Delta Groove Music and Eclecto Groove Records are bringing a new generation of great blues artists to the crossroads where the blues was born! The 3rd Annual Delta Groove Blues Revue will take place the night after the 2008 Blues Music Awards in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

On Friday May 9th, at Clarksdale, Mississippi's Ground Zero, the historic and intimate blues club, owned by Morgan Freeman and Bill Luckett, Delta Groove is bringing you authentic blues from 2pm to 2am. The show, which will be hosted by Bill Wax (XM Radio) and a very special surprise celebrity, will be filmed and recorded for an upcoming TV special documenting the power of the blues from its birth in the nearby fields to the current generations making it thrive in the 21st century. For the lucky audience in this 270-person club, this will be blues heaven on earth and the rest of the world will be able to share in the magic later.

For the last two years, The Delta Groove All-Star Blues Revue has been a smashing sensation! We are still receiving feedback as to the magnitude of the effect the shows had on those present. You really don't want to miss out on your chance to experience the day long festival showcasing some of the best blues musicians on the scene today!

CLICK TO VIEW PHOTOS FROM LAST YEARS EVENT - 2007!

CLICK TO VIEW PHOTOS FROM THE FIRST YEARS EVENT - 2006!

The godfather of hip-hop isn't about to retire yet. KRS-ONE is still preaching from his pulpit about hip- hop's relevancy today and, in an interview with DigitalJournal.co m, he explains how the business models of hip-hop now are changing for the better.

Digital Journal - Don't call KRS-ONE a sellout. Sure, he might be joining forces with Smirnoff for the vodka company's hiphop mix series. Sure, Nike commissioned the rap legend to collaborate on the track "Better Than I've Ever Been" to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Air Force One sneakers. But KRS-ONE doesn't take kindly to over-arching statements about corporations infiltrating hip-hop for their own greedy ambitions. In fact, in an interview with DigitalJournal.com prior to his stop in Toronto for a keynote address at Canadian Music Week, the MC discussed the new business models of hip-hop which include accepting deals with major brands.

Memphis, Joe DiPietro and David Bryan's new musical about a white disc jockey spinning discs in the segregated South, will be produced by La Jolla Playhouse in the final slot of its 2007-08 subscription season.

Christopher Ashley, La Jolla's new artistic director, will stage the original musical, which has an early rock 'n' roll flavor, mixed with rhythm and blues and gospel. The book is by Joe DiPietro, with music by David Bryan, the Bon Jovi keyboardist. The writers share lyric credit.

Performances will begin Aug. 19 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre at La Jolla Playhouse and continue through Sept. 28. Memphis is produced in conjunction with The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, WA., where it will play Jan. 27-Feb. 15, 2009.

"This is a show about race, rock 'n' roll, romance and how white people stole black music," stated Ashley.

According to La Jolla Playhouse, "Memphis follows the fictionalized life story of a white disc jockey in the segregated south, who started playing black music on the radio. Set in the 1950s, Memphis explores interracial relationships, the power of radio and how music broke down racial barriers."

"What the DJ in our story does is put the music in the exact center of the radio dial," stated DiPietro, "so that anyone could hear it - black or white."

DiPietro co-wrote the international smash revue, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change.

The song titles include "The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll," "The Music of My Soul," "Scratch My Itch," "I Don't Make the Rules," "Stand Up," "Memphis Lives in Me" and "Steal Your Rock 'n' Roll."

Sergio Trujillo, who choreographed Jersey Boys, provides musical staging. The set design is by David Gallo. Casting has not been announced.

Gerald "Wolf" Stephenson, Vice President at Malaco: "First time I met Shirley would have been just in passing at a Blues Award function in Memphis. It was several years before she came to our label. She did a couple of songs that night and I enjoyed her performance. It was spectacular. When she first came to the label, she was working with a couple of producers out of Memphis, and basically they sent us finished product for us to get ready for manufacturing."

Nearly 70 years later, Jimmy Carter - the last active, original member of the Grammy-winning Blind Boys of Alabama - still gets emotional talking about the day his mother dropped him off at age 7 to live at the state- run school for the deaf and blind.

Sightless since birth, Carter was thrust into a harsh, unfamiliar world far from his home in Birmingham. He was supposed to learn a trade like caning chairs or making brooms, but Carter wanted to sing. So did some of his new friends - and they eventually became the Blind Boys of Alabama.

The acclaimed gospel group is once again getting ready for the road after returning to the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind to perform there for the first time in more than six decades.

