#ron townson

[myvinylplaylist]

The 5th Dimension: Greatest Hits On Earth (1972)

This is a reissue on black labels from between 1976-1978.

Bell Records

#my vinyl playlist #the 5th dimension #ron townson #lamonte mclemore #florence larue gordon #billy davis jr. #marilyn mcoo #bell records #classic rock #60’s rock #70’s rock #pop rock #record cover #album cover #album art #vinyl records

[citizenscreen]

Frank Sinatra and The 5th Dimension (Ron Townson, Lamonte McLemore, Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, and Marilyn McCoo) performing on his TV special ‘Francis Albert Sinatra Does His Thing’ in 1968.

#frank sinatra #the 5th dimension

[dloindustries]

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 | 𝗔𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗨𝗦 ♒︎ 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗜𝗻 - [Extended]

Happy Birthday Ron Townson

#youtube

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 1.20

Beer Birthdays

Chris Nelson (1966)

Scott Ungermann (1966)

Steve Jones

Kerry Byrne (1970)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Buzz Aldrin; astronaut, 2nd man on the moon (1930)

George Burns; actor, comedian (1896)

DeForest Kelley; actor, "Bones" (1920)

Richard Henry Lee; Virginia politician, signer of the Declaration of Independence (1732)

David Lynch; film director (1946)

Famous Birthdays

Joy Adamson; writer, naturalist (1910)

Andre-Marie Ampere; French scientist (1775)

Michael Anthony; rock bassist (1955)

Ray Anthony; bandleader (1922)

Tom Baker; actor; 4th Doctor Who (1934)

Tia Carrere; actor (1966)

Amedee-Ernest Chausson; composer (1855)

Stacey Dash; actor (1966)

Frederico Fellini; film director (1920)

Arte Johnson; comedian (1929)

Nancy Kress; writer (1948)

Lorenzo Lamas; actor (1958)

Martin Landau; actor (1928)

Bill Maher; comedian (1956)

Malcolm McLaren; music promoter, band manager (1947)

A. Merritt; science fiction writer (1884)

Patrica Neal; actor (1926)

Walter Piston; composer (1894)

Edward "Fireball" Roberts; stock car driver (1931)

Paul Stanley; rock singer, "Kiss" (1952)

Eric Stewart; rock guitarist (1945)

Ron Townson; pop singer (1933)

Skeet Ulrich; actor (1970)

Slim Whitman; singer (1924)

Rainn Wilson; actor (1966)

#Birthdays

[queenbrittonelite]

Posted @withregram • @starsoulhalloffameawards Happy Soul Legend Birthday Ronald "Ron" Townson Born in St. Louis, Townson started singing at age six and was a featured soloist on various choirs throughout his school years.His grandmother inspired him to sing and his parents arranged for him to have private singing and acting lessons. During high school, he appeared for three seasons in productions of Bloomer Girl, Annie Get Your Gun and Show Boat; he also won third place in the Missouri State trials for the Metropolitan Opera. Townson toured with Wings Over Jordan for eight years while still in school and was their choir director for 2 years. He worked his way through Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri by conducting the University and Church Choirs; he also played football and ran track in college.At some stage he was in Canada playing professional football. Townson left St. Louis to pursue a musical career in Los Angeles, California. He met Dorothy Dandridge and toured with her for two years, took part in the Samuel Goldwyn motion picture production of Porgy & Bess, and toured with Nat King Cole.He also organized and conducted his own 35-voice a cappella choir in Los Angeles. In 1965, Townson and fellow St. Louis natives Billy Davis, Jr. and Lamonte McLemore joined female vocalists Marilyn McCoo and Florence LaRue to form The Versatiles.The name was a reference to their varied style in music, but producer Johnny Rivers thought the name was outdated. He wanted a newer-sounding name for the group, and they soon came up with The 5th Dimension. They began cutting records for Rivers' Soul City Records music label that year. In 1976, after ten successful years with The 5th Dimension, Townson left the group. In subsequent years he made a guest appearance on the TV series Switch, cut records, performed solo, and formed his own group, Ron Townson and Wild Honey. He also managed five-piece soul/funk vocal group Creative Source, who enjoyed moderate success between 1973 and 1977.From 1977 to 1980 he pursued his interest in classical music. With the encouragement of group member Florence LaRue Townson rejoined The 5th Dimension in 1980. #RonTownson #5thd https://www.instagram.com/p/CntAt9FNn7N/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#rontownson #5thd

[infiniterelativity]

The 5th Dimension

"Formed in 1966 as the Los Angeles based Versatiles, the group consisted of [Florence] LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, Ron Townson, Lamonte McLemore and Billy Davis Jr.

