m ENTERTAINMENT
Natalie Cole To Say Wedding Vows
While “l Do”Is Climbing Charts
NEW YORK, N Y. (AP)-Singer
Natalie Cole’s “I Do” is climbing the
rhythm and blues charts.
And on Sept. 17 she’ll say “I do” to
record producer Andre Fischer in a
wedding ceremony in Los Angeles.
“I’ve got mygown.Tve never had a
wedding gown before. I didn’t have a
traditional wedding the first time,”
she says.
Fischer was the original drummer
and founder of the R&B group Rufus
with Chaka Khan. He and Cole met
about 15 years ago at a Tokyo music
festival.
“Chaka and I became friends,” she
said. “I had no idea he [Fischer] lik
ed me.
a comeback album. It refers to Cole s
1987 “Everlasting” album, her first
for EMI, which was a comeback and
was a success. The biggest single
from it was “Pink Cadillac.”
“I think rock fans were a little
upset,” she said. “That’s by their -
buddy, Bruce [Springsteen]: How
could I do a song he wrote? He must
have hated it because I never heard a
word.”
Her album, “Dangerous,” on
Modem Records in 1985, was her first
since going through drug rehabilita
tion six years ago. “That album was
okay. It wasn’t a big deal but it was
better than some things I had done,
rhat was a very difficult time for
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NATALIE COLE
“Last October I received a call
from one of my background singers
that Andre had some material he
wanted to submit. I later found out
what he really wanted was a date. He
was very cool and a little shy. I
figured it was going to be a business
- — relationship,- and it was for several
months.
“We did work on the ‘Good to be
Back’ album. He arranged and pro
duced ‘Matter of Fact’ and ‘Gonna
Make You Mine.’
“In January I was performing in
Lake Tahoe and he called. Would it be
OK if he came to see the show, and he
wanted to bring his children. He has
three I said, ‘Sure.’
“He told me he’d been in love with
me 15 years,” Cole said.
Fischer proposed after her 39th bir
thday in February.
Cole has been on a 40-city tour since
July, promoting her new “Good to be
Back” album of mid-tempo ballads
on EMI Records. In a recent relaxed,
happy interview, she said it’s her first
such tour in at least seven years.
The song “I Do” is a duet with
Freddie Jackson. “It is a getting
married song. Freddie told me his
sister is getting married and wants to
play it at her wedding. It is definitely
a love ballad.”
On her tour, Cole’s cousin, Eddie,
sings it with her. Her father, Nat
“King” Cole, had three brothers, Ike,
Freddie and the late Eddie, Sr. All
were singers.
Cole’s first husband was Marvin
Yancey, co-producer of her first
album, “Inseparable,” which won
her Grammy Awards in 1976 as best
new artist and best rhythm and blues
female vocal performance for her
single "This Will Be.” They divorced .
nine years ago. He died of a heart at
tack three years ago.
The “Good to be Back” album isn’t
me.”
Even though she knows how bad ad
diction can be, Cole doesn’t give ad
vice about drugs. "You can advise all
day long and it doesn’t mean
anything. I was advised. Kids are go
ing to do what they’re going to do.”
_ But she does' have advice for
parents. “You try to show them the
road. If kids are brought up with a lot
of animosity, friction and noncom
munication, where everybody walks
around holding everything inside,
#
you’re going to get in trouble,” she
said. “We need to keep the line of
communication open with young peo
ple. My biggest concern as a parent is
that my son will be able to talk to me.
“Kids in the era I was brought up in
weren’t allowed to talk about certain
things. It wasn’t right to have certain
thoughts going on in your head. You’d
feel guilty if you brought them up to
your mom or your dad. I found my
answers outside of the home, which
isn’t the greatest place to experi
ment.”
About her son, U-year-old Robbie,
she says, “I want him to have an
education. I’m glad I got my educa
tion. In spite of all the things I’ve
been through, the bottom line is I
know I’m educated, intelligent. I can
speak well, express myself. I can
mingle; I don't have to feel ostracized
in any kind of group.
