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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 1972)
Paireó Portland/O bserver Thursday Novemher 23, 1972 O’Jays win gold record The return of the Philadel phia Sound as a m ajor force In contemporary tnuak? be came a reality with the acceptances of gold records by the O’Jays for selling over one million copies of the ¡ f t smash single. "Back Stab b ers". at a recent reception In the City of Brotherly Love. The gathering also repre sented the firs t m ajor divi dend in the distribution deal hetween Gamble-Huff Pro ductions and Columbia Re cords. which began the firs t of the year. Among the Columbia executives present were Bruce Lundvall, vice- presklent, marketing, Colum bia; Ron Alexenburg, vice- president, sales and d is tri W alter W illiam s, W illiam Powell and Eddie Lavert (from left) bution, Columbia; J lm T y re ll, who comprise the O'Jays, joyfully hold on to gold records pre directo r of national sales, sented to them in a special ceremony lield recently in P h il Iplc and custom lables; and adelphia as Bruce Lundvall ami Logan Westbrooks, vice pres Logan Westbrooks, director ident and director of special markets fo r Columbia Records of special m arkets. l0° k ° n‘ Go,d d,scs * ere after their Receiving gold records I htladelphla International smash single, "Back Slabbers" sold were Eddie Lavert. W alter over one million copies. W illiam s and W illiam Powell of the O’J ays; Kenny Gamble looks to he one of the big groups, such as the O’Jsys, and Leon Huff, producers; and new artist breakthroughs this have a great deal to do with Huff, James Whitehead and year with the single "M e and It, fo r they perform In the Gene McFadden, composers M rs . Jones’*. An album, studio as they do imi stage — of "Back Stabbers". over "360 Degrees of Billy Paul", with fierce excitement ami 300 people attended the lavish has just been released, and d rive. You also can't do affair, hosted by Gamble arai Initial sales are more than anything hut make a h it." Huff. The guests were addi impressive. Gamble ami Huff stand as tionally treated to a special "W e believe that this Is the one of the top songwriting/ performance by the O’Jays. beginning of a new era In producing teams In the music "Back Stabbers", the first music for Philadelphia." tkismess. They have createli certified gold single for stated Gamble. "Some of and developed hit songs and P h ila d e lp h ia Interna the hest talent In the world albums fo r such artists as tional. precedes what looks make their home in the city, Laura Nyro, Nancy Wilson, to be a glowing future fo r and this helps both Phila Dusty Springfield, Jerry But both Columbia and Gamble delphia International' and ler and Wilson Pickett. Huff. The O'Jays smash al Gamble Records attain the "Having the Gamble-Huff bum, also entitled "Back maximum quality In produc labels as part of our fam ily ," tion." Stabbers", is approaching added I ogan Westbrooks, gold status. "T h is also marks a new directo r of special markets Also Harold Melvin and the era In Black m usic," Gamble fo r Columbia Records, "has Blue Notes continue to climb added. "W e feel we have been beneficiai to both on the music chans with the developed a sound that is parties. We feel this is only single " I f You Don't Know Me unmistakably Black, but. at the teginning of even bigger By Now" and the album "1 the time, easy to crossover and better things to come M iss Y o u". And B illy Paul into the pop m arket. The « it of Philadelphia Interna tional and Gamble Records." J AMES EARL JONES Jones hosts TV series Plans were revealed this week for a new Black-oriented television series to be hosted by J ames Earl Jones, the dis tinguished star of stage, screen and television. The show, to be titled "B la ckD m - nibus" will go into production in the Los Angeles area in mid-December and w ill debut nationwide on Saturday, Jan uary 13, 1973. Patterned after the pioneer television show "O m nibus'', each program w ill explore the Black involvement in such multi-faceted activities as music, comedy, the arts, his tory, dance, politics, litera tu re , youth, medicine and re ligion. Jones, who achieved inter national fame fo r his perfor mance on Broadway in "The G reat White Hope” , was last seen as the staro f "T h e M a n ", the Irving Wallace book about the firs t Black Presklent. He w ill host each show and as sist in the w riting. "B lack Omnibus'* is a Quails Production presented in association with CPM Pro grams, Inc. "A s the firs t ma- jo r Black-oriented senes de signed fo r nationwide com m ercial television, "Black Omnibus" marks not only a creative