RSP is Back!!!!

 
After several months of researching and testing, I have finally found the best way to keep RSP going at NO operating expense without sacrificing the visuals and links and free to readers. Sometimes you have to take the long journey to get to the right solution.

Now, integrated with Facebook (FB) and with many of our original readers still on board, RSP can continue on in its journey of being unique.  Facebook is a wonderful experience which has enabled me to connect with Real School People the world over. It’s great to interact and share with all the Real School musicians who are still doing their wonderful works creating still bringing joy to many.


Currently, I'm working on the re-release of my CD with some wonderful changes. Stay tuned. A lot is happening and I am looking forward to sharing with you.
 
On this month's header is vocalist Carlton Jumel Smith, a magnanimous performer who keeps it totally real. He's heading up RSP's new feature REAL FACEBOOK FRIENDS  which will spotlight RS people on Facebook. I'm excited to be able to touch base and share with you what's going on and to eliminate the burning question: What ever happened to?

We’ve just lost one of the biggest icons of the music industry, Mr. Harvey Fuqua. The contributions to the real school culture are innumerable, the loss of this legend, larger. We can’t look at some of our favorite performers without thinking of Harvey. He loved life and had an amazing sense of humor. We are more than blessed with his legacy. Below in Real Legacies a wonderful tribute to Mr. Fuqua, written by Lawrence Worrell, my FB friend who was most gracious to allow me to share his wonderful writing.

Click here to leave your sentiments and thoughts for Harvey at legacy.com

 REAL BETTY

She effortlessly engages the young in what is seemingly a subliminal role modeling of great magnitude.  She’s 88 years old and still going strong. I first “met” Betty White as Sue Ann Nivens  on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. White was awesome as the maniacal Sun Ann Nivens who would effortlessly spew out insults with a smile and her incredible dimples.  She was a big hit on Boston Legal, currently has a Snickers commercial on air and even brought SNL it’s highest ratings. A group of fans got Betty White hyped on Facebook and it was from there that she got her stint on SNL.

Currently her FB fans are campaigning to have her host the Academy Awards. I think that would be a treat.

This Golden Girl is really making a presence that all of us can admire. She truly has become a media sweetheart. Betty White is an avid animal advocate and strongly critical of reality TV. Agreed. With her history in television why wouldn’t she be? Currently she is on a new sitcom airing on TV Land: Hot in Cleveland.

And here’s some cool trivia: She was married to the late Allen Ludden (Password). Betty got her star on the Hollywood Walk of fame in 1988 and was the honorary mayor of Hollywood in 1955. She’s remaining true to herself and still real.

  

 
REAL FACEBOOK FRIENDS: Carlton Jumel Smith

He's real real real! Every time I see photos of his performances, I am inspired by the energy that jumps off the screen! Carlton is currently on the road performing  and hopefully we'll get to meet. It's in  the stars. He says, : "I have said the same thing for years...There ain't no old school-This is the Real School-the only school as far as I'm concerned. You know how serious I am about this? I had all of my heroes names tattooed down my arms." 

JAMES BROWN, AL GREEN, BOBBY WOMACK, SLY & THE FAMILY STONE, SAM COOKE, OTIS REDDING, WILSON PICKETT, JOHNNY TAYLOR, JOE TEX, recently added Tom Waits.  And that's just the right arm!

On his left arm: MARVIN GAYE, THE TEMPTATIONS (DAVID, EDDIE, PAUL, MELVIN, AND OTIS), CURTIS MAYFIELD,TEDDY PENDERGRASS, D.J.ROGERS, WILLIE HUTCH, MICHAEL HENDERSON, GLEN GOINS, and RAY CHARLES....

All I can say is: You can't be more real than that!

WHO'S THAT LADY?

I know I'm not the only who's wondering about the Progressive Lady. Well, knowing me as I do, I had to find out. It seems like every other commercial has the very chipper "Flo" as played by  40 year old actress and comedienne Stephanie Courtney. She's had quite an impressive resume in episodic TV and commercials and began her career doing improv as amember of The Groundlings improvisational theater troupe in Los Angeles.  She's done some 20 Progressive commercials and is becoming an insurance commercial icon alongside the Geico Gekko.

REAL LEGACIES

HARVEY FUQUA 
1929-2010

By Lawrence Law Worrell
Greetings Earthlings-

and yet we lose another one....commonly known as the man who Marvin Gaye often referred to as dad... Harvey Fuqua...a pioneer & legend not just in front of the scenes but behind the scenes as well.

