Lucky fellow Scott Preston interviewed Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power.

No matter who you are, where you live, or your taste in music, Tower of Power will find you. And once that happens, it's all over. You will come to believe not only that soul music is the salvation of us all, but that Tower of Power is one of those rare bands who can claim to be the real deal, 100 proof, aged-to-perfection, ground zero Soul. And the thing is, they're everywhere now.

Who's next?

Interview by Scott Preston  read more on  Cincy Groove

Michael's (Jackson that is) more-then-ever anxiously awaited album is said to be now scheduled for an April release. If that is the case, the first single offshoot might possibly be a track called "Bad" which is featured in the new Jackson Pepsi ads which are shortly about to be screened nationally across America.
However, another "well informed" source suggests that Mikey will return with a duet which leads to speculation as to what odds the duet he allegedly recorded with Barbra Streisand. The whole world waits with bated breath!

• Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops, despite picking up excellent reviews as the voice of the people-eating plant Audrey II in the American hit film 'Little Shop Of Horrors', has no plans to pursue a movie career and discounts rumours about a sequel. The veteran singer insists that he is and always will be a Top first and foremost but was grateful to the other group members for the time off to record the role.
Levi admits that he was sceptical at first of his ability to satisfy the general technical demands of the work which involved adopting the voice of a pod that grows to sixty feet!
Movie producer, David Geffen, picked the Top for the role after seeing the group on Live Aid. Seemingly, he wanted someone with an earthy, streetwise approach but who could also be nice and cuddly at the same time. Meanwhile, Levi and the other Tops are preparing for their forthcoming Motown album — their 35th!

•  The first annual Soul Train Music Awards are scheduled to take place later this month at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles and will focus on all popular forms of black music and will be co-hosted by Dionne Warwick and Luther Vandross. Performances by Whitney Houston, Al Jarreau, Cameo, Run DMC, George Duke, David Sanborn and the James Cleveland Singers are scheduled.

•  Some very positive reports coming through from varying sources for the new Al Green album on A&M. Aptly titled "Soul Survivor", indications are that the soulster is heading for a major return to popularity following a period of low profile during his gospel-only recordings. First single from the album is "Everything's Gonna Be Alright".

•  Veteran Charles Brown, who recorded several R&B standards — "Merry Christmas Baby", "Driftin' Blues" and "Please Come Home For Christmas" — is back Stateside with "One More For The Road" on Blue Side Records.
The singer, whose peak period was between 1946 and 1952 when he notched up nine top ten hits, is said to have influenced many artists including Ray Charles, Bobby Bland and Sam Cooke no less.
•  Patrice Rushen debuts on Arista with an album "Watch Out" which includes the title track single.
•  Prince's upcoming album is the double set "Sign O' The Times" which, according to US reports reverts back with some effect to his earlier and many would say superior albums "Controversy" and "1999".
•  Included on the upcoming Dionne Warwick album on Arista are duets with Kashif and Smokey Robinson.
•  Aficionados of the classic 'Animal House' film will recall the splendid performance of Otis Day & The Knights and their lively version of the Isley's "Shout". So successful was their appearance in the movie that the group fronted by Otis Day (alias actor DeWayne Jessie) have been in constant demand in clubs and fraternity parties ever since. That success is now hoped to become consolidated on vinyl with a new recording deal with MCA Records. The debut recording will be supervised by none other than . . . George Clinton.
•  Jackson, Tennessee soulsters, Lanier & Co have their first British release out on Threeway Records, the Willie Mitchell-written and produced "I Don't Know".
•  And a lot of very positive vibes for the upcoming Isley-Jasper-Isley album "Different Drummer". Reportedly, the folk at CBS Associated labels have yet to select a single due to the vast number of contenders available. Word is that the trio will return to the platinum status they enjoyed as part of the Isley Brothers during the 1970's.

•  Pete Waterman of the Stock/ Aitken/Waterman writing and production team is to write and produce the new single for Prince Charles and The City Beat Band for Carrere Records who have completed a licensing deal with Prince Charles' manager Tony Rose's Solid Platinum Records and Productions. Carrere will release the group's latest single "I'll Be There For You" and "I Can't Stop Loving You".