[twixnmix]

The 5th Dimension in London (1969)

#The 5th Dimension #london #big ben #Marilyn McCoo #Florence LaRue #Billy Davis Jr. #LaMonte McLemore #Ron Townson #1960s music #1960s #1960s fashion #retro #vintage

[blackrockandrollmusic-blog]

The 5th Dimension: Black singers reverse pop music trend by producing 'white' sound

The scene was the hippiest place in Hip City—Hollywood's Whiskey A-Go-Go with its wall-to-wall people where the pre-show fertility rites are performed to the accompaniment of deafening music that doubtlessly causes some long-range impairment to the human eardrum.

On hand for the main entertainment were five mod-clad and mellow singers known as The 5th Dimension, currently one of the hottest and vocally most unusual acts in show business. They pranced onstage through a haze of psychedelic lights, singing their hit song, Up Up And Away, and the Go-Go went wild. For 45 minutes the five bronze figures put on the kind of show that has spiraled them in six months from a virtually unknown group to a $10,000-a-week nightclub act, one of the best-selling album recorders in the business, and into prime television spots on the Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, Joey Bishop, Jackie Gleason, and Ed Sullivan shows.

Sequined, silky and sexy with a couple of boss beauties, Marilyn McCoo and Florence LaRue, the 5th has class, style and talent. They also have an unusual approach to their music, as explained by their arranger-conductor, Rene DeKnight, who worked for 15 years with the Delta Rhythm Boys. Says DeKnight: "The 5th Dimension is unique because it is the first Negro group to come along and reverse the trend of caucasians singing Negro material. This is the way Negro singers are going to have to go. The time of singing 'I love you, baby,' is rapidly passing." DeKnight feels that white singing groups are making a commentary on life today through their material, and that "our songs are going to have to depict what's happening." Also, says DeKnight, current music knows no particular race.

Going beyond the material itself, The 5th Dimension has no brown sound in most of its work. 'The music is more linear than harmonic,' explains DeKnight. "There's a lot of counterpoint. They're not doing away with harmony completely, but it's being used only when necessary." Much of this is due to the young man who wrote most of the music on the group's first album, 22-year-old Jim Webb. "He's a real genius," declares DeKnight, "a modern-day Cole Porter."

The 5th Dimension's first recording, Go Where You Want To Go, reached 12th place on the sales charts, then came their big hit Up, Up And Away which reached fourth with sales of more than 600,000 copies. It later became part of their first album. Now in demand throughout the country (President Lyndon Johnson invited them to sing at a birthday party for Vice President Hubert Humphrey this fall), up, up and away seems an apt description of The 5th Dimension's fortune.

What makes the group so popular besides its obvious singing talent? "They're just down to earth," declares manager Marc Gordon. "They're a relief valve from the psychedelic groove. They're what the parents think their kids should be listening to. They're mother's answer to a prayer, that's why they're so popular with adults as well as kids."

#The 5th Dimension #Marilyn McCoo #Billy Davis Jr. #Florence LaRue #Ron Townson #Lamonte McLemore #Jimmy Webb

[blackkudos]

Ron Townson

Ronald "Ron" Townson (January 29, 1933 – August 2, 2001) was an American vocalist. He was an original member of The 5th Dimension, a popular vocal group of the late 1960s and early 1970s; and the first, and only, deceased member of that group.

Biography

Born in St. Louis, Townson started singing at age six and was a featured soloist on various choirs throughout his school years. His grandmother inspired him to sing and his parents arranged for him to have private singing and acting lessons. During high school, he appeared for three seasons in productions of Bloomer Girl, Annie Get Your Gun and Show Boat; he also won third place in the Missouri State trials for the Metropolitan Opera.

Townson toured with Wings Over Jordan for eight years while still in school and was their choir director for 2 years. He worked his way through Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri by conducting the University and Church Choirs; he also played football and ran track in college.

