Molloway Leads Well-Known Band
By Loretta Richardson
Post Staff Writer
Over 40 years in the music pro
fession has afforded Johnny Hol
loway, leader of the local musical
aggregation, Johnny Holloway
tad the fli-Tones, a wealth of op
portunities in the business.
But no opportunity has touched
him to the depth that teaching mu
sic has. For 36 years Holloway
taught music in the school sys
tem. Many of his years were
spent at West Charlotte Senior
High School. The remainder of
the time was spent as a floating
musical instructor throughout the
school system.
"Nothing can compare to see
ing kids perform and watching
them grow," confirmed Hollo
way. "When I began teaching I
had only planned to teach for a
year. " That one year turned into
36 for Holloway.
Even before Holloway was
teaching, music had already
made its place among the Dur
ham native's priorities. Music
lessons came as early as age
nine and by the time Holloway
was 18 he was leading and as
sisting as director of the 337th
Army Band. His college experi
ence introduced him to the string,
the brass and the woodwind fam
ilies. Most instruments that fall
within any of the three categories,
Holloway has proficiency in
playing.
In the late 40a, 60a and 60s Hol
loway played with the big name
bands throughout New York and
Ohio. Once, Holloway comment
place at the right time, when the
opportunity came up. At the time,
it was a career high.”
When Holloway gave up the
life on the road, he organized a
group of local musicians that
have been entertaining the Char
lotte area for a quarter of a centu
ry. The Hi-Tones, one of Char
lotte s most respected groups spe
cializes in jazz classics, and
contemporary selections. The
group can also provide a variety
of beach, ballroom, swing, old
and new standards and top 40s
music.
Grady Seigle, James Hogan,
Ravin Robins, John Mobley and
Lee Webber make-up the Hi
Tones. Pianist-composer, Grady
Seigle is widely known as a key
boardist and composer.
"Grada", a Latin Jazz composi
tion, is his most popular among
musicians.
Known as "Mr. Guitar",
James Hogan plays his own style
but has been influenced by
George Benson. He has played
with Roberta Flack, the Tams Jr.
Walker and CJS All Stars.
A versatile percussion and
vocalist John Mobley, a 10 year
old veteran of the group formerly
played with the Zodiacks.
As vocalists, the Hi-Tones has
the talented Lee Webber and Ra
vin Robin.
The musical entourage, most
recently, playing "Jazz at the
Park" at Park Hotel sponsored
by the Charlotte Jazz Society has
the versatility of expanding to a
10 member aggregation or re
forming to a small trio .
Groups like the Charlotte Jazz
Society Holloway credits for ex
posing jazz to the public. "Jazz
has been exposed before, but the
-‘rock climate seemed to domi
nate. The Charlotte Jazz SOcfety
and other groups have been in
strumental in getting jazz more
play. I personally feel that more
people would like jazz if they got a
Johnny Holloway
—Leader of the band
chance to hear it more. Unfortu
nately, it is not one of the most
predominant forms of music on
the airwaves.'*
.wmans To Stop In City On First NationalTour
Thera is some music that trans
cends categories, time-frames and
taste. Ife music that encourages ae
it entertains, crosses boundaries
erven as it seta new standards of ex
cellence. It's music from the heart.
And there's no better eat ample of
thie special brand at sound than
that created by The Winans.
The proof is on Decisions- the
group's brilliant new album on
Qwest Records. Produced by
Marvin Winan and featuring nine
original tunes, Qgddggi is one of
those rare offerings that is both
deeply satisfying and thrillingly
unexpected. Marvin, Carvin, Mi
chael and Ronald Winan have, in
short, delivered one of the most
polished, passionate and purely
musical albums of the year. And
they did it with the help at some
very famous friends. Aside from
executive production from Quincy
Jones and a top-notch line-up of
stellar studio talent, Derisions also
features the memorable combina
tion of the Winans and Anita Bak
er on the LPe first single, "Ain't No
Need To Worry." It’s a combina
tion of talenta that music fane dWy
dream about. On Deririorr that
2? 'a ’ L vL A <¥ \ v
!~
dream ha* come true.
j.. y> . \'.JZ ■■'/: ' ' i A
The Winana
Born and raised in Detroit,
"RolIinm Kept Crowd Laughing
"Ain't no tonic like laughter,"
a line taken from the routine of
Alfred Bradley and Robert
■he recent vandeville
of Rollin' had more
lay evening at McDo
terla the tonic waa
(Viaely with elastic
KEYSET 5*klS
|e killed performances of Hatcher
land Bradley, laughter rang
IceaCeleoely and resoundingly
throughout the four walls of
McDonald's Cafeteria.
Tt»e two actors giving atelier
InATfDTlTlBnMB e at.. j- _
recording that mimic the locomo
tions of a train journeyed from
one theater house to another from •
one city to another reliving the
days of vaudeville.
Quite brilliantly, Hatcher and
Bradley between routines gave a
glimpse of what life on the TOBA
circuit was like. A lot of times it
was being ripped off by whits
agents, going hungry, not be
cause you didn't have money in
your pocket, but bsceuss you wer
en't allowed in then segregated
lAriMHUMaa .>
Their materiel came from Bert
Williams A Ale* Rogers,
Charles Oouned, Langston
Hughes and the creators of Rol
lins', Stewart A 8tevens. It in
oludad songs called "Huggin A
Chaikin", "Nobody", end writ
ten material Uke "Banquet In
q.„ . , T --
Honor" and "Simple on Military
Integration".
Before Hatcher and Bradley,
members of the International
Black Writers Conference
shared their readings. Most im
pressive were Carolyn Leak skit,
"Yo‘ Mama", Frankie Johnson's
poem, "God's Gotta Way". Oth
ers to share their work were Ivey
Dixon, Mari Macon and Janie
Strickland.