milestone In tele vision history, but itw ill serve as a showcase for young and unexposed Black talent", ac cording to Hal Graham, Ex ecutive Producer of the pro gram. In addition to on-camera participation by Blacks, spec ial efforts have been made to create a predominantly Black crew for the show's produc tion chores. Hotline Northeast Is a telephone sei vice for |«ople In Northeast Portland to receive emergency help, Infor mation, and personal counseling. The hotline Is opan during hours wlien most city agencies a ie dosed. We answer calls during (lie following hours: Monday - Thursday 5 p jn . - 9 p jn . F rid ay 5 p jn . - I u n , Saturday 9 p .m . - I u n , •Sunday 4 p jn . . || 4 jn . C all 288-9145 for help. Hotline Nortlieast is actively seeking co m m utili/ |»ople to train and serve as volun teers for the hotline. Contact Joyce Pedersen, volunteer coordinator for further information. Play Pool •tl Bob 'Woody' Woodard of Inner City Ilevelopment Company demonstrates the M arseillais pool shot at Geneva's Reg ulation Tables. GENEVA’S 4228 N. Williams Gates 6:45 show 7:15 NoW SHOWING IN 2 I HEATERS Never a dude like this one! He's got a plan to stick it to The Man! Soul Sounds by Joey Sasso MUSIC MAKERS: Singer Billy Eckstine is gening back into the groove with music audiences. Eck stine, best remembered for the gentle ballads he recorded during the late 1940’ s and early 50’ s, is regaining his popularity after a long spell all over the country. Billy told me that the deal he had with Motown Records Co. just didn’ t work out since he got his start with E arl (Fatha) Hines jazz combo as a vocalist-trumpet player way back in 1938. Billy was part of Motown's expansion from its soul, R&B and into the middle-of-the-road m arket. "Actually artists like myself and lovely Barbara M cN air just got lost in the shuffle at Motown," Billy told me. "They have a great number of top 40 acts like the S u p r e m e ! , Jackson Five. Temptations, Four Tops and many more. They just did not get behind us for support at a ll. They also tried to get into the hard rock scene with a white group. Rare Earth, and this outfit also bombed." But since then, a lot of things have changed. Eck stine, or " M r . 8 " as he has been called by his millions of music fans, is now record ing for Stax Records in .Mem phis, and he already has seen his audiences coming back. " I don't have to prove my self any longer. I ’m an esta- bllahed singer and I'm now calling the shots. I'm still singing the way I did in the late 40's, hut It's now in the contemporary groove and it’ s drawing the crowds." P a rt of this new found success has been the winning talent combination of Sttx's b ig g e s t artist, singer- arranger-composer Is a a c Hayes. Hayes, who won an Academy Awatd for his hit theme from "Shaft" is help ing B illy with arrangements on his forthcoming Stax LPs, which includes the new one, "Senolr Soul". " I t was a very warm feeling from the beginning and we got to he close buddies with my first record session with Hayes. And he isn't the kind that argues about the bread sign e ith e r." The Stax association reminds Eckstine, who has won nine gold records, of the "close fa m ily " at his old label. M ercury some time ago. "Now there we were a close fam ily with Qunicy Jones, Sarah Vaughn and m yself," Eckstine told me. "W e put out loads of records there and then, one by one, they left. And at the same tim e, the label was bought by Phillips. That's when my friends, the Four Tops, asked me to talk to B e rry Gordy, J r „ president of Motown." B illy rejects any thought that his new popu larity could be considered a rebirth. "Not at all; I ’m still doing the same thing I did some years ago and I ’ ll still be around just as long as my public wants me around," he says. Several of his gold records are: " I Apologize," "P ris o n er of L o v e," " J e lly J e lly ," "K iss of F ir e ," "C aravan" and "Everything 1 Have Is Yours." CELEBRITY SCENE: Flip Wilson just gifted his personal manger with a case of MacArthur's Seven-Year- Old Scotch Whiskey, for an anniversary present . . .J im Brown is now making the scene with Brenda Sykes . . . Comedian Slappy White just signed a m illion dollar con tract with the Flamingo Hotel In Vegas . . . Sammy Davis, J r . just gifted his lovely wife with Chadbourn Hosiery'snew bodywear collection for the fall . . , Clara Ward w ill soon make her firs t European tour . . . J ames E arl Jones in featured spot in new film "Boardwalk” . . .E lla F itz gerald has eye trouble again and had to cancel all engage ments and take a long rest which is way overdue . . . Gordon Parks J r . just pre sented his