Townson left St. Louis to pursue a musical career in Los Angeles, California. He met Dorothy Dandridge and toured with her for two years, took part in the Samuel Goldwyn motion picture production of Porgy & Bess, and toured with Nat King Cole. He also organized and conducted his own 35-voice a cappella choir in Los Angeles.

In 1965, Townson and fellow St. Louis natives Billy Davis, Jr. and Lamonte McLemore joined female vocalists Marilyn McCoo and Florence LaRue to form The Versatiles. The name was a reference to their varied style in music, but producer Johnny Rivers thought the name was outdated. He wanted a newer-sounding name for the group, and they soon came up with The 5th Dimension. They began cutting records for Rivers' Soul City Records music label that year.

In 1976, after 10 successful years with The 5th Dimension, Townson left the group for a while. During his time away, he made a guest appearance on the TV series Switch, cut records, performed solo, and formed his own group, Ron Townson and Wild Honey. By 1980, he decided to reunite with The 5th Dimension.

In 1981, he and fellow group members Joyce Wright, Michael Procter, Florence LaRue and Lamonte McLemore starred in Fats Waller's Ain't Misbehavin' to excellent reviews. In 1990, the original five members of the group reunited for a New Year's Eve performance at Donald Trump's Atlantic City Casino. It was a huge success and they went on the road for some performances in 1991 as The Original 5th Dimension. That year, the group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1992, Townson appeared in the Warner Brothers film The Mambo Kings.

Ron left The 5th Dimension for good in 1997. He involved himself with other business ventures and served on the board of directors of the Cambridge-Kilpatrick Acting School. He was honored at Lincoln University with the school's Distinguished Alumni Award.

Ron moved to Las Vegas in 1999 and died in his home there on August 2, 2001, of renal failure after a four-year battle with kidney disease. A service for him was held on August 11, 2001 at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Wikipedia

#Ron Townson

[popentertainment-interviews]

Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr.

The 5th Dimension Belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

By Mark Mussari

One day in the middle of Woodstock – the three-day musical extravaganza that defined a generation in the summer of 1969 – the massive crowd broke spontaneously into a rousing rendition of “Aquarius,” the seminal number from the rock musical Hair.

Except the version the crowd sang wasn’t exactly the one from the groundbreaking musical. Instead, it was the mashup of “Aquarius” and the chorus of “Let the Sunshine In” made famous by the 5th Dimension that same year.

That number one record – featuring the group’s soaring vocals, Billy Davis Jr’s gospel-powered ad-libs, and the Wrecking Crew’s driving rhythm section – became the anthem for the Pepsi generation and served, in many ways, as a coda on the turbulent 1960s.

“Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” won two Grammy Awards (including Record of the Year) and spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1969. It was the ninth of 30 charting records by the 5th Dimension and the first of two number ones in a career spanning almost a decade. The Wrecking Crew served as the backing band for the group on all their recordings well into the 1970s.

The original quintet – with Davis, Marilyn McCoo, Florence LaRue, Ron Townson and LaMonte McLemore – were together from 1965 to 1975. McCoo and Davis left the group to perform as a duo that year, and LaRue has gone on with various members ever since.

The original 5th Dimension received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991 and were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002. Yet, the group has never been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, despite their overwhelming success and influence.

Why have they never been inducted?

“That’s a question that’s hard to answer,” says Billy Davis, Jr.

“We think about those groups who were similar to us – and they’re in there and we aren’t,” adds Marilyn McCoo. “We’ve decided that there’s no way to ever explain it or understand it.”

The group’s singular sound, a blending of five wildly diverse voices, baffled critics early on. Their first major release was a cover of John Phillips’s “Go Where You Wanna Go.” The 5th’s take on the Mamas and Papas’ folk-based song was a departure from the standard “soul” or “r & b” group of the mid-60s – and it bore no resemblance to the Motown sound emanating from Detroit.

“They had problems categorizing us,” observes Davis. “They didn’t know what to do with us. Here’s this black group singing these pop songs. The black radio stations had problems playing our music because it was too ‘white’ for them, and the pop stations had problems because we were black and they thought we should have been singing r & b.”

“We think that problem persists even today, fifty years later,” continues McCoo. “Nobody’s ever been able to pigeonhole us. Yet we’ve had hit pop songs, hit r & b songs, and the 5th Dimension always had jazz songs on our albums.”