“With education, my children
might even be able to stand out,” she
said. “Their education will be such
that they can move around and see "
the world. I had that opportunity and
I would want the same thing for them. I
“We should upgrade our educa- |
tional system and put more money in
to it. Those days you want to send
your kid to private school if you can
afford it. It shouldn’t be like that.”
NEW SEASON—Tim Raid and Daahna MaxwoR Raid atar In “SNOOPS.” a new
lour long, lighthearted mystery drama abent an offbeat Washlngtan, 0. C.-based
irofesslonal couple who share an Inutlablo courtoslty about crime and
ntrigue—which sometimes gets them into sticky sltuatlans. “SNOOPS” wM be
iroadcast on Fridays from 8:00 • 9:00 p.m., beginning this faR on the CB8
relevision Network.
Mavis staple. Prince Teaming As
Unlikely Collaborators In Music
'i'MA AM aA iff a«>«a OAmaaImm ««V • A r m 1 >> • A. A— ft MM .
The combination ot Mavis Staples,
of the family gospel group the Staple
Singers, and Prince sounds like an
unlikely one for collaboration.
But it happened.
A Mavis Staples album, “Time
Waits for No One,” distributed Dy
Warner Bros., is the result.
"Prince grew up on the Staple
Singers,” Staples says. “His favorite
is i ll Take You There.”'
The collaboration began when
MANNG A RETURN—With the release of their new label, Valley Vue Recorns,'
the Manhattan* also Introduce the newest member of the group, Roger Harris,
who replaced former member Gerald Alston. With their new single, “Why You
Wanna Love Me Like That” now released, this song reaffirms that the
Manhattan* are, Indeed, Back!!
WTVD-TV 11 Does Report
Card On NC Public Schools
North Carolina schools are getting
a bad report card.
Students too often test alarmingly
low compared to other states.
Dropout rates are high. Teacher
salaries are low. And like the rest of
the nation, North Carolinians wonder
if public education in America has
become second-rate, v
WTVD-TV ll is launching a com
prehensive examination of education
with a special emphasis on school
problems and opportunities in the
Heart of Carolina.
Beginning in mid-September and
continuing for the remainder of the
year, WTVD will air special reports,
news and public affairs stories and
provocative programming tackling a
number of educational issues.
The project will be called “Educa
tion: Rising to the Challenge,” and it
will be a station-wide effort.
In announcing the special effort,
WTVO's president and general
Alan Nesbitt, said, “Our
2
goal is to generate dialogue and
debate.
“We believe that by raising
awareness of educational issues and
better involving the public at large,”
said Nesbitt, “the problems have a
better chance for long-term
solution.”
The project will be coordinated by
WTVD’s director of community ser
vices, Janice Crump.
A wide range of issues will be ex
amined, from school funding, cur
riculum concerns, and community in
volvement, to the quality of teaching,
student motivation and the changing
educational needs in the job market.
Should we expect more work from
students? Are teachers properly
trained? Are we losing educational
ground to Japan and Europe? What is
the responsibility of corporate
America? These are among the ques
tions.
WTVD sought out opinions on the
issues from across the Heart of
Carolina. In a series of roundtable
discussions and key meetings the sta
tion heard from administrators,
educators, students, parents and
community leaders from the entire
viewing area. Their valuable input
will help form the direction of the pro
ject and provide on-air programming
material.
In drawing together research and
resources from around the nation,
WTVD will try to emphasize the
positive as well as the problems.
When a problem has been tackled and
solved, where an innovative ap
proach is working, these solutions
will become part of the programm
ing
As un example, of the early phases
of ’Education: Rising to the
Challenge" will be a special “Salute
to Teachers." Beginning in mid
September, WTVD will telecast a
series qf on-air vignettes focusing on
exceptional teachers from all 23 coun
ties in the Heart of Carolina
“Education: Rising to the
Challenge” is being launched with on
air promotional annot"< aments by
WTVD-TV n news anchors Larry
Stogner and Miriam Thomas in con
junction with ihe opening of the fall
.
