By NISH (64.12.97.7) on Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - 09:41 am:

Hi All... in the words of the Mighty Dells, OH WHAT A NIGHT. And I took it all in from backstage. Let's see here... where to start?

WELL... the day flew by, I can tell you that. I arrived at the Benedum at 3:17 yesterday afternoon, picked up my armband that gave me access to the entire premises. I walked down the hall and saw the signs on the doors... "Friends of Distinction," "The Spinners," "The Originals," "Freda Payne," "Aretha Franklin," "Mary Wilson," and on and on. I thought I was in something just a tad less than heaven.

I walked around the halls, checking the scene out a bit, and a couple cats begin conversation with me. These cats turn out to be Aretha Franklin's guards or something. They were cool. As I stand and wait at the elevator, a couple more cats are waiting for the elevator too... a nice, well-groomed gent turned around and said "Hello, young lady, are you part of the show." I said "No, sir" and proceeded to introduce myself. He said "I'm G.C. Cameron." WOW. So I told Mr. Cameron how much I dig the Spinners, and I told him one of my favorite songs is "Sweet Thing" and then the elevator door opened, and a couple more Spinners were on it. And Mr. Cameron says, "Hey guys, this young lady likes "Sweet Thing," and you know she can't be but just out of her teens, now how she know that stuff?" And the other guy said, "She has parents who play records, G.C.!" And then they broke into an impromptu "Sweet Thing" for me. I was levitating at that point.

Then, I return to the place after running for a Pepsi, and I see Mr. Ali-Ollie Woodson, who was just great, so hilarious and nice.

Around 4:15-ish, I settle in backstage, and take a seat. Mr. Jerry Butler, who has earned the nickname "GODFATHER" in these parts, came in, jovial as usual. And I chatted with Mr. Iceman about lots of stuff, politics, law, music, etc. He's such a learned man, and so willing to drop wonderful pearls of wisdom to me.

I walked around the hall, caught a glimpse of Dennis Edwards' Temptations Review, Freda Payne walked by, members of the Three Degrees walked around. All looking so classy. I felt like I was transplanted to 1960-something, watching them all interact with each other as though no time has passed by. It was so nice to see the cameraderie.

I went out front for a moment, and got to witness the Tavares' rehearsing. Then, the Queen rehearsed her set, which included a smoking rendition of "At Last." You should have heard some of the artists just whooping and hollering and getting touched when the Queen worked her pre-show magic. Then Ms. Wilson went through her set. I worked the strength to pull myself away and get to work interviewing folks in the back. Then I perchanced upon Lou Rawls, and I introduced myself. He and Ali-Ollie have to be the hippest cats I've ever met. I mean, these cats just emitted "cool." I asked Mr. Rawls if I could ask him a couple questions, he said "ain't nothin' to it but to do it," in that bass-y voice. So I did, and he was very nice and attentive.

All day long, I asked anyone who had ears, "ARE THE ORIGINALS HERE YET?" "HAVE YOU SEEN THE ORIGINALS YET?" With respects to all the great acts I saw, the Originals are THEEEEE ORIGINALS to me. So, Billy Wilson says, "there goes Freddie Gorman right there." And he introduced me and said "this young lady has been asking about y'all all day." And I proceeded to chat Mr. Gorman, Mr. Gaines, and Mr. Dixon. Asking them about how many versions of their "Just To Keep You Satisfied" they know exist, if Marvin is singing on "I'll Wait For You" (YES, according to Mr. Gorman). And i told them how they, along w/ the Miracles, are my favorite group. And they were so surprised that I knew about "Don't Stop Now" and "Suspicion" and all the other great ones. They are so classy and humble, and when I mentioned how much British soul fans love them, they all said they LOVED England when they were there (see, I was thinking about you all across the pond!). At this point, I see this tall cat with glasses, dressed casually but neatly standing. I thought, Mr. HW! When I pulled out my "Very Best Of The Originals" to have the O's sign it, he did (Thanks, Mr. HW, great meeting you), and of course, I had to thank Mr. W for all the great comps. he's producing for us! :-) I later met Mr. Dixon's beautiful daughter, who is a capable replacement for Mr. CP Spencer. When they sang "Baby I'm For Real," I cried.

