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June 6, 1985
Page B6
Ud r^lose
Four Tops: Still maki
Levi Stubbs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo It was the i
"Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton have been spent largely
together for 31 years, constantly producing songs they had re<
of love, happiness and romantic heartbreak in the Records in 1<
quintessential Detroit sound/Motown tradition. opening act c
No other popularquartet has stayed with original Delia Reese,
personnel intact for as long as the legendary Four ty Basie, Bet)
Tops. And no other group associated with the - -and~FHp--Wtfc
American 60s sound has succeeded in remaining as Levi's cou:
fresh, joyful, lively and timely. The Four Tops impressed v*
created a special magic which continues to delight naturally smc
form with hii
? , , , for several ye
Times were hard and the group s first first years w<
years were difficult, typified by heavy and Hght moi
travel and light money. But the spirit them to stay
which has allowed them to stay together was already
for more than three decades was already never riddled
in place. " lost S1?ht
It was also
carnated." It
audiences from 5 to 50 the world over, and their be confused >
reign as the Grand Gentlemen of rock and roll is Since they h
far from over. were "reachii
The Four Tops have a list of Top 10 hits, many without reali;
of them gold records and No. 1 chart-toppers, to legend, becar
their credit. These include "Baby I "Need your It was in 1
Loving," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugarpie, and signed b:
Honeybunch)," "It's the Same Old Song," Their , first
"Reach Out (I'll Be There)," "Bernadette," Loving," an
"Walk Away, Rene," "Standing in the Shadows . charts, the F
of Love," "Shake Me, Wake Me" and "Still the crown
Waters Run Deep." They have recorded 33 Motown's he
albums in their illustrious career -- 20 of them for hausting. It v\
Motown. perfection a
Levi, Duke, Obie and Lawrence were teen-age songwriting t
school friends in their native Detroit when they In additior
joined together in a singing group called the Aims. |
^[ogdwgYjsMy_Begt
Black actresses ca
By JOEY SASSO
Syndicated Columnist a w
"I was a si
Observations in covering the Night Beat: woman with a
Diahann Carroll, the haughty Dominique of
"Dynasty," declares that she's spent enough
money on LSD to buy a five-star hotel. The
49-year-old TV temptress says it was part of drug
therapy and analysis she went through for four
years in the 1950s.
441 spent enough on it to buy the Savoy," she ______
admitted during an interview at the exclusive London
hotel. 44My problem was that I wanted to be a Diahann
? -11 I ' *
rionywooa star -- out there were no black stars, Carroll: TV's
and I came up against a wall. The drug therapy newest
helped me confront and understand myself. And bitch,
the irony is that 'Dynasty' may achieve for me
what I failed to achieve in the 50s.
"For Third World actresses, there was no middle
ground," she explains. "You were either a
hooker, or the most wonderful mother the world
has ever seen. It became nauseating. We could profession," \
never play villains, because the producers were was confused,
afraid of being accused of racism." answers and
Carroll says that a black actress can now play 'You're crazy
the biggest bitch on the block. She can be strong,
powerful, demanding and pivotal to the story, in- Top comic
stead of waiting for her husband to come home nymen Rfchai
i
Remembering Marvin
Hours before Marvin Gaye died, Stevie Wonder wrote the
song "Lighting Up the Candles." The song has since
become a tribute to Gaye. Wonder will discuss the song and
his reasons for writing it on "Tony Brown's Journal" this
Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 26.
I
WE/
ing 'Magic'
nid-50s, and their early career was
I n o
in yea./, ana circles, by tne time
corded their first single for Chess
)56, the Aims were performing as an
>r back-up singers with artists such as
Brook Benton, Billy Eckstine, County
Carter, Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor
son.
sin, the great Jackie Wilson, was so
'ith their mellow harmonies and
>oth style that he invited them to perm
on a regular basis, which they did
ars. Times were hard and the group's
;re difficult, typified by heavy travel
ney. But the spirit which has allowed
together for more than three decades
in place. They were never greedy,
by egotism or impatience and never
what they wanted to do most: sing,
in 1956 that the Aims became "rein:
had been suggested that they might
vith the then popular Ames Brothers,
ad chosen their name because they
tig for the top," they changed it and,
zing that they were giving name to a
ne the Four Tops.
1963 that they were truly discovered
y Berry Gordy for Motown Records,
single was "Baby, I Need your
d as the song skyrocketed up the
our Tops established themselves as
princes of Motown. Life during
(yday was both exhilarating and exttLs
there that their style was honed to
nd blended with the spectacular
earn of Holland/Dozier/Holland.
i to their own records, members of
Please see page B8
n now play l
hat an exciting day he had.
rong, opinionated black American
i desire to break new ground in her
she said. "When it didn't happen, I
and I went into drug therapy to find
get some help. People would say, I
. You're doing very well as a singer.'
Bill Cosby says that fellow funrd
Pryor, Redd Foxx and Jonathan
v
^jfusical Notes
CBS pays US
CBS Records has made a $6.5 mill
itial payment to USA for Africa, th
profit foundation set up to channel
to' suffering people in Africa ai
United States. The sum represents th
pany's net proceeds to date from U.S
in March of the Columbia Records
"We Are the World." The presei
was made by Walter Yetnikoff, pre
CBS/Records Group, and Al Teller,
tw voiutm anu general managei
umbia Records, to event produce
Kragen in ceremonies at CBS headqi
in New York.