Harvey's contributions to the music world come into so many forms from Doo-Wop to R&B/Soul to Funk to even Disco. As their leader & chief writer, The Moonglows became a major standout in the 1950's Doo-Wop scene among a sea of groups. Their singing style is known as "blow" harmony, based on the technical method used by the backing vocalists. This style can be later heard in many other groups of the era and beyond, perhaps most notably The Chi-Lites. With classics like "Sincerely" , "Most of All", "In My Diary", "When I'm With You", "See Saw", "We Go Together", "Please Send Me Someone to Love" and who can forget the Ten Commandments of Love"....they became one of very few groups to collect a string of hits & avoid the one-two hit wonder curse that tagged so many other groups. My granddad always made sure he hipped me to this man's accomplishments & history as I began to discover that I would often see Harvey's name in the credits on a lot of the albums in my house & my granddad's as well.

Thanks to the Chess Records empire that the Moonglows were a part of & the legendary Alan Freed as a mentor, Harvey paid attention & learned more about business side of the music business which was RARE at the time as most black artists were usually pawns in this game. Due to a fall-out & friction, Harvey sought to form new Moonglows and within this search, he stumbled upon a young group out of DC called The Marquees which featured nineteen year-old singer Marvin Gaye. The new Moonglows sang back-up on records for Chuck Berry & Etta James. Marvin has often said in his interviews that it was Harvey who was more of a father figure to him than his own dad & also citing his experience in the Moonglows as the main influence on his TRADEMARK 5 part vocal harmony background style that would become the cornerstone of his own legendary recordings of the 1970's.

In 1960, Harvey Fuqua, on the advice of the Chess Brothers, moved to Detroit, Michigan, disbanded the Moonglows, and started working with Berry Gordy's sister, Gwen Gordy which led to his young protégé Marvin getting signed to Motown. At the time, Gwen was running Anna Records, and Harvey became a record producer and A&R man for the fledgling label. It was during this time that Fuqua discovered Lamont Dozier, Johnny Bristol, The Spinners, Jr. Walker & The All Stars, Shorty Long, and David Ruffin. Later, Gordy and Fuqua married, and later merged their operation with Motown Records. NOW IF THAT'S NOT HISTORIC & GROUNDBREAKING ENOUGH ALREADY...we are not done there !

Fuqua left Motown and signed a production deal with RCA Records which gave us Funk/Soul fans one of the most innovative & dynamic bands of that genre by the name of The Nite-Liters but better known later as they morphed into The New Birth !! Their raw, heavy funk, gritty syncopated style had a huge influence on me and has even been sampled to death in the Hip-Hop world with classics that will never ever die like "It's Been A Long Time"," I Can Understand It", "K-Jee", "Do The Granny", "Stinkin Charlie", "Wildflower" , "Dream Merchant" & of course, "Until It's Time For You To Go" led & personified by legendary singer-songwriter & the last female singer to join The Supremes in their final years...Susaye Green!

And to top it all off, Harvey also discovered disco pioneer Sylvester and "Two Tons O' Fun" (aka The Weather Girls), producing two of Sylvester's BIGGEST singles "Dance (Disco Heat)" and of course, "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" in 1978 as well as Sylvester's critically acclaimed album Stars in 1979. Harvey's career came full circle when he was enlisted by his former protégé Marvin Gaye (who by the early 80's was a struggling icon) to produce Marvin's classic comeback album "Midnight Love" which included the CLASSIC "Sexual Healing" which garnered Marvin's first 2 Grammys after over 25 years of being in the business.

It's guys like Harvey that once again reminded why I love being behind & in front. To be a producer, you have to vision, skills & experience and Harvey truly had all of the above and once again why I say, RESPECT THE LEGENDS WHILE THEY ARE HERE! RESPECT THE LEGENDS WHILE THEY ARE HERE !

Harvey, thank you for being THEE first to recognize Marvin before Motown even came into the picture & for giving a group like New Birth a major platform to stand on. As long as I and the funk soldiers are here, your work will never go unrecognized! tell Marvin, Tammi Terrell & the deceased Moonglows we love them too !!