father with a Com- pusamp Panel Pak to Lake with him when he Is on the road shooting a new film . . . M ike Frankovich wants Yap- het Kotto to handle a co- starring part In "Report to the Commissioner" next ’ Pr lng. after Yaphet returns from London location of the latest James Bond th rille r, " L iv e and Let D ie ," with Roger Moore . . . B illy Dee W illlam a hag just bought a mansion In the Hollywood HUIa . . . Brooks tells story Broadside Press Is proud to announce the publication of poet Gwendolyn Brooks' a u t o b i o g r a p h y , REPORT PROM PART ONE, on Dec ember 1, 1972. This is no long, prosy, tedious chronicle, but a poet’ s concentrated and evo cative summary of her life and the meanings she has found in it. Miss Brooks tells of her fam ily background; how she began and learned to write; her m arriage and children; her career as book reviewer, teacher, and lecturer; her contact with the new black poets; and her journey to A frica. There are three interviews in which she dis cusses arts in the community, the art of poetry, and her private life . In the " M a r ginalia" section she expli cates her novel and some of her poems. In "College'' she gives us random glimpses into her personal life through vignettes and comments filled with w it, humor. Insight, and wisdom. This book Is fas cinating to read and Is an Important contribution to his tory, biography, and lite ra ture. Important features of the book are prefaces by George Kent and Don L . Lee and 25 pages of photographs. The book is a selection of the Black Scholar Book Club. Mias Brooks won the Pulit zer prize for poetry in 1950 fo r ANNIE A L L E N . She suc ceeded C a rl Sandburg as poet laureate of Illinois In 1968. H er most recent books are THE WORLD OF GWEN DOLYN BROOKS and ALONE- NESS. She haa edited JUMP BAD: A NEW CHICAGO ANTHLOCY and A BROAD SIDE TREASURY, 1965-1970. She also edits THE BLACK PO5ITION, an annual. play hi« SupsiBy atsral t e « aL Hm « f |F \ i " S u » rf°< GIANT ' ,he fte,d of • OU| rnu,lc' C u m « Mayfield Is considered one of the w .™ perf|° rTneT JUK tUn’ ,n* 3° ' M ayfleld "« * ~en Brothers release- f° r *hich 1« .1 .0 composed and arrange,I the Ron n h U eaT c i T . ’ d2 ' * C® d Gordon Parks' J r " • « o ry of life In the black ghetto. (Tatars Ron O’Neal, Sheila F ra z ie r and Julius W. H a rris . "Superfly” la now showing at tie Alameda F o ster Drive In Co-Hits "D a y of Anger" & "Salt in tlie Wound" ALAMEDA SHOW 7IM ES NO ONE A D M IT T E D A FTER THE FIRST 15 MINUTES < »pen: Saturday, Sunday 2:45 7:00 10:00 Show starts 3:15 7:30 10:15 Open: All other days 7:00 10:00 Show starts 7:30 10:15 Harris featured Roy H a rris , the young Black man that haa been sending Vancouver,Washing ton through a lot of racial changes tbs past year w ill be featured on KGW's "P E O P L E " program scheduled to be released at 8:30 a jn .D e cember 3. H a rris , who lathe director of the C l a r k County Com munity Congress w ill he in terviewed by m o d e r a t o r , Harold W illiam s. Also in cluded on the 30 minute com munity service program will be Myrna Davies. Julia Brown and T arlin e Davis who are on the staff of tie organization. Topics of discussion will Include V a n c o u v e r*s racial climate and the Race Relations Workshops that were initiat ed by H a rris during the first of the year. The C lark C o u n ty Com munity Congress la a non profit, non-funded c i t i z e n formed organization tfiat began during tie e a rlie r part of 1972. It has been the only organization to present any effective solution t o w a r d easing racial tensions In tie Southwest Washington com munity so fa r. The workshops, three to date, have h o s te d nearly 300 people to the two day sessions. Participants have come from a cross sec tion of business and commun ity. Julia "B rin g It on Down" Brown w ill provide further in sight as to the contents of the workshop, on the show, while T arlin e Davis and M y r n a D a ve s offer backgrourxl is to Vancouver. racial climate and the origination of the com munity Involvement move ment. H a rris , a native of P o rt land, also discusses, In brief detail the upcoming "BLACK EXPO - SOUL BOWL '7 2 " t h a t Is scheduled for De cember 9th to he held at Gelaer Hall, C lark College. In Vancouver. Ito will also be featured on ‘ T h ird W orld" Channel 2 In tie Immediate future. BLACK €0(JC ATIOSIAL C € N T € |i B O O kS TO K e 3 7 0 3 N . w illia m s Conic 011 BLACK. CDAXJ , check out y O ( J |L H W ory Literature C hildrens books L ib eration t l a o s E a rrin g s Black station ery v o o k books Albums by M alcolm and Eldridge Help support educational proganw lu the B L A C K com m un ity