The eclectic nature of the group’s repertoire was apparent to anyone listening to their music, especially their albums, which culled from a diverse group of writers. Their range was immense – along the way they covered songs by Cream, Burt Bacharach, Ashford & Simpson, Dave Mason, Willie Hutch, Elton John, and the Rolling Stones.

The group’s name is also indelibly connected to two of the rock era’s finest composers: Jimmy Webb and Laura Nyro. Both songwriters employed elements of pop, rock, soul, gospel, cabaret – and even vaudeville – in their sound.

“We loved singing that variety of music,” explains McCoo. “There were so many wonderful harmonic opportunities – different sounds we could create. That’s what turned us on.”

Webb gave the group their first big hit and Grammy winner, “Up, Up and Away,” along with one of rock’s first concept albums, The Magic Garden (1968). Nyro provided a string of hits, including “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Sweet Blindness,” “Blowing Away” and “Wedding Bell Blues.”

“I loved our version of Laura’s ‘Black Patch,’” says McCoo of the multi-layered, imagist cut from Individually & Collectively (1971). “Laura ended up in the Hall of Fame – and rightfully so.”

The view of the group as MOR (the pejorative acronym for “Middle of the Road”) doesn’t hold water when one considers their accomplishments. The band became political more than once in their career. In 1970, with the Vietnam War still raging in Southeast Asia, the 5th released a muscular cover of Nyro’s antiwar anthem “Save the Country.”

In 1971, their arranger Bones Howe put together three seemingly diverse tunes into a ten-minute medley serving up a musical plea for racial equality: a musical reading of the Declaration of Independence, Sam Cooke’s plaintive “A Change Is Gonna Come,” and the Rascal’s “People Got to Be Free.”

“We knew it was political,” asserts McCoo, “but we felt like the time was right. Things were happening in music with different artists making political statements. We felt really good about it because people always thought of us as only making happy music. This was an opportunity for us to make a statement about how we felt about what was going on in our country at that time. We were all of one accord with that project.”

“We wanted to make a stand, also,” adds Davis. “We wanted people to know who we were. We weren’t just some group singing happy songs. We were also people – and we had opinions about what was happening.”

“Over the years we’ve met a lot of guys who were in Vietnam,” says McCoo, “and they say how much that recording meant to them when it came out. And we’ve heard from a lot of teachers and how they used our version to teach the Declaration to their students.”

Another person took notice when the group sang the Declaration medley for, of all people, Richard Nixon at the White House in 1970. At first the performance was met with silence – with everyone wondering if they had offended the president – until Nixon stood up and applauded.

McCoo and Davis’s final album with the group, Earthbound in 1975, was – like The Magic Garden in 1968 – produced, arranged, and mostly written by Webb. “That album is full of harmonics,” comments Davis. “When we finally reached back and listened to it, it blew our minds.”

Earthbound wasn’t released on CD until 2014 – almost forty years after its initial release on vinyl. The 5th hit a vocal peak in their take on the Rolling Stone’s “Moonlight Mile,” which Webb arranged with dreamy sitars, a languid arrangement, and the group’s almost ethereal polyphonics. “’Moonlight Mile’ is just one of our best,” notes McCoo.

Other highlights on the album include Davis’s gospel-driven reading of Webb’s “Lean on Me Always” and McCoo’s haunting ballad “When Did I Lose Your Love,” featuring intricate guitar work by Larry Coryell.

“I love that song,” admits McCoo. “There was a quality I wanted to achieve. I always felt as if I really ‘got’ that wistful, lost feeling.”

Yet the writing was on the wall for the group. “There were emotional problems that happened during the time we were recording Earthbound,” McCoo explains. “That led to the decision by Billy and me to strike out on our own. We hadn’t listened to it in a number of years, and the first time we sat down and listened to it, we were in tears.”

McCoo waxes philosophic about why the group has never been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“After a while you make your peace with that,” she muses. “We think of the wonderful fans that we’ve had throughout the years who have hung in there with us. We think about the beautiful music that we’ve been blessed to be able to make and the songwriters whose music we’ve performed. About Bones Howe producing us and Bob Alcivar writing those wonderful charts. We feel so blessed to have had the career that we’ve enjoyed.”

“That will always be our legacy,” concludes Davis.

Indeed. But the 5th Dimension belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

It’s time.

