Gloria Gaynor's 30th anniversary of I Will Survive

Gaynor to appear on nationally syndicated show Better TV

– February 27th Nashville, TN – After 30 years of its release, Gloria Gaynor continues to ride the success of "I Will Survive," touring the country and the world over and performing her signature song on dozens of TV shows. A few successful remixes of the song during the 1990s and 2000s along with new versions of the song by Diana Ross, Chantay Savage, rock group Cake and others as well as constant recurrent airplay on nearly all Soft AC and Rhythmic format radio stations have helped to keep the song in the mainstream.

Now in 2008, Gloria celebrates the 30th Anniversary of her Grammy Award winning song. The lyrics of this song are written from the point of view of a woman, recently dumped, telling her former lover that she can cope without him and does not want anything more to do with him. The song has become something of an anthem of female emancipation, and is still a staple of office parties and karaoke nights.

This past weekend you may have seen Gloria Gaynor appear on The Food Network as part of Paula’s Party where she and Paula Deen cooked up some Chicken ala Gaynor!! Tomorrow, February 27th Gloria will appear on the nationally syndicated talk show Better TV and in the coming weeks she will make an appearance on Fox’s highly-rated Don’t Forget The Lyrics with host Wayne Brady as well as Showtime at the Apollo.
Our 2008 interview with Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor official website

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There really is a Rihanna umbrella ...

... and it's a Totes!

Not more expensive then the rest of the collection, you get the quality of a Totes umbrella but as far as design is concerned, nothing extraordinary.

Have seen a lot of pale pink umbrellas lately on the street lately not Rihanna related but there is one available with its own pouch, and there's the black and anthracite one which I suspect might be the one she used in a recent ... performance if my memory don't fail me.

Do not know if they are time limited time promo items though.

Image source: www.totes-isotoner.com as of August '07

Rihanna umbrellas collection at Totes

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Sinclar hit by lightening too

Look at Bob's new promotional photo! What a coincidence! You must have read by now about the guy who was hit with a thunderbolt while listening to his portable MP3 player on a beautiful rainy day.

The current passed through his headphone, his eardrums were lacerated, it followed the wiring atop his chest, he was burned there too.

See the photo of the guy who got hit
and no, it doesn't look like Bob's photo

P.S. That's a stupid photo with the ketchup ... trick, but Bob's in shape, looks like the armpits have been given a trim.

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Angelo's book reached Hilton's cell

Marty Angelo, the founder and host of the Disco TV dance show "Disco Step by Step" in the late 70s and owner of the website of the same name circa 2000-2004 now a prison minister, reached out to Paris Hilton during the turmoil created when L.A. County Judge Michael Sauer ordered Hilton back to jail after being released on house arrest by L.A. County Sheriff Leroy D. Bacca.

Angelo petitioned Judge Sauer asking him not to send the hotel heiress back to jail but instead have ... Angelo serve out her sentence so Hilton could receive proper psychological, physical, and spiritual treatment elsewhere.

When asked why he offered to serve Hilton's jail sentence whom he never even met, Angelo responded by saying, "It started when I first sent Miss Hilton a copy of my book, "Once Life Matters: A New Beginning" after she had her first scrape with the law. I knew back then she needed help."

When Paris Hilton answered Larry King's questions, she stated she learned while incarcerated that the typical woman released from L.A. County jail returns there at least "7.3 more times because they have nowhere to live."

"Miss Hilton needs to take heed to her own remarks," Angelo continued. "It is not just because the women do not have a place to live upon release. Many female and male ex-prisoners willingly go back into a life of substance abuse, partying, and breaking the law."

Paris Hilton quoted directly from one of the book's pages during her Larry King interview when she used Angelo's 'prison motto' advice: "Don't serve the time, let the time serve you." Hilton stated, "I did that and that really helped."

