, he'
tbe coeple' third child.
NANCY WILSON IS no
stranger to the m e of Johnny Mer
cer, having ung material like "Blues
In the Night." "One For My Baby, "
and "Midnight Sun" with frequency
during her career. In fact, Nancy'
years as a hitmaker started in 1962 at
Capital Records, the company that
Mercer co-founded 20 years before.
So th opportunity to release an en
tire recordi ng of virtually unknown
Mercer material in 1991 was too
good to resi t.
. "Most every singer has ung a
Mercer lyric," she says, "but to be the
first to interpret the poetry of Johnny
Mereer i quite a thrill and an honor."
With My Lover Beside Me erves
as a once-in-a-lifetime collage of ro
mantic emotions, delivered with ex
qui ite arti try by a inger who e
ability to tell a tory is praised by fans
and critic alike. Nancy has been
characterized as a "professor emeri
tus of body language" and "a con
summate storyteller," qualities which
come together from the opening title
tun , and her own version of "When
October Goes, " to the closing "Epi
logue," a touching duet with
Manilow.
Find It/At Last," "I Can't Teach
My Old Heart New Tricks," "When
tit M adow Was Bloomin', " "Heart
Of Mine, Cry On, "t'lu t Remember,"
and "The Last Dream Home." Nancy
gami hes every number with a pe
cial poignancy and verve.
But Nancy Wil on h alway
b n lauded, a ong tyli t u
preme. Born in Chillicothe, Ohio and
rai ed In nearb Columbus she w
expo d to a wide ran e of jazz and
"'blu influ nee a young ter.
As a teen Nancy participated in
local choirs and dance band , per
formed in club and appeared in a
local televi ion how. "Skyline Mel
ody. 'I Und cided on a musical career,
however. he attended Central State
College, intending to get her teaching
credential. In 1 6, he be an work
ing with Ru ty Bryant's Carolyn
Club Band in Columbus a gig that
lasted two years (and marked her first
recordin for Dot Record highly
collectible today).
Working in-Columbus, Nancy had
a chance to it in with Cannonball
Adderley in 1959; he would tum into
an important influ nee, along with
hi manager John Levy (with whom
Nancy has been ociated now for
more than 0 years). She moved to
New York that arne year, and earned
a night tub pot filling in for vocali t
Irene Reid. In New York, Nan")' cut
a demo with piani t Ray Bryant; it
won her a contract with Capitol and
her first ingl • "Guess Who I Saw
Today?"
NANCY WILSON
NANCY'S FIRST BIG R&B hit
came in 1962 with Cannonball Ad
derley, "Save You� Love For Me, "
followed by "Tell Me the Truth" in
1963. "How Glad I Am" followed in
1964; it won Nancy the "Best R&B"
, Grammy - and broke Ray Chari '
four-year tranglehold on the award.
Nancy hit the Billboard Pop top
30 in 1968 with "Face It oia. It's
Over," nd cored nother cro over
1 I'
Wo ""YD 're Rlght A �u."
was a solid top 10 R&B hit for her in
1974. In all, she charted 33 Capitol
albums on the Billboard Pop chart
from her hi toric debut with Cannon
ball Adderley in 1962; 0 the
Grammy-nominated Gentle Is My
Love in 1965; up through 1977's I've
Never Been To Me.
Nancy won an Emmy award in
1975, for her NBC television series,
"The Nancy Wilson Show. "She won
the Tokyo Song Festival in 1983. In
1986 she recei ved both the
NAACP' Image Award as "Best
Jazz Arti t" and the "Global Enter
tainer of the Year" award from the
World Conference of Mayors. And
n October 1, 1 , Lo Angeles
Mayor .Tom Bradley proclaimed it
"Nancy Wilson Day" as he earned
her star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame.
In 1986, Columbia relea ed
Nancy's label debut, Keep Your Sa�
isfied, the digitally produced by Ki
yo hi Itoh at Nippon Columbia
Studios in Tokyo, ard named for the
Marvin Gaye titletune, "Just To Keep
TOP 10 SINGLES
ti i city yo
opportuniti they ouldn't have
been ble to experience otherwise;
sadly, the foundation had to close due
to Nancy' busy cbedule, and lac
of additional funding by private cor
porations. B\lt he has foum time a�
energy to contribute to the Martin
Luther Ki ng Center for Social
Change, the National Urban Coali-,
tion th Kennedy Center's Chair
man' Commi ion, the National
Heart Association, the Warwick
Foundation, and the Cancer Society.
As involved Nancy Wilson' in
musical and non-musical endeavors
- he has received a UNCF award
. and the Paul Robeson Humanitarian
award - he continues to pursue
, fresh projects.
A wife and a mother of three,
Nancy is outspoken about her accom
plishments and her expectations.
"With the way the marketplace
opened up to female styli ts like
Anita Baker, Sade and Whitney
. See WILSON B8
TOP R&B/SOUL
1. "That's The Way Love Goesll
.................. � : � .. JANET JACKSON(Vlrgin)
2. IIKnockin' Oa Bootsll
....................................................... H·TOWN (luke Record )
3. "Who Is It" .
................................................... MICHAEL JACKSON (Epic)
4. "The Crying Game" ,
.......... � BOY GEORGE (SBK/ERG)
'5. 11.I'm So Into You"
.............................................................................. SWV (RCA)
6. "Nothin' My Love Can't Fix"
......................................... JOEY LAWRENCE (Imp ct/MCA)
7. "Livin' On The Edgell
............................................................ AEROSMITIi (Geff n)
8. "Come Undone"
...................................................... DURAN DURAN (Capitol)
9. II Connected II ,
............................... STEREO MC'S (Ge Streed/laland/PLG)
10. ItThree Little Pigs
.............................................................. GREEN JELLY (ZOO)'
1. ItThat's The Way Love Goes"
...................................................... JA NET JA CKSON (VIrgin)
2. II Weak It
............................................................................. swv (RCA)
3. II Ki s Of Life It
........................................................................... SADE (Epic)
4. "If I Could II
.................................................. REGtNA BELLE (Columbia)
'.5. IIWho Is It II
.. · MICHAEL JACKSON (Epic)
6. "That's The Way Love Is"
.......................................................... BOBBY BROWN (MCA)
7. IIEvery Little Thing U Do"
........................... CHRISTOPHER WllLlAMS(Uptown/MCA)
8. "I Can't Stand The Pain"
................................................. LORENZO (Alp ha Int'I./PLG)
9. II Knockin' Oa Boots"
....................................................... H·TOWN (luke R cord )
10. "Little Miracle (Happen Every Day)1I
................................................. LUTIiER VANDROSS (Epic
•