Then, Edwin Starr sang "25 Miles," "Stop Her On Sight," and "War" backed by the Andantes and the Originals. Everyone backstage was singing along, too. I was singing, Carl Carlton and G.C. Cameron were doing their own little ad-libs on "War," as I did 'backgrounds'

When Blue Magic sang (Sideshow), I was harmonizing with 2 of the Temptations' Review members, incl. Mr. David Sea. They were like "This girl can hold her note, she's fallin' right in the harmony!" Harmonizing with the Temptations' Review? That was just the cat's meow for me. And the question I was frequently asked was, "How do you know all these songs?"

Then, Thelma Houston sang "don't leave me this way" and Ms. Barbara Mason was just having a grand time watching Ms. Houston do her thing. Speaking of Ms. Mason, she sang "Yes I'm Ready," still sounding sweet and coy as ever, all these years later. I got to talk with her at length later, and she definitely gave propers to "Weldon Arthur McDougal the Third" for discovering her! :-) I got to sing impromptu versions "If You Really Love Me (Why Don't You Tell Me So)" and "I Ain't Got Nobody" with Ms. Mason. Again, this is just a moment permanently etched into my memory, singing with BARBARA MASON and complaining about how much our feet hurt! Doesn't get much better than that.

Then, I met the three degrees, and Ms. Helen gave me words of encouragement about school. I told her I loved their 60s records, and their version of "Maybe." She was astounded that anyone still listened to that stuff. But of course, we know differently. I asked Ms. Cynthia and Ms. Helen if I could get a picture with the three of them later, this was at 7-ish. Well, when they were finished, at about 12:10, I was talking to someone else, and I felt a tap on my shoulder and Ms. Cynthia said "are you ready for our picture, Fourth Degree?" And what was really cool is that she waited and ran back for HER camera, because she wanted the picture too. I was humbled.

This story is told in no particular order. It's all stream of consciousness right now. I still have so much adrenaline. When the show airs, I will have a more journalistic account for the MAA list.

I was supposed to be a serious Motown Alumni Association director, interviewing and reporting (I'll say I probably lived up to that expectation, except for about 60% of my time w/ the Originals and Barbara Mason), but if this is sounding like a note from a wide-eyed easily impressed fan, it's the music that makes me do it. These artists earned my permanent endearment from the moment I listened to their records for the first time, and to meet them and hang out with them was just the greatest early Christmas present a girl could ever ask for, even if it was part of the job. It's very emotional for me because the music they made just IS so good. I'll have more in the way of who sang what, etc., later. This is far from a complete account, but just some of the moments that stick out for me. Hope this isn't to much of a trial to read. :-)

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - 09:49 am:

Nish,
I would say you had SOME experience. Thanks for telling us about it.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - 11:28 am:

Nish:
As Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics once mused, "Sweet dreams are made of this..."

Glad you enjoyed the ride...

Regards,
KevGo

By TonyRussi (68.18.34.83) on Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - 12:55 pm:

Nish, thats a great encounter.I always love meeting my favorites and I've never lost that thrill.I would love to meet Jerry Butler & Barbara Mason.I saw Barbara Mason on a big show with the Impressions in 1967 or ,68 at Orlando Sports Stadium...Ms Mason was doing "Oh How It Hurts" and the mike kept going out then she finished the song with no mike for all of us up close & we screamed & cheered her on. She was very professional about dealing with the crummy sound.

By JoeR (170.148.92.23) on Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - 01:16 pm:

(((((NISH))))))

Thanks for sharing that with us. You know I'm just a little jealous but I ain't mad at you LOL

Pass this music down to the next generation NISH!