Read the whole story at PRWeb
Read DiscoStyle.com's review of the Book "Once life matters: A new beginning"
Marty Angelo Ministries

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Kylie does the Marylin bit

Kylie emulates Marylin Monroe reprising "Diamonds are a girl's best friend", following celebs like Anna Nicole and Madonna.

Get a sneak peak from the closing titles of Kylie's upcoming documentary film 'White Diamond', directed by William Baker and shot in his front room!

See the video at Kylie.com

No words on what that documentary is about; would that be diamonds from Sierra Leone or is it related to the children book she wrote

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Eau de Prince

Prince's perfume will come to life at the same time as the Live Earth Event.

To celebrate 2007 in style and further 3121, the latest album and Vegas club by the purple majesty, Prince will launch his fragrance 3121 on 07-07-2007 during his concert in Minneapolis.

The fragrance was created in full concert with the artist, resulting in an enticing scent that captures the essence of his eclectic style and music genius.

3121 is a white floral scent that opens with a refreshing sparkle of crisp ... bergamot, opulent jasmine and gardenia. Orange flower and muguet sensually intertwine with tuberose and ylang ylang, creating a subtle, mysterious blend; evolving into notes of patchouli and creamy sandalwood. Precious cedarwood and luxurious musks complement this sexy scent.

"The 3121 fragrance collection is the result of a shared vision to expand Prince's creative opportunities and avenues of expression," said Larry Couey, President of Revelations Perfume and Cosmetics.

The introduction of the 3121 fragrance will be the first of many products under the umbrella of the 3121 brand. The 3121 Perfume collection will simultaneously debut at select Macy's stores. Prince and Revelations Perfumes will donate 7 percent of the sales to 7 selected charities.

The 30 ml bottle of Eau de Parfum sells for $31.21, quite affordable, I'm tempted to try it.

*** DISCLAIMER*** This is not the real bottle, for the real bottle of Prince 3121 fragrance visit the official Prince 3121 website

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Free Madonna Live Earth song download

We're telling you point blank, it's not a dance song, but it's Madonna, brand new and will put you in a green spirit, what have you got to loose, it's free.

Madonna's new song, "Hey You," inspired by the upcoming Live Earth series of concerts, is now available to download exclusively on MSN.com and LiveEarth.MSN.com. MSN is pleased to offer this song in conjunction with Madonna and is proud to donate 25 cents for each of the first 1 million downloads to the Alliance for Climate Protection, in support of Live Earth. The new song will be performed live by Madonna on 7/7/07 during the Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium in London.

Get the song now at MSN.com

Hurry! It's for a very limited time.

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Madonna and Justin making music

Madonna has already started working on her next album. Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams will contribute.

It's been reported in gossip magazines that she started shopping for an appartement in Manhattan. By the way, she'll be part of the London leg of "Live Earth", the Al Gore equivalent to Bob Geldof's Live 8.

Apparently, Madonna said she wants to dig into her hip-hop roots on this one.

NAS claimed hip-hop is dead and guess what? He stands by his words. So let's cross our fingers it'll be roots hip-hoppy, not like today's crap, and by looking at Pharrell and Justin's latest material, it could be quite good.

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Béart and Depardieu go Disco

Emmanuelle Béart and Gerard Depardieu, two of the biggest stars in France, have been attached to the prestigious new production "Disco". The comedy film is directed by Fabien Onteniente and geared to be the box office smash for the Christmas season. The story has Depardieu re-living his youth in the bleak town of Le Havre, dusting off his old dancing shoes. Expect a cd-friendly soundtrack filled with Sheila, Cerrone, Claude Francois, Dalida, Gibson Brothers, Santa Esmeralda and the rest of the usual home grown suspects. Watch this space for updated information.

Despardieu will be the club owner, Beart, the dance instructor, and stand-up comic Frank Dubosc will play the part of the former disco musician going back into the scene.

