Kool & The Gang Co-Founder Dennis 'Dee Tee' Thomas Dead at Age 70

Dennis “Dee Tee" Thomas, Kool & The Gang co-founder and the bands master of ceremonies at concerts, died “peacefully in his sleep” Saturday at his home in New Jersey, according to the Associated Press.

Courtesy of K.T.F.A. Entertainment Inc

Thomas, 70, was one of seven friends who created the seminal soul group. Along with brothers Ronald and Robert Bell, Spike Mickens, Ricky Westfield, George Brown and Charles Smith, he founded the Jazziacs in 1964, which would eventually become Kool & The Gang.

Under that moniker the group has enjoyed decades of success, particularly in the late 70s and early 80s when the ablums “Ladies' Night “(1979), “Celebrate!” (1980), and “Emergency” (1984) produced multiple high-charting hits including Billboard No. 1“Celebration," "Get Down on It," "Joanna,” "Misled" and "Cherish.”

Born February 9, 1951 in Orlando, Florida, Thomas was a saxophonist, flutist and percussionist. His last performance with Kool & The Gang came on July 4th of this year at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. He is the second member of the band to die in recent years. Ronald Bell died on September 9 of last year, aged 68.

Kool & the Gang has sold more than 70 million records worldwide according to the New Jersey Hall of Fame, released more than two dozen albums and won two Grammy Awards and seven American Music Awards.

Las Vegas Bringing Whitney Houston Back in Hologram Show

Courtesy Base Hologram 

Nearly 20 years after her accidental death Whitney Houston is making a return to the American stage.
Thanks to technology created by Houston, Texas',  Base Hologram — in partnership with the late singer's estate —Houston will begin a residency in Las Vegas in October.

An Evening With Whitney: The Whitney Houston Hologram Concert features holograms of Houston from various stages of her career interacting with live backup singers, dancers, and musicians in an attempt to create a one-of-a-kind concert experience that gives the audience a chance to see the diva breathe life into her greatest works. 

“A hologram show is all about the imagination and creating a “wow factor” that extends to an incredible experience to enjoy for years to come,"  said Pat Houston, Whitney's sister-in-law, former manager and CEO of the Whitney E. Houston Estate, of the show adding that while Whitney is not with us her music will be with us forever and projects like this hologram tour will help keep her memory alive.

"We know we made the right decision partnering with BASE because they understand how important it is to produce a phenomenal hologram. They also know that engaging her fans with an authentic Whitney experience would resonate worldwide because of the iconic status that she created over three decades. Her fans deserve nothing less because she gave nothing less than her best.”

Choreographer Fatima Robinson, known for her award-winning work with celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Mary J. Blige amongst many others, described Houston as a musical trailblazer, adding, "I'm extremely honored to have this opportunity to help craft this show in her honor."

The show opens October 26th at the Harrah’s Showroom, with performances currently scheduled to occur almost nightly until April 30, 2022. Tickets are available now on Vivid Seats and Ticketmaster. This will be the second run for the show. It debuted in the U.K. in February of  2020 before the pandemic to mixed reviews. 

 

Aaliyah's Estate Comes out Swinging in Battle Over Potential New Music Release

 

Photo by Mika Väisänen

Nearly twenty years after Aaliyah’s tragic death in a plane crash at 22 a mysterious website appeared Wednesday. Its cryptic message has fans of the late singer excited and her estate up in arms. 

“Aaliyah is coming,” the stark black and white site proclaims, and after filling out a contact form it becomes apparent that it is her uncle and former manager, Barry Hankerson, who plans on bringing her back.

Links to social media sites from Blackground Records 2.0 are revealed once you enter your info. Hankerson’s original label Blackground Records was founded in 1993 to help his niece get major distribution, with an assist from R. Kelly, whom he managed at the time. 

Fans and pundits have extrapolated from the message that the popular R&B singer’s music will finally become available to stream. Feuding between Hankerson and Aaliyah’s estate have kept all but her debut LP, 1994’s “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number” off streaming services. Hankerson controls the master recordings of the rest of her music catalog. 

The estate cemented that assumption, quickly releasing a statement in defiance of the moves made by Hankerson and his label. 

Protecting Aaliyah’s legacy is, and will always be, our focus. For 20 years we have battled behind the scenes, enduring shadowy tactics of deception with unauthorized projects targeted to tarnish,” the statement read. “We have always been confused as to why there is such a tenacity in causing more pain alongside what we already have to cope with for the rest of our lives.

“Now, in this 20th year, this unscrupulous endeavor to release Aaliyah’s music without any transparency or full accounting to the estate compels our hearts to express a word — forgiveness.

The passionate plea divided Aaliyah fans on social media, with many calling for her music to be made available and others echoing the #IStandWithAaliyah hashtag the estate signs off with and vowing to not stream the music if it is released. 

What will happen remains to be seen, but what is clear is the momentous impact she had on music, film, and urban culture in her short career. Mentored by and briefly married to R. Kelly at age 15, her first album sold over three million copies in the United States. She would go on to earn 12 top 40 singles in the U.S. and 17 top 40 singles in the U.K., was nominated for five Grammy Awards and sold over 30 million records worldwide.

#IStandWithAaliyah pic.twitter.com/Q2zgAvRAgX

— Aaliyah (@AaliyahHaughton) August 5, 2021