JoeR

By STUBASS (206.135.204.2) on Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - 02:40 pm:

NISH; JUST KNEW YOU WOULD HAVE A GREAT TIME. JERY BUTLER IS QUITE AN INTERESTING PERSONALITY. DID YOU KNOW THAT HE CUT BACK HIS PERFORMING SCHEDULE TO RUN FOR, AND WIN, ELECTION TO THE COOK COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IN CHICAGO? WAS IT A ONE DAY THING, OR ARE THEY TAPING OVER THE COURSE OF SEVERAL DAYS???...STUBASS

By R&B (138.238.41.118) on Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - 02:46 pm:

SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE A LOT OF FUN UP IN DETRIOT,WISH I WERE THERE.

By P.J. (12.227.35.125) on Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - 06:53 pm:

Yes, they do have fun in Detroit. However, the "Rhythm, Love & Soul" special was taped in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is brought about via the public broadcasting station in the area, WQED. A fine gentleman, T.J. Lubinsky (Sp?) is spearheading such shows which spotlight soul, rhythm & blues, and doo-wop and brings together some of the finest classic performers in each arena.

By Dennis Coffey (205.188.209.38) on Thursday, November 28, 2002 - 08:23 am:

I would like to thank TJ Lubinsky for supporting our music, putting the show together, and inviting me to participate. To be on the same stage with all of that soul royalty was simply amazing! The funk was in the house that night. I was also completely surprized when the host and TJ introduced me to the audience and had me play a few licks and say a few words about Motown and Scorpio. They know how to do it right in Pittsburgh and at PBS.

Dennis Coffey

By Nish (64.12.97.7) on Thursday, November 28, 2002 - 09:30 am:

Mr. Coffey, I missed you in back, but I heard you on stage... AWESOME! Hope you enjoyed it!

NISH

By Dennis Coffey (152.163.188.68) on Thursday, November 28, 2002 - 01:46 pm:

Hi Nish. I enjoyed every minute of it! I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to meet.

Dennis

By HW (68.37.217.106) on Thursday, November 28, 2002 - 09:38 pm:

Nish - I second Dennis's comment. What a fun couple of days.

By Carl Dixon London (62.31.32.130) on Friday, November 29, 2002 - 04:10 am:

Nish - you got me all jealous. What a night. To see Edwin Starr sing SOS with The Andantes and The Originals, wow! (I was playing that yesterday and I think I can here the finger snap count-ins on the opening piano Morse, on the brass track!) I am trying to work out how us Brits can see this programme. What a shame we are not closer with the television broadcasts or able to at least even buy them on tape over here. Maybe one day we will. I would love to see Blue Magic as well. 'Look me up' what a great tune - did they sing that?

By Dennis Coffey (64.12.97.7) on Friday, November 29, 2002 - 09:21 am:

Hi Carl. I played with Blue Magic on Side Show. They were great!

Dennis

By Carl Dixon London (62.31.32.130) on Friday, November 29, 2002 - 10:20 am:

Dennis - what a thrill for you all, and playing one of Bobby's tunes too! I do hope I get a chance to see this at some stage. The last one I saw, a relation of my wifes in Greensboro taped it and sent it over here. The Reflections were on it!! Maybe I should have just bought a ticket and come across to see it live. You will be pleased to learn that one of my 'Ric tic' style compositions has Coffey/Willis/Babbit guitar licks in it! Nothing like the real thing of course, but I try my best - ha ha! Had I seen you perform live, I may have been able to check the 'fingering' out.

By steve w (205.188.209.38) on Friday, November 29, 2002 - 02:54 pm:

any suggestions to how us brits can see this magical performance would be greatly appreciated
barbara, aretha, thelma, every act an absolute joy,I am positively drooling, nish thanks for the report

By Ritchie (62.254.0.8) on Friday, November 29, 2002 - 06:25 pm:

Well, now that many of our more recent VCRs can handle US-recorded NTSC VHS tapes, our side is all sewn up... all we need is some kind soul/s to record the show when it's broadcast - "for export"....

