| Lo Fun Fact #1 |
| "Lolita Files" is my real name. It is not a pen name, as incredible as that may seem. There are plenty of Files family members and people who have known me for years capable of validating this. As for the "Lolita" part, my mother named me after the movie based on Nabokov's book, although she saw or read neither. To this day, she has no idea what a "Lolita" is. |
| Lo Fun Fact #2 |
| I love fried chicken and fabulous shoes. If you ever want to get on my good side, send Popeye's or Mr. Chicken (my favorite spot in Cleveland) and a pair of
Christian Louboutins. |
| Lo Fun Fact #3 |
| Never show up unannounced or without a Pepsi (preferably Pepsi Jazz Caramel Cream). Better yet, how about not show up at all? |
| Lo Fun Fact #4 |
| I hate the telephone. Don't get mad if I don't call you. I don't call anyone. Don't call me asking why I don't call. Just don't call, okay? |
| Lo Fun Fact #5 |
| I love the internet!!! I love communicating through the internet!!! You can e-mail me and odds are I'll e-mail you right back (if I'm not in the middle of a major project). Makes up for my hangup about the phone, doesn't it? See, I'm not so bad after all!!! |
| Lo Fun Fact #6 |
| I can't stand IMing. Please don't IM me. You will get the cold shoulder. I don't like giving people the cold shoulder, so please don't put me in that position. |
| Lo Fun Fact #7 |
I have four five six wonderful, slap-happy dogs, a bird (some kind of dove/pigeon mix), and a cat, all of whom I love to pieces. If you meet me and ask me about my dogs, bird, and cat, we'll be instant friends. If you meet me and ask me why the f*ck I have four five six dogs, a bird, and a cat, see the above fun fact for how I will respond. |
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| Friday Flashback |
| Friday, January 26, 2007 |
 For today's flashback I had to go to school for a minute, because for more than thirty years I have held on to misinformation. No one placed it there, I just assumed something that wasn't the truth. I arrived at my conclusion because of inferences that I made from a simple observance.
While watching an episode of Soul Train at the age of seven, I had the experience of witnessing a performance by Rufus and Chaka Khan. The year was 1974 and they were performing Tell Me Something Good. As a young kid I was strictly into R&B, so the sound was hot to me as well as the rest of the R&B community. However, what I didn't know until, well, today was that Rufus was not one of the guys in the group but the name of the band. I suppose it was a simple mistake, considering you had artists like Ike and Tina Turner performing in those days. So I just assumed it was a similar naming convention. It never occurred to me that Rufus wasn't a guy, but a group of guys. So now that we have that cleared up, Chaka Khan is the artist for today's Friday Flashback.  Chaka's career spans five decades, because she started her first group at the age of eleven. She began touring while still in high school with a group known as the Afro-Arts Theater. As part of that group she got the opportunity to travel with Motown great Mary Wells. A few years following this she stopped using her given name, Yvette Marie Stevens, and began using the African name Chaka Khan. This was undoubtedly due to her ties with The Black Panthers; she worked as a volunteer for the Black Panthers Free Breakfast for Children Program.
During her career she has earned eight Grammy's as well as numerous other accolades. She is most known for her R&B influences, but has explored Pop, Disco, Funk, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Adult Contemporary, and Ballads. For today's musical selection we will pull out two of the releases that catapulted her career back into the public eye in the 80's. She released a solo effort, the platinum selling album I Feel For You, which is one of today's featured songs. That album also has the single Through the Fire, a ballad for the ages. The second song that you will get to listen to will be the tune Aint Nobody, which she performed with the GROUP Rufus, on their final album, Stompin' at the Savoy (Live). This is a two record albulm (now available on disc) that features many of their hit songs from back in the day. I'm sure you all will enjoy all three (we might as well hear Through the Fire while we are at it).
Through the Fire
Ain't Nobody
I Feel For You (Check out Turbo and Ozone from the movie Breakin')
One more for all you Superwomen out there
I'm Every Woman
Enjoy the music! This is your main man, Rich in the STL, standing in for the talented and lovely Ms. Lolita Files. Peace, love and enjoy your weekend. I'm out!
Chaka Khan Online |
posted by R. Fitzgerald @ 8:00 AM   |
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| 5 Comments: |
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I just read that legend BB King has been hospitalized. Im praying that this man doesn't die. I wont be able to take another legendary death, this will make 3 in the last three months.
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I'm so proud of Rich and his blogging evolution, I just can't stop grinning (even though I've been too tired to even grin of late).
I literally spit up pineapple/orange smoothie when I read the part about thinking "Rufus" was the name of a guy in the band. I'm notorious for musical misinterpretation and misinformation based on the way something went in as a kid and I never bothered to correct it. Case in point: I was well into adulthood before I realized the opening line to Prince's hit "Soft and Wet" from his debut album For You didn't say, "Hey lover, hot dogs if you can." (It was only after I launched into singing it when it came on the radio once and my dear friend Troy Mathis---a fellow Prince head---heard me say it and responded with an immediate WTF??????.)
Speaking of Prince, I can't help but note the fact that Chaka's song "I Feel For You" was written by him and was originally sung by him on his second album, Prince. (Alright, I also can't help noting that the song that threw Rich off in the first place on that episode of Soul Train back in 1974---"Tell Me Something Good"---was written by Stevie Wonder.)
Alright...I also can't help but mention that Chaka's younger sister, Taka Boom (nee Yvonne Stevens), is also a noted singer.
*crawling back into my don't know how to STFU hole again...I miss y'all.*
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Don't feel bad Lo, I've never known the beginning words to that song. Its one of those times when you bring the tone down and muffle the words so nobody knows what you are singing or you just say "That's my jam!" and wait for that part to go by.
This also reminds me of a song I botched till well into adulthood, the children's song "This Old Man". You couldn't tell me that song didn't go "Frisco Man, he play three....."
Yeah, Yeah, laugh all you want!
On a more serious note, sorry to here about B.B. King. I'll have to send up some prayers.
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"I'm every woman...it's all in me..." can't you hear me singing offkey...but you'll never catch me on IDOL. Loving the flashbacks.
Sheletha, I hadn't heard about BB King. I will add him to my prayer list.
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I LOVE HER!!!!!