Born to a taxi-driving father and pharmacist mother, Winehouse grew up in the Southgate area of northern London. Through a close relationship with her mother’s side of the family, which included several professional jazz musicians (her paternal grandmother was reportedly once romantically linked with British jazz legend Ronnie Scott), she began absorbing the musical lessons of such giants as Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald.

Once she’d hit her teens, however, she quickly found herself attracted to such then-current American r&b and hip-hop acts as TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, and the Fugees. By the end of 2003, when she was 20 years old, Island had released her debut album, Frank, in the U.K., racking up impressive reviews and sales and paving the way for her 2006 breakthrough Back to Black.

That album includes probably her most famous song, “Rehab,” inspired after she fired her management company for suggesting she check herself in for her extracurricular problems. One month after Winehouse won Best Female Artist at the Brit Awards in February 2007, Universal released Back to Black in the U.S. and found itself with an album that charted higher than any other American debut by a British female recording artist.

Winehouse rode that success to five Grammy Awards (making her the first-ever British female artist to win so many in one night) and the eventual release of Frank in the U.S. (slightly tweaked, with two songs removed and one added). Nevertheless, according to interviews at the time, Winehouse had never really set her sights on conquering America.

“I just did an album that I’m really proud of, that means a lot to me, and I really stretched myself doing it,” she said. “The fact that I get to come to other places other than where I live and I’m from, and do shows, that’s just icing on the cake. I’ve said it before and I'll say it again: I’m a really lucky girl.”

However, that noted edginess also bubbled up: “I’m not interested in writing songs so people can find out who I really am. There’s stuff that I wouldn’t want people to know.”

As she continues to fight her demons off the stage, however, word comes that Winehouse is actively starting work with Black co-producer Mark Ronson. A rep confirmed, “She just went into the studio to record with Mark two or three weeks ago. She was writing in her home studio before that.”

While no date has been set for the album’s release, Winehouse is set to play several festival dates in Europe this summer.

Best-known for his long and enormously successful collaboration with singer Brook Benton, Clyde Otis was among the most prolific songwriters and producers of the post-war era, making music business history as the first African American a&r executive for a major label.

Born in Prentice, Mississippi, Otis's early exposure to music was limited — his family didn't even own a radio — and he only began composing songs after meeting "Route 66" writer Bobby Troup during a stint in the Marines. Following his discharge, Otis settled in New York City, spending the next eight years enduring a series of day jobs while honing his songwriting at night. He was driving a cab when, in 1954, he overheard one of his fares discussing a party being thrown by music publisher Sidney Kornhauser; Otis convinced the woman to give Kornhauser his song "That's All There Is to That," which became a Top 20 pop hit for Nat "King" Cole in mid-1956.

Upon joining Mercury's a&r staff in 1958, Otis began writing and producing material for Brook Benton; beginning with the number three smash "It's Just a Matter of Time," they teamed for a series of 17 consecutive hits, including "Endlessly," "So Many Ways," "Kiddio," and the novelty favorite "The Boll Weevil Song." Otis also produced a number of duets between Benton and Dinah Washington, among them "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" and "A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall in Love)"; he worked on Washington's solo efforts, as well, most notably the classic "What a Difference a Day Makes." Otis also helmed hits for Sarah Vaughn ("Broken-Hearted Melody"), Timi Yuro (the remarkable "Hurt") and the Diamonds ("The Stroll"), and in 1962 he alone produced an astounding 33 of Mercury's 51 chart hits.

Upon leaving the label, he briefly tenured at Liberty Records before founding his own publishing firm, the Clyde Otis Music Group, and moving into independent production. Upon relocating to Nashville, Otis produced sessions for country stars Charlie Rich and Sonny James; Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Mathis, and Patti Page all recorded his songs as well.

Over four decades ago, Otis went to visit good friend Sarah Vaughn, who lived in Englewood, NJ and knew that was the place he wanted to raise his family and continue growing the Clyde Otis Music Group. He was the first African-American to "build" a home in the prestigious East Hill section of Englewood, located across the street from his buddy, Dizzy Gillespie.

Otis is survived by his wife, Lourdes, three children; Clyde III, AnaIza and Isidro, five grandchildren and a host of nieces and nephews.

