New York — Long before she became the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin sang in her father's Baptist church in Detroit.
On Saturday, she'll headline the annual McDonald's Gospelfest at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker and Cissy Houston will be featured.
But that's not the only event on Franklin's weekend calendar. She also has a meeting about her upcoming biopic, which has been in the works for years. Franklin says she's heavily involved in the project, including who will play her in the film. Front-runners include Jennifer Hudson and Tony winner Audra McDonald.
"I just try to come up with the names I feel are going to best present this, who are the people that will best present my biopic and what I have in mind," the 71-year-old singer said in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press.
AP: Who's going to be a part...
On Saturday, she'll headline the annual McDonald's Gospelfest at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker and Cissy Houston will be featured.
But that's not the only event on Franklin's weekend calendar. She also has a meeting about her upcoming biopic, which has been in the works for years. Franklin says she's heavily involved in the project, including who will play her in the film. Front-runners include Jennifer Hudson and Tony winner Audra McDonald.
"I just try to come up with the names I feel are going to best present this, who are the people that will best present my biopic and what I have in mind," the 71-year-old singer said in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press.
AP: Who's going to be a part...
- 5/10/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
December 1977: Number 4 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of dance music
Released on 16 December 1977, Saturday Night Fever was the film that broke disco in both senses: it popularised and developed the form at the same time as it froze a vibrant and creative subculture. Saturday Night Fever made disco ubiquitous in 1978. It became a fad – with the inevitable backlash.
The statistics tell the story. The film took more than $3m in the first weekend, eventually going on to gross in the region of $237m; it became the fourth highest grossing movie of 1977. The soundtrack album included six Us No 1s and it topped the charts for 24 weeks in the Us, 18 weeks in the UK.
In fact, disco had been building for several years. In his ground-breaking September 1973 Rolling Stone story, Vince Aletti traced its origins in the underground return of the discotheque, "where the hardcore dance crowd – blacks,...
Released on 16 December 1977, Saturday Night Fever was the film that broke disco in both senses: it popularised and developed the form at the same time as it froze a vibrant and creative subculture. Saturday Night Fever made disco ubiquitous in 1978. It became a fad – with the inevitable backlash.
The statistics tell the story. The film took more than $3m in the first weekend, eventually going on to gross in the region of $237m; it became the fourth highest grossing movie of 1977. The soundtrack album included six Us No 1s and it topped the charts for 24 weeks in the Us, 18 weeks in the UK.
In fact, disco had been building for several years. In his ground-breaking September 1973 Rolling Stone story, Vince Aletti traced its origins in the underground return of the discotheque, "where the hardcore dance crowd – blacks,...
- 6/15/2011
- by Jon Savage
- The Guardian - Film News
Blues singer Eddie Kirkland has died after his car overturned in Florida. He was 88.
The musician, known as the Gypsy of the Blues, was travelling north of Tampa on Sunday, February 27 when he tried to make a U-turn in front of a bus and flipped his vehicle, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. He later died in nearby Tampa General Hospital. No one on the bus was injured.
The blues legend was born in Jamaica and grew up in Alabama before settling in Detroit, Michigan. His career started when he toured with John Lee Hooker before becoming Otis Redding's bandleader. He also played with Little Johnnie Taylor and Little Richard.
Kirkland is survived by his wife Mary and nine children.
The musician, known as the Gypsy of the Blues, was travelling north of Tampa on Sunday, February 27 when he tried to make a U-turn in front of a bus and flipped his vehicle, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. He later died in nearby Tampa General Hospital. No one on the bus was injured.
The blues legend was born in Jamaica and grew up in Alabama before settling in Detroit, Michigan. His career started when he toured with John Lee Hooker before becoming Otis Redding's bandleader. He also played with Little Johnnie Taylor and Little Richard.
Kirkland is survived by his wife Mary and nine children.
- 3/1/2011
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
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