Mark Mussari is a freelance writer, translator, and scholar living in Tucson, Arizona.

Copyright ©2020 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: April 17, 2020.

Photos 1 & 2 Courtesy of Sterling Winters. All rights reserved.

Photos 3 & 4 Courtesy of Sony Legacy. All rights reserved.

#Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. #2020 #Music Interviews #The 5th Dimension #Mark Mussari #Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

[longliverockback]

The 5th Dimension The Age of Aquarius 1969 Soul City ————————————————— Tracks: 01. Aquarius · Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures) 02. Blowing Away 03. Skinny Man 04. Wedding Bell Blues 05. Don’tcha Hear Me Callin’ to Ya 06. Workin’ on a Groovy Thing 07. Let It Be Me 08. Sunshine of Your Love 09. The Winds of Heaven 10. Those Were the Days 11. Let the Sunshine In (Reprise) —————————————————

Billy Davis, Jr.

Florence LaRue

Marilyn McCoo

Lamonte McLemore

Ron Townson

* Long Live Rock Archive

#5thDimension #5th Dimension #Billy Davis #Florence LaRue #Marilyn McCoo #Lamonte McLemore #Ron Townson #Age of Aquarius #LP #Soul #1969

[dloindustries]

5th Dimension - Stoned Soul Picnic (1968)

Happy Birthday Ron Townson

#youtube

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 1.20

Beer Birthdays

Chris Nelson (1966)

Scott Ungermann (1966)

Steve Jones

Kerry Byrne (1970)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Buzz Aldrin; astronaut, 2nd man on the moon (1930)

George Burns; actor, comedian (1896)

DeForest Kelley; actor, "Bones" (1920)

Richard Henry Lee; Virginia politician, signer of the Declaration of Independence (1732)

David Lynch; film director (1946)

Famous Birthdays

Joy Adamson; writer, naturalist (1910)

Andre-Marie Ampere; French scientist (1775)

Michael Anthony; rock bassist (1955)

Ray Anthony; bandleader (1922)

Tom Baker; actor; 4th Doctor Who (1934)

Tia Carrere; actor (1966)

Amedee-Ernest Chausson; composer (1855)

Stacey Dash; actor (1966)

Frederico Fellini; film director (1920)

Arte Johnson; comedian (1929)

Nancy Kress; writer (1948)

Lorenzo Lamas; actor (1958)

Martin Landau; actor (1928)

Bill Maher; comedian (1956)

Malcolm McLaren; music promoter, band manager (1947)

A. Merritt; science fiction writer (1884)

Patrica Neal; actor (1926)

Walter Piston; composer (1894)

Edward "Fireball" Roberts; stock car driver (1931)

Paul Stanley; rock singer, "Kiss" (1952)

Eric Stewart; rock guitarist (1945)

Ron Townson; pop singer (1933)

Skeet Ulrich; actor (1970)

Slim Whitman; singer (1924)

Rainn Wilson; actor (1966)

