Midnight StaK ThnUing Inti Audiences
Thursday, March 16. 1989 - THE CHARLOTTE POST - Page llA
Some groups are so consis
tently good that they can truly
be conspicuous by their ab
sence. even If that absence Is
temporary. Midnight Star, who
has had Its share of hit records
through the years, hasn't had an
album out since 1986’s Head
lines." But with the recent re
lease of "Midnight Star." It's obvi
ous that the Cincinnati-based
team Is back with a vengeance.
The first single from the LP,
"Don't Rock The Boat," the
funky mix of rap-and-song that
features Ecstasy (of the rap
group Whodlnl) has put Mid
night Star back on top and the
group's latest release "Snake In
The Grass" looks like It's follow
ing suit.
But then, such chart success
and International acclaim are
no strangers for the group
whose 1983 album, "No Parking
On The Dance Floor," became
one of the first LPs by a black
music group to sell over two mil
lion copies, establishing Mid
night Star as musical pioneers.
"Our first two albums did o.k.,"
says Belinda Lipscomb, the
group's sizzling female lead voc
alist. who remembers before
they began recording In 1980,
the multi-talented group played
Jazz as well as R&B and Pop.
"But we did some serious wood-
shedding before 'No Parking'
came out — we went to clubs to
check out what was happening
.We did our homework and we
must have come up with a few
hundred songs before we made
the final selection for what
turned out to be a major hit pro
ject fcM- us."
Midnight Star may have built
a loyal following through al
bums like "No Parking' and their
current record both at home and
abroad, but even some of their
most devoted fans are unaware
that the group literally gave
birth to two of the hottest pro
duction teams In music today —
L.A. Reid & Babyface and Reggie
Bo Watson
Belinda Lipscomb Melvin Gentry
& Vincent Calloway. As mem
bers of the group The Deele, L.A.
and Babyface — 1989 Grammy
nominees who have hU the
charts with their production
work with Bobby Brown, Peb
bles, Karyn White and Sheena
Easton — got their first record
deal through Midnight Star. Bo
Watson, one of the group's lead
vocalists and keyboardists re-
/
Charlottean Meets King Of Comedy
Dr. Talmadge C. Tillman, a Charlotte native, met comedian Bob
Hope during the Big Ten Dinner Show at the Rose Bowl In Southern
California. Tillman was program chairperson for the Big Ten Club.
Rita Coolldge, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Caesar Romero were a few of the
other celMrrlties who purtldpated in the event.
members: "We were actually re
sponsible for getting a record
deal for the group. We used to
play at a club In Indianapolis
and we'd run Into a band there
called Essence, members of
whom later became The Deele.
We put Kenny 'Babyface' Ed
monds together with the group
(whose lineup included Antonio
'L.A.' Reid) and we produced
B.E.E. Line
Continued &om page lOA.
10th Anniversary Celebration,
fund raising event at the Marri
ott City Center, Sat. Apr. 1, 1
p.m. Tickets $10, gen. adm.; $7
students and senior citizens; $5,
youth under 12. Call (704) 374-
1565.
SOCIALS
FIRST FRIDAY/ Bloom In
April Friday, April 7, 6 p.m. at
the'Radlsson Plaza Hotel, Trade
and Tryon Streets. Adm.: $5.
Anything Rolls
For St Pat’s Day
"Anything rolls" In Uptown
Charlotte on Saturday, March
18, noon, as the 1989 St. Pa
trick's Day Parade rolls Its way
down Tryon Street from Stone
wall Street to 9th Street
"Anything rolls" Is the theme of
this year's parade. Observers
can expect to see hlgh-roIlers
on anything from skateboards
to wheelbarrowsll The Caledoni
an Pipe Band will bring up the
last wheel of the parade and
lead the way to Clt^alr for the
awards ceremony and festivi
ties Immediately following the
parade.
Leading the parade procession
as Grand Marshal this year Is
Doug Robarchek, "OutFYont" co
lumnist of The Charlotte Ob
server. Ray Gooding of WBT-AM
will emcee our awards ceremony
at Cltyfalr. ,
Last year's parade and festivi
ties drew 35.000 people.
'Street Beat,' their first album,
whilst w‘ were preparing mate
rial for the 'No Parking' LP. The
Deele was actually signed to our
production company and we In
troduced them to Solar
Records."
Reggie and Vincent Calloway,
two of the original members of
Midnight Star, left in 1986 to
pursue their production activi
ties and enjoyed hits with Gla
dys Knight & The Pips, Levert
and Natalie Cole . At the same
time Midnight Star began Its
successful run as writers and
producers of other artists.
Around 1984 Vincent and Bo
produced hits by Klymaxx
("Meeting In The Ladles Room")
and The Whispers
("Contagious"). Bo also wrote
"Rock Steady" for the group. 'We
don't know if people realize just
how much production work
we've done," says Belinda. "Apart
from these acts we mentioned,
we also produced all of our own
albums except the very first
two."
Midnight Star, whose "live"
stage show has always brought
them rave reviews, are on their
way back td Japan, just a couple
of months after performing 18
incredible sold-out shows there.
Here In the states, their new al
bum continues its chart climb.
The group Is now looking for
ward to applying their produc
tion skills to other artists once
again. "It's great to know that
Midnight Star has provided the
launching pad for such talented
producers as L. A. & Babyface
and Reggie & Vincent and we're
very happy for the success
they've had," Belinda and Bo
agree. According to Bo, "We do
not Intend to stay out of the
public eye and ear -- It's all
about hard work and giving peo
ple the very best music we can
deliver."
In April, Midnight Star em
barks on a European tour which
Includes Germany and England.
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