IN WHAT could justifiably be called their third incarnation, perennial favourites Kool & The Gang have undergone a pretty major personnel change. With the departure of James "J.T" Taylor, the group have drafted in not one, but THREE lead vocalists. As Robert "Kool" Bell, Dennis "D.T." Thomas and one of the group's new additions, Gary Brown reveal, the veritable musical institution is now in transition.
"With three different vocalists, we can pursue three different musical directions," says D.T. "We had our first decade which was a lot of musical experimentation with a lot of emphasis on a more instrumental sound and then the second phase which featured J.T.'s vocals and now we're taking both those elements and putting them together for this new cycle."   

WHILE, as a family group, Mason have that fact in common with the likes of the Jacksons, Pointers and Isleys, they have one further common factor with the Wilson Brothers, a.k.a. the Gap Band. Both families hail from the unlikely city of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

"SO, WHAT'S in a name? Well, maybe that depends on what particular career you happen to be pursuing. What, I wonder, would have happened to Tina Turner had she pursued her professional career under her real name Annie Mae Bullock or Edwin Starr who entered this mortal coil in January 1942 under a Charles Hatcher monniker. Possibly the results would have remained the same, but you never do know. Is it First Circle or Full Circle?.

When B&S last spoke to Lanier & Co back in February of last year (was it really that long ago?!), the group were hoping that their third single for Willie Mitchell's Waylo label would be the one. While "Dancing In The Night" can't really be regarded as a hit in terms of the small U.K. market (having peaked outside of the Top 75 at No.78) it has at least brought them to the attention of a major label in EMI. Hopefully the single is selling sufficiently well to convince EMI to go with a follow-up, and maybe their now-completed album as well.

IN THE music industry it seems that new forms of music are competiting against old. Take Hip Hop for example. R&B artists dis hip hoppers, jazz vocalists poke fun at rhymes and drum machines. Nobody seems to like each other .. .or do they?

One producer who has made the successful crossover from Hip Hop into R&B is Teddy Riley, a soft spoken young man in his early twenties who got his start producing rappers from B-Fats to Kool Moe Dee and Heavy D & the Boyz.  Riley suddenly became a household name by working on Keith Sweat's "I Want Her", followed by a hit by Johnny Kemp. It's hard to find a day when he's not in the studio planning future projects with Stephanie Mills, Billy Ocean and the Jacksons. Riley also sings and plays music in his own soul group, Guy, and has been utilising singer and songwriter Aaron Hall to write lyrics for the song Michael might be singing with his brothers.

Location: Just outside a hotel room in the Holiday Inn at Swiss Cottage. Wanda, the very beautiful female member of Raze, opens the door and greets me with a warm and glowing smile. This is going to be interesting, methinks, "Oh we'll be out in two minutes."

The music we listen to is an ever-changing thing with shifts and moves that can be as logical as they are confusing, but there will always remain throughout the evolution certain constants ? things that will remain familiar and reassuring.

Grover Washington Jnr's music is one of those constants and for well over a decade the great saxophonist has been creating a sound that has transcended fads and fancies and remained simply ... Grover.
Grover is currently plying his music around a good proportion of his country's fifty-two States and it was the morning after one such date in Georgia that we caught up with the Buffalo, New York native to discuss a brand new album for a brand new label.

Michael's (Jackson that is) more-then-ever anxiously awaited album is said to be now scheduled for an April release. If that is the case, the first single offshoot might possibly be a track called "Bad" which is featured in the new Jackson Pepsi ads which are shortly about to be screened nationally across America.
However, another "well informed" source suggests that Mikey will return with a duet which leads to speculation as to what odds the duet he allegedly recorded with Barbra Streisand. The whole world waits with bated breath!

• Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops, despite picking up excellent reviews as the voice of the people-eating plant Audrey II in the American hit film 'Little Shop Of Horrors', has no plans to pursue a movie career and discounts rumours about a sequel. The veteran singer insists that he is and always will be a Top first and foremost but was grateful to the other group members for the time off to record the role.
Levi admits that he was sceptical at first of his ability to satisfy the general technical demands of the work which involved adopting the voice of a pod that grows to sixty feet!
Movie producer, David Geffen, picked the Top for the role after seeing the group on Live Aid. Seemingly, he wanted someone with an earthy, streetwise approach but who could also be nice and cuddly at the same time. Meanwhile, Levi and the other Tops are preparing for their forthcoming Motown album — their 35th!

•  The first annual Soul Train Music Awards are scheduled to take place later this month at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles and will focus on all popular forms of black music and will be co-hosted by Dionne Warwick and Luther Vandross. Performances by Whitney Houston, Al Jarreau, Cameo, Run DMC, George Duke, David Sanborn and the James Cleveland Singers are scheduled.