By NISH (64.12.97.7) on Saturday, November 30, 2002 - 10:12 am:

JoeR - of course you can't be mad with your DREAM gig and all! Being a Channel HAS to be fun.

And I can't say enough how fun and interesting a show it was. How can that be topped?

And to the UK folks, I do believe the videos are available through RHINO, if I'm not mistaken. The hard thing about it is that since these things are filmed for American public tv, it is meant to fund the stations, which serve American audiences, so they don't really market it out like that. but I would think if RHINO sells them, anyone can purchase them. The downside to taping is that it is part of the pledge drive, so you have to cut out all the pledge stuff where they ask you to call in and make a pledge, etc.

The only thing about the videos is that you don't get to see everything. When I got my R&B 40 video, I just thought "I'm glad I was there at the taping too" or else I would not have seen Freddie Scott's wonderful live rendition of "Hey Girl" So, I wish there could be some way for everyone to see EVERYTHING.

By HW (68.37.217.106) on Saturday, November 30, 2002 - 10:46 am:

This program will be available on DVD from Retropolis, the new company from the Foos Brothers who started Rhino.

By P.J. (12.227.34.2) on Saturday, November 30, 2002 - 07:00 pm:

The whole program? Or just excerpts?

By PhillyGroove (152.163.188.68) on Saturday, November 30, 2002 - 07:23 pm:

Hey group,

Any idea when this special will be released on PBS?

By Ivory Fair (68.52.103.239) on Sunday, December 01, 2002 - 11:45 am:

A wonderful review written by a very groovy chic. How you doin' old ((((((friend?)))))) ;-)

Drop by and see us some time, http://temptsinfo.proboards10.com/

By NISH (64.12.97.7) on Sunday, December 01, 2002 - 12:10 pm:

IVORY!!! How are YOU, kitten! Check your mail, groovy chick!

By Dennis Coffey (205.188.209.38) on Sunday, December 01, 2002 - 04:35 pm:

Hey PhillyGroove. I think the special will be shown at the end of February or the beginning of March 2003.

Dennis

By DramaLJDiva (172.143.168.6) on Monday, December 02, 2002 - 06:26 pm:

Hi Soulkitten! Thanks for sharing those wonderful concert memories. I love hearing soul concert reviews...especially one like this!

Diane

By Eli (205.188.209.38) on Monday, December 02, 2002 - 07:03 pm:

WOW!! I would have loooved to have been there. Had I known that Blue Magic and Barbara Mason were there, not to mention all of the others, I would have flown to Pittsburgh to have been there.
This is by far the best of the PBS music specials.

By Nish (66.119.33.167) on Monday, December 02, 2002 - 07:13 pm:

Oh yeah, I asked Ms. Mason about your guitar playing, Eli, and of COURSE she had nothing but good stuff to say. She was saying you guys were all young and had NO IDEA you'd be so crucial to the evolution of the soul sound. AND THAT YOU WERE. Maybe some Philly players along with yourself can be in the house band next time!!

Diane, thanks kitten! Glad you enjoyed it.

A great concert moment: The Originals, wearing black jackets and silver silk shirts with matching ties (Ms. Terrie wore a black spaghetti strapped dress with a shiny sheer silver shoulder throw) walk out on stage. You hear the initial chimes introducing "baby I'm for real" Then "ooh-weeeee-eeeee-eeeee, oooh ooh." Mr. Gorman takes that opening line, then Mr. Dixon, voice shaking the core of the earth, rumbles with the more insistent "BABY BABY BABY, you don't have to go..." That song was sheer magic as performed by the Originals last Tuesday. Loved it! That performance warranted them a much deserved standing O.

By PhillyGroove (152.163.188.68) on Monday, December 02, 2002 - 08:10 pm:

Mr. Coffey,

Thanks for the heads up! This will definitely be THE PBS special although I've loved the others.

PhillyGroove (Jim Thurman)