Gerard Depardieu co-starred with Andy McDowell and Bebe Neuwirth in "Green card" (1991)

- Ed

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Move Over, Hollywood Queens

We had all but given up hope when Quentin Tarantino and director Eli Roth triumphantly announced during last year's Venice film festival that yes, the real queen of international cinema, Edwige Fenech, has agreed to return to the silver screen. The coming summer the First Diva will be seen in a small but crucial role in Roth's sequel to his successful "Hostel", looking every inch the ultimate movie star she always was. For those way out of step this is the time to get fully into the Fenech phenomenon.

So, as you aficionados of disco-rabilia should be asking by now, what has this Italian-Algerian-French film star to do with music, how come we never came across any of her records? If those guys at Chez Youri's of Paris can't whip them out from the top shelves (where the most expensive and desirable vinyls like the Arpadys albums are kept ) she can't have been a chanteuse of any sort, let alone an underground disco sensation, right? The thing is while Edwige was never a singer, she is still of definite interest to anyone into the eurodisco aesthetic. She defined The Look. You girls watched as she sashayed across the room in dramatic black, shadowing you all with her massive hairdo. Boys gasped as her eyes flashed at them, heating them up and melting the tender flesh off their cheeks. Edwige would grab one guy with both hands, force him down and thrust her cleavage foward, only to quickly toss him aside, electrified by a furious bongos-and-organ groove from the hi-fi stereo. Throwing her hair wildly and respecting no limits in films like Mario Bava’s "Cinque Bambole Per La Luna D'Agosto / Five Dolls For An August Moon", she really was eurodisco personified. An skillful actress, Edwige could also be seen as a nun or a victimized plaything at the mercy of the sleaziest pimps in the history of cinema, until payback time of course.

For La Fenech at her most fabulous, as well as for Italian exploitation film making at it’s frenziest, check Giuliano Carnimeo’s "Anna – Quel Particolare Piacere", out as region 1 dvd (NoShame label) ridiculously renamed "Secrets Of A Call Girl". A caleidoscope of over the top tearful melodrama, tough action scenes, copious nudity and serious fashion statements, this is choice entertainment from the unrepentant seventies. The widescreen film kicks off with a brutal robbery sequence set to a scorching Shaft-style soundtrack, and moves on swiftly to introduce Edwige as Anna, a salesgirl blackmailed into a life in malavita, a digitally remastered underworld in the shadier side of Cinecittà. There’s nude dancing to an Amanda Lear-style pop disco tune, vicious fistfights, car chases and slow mo running along a beach at sunset, hand in hand. Forget everything they show in the multiplex – with the exception of "Grindhouse" of course – and rush out to buy your copy, and all other dvds with Edwige.

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70s Disco Bjork

Bjork's new cd should be released this month. Surprises include a collaboration with Timbaland (not the whole album) and a worldwide tour.

Back around '76-'77, Bjork recorded an album in Iceland with a few disco flavored songs in it.

So we thought Michael J, Freddie James were the only disco kids at the time, she's a genius that girl.


More about Bjork's first album at WFMU.org

image composite: discostyle.com

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Tom Jones Forever, best of Tom Jones in a tinbox

For a mother's day gift or for yourself?

All the hits are there; Delilah, What's new Pussycat, She's a lady. What makes this boxset so appealing are the hidden disco era and funky 70s gems in addition to his late 60s chartoppers; his reprisal of "Do you think I'm sexy", the Michael McDonald penned "Taking it to the street" with Teddy Pendergrass, "Hot Legs" in duet with Tina Turner -Also on the DVD-, "Don't let go" with Isaac Hayes, "We can work it out" with Chaka Khan on the DVD, "Upside down", the Diana Ross classic is revisited with Dusty Springfield, "Guilty" written by Barry Gibb and originaly performed by Barbara Streisand in '79 is reprised here with none other than Glady Knight, "Too much too little too late" in duet with Deniece Williams. Even Cybill Sheppard is there with Tanya Tucker and Dionne Warwick. Sex Bomb, Tom Jones International and his latest club singles are not included unfortunately.