•  Some very positive reports coming through from varying sources for the new Al Green album on A&M. Aptly titled "Soul Survivor", indications are that the soulster is heading for a major return to popularity following a period of low profile during his gospel-only recordings. First single from the album is "Everything's Gonna Be Alright".

•  Veteran Charles Brown, who recorded several R&B standards — "Merry Christmas Baby", "Driftin' Blues" and "Please Come Home For Christmas" — is back Stateside with "One More For The Road" on Blue Side Records.
The singer, whose peak period was between 1946 and 1952 when he notched up nine top ten hits, is said to have influenced many artists including Ray Charles, Bobby Bland and Sam Cooke no less.
•  Patrice Rushen debuts on Arista with an album "Watch Out" which includes the title track single.
•  Prince's upcoming album is the double set "Sign O' The Times" which, according to US reports reverts back with some effect to his earlier and many would say superior albums "Controversy" and "1999".
•  Included on the upcoming Dionne Warwick album on Arista are duets with Kashif and Smokey Robinson.
•  Aficionados of the classic 'Animal House' film will recall the splendid performance of Otis Day & The Knights and their lively version of the Isley's "Shout". So successful was their appearance in the movie that the group fronted by Otis Day (alias actor DeWayne Jessie) have been in constant demand in clubs and fraternity parties ever since. That success is now hoped to become consolidated on vinyl with a new recording deal with MCA Records. The debut recording will be supervised by none other than . . . George Clinton.
•  Jackson, Tennessee soulsters, Lanier & Co have their first British release out on Threeway Records, the Willie Mitchell-written and produced "I Don't Know".
•  And a lot of very positive vibes for the upcoming Isley-Jasper-Isley album "Different Drummer". Reportedly, the folk at CBS Associated labels have yet to select a single due to the vast number of contenders available. Word is that the trio will return to the platinum status they enjoyed as part of the Isley Brothers during the 1970's.

•  Pete Waterman of the Stock/ Aitken/Waterman writing and production team is to write and produce the new single for Prince Charles and The City Beat Band for Carrere Records who have completed a licensing deal with Prince Charles' manager Tony Rose's Solid Platinum Records and Productions. Carrere will release the group's latest single "I'll Be There For You" and "I Can't Stop Loving You".

•  Robert Cray and his band will act as support on all the upcoming Tina Turner dates across the UK in June. The two met in 1986 when Cray guested on her TV Special 'Breaking All The Rules' which was screened just after Christmas. Cray, who won a prestigious Grammy recently for Best Traditional Blues Recording for his part in the "Showdown" album which brought together Cray, Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland, is currently scoring on both sides of the Atlantic with his own album "Strong Persuader".

•  Controversial chanteuse Grace Jones has her new single just released on Manhattan. Entitled "Party Girl" the track is taken from Grace's current "Inside Story" album and is written by the lady herself with Bruce Woolley. Grace also contributed o the production — but with that old campaigner Nile Rodgers overseeing things.
The stylish singer has recently opened a French restaurant in her Manhattan, New York base which features such delights as La Salade Victor, Slave To The Rhythm Pate and I'm Not Perfect Frogs Legs on the menu!
Haywoode returns to active duty with her single release, a version of the James & Bobby Purify classic "I'm Your Puppet" which has been produced by Nick Martinelli in Philadelphia. The British singer is scheduled to appear on numerous television shows in the near future in support of the single.
• Having undergone what he describes as a period of transition and development, David Grant has now emerged with his new single "Take Us Back" which is a liaison between David and Bob Carter, co-producer and writer for Linx.' See interview elsewhere in mag

"{safm}Peabo Bryson{/safm} was far more involved with this album than he was with "Take No Prisoners". That was a successful album but he felt his biggest successes have always come on his own. I think that my songs best reflect my personality and that's when I fell the most comfortable.

The interviews in this section are from all kind of magazines or other sources from the 80s, 90s. Via this site I would share them with you. On almost all the interviews the original source is mentioned.

OFTEN, when a lead vocalist leaves a successful group, it comes as surprise to the rest of the world. However, there are usually very strong underlying reasons that simply didn't come to the attention of the public. Certainly, that was true of the Lionel Richie-Commodores and Jeffrey Osborne-LTD splits. And, to a lesser degree, it's the case in the {safm}Howard Hewett{/safm}-Shalamar parting of ways.

 WHEN IT comes to making quality music, Angela Winbush is no slouch. As record buyers on both sides of the Atlantic discovered when the former member of the hit duo Rene & Angela released "Sharp", her first solo LP, in 1987, the lady's talent as a producer, songwriter and vocalist clearly put her in a class of her own.
Following the success of "Angel" (a No. 1 U.S. blackmusic hit) and subsequent singles such as "C'est Toi" and the super-soulful duet "Hello Beloved" (recorded with Ronald Isley of the legendary Isley Brothers, who is also Angela's personal manager), the St. Louis-born star has put her hit stamp on records by Sheena Easton, Stephanie Mills and The Isley Brothers.