Media Questions Of The Week

 

Is the new music market shrinking? 

Is Anita Baker officially un-retired now that she has a Las Vegas residency? 

What made Howard Hewett publicly apologize to Jody Watley after 40 years?



DJ Cassidy Presents Pass The Mic The Soul Train Edition

DJ Cassidy presented his Pass The Mic show in conjunction with the Soul Train Awards last night. This edition paid tribute to some of his musical heroes from the ’80s. A section of some of the era’s greatest artists joined him remotely to sing along with his DJing of their song. Jody Watley, Deniece Williams, Morris Day and Jerome Benton of the Time, Shannon, George Clinton, Evelyn “Champagne” King, Alicia Myers, Chaka Khan, Lisa Lisa, Melvin Riley of Ready For The World, Shelia E., Larry Blackmon and Willie Morris of Cameo and El DeBarge all participated and sang one of their classic songs. 



Throwback: Shalamar-This Is For The Lover In You

Shalamar’s reputation as exclusive makers of party music was challenged in 1980 with the release of “This Is For The Lover In You.” The group was known for their feel-good songs like “Take That To The Bank,” “Uptown Festival, ” “Right In The Socket” and “Second Time Around.” As the brainchild of SOLAR Records founder and Soul Train booking agent Dick Griffey and Soul Train’s creator Don Cornelius, Shalamar was originally intended to make dance music. Group member Howard Hewett and songwriter Dana Meyers co-wrote “This Is For The Lover In You” which revealed Shalamar’s ability to deliver a ballad. Three For Love was their fourth album and was seen as the highest point in their creativity. “Make That Move” was the leading hit single from the album but “This Is For The Lover In You” became a “wedding song” and would be Shalamar’s entry into subsequent generations. Babyface made his own version in 1996 and got the classic lineup of Hewett, Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel on it with LL Cool J. They all performed the song together that year on the UK’s Top of The Pops. Shalamar recorded 10 albums collectively with various members before breaking up in 1990.  Jody Watley left the group and went solo and became a Grammy-winning pop star before the decade was over. Howard Hewett disbanded from Shalamar to become a platinum-selling R&B singer. Jeffrey Daniel taught Michael Jackson how to moonwalk and worked as a choreographer with Vanessa Williams, Sheena Easton, Paul McCartney and more. He became a judge for Nigerian Idol in 2010. Hewett, Daniel and Griffey’s daughter Carolyn still tour as Shalamar.

 

 



Shalamar- Slow Dance

“Slow Dance” is the first single from Jody Watley’s Shalamar Reloaded line-up featuring Rosero McCoy and Nate Allen Smith. Watley says, “I really wanted ‘SlowDance’ to bridge the gap with classic and contemporary R&B before we totally take it to the dance floor,” says Watley. “It’s a nice change of pace and of course the soul duet is lost musical art form.”