The Boy From Bronzeville
It all began in Chicago 1963 when I was five years old. The Regal Theatre on 47th n King Drive was the place to be entertained. I lived in Bronzeville on 43rd & State street. The theatre was in walking distance from my home. My aunt was fifteen years of age at that time. She took me every weekend to see some of the best entertainers like Sam Cooke, Sam & Dave, Joe Tex, Aretha Franklin and many more including some of Motowns finest. At that time shows were only three or four dollars admission.
This really inspired me as a young man, to witness with my own eyes the rise of great entertainers who came to prominence right there at the Regal Theatre. Some friends and I formed a singing group called the Soulful Sounds. We performed at many venues around the city trying to get that big break. We finally landed an audition with Darryls mother the manager of the Brightest Side Of Darkness (Darryl Lamont, Ralph Eskridge, Randolph Murph, Larry Washington and Albert Vandelier Roberts) at GC Recording Studio on 13th and Michigan. Long story short we finally locked an audition down to open up for the Brighest Side Of Darkness at the High Chaparral on the south side of Chicago. Believe it or not the show was cancelled because of internal issues within that group. After struggling so hard to keep the group together we eventually broke up ourselves.
I never gave up on, if nothing else the love of good music. My goals is to never let those live moments be forgotten. Our team is here to keep the creative side of live music alive, and giving back to young entertainers who just want to be heard.
Tina Turner was a legendary American-born singer widely regarded as the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll." With her powerful voice, electric stage presence, and remarkable resilience, she became one of the most influential and successful performers in music history. Turner rose to fame in the 1960s as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, known for hits like “Proud Mary” and “River Deep – Mountain High. After leaving the Ike & Tina Revue in 1976, Tina Turner reinvented herself as a solo artist, a rare feat for a woman in her 40s in the male-dominated rock world. Her 1984 solo album Private Dancer marked an extraordinary comeback, featuring the Grammy-winning hit “What’s Love Got to Do with It.” The album sold millions and reestablished her as a global superstar. Other hits like “Better Be Good to Me,” “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” and “The Best” followed.Turner was known not only for her distinctive raspy voice but also for her boundless energy and iconic live performances.
Born Prince Rogers Nelson, this Minneapolis legend didn’t just make music, he redefined it. Blending funk, rock, R&B, pop, and soul into a sound that was entirely his own, Prince became one of the most innovative artists in music history. From the electrifying album 1999. To the culture-shifting masterpiece Purple Rain A multi-instrumentalist, producer, and performer he famously played 27 instruments on his debut album and fought fiercely for artist ownership and creative control changing the business of music forever. And who could forget that legendary performance at the Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show. Performing “Purple Rain” in the rain. A moment widely called one of the greatest live performances of all time. Prince wasn’t just an artist. He was a movement. A sound. A symbol.
Prince Rogers Nelson
