On November 4th, in 1966, the Disco 3 & Fat Boys emcee Kool Rock Ski (Damon Wimbley) was born. As the Disco 3, they basically rhymed at local clubs and parties in New York (late 70s). By 1983, they’d decided to use their heavier appearances as a novelty for their crew and changed their names to the Fat Boys (Prince Markie Dee & Buff Love the Human Beatbox). They gained a manager and secured a deal with the Swatch company. The Hip Hop trio broke barriers in 1984 when they appeared on an MTV commercial (the first Hip Hop act to do so), even though MTV wasn’t playing Hip Hop videos at the time.
Their debut LP-The Fat Boys hit the shelves the same year (1984). By the time 1985 rolled around, they were making appearances in movies (Krush Groove-Disorderlies). They also made music for soundtracks-A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. By the 90s, the Fat Boys were played out. Kool Rock Ski stayed in the game for a while, as did Prince Markie Dee who put out a solo LP, but for the most part, they fizzled. Kool Rock Ski had some fresh rhymes, especially during the Disco 3 days. They tended to rhyme with less humor and more substance, flavor and style. I posted a few songs below that are from that era, before they became comedic. He’s 52 today.
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I have to give it up to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame for preserving music and the story of its creation, creators and appreciative admirers. They seldom disappointed anyone with their annual inductees. At least not from their opening to the late 90s. They didn’t disappoint on November 4th, in 1991 when they had their class of 1991 inducted into the Hall of Fame. Artists included: The Isley Brothers, Booker T. & the MGs, Bobby "Blue" Bland, The Yardbirds, Jimi Hendrix, Sam & Dave and Johnny Cash.
The Isley’s, with their T-Neck sound that used soulful falsetto vocals over funky-bassline heavy tracks, produced classics like Fight the Power, Between the Sheets, Voyage to Atlantis, That Lady, Footsteps in the Dark, and For the Love of You. Booker T. & the MGs made the music of Stax artists sound amazing, while creating hits of their own like LA Jazz Song, Melting Pot, Green Onions and Time is Tight. Sam & Dave kept Pop Soul appeal like Atlantic makes a Motown group, but they had some tight joints. I’m not clowning em at all.
Jimi Hendrix goes without question…I’m not really sure why he wasn’t inducted earlier, but he’s in now. His career spanned from the Chitlin Circuit to England with the Experience, to the Band of Gypsys and prospective work with Jazz Trumpeter-Miles Davis (he passed before they could collaborate). Bobby Blue Bland put it down as well. Especially in the late 60s and early 70s. His Blues songs had Soul & Rock elements in them. This was a dope class. S.O. Class of ’91.
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On November 4th, in 2008, record producer, Chief Executive Officer and former President of Motown Records-Jheryl Busby passed away in Malibu, California. He got his start behind the scenes, doing promotional work for the West Coast division of Stax. After he left there, he went to A&M Records, Casablanca and MCA Records. He was hired by MCA to become the Vice-President of their Black Music Division. He built it from the ground up, adding acts like New Edition, Jody Watley, Bobby Brown and Patti LaBelle. He went on to make MCA very rich, amassing over $50 million in annual sales of Black music on the imprint.
By 1988, he got wind of Berry Gordy selling Motown to Boston Ventures and MCA. Gordy stipulated that a minority investor must own 20% of the corporation, and Busby invested. He then moved to Motown and signed acts like BoyzIIMen, Queen Latifah, Johnny Gill, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Carl Thomas. A prolific businessman, Busby invested his money into the first Black owned banking company in America-Founders National Bank. He was a diabetic and also had some heart issues, but his cause of death was deemed accidental drowning. He was found in his hot tub at his home (59).
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On November 4th, in 2012, we lost another great Jazz Musician. The innovative avant-garde jazz, free jazz and bop trumpeter-Ted Curson passed away in Montclair, New Jersey. He got started in the Philly area and then moved to New York in the mid-50s per Miles Davis’ suggestion. He worked with Cecil Taylor while there and recorded with numerous others: Charles Mingus, Nick Brignola, Archie Shepp, Graham Collier, Pepper Adams and Andrew Hill. He also produced several LPs of his own that focused on experimental Jazz and world, or universal music. He released over 30 albums from 1962 to 2012.
He also was an annual regular at the Pori Jazz Fest in Finland (periodically lived therer-participated in the Finnish society and politics, being viewed as a well-known musician and an adopted native son). Some of the labels he recorded for include: Prestige, Atlantic, Old Town, Inner City, Futura, Fontana, Interplay and Evidence. He put out the majority of his music from the 60s to the 80s, taking a 16 year recording hiatus (1980-1996). He manged to push the boundaries of Jazz music, while keeping his sound unique enough to captivate a variety of listeners. Artists like Albert Ayler and Ginger Baker are notables here as well, they also reflect the sentiment expressed about Curson. He was 77 when he passed.
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Honorable Mention: On November 4th, in 1969, the executive producer ‘all up in the video, dancing’, Uptown Records A&R, Bad Boy Records Exec, B.I.G.’s hypeman and producer, Sean Jean Clothing owner, J-Lo’s ex-P. Diddy AKA Puff Daddy AKA Puffy AKA Sean John (Puffy) Combs was born in NYC, NY. He is a big time mogul now that started on the humble carrying keyboards for Teddy Riley while he was at Uptown producing for Guy, Heavy and everyone else on the label. He got fired, started his own label, signed Biggie and the rest is history. He’s 49 today.
On November 4th, in 1980, Robert Nesta Marley was baptized at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Kingston, Jamaica. He changed his name to Berhane Selassie which means Light of the Trinity. He’d pass away a year later. His music and philosophy lives on.
On November 4th, in 1984, The Artists, Jamie Starr-Prince appeared live at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. It was his first night for a lot of things: a seven-night booked event in the Motor City; the first stop on his 87-dates Purple Rain Tour; this would be the first time the Revolution played live together. I’m sure all seven nights were sold out, as well as the the other 87 dates.
On November 4th, in 1988 Dr. William Cosby and his wife Camille donated $20 million dollars to Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. I have to give a S.O. to the Cosbys for continuing to preserve HBCUs nationwide. Without their donations, a lot of schools would’ve deteriorated or closed. The legacy any person leaves is not based on one things, but many things…
On November 4th, in 1996, the King of Pop was blasted on the news for having his girlfriend Debbie Rowe artificially inseminated, and paying her $528K to have the baby. He confirmed the pregnancy, and his excitement over pending fatherhood, but not the loot. I can recall how much hoopla was in the media over this event. It wasn’t anything like the Pitt & Jolie thing-adopting children of color at alarming rates, or Madonna doing the same for that matter…pause…aight…
For more information on any musician or event reviewed in posts, or for additional information on the Wandering Eyes Blog overall, use the search bar and search the artist or event using keywords. It’s like a Google search for the site. A myriad of information, covering several topics exists on this site going back to 2013 when it was created. PEACE!