A special segment of the pro
gram included recitals from the
Anita Stroud Foundation who in
cited poems from Ms. Johnson's
book of children poetry, "Tots,
Tales A Tidbits". The children
participating were Jovonda Ed
wards, Faith Oill, Jason Gill, Ni
cole Grier, 8haunpri Grier and
Antonio Glee ton.
Michigan, The Winans --Marvin,
his twin brother Carvin, and Mi
chael and Ronald — served their
musical apprenticeship in the local
church, singing in the choir and
harmonizing in their spare time.
Part of a family of ten. The Wi
nans broke into various vocal com
binations, performing throughout
the Detroit area. They were often
featured in church concerts on the
city's east aids and wars also regu
lars at various School talent shows.
More concerts followed, with
steadily increasing crowds at each
shew. The group's acclaim was
raaphing beyond the local circuit,
eventually catching the attention
of Andrae Crouch, who brought
thorn to Light Records. The phe
nomenal success of the singlo,
"The Question la,” taken from the
debut album, iatZJDdUQBgJLgJ^ii
none served notice of the arrival
of an important now musical
force. The song received favora
ble attention, and heavy play, front
critics and radio stations across a
broad spectrum of formats. lid
tially, the group wasn't sure of the
artistic value of "The Question Is,"
written by Marvin. In fact, they
had never intended to record it,
but at the insistence of Crouch the
tune was included on the album
with spectacular results.
"We write songs that have a
practical point of view," explains
Marvin on the group's remarkable
composing skills. "Something that
happened to me might have hap
pened to you too." It's an approach
that has earned The Winans
Grammy nominations for not only
Introducing The Winans but also
the follow-up LPs, Tomorrow and
It was only natural, with the
group's growing acclaim, that
they should attract the attention of
legendary producer, talent scout
and creative entrepreneur Quincy
Jones. Earlv in 1985, he signed the
group to Qwest Records. "History
in the making," is how Qwest
Records A & R representative
John Brown describes this merger
of a major new talent with a re
spected and influential musical in
novator. The truth of the assertion
could be heard on Let My People
Q& The Winans' Qwest Records
debut.
Let Mv People Go went on to
garner a Grammy ae on# of the
Best Albums Of The Year, further
enhancing the reputation of a
group that was already being sin
gled out by fans and critics as one
of the '80s most appealing new ar
rivals.
Alter extensive touring, taking
the Winans from coast to coast, the
brothers re-entered the studio to
begin work on a follow-up.
The result ie Derisions featuring
'Ain't No Need To Worry" with
Anita Baker. For The Winans, it is
a new highwater mark in music
making. For fane, it's a cause for
celebration.
The Winans will be in concert
on Friday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Appearing with them will be the
William Brothers and Wisdom
of Gastonia. Tickets are $16.60,
$17.60 and $16.60.
Charlotte Has
No Pageant
Contestants
J. Morris Anderson, the execu
tive producer of the 20th annual
MBA Pageant Television Special
announced from his offices in
Philadelphia that he was ex
tremely concerned that there is
no contestant representing the
great city of Charlotte in this
year s pageant and tv special.
The 1987 20th annual pageant
will be held in West Palm Betrfh,
Florida this year between No
vember 6 and 7, 1987 and will be
aired during Black History
Month. Check local tv guide for
specific air date and local tv sta
tion.
Anderson said, "It is urgent
that Charlotte be represented in
this, the 20th anniversary cele
bration of the MBA Pageant and
television special.
This is the final year the
MBA pageant will be accepting
contestants-at-large," Anderson
said. "So we are urging as
many ladies as possible to apply
for the pageant this year wherein
they will be accepted as candi
dates directly into the national
television special program," An
derson stressed.
Contestants must be between 17
and 29, high school graduates or
equivalent, appear in a swimsuit,
performs atwo minute talente
routine and answer a ques
tion."Starting next year, MBA
Pageants all over the United
States will be run by the "Sigma
Gamma Rho Sorority on the local
level. At that time contestants
from Charlotte will have to con
tact the Charlotte chapter of Sig
ma Gamma Rho Sorority to com
pete in the Charlotte MBA pageant
wherein only the winner of the
Charlotte pageant will be allowed
to go to the MBAP National fi
nals," Anderson emphasized.
For an application to enter this
year's national pageant and tele
vision special directly as a con
testant-at-large from Charlotte
call area code (215) 844-8872 or
send a postcard to MBA Pageant,
P.O. Box 25668, Philadelphia PA
19144.
Michael Franks
Performs At
Spirit Square
Jazzman Michael Franks will
perform in NCNB Performance
Place at Spirit Square Center for
the Arts at 7:30 and 10 pm on
Thursday, Oct. 22. These concerts
were originally scheduled on Feb.
13, 1988 and were moved to ac
commodate the artist's touring
schedule. This appearance by Mi
chael Franks is part of the Sim
mering Jazz series and is spon
sored by WFAE, 90.7 FM.
Single tickets for this show are
$16 and $14 and will go on sale
Monday, Oct. 12 at the Spirit
8quare Box Office. Discounts a re
available for full-time students,
senior adults and groups of ten or
more. For ticket information, call
704/376-8883, 9 am - 6 pm, week-i
days and 12-5 pm Saturdays.
This jazz singer/songwriter is
known for his smotivs, highly vis
ual compositional styls. In addi
tion to writing much of the music
he performs, he has written, st-4
ranged and often performed with
Ashford A Simpson, Diana Rom,
Gladys Knight and the Pips, Steely;
Dan, Donald Fagan, and moot re
cently, with Madonna on the hit
“Cragy For You* and Phil
on "Against All Odds’. Frank* 1
toured the United 8
France, performing in
cert halls and an <