A private service will be held on January 14 in Englewood New Jersey. The family is planning a large musical memorial service to take place in February. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the BMI Foundation. For more information call (212) 586-2000.

Roach, a BMI affiliate since 1961, was born Jan. 10, 1924 in New Land, N.C., but later moved to the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn where he began playing drums at the age of 10. As a teenager, Roach worked with composer Duke Ellington and jammed with saxophonist Charlie Parker, which led to his contribution to bebop, a jagged and unpredictable jazz styling. Roach recorded over 70 albums, paired with such legends as Dinah Washington, Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Rollins. Money Jungle, with Mingus and Ellington, is regarded as one of the finest trio albums recorded.

In 1952, Roach co-founded Debut Records and released Jazz at Massey Hall, and the bass-and-drum improvisation Percussion Discussion. Roach’s advocacy for civil rights was heard through his music with We Insist! - Freedom Now and a recorded duet including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “I Have a Dream” oration. He received eight honorary doctoral degrees and a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant, cited as a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in France. He also served as a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts.

Roach is survived by five children: sons Daryl and Raoul, and daughters Maxine, Ayl and Dara.

BMI winners took home an impressive 96% of the awards, including Charlie Musselwhite as Contemporary Male Artist of the Year and Blues Instrumentalist (harmonica), and Solomon Burke as Soul Male Artist of the Year and for Soul Blues Album of the Year (Don't Give Up On Me). Legendary BMI blues man B.B. King repeated as Blues Entertainer of the Year and longtime Chicago favorite Magic Slim & the Teardrops earned Blues Band of Year accolades.

For over two decades, the Handy Awards have celebrated excellence in performance and recording of the blues and is the highest honor bestowed upon artists in the blues industry. The United States Senate passed a resolution last winter declaring 2003 the Year of the Blues in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of when W. C. Handy first heard the blues in a train depot in Mississippi. The year will be marked by numerous events and projects celebrating the blues, including last February's star-studded concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York and the debut in September of a seven-part documentary series on PBS entitled "The Blues," executive produced by Martin Scorsese and featuring segments directed by Clint Eastwood and Wim Wenders. Named for the "Father of the Blues," the W.C. Handy Blues Awards are produced by the Memphis-based Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization established to "preserve, celebrate and support" the blues.

The awards ceremony is the traditional opener to the Handy Weekend, a series of events for blues musicians, industry members, and fans. Handy Weekend events include a Blues Symposium with workshops, the Handy Awards Music Festival, a blues film fest, the Handy Awards Children's Festival and the annual induction of the Blues Hall of Fame. This year's inductees included Fats Domino, Dinah Washington, Handy winner Pinetop Perkins and Sippie Wallace, whose "Women Be Wise" was made popular by Bonnie Raitt. To date, 96% of the performers in the Blues Hall of Fame are BMI songwriters.]]> 2003-05-22T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233165 Artists, Guy, Buddy, Hampton, Lionel, Parker, Charlie, Preston, Frances, Washington, Dinah, Musical Styles, Jazz, Pop, R&B Legendary vibraphonist, bandleader, and BMI jazz composer Lionel Hampton died of heart failure on Saturday, August 31 at New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center. The 94-year-old "King of the Vibes" battled through several major illnesses including a cerebral hemorrhage in 1992 and two strokes in 1995 and was in failing health in recent years. 

In a career that spanned more than six decades, Hamp, as he was affectionately known, made hundreds of recordings and played with some of the greatest jazz figures in history including Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Count Basie and Buddy Guy. As a bandleader, he established the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, which served as a launching pad for the careers of such stars as Charles Mingus, Dinah Washington, Quincy Jones, Dexter Gordon and Joe Williams.

A BMI composer during his entire career, Hampton wrote more than 200 songs, including his signature "Flyin' Home," co-written with Goodman. The classic song earned a BMI Pop and a BMI R&B Award, as well as a Million-Air certificate, denoting more than one million radio and television performances. He also received six other BMI R&B Awards for songs such as "Beulah's Boogie" and "Biding my Time."

