Brian Holland, Edward Holland, and Lamont Dozier, known as Holland-Dozier-Holland or H-D-H, were the greatest songwriting team in American pop music history. Seventy of the songs they wrote reached the Billboard Top 40, with 15 of these reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. No other songwriting team or individual has come close to equaling, let alone surpassing, this record.
They’ve been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. As tunesmiths for the legendary Motown Record Corporation, and for their own corporations, Invictus Records and Hot Wax Records, they wrote and produced hits for Diana Ross and the Supremes, including “Baby Love,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Where Did Our Love Go,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “I Hear a Symphony,” “Come See About Me,” “Back in My Arms Again” and “Reflections.”
Now the legendary composers are ready to reveal the inspirations and stories behind their chart-topping hits, providing millions of fans with the first complete history of their songwriting process, and detail the real-life experiences that led them to write each of their most famous tunes. They will also reveal their creative and intimate relationships with Motown’s biggest stars.
Mister Magic" was the successful single and title track from the fifth album of one of jazz music's more well-known figures. Grover Washington, Jr. (December 12, 1943 -- December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk / soul-jazz saxophonist.
Along with George Benson, John Klemmer, David Sanborn, Bob James, Chuck Mangione, Herb Alpert, and Spyro Gyra, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. He wrote some of his material and later became an arranger and producer.
Washington was born in Buffalo, New York on December 12, 1943. His mother was a church chorister, and his father was a collector of old jazz gramophone records and a saxophonist as well, so music was everywhere in the home. He grew up with the great jazzmen and big band leaders like Benny Goodman, Fletcher Henderson, and others like them.
At the age of 8, with the desire for him to be more than he could be, Grover Sr. gave Jr. a saxophone. He practiced and would sneak into clubs to see famous Buffalo blues musicians. Washington left Buffalo and played with a Midwest group called the Four Clefs. He was drafted into the U.S. Army shortly thereafter, but this was to be to his advantage, as he met drummer Billy Cobham there.
Cobham, a mainstay in New York City, introduced Washington to many New York musicians. After leaving the Army, Washington freelanced his talents around New York City, eventually landing in Philadelphia in 1967. In 1970 and 1971, he appeared on Leon Spencer's first two albums on Prestige Records, together with Idris Muhammad and Melvin Sparks. Washington's big break came at the expense of another artist.
Now, there are a lot of ways you can evaluate the games in a casino, you could go by how great the House Edge is to pick the one where your odds will be the best; you could pick the one where you’ll get the biggest jackpot if you manage to land the big win you’re dreaming of; or you could even just go by what your purveyor of choice has most available. All of those would be a sensible way to make a decision but what if you just wanna find the coolest game out there? It’s got to be Craps, right?
What, not sold? Let’s go through the games and see which one is coolest – you can even head over to Paddy Power Vegas afterward and see if you want to give the games a look-in.
Slots
Slots don’t usually sit very high on the cool factor – the games are cool, of course, with stylish 3D graphics and headline-grabbing jackpots that’ll definitely make the papers if you land one. But for the casual observer? You’re just watching colors flash and land while pulling an arm at one side. All the great visuals the player gets to see, for the observer, just looks like someone working an arm over and over. Visually engaging it is not, which makes it rather hard to make slots out as the coolest game.
Blackjack
The Advantage player’s favorite. The pay-outs are pretty slim with this one, but the house edge is quite narrow and it’s possible to get a real leg-up on the competition. Basic strategy tells you what to do for each hand that comes out and tricks like card counting, which relies on you keeping a steady track of cards as they come out in order to inform your decision, can give you a real advantage. While it’s great for improving your odds, it does hinder how cool you look since you’re essentially doing maths puzzles the entire time.
Poker
This is the only real contender for Craps’ crown, because poker just looks cool as heck. Keeping the cards close to your chest, holding your poker face while you make eye contact with the guy across from you daring him to call your bluff, landing the big pot. The only thing that could keep it from securing the top spot is that there is a further much cooler tier of poker than the standard casino games in the form of the World Series of Poker. No matter how cool you are in the casino, there’s a much bigger field out there for you to play in.
