By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — It’s been a busy awards season for Spike Lee, and he’s set to get another one shortly. It was announced this week that Lee and long-time collaborator trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard would receive the Spirit of Collaboration Award from the Society of Composers & Lyricists. They will receive it at the second annual awards ceremonies later this year. Lee and Blanchard have worked together on 15 films and three television projects.Their many joint ventures have included “Jungle Fever,” “Malcolm X,” “25th Hour,” “Inside Man” and the Peabody award winning documentary “When The Levees Broke.” Lee…
Author: Ron Wynn
Black History month coverage begins in The Tennessee Tribune and on TnTribune.com with the story about music during the Civil Rights era. Black History, which is American history, happens every day. During February, we will highlight many of the contributions and successes of Black Americans. Pick up your copy of the Tribune or go to TnTribune.com for articles found exclusively in the Tribune. By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Music played a huge role during and throughout the Civil Rights Movement, both in terms of providing inspiration, and serving as an illustration of the feelings and sentiments that were being…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The list of candidates for the Titans’ offensive coordinator position got an interesting addition last week. Former Los Angeles Chargers quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton was reported getting interviews with both the Titans and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hamilton is available because the Chargers fired head coach Anthony Lynn at the end of this past season. Lynn is now the new offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. Hamilton’s name is of interest for multiple reasons. First, he helped rookie Justin Herbert adjust this season to the NFL and Herbert came on to have a good year…
By Ron Wynn Consistent excellence was the hallmark of Henry Aaron’s extraordinary baseball career, one that saw him earn 21 All-Star team honors in 23 seasons while playing for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, returning at the end to the Milwaukee Brewers. Aaron, who passed last week at 86, was never flashy, just routinely outstanding. Despite never hitting 50 home runs in a single season, he had eight 40-homer years. When Aaron retired he had amassed 3,771 hits (third all-time) and was the Major League career leader in runs batted in with 2,297 and total bases 6,856. It’s a measure…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Nationally prominent entertainer Tonya Lewis Taylor has enjoyed success in the music business, but personal advancement and monetary security have never been her only concerns. She’s always been more interested in mentoring the generations of Black youth behind her, giving back to the community, and trying to help battle ongoing issues of systemic racism and economic inequality. One of the outgrowths of those issues it the rising rate of gun violence in Black neighborhoods and the toll it’s taking in premature deaths among young people. Lewis, a native New Yorker and the executive director/founder…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected college basketball, forcing several cancellations and postponements. But it hasn’t slowed the progress of the Tennessee Volunteers, who continue to look like the team to beat in the Southeastern Conference along with Alabama. While their fortunes keep improving, both Vanderbilt and Tennessee State are struggling both on the court and with games being rescheduled, postponed or cancelled. Vanderbilt had been scheduled to play Tennessee twice last week, but ended up only playing them once, on Saturday in Knoxville. That game was a blueprint for both teams’ seasons to…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Titans are in the market for at least one and maybe two new coordinators. After a record breaking offensive performance propelled them to an 11–5 regular season record and their first AFC South title since 2008, Arthur Smith became the team’s second offensive coordinator in three seasons to get a head coaching position. Smith accepted the Atlanta Falcons head job last Saturday. The Titans’ offense averaged almost 32 points per game, with Ryan Tannehill setting a team mark for passing yardage, Derrick Henry exceeding 2,000 yards and breaking Chris Johnson’s team record, and…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — It’s only the middle of January, so people touting any film as best of the year are either being premature or attributing something they recently saw to last season. However it is a safe bet that there won’t be too many productions made in 2021 superior to Regina King’s outstanding debut work “One Night In Miami.” From the standpoint of casting, acting and writing it is stellar. One of the toughest roles to nail is that of the famed vocalist, producer and record label owner Sam Cooke. But the person who does a spectacular…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Thursday marks one of the most significant anniversaries in popular music history. That’s the day (January 21) back in 1961 four 15-year-old girls from Detroit who called themselves The Primettes were signed to signed to Berry Gordy Jr.’s Motown Records. It was nearly nine years later, on Jan. 14, 1970, that the group — by then a trio billed as Diana Ross & the Supremes (minus Florence Ballard, who was replaced by Cindy Birdsong in 1967 after struggling with alcoholism) — performed a final show at the New Frontier in Las Vegas. Two of…
NBA star Lebron James is offering the WNBA the opportunity to solve a tough public relations problem. They still have an undesirable owner in their midst, one who neither the players on her team, nor the rest of the league, wants to be part of things. That person is former Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler, who is also a co-owner of the Atlanta Dream. Loeffler has long been a thorn in the league’s side, someone openly at odds with their image of progressivism. She’s now also an individual out of a job after losing her Senate runoff race to Democrat Rev.…