#Birthdays

[paulodebargelove]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mary Vesta Williams (December 1, 1957 – September 22, 2011) was an American singer–songwriter, who performed across genres such as pop, jazz, adult contemporary and R&B. Originally credited as Vesta Williams, she was sometimes simply billed as Vestabeginning in the 1990s. She was known for her four–octave vocal range. She once sang The Star Spangled Banner for the Los Angeles Lakers game opener using all four of those octaves. Although Williams never had any albums certified gold nor any Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, she scored six Top 10 hits on the United States Billboard R&B chart from the mid–1980s to the early–1990s which included “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” (1986), “Sweet Sweet Love” (1988), “Special” (1993), and her 1989 R&B hit and signature song, “Congratulations”. Biography Born in Coshocton, Ohio, United States, Williams’ father was a disc jockey. Her family moved from Ohio to Los Angeles in the 1960s. While there, Williams and her three sisters, Margaret, Marte and Marlena, appeared on the television show Jack and Jill as “The Williams Sisters”. Later, she returned to Ohio but decided to go back to Los Angeles in order to launch a solo career. Former Fifth Dimension member Ron Townson put Williams in his band Wild Honey. Following that stint, Williams found work as a backup singer, working with artists such as Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Sting, Stephanie Mills, Anita Baker and Gordon Lightfoot. Williams sang on the original version of Joe Sample’s “The Survivor”, and met producer David Crawford while working with his group Klique. After doing session work, she landed a recording contract with A&M Records and her debut album, Vesta, was released in 1986. The album featured her first Top 10 R&B hit “Once Bitten, Twice Shy”, which became her only UK hit and performed modestly on the US R&B charts. Her 1988 release, Vesta 4 U, produced the Top 10 R&B hits “Sweet Sweet Love”, “4 U”, and “Congratulations”, with the latter peaking at #55 on the Hot 100 chart and #5 on the R&B chart. “Congratulations” was Vesta’s only foray into the Hot 100 chart. The album was also her most successful, and her only album to appear on the US Billboard 200, peaking at #131. In 1991, Williams released her third album entitled Special, with the title track as a single. “Special” became her highest charting song on the R&B chart at #2, but sales of the album were less than that of Vesta 4 U. Her next album, 1993's Everything-N-More, produced only a minor R&B hit, “Always”. In 1989, Polygram Records purchased A&M Records. Williams’ 1998 album Relationships was released under the Polygram name, and it became a modest seller, appearing on the R&B charts. Following the release of Relationships, A&M/Polygram did not renew her contract. Williams continued to work as a session singer, landing spots on albums by such artists as Phil Perry, Howard Hewett, and George Duke. Her voice could be heard by radio listeners in jingles for advertisers that included McDonald’s, Nike, Baskin-Robbins, Diet Coke, Revlon and Exxon. That same year, she performed the opening theme to the ABC miniseries, The Women of Brewster Place. Williams portrayed a saloon singer in the 1993 film Posse, directed by Mario Van Peebles. During this time period she had a hit with the SWV song, “Rain”, recorded alongside smooth jazz musician Norman Brown. Williams had a recurring role as “Monica”, Jackée Harry’s best friend, in the television series Sister, Sister in the 1998-99 season. Her singing voice is featured in the theme song of UPN's Malcolm and Eddie. In 2000, Polygram released a compilation album, featuring songs from Williams and former A&M artist CeCe Peniston. In 2007, Williams released an album of R&B songs on Shanachie Records entitled Distant Lover. Produced by Chris “Big Dog” Davis, Distant Lover was a cover album featuring songs originally recorded by Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Sade, and Deniece Williams. Her last recording was the song “Dedicated,” released on 7 December 2010 on Stimuli Music. By 2002, Williams had become a radio personality, and was co-hosting a morning show on KRNB in Dallas/Fort Worth. In recent years, Williams had lost 100 pounds, going from size 26 to size 6. It was at this time that Williams became an advocate for the prevention of childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes. Her final performance occurred on September 17, 2011 in Portsmouth, Virginia at the Autumn Jazz Explosion, just five days before her death. She was scheduled to perform at the 21st annual “DIVAS Simply Singing!” in Los Angeles on October 22. Shanice performed “Congratulations” during the show as a tribute to Williams. There was also a tribute to the late singer Teena Marie. Williams was taping an episode of TV One’s “Unsung” at the time of her death. It aired January 2, 2012. Death On September 22, 2011, Williams was found dead in a hotel room in El Segundo, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, she was found dead at 6:15 p.m. A spokesperson for the coroner’s office stated that the autopsy did not yield the cause of death. In late December 2011, the family released this statement through a family friend, singer/producer Norwood Young, reporting her official cause of death: “Following three months of intensive coroner’s autopsy and toxicology research, it has been definitively determined that the cause of death for our beloved Vesta was ‘natural death’ from ‘hypertensive heart disease,’” adding: “An enlarged heart can remain undetected for many years.” Vesta Williams was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) on October 4, 2011 following a memorial service at West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles, California. Attendees included notable friends Wanda Dee, singer Peggi Blu, Freda Payne, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Loretta Devine, Kellita Smith, Norwood Young, Michael Collier, Miki Howard, Karel Bouley, Kiki Shepard, Jackée Harry, Luenell, and renowned blues singer Linda Hopkins. A private reception was held following the interment. She is survived by her mother, daughter, three sisters, a brother, and three grandchildren. Discography Studio albumsCompilation albums Winning Combinations (with CeCe Peniston) (2000, A&M/Universal) SinglesMusic videos Once Bitten Twice Shy Something About You Don’t Blow a Good Thing Sweet Sweet Love 4 U Congratulations How You Feel Special Do Ya Always Somebody for Me Dedicated

[roundaboutmidnight]

02 de agosto

Bom dia a todos!...

