By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Numerous stars have offered salutes, tributes and accolades to the memory and achievements of actor Carl Weathers. who died Thursday at 76. His array of films and television shows included most notably his role as Apollo Creed in four “Rocky” films and subsequent “Creed” productions, as well as one of the “Predator” sequels. Weathers also starred in a number of television shows, among them “In The Heat Of the Night,” “Street Justice,” “Fortune Dane,” “Chicago Justice,” and more recently “Arrested Development” and “The Mandalorian.” A former college and pro football player, Weathers was able…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Involvement by local symphony orchestras with their communities doesn’t always happen, and even less often in Black neighborhoods. But the Nashville Symphony has been that rare exception. They announced Friday the second iteration of its community engagement initiative “Music in My Neighborhood.” This is a weeklong cultural exchange in the form of a musical takeover of a neighborhood in Nashville. “Music in My Neighborhood” will be held February 12 through 17 in North Nashville and Bordeaux. The Symphony will partner with local organizations to highlight North Nashville and Bordeaux’s history, culture, and residents through…
Coaches are hired and fired all the time in pro sports, often for questionable (at best) reasons. Personality clashes with players or owners, disappointments in key games, or sometimes simply a belief that a coach or manager has been in a job too long are all standard explanations given for coaching moves. But seldom are coaches who are succeeding fired, and even less often first-year head coaches whose teams are in second place in their division and only 3.5 games out of first. Yet, that is precisely what happened to Adrian Griffin, the now former first-year head coach of the…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — He may have given up his role with “The Daily Show,” but Trevor Noah remains firmly in place with the Grammy Awards. He will serve as host for the 2024 Grammys, making this the fourth consecutive year that he’s been in that position. The Recording Academy made the announcement last Wednesday night. “I think it’s also important to acknowledge something. I’m hosting the Grammys,” Noah concurrently announced on his podcast “What Now? With Trevor Noah.” “I’m excited about that, yeah, it’s a lot of fun. I enjoy the Grammys because I get to watch…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — She was acclaimed throughout her lifetime as the nation’s finest jazz vocalist and a supreme interpreter of the classic American popular songbook. But until last month there hadn’t been an extensive biography done on the great Ella Fitzgerald since her death in 1996. That is no longer the case, as music historian Ruth Crawford Seeger has written the new book “Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: The Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song” (Norton). A combination extensive personal profile and musical analysis and commentary work, Tick has compiled a hefty amount of information on Fitzgerald, and done…
The news Monday evening that the Tennessee Titans’ two-week search for a new head coach had ended also showed a desire for offensive improvement may have been a key factor, if not the biggest. Their new head coach is former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan. An interesting side note is that Callahan, who has held that position since 2019, did NOT call plays for the Bengals. That stipulation has often been viewed as a critical one for future head coaches. But what Callahan did do was oversee the development of the Bengals current QB Joe Burrow, along with designing…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The late Luther Vandross was a supreme balladeer, one of the finest at doing both contemporary pop and classic soul/R&B numbers. Despite his immense popularity throughout his lifetime, no one has done either a biopic or documentary on Vandross since his death in 2005. That is no longer the case, as Dawn Porter’s production “Luther: Never Too Much” made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival over last weekend. Porter got some big name backing for this project, as two of its producers include Jamie Foxx and Colin Firth. It’s an official selection of…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The prolific producer, writer and director Kenya Barris has a full slate of projects scheduled for this year and beyond, many of which he discussed over last weekend while attending the Sundance Film Festival. Barris discussed these forthcoming productions as part of the Variety Studio, which was presented by Audible. During that event he spotlighted three high profile future presentations, one of which has been in some form of development since 2020 and now has evolved from a feature film into a television series. Barris has originally planned to direct a biopic on legendary…
Stardom and greatness has been predicted for Jerod Mayo dating back to his college days, when he was a star linebacker at the University of Tennessee. He became part of history last Friday as the New England Patriots named him their 15th head coach. His tenure with the team dates back to 2008, when the Patriots drafted him 10th overall. Mayo spent his entire NFL career with New England. He was Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2008, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, and in 2010 a first team All-Pro choice. He was also on the 2014 Super Bowl winning…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — After winning three awards Sunday at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards, the latest version of “The Color Purple” is now available for home viewing. Such digital platforms as Apple TV and Prime Video made the film available for either rent or purchase on Tuesday. It will be released to the DVD market on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and conventional DVD March 12. Those releases will have several bonus features according to Variety. These include three different features with the director Blitz Bazawule, as well as other filmmakers and cast members. There will also be behind…