NASHVILLE, TN — Hip-Hop, pop and new Jack Swing stars were recognized last week with the newest set of inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Gloria Estefan, Snoop Dogg, Teddy Riley, Sade Adu, Liz Rose, Glen Ballard and Jeff Lynne will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 15 during the organization’s 52nd annual induction and awards gala in New York City. Hall Chairman Nile Rodgers shared a statement expressing the importance of songwriters and how, without them, there would be no recorded music, concerts or merch.“It all starts with the song and the songwriter,” he…
Author: Ron Wynn
The Tennessee Titans made history last week, even though no one really wanted to overplay the news. But the hiring of former college and pro football player as well as scout and team executive Ran Carthon was major news. He is the eighth Black GM in the NFL, and the sixth hired over the last two years. It also is a first for the Titans. But rather than race, the word that was emphasized most often during his introductory press conference was collaboration. It was the same word being constantly used in the offseason by both head coach Mike Vrabel…
Part 3 of a 3 Part Series By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — 1. What are you feelings in regards to contemporary country radio and its treatment of your music? Frankie Station: “I was in a re-write class and our teacher, Jason Blume, said in the top 50 songs on Billboard Magazine, two were by women. Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood. Now younger women are cutting through like Kelsey Ballerini, Carley Pearce, Ashley McBride. That is why YOUR support is so IMPORTANT. It’s a numbers game, and we are in an emerging market, and every download counts. So when the…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — As the Predators move into the second half othe 2022-23 season, their erratic year contues. After getting off to a strong start on the recent road trip with three victories, they duffered two straight one-goal losses. They returned home to begin a three-game stand, but Saturday’s opener didn’t go as hoped. They fell behind twice, battled back from a two-goal deficit, then faded in the third period as the Buffalo Sabres took a 5-3 victory. In many ways it mirrored what’s happened a lot to the Predators in the first half, They would get…
The NFL playoffs are now in motion, and the Super Bowl is on the horizon. But the NFL continues to has an image problem that just seems to never go away: its lack of Black head coaches despite the fact that the on the field workforce is at 70 percent. After Houston canned Lovie Smith following one season that ended with a 3-13-1 mark, the NFL goes into 2023 with a total of only TWO Black head coaches. One, Todd Bowles of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is in his first year with that franchise and got them into the playoffs…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Though it is only the first month of the year, there’s no doubt that one of the biggest comedy tours that will be in arenas throughout 2023 is getting underway next week. That’s the third tour for the duo of Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock. It kicks off Jan. 20 in Oklahoma City. They will play five dates in cities across Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina. Their last joint tour came last year, when they appeared in San Diego, San Francisco and Phoenix. They also toured the U.K. in September of that same…
Part 2 of a 3 Part Series By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — We continue our roundtable with outstanding Black women country artists Frankie Staton, Rissi Palmer and Miko Marks. In this second part we find out about influences, as well as some particular individual questions for each artist. 6. Who would you consider influences and/or favorite artists? Frankie Staton: “Just too many to mention, so I will stick to Country. Hank, Sr., Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Leona Williams, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Alabama, Lady A,…
Fisk University has made history in many ways, notably through the activities of an array of great civic and political leaders, activists, and scholars, as well as the magnificent Fisk Jubilee Singers. But last week Fisk made history in a different sphere: that of athletic competition. When Fisk University’s gymnastics team took the mat, it was the first time in major college competition that an HBCU team appeared in a gymnastics meet.They were matched against North Carolina, Southern Utah and Washington. It was the Super 16 event in Las Vegas. It has been only 14 months since the sport was…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Long before he became,e part of the Marvel universe, Don Cheadle was an accomplished, critically acclaimed actor. But now, after 12 years as an MCU supporting actor, Cheadle’ status is about to change. He is preparing for upcoming “Armor Wars” movie in which he will have a more prominent role. Cheadle said of the project, “In every successive film, he’s coming more and more out of Tony’s shadow and becoming his own person. But we still haven’t explored who he is and really dug into that yet. That’s what the movie is for.” Cheadle’s…
Part 1 of a 3 Part Series By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Frankie Staton, Rissi Palmer-Stypman and Miko Marks are three remarkable Black women who sought careers in country music in an era when it was viewed as the sole property of white men, and audiences were widely deemed at best unresponsive, and at worse openly hostile to Black country artists, especially women. Over the next three weeks they will look back at both their careers and the past year in country, from both a personal perspective and general overview. 1. What initially got you interested in country music…