A Reflection...from 2004

I remember the last time I encountered Prince. It was in 2004.Here's my story and I'm stickin' to it.**

The Last Time I Saw Prince
Review: Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame Inductions (NYC 3/15/2004)
RRHOF *****"Rhythm and Blues, are part of "the national genius", of the Black Man, of the Black nation It is the direct, no monkey business expression of urban and rural Black America. Black Music is African in origin, African-American in it's totality, and its various forms (especially the vocal) show just how the African impulses were redistributed in its expression."----Leroy Jones (Amiri Baraka) Black Music ,1967

I've also heard Little Richard say ..."Rhythm and Blues had a baby and they called it Rock and Roll."

This music is also part of the African tradition. Some would like for us to have no memory of that, a cultureless people without a memory. No History.
Monday morning, March 15, Bob Davis the CEO of Soul-Patrol.com and myself embarked on a historical journey. Our mission was to go out and document our musical legacy for our children, future generations and you.

BET did not cover the Rock and Roll Induction Ceremonies, neither did Ebony, Jet, or Vibe. What does that tell you? Are they feeding into the concept of a cultureless people without a memory?

I was there as a friend of the Dells representing Soul-Patrol.com. We have lobbied for quite a number of years to finally get them in the Hall of Fame. It was wonderful being there providing support in any way possible.

A big thanks also goes out to Terry Stewart, the President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We spoke to him about the importance of the organization, and the significance of the African-American contribution in relation to this music that changed the world.

The Late Night Band from the David Letterman show were in attendance, up a little early (9AM),but sounding great. They have served as the "house band" at the induction ceremonies with Paul Shaefer's musical direction for quite some time now. They accompanied the Dells on OH WHAT A NIGHT. In speaking with Felicia Collins and Will Lee they stated that their participation at the induction's has been at least nine years. These musicians are some of the most versatile players on the scene.

I spoke briefly to Dusty Hill from ZZ Top and congratulated him on his induction. He was absolutely blown away by the whole ordeal and promised to talk to me later after rehearsal about it. Unfortunately, his road manager felt intimidated by our presence and decided not to let us talk to the purveyors of Texas Blue Boogie Funk Rock. He (the road manager) did everything to avoid us after ZZ Top's rehearsal.
I have listening to the music of Traffic and Steve Winwood for over 30 years. I have even had the opportunity to interview his good friend Brian Auger some time ago. The voice of Steve Winwood still sounds great as I listened during the rehearsal session. It has aged like a fine wine. His guitar playing hasn't suffered any either as he put out some licks won't see on TV. The induction speech given by Dave Mathews was great as he related his experiences listening to Traffic's DEAR MR FANTASY "under the influence". I saw a lot of folks in the audience nodding their heads in approval.

While cruising around the ballroom at the Waldorf I met the author of SOULSVILLE USA ,The Story of Stax Records. Back when I was producing talk radio at WCXJ-AM I had booked Rob Bowman as a guest for the late Dave Scott. It was great finally meeting him face to face and talking to him about all kinds of things. He is currently working with the folks who will be distributing the 1971 film SOUL TO SOUL. It will be made available on DVD this summer.

Since I am a radio producer and a events coordinator, I was particularly interested on the technical and logistical aspects of the show. One disturbing observation was the lack of a significant number of Blacks and other people of color on the set. I think I might have seen 5 or 6 folks on a possible crew of perhaps 150 working for VH1/MTV.Chuck Barksdale of the Dells commented to us that he was glad we were there; otherwise there would be nobody to talk to.

Perhaps the powers that be can look in the future to increase participation since we all know there are skilled and talented folks to do these jobs. It also would have been nice to have the Dells do more than their one song and be a part of the finale. The other artists performed at least two songs. Other aspects of the rehearsal that I saw included the performance by Jackson Browne , The crew at VH1 seemed particularly concerned that this performance went off well. During the show my good friend Bruce Springsteen gave the induction speech. I had met Bruce years ago when I was operations manager at Rainbow Kitchen in Homestead.

