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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 1984)
Music notes - At Ease. The Battalion Friday, February 10, 1984 3 By LOUIS HILGARTNER Staff Columnist If you asked the average guy on the street to name a promi nent black musician, he proba bly would say Michael Jackson or Lionel Richie. The sad thing is that there are zillions of blacks who have con tributed to the music industry, and their accomplishments have been neglected or over shadowed by recent superstars. Don't get me wrong, it's hard to ignore an album like Michael Jackson's Thriller, which cur rently has sold over 25 million copies — that's enough to give two copies to every man, woman and child in the state of Texas. Also hard to ignore are the musical contributions of Char ley Pride. Charley Pride hasn't sold 25 million copies of any thing that I know of, but not to recognize his talent or his input in the world of country music is ridiculous. There are hundreds more like Pride. Do you listen to jazz? Have you ever heard of George Ben son or Stanley Clarke? Certainly you remember Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole and Louis Arm strong. For years, Louis Arm strong and his trumpet were synonymous with the hottest jazz. Do you listen to rock? Does the name Chuck Berry ring any bells? It should. Berry was the father of today's rock 'n' roll, and his style inspired musicians all over the world. Many of today's rockers don't realize what a big part blacks have played in the growth of rock 'n' roll. While many current guitarists imitate the style of players such as Eddie Van Halen, Van Halen was inspired by Eric Clapton. Clapton's major influences were black American blues gui tarists, such as Elmore James. Ask ZZ Top's guitarist Billy Film review By PATRICK A. ZINN Staff Reviewer Wake up Bryan/College Sta tion, Star 80 has come to town and I urge every one to see it. This is definitely one of the best films to be released this year. The film is entertaining, in tense, well-written, well-di rected and well-acted in. Star 80 belongs to the recent batch of films that concentrates on human drama rather than special effects used to scare and amaze. It is the grim, yet fact- based story of Dorothy Stratten, played by Mariel Hemingway, and her unfortunate end. Stratten was a naive young girl working at a Dairy Queen when Paul Snider, played by Eric Roberts, swept her off her feet. He then used Stratten as a vehicle to get to success by ex ploiting her, first in Playboy and later in films. He married her only after Straten was ac cepted as August's "Playboy playmate." After her film career was launched, Snider contin ued to see other women while Stratten was on location shoot ing films. He never seemed to truly love Stratten; he loved only what she could do for him. As Stratten began to see the darker side of the man she mar ried, she began to want out of the marriage. Her director, Roger Rees, became interested in her and an affair ensued. Filled with rage and jealousy Snider wanted to get even. Snider was one who burned others before he got burned, be cause for too many years he was always the one who was burned first. The ending should be no sur prise by now. To be applauded for this film is Bob Fosse. He both wrote and directed the film. He has cre ated wonderful dialogue, which gives a firm reality to the film. Also, through great directing he is able to create history and give important details as to the na tures of the characters through flashbacks, without boring us with a cumbersome plot. Fosse has managed to create, capture, and maintain a mood which is carried out during the movie in every detail. The in tensity is captured and scenes such as the one where Snider shoots his wife in the head with a shotgun won't make you sick to your stomach. After Stratten is shot, a picture of her is shown on the wall. Blood is streaming down the picture representing her death. The acting in this film is su perb and is as intense as the plot. Eric Roberts portrays the con niving husband who is looking and finds a ticket to fame and wealth. Roberts creates his character through action, in sightful dialogue, and interes- tingly enough, through his di alect. Mariel Hemingway is won derful as Stratten. She creates a person that is easy to sympa thize with. We see Stratten as a naive and easily influenced in dividual. Apparently she had been much of a loner in high school. Suddenly, Snider comes into her life and treats her like royalty, in fact he calls her "his queen". Overall this film is fantastic. There are so many postive as pects. The plot, the writing, the acting, and the direction are great. I give the film a superb rating — four stars. And again I urge everyone to see this marvel ously intense film! Gibbons who his big inspira tions were and he'll probably tell you they were Muddy Wa ters, John Lee Hooker and B.B. King. Do you listen to jazz? Have you ever heard of George Benson or Stanley Clarke?. Probably the greatest rock guitarist to ever take the stage was Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was a pioneer in the use of effects, and a wizard at getting the cra ziest noises imaginable out of a guitar. Other black rock stars include Carlos Alomar (guitaist for the David Bowie Band) and Thin Lizzy's bassist, Phil Lynott. Let's not get bogged down in rock and blues. Those aren't the only areas of music that have been influenced by blacks. In movies and show busi ness, there are standouts like Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Bo- jangles sang and danced his way to fame in all the Shirley Temple movies eons ago. While some may argue that roles like the ones Robinson often played were steroetypical, his contri butions and talents shouldn't be overlooked. Incidentally, "Bojangles" used to hold the world record for running the hundred yard dash — back ward. Keep in mind that the suc cessful black musicians in the '80s owe much to their prede cessors. Would Michael Jackson have gotten a chance to record an al bum at all without the ground breaking of Ella Fitzgerald, Are tha Franklin or — if you want to go way back — the Inkspots? It was these performers who helped break down the color barrier in music so we could have bands like Earth, Wind and Fire today. As long as there is music, there will be black performers, writers and producers who will make sure it progresses. That is not something to be over looked. Other note-worthy tips: Country singer/songwriter- /guitarist Willie Nelson passed a tremendous milestone. Accord ing to Columbia records, Nel son's 1978 album Stardust, which contained his big hits "Georgia On My Mind" and "B- lue Skies" has remained on the national country album charts for 287 weeks — over five years. More than three million copies of this album have been sold. Entertainment Play ticket to romantic Italian holiday By BONNIE LANGFORD Staff Writer February is a romantic time of the year; it's the valentine season. And what better way to get in the mood for hearts, doves and romance than with a sentimental golden oldie drama. The Theater Arts pro gram's production of "Death Takes a Holiday" may be the perfect ticket to a love affair in the country of Italy. The Albert Casella play is about death, with a human touch. "Death," portrayed in the play as a person, is con cerned because people don't seem to like him. Death de cides to find out exactly why his popularity with mankind is so low, and to do this he becomes a man — not just any man, but a prince. Death, played by Ashton Smith, begins his role as the mystic, mysterious prince at tending a duke's three-day party. The hosting duke is played by Greg Economides. The Duke's wife is played by Paula Ratliff. As the play proceeds. Death starts to become more human and more under standing. He begins to see each of the characters as they represent a part of human re sponse to death. Death dis covers the hosts and visiting characters basically are afraid of dying. Only one of the characters shows no fear; she is the sweet innocent Grazia, played by Melissa McDaniel. Grazia is sure there is a love that conquers even death. This basic theme of love conquering death is carried out as the play proceeds. when the prince encounters something he wasn't expect ing. He falls in love with Gra zia; she falls in love with him. Death becomes so attached to Grazia that he doesn't want to leave the mortal world. The Duke's son, Corrado, is played by Patrick Barrett. The palace guests include: Alda, a divorced woman of the world who is looking for a meaningful experience, played by Anne Suite, Eric, who is in love with Alda, played by Lance Miller, and Rhoda, Eric's sister, played by Wendy Pesek. The three act play will run Feb. 16, 17 and 18, and again Feb. 23, 24 and 25. It will be gin at 8 p.m. in Rudder Fo rum. Tickets are $3.00 for stu dents and $4.00 for non students. Classical flutist to perform atA&M By ROBIN BLACK Staff Writer With a repertoire ranging from Vivaldi to John Denver, Flutist James Galway is one of the better-known classical performers. The Belfast, Ireland native, who will be performing with the Texas Chamber Orchestra Friday Feb. 17 in Rudder Au ditorium, got his start in mu sic by playing the pennyw- histle as a child. Galway has been a member of some of the world's most noted orchestras, including the London Symphony Or chestra and the Berlin Phil harmonic Orchestra. After playing for six years with the Berlin Philharmonic, which is believed by many to be one of the most presti gious orchestras in the world, Galway set out to pursue a career as a solo artist. Although few flutists have succeeded in their attempts at establishing a solo career, Galway had played in 120 concerts, including appear ances with major London or chestras, within a year of his departure from Berlin. Since then he has recorded more than 20 best-selling al bums and has made frequent appearances on the Tonight Show, the Mike Douglas Show, the Today Show and Sesame Street. Galway's repertoire is enormous. He has recorded most of the masterpieces written for flute and has tran scribed many works, includ ing Vivaldi's Four Seasons, originally composed for other instruments. Appearing with Galway will be the Texas Chamber Orchestra, from Houston. Only four-years-old, the Texas Chamber Orchestra al ready has achieved great suc cess. The concert will be in Rud der Auditorium on Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. Tickets may be pur chased at the MSG Box Office in Rudder Tower.