Craps
Whereas for craps, the casino is the be all and end all. A crowd of players all watching the shooter as they shake the dice, get their date to blow on them, and hurl them down the felt, bets placed on whether it’ll pass or not. Whether you’re betting on the roll or throwing the dice, there’s no denying how cool the game looks and feels with a crowd of spectators all cheering you on.
What do you think? Are we way off-base here? Let us know in the comments below!
Some music is brilliant enough to pass the test of time and stay with us for the entirety of our lives. The icons that create these connections are few and far between, but the demand that there are for these stars remains, and that means that they continue to tour regardless of age.
These stars will continue traveling to see their fans until the day that they physically can't do it anymore, and that connection between listener and artist is something that isn't as significant as it once was. But, which megastars are still defying their age and entertaining millions around the world?
Sir Rod Stewart
Stewart embarked on his first tour in 1977, and he is currently midway through his 30th. The 74-year-old has sold over 100 million albums and 200 million singles throughout his career which sees him place among the best-selling music artists of all-time. During his career, he has had six consecutive number one albums in the United Kingdom, as well as registered 62 hit singles.
In 1994 he staged the largest free rock concert when he performed for 3.5 million fans in Rio de Janeiro. In the very same year, he was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the first time before he was later inducted again in 2012 as a member of the Faces. As well as touring as part of his Red Blood Roses Tour, he has also famously held a residency in Las Vegas for six years between 2011 and 2017. Punters would be able to play their favorite Novibet casino games at Caesars Palace before listening to his classic hits such as 'Maggie May', 'The First Cut is the Deepest' and 'Infatuation'.
The Rolling Stones
The super-group fronted by Sir Mick Jagger has been on the music scene since 1962, and they are currently doing dates on their 48th tour. During these events; four of them have gone onto become the highest-grossing tours of all-time, with their 'Bigger Bang' tour generating over $558,255,525.
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, before being inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. The Rolling Stone magazine ranks them at fourth in their list of the '100 Greatest Artists of All-Time'; with only The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan ranked ahead of them. They have sold over 250 million records worldwide and have released 30 studio albums and 23 live albums.
Ozzy Osbourne
Birmingham born, Ozzy Osbourne rose to fame in the 1970s as the lead vocalist for Black Sabbath; where he was given the nickname of 'The Price of Darkness'. However, following substance and alcohol problems he was fired from the band in 1979, but he went onto enjoy success as a solo performer.
During these solo years, he released eleven studio albums; with the first seven of those awarded multi-platinum in the US.
He rejoined the band in 1997 and helped record the group's final studio album which was released in 2013. They embarked on a final farewell tour which concluded in a gig in their home city of Birmingham in 2017. His success and lengthy career have given him the title 'Godfather of Heavy Metal'.
The Hutchinson House 1903 (rear view) Ypsilanti, MI
I love the "Queen Anne" style homes and one of my friends on facebook loves the "Victorians". I thought Queen Anne homes were Victorians and indeed they are from Queen Victoria's time. But they have much more history and I thought I'd share some of that with you today..
The Hutchinson House is in Ypsilanti Michigan and has quite a story behind that building as well. I once worked there and I actually held a candle party in it! The party was quite successful as the invitees bought candles just so they could visit the home. Good idea.
A Queen Anne home -- one of many styles classified under the broad heading of Victorian -- was built primarily during the latter part of Queen Victoria's reign from 1870 to 1910.
As the last Presbyterian Stuart who held the throne, Queen Anne reigned 135 years before Queen Victoria. Even though a well-known furniture style that developed during her reign has her name, it would be more than 150 years before she had an architectural style named after her. The decor style is specifically known for its complex, ornamental curvilinear turrets and towers, and steeply pitched roofs.
