PAULA ABDUL STRAIGHT UP LIVE 1989 MTV TV

NEWS NOTES: Debbie Harry is finishing work on her first album for Sire Records, вЂњDeaf, Dumb & Blonde.вЂќ The LP is being produced by Mike Chapman, who supervised most of HarryвЂ™s big hits with Blondie, and will include three collaborations with the Thompson Twins. вЂњThis was a two-year sidetrack to my musical career where I just got obsessed with something.вЂќ The book is sold in music equipment and sheet music stores, but Slutsky hopes to get it in mass-market book stores.ДЄnd now? вЂњI want to go back to doing what I do,вЂќ said the 37-year-old Philadelphia native. The book and cassettes, shrink-wrapped together, retail for $29.95. I wound up talking to 200 people, and including 25 on the tape.вЂќ Slutsky, whose previous books are guitar instruction manuals, said that he started investigating JamersonвЂ™s bass parts and became вЂњobsessedвЂќ with him: вЂњI realized there was much more than just a bass line. (Jamerson died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 47.) The tape ends with Stevie WonderвЂ™s eulogy at JamersonвЂ™s 1983 funeral.

narrates the tape, which proceeds from lighthearted anecdotes about his fatherвЂ™s early days at Motown to more serious recollections of his drinking problems. My strength in getting his story across is in the music.вЂќ If I had just written a straight bio about James Jamerson, it would have been a flop. вЂњIвЂ™m not a writer by profession,вЂќ continued Slutsky, 37. Licks on the project, вЂњStanding in the Shadows of Motown: The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson.вЂќ вЂњIt was out of necessity,вЂќ said Slutsky, who used the pen name Dr. We want to use it as an umbrella to package a whole bunch of acts, take them on the road and have the party come every summer.вЂќД«IG BASS MAN: ItвЂ™s a natural idea for a musicianвЂ™s biography-a book packaged with tapes so you can hear excerpts of the music youвЂ™re reading about.Д«ut Allan Slutsky, who combined the two components for a critically hailed biography of influential Motown bass player James Jamerson, said that he backed into the innovation.

вЂњBut weвЂ™re looking at this as an annuity: We want to repeat this every year. вЂњThere will be certain markets where it does stronger than other markets,вЂќ said Bob Friedman, MTVвЂ™s senior vice president of marketing and promotion. He acknowledged that sales were spotty in Mobile and are also lagging in Little Rock, but said that the show sold out in one day in Milwaukee and is also doing well in New York. Messina said that the early ticket sales have been up and down. вЂњOn the Headbangers tour we took Anthrax, who never headlined, and put them with Helloween and Exodus and sold out arenas they couldnвЂ™t otherwise have played.вЂќ вЂњOne of our philosophies with these tours is taking artists who canвЂ™t normally headline themselves and putting packages together,вЂќ Konowitch said. MTVвЂ™s Konowitch added that keeping the spotlight on the event as opposed to the performers is one of the themes of the tour, as it was on last yearвЂ™s tour built around the cable channelвЂ™s popular metal show вЂњHeadbangersвЂ™ Ball.вЂќ But once people realize what weвЂ™re bringing, I think theyвЂ™ll respond.вЂќ

We knew it wasnвЂ™t going to be an automatic, that weвЂ™d have to go out and market this thing. вЂњWeвЂ™re trying not to ride upon one mega-star,вЂќ said Messina. 13., with Information Society and Was (Not Was) substituting for Lisa Lisa. 12 and is expected to play the Pacific Amphitheatre on Aug. The show is set to play the Forum on Aug. The concerts are hosted by MTV veejay Julie Brown, and feature the Club MTV Dancers and 30- to 40-minute performances by each of the acts.

PAULA ABDUL STRAIGHT UP LIVE 1989 MTV TV

вЂњUntil theyвЂ™ve seen the TV show come alive in concert, thereвЂ™s bound to be confusion in the consumerвЂ™s mind.вЂќ вЂњThe biggest question we get is, вЂIs this is a TV show or is this a concert?вЂ™ вЂќ said Abbey Konowitch, MTVвЂ™s vice president of programming. The main problem? Fans donвЂ™t seem to understand the concept of the tour, and may even think itвЂ™s an on-the-road taping of the TV show. On paper, it looked like a smash: Take the popular вЂњClub MTVвЂќ TV dance show and put it on the road, with performances by such chart-topping artists as Tone Loc, Paula Abdul, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam and Milli Vanilli.Д«ut early ticket sales on several dates of the Club MTV tour-which got under way last Tuesday in Mobile, Ala.-have been surprisingly sluggish.

Paula abdul straight up live 1989 mtv