In 1997, an apartment fire destroyed practically everything Hampton owned including all his clothes and much of his bands' arrangements and other memorabilia two days before has was to receive the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton. President Clinton also hosted a 90th birthday party for Hampton at the White House in 1998, at which Hampton invited Clinton to join in on the saxophone. His band also performed at the White House for Presidents Truman, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Reagan and Eisenhower, who appointed Hampton a goodwill ambassador for the United States. "He was an American music legend and will be sorely missed," said President George W. Bush, whose father, President George Bush Sr., appointed Hampton to the Board of Directors at Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

Lionel Hampton (seated center), whose valuables were lost in a 1997 apartment fire, happily accepts replacement certificates and photos from his friends at BMI. Pictured are (seated) Hampton's manager Bill Titone, Hampton, BMI President and CEO Frances Preston, (standing) Burt Korall, Director of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop and Jean Banks, BMI Senior Director of Jazz and Theatre. photo: Chuck Stewart

Hampton did not have a copy of his birth certificate but marked his birth date as April 20, 1908. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and raised by his grandmother in Birmingham, Alabama, and Chicago. He attended grade school at the Holy Rosary Academy near Kenosha, Wisconsin, where a Dominican nun give him his first drum lessons. It wasn't until a 1930 recording session with Armstrong that he began playing the vibraphones.

In his role as an educator, Hampton began working with the University of Idaho in the early 1980s to establish his dream for the future of music education. In 1987, the University named its School of Music after him. The Lionel Hampton School of Music is the only such school named after a jazz musician. He made his final public performance on February 23, 2002, at the school's annual Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, an event that features four days of concerts, clinics, and student competitions.

As a businessman, he established two record labels (Glad Hamp and Who's Who), his own publishing company, and founded the Lionel Hampton Development Corporation to build low-income housing in inner cities. One of his projects in Harlem in New York City is named after his wife, Gladys, who died in 1971 after a 35-year marriage. The couple had no children.

By Rob Patterson

From the dawning days of rhythm & blues through today's multifaceted urban music scene, BMI has been at the forefront of music from the African American tradition, styles and community. A continuity of teamwork between BMI and Black music-makers extends from Aretha Franklin to Janet Jackson, from Motown hitmakers Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier & Brian Holland to R. Kelly, and from Miles Davis to Terence Blanchard.

B.B. King

Busta Rhymes

Janet Jackson

Eminem

When r&b, in its formative years, was the province of budding independent labels, small publishers, and adventurous radio stations, BMI opened its ranks to the musical movement when the existing performing rights organization failed to recognize the legitimacy and potential brewing in Black American music. The considerable fact that 90 percent of the R&B Foundation's Pioneer Awards have been bestowed on BMI artists attests to BMI's historical commitment to Black music.

Eric Benet

Macy Gray

Mariah Carey

Michael Jackson

The BMI Black music rosters reads like a musical honor role: Jazz giants such as Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Dinah Washington and John Coltrane; blues icons like Leadbelly, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and T-Bone Walker; r&b pacesetters such as Ray Charles, Fats Domino and James Brown; soul sisters Etta James, Irma Thomas and Diana Ross; rock pioneers like Chuck Berry and Little Richard.

Mya

R. Kelly

Snoop Dogg

Toni Braxton

The BMI bloodlines can be traced from then to now, from Carla Thomas to Donna Summer to Vanessa Williams, from Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff to LA Reid and Babyface, from Otis Redding to Michael Jackson. And if you check this space 20 or 30 years from now, the odds say its likely that BMI's contemporary urban music artists will be just as legendary and influential as those BMI has represented throughout the history of Black popular music in America.

In a sense, the pages have already been written by today's BMI star talents. Mariah Carey has proven herself a formidable and enduring presence in popular music, while Macy Gray is arising to help bring soul back to its rightful place of presence in urban music. Kevin Eubanks delivers sublime new variations of the jazz guitar heritage to millions on The Tonight Show, and Joshua Redman redefines the notion of young jazz giant for a new millennium. Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Lil' Kim continue to push the hip-hop envelope, while Kirk Franklin and Winans Phase 2 keep the gospel spirit alive.

But it's not just the marquee names that make these exciting times for BMI's urban music roster. And even some of BMI's team whose work happens primarily behind the scenes are earning public note on the level of the artists they work with. Producer, songwriter, keyboardist and remixer Dallas Austin launched Monica and TLC, and counts Michael Jackson, Madonna, Boyz II Men and Aretha Franklin among his credits. Such musical versatility and vision continues with such recording and writing powerhouses as Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis, Master P, Tim & Bob, SoulShock & Karlin, Jean Claude 'Poke' Olivier of The Track Masters, Organized Noise, Teddy Bishop and Cory Rooney - all drawing from a differing wealth of musical wells and creating new and innovative musical moments.

