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Weekender
Thursday, April 17, 1S30
Chapel Thrill Friday
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By JAMES ALEXANDER R.
Sister Sledge will step on stage amidst
thundering music and flashing
colored lights" Friday night in UNC's
Carmichael Auditorium, as the headline
act for the first of two Chapel Thrill '80
weekend concerts, co-sponsored by the
Carolina Union and the Student
Government.
The singing and dancing female
foursome from Philadelphia all sisters
will make its first North Carolina
appearance since June 1979, when it made
a couple of Tar Heel-state stops on a
national tour with the Jacksons.
At that time, its debut album, We Are
Family, and single by the same name were
just breaking the platinum mark, and the
band ended the year on a red-hot note by
receiving a Grammy for that single. The
group was named the best new group of
1979 by several record industry
publications.
The single "We Are Family" not only
sold more than a million copies and
captured a Grammy, but became
internationally famous during the 1979
World Series. It was heard round the
world as the theme song of the baseball
world champion Pittsburgh Pirates.
Since then, their follow-up album, Love
Somebody Today, has catapulted on the
soul and pop charts with "Reach Your
Peak" as the hottest single on the album.
"Let's Go On Vacation" and "Got To Love
Somebody Today" also have garnered
respectable airplay.
Joni, Kathy, Kim and Debbie Sledge,
ranging in age from 21 to 25, have been
singing together since their early
childhood days. And like many quality
black vocal groups, they got their start in a
church choir.
But it wasn't until a little more than a
year ago that Sister Sledge became a
household word among disco and rhythm
and blues lovers, after being discovered
and produced by disco magnates Bernard
Edwards and Nile Rodgers of Chic fame.
Edwards and Rodgers have since
produced both of the group's albums, and
their direction has guided the girls to
superstar status in the disco market. They
probably are one of the most successful
crossover vocal groups today.
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Sister Sledge
With a classy and daring stage act that
features dynamic choreography and
"house-rocking" upbeat harmony along
with the usual smoke-and-light stage
effects, Sister Sledge and their band
perform with the highest professionalism.
An encore (or several) following their
shows is about as common to them as
water is to fish.
Whether on the road touring, in the
studio recording or back home relaxing
with its large family in Philadelphia, Sister
Sledge lives up to the lyrics of its platinum
hit "We Are Family." Their mother, Flo, is
their business manager and travels with
her daughters on the road. And their aunt,
Marion Williams, runs the group's home
office. Their grandmother even travels
with the group sometimes.
The band recently was featured on a
segment of ABC's American Bandstand
and NBC's Midnight Special as well as
other television appearances.
Tickets for the concert will be on sale at
the Carolina Union box office for $6 in
advance until Friday, when they will be
upped to $7. 0
James Alexander )r. is assistant editor of
Weekender.
lTHuss Production ;
By JAMES ALEXANDER JR.
Say the words "Mass Production"
and the first thing that probably
comes to mind is an automobile assembly
line somewhere in Detroit. But say the.
same words to hard-core rhythm and
blues lovers and the first thing that will
come to their minds is uncut, innovative
backroom get-down danceable rhythms.
Mass Production's appearance at the
Friday night Chapel Thrill '80 concert is a
timely one indeed. Since the recent
release of its fifth and fast-selling album,
Massterpece, the nine-member band has
been one of the hottest rhythm and blues
acts in the nation.
Just last year, the group sold more than
1 million copies of its single release
"Firecracker," from the album In The
Purest Form. Although "Firecracker"
didn't reach the charts until long after the
album had been released, it camped out
on the R & B and pop charts for more than
30 weeks and f inished up at number one.
The band's album discography includes
Wecome To Our World, Believe, Three
Miles High, In The Purest Form and the
latest release Massterpiece.
The Cotillion Records artists haven't
reached superstar status yet, but with the
improvements they are making with each
album and on each concert tour, such a
label doesn't seem too far off. Mass
Production has developed its own sound
and is one of the few young groups with a
musical style all its own, not imitative of
the basic funk rhythm patterns present in
a lot of today's R & B soul.
The group's stage show characterizes
the basic R & B band show, with all the
usual effects and high stepping necessary
to build and maintain a high-energy party
atmosphere.
But what sets i apart from other acts
probably is its two-man soulful horn
section, bolstered by the wailing voice of
lead vocalist Agnes "Tiny" Kelly.
Besides lead singer Kelly, Mass
Production musicians are Larry
"Rockstarr" Marshall, vocals; Lecoy
Bryant, guitar and vocals; Kevin Douglas,
bass guitar, vocals and keyboards; and
Tyrone Williams, all keyboards and
keyboard solos. Ricardo "Ricky" Williams
is the group's drummer and Emmanuel
Eugene Redding plays congas, cowbells
and various other percussion instruments.
Gregory McCoy on tenor and soprano
saxophonesand James "Otiste"
Drumgole on trumpet and flugelhorn
make up the horn section. 3
James Alexander Jr. is assistant editor of
Weekender.
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Mass Production
Sky if
By JAMES ALEXANDER JR.
To say the least, Skyy is one of the most interesting
groups to come on the rhythm and blues-disco
scene within the last year and a half.
Possessing a sound that's almost as unique as its name
and a vocabulary not found in anything put out by
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Skyy
Webster, the eight-member band is the product of Brass
Construction leader Randy Muller.
The group hit the big time with its self-titled Salsoul
Records debut album, which met with stunning success
after its early 1979 release. That album produced three
smash disco singles: "Disco Dancin' ," "Let's Turn It
Out" and "Let's Get Up." And unlike most new groups
who come and go like fly-by-night operators, Skyy let it
be known that its intentions of staying in the music
business are serious with a rather successful follow-up
album, Skyway.
Two singles from the album "High" and "Skyy
Zoo" have gotten top airplay. "High" has had the
greatest impact though, and has spent considerable time
'in the top half of Billboard soul singles. Another song
now getting valuable attention is "Dance, Dance,
Dance."
The group's energetic stage performance and space
age costumes have earned it the label as an exciting hard
rocking opening act. And in time, it's expected to
become a headline attraction under Muller's consistent
direction.
Skyy flight control comes from Muller and group
member Solomon Roberts, who both produce and write
all of the band's material under the name of (get this)
Alligator Bit Him Productions.
Crew members (musicians) are Roberts, Anibal Siera,
Larry Greenberg, Tommy McConnell, Gerald Lebon and
the sister singing trio of Bonny Dunning, Delores
Dunning Milligan and Denise Dunning Crawford. 0
James Alexander Jr. is assistant editor of Weekender.