Black History : Sade Adu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Helen Folasade Adu, OBE (Yoruba: Fọláṣadé Adú; born 16 January 1959), known as Sade , is a British-Nigerian singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. Following a brief stint of studying fashion design and modelling Adu began back up singing for a band named Pride, during this time she attracted attention from record labels and along with other members left Pride and formed Sade. Following a record deal Sade and her eponymous band released their debut album Diamond Life (1984), the album was a commercial success and sold over six million copies, becoming one of the top-selling debut recordings of the '80s and the best-selling debut ever by a British female vocalist.

Following the release of the band's debut album they went on to release a string of multi-platinum selling albums, their follow up Promise was released in 1985 and peaked at number one in the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200 and went on to sell four million copies in the US. Sade would later go on to make her acting debut in the film Absolute Beginners, before the release of the band's albums Stronger Than Pride (1988), Love Deluxe (1992) and Lovers Rock (2000) all of which went multi-platinum in the US. After the release of Lovers Rock, the band embarked on a ten-year hiatus in which Sade raised her daughter. Following the hiatus the band returned with their sixth album Soldier of Love (2010) which became a commercial success and won a Grammy award.

Sade has been nominated six times for the Brit Award for Best British Female. In 2002, she was bestowed the Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace for services to music, and she dedicated her award to "all black women in England". In 2012, Sade was listed at No. 30 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women In Music. Sade has a contralto vocal range.

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Perry Blackwell

I love the 1959 movie "Pillow Talk" which starred Doris Day and Rock Hudson. One of the reasons why it's in my top movie selection is because of the Singer/Actress Perry Blackwell. She only had one scene in the movie and she sang for most of that scene, but what she did with her expressions and mannerisms spoke much much more. She was also in the 1960 movie "Dead Ringer" with Bette Davis and Karl Malden. There is not much info on her available, but I did discover via a message written by her daughter, that she is a classically trained Pianist and self taught organist. She played Hammond Organ for years. Also she played with Sonny Stitt, Wes Montgomery Bros. , Roy Milton and Louis Jordan. She worked many gigs around such people as Nancy Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, Joe Williams, Freddie Hubbard, Jackie Wilson and Red Foxx. She worked on the New York jazz scence for a few years, Best known for her 7 year stint at The Parisian Room in Los A

Madam C. J. Walker

Madam C.J. Walker (December 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919), born Sarah Breedlove , was an African-American businesswoman , hair care entrepreneur and philanthropist . She made her fortune by developing and marketing a hugely successful line of beauty and hair products for black women under the company she founded, Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company. Madam C.J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove, on December 23, 1867 in Delta, Louisiana to Owen and Minerva Breedlove. She was one of six children; she had a sister Louvenia and 4 brothers: Alexander, James, Solomon, and Owen, Jr. Her parents and elder siblings were slaves on a Madison Parish plantation owned by Robert W. Burney. Her mother died, possibly from cholera , in 1872. Her father remarried and died shortly afterward when she was seven years old. Madam C. J. Walker moved in with her older sister, and brother-in-law, Willie Powell. She later said she married Moses McWilliams when she was 14 years old to get a home of h

Black History : Nina Simone

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nina Simone (born Eunice Kathleen Waymon ; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist. She worked in a broad range of musical styles including classical , jazz , blues , folk , R&B , gospel , and pop . The sixth child of a preacher's family in North Carolina , Simone aspired to be a concert pianist. Her musical path changed direction after she was denied a scholarship to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia , despite a well-received audition. Simone said she later found out from an insider at Curtis that she was denied entry because she was black. So as to fund her continuing musical education and become a classical pianist, she began playing in a small club in Philadelphia where she was also required to sing. She was approached for a recording by Bethlehem Records, and her rendering of " I Loves You, Porgy " was

Son of Ellis

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