Hip-hop remains a powerfully progressive and sometimes provocative movement in modern popular music. Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes and Goodie Mob keep it real, and the beats and themes will surely remain hard in the hands of such acts as Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz, Ja Rule, Mos Def, Trick Daddy, Silkk the Shocker, JT Money, Kurupt and J-Shin. At the same time, acts like The Roots, Black Eyed Peas, Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek and Spooks infuse a rich mixture of styles into the hip-hop genre. Once the sound of the street, just as r&b had been, hip-hop is now an integral part of contemporary culture. And its Caribbean cousin dancehall is also claiming the attention of the public ear thanks to Buju Banton.

R&B has always boasted its powerful cadre of female singers. And just as Carla Thomas, Martha Reeves and Jodi Whatley established their voices as trademarks, so have the women like Brandy, Toni Braxton and Faith Evans. Rising to join them are such soul sisters as Angie Stone, Mya, Sunshine Anderson and Aaliyah, while R&B brothers such as Eric Benet and Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes stir up new soul traditions for today's urban music fans as Clyde McPhatter, Sam Moore and Aaron Neville have before them. The girl group traditions forged by The Shirelles and The Supremes find modern expression in the "new jill flava" of Total.

As the recent Ken Burns documentary demonstrated, jazz is one of the richest skeins in the American cultural tapestry. BMI has been a consistent presence in jazz, from Lionel Hampton to Coleman Hawkins to Herbie Hancock to Roy Hargrove. Today, Terence Blanchard, Christian McBride, Kevin Eubanks and Bilal maintain the instrumental and compositional greatness of jazz music for the genre's future.

Spirituals have always been an essential element in Black music and BMI's mission, thanks to everyone from James Ingram to The Fairfield Four. And perhaps nobody has had a more profound impact on contemporary music and the popularity of spiritual sounds than minister, songwriter, producer and visionary Kirk Franklin. In the past, one could make similar claims for The Winans, and the family tradition forged there is carried on by Winans Phase 2. The ears reached by these artists are now opening as well to such rising talents as Yolanda Adams and Trin-i-tee 5:7.

Such diversity, commercial impact, innovation and encouragement of burgeoning styles and new artists has been a hallmark of BMI's commitment to Black music from the time that "race music" became rhythm & blues, and on through soul, funk and disco right up to rap and new jack swing. As BMI salutes tradition through its longtime support of the R&B Foundation, it also helps create the future that is urban music in all its breadth and creativity. Because at BMI, Black Music Month is celebrated 12 months a year.

It happened in early 2001, when Lynne took Best New Artist honors at the 49th annual Grammy Awards gala in Los Angeles. Competing against million-selling newcomers like Sisqo and Macy Gray, Lynne seemed like a long shot. Many pundits believed the singer's acclaimed 2000 album, I Am Shelby Lynne, was too ruggedly individualistic to win Grammy approval. But Lynne's astounding Grammy victory was an inspiring David-and-Goliath tale that inspired fans of roots-based country, soul and folk.

In the wake of her Grammy victory, Lynne's assertive album title seemed more like a triumphant declaration; a strong-willed statement of intent. For a decade, Lynne was a "Nashville misfit" struggling to find a niche within the formal country music system. But when the singer was introduced to producer Bill Bottrell, the pair struck up an immediate and powerful creative partnership. Throwing restraint to the wind, Lynne composed soulful songs that ran the stylistic spectrum. She collaborated with legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb (composer of pop classics like "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park").

The result was I Am Shelby Lynne, a defiantly retro collection with a keen modern edge. Songs like "Easier," "Dreamsome," and "Black Light Blue" reveal echoes of early '60s pop, Memphis r&b and Dinah Washington-style jazz. The disc leaves an indelible mark on everyone fortunate enough to hear it. Entertainment Weekly called Lynne's masterpiece "the first great album of the new millennium" while Newsweek described the disc as "a soulful, bluesy, rapturous declaration of independence."

