text:
Talk:NewsRadio

use of "irreverent" is vandalism/soapbox?!
Codem01: While I don't have a strong opinion on if "absurd" or "irreverent" or both terms is best, I don't see how you can call it vandalism/soapbox. I'm finally seeing some reruns in my market and it is extremely irreverant. Were you thinking of "irrelevant," maybe? Rufus Sarsaparilla 01:11, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

 * No I wasn't thinking of irrelevant. Although I must admit I had to look up the meaning of irreverent. From what I can tell, irreverent means disrespectful. Disrespectful can mean disrespect of authority but I've mostly seen examples of irreverent's usage in the context of disrespect torwards relgion. See America's Irreverent Sense of Humor. The examples cited in this article are far more controversial than anything on NewsRadio. Also saying something is disrespectful is very subjective. Let me know if you see the definition of irreverent differently. The edit also removed 'absurd' and replaced it with 'irreverent' without explaination. The two words don't have similar meaning. I consider replacing 'absurd' without explaination to be vandalism. I am very careful to not delete someone's work when I'm editing. If he/she didn't agree that absurd is an accurate description, it should have been discussed. If the edit was meant to imply religious disrespect it's soapbox. --Codem01 06:27, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

 * Thanks for sharing your line of reasoning. According to my dictionary irreverant means "lacking proper respect or seriousness, also: satiric".  Which to me is an accurate description of NewsRadio.  It could be very silly and definitely was satiric.  Absurd is a good word also.  Again, It's not my ox being gored, I just thought your analysis was kind of harsh. Rufus Sarsaparilla 18:54, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

 * "Irreverent" means lacking reverence or veneration, especially of sacred things -- oftentimes, sacred cows. It is satire, mocking, a send-up of conventions -- disrespect, in this case, for the cliched norms of sitcoms.   It is the perfect word to describe NewsRadio.  Further, one might use the word "absurdist," but the scripts are rarely absurd.  Laszlo Panaflex 01:33, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

 * Why not call it satire, then? Irreverent seems to have negative connotations (see above). Also calling the humor disrespectful, not only describes the humor. It also implies the subject being ridiculed deserves respect or is commonly respected, which is debatable. I'm not advocating absurd over irreverent, although I do think absurd describes NewsRadio. IMO, you only call something disrespectful if you're seeking to ban or censor it. Satire only describes the humor. --Codem01 14:59, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

 * This is a completely ilznidiotic argument. Paul Simms called the show irreverent, and I doubt he was seeking to ban or censor his own show (although maybe he did push the network to see how far he could go before they would ban or censor his show...). I'm pretty sure he meant it in exactly the way Laszlo Panaflex suggests (although the show also had an irreverent attitude toward politics, the news media, etc.). And I'm guessing whoever put the word in this article meant the same. I also agree that "absurdist" is a better description of the show than "absurd"--but "irreverent" and "satirical" are also fine. --Falcotron 17:49, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

 * You are focusing on the wrong variant of the meaning of the word. If you haven't heard the word used in context before, perhaps you might defer to those who have -- like Paul Simms, for instance.  Here is an example of NewsRadio's irreverence (flouting of convention):  A tiresome sitcom cliche involves two characters destined for a relationship, yet kept apart by mishaps for year after year (I call it the Who's the Boss syndrome, but it equally applies to Frasier and many others).  NBC wanted this with Dave and Lisa.  Instead, the show consummated their relationship in the second episode.  They thumbed their noses at sitcom convention, irreverently, and found humor in the implications of the relationship rather than leaning on the predictable crutch of building tension.  The Titanic and outer space episodes are further examples of irreverence, as well as of absurdism (as opposed to being "absurd," which implies that they make no sense).  Gzizza, Laszlo Panaflex 19:29, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

 * Although I obviously agree with you completely, I wanted to make two points about your example. First, the traditional name for the cliche you're referring to is "Sam and Diane," (after Cheers). Besides, if I remember Matthew correctly, it's Joe, not Dave, who was Tony Danza, Jr. Second, that's more an example of what I was talking about (Paul Simms deliberately pushing the NBC execs) than general irreverence. Upon seeing the pilot, NBC asked if he was planning to do a "Sam and Diane" with Dave and Lisa, and he responded by throwing them into bed right away. He did the same with NBC's repeated demands for a wedding episode (Joe's on-air proposal to Lisa, and later Lisa's wedding to Johnny--which NBC, to their credit, took with a completely straight face), their suggestion to get rid of Andy Dick's pratfalls (Matthew announcing, after Jimmy's heart attack, that he's going to "stop pretending to fall down"), their demand for another "spicy" female character (Andrea "Planbee," who had no romantic subplots), their request for tie-ins to "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (the rat funeral) and "The 60s" (Jimmy's hippie hypnosis), and so on. But anyway, the show was definitely both irreverent and absurdist, as well as having that upstate prison flavor that keeps you ugly all night long. --Falcotron 19:55, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