* a iii^c a uiaiiagci taucvi auu oaiu
that Prince wanted to write and pro
duce Staple’s album on his Paisley
Park label. Staples says, “I asked,.
‘What would Prince be writing for
me?’ I’d heard the Appolonia and
Vanity music. I told him I needed
substance and can’t sing the baby
stuff. He let me know he’d be writing
adult songs with a contemporary
background. I said, ‘We can work.
Let’s get started.’
“A lot of people thought I wouldn’t
sing secular songs. He called just
when I’m ready to share my love life
with the world. I’ve been heartbroken
and I have a story to tell on that side,
too.
“I went along in my childhood with
the fact that I couldn’t sing anything
but gospel. As I grew older, I came to
the conclusion people can be helped in
many types of songs.”
Staples says that people asked her
about dirty lyrics. “They seem to
have gotten past me,” she says.
“Prince slurs his words a lot; you
have to read his lyrics to know what
he’s saying. I heard songs on the
radio I liked, like ‘Red Corvette.’
‘Purple Rain’ sounds like a Sunday
School song. My mother’s favorite is
‘When Doves Cry.’ She put Michael
Jackson down for Prince when she
heard that.
“I h; ave found Prince to be a very
spiritual person. A lot of his songs are
uplifting. He has a segment in his
show where it’s almost gospel.”
About the album, she says, “I call
this M and M sound—Minnesota to
Memphis.”
Prince was too busy to go into the
studio with her and suggested that A1
Bel produce. Prince wrote songs, and
sent lyrics and a tape of himself sing
ing to rhythm. She sang in Memphis,
sometimes surrounded by musicians, .
the way the Staple Singers did after
1968, when they went to Stax Records.
Other times, she sang and sent the
tape to Prince, and he played all the
instruments around her voice.
She didn’t turn any songs down, but
says she would have if they hadn’t
suited her.
ine two .songs on uie aiouin noi
written by Prince are “The Old
Songs" and “20th Century Express,’’
by Homer Banks and Lester Snell.
Banks wrote the Staple Singers’ hit,
“(If You’re Ready) Come Go With
Me." Staples says, ‘“20th Century
Express’ is our message song, about
crack houses, babies having babies
and the world moving too fast.” It’s
the first single.
She wrote the title song and Prince
"reconstructed my melody.”
Six months after Prince’s manager
phoned, Prince attended a Staple
Singers concert in Los Angeles and
visited her dressing room.
“He blushed and smiled; I couldn’t
get him to talk," she says. “He gave
me one- and two-word answers. After
that, I started writing him letters and
letting him into my life, hopefully to
make it easier for him to talk to me."
In July 1988, Prince invited her to
Paris for the start of his Lovesexy
tour. After five days, he Invited her to
go with the tour to London, where she
sang five times in nine days. “That’s
when he really started talking to me.
I couldn’t stop him from talking He’d
phone every night."
'One day, they recorded a gospel
song Prince had written for his next
album. Staples sa>s hr explained its
strong language ••It’ll make people
listen ' She agrees
The Staple Singers is Roebuck
'Pop' and daughters, Cleo, Yvonne
and Mavis. Their brother, Pervts, left
the group in 1968.
Drew. Mina., dedicated Pop Staples
Park m August. Chicago honored
him. too. for the foundation he and his
wife. Oceola, set up to aid the
homeless and drug ihttse ■•dne.'iM.m
Parkins Perforins
In Concert With
Symphonv Sept. 8'
DURHAM-Organist Robert
Parkins, artist in residence at Duke
University, will perform with the
North Carolina Symphony in Duke
Chapel on Friday, Sept. 8. The
classical concert will be at 8 p.m.