Now the music world awaits Lynne's forthcoming new album with baited breath. If her Grammy-winning fifth album is any indication, Lynne's new disc will further redefine country music. "I'm not really one to play by the rules," Lynne recently told Rolling Stone magazine. "I like to live by the seat of my [pants]."

Lionel Hampton Donation Ceremony
Tuesday, January 30, 2001

In recognition of the importance of jazz in American history and culture, the Smithsonian Institution operates the world's most comprehensive set of jazz programs. We do eighteen different kinds of things in jazz-more than any other institution in the world.

This set of programs is unprecedented and unique in the world.

And so is our guest of honor, Lionel Hampton.

Lionel Hampton is one of the giants of jazz and a great American.

He was born April 20, 1908, in Birmingham, Alabama, and raised in Kenosha) Wisconsin, and Chicago. An early influence was the records of Louis Armstrong.

In Chicago, Dr. Hampton began on drums and marimba. In 1928 he moved to Los Angeles and joined Les Hite's band, which backed Louis Armstrong at Los Angeles's Cotton Club. Dr. Hampton took up the vibraphone and, much as Coleman Hawkins did with the tenor saxophone, almost single-handedly transformed it from a novelty instrument ... into a first-class jazz instrument. He made the vibes completely his own, developing his own style and setting the benchmark for everyone who would come later.

Dr. Hampton formed his own group, and after Benny Goodman happened upon the combo, he began recording and performing with Goodman's small ensembles and helping to break down the color barrier in jazz. They made dozens of recordings between 1936 and 1940--some of the greatest of all swing recordings, such as Moonglow, Opus 1/2, and Gone with What Wind?. He also organized 23 recording sessions and made 90 recordings with virtually every top soloist of the swing era. Together these recordings rank among the best of the entire Swing Era.

Buoyed by his tremendous success with Goodman, in 1940 Dr. Hampton established his own big band--Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra. In the 1940s, they had huge success with Flying Home, Hamp's Boogie Woogie, Stardust, and others. His band became known for its tremendous energy, exciting rhythms, and dazzling showmanship that created fervent audience excitement.

His band became a sort of university, and it graduated such talents as Illinois Jacquet, Cat Anderson, Dexter Gordon, Art Farmer, Clifford Brown, Fats Navarro, Clark Terry, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, Wes Montgomery, and singers Joe Williams, Dinah Washington, Betty Carter, and Aretha Franklin.

He is also a composer of more than 200 works, including the jazz standards Flying Home, Evil Gal Blues, and Midnight Sun.

He appeared in a number of motion pictures, including A Song Is Born in 1948 and The Benny Goodman Story in 1955 and No Maps on My Taps in 1979.

In the the1950s, President Eisenhower asked him to serve as a goodwill ambassador for the United States, and Dr. Hampton's band made many tours to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East, generating a huge international following.

He established two record labels, Glad-Hamp Records, with his wife Gladys, and Who's Who in Jazz, as well as his own publishing company. He founded the Lionel Hampton Development Corporation to build low income housing in the inner city.

In 1985, the University of Idaho named its jazz festival for him; and in 1987 the university's music school was named the Lionel Hampton School of Music. The University has also established a Lionel Hampton Institute to help preserve the jazz heritage.

In 1991 President Bush appointed him to the Board of the Kennedy Center. Dr. Hampton received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1992, and in 1996 President Clinton awarded him the National Medal of the Arts.

In 1998, he and Lloyd Rucker founded the Lionel and Gladys Hampton Jazz History Education Foundation to go into middle schools and high schools to teach young people about jazz.

He has been awarded seventeen honorary doctorates here and abroad, as well as the Gold Medal of Paris and the Papal Medal.

A few years ago, he was hit with a stroke. But nothing can diminish the spirit of Lionel Hampton. He continues to tour with his big band, and was on hand last year, when a huge portrait of him was unveiled at our sister Smithsonian museum, the National Portrait Gallery.

His career ranks as one of the outstanding achievements in jazz. He had the vision to foresee the possibilities no one else had seen in the vibraphone. He had the taste, musicianship, and inventiveness to fulfill those possibilities. (No wonder he's been called "the Vibes President of the United States.") He had the charm and showmanship to win over tens of millions of people around the world. And the leadership and discipline to mentor practically half of a who's-who of jazz. And nobody, nobody can swing better or harder than Lionel Hampton. He's the personification of swing.