•  Robert Cray and his band will act as support on all the upcoming Tina Turner dates across the UK in June. The two met in 1986 when Cray guested on her TV Special 'Breaking All The Rules' which was screened just after Christmas. Cray, who won a prestigious Grammy recently for Best Traditional Blues Recording for his part in the "Showdown" album which brought together Cray, Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland, is currently scoring on both sides of the Atlantic with his own album "Strong Persuader".

•  Controversial chanteuse Grace Jones has her new single just released on Manhattan. Entitled "Party Girl" the track is taken from Grace's current "Inside Story" album and is written by the lady herself with Bruce Woolley. Grace also contributed o the production — but with that old campaigner Nile Rodgers overseeing things.
The stylish singer has recently opened a French restaurant in her Manhattan, New York base which features such delights as La Salade Victor, Slave To The Rhythm Pate and I'm Not Perfect Frogs Legs on the menu!
Haywoode returns to active duty with her single release, a version of the James & Bobby Purify classic "I'm Your Puppet" which has been produced by Nick Martinelli in Philadelphia. The British singer is scheduled to appear on numerous television shows in the near future in support of the single.
• Having undergone what he describes as a period of transition and development, David Grant has now emerged with his new single "Take Us Back" which is a liaison between David and Bob Carter, co-producer and writer for Linx.' See interview elsewhere in mag

Alexander O' Neal is undoubtedly one of our music's "Mr Nice Guy" contenders ? a man of enormous talent but whose feet remain firmly planted on the ground.
While stardom may have its attractions, Alexander is more concerned with being a good father to his children and bringing them up to fully exploit whatever talents they might possess but, at the same time, temper any resultant success with all due humility.

OFTEN, when a lead vocalist leaves a successful group, it comes as surprise to the rest of the world. However, there are usually very strong underlying reasons that simply didn't come to the attention of the public. Certainly, that was true of the Lionel Richie-Commodores and Jeffrey Osborne-LTD splits. And, to a lesser degree, it's the case in the {safm}Howard Hewett{/safm}-Shalamar parting of ways.

HOW time flies! Do you realise that it's been two years since the last Mtume album, "You, Me And He"? On the other hand it probably has taken the gifted one that amount of time to really create his just-released "Theater Of The Mind" concept album ? a veritable musical masterpiece! "Not quite," he smiles. "But it took more than seven months of working fifteen-sixteen hours a day, seven days a week. In fact, it got to the point where I built myself a little apartment above the studio!

Rick was a musical prodigy, producing records when he was 16 years old instead of going to school. He and Harry Wayne Casey (KC) worked at TK Records in Miami, where they joined forces to write and record five #1 hits as KC and the Sunshine Band. Two white guys with a black rhythm section, they shaped the sound of what would become known as Disco. Here's how it happened. Read the full interview on Songfacts.com

To soul fans, and particularly Soul and Funk Music.com visitors, Alyson Williams is no newcomer. Featured on duets with Def Jam labelmates Tashan, Chuck Stanley and Oran 'Juice' Jones and part of the "Soul Songs" tour in 1987, the soulful lady left an indelible impression on European music lovers through her varying different musical excursions.
Now, you'll be pleased to know, you can get a whole album which features (for the most part) the truly amazing vocal talents of Ms. Williams: her debut LP has finally been released in the States, where only the more discerning record buyers have noted her name hitherto.

  Amazon.com Widgets 
"It proved to be a first-rate idea and now I'm getting to really like the place — it's certainly been a lucky city for me. Now I'm getting to know the place real well I'm enjoying it even more." This time round, Eugene was in town on a short promotional visit, laying the ground for what he hopes will be a big breakthrough with British audiences.