This is a unique event, as it marks
the symphony’s first appearance with
Parkins in Duke Chapel. Parkins will
perform Handel’s Concerto in F Ma
jor for Organ and Orchestra, Opus 4,
and Poulenc’s Concerto in G Minor
for Organ, Strings, and Timpani. The
symphony will open the concert with
Handel’s Overture from the Royal
Fireworks, and will close the evening
with Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an1
Exhibition.”
Single tickets for the event are on
sale now. For ticket information, call
the Page Auditorium Box Office at
1-884-4444, or the Raleigh Civic Center
box office at 1-800-292-7469 or 755-8060.
Gospel* Blues
Show Bringing
Southern Music
Gospel and Piedmont blues will be
performed in a concert of traditional
Southern music at 3 p.m. on Sunday,
Sept. 17, at the North Carolina
Museum of Art. The concert is free
and open to the public.
The Badgett Sisters of Caswell
County and Etta Baker of Caldwell
County will perform, continuing
music traditions passed down from
one generation to the next. The
Badgett Sister—Cleonia Graves, Con
nie Steadman, and Celester Sellars—
will perform hymns, spirituals and
gospel songs in traditional, unaccom
panied style. The three sisters were
taught to sing by their father. ,
Etta Baker is an old-time blues
musician who plays banjo, guitar and
fiddle. Her fingerpicking is con
sidered by many to be the premiere
example of the Piedmont blues guitar
style. She began playing at age 3, and
by 5, she was playing melodies and
simple songs. She learned to play
banjo, guitar and fiddle from her
relatives. ‘
The concert is held in conjunction
with an exhibition of art by
grassroots North Carolina artists
called “Signs and Wonders: Outsider
Art Inside North Carolina.”
r uma Of Stack
Dancer Topic
For Art Forum
Two classic films from the 1930s
that electrified the film world this
year at New York’s Film Forum will
be the subject of the September Film
Forum at the North Carolina
Museum of Art at 8 p.m. on Thursday,
Sept. 21.
The films feature entertainer
Josephine Baker, the black American
dancer and songstress who became,
the toast of Europe. Made in France
in 1935 and 1934, these newly subtitled
prints present Baker in all her sen
suous glory. “Zou Zou” is the story of
a laundress who becomes a music
hall sensation. In “Princess Tam
Tam” Baker stars as a Bedouin
shepherdess who is taken to Paris as
a princess. Both films are full of
Baker’s uninhibited dancing and ex
uberant singing in extravagant pro
duction numbers.
“Princess Tam Tam” will be!
screened first at 8 p.m., followed by a
20-minute audience discussion at 9:25
p.m. “Zou Zou” will be screened from
9:45-11:15 p.m.
Tickets for the forum are 55 (com
bination ticket for the September and
October forums) or $3 for single
tickets at the door.
The museum hosts a film forum on
the third Thursday of each month to
examine independent, avant-garde,
overlooked or foreign films. For more
information, call the museum at
833-1935.
Soul 11 Soul
Debut LP Passes
Gold On Charts
One of the fastest-breaking success
stories of the year has undoubtedly
been Soul II Soul’s, as the group's
debut album and single, "Keep On
Movin’," have Just both passed the
gold sales mark. The album has been
out Just six weeks, while the
single—which has already hit No. 1 on
the RJtB and dance charts—is still on
its way up the pop charts. Currently,
"Keep On Movin’" is listed at 28 on
Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, and looks
poised to climb much higher, while
the album is firmly lodged in the top
10 of the black albums chart, and the
top 30 of the top 200 albums chart.
The new video for "Keep On
Movin’" is also a multi-format hit,
airing on BET, VH-1, and MTV, as
well as other video outlets nation
wide. Currently, Jaziie B, leader of
Soul II Soul and the “fUnki dred”
movement, is making plans for a tour
of the states this fall. The group’s
special SRO show at New York’s
Palladium on July » was one of the
city’s most talked-about events this
summer, previewing a show that’s
mre to take the country by storm.