The Blind Boys were the headliners at a gala Friday night homecoming that marked the 150th anniversary of the institute, which provides free education, job training, Braille books and other services.

Carter, his expressive tenor voice turned gravelly after decades on stage, said it was good to go back after so long despite those terrifying first days as a student in 1939, when his mother left him, both of them in tears.

Contemporary blues guitarist Robert Cray is best known for his breakthrough album from 1986, "Strong Persuader," which featured the Billboard top 25 hit "Smoking Gun."

Combining electric blues with elements of pop, rock and smooth jazz, Cray's soulful, easy-on-the-ears sound crossed over to the mainstream and scored him a Grammy.

Cray's two most recent studio albums show he's still in fine musical form. He's also exhibiting a social consciousness. "Time Will Tell" and "Twenty" are laced with antiwar commentary. "The current events took us to those places ... we had to write those," notes Cray.

"Live from Across the Pond" is Cray's latest effort and first-ever live recording. The 54-year old Georgia native is back on the road with longtime band members Jim Pugh on keyboards, Karl Sevareid on bass and Kevin Hayes on drums.

If you could get a seat in the jam-packed, standing room only Regal Theatre Saturday night Feb. 23, you were one of the lucky ones. It was a show not to be missed. It was an experience to be remembered. "Hip Hop Detoxx," a catchy title but what does it mean?

"Hip Hop has been called the CNN of youth," explained organizer and founder Enoch Muhammad. "Detoxx means to remove poisons. This is the evolution of our work to help youth and adults to detoxx from the behaviors that cause social ills such as crime, drugs and the abuse of women."

"All of these issues are talked about in hip hop. We want to help find solutions using the best of what we've learned from self-improvement and atonement. We couple that with cultural expressions and we have a theatrical performance. We use all elements of music, drama and dance to uplift our people."

In an interesting deal announced last week, CBS Radio is taking over AOL's Internet radio service. That means that CBS will provide the technology, put all its stations one the service, and sell the ads, giving AOL some sort of cut. UPDATE:AOL will continue to program some of the stations. It's a significant retreat for AOL, which had made music one of its signature areas of original content. In 1999, AOL bought Spinner, an Internet radio company. Internet radio, however, has become a tough business because the government-set royalty rate increased sharply. And AOL is scaling back many of its operations to devote resources to its new advertising network. For CBS, the deal represents a belated recognition that the Internet helps, rather than undermines, its existing radio business. CBS only started streaming its stations over the Internet in 2005. And only when Dan Mason, rejoined the company as president of its radio unit last year, did it decide to put the pedal to the metal online.

A battle of the bands has broken out on New York radio.

For the first time in a decade, New York City has three rock radio stations, spurred by a new ratings system that has shown the format has more listeners than radio executives had ever dreamed.

Devotees of the Rolling Stones, the Black Crowes and even alternative band Radiohead may finally be able to stop complaining about New York's offerings.

"The reality of rock radio is that it's a lot stronger than we gave it credit for being," says Bob Buchmann, program director of classic rock station WAXQ-FM, known as Q104.3.

Long considered a "rhythm town" in which hip-hop, dance and R&B were the dominant sounds, New York is now more in line with cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, which each have several rock stations.

The city's newest entry, month-old WRXP-FM, replaced CD 101.9, a smooth-jazz station popular with African- Americans. It's one of a trio owned by Emmis Communications that also includes urban stalwarts Hot 97 and Kiss-FM.

A multi-instrumentalist and electric bass virtuoso, Marcus Miller has logged more than 500 credits as a session player, band member, songwriter and producer.

His work has encompassed rock (Eric Clapton), jazz (Miles Davis), pop (Paul Simon), hip-hop (Jay-Z), new wave (Billy Idol) and opera (tenor Kenn Hicks). He also has scored soundtracks for film ("Boomerang," "This Christmas") and TV ("Everybody Hates Chris").

His biggest claims to fame are his collaborations with the late Luther Vandross, co-writing, co-producing and playing on the signature hits "Never Too Much," "Any Love" and the 1991 Grammy Award-winning "Power of Love/Love Power."

But despite Miller's formidable credits, he's still not -- in the words of Concord product manager Brett Merritt - - "quite the household name he should be." Miller hopes to change that with "Marcus" (March 4), his first release under the 3 Deuces Records/Concord Music Group banner.