NOW working mainly out of Philadelphia, where he records, Eugene is a native son of Miami, a city which, in its mix of peoples, is not dissimilar to London.
    "One thing I like about both places is that even in the so-called ethnic areas you find a complete mix of races — Latins, Blacks, Whites, Chinese and so on.
    "It suits me because I'm a real mixture myself. I've got cousins in Colombia and there are also Puerto Ricans, Bahamians, and Chinese in our family. Oh yeah, and I'm part Cherokee Indian and part white foo! Then, of course, there's the African connection!" 25-year old Eugene is one of eight children (five boys and a girl) and was bom on December 6, 1961.
    "My father was a professional R&B singer years ago and mum is a gospel keyboard player. I'm child number-six and those ahead of me were already well into music when I started out. Seriously though I can't remember ever not playing music. We are all very close, with ages ranging between 20 and 30 and we are all in the business still.
    "I learned drums, keyboards, bass, guitar and even trumpet — but I gave up 'cause it hurt my lips! We'd all teach each other and we grew up with all types of music — soul, gospel, jazz, rock 'n' roll and so on.
    "The family group had been working professionally for quite a time before I joined, at age 11. We'd do lots of talent shows, 'battle of the band' type things, and we'd play support to acts like Betty Wright and Jimmy Bo Home, or even play in their backing bands.
    "We cut quite a few demos and worked under a variety of names. The problem was that we'd choose a name then find it was already being used by someone else! We've been the Chevrons, the Shades of Brown, Exquisite Jive, Life, La Voyage, Broomfield Corporate Jam — Broomfield's our real family name — and so on.
    "Tight Connection was one of our best names and we cut a song called 'Do What You Wanna Do' only to find that a group from the Bahamas had called themselves T. Connection, recorded a song called 'Do What You Wanna Do' and landed a deal with TK in Miami."

AS La Voyage, the Broomfield family cut an album titled "Never Looking Back Again". Explained Eugene: "It was never released commercially but was essentially a demo album which we used to get work. It landed us a 15-week South American tour which took us to Peru and Colombia. That trip was a real eye-opener. They have these massive, lavish night clubs down there like we don't even have in the States.
    "There's a lot of poverty but those who've got money have real money and they are the ones who go to the clubs." With their name by now changed to Simplicious, the group sent a copy of that demo album to Philly World Records. "They liked our sound but didn't think the material was strong enough so with Mickie Horton, who is still my co-writer some two-and-a-half years later, I wrote a song called 'Let Her Feel If and Philly World released it.
    "I sang lead and the record did fairly well for us. The rest of the family had so much happening back home in Miami — they are now all in different groups doing different things — that they encouraged me to go solo, though when I get back to Miami my next project is to get the family together again for another record."

THOUGH essentially written in London, Eugene's debut album, titled simply "Eugene Wilde", was recorded at Philly World's Alpha Sound Studios in Philadelphia — "Which is where I've made all my records" — and from it the debut solo single "Gotta Get You Home Tonight" shot to the top of the American black music charts, earning Eugene the accolade of the year's "Top New Male Artist" from both Cashbox and Billboard, the two influential music trade papers.
    
Lifted from his follow-up album, "Serenade", the single "Don't Say No (Tonight)" was another R&B chart-topper. Now he's looking forward eagerly to album number-three.
    "I've just finished a seven-week tour and then a round of promotional dates and I'm about to fall flat on my face," he confided. "I'll take a week off to recuperate then get back to my songwriting and hopefully come back over here to do it.
    "Yeah, on my first album all but one cut, which was written by my younger brother Vince, was penned here in London." For production, he'll be sticking with the Donald Robertson and Michael Forte team which has served him so well up till now.
    "They've handled allmy productions, except two tracks on the first album which were produced by Bunny Sigler. I hear that Bunny is now working with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff again."

As for live dates here in Britain, well, that's something for the future but, in the meantime, it seems Eugene Wilde will happily commute across the Atlantic in search of inspiration for his songs . . . and that's no small tribute to our country and its atmosphere. (B&S 463)

IF THEY aren't already, pretty soon Akron, Ohio based Heat Records will become known as a company adept at turning out stunning ballads what with first the superb album from Frederick, then the fine just The Two Of Us single from Johnston Brown & Janice Dowlen and now a consistent follow-up to Ivy's debut LP in 1984 with "Ivy II".

"SO, WHAT'S in a name? Well, maybe that depends on what particular career you happen to be pursuing. What, I wonder, would have happened to Tina Turner had she pursued her professional career under her real name Annie Mae Bullock or Edwin Starr who entered this mortal coil in January 1942 under a Charles Hatcher monniker. Possibly the results would have remained the same, but you never do know. Is it First Circle or Full Circle?.

Currently unattached, he adds that although he welcomes the attention of young ladies who show romantic interest, "I'm from the old school, an old-fashioned kind of guy so I can handle myself in the proper way. Right now though, I'd say my career is my biggest priority I'll deal with romance later!"

It's already almost a year ago that Gerald Levert died. For me he was the greatest male soul singer, producer of the ninetees till 2006. In the soul and funk music archive I found an interview from B&S with Gerald from 1994.  In that year he released his album Groove on.