Lesley Gore: Princess of Song, Then and Now

I've been a Lesley Gore fan since the mid-1960s when she was all over radio, tv, film and stage as America's Princess of Song. Lesley Gore not only informed and inspired, my musical dreams, she encouraged me to pursue them. I've met her many times and I have incredible stories and memories to share. They will, however, wait for other entries. In the meantime, I would be remiss if I didn't share these photos I found today of Lesley Gore then and now. The two photos from early 1965 were taken at a taping of "Hullabaloo," the NBC pop music program, and show her performing shortly after winning the Cash Box, Record World and Music Business awards as the Number One Female Vocalist of the Year. In the photo with the dancers, she is doing her classic "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" and in the other, she is delving deep into her brilliant and criminally overlooked ballad, "All of My Life." The other photo was taken three days ago at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, New York City, where she headlined the opening concert season of Joes Pub in the Park and sang all of her classic hits as well as the jazz and alterna-pop she is celebrated for today.

Britney Spears 2007: A Dissenting Opinion

I liked Britney Spears' performance on the MTV awards the other night. I thought she looked great, very sexy and cute and funny, and her dancing, while more tentative than in the past, was still on point. The song, "Gimme More," is relentlessly addictive and looks like it will be a hit. I've also heard the ten or so songs that have been leaked online recently. Some are said to be outtakes from 2006 recording sessions, some may be b-sides for the new project, due in November, but I like them, too. Britney Spears still has it. Opening the VMAs, she provoked so much comment and discussion that it quickly became obvious. She still has our attention.

LIKE A DREAM: Chrisette Michele Has It Her Way at Virgin San Francisco

23 year old Long Island girl, Chrisette Michele, walked past me to the elevator to the fourth floor in the San Francisco Virgin Megastore where she had been scheduled to perform a free set at 3 PM on Wednesday, September 12, 2007. I was browsing Pop Collections as she, her companion and a Virgin representative entered the elevator talking about a long flight from Chicago. I thought to myself, "I think that's Chrisette Michelle" and looked at my watch. 4:40 PM, and it would be another thirty minutes until the performance began. By then, the patient crowd of five had swelled to twenty-five, most of whom were familiar with Michele's Def Jam debut, "I Am," and were loudly enthusiastic and appreciative. By the end of the first song of her mercilessly brief three song set, "Like A`Dream," all present recognized we were in the presence of musical greatness. The next pop/jazz/r&b superstar has arrived, and a year from now Virgin won't be able to hold all her fans.

Chrisette Michele has it all: songwriting talent par excellence (every cut on her CD is flat-out superb), incredibly fluid and athletic voice with great range, looks, personality and ability to connect musically with an audience. "Let's Rock" was greeted with shouts and handclaps, and it was clear that what Antonio Reid and Babyface saw, and Nas et al were eager to have on their records, is ready for primetime.

She won't have long to wait.

KEYSHIA COLE AT MEZZANINE: We Got Our Heart Back!

Mezzanine was packed to the rafters and beyond on Friday, September 7, 2007 when Keyshia Cole took the stage roundabout 11:30 PM. We had waited through 4 (!!!) opening acts, including superb diva-in-training Diesel and three excellent young male r&b acts who had uniformly strong tracks and songs (brilliant J. Holiday; hey bebe smoker Ray Lavender; livewire J. Valentine) and who each veered awfully close to male stripper territory. The crowd was pumped and ready when hometown (Oakland!) homegirl Keyshia Cole and her explosive band, two hard workin' backup singers and two crazy creative dancers finally arrived and set Mezzanine on fire.

Last time we saw Cole, at The Grand in San Francisco more than a year ago, she was still riding the wave of her debut CD, "The Way It Is," the best soul record of the past several years, and she came across as the ghetto girl next door with the powerhouse voice and female-friendly point of view. In 2007, she has morphed into an arena-ready big time performer, armed with the voice, moves and adorable personality that will no doubt charm and disarm hordes of new fans once her new record, "Just Like You," drops September 25. She did one of her new songs, "Got My Heart Back," and it proved as sturdy and unforgettable as all the songs on her first record are. She did a medley of covers which included "I'm Goin' Down" (is that now mandatory for up and coming soul sisgters to perform?), but otherwise she stuck to her first album songbook and astonished and amazed her audience with a thrilling performance. Yes, she can sing her ass off, yes, she has strong stories to tell about young romance, and yes, she has become even prettier than when she first emerged. But now she is thoroughly professional, totally ready to take over the throne of hip hop queen. We got our heart back when Keyshia Cole returned to the scene.

ART'N SOUL IN DOWNTOWN OAKLAND WITH KIM SULLIVAN, JEFFREY OSBORNE AND REGINA BELLE!!

It was a hot summer day in downtown Oakland, perfect Labor Day weather for the annual Art and Soul Festival. City Center was shut down and blocked off for blocks in several directions, and a mere $10 admission fee granted access to excellent clothes and crafts and art booths; delicious and varied food; and superb live entertainment ranging from a blues stage to a world stage to a latino stage to a hip hop dj spinning hot hits while kids danced on the stage in front of him. My longtime New York City friend, Kim Sullivan, had a layover in the Bay Area, so we met at 12th Street BART and did the festival together. We had a ball walking around, catching up, shopping and enjoying the mellow, friendly crowd. Early in the afternoon we caught a few songs by Pieces of a Dream, the jazz supertrio, featuring soul-jazz vocaliste par excellence, Regina Belle, and they played and sang their hearts out.

Later we had a terrific cement picnic in the sun with lunches from Ribs N Things, a Hayward eatery. Kim had hot links, honey yams and red beans and rice, and I opted for tri tip, potato salad and macaroni and cheese. Scrumptious! And the fruit punch was the best we'd ever tasted. We think it may have been the grenadine at the bottom of the glass. We laughed, noshed and relaxed, then made our way to the Main Stage for several numbers by soul-pop balladeer, Jeffrey Osborne, who did elongated versions of his hits like "Back In Love Again," "Love Ballad" and an incendiary take on "The Woo Woo Song" with enthusiastic and occasionally over the top audience participation. Osborne is a real crowd pleaser of a 70s old skool performer and had the audience eating out of his hands.

Too soon it was time to leave and get Kim back to BART so she could relax a bit before the flight home. Although she'd lived here for many years, this afternoon she got to see the fun and happy side of Oakland, courtesy of Art And Soul. We'll be back!