The performance of Jackson Browne was lackluster. Some audience members were visibly bored with the performance of Jackson Browne in the evening. Will someone please nudge Chris Rock?

A tribute to George Harrison is something else I witnessed at the rehearsal. Again I noticed more attention to detail by the crew. George's son was one of the many guitarists featured along with Tom Petty on a couple of tunes.

One thing that stood out for me were the induction and acceptance speeches. Alicia Keys was eloquent in her tribute to Prince. "There are many Kings, but there is only one Prince". She talked about how his music and search for creative freedom influenced her. Prince spoke on how he wanted to be able to express freedom when first starting out with Warner Brothers at age 19 and how the label gave him that opportunity. He also talked about his emancipation and how "A real friend and mentor cares for you and them".
Prince had opened the show earlier to give a lesson in how to Rock and Roll. I like to call this segment of the show "Rock 101".

Yes folks…they all were there. Record industry executives, Lenny Kravitz, Yoko Ono, Puff Daddy, Fox News critic Roger Friedman, George Clinton, Mick Jagger, members of the Soprano's cast, Chris Rock, Keith Richards, Sean Lennon, and many more. All in attendance to pay homage to the Dells, Prince, Bob Seeger, Traffic, ZZ Top, George Harrison, Warren Zevon and others.From the very moment Prince and his band hit the stage, the ballroom attendees at the Waldorf Astoria were on their feet. The extraordinary aggregation of musicians turned the place out and this was only the beginning of the evening's festivities. The Purple one and NPG came out slammin' with LET"S GO CRAZY featuring Maceo Parker and Candy Dulfer. They then proceeded into SIGN OF THE TIMES. If you glanced toward Lenny Kravitz, who was sitting right up front by the way, he was squirming in his seat right about now. The band started playing SOUL MAN as an introduction and slipped into the tune KISS. P Diddy's mouth was agape at this point and I swear I saw him taking notes! All joking aside, this reminded me of the TAMI SHOW and how no one (The Rolling Stones) wanted to play after James Brown.

Robert Townsend gave the induction speech for the Dells as George Clinton rose from his seat and gave a personal tribute when they came on stage. The daughters of the late Johnny Funches joined Marvin, Johnny, Mickey, Verne, and Chuck. It was a moment to behold as everyone in attendance gave them a standing ovation.Chuck Barksdale in his speech said "that his group was accepting for "The O'Jays, the Whispers, and the Chi-Lites. They're not going to wait 50 years." After that the stage was set up for them to sing OH WHAT A NIGHT. I saw Yoko Ono dancing by herself. George Clinton was dancing with his granddaughter. Other's were also dancing in the crowd. I watched the tears and smiles of Dells family members as the quintet got their statues. It was unfortunate that Sean "Puffy" Combs and his entourage did not have the dignity or respect to stay for the Dells induction to the Hall of Fame.

Contrary to the belief of Jann Werner, the non-musician who got a Lifetime Achievement Award , Rock and Roll does not begin with the Beatles as he stated in his acceptance speech. Musical appreciation is based on what music you are turned on to. This contributes to your experience. You can't appreciate Little Richard or Beethoven if you are not turned on to them. The same goes for Zydeco, Reggae, Jazz, Soca, Blues, Gospel, and other music's.

Once you start listening many times you want to explore more and learn about the history of the music. That also adds to your appreciation and knowledge. As we stated earlier ,some would like for us to have no memory of any musical history, a cultureless people without a memory. No History. This goes for whatever color you may be.

Oh yeah by the way…..the Beatles first signed to a Black record label here in the states. Vee Jay Records.

Without the African American influence in music there would be no R&B, Rock and Roll, or a Hall of Fame. Just think….LaVerne Baker, The Flamingos, The Clovers, The Dells, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Curtis Mayfield, Betty Davis, Ruth Brown, Chuck Willis, James Brown, Big Joe Turner, The Coasters, Ray Charles, Ike Turner, Jesse A. Stone, Willie Dixon, Fats Domino, Parliament, Isley Brothers. Of course there are many, many others. Our history….. our national genius. Let's not forget. I won't let you.

Kevin Amos tha Funkoverlord,