Record promotion veteran Lamont Boles, billed on the "Marcus" CD as providing "executive vision and direction," says he was floored when he first dropped by Miller's Los Angeles studio. On the walls he saw plaques for Miller's work on two No. 1 R&B hits: Tom Browne's 1980 "Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)" and E.U.'s "Da'Butt" from the 1988 Spike Lee soundtrack to "School Daze."

"I said, 'You've got the skill level as a jazz musician, but your inner soul is R&B,' " Boles recalls. "Then I asked, 'How come you can't do this within your own project?"'

Thus the seeds were planted for "Marcus," Miller's seventh studio album. To help connect the dots with consumers, the set features current and classic covers (Robin Thicke's "Lost Without U," Nat "King" Cole's "When I Fall in Love") alongside funked-up jazz originals. There are guest appearances by Keb' Mo', Lalah Hathaway, Shihan the Poet and actress Taraji P. Henson on a spoken-word bonus track of Thicke's "Lost."

The lead single, "Free," features Corinne Bailey Rae in a cover of Deniece Williams' 1976 hit.

Aware of the "elevator music" criticism leveled at contemporary instrumentalists who cover past hits, Miller dismisses the notion by citing fusion pioneer Davis.

"Miles used to do songs from Broadway, and people thought then it was corny," he says. "But he played with such heart. And that's the trick: taking material and showing people the possibilities of how far you can take this music. That's the tradition I'm trying to carry on."

Plans are under way for a national tour that will start in April.

In the meantime, Miller is busy coordinating the lineup for the inaugural Playboy Jazz Cruise (January 25- February 1, 2009), which sets sail with him as host. He is also collaborating with fellow bassists Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten on a new album.

And Miller is interested in working again with R&B singers. "I had to step back after Luther passed," he says. "I just couldn't get into it. But I'm starting to hear voices. These younger singers are really trying to get to that authentic sound again. And I'm getting excited again."

SIX YEARS after the Urban Music Awards began, what is touted as one of the biggest annual award ceremonies, has come to the Caribbean.

And it has come to the country widely spoken of as the Caribbean's entertainment capital, as the first Caribbean Urban Music Awards (CUMA) will be staged at James Bond Beach, Oracabessa, St Mary, on Saturday, April 26.

The Urban Music Awards, which is staged by the Jordan Kensington headed Invincible Media Group, is on an expansion path, as it was staged in New York, United States, for the first time on July 7 last year. It is also put on in the United Kingdom, France and Germany where, as with the Caribbean, the public decides on the nominees as well as the winners in the various categories through online voting.

Ballots are cast at www.urban musicawards.net, with the 'Vote Caribbean' option specifically for the newest region on the Urban Music Awards' growth path.

Everyone's talking about Fat Joe's latest release, Elephant In The Room, but no one seems to have truly figured it out yet. See, Elephant is much more than an album, it's an application for the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame; of which I am a voting member. Or at least I would be if the Hall of Fame were real - unbelievably no one's actually put it together - so for the time being it will have to exist solely in my imagination.

This week Danny Harris counts down the top 20 Southern Soul Blues Hits In The Country

Willie Clayton Holds on to the #1 spot
Boogie talks with Sterling Williams
Big Jumps for Bobby Rush and Sir Charles
Denise Lasalle and Bobbye Johnson Debut this week
Listen In



THE COUNTDOWN CHART

1.-1.A Woman Knows Willie Clayton
2.-2.My Give A Damn Latimore
3.-3.Grown And Sexy The Problem Solvas featuring Sir Charles Jones
4.-5.My Life Omar Cunningham
5.-4.Fire Labrado
6.-6.12 steps for Cheaters Mr.Sam
7.-7.Pop That Middle Theodis Ealey
8.-8.Amen Lenny Williams
9.-10.Keep On Swinging Bigg Robb
10-16 Never Miss A Good Thing Sir Charles Jones
11.-9.For Your Love Sir Charles Jones
12.-12.Older Woman Pat Cooley
13.-17.When You Pack Bags Vick Allen
14.-11.Good lovin Carl Marshall Featuring Bigg Robb
15.-14.I'm Going Home O.B.Buchana
16.-20.Bobby Rush For President Bobby Rush
17.* Pay Before You Pump Denise Lasalle
18.-15. Lacee's Groove Lacee
19.-17.Groove U Mose Stovall
20.*Rockin This Boat -Bobbye Johnson

Most folks who were either raised in the South -or who have taken it upon themselves to learn a bit about the popular music traditions which have emanated from this region over the past century or so- cannot help but have at least a cursory knowledge of both traditional rhythm and blues and black gospel.