 * I don't think I'm focusing on the wrong variant. It's first definition listed which I believe means it's the most common usage. Also, I tried to google usage of irreverent and most of what came up was using the word to mean disrespectful. Despite what preconception you have of irreverent, I hope you can see some merit in the point I am making. Some words, because of how they're used, have a negative connotation or additional meaning that is undesired. For example: scheme - plan, attack - retaliation, secretary of war - defense, outdated - antique, lie detector - polygraph, adequate - standard, geek - enthusiast. Scheme is commonly used to imply a devious plan. Retaliation implies provocation. Secretary of War implies aggressor. Outdated implies worthless. Lie dectector implies the machine actually detects lies. Saying a car's safety features are adequate vs. saying it meets safety standards evokes different reaction. And you'll remember several instances in NewsRadio where someone is really into something but they rather be referred as "(blank) enthusiast" instead of another term. I guess lie dectector and adequate are also mentioned on the show as well. In hindsight, I'd like to take back my comment that the edit that started this whole and now very long section was vandalism / soap box. Apparently the interpretation of irreverent is not as clear cut as I thought. However I still stand by my belief that irreverent is not a good word to use due to it's negative connotations.--Codem01 01:59, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

 * As I said, the connotation with which it is used here is "the flouting of convention," or if you prefer, a disrepect for sitcom norms. It is an accepted, and common, usage of the word.  Internet dictionaries are imprecise and incomplete, though the definition found here best catches the connotation intended:  "[Wordnet] 2: characterized by a lightly pert and exuberant quality; 'a certain irreverent gaiety and ease of manner' [syn: impertinent, pert, saucy]."  Other synonyms such as "mocking, cheeky, flip" are listed.  You'll notice among the thesaurus words of a distinctly religious nature -- related to a lack of reverence for sacred things -- and then a number of seemingly unrelated words, some of which I've listed.
 * In context, the word is used formally in relation to transgressions against a culture or religion, often Catholicism, or in describing satirical, offbeat comedy. If you object to that usage of the word, feel free to remove it from the page.  But you will then want to remove it from the hundreds of other Wikipedia pages that use it in precisely the same context.  Good luck with that.  Laszlo Panaflex 05:43, 24 July 2006 (UTC)
 * I agree, you're not focusing on the wrong variant, Codem01. There's something else you're not getting. In short, the word doesn't just connote, but flat out means, disrespectful--but there's not necessarily anything negative about calling something disrespectful. To those of us with little respect for the cliched conventions of sitcoms, "irreverent" has positively positive connotations. To those who find standard sitcom formulae sacred icons not to be mocked, it probably does have negative connotations--but then such people surely wouldn't like NewsRadio, and shouldn't be fooled into thinking they might by an unambiguously positive fan page. ∴ "Irreverent" is a perfect description. ∎ (P.S., Maybe it's because I'm a geek... er, enthusiast... but to me, "scheme" doesn't imply deviousness so much as hygiene. And, you know, a single namespace.) --Falcotron 08:58, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

The Cane
What's the one where Bill juggles with the canes'n'stuff? Thanks, Frank W ~@) R, Jan. 5, 18:54 PST.
 * The episode was merely entitled "The Cane." - Berlyn

Ray Romano
On the recently released DVDs, the commentary track for the first/pilot episode refers to the show's producers firing Ray Romano, basically because his delivery wasn't working out possibly due to nervousness, instead of him choosing to leave. Bitt 02:17, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

 * Are you trying to suggest that not everybody loves Raymond.... ;-) func (talk) 02:27, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

 * Um... are you saying they said that Ray Romano didn't work out before they even filmed the pilot, or fired him after filming and producing the pilot? Because... Ray Romano wasn't in the pilot episode, though they had considered him for the role of Joe. PantherFoxie 17:27, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I can't believe crap like everybody loved raymond does so well, while shows like this were treated so badly and ended early
 * NBC sure was brainless

Twin Towers/Dave Nelson
"The name 'Dave Nelson' came from the Twin Towers. Each tower had a name, one being Dave, the other Nelson. In the opening credits, Dave Foley's name comes across the screen with the towers in the background."

Deleted. Is there a source for this? I can't find any solid references to WTC nicknames, much less that Dave Nelson is related to them.

 * I found when it was