City Motown Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Smokey Robinson has revealed that COVID-19 really had a hold on him late last year, leaving the Motown legend fearing that he would never sing again. The voice behind such classics as “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” “I Second That Emotion” and “The Tears of a Clown” revealed in an interview with DailyMail.com that he nearly died while in acute care in a Los Angeles hospital last December during his coronavirus battle.“It was over, man,” he said. “They had to rush me to the hospital.

Smokey Robinson is detailing his bout with coronavirus that, he says, nearly took his life after he was hospitalized in December. The Motown legend, 81, told the Daily Mail that his battle with COVID-19 was "touch and go" and that he wasn’t sure he would ever sing again after the virus "took [his] voice" for a spell.

Attic Lights frontman Kev Sherry has formed a new duo, Disco Mary, where “there are no rules”.

EXCLUSIVE: Fulwell 73, the production company behind Carpool Karaoke: The Series and Amazon’s Cinderella, has acquired a majority stake in digital media incubator Yoruba Media Labs.

EXCLUSIVE: Eric Nicks, who has worked with the likes of Busta Rhymes, LL Cool J, and Foxy Brown, has teamed up with Dorothy Toran and Leslie Farrell’s Lauren Grace Media to develop a range of music television projects.

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Angelique Jackson When Debbie Allen received a call from Television Academy chairman and CEO Frank Scherma saying she’d been selected to receive the 2021 Governors Award, the entertainer was totally shocked.“It took my breath away a bit,” Allen tells Variety.Over the course of her illustrious four-decade career as an actor, dancer, choreographer, director and producer, Allen has earned a boatload of awards, including five Emmys — two for “Fame” and another for “Motown 30: What’s Goin’ On!” and

Carl Bean was a minister, AIDS activist, and singer known for his 1977 dance club hit, “I Was Born This Way.”Bean, a gay man, was singing in gospel groups and appearing in Broadway shows when Motown Records asked him to record a cover of “I Was Born This Way,” first recorded in 1975 by Valentino.

Motown Records and rapper/songwriter YoungBoy Never Broke Again have announced a global joint venture with his Never Broken Again, LLC record label.

Eugene Ashe’s romance drama Sylvie’s Love is a love letter to jazz, Motown music, and 1950s and 1960s Doris Day-like cinema. It is also Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Television Movie after it made its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

The Jaded Hearts Club have returned with a new single, ‘Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)’ – scroll down the page to watch the video for it now.It’s the first new material that the band – comprised of Miles Kane, Jet’s Nic Cester, Graham Coxon, Muse’s Matt Bellamy and The Zutons’ Sean Payne – have released since their 2020 debut album ‘You’ve Always Been Here’.The song was originally recorded by Frank Wilson in 1965 and was set to be released on Tamla Motown, until label boss Berry Gordy changed his

Jennifer Hudson steps out for the special Respect screening and reception during the 2021 Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival on Thursday evening (July 29) in Edgartown, Mass.

Joni Mitchell is among the artists set to be honoured as part of the 2021 Kennedy Center Honors.Mitchell will receive a lifetime achievement award at the live awards ceremony on December 5 at the John F.

The Kennedy Center Honors will return in December with a class that includes Motown Records creator Berry Gordy, "Saturday Night Live" mastermind Lorne Michaels and actress-singer Bette Midler. Organizers expect to operate at full capacity after last year’s ceremony was delayed for months and later conducted under COVID-19 restrictions.

For the first time ever, two Canadians will be recognized at the annual Kennedy Center Honors celebrating their lifetime achievements in the arts.

Chris Willman Music WriterSinger-songwriter Joni Mitchell, singer-actor Bette Midler, Motown chief Berry Gordy, “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels and opera singer Justino Díaz will be feted when the 44th Kennedy Center Honors take place in Washington, D.C. on Dec.

Vince Staples has shared the visual for his latest single, ‘Are You With That?’, in which he’s pursued in the middle of a suburban street.Take a look at the video, directed by Jack Begert, below:‘Are You With That?’ serves as the opening track on Staples’ self-titled fourth album, which was released last Friday (July 9) via Blacksmith/Motown.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMotown Records announced that Brian Nolan has been appointed executive vice president of the label and executive VP of marketing, effective immediately. According to the announcement, in this new role, Nolan joins the label’s executive leadership team and will help guide the company as well as oversee Motown’s marketing teams and initiatives.