However, despite ample and undeniable evidence which demonstrates that these two seemingly incongruous genres are in fact inextricably linked ("bound to be bound" to borrow a phrase from a songwriter friend of mine), there still exists no small amount of confusion over the roots of not only rural, acoustic "country" blues and its cousin, electric "city" blues, but of their flashy grandchild: rock and roll.

Adolphus Bell knows this heritage better than most.

Now in his sixties, this "one-man-band" from Alabama (who sings and plays guitar while also playing a small drum set with his feet) has been performing raw blues and R & B for the past four decades.

"I'm one of the last and lost survivors of the blues," he says with a chuckle, before somberly reflecting, "I've seen a lot of good players come and go."

A jovial fellow with a sunny disposition that belies a life peppered with hardship, Bell made a name for himself in the '60s as a band leader (and later as a solo artist), but fell into obscurity in the '80s.

More than four decades after her 1962 debut single knocked Ray Charles off the top of the charts, bluesy singer/songwriter/guitarist/grandmother Barbara Lynn is still dazzling Louisiana and Texas audiences.

A ukulele wasn't what the young Barbara Lynn expected. It was an innocent mistake on the part of Lynn's mother, who was trying to buy her young grade-school daughter a guitar. So the girl in Beaumont, Texas dutifully tried to learn how to play the instrument that made Tiny Tim famous, before switching to piano. The piano didn't feel right, either. At church on Sundays, women always played the piano, and Lynn wanted to try something different. Her siren call was her transistor radio; in the mid-50s, the airwaves brought her the explosive voice of sultry Chicago soul and blues belter Etta James, the slurred, intoxicating guitar playing of Jimmy Reed and the plaintive, single-note phrasing of B.B. King. Those were the sounds that Barbara Lynn wanted to make, and eventually her parents relented and bought her a guitar.

Dear Twins: Two years ago I met and married a man that had a few rough edges too say the least. This is not to say he didn't have any redeeming qualities. It's that they were hard to see at first. Being an understanding kind of a person I thought I could help him to change. Soon after we married I did ask that he try to see things from my point of view. For instance I thought a good dose of church would be just what the doctor ordered. Since he didn't seem to know the Lord I thought the church environment would solve most of my problems. Well to put it mildly that worked about as long as John stayed in the Army if you know what I mean. At first he did agree to go to church with me and even to take part in a married couples Valentine outing at the church. Taking him on the outing was the worst mistake I could have made. We went to a very nice restaurant and had a great meal. Then the group had a complentary glass of wine at the end of the meal. I was a little hesitant about staying for the wine but he had done so well during our meal I thought things would continue the same way the rest of the evening. When the waiter served everyone and he drank his wine I thought I was home free when he asked for a second glass of wine that lead to five more. The other couples tried to ignore him but he had a few things to get off his chest. Of course he started by telling them how stupid they were and that he didn't really want to spend his time with them. He went on to tell them how miserable he was since he married me and that all our problems started because I made him go to church in the first place. I don't want to run out and get a divorce but I'm not sure we can go on this way. What can I do?

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19 THROUGH SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2008

THE MAIN CONCERT - SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2008 - 7:00 PM CORAL BAY BALL FIELD St.JOHN-V.I

FEATURING TAB BENOIT
CHUBBY CARRIER & THE BAYOU SWAMP BAND
WAYLON THIBODEAUX
SEAN CARNEY

By Strings Courtesy of Phat Sound Promotions

Long ago, my father taught me that the most famous people weren't always the best. From time to time, he'd turn me on to some amazing sounds, for example, by folks who weren't necessary the most famous in their field. True, real jazz aficionados might know Rufus Harley played some incredible stuff on bagpipes, or know that Oscar Pettiford was playing jazz cello years before anyone else. Or, how many people know that Herbie Nichols was playing piano music that arguably was harmonically more advanced, but as alluring beautiful, as Monk's music back in the day? There are lot of folks just outside the spotlight of the mass media who could shine as bright as any super nova, given the chance.

Same goes not only for innovators, but for those who play supporting roles. I hate to hazard a guess as to how many background singers can stand toe-to-toe and even deliver a melodic knockout punch to their bosses. Many folks in that position labor their lives away as unsung heroes, putting the icing on the cake for others. That soon could change for one talented singer.