CBS Records' arrangement with
for Africa calls for future payment
sales of the "We Are the World"
dings to be made quarterly. CBS R
will also analyze net sales figure
month against anticipated paymer
prior sales by its accounts to det
whether additional monthly paymen
be made ahead of the quarterly sch<
Payments from sales of 4 4We A
World" outside the United States i
made by CBS Records Internationa
timely basis -- at least quarterly. A
Records International net proceeds '
, to the foundation's African famine
1
V
I
UCTS
i
V Hr
ritchy roles on T
Winters can make him roll with laughter any time.
"In the movie Peters Sellers puts me on the
floor/' declared Cosby, who now stars in his own
series. He finds Buster Keaton and Charlie
Chaplin the funniest of the old-timers, while Sid
Caesar and Jackie Gleason get his nod from the
early days of television.
Cosby says making people laugh is serious
business that requires a lot of hard work. "You
need to practice, practice and practice to get it best
and right," he noted. "Just like Olympic gymnasts
or jumpers. Just like a professional
ballplayer or boxing champion."
He said he tries out raw routines on himself, '
refining and honing them until he's satisfied
they're funny.
"I think about who my audience is going to be
for the material and plan what I'm going to do
and say, and how I'm going to move, gesture and
mug in order to get the best response out of my audience.
Very little you see me do on stage or
especially on the TV show is spontaneous, even
though it may look that way." ...
The curtain of secrecy that surrounds super
rock star Prince has been torn aside by a kiss 'n'
tell gal pal. Shapely British model Ashe told me
that she dated Prince while in Los Angeles. The
>A for Africa $6.5 mi
lion in- I efforts. fTen ncrcent of U.S. net nror**?H<
ic non- W*U be reserved to aid the hungry and th<
I funds homeless in this country.)
id the Total worldwide sales of "We Are th<
e com- World" have passed 7.3 million singles anc
5. sales million albums. The album is just nov*
single appearing in many international markets
itation On May 3, 4'We Are the World" becam<
sident, the first single to be certified multisenior
platinum under the new standards set bj
r, Col- the Recording Industry Association o1
t Ken America for U.S. sales of more than foui
uarters million units. In April, the album was cer
tified gold, platinum and multi-platinum,
\ USA the ft * time a recording has been certified
s from *n &N categories in one month.
recor- The song, co-written by Michael Jackson
ecords and Lionel Richie, was recorded by 4<
s each ' American recording stars Jan. 28 under the
it* direction of ftialnrv Jaiim onH
ermine the Columbia label March 11. The album,
ts may which also features the song "Tears Arc
rdule. Not Enough/' recorded by a group ol
j-e the Canadian stars under the name of Norwill
be them Lights as well as tracks donated by
il on a such artists as Bjnce Springsteen and
11 CBS Prince, wasjeleased April 1.
will go
s-relief Coca-Cola USA and the Coca-Cola Bot
IX
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. 1
The arts, television,
reviews and columns.
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______________? -*?I
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V, says Carroll
, .... , {
two met in a nightclub, she recalled, adding that |
she was dressed only in strips of leather tied
around her gorgeous body.
The sight quickly lured Prince to her side, and
he asked Ashe to come to a party with him. Ashe
said she turned him down because she didn't want
him to get the idea that she was overeager to go
with him. Prince then asked her if she'd meet him
at his recording studio the next day, and she
agreed.
The following morning she met him, listened to
some of his tapes and then had lunch with him.
She recalled being so awed that she couldn't recall
what she'd eaten. A few days later Prince took her
to the movies to see "Terms of Endearment," and
for the first time the two cuddled up together.
The day before the stunning model was scheduled
to leave for home, th# ennnl* VinH
, ...w WilVVIIVl WBlbl
They snuggled again, this time in the back seat of
his limousine, which she described as being big
enough to live in. "He told me how he liked the
muscles above his knees being touched, and we
had a long cuddle. It was great ..."
When Madge Sinclair left her sons and her husband
in Jamaica and headed to America in 1968 to
seek her fame and fortune, a cousin castigated her
Please see page B9
illion for relief fund
5 I tling Co. of New York saluted Francis
? I "Doll" Thomas, the 82-year-old and still
1 artiv* manaopr rtf m
WV*? V VI kltv Vf v/i IU" i CUIlUUd
i Apollo Theater. The May 4 salute to
1 Thomas was in conjunction with the recent
r reopening of the theater. A broadcast of
that reopening gala was shown on the NBC
; television network on Sunday, May 19, and
was hosted by entertainer and Coca-Cola
r spokesman Bfll Cosby.
F "Doll Thomas has been a mainstay at
the Apollo since it opened in 1933," said
Chuck Morrison, director of black con,
sumer markets, Coca-Cola USA. "His
I dedication and unselfish commitment to
the theater and the thousands of enteri
??iUA ?? ?* ? A -f
i loiuns wuu nave pcriurmca mere certainly
deserves a tribute.'*
; The plaque was presented during an
i "A-train" reception, sponsored by Coca>
Cola USA, in a midtown Manhattan subi
way station in honor of the 30th anniversary
of the Apollo Theater. More than 500
guests attended a champange reception in
r the specially redecorated mezzanine of the
I station, then "took the A train" for the
ride uptown and red-carpet walk through
the streets of Harlem to the gala reopening.
Please see page B9