30 tracks on 3 cd and 14 video performances on one DVD
3 cd+ 1 dvd tinbox set at around 20 bucks

Listen to all the tunes here at FYE

It's also available at Amazon.com here and Amazon.ca

Rediscover Tom Jones on his website

Availability of this boxset is limited, but most tunes are available at ITunes.

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Diana Ross, her birthday, the book

Diana has turned 63 last week, it isn't known if she blew candles or just took it easy.

For the 3rd time, biographer, TV reporter and journalist Randy Taraborrelli has written a biography of Diana Ross. It's out in the UK already but again, us stateside will have to wait, it can be pre-ordered at Amazon US. California based Taraborelli has written biographies on Madonna, Cher, Michael Jackson, Motown, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, etc.

And yes, the disco years are covered, not as deeply as the Motown years, but it's all there.

If you did read "Call her Miss Ross" (published 1989), you'll recall the similarities between the real life Supremes and the Dreamgirls musical, quite striking! That is also discussed.

Diana Ross, an unauthorized biography is "Call her Miss Ross" revised, revisited and written from a different perpective, going deeper, augmented with new material and continuing where it left off from 1989 till the 00s.

Diana Ross is on tour now and the critics are unanimous, she's still the queen!

Some of the books mentionned above are out of print but they are available at your public library. Diana Ross also released 2 cds in the last 6 months

Diana Ross, an unauthorized biography at Amazon.com

Diana Ross, an unauthorized biography at Amazon UK

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Dreamgirls soundtrack take 2

The Dreamgirls Dance Project

Can't get enough of Dreamgirls? There's another Dreamgirls "soundtrack" around thanks to Rick Gianatos. Gianatos is from the "school" of the Moultons, Pettibones, Gibbons and al. He did disco mixes for Shalamar, Gene Chandler, most artists on AVI Records and many others in the late 70s. He also remixed and produced way into the 80s, 90s and 00s. If you collect disco records, you might have seen his name on the disco mix credit.

Dreamgirls Dance Project is "a dance interpretation of the best known tracks from the musical"

On the album, Gianatos gathered together key members of renowned female groups of the 1960s; Scherrie Payne, Lynda Lawrence, Cindy Birdsong of the Supremes, Hodges James and Smith, Merry Clayton and James Gilstrap.

Listen to the songs at the DreamGirls Dance Project website.

Tracklist:

1. Dreamgirls (Acapella)
2. Dreamgirls
3. Move
4. Steppin' To The Bed Side
5. Ain't No Party
6. I Am Changing
7. One Night Only
8. Hard To Say Goodbye, My Love
9. Dreamgirls (Scoulful Acapella)
10. One Night Only (1984 Dreamgirl Original Recipe Mix) (Uk Bonus Track)
11. One Night Only (Special Uk Tried And True Remix) (Uk Bonus Track)

Check it out at Amazon.com

Didn't know Pickwick Records still exist, recall having the early 70s Spinners, a "Disco Beethoven" LP, a disco christmas album on the Pickwick label.

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New single and album by Dame Shirley Bassey in '007

Shirley Bassey to celebrate her 70th with style and music

Some might remember Shirley Bassey as the vocalist for the most memorable James Bond theme songs circa Sean Connery era. Others might remember the disco song she did with Chris Rhea in 1998 for the soundtrack of the Italian movie "La Passionne" - in which she starred as herself- , others got reacquainted with Dame Miss Bassey because they sang her songs at American Idol last week.

Shirley Bassey is coming up with a new album for her 70th anniversary slated for release in May 007. But we don't have to wait till then to savor the magic of Shirley Bassey both in Bond style and club style, long or short on her new single "The Living Tree". As usual, the Brits are picking up on it and here in corporate North America, we will never hear it on the radio.

