Back in the day, Lee Hazelwood wrote a song titled “These Boots Were Made For Walking” that was a No. 1 hit for Nancy Sinatra. One of the lines was, “You keep lyin’ when you oughta be truthin’.”
Now there was a new word for you: truthin’.
No one could ever accuse Quincy Jones of not “truthin’.” For example, he recently came down on all the negative media out there today. In typically blunt “Q” fashion, he said, “It’s lethal with all the haters and negative s…”
Ne-Yo has also spoken out about this rash of negativity — and President Barack Obama certainly knows a lot about these evil-minded people, most of whom are Republicans and many of whom are in or support the Tea Party movement.
Regarding the record industry, Jones also we’ve “got to figure out a way to fix this business.” The legendary, multifaceted gentleman even went so far as to predict that if something is not done fast, record companies will be gone completely in about a year.
“People have passion for music, but they don’t want to pay,” he stated.
Sad but true.
SPEAKING of negativity, I watch “TMZ” occasionally, but never more than that because there is a meanness about much of their celebrity reporting, and they often make fun of people.
Admittedly, “TMZ” is fearless and capable of getting information others cannot, but it is still “gotcha!” journalism at its worst. The show’s managing editor is Harvey Levin.
Floetry, the singing/rapping female duo, had several popular albums, the most successful of which was their first, “Floetic,” in 2002. The singer in the now-disbanded duo, Marsha Ambrosius, has an album coming out next month titled “Late Nights & Early Mornings.” The first single, about a relationship gone bad which you are likely to have heard by now, has a humorous title: “I Hope She Cheats On You (With a Basketball Player).”
It’s special that a legendary singer such as Mavis Staples — who looks great at age 71 — can still be greeted warmly by the music-buying public. Her new release, “You Are Not Alone,” a return to her gospel roots, debuted at No. 2 on the national Gospel Albums chart and, surprisingly, No. 13 on R&B Albums chart.
Another nice thing is that her sister, Yvonne, is still working with her. For many years they were, of course, two of the legendary Staple Singers.
BARACK OBAMA is diverse when it comes to music appreciation. (Too bad more people are not like that. So many are one-dimensional in that area.) Among the president’s many favorites are Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis, the Rolling Stones, Earth Wind & Fire, Bob Dylan, Jay-Z, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Ludacris, Charlie Parker and Elton John.
But he, like all concerned, enlightened people, worries about the content of a lot of rap music.
“It would be nice if I could have my daughters listen to their music without me worrying they are getting bad imagery of themselves,” he said.
Nevertheless, Obama acknowledges that hip-hop has “helped to desegregate music.”
Still in hip-hop territory, M.C. Hammer and Jay-Z are feuding. It started when Jay-Z negatively made reference (on a Kanye West recording) to the financial problems Hammer had a number of years ago that led to bankruptcy.
Hammer responded on Twitter, referring to Jay-Z as “Jay-Hoe” and implying that he would like to rough him up.
Fellas, how about behaving like grown-ups!
Fantasia announced her “Back To Me” tour, which will cover 30 cities, including Detroit on Dec. 10, and feature Eric Benét and Kandi Burruss as opening acts.
Ne-Yo has deep admiration for and has been greatly influenced by Michael Jackson, Prince, Sammy Davis Jr. and Stevie Wonder. He described them as “my four kings.”
BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW…that “Land of 1000 Dances,” today most closely associated with Wilson Pickett, was first recorded by its composer, Chris Kenner, in 1963, and by the Hispanic group Cannibal & the Headhunters in 1965. Both were hits and well-done, but Pickett got the biggest hit. Cannibal (Frankie Garcia) added the “na na na na na” because he couldn’t remember some of Kenner’s lyrics.
MEMORIES: “Rescue Me” (Fontella Bass), “I’ve Lost Everything I’ve Ever Loved” (David Ruffin), “The Second Time Around” (Shalamar), “Sugar Walls” (Sheena Easton), “O-o-h Child” (the Five Stairsteps), “If You Asked Me To” (Patti LaBelle), “But It’s Alright” (J.J. Jackson), “What a Fool Believes” (the Doobie Brothers), “I Only Have Eyes For You” (the Flamingos), “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” (Dionne Warwick), “Nothing But Heartaches” (the Supremes), “For Your Precious Love” (Jerry Butler).
BLESSINGS to Carla Henderson, Victor Holsey, Angie Daniels, Bobby Green, Kim Weston, Van Esther Griffin, Greg Hendricks, David Banks, Rita Griffin and Heaster Wheeler.
WORDS OF THE WEEK, from Coretta Scott King: “I don’t believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others. Homophobia is like racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity and dignity.”
Let the music play!
(Steve Holsey may be reached at Svh517@aol.com and PO Box 02843, Detroit, MI 48202.)
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