  

  

PATTE WILLIAMS  1945-2010

I remember working with Patti Williams in the early days of Tommy T and Company. It was 1979 or 80 when I joined and she was an incredibly magnificent singer. Once you heard her voice, you never forgot it. She had a heart of gold and a wonderful spirit. I got the news of her passing from Tommy T and spoke with Alvin Battle (of Dyke  The Blazers) who spoke of Patte:
"Patte Williams was the closet thing to Aretha Franklin this Valley has ever seen.  Not only was she a powerful singer, but a beautiful and humble personality as well. Words cannot express the shock, and sorrow I felt, upon the word of her transition."

I remember when she moved back to Phoenix and smiled, while reading Waiting To Exhale...Author Terry McMillan had her characters going to hear Patte Williams sing!

Ms Williams  opened for numerous acts during her career from Shirley Caesar, Aretha, Linda Hopkins, The Whispers, The Staple Singers and BB King to name a few. She's recorded on MGM, Electra Asylum and the Atlantic Labels.

In the 70s she released a single; '"One Time Around Kind Of Thing" and had a role in Rudy Ray Moore's film Human Tornado.

Phoenix's " First Lady Of Soul" died on Saturday, March 6 while recuperating from surgery a few days earlier. She was 64 years old.

ALEX CHILTON  1950-2010

I was a Boxtops fan back in the day and had a copy of the single, "The Letter." I listened to everything from classical, and rock to R&B. Chilton was a teen when he was in the Box Tops. When the group disbanded in 1970, the singer/songwriter  and guitarist became a cult hero with the band Big Star.  Rolling Stone magazine listed the Big Star Albums  as part of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Alex Chilton died on March 17 of heart problems. He was 59 years old.

____________________________________________________________________

CONNIE HINES 1931-2009

She was most popular in the series as Wilbur's wife in the sitcom "Mr Ed." But she was  a character actress who played on Mod Squad, Bonanza, Perry Mason and many other series that ran during the 60s and the 70s.Connie Hines died December 18, 2009 from complications of heart problems. She was 79 years old.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

DOUG FIEGER  1952-2010

He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the band, The Knack, whose unforgettable1979 hit “My Sharona” spearheaded the new wave era in rock.  

In addition to writing for The Knack, Doug wrote hits for other recording acts, including the Grammy winning Manhattan Transfer song, Soul Food To Go on their Brazil album.

Doug also produced other acts and recorded with other artists, including his long time friend Ringo Starr. Fieger also regularly appeared as one of John Goodman's poker buddies on the hit TV show, Roseanne. Doug Fieger lost his battle with cancer February 14. He was 57 years old.

______________________________________________________________________________

 

J.D. SALINGER  1919-2010

His books were required reading when I was in Jr. High School. I remember the red covered paperback, The Catcher In The Rye that I carried in my stack of books. Catcher In The Rye was an instant best seller in 1951 and continues to sell 250,000  copies per year. 

Salinger was an out of the box writer and I was taken by his  short story A Perfect Day For Bannafish. The writer always kept himself outside literary circles, despite his many accolades.  He was extremely reclusive, spending the last decades of his life in his home in New Hampshire, refusing interviews and fan mail.  He died of natural causes on January 27. He was 91 years old.

JAMES MITCHELL 1920-2010

For nearly three decades played the gruff patriarch Palmer Cortlandt on the soap “All My Children,”.

James Mitchell  trained as a dancer and appeared on Broadway in “Brigadoon,” “Paint Your Wagon” and other musicals. He also danced with American Ballet Theater. His film credits include the 1953 Fred Astaire musical “The Band Wagon,” the 1955 movie version of “Oklahoma!” and the ballet-themed 1977 film “The Turning Point.”

Mitchell also taught movement for actors at Yale and Drake Universities which awarded him an honorary doctorate. James Mitchell died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease complicated by pneumonia on January 22. He was 89 years old.

 Frances Reid  1914-2010

She was family matriarch Alice Horton on Days of Our Lives and began her stint on the show in 1965. She began her training as an actress at the Pasadena Playhouse. Frances Reid appeared on Broadway more than a dozen times in the 1930s and 1940s, as Ophelia in “Hamlet,” Lady Anne in “Richard III,” Viola in “Twelfth Night” and Roxane in “Cyrano de Bergerac” opposite José Ferrer. The actress received a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 and was still part of the cast at the time of her death on February 3rd. She was 95 years old.

Thanks for sharing the journey! It's good to be back...

       Teira