Clarence Avant, โBlack Godfather' of entertainment, and benefactor of athletes and politicians, dies
Clarence Avant, the manager, entrepreneur, facilitator and adviser who helped launch or guide the careers of Quincy Jones, Bill Withers and many others and came to be known as the "Black Godfather" of entertainment and beyond has died at 92.
Barrett Strong, Motown artist known for โMoney,โ dies at 81
Barrett Strong, one of Motownโs founding artists and most gifted songwriters who sang lead on the companyโs breakthrough single โMoney (Thatโs What I Want)โ and later collaborated on such classics as โI Heard It Through the Grapevine" and โWar,โ has died.
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Mary Wilson, longest-reigning original Supreme, dies at 76
FILE - Mary Wilson, founding member of The Supremes, appears during a portrait session at Capitol Records in Los Angeles on June 12, 2014. Wilson, the longest-reigning original Supreme, has died at 76 years old. Publicist Jay Schwartz says Wilson died Monday night, Feb. 8, 2021, at her home in Las Vegas and that the cause was not immediately clear. Wilson died Monday night at her home in Nevada and the cause was not immediately clear, said publicist Jay Schwartz. Following the Supremesโ disbandment, Wilson released the solo albums โMary Wilsonโ and โWalk the Lineโ and wrote a handful of books, including the best-selling โDreamgirl: My Life as a Supremeโ and โSupreme Faith: Someday Weโll Be Together."
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Get ready: Motown Museum reopens after 4-month closure
Studio A is seen at the Motown Museum, Wednesday, July 15, 2020, in Detroit. The Detroit building where Berry Gordy Jr. built his music empire reopened its doors to the public on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)DETROIT Get ready, because the Motown Museum is back in business. The Detroit building where Berry Gordy Jr. built his music empire reopened its doors to the public on Wednesday. That's probably the most celebrated change at Motown Museum, Terry said.
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Diddy calls out Grammys and demands change in fiery speech
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. โ Sean โDiddyโ Combs called out the Grammy Awards for dissing rap and R&B stars in its major categories in a blazing speech that earned him a standing ovation from Beyoncรฉ, Jay-Z and several other music industry players. โSo I say this with love to the Grammys, because you really need to know this, every year yโall be killing us man. โIn the great words of Erykah Badu, โWe are artists and we are sensitive about our (expletive).โ We are passionate. Last yearโs Grammys marked the first time a hip-hop song was awarded song and record of the year when Childish Gambinoโs โThis Is Americaโ achieved the feat. โYouโre in the music industry.