Ellise Shafer administratorIn celebration of the 50th anniversary of Marvin Gaye’s seminal album “What’s Going On,” a street in Detroit has been named “Marvin Gaye Drive.”The street naming was revealed during an event on Saturday hosted by Motown Museum and Detroit City Councilman Roy McCalister, kicking off the Detroit Avenue of Fashion’s Juneteenth festivities. The celebration was attended by Gaye’s brother, Antwaun Gay, along with other members of his family.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 for his contribution to soul music and the Motown sound. Rolling Stone ranked the “What’s Going On” album No.

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros has landed What’s Going On, a biopic of iconic soul singer Marvin Gaye that Allen Hughes will direct, and produce with Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine and Andrew Lazar.

Dave Chappelle catchphrase is exactly the kind of emphatic statement that the late “Super Freak” funkster made in one encounter revealed by his former manager Kerry Gordy in the new documentary “Bitchin: The Sound and Fury of Rick James,” which premiered Tuesday night at the TriBeCa Film Festival and will be available to stream on TriBeCa at Home beginning at 6 p.m.

Tracee Ellis Ross as the daughter of Motown legend Diana Ross. However, Tracee has made a name for herself with her hard work and dedication to her craft.A post shared by Tracee Ellis Ross (@traceeellisross)Despite her mother’s enormous fame, Tracee Ellis Ross has carved her own path in the entertainment industry.

RELEASESNoel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds have released new single ‘Flying On The Ground’. It is “literally the best thing I’ve released since the last thing I released”, says Gallagher.

Noel Gallagher‘s High Flying Birds have unveiled ‘Flying On The Ground’, the latest new track to emerge from the band’s forthcoming greatest hits collection.The melodic new offering hears Gallagher flanked by backing singers throughout. He explains how his love of Motown influenced the track.“Flying On The Ground is literally the best thing I’ve released since the last thing I released.

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DEALSRound Hill Music has signed Lit to a publishing deal, covering their full catalogue. The publisher’s sister label Round Hill Records will also release the band’s seventh album later this year.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor364 days after “Blackout Tuesday” — during which the music industry took a pause to protest police violence against the black community and consider its social justice policies and efforts in the wake of George Floyd’s murder — Motown Records has named Jamila Thomas, a co-founder of #TheShowMustBePaused, as vice president of artist marketing.

Jeremy Helligar At the beginning of the 1970s, mainstream Black music was a massive singles scene. A handful of Motown acts, including the Supremes and the Temptations, had managed to score Top 10 albums during the ‘60s, but with the exception of Aretha Franklin’s Atlantic Records releases post-“Respect” and Ray Charles’ run of early ‘60s hits on ABC, Black artists weren’t typically creating classic album-length artistic statements on par with The Beatles’ “Sgt.

“What’s Going On.”But for the late Motown legend, football was the answer to help lift him out of a deep depression after the 1970 death of Tammi Terrell — his frequent duet partner on hits such as  “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”  — and into creating “What’s Going On,” his classic album that was released 50 years ago on May 21, 1971.“It was during a time when he was trying out for the Detroit Lions and being a football player,” said David Ritz, author of 1985’s “Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin

RELEASESWolf Alice have released new single ‘No Hard Feelings’. “I started out trying to make a really cheesy almost Motown-y, Ronettes kind of song about the end of a relationship, and feeling ‘What’s the point of being miserable about it?'”, says Ellie Rowsell.

Another Broadway comeback story: The Tony Award-winning Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations will resume Broadway performances on Saturday, October 16 at the Imperial Theatre  with what producers are promising will be a gala performance heralding the return of Broadway.

Ethan Shanfeld After over a year of being closed due to the pandemic, the Grammy Museum is opening its doors to the public with three new major exhibits starting May 21.“Dave Matthews Band: Inside and Out” will be on view through fall 2021, “Y Para Siempre… Marco Antonio Solis” will be open through spring 2022 and the previously announced “Motown: The Sound Of Young America” will be on display through next winter.

coronavirus pandemic.The museum in downtown Los Angeles announced Tuesday that it will be open to the public on May 21. The museum will launch with three new exhibits — “Motown: The Sound of Young America," “Dave Matthews Band: Inside and Out" and “Y Para Siempre… Marco Antonio Solís."The museum will open at limited capacity to maintain social distancing, following guidelines provided by L.A.

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"Beautiful Scars,” Merry Clayton (Motown)It's appropriate Merry Clayton's singing volume on her new gospel album repeatedly reaches forte, which in French means strength. “Beautiful Scars" is a celebration of fortitude, and caps a comeback after Clayton lost her legs in a 2014 car accident.This is Clayton's first solo album in more than 25 years, but her name and enthralling alto will sound familiar to longtime pop fans.