Dame Shirley will be performing at the Glastonbury festival on Sunday June 24th 2007 in the "Living Legend" slot. The Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, The Who, Kaiser Chiefs and The Kooks are also part of the bill.

Rediscover Bassey on her official website
Listen to the new single "The Living Tree"

Watch the video of the Living Tree with Dame Shirley Bassey in feathery canary yellow, it's new!

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Prince, blobs and interpretation

Freudian Psychodynamic theory, tell me what you see.

Psychologists sometimes uses images, show them to their patients and ask: "What do you see?". Those images most often are like globs and blobs of various shapes.

Prince? Some have complained that during the Superbowl, Prince's guitar looked way too phallic, during the behind the huge winded drape episode. A veiled attempt to cause another scandal like the Janet Jackson nipple incident? Nope, didn't happen, thanks Prince, that was hilarious.

See the image that shocked a few here along with the story

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Maurice Gibb gets a park

Shortly before the Winter Music Conference kicked off, Miami has inaugurated a park (formerly Island View Park at Purdy Avenue and 18 Street) bearing the name of a famous former resident; the late Maurice Gibb. Miami Beach's mayor, Maurice's family, mother Barbara, brothers Barry and Robin, friends and fans attended.

The Gibb clan has been part of the Miami Beach community for a long time. Maurice Gibb frequented the park, even when he and his brothers were not
recording. That is why, after his untimely death in 2003, his family and the City of Miami Beach worked
together to honor his memory at that very site.

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Isn't she lovely; Amy the powerhouse

Once in a while comes an incredible performer that blows your mind.

It was another average evening where I was working on the computer and the TV was on in the background. The Brit Awards were being broadcasted that night. The Scissor Sisters performed and surely caught my attention. Thinking nothing could top them off, afterwards, went back to the keyboard, then later, that big female voice echoed in the room, I looked at the TV and saw an incredibly stunning singer looking strangely like Eva Mendes with a huge beehive, dressed retro, backed up with what looked like a blues band all dressed in black, she had tatoos on her arms, who is she? Amy Winehouse. She later grabbed an award that night and I've been hooked on her ever since.

People have said all sort of things about her, some true some not, that she's a transgender, a junkie, an alcoholic, a lesbian. Artists have the right to be freaks or outside the norm, they don't have to be role models. At least Amy is being herself, not molded by her manager or a record company like most artists in the US right now.

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Kylie Minogue meets Calvin Harris

New sensation from Scotland Calvin Harris - riding high on his hot single "Acceptable in the 80s" - has not only being signed up with a major label BMG Sony lately, he's teaming up with Kylie for her upcoming album. "Yes i did ONE song with Kylie, i'm not doing the whole album sadly" he said.

On the subject of Kylie, she now has her own perfume "Darling" and she's being signed with H&M for their 2007 swimsuit line described as bohemian-chic beachwear.

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Freddie Mercury, Borat and Miami Project

Separated at birth

Freddie Mercury and Sacha Baron "Borat" Cohen's resemblance isn't coincidental. Sacha is half Iranian (his mother) and Freddie Mercury is of Persian descent.

By the way, Queen's "Another one bites the dust" got the remix treatment thanks to our European friends at Positiva Records UK (legal and approved by Queen's remaining members). Get the 12 inch while you can here and there, The MP3 is available at the record label and other places.

View the videos at YouTube:

Queen vs Miami Project "Another one bites the dust"
Don't expect a spoof of the original, only kids breakdancing, yawn... zzzzz.

Queen "Another one bites the dust" Live at Wembley 1986
Funkier and with more kick ass basslines than the recorded version, Freddie is king

Queen "Another one bites the dust" original 1980 video
Where Borat's resemblance to Freddie is way obvious.

Pharrell Williams (Neptunes, N.E.R.D.) said "Another one bites the dust" was really big in the hood back in the days in this interview on ABC's Nightline last year (at around 1:20 in the video).

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