For years, singer Becky Starr has been putting that extra background flavor in the live shows and records of greats such as the late Little Milton, Chuck Strong, the late Johnny Taylor, Natalie Cole, Patti Labell, Denise LaSalle, Shirley Brown and the late Gerald LeVert to name a few. You don't build a resume like that without some innate talent of your own. And, someone is bound to notice.

Legendary jazz/rock fusion group Return to Forever will begin its approximately 50-date North American and European reunion tour May 29 with a two-night stand at Austin, Texas' Paramount Theatre.

The quartet, which hasn't performed together in 25 years, will play North America throughout June before heading to Europe for a month's worth of gigs in July. The classic lineup of keyboardist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke, guitarist Al Di Meola and drummer Lenny White returns stateside in late July for an East Coast run that concludes Aug. 7 at New York's United Palace.

Following a handful of rehearsals at Los Angeles' Mad Hatter Studios in early February, Corea told Billboard, "It was thrilling getting together with the guys again." After 25 years, "everybody's approach and sound was so much richer."

Return to Forever last reunited for a brief tour in 1983. Since then, each band member has kept busy with solo projects. Although the jazz musicians would exchange phone calls with the idea of another reunion, "it never quite landed," Corea recalls.

But after years of "positive pressure coming from friends and fans," the jazz outfit finally nailed down a reunion date, Corea says. And the response has been overwhelmingly positive. "Half of the fan mail I get now is from people who write into the Web site, asking, 'When is Return to Forever coming here?' I'm anxious t

BLUZAPALOOZA, the first Blues concert tour to go to a war zone, ships out to military bases in Iraq and Kuwait on April 1, 2008 to entertain our troops.

Created by Blues producers Steve Simon and John Hahn and presented by Armed Forces Entertainment, this inaugural BLUZAPALOOZA tour stars Blues icon and four-time Blues Music Awards (BMA) nominee Bobby Rush, two-time BMA Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year Janiva Magness, Beale Street Entertainer of the Year Billy Gibson, and Tony Braunagel from The Phantom Blues Band heading up the BLUZAPALOOZA All-Stars Blues Band.

"BLUZAPALOOZA gives America's greatest Blues musicians the opportunity to say 'Thank you' and 'We love you' to America's greatest troops," stated Steve Simon, co-producer of BLUZAPALOOZA.

"For our men and woman serving on the front lines, BLUZAPALOOZA is like attending a great Blues festival right in their own home town," stated John Hahn, BLUZAPALOOZA's co-producer.

This inaugural BLUZAPALOOZA tour has been made possible with the help of Armed Forces Entertainment, The Blues Foundation, Blind Raccoon, Blues Revue, Gibson Guitars, Alligator Records, NorthernBlues Music, Delta Groove Records, Blind Pig Records, Telarc Records, Sony Corporation and Ruf Records.

Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE) is the lead Department of Defense agency for providing entertainment to U.S. military personnel serving overseas. Founded in 1951, AFE brings a touch of home to more than 500,000 troops each year. BLUZAPALOOZA is proud to be working with AFE.

Contact Steve Simon at 340-643-6475 or at SteveSimonLive@yahoo.com.

To make room for Kirby Carmichael, WCLM forces popular disc jockey Chris Bopst into the cold. by Brent Baldwin

Richmond radio enthusiasts beware. Your chances of contracting audio syphilis just jumped off the charts and there's no penicillin.

For the last four years, local radio disc jockey Chris Bopst has been garnering kudos and critical acclaim for his eclectic program, "The Bopst Show," airing Monday through Friday from 1 to 4 p.m. on WCLM 1450-AM, The Clam.

But the days of Bopst ranting and playing such a wide range as The Clash, Nina Simone, Slayer, local music and educational records about masturbation, appear to be over. He recently decided to hang up his headphones after being asked to move his show to a later time slot to make room for former Q94 disc jockey Kirby Carmichael.

"About six months ago I hit a wall," an irate Bopst says from his home in the Fan. "There was no one [at the station] supporting me. I did everything on my own and for free, designing their Web site, promoting and selling my show, and I brought the station a lot of media attention in the process,Now I feel betrayed."

Since "The Bopst Show" stopped airing last week, angry listeners have flooded the station with calls.

Broadcast from a 1,000-watt transmitter, "The Bopst Show" had a strong following throughout the city, but particularly in the Fan District. After years of pouring himself into the show and building an audience, Bopst says he was disheartened when he heard the station would be paying Carmichael and giving him free rein. Usually WCLM does not pay disc jockeys, however DJs do receive 50 percent of any ads they sell for their show.