Neste dia:

Nasceu, em 1942, a brilhante escritora chilena Isabel Allende.

Nasceu, em !939, o grande cineasta norte-americano Wes Craven.

Morreu, em 2001, o fabuloso cantor norte-americano Ron Thompson, membro original do grande grupo 5th Dimension.

Ron Townson (Ronald Townson) nasceu no dia 29 de janeiro de 1933 e morreu em 2 de agosto de 2001. Foi um vocalista estadunidense. Ele foi membro original do 5th Dimension, um grupo vocal popular do final dos anos 1960 e início da década de 1970.

Wes Craven nasceu em Cleveland, Ohio no dia 2 de agosto de 1939 e morreu em Los Angeles em 30 de agosto de 2015. Foi um diretor, produtor, argumentista e editor de cinema norte-americano, célebre por ter criado as famosas séries de filmes de terror Pânico e A Hora do Pesadelo. Craven criou o personagem Freddy Krueger, de A Hora do Pesadelo, inspirado numa série de crimes que ele disse ter lido nos jornais. Krueger foi eleito o 40º maior vilão de todos os tempos, segundo o American Film Institute. Outra importante criação foi a icônica máscara usada pelo assassino nos filmes da franquia Pânico. A máscara foi inspirada na tela expressionista de Edvard Munch, O Grito, e se transformou num forte símbolo da cultura pop.

Isabel Allende Llona (Lima, Peru, 2 de agosto de 1942) é uma escritora chilena / norte-americana. Entre outras obras, é autora de A Casa dos Espíritos. Isabel Allende nasceu em 2 de agosto de 1942, em Lima, no Peru, onde o seu pai diplomata se encontrava em trabalho. No entanto, a sua nacionalidade é chilena, tendo-se tornado cidadã norte-americana em 2003. É filha de Tomás Allende, funcionário diplomático e primo-irmão de Salvador Allende. Sua obra é marcada pela ditadura no Chile, implantada com o golpe militar que em 1973 derrubou o governo do primo de seu pai, o presidente Salvador Allende (1908-1973).

São trechos de A Casa dos Espíritos:

“Clara passou a infância e entrou na juventude sem ultrapassar os muros de sua casa, num mundo de histórias de encantamento, de silêncios tranqüilos, em que o tempo não se marcava pelos relógios nem pelos calendários, e os objetos tinham vida própria, as aparições se sentavam à mesa e falavam com os humanos, o passado e o futuro faziam parte da mesma coisa, e a realidade do presente era um caleidoscópio de espelhos desordenados em que tudo podia acontecer.”

“(…) As hortênsias que você plantou com a sua própria mão em Las Tres Marías estão deslumbrantes; algumas são azuis, porque pus moedas de cobre na terra adubada, para que florescessem com essa cor, é um segredo da natureza, e cada vez que as ponho nos vasos lembro-me de você, mas também me lembro de você quando não há hortênsias, lembro-me sempre, Férula, porque a verdade é que desde que você se afastou de mim, nunca mais ninguém me deu tanto amor.”

A seguir os vídeos de hoje:

[lboogie1906]

Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is a singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group The 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series Solid Gold. Since 1969, she has been married to singer Billy Davis Jr., the founder, and co-member of the 5th Dimension. She has a four-octave vocal range. At the age of 15, she made her television debut on Art Linkletter's Talent Show and began modeling. After graduating from Susan Miller Dorsey High School, she enrolled at UCLA, where she earned a BS in business administration. In 1962, she entered the Miss Bronze California beauty pageant where she won "Miss Grand Talent" In the early and mid-1960s, she was a member of the Hi-Fi's, who often opened for Ray Charles. She had been invited to join the group by photographer Lamonte McLemore, who would himself join McCoo in the 5th Dimension. Other Hi-Fi members included Harry Elston and Floyd Butler, who would go on to form the Friends of Distinction. She met Billy Davis, Jr. in 1966 when he established the 5th Dimension, then called The Versatiles, which would include Ron Townson and Florence LaRue. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/CUcBni9L6pT2wRgVqbrpmTcCQyR-xgSXmck09U0/?utm_medium=tumblr

#africanhistory365 #africanexcellence