Eureka California
The home most people think of when they imagine or see a Victorian home is actually a Queen Anne home. Typically outfitted with a turret or tower, the home often has wrap-around porches and is made from brick, wood or stone, many with clapboard siding.
The Queen Anne style is known for its graceful curves and paneled insets. Look for angled bay windows, steeply pitched roofs with finials, stained glass, and handcrafted chimneys.
Asymmetry. Towers, turrets, bays, porches, and roofline break the box. Roofs and massing are often complex.
Texture. Surfaces are broken by a switch from stone or clapboard to shingles, often with fancy-cut butts. Belt courses, gable ornament, turnings, brackets, balustrades, and sawn-wood “gingerbread” keep it interesting. (Polychrome painting plays up surface texture even more.)
Wood trim. Sawn, chamfered, carved, lathe-turned, and applied ornament is used on porches, gables, cornices, and story breaks.
Other features include patterned shingles, decorative trim, and intricate spindles, banisters and staircases. Queen Anne homes have a storybook quality to them.
The History of Queen Anne, Victorian-Architecture Style
Despite roots in the English “Queen Anne Movement”—a return to early, vernacular architecture—it is here a peculiarly American style in its mass-produced ornamentation (including “gingerbread”) and lavish use of wood.
The Northeast, already heavily populated in the 1880s, has comparatively fewer examples that you might expect. Go south and west, however, and the style becomes more popular and more fanciful. The West Coast and resurgent areas of the New South have the most dizzying examples.
The Supra Boats Pro Wakeboard Tour (PWT) will make its debut at Ford Lake in Ypsilanti, Mich., Saturday, July 13 for the third event of the 2019 season, which marks the 27th year of the tour. The PWT is the largest and longest-running professional wakeboarding competition circuit in the country. Comprised of four national events, the PWT showcases the top athletes from the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and more.
The family-friendly event features the world’s top-16 professional wakeboarders as they compete for season-ling points and the top spot on the podium, during the third round of competition of the four-stop series. In addition to wakeboarding, the tour includes a wake-surfing division, with athletes riding a boat’s wake without the use of a tow rope.
Friday, July 12, 2019 (MEDIA DAY) 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Saturday, July 13, 2019 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Ford Lake Park
9075 South Huron River Drive
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
Ford Lake was formed in 1932 when Henry Ford completed a dam over the Huron River to supply hydroelectric power to one of his plants. The spacious lake covers 958 acres and is surrounded by the six-park Ford Lake Park System, which will provide fans of the Supra Boats Pro Wakeboard Tour plenty of great viewing spots.
TICKETS:
Tickets can be purchased online in advance at a discounted rate of $5 for adults and $3 for children, ages 6-12. At the gate, tickets are $10/adults and $5/children. Kids 5-under are admitted free of charge. To purchase tickets online, click here
About Skier’s Choice Inc.
Skier’s Choice, Inc. is the proud manufacturer of Supra and Moomba performance inboard wakeboard, wakesurf and waterski towboats. Supra has been a leader in the inboard industry since 1981. The Supra brand is synonymous with innovative styling, luxurious interiors, highest construction quality, and unsurpassed wake performance.
The Moomba brand delivers quality and performance far above its class. Moomba offers the best wake performance technology and none of the fuss. The company is privately held and is located in Maryville, Tennessee.
Skier’s Choice encourages all boating participants to learn and follow safe boating practices. There are risks associated with boating and water sports activities. Be mindful of the risks, familiarize yourself with the environment, know your limits and conduct yourself accordingly.
Supra Boats Pro Wakeboard Tour Sponsors
In addition to title sponsor Supra Boats, the Pro Wakeboard Tour is sponsored by Indmar, Boatmate Trailers, JL Audio, PTM Edge by Protomet, Fat Sac Ballast Systems, Zero Off, Acme, Ronix, Otter Box, Kawasaki, Connect-A-Dock and Yamaha Generators.
About Wakeboarding Magazine
With an emphasis on high-quality photography, in-depth interviews with top riders and reviews on all the latest gear, Wakeboarding inspires its audience with fun and relevant content, anchored by expert boat analysis, quality instruction and how-to features. Its mission is to lead, connect and inspire by enlisting the talents of the most experienced professionals in the industry across multiple media channels. For more information, visit www.wakeboardingmag.com.
Bootsy Collins Launches Bootzilla Records & Digs Deep into 50+ Years of Unreleased Archives. Bootzilla Records Archives, Volume 1 EP out June 28, 2019.
Watch Video for “Bootsy Play-Cation” (featuring The Rubber Band) Filmed in 2012, Previously Unreleased
Reissue LP My Mind Set Me Free: The House Guests Meet The Complete Strangers & Bootsy, Phelps & Gary out August 23 (Shake It! Records)
“Got my diamonds out of hock and I’m ready to funk!” says Bootsy Collins, who has launched his own label Bootzilla Records, the new home for Bootsy's personal archives and current projects. For over 50 years, Bootsy has collected music, collaborations, interviews, films and more, from his time with James Brown’s Original J.B.’s, Parliament-Funkadelic, Bootsy’s Rubber Band and beyond. On June 28, Bootzilla Records will release Bootzilla Records Archives, Volume 1, part of an ongoing series.
The House Guests
“We'll be sharing unreleased music from the past, music from the present, and music far into the future,” says Collins. “Let's just say that the Star-Gate has been opened, and the fountain of youth is pouring love, health and Bootsyful motivation across this nation. Stone-cold, funked-up history in the making!”
Bootzilla Records Archives, Vol. 1 track listing
Crushin' on U (featuring Ouiwey) - Recorded in 2018
Bootsy Play-Cation (featuring The Rubber Band) - Recorded in 2012
Z-Declassified (with Buckethead, Catfish Collins, Bernie Worrell,
Razor Sharp Johnson, Fred Wesley)
When I'm Dancing - Recorded in 2006
Nothin' but U (featuring Chew Fu)
My Mind Set Me Free: The House Guests Meet The Complete Strangers
& Bootsy, Phelps & Gary
For the first time ever as an official release, the House Guests’ complete recordings will be available on August 23 (Cincinnati’s Shake It! Records).
The nine-track collection of obscure singles titled My Mind Set Me Free: The House Guests Meet The Complete Strangers & Bootsy, Phelps & Gary will be released as a limited-edition LP and all formats.
An invaluable if an unsung piece of funk history, The House Guests - Bootsy with Phelps “Catfish” Collins (guitar), Frank “Kash” Waddy (drums), Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells (trumpet) and Rufus Allen (vocals)- are the link between the Original JB’s and Funkadelic.
Catfish Collins & Bootsy Collins
Many, many ecstatic concertgoers, as well as two of the greatest bandleaders in the history of R&B, soul, and rock, have wanted the House Guests, albeit not necessarily by that name. When James Brown wanted them, they were called the Pacemakers; when Brown employed them on some of his most important and influential hits, they were known as the Original JB’s; and when the Motor City visionary George Clinton recruited them, they came to be known as Funkadelic.
Later, they developed a groundbreaking school of psychedelic space-funk as the Complete Strangers and, finally, Bootsy’s Rubber Band.
But for a brief, fleeting moment of divine semi-obscurity, at home in funk-rich Ohio and on the great American road, they were the House Guests. “Couldn’t nobody tell us we weren’t doing it right, because we didn’t really care,” Bootsy recalls today, bursting into one of his spirit-filling laughs.
“We just loved what we were doing, we loved each other and we loved traveling. We were just having a great time. And it all showed in the music.”
The House Guests track listing
My Mind Set Me Free
What So Never to Dance
Fun in Your Thang Pt. 1
Fun in Your Thang Pt. 2
House Guest Girls
Be Right Back
Say Something Good
Together
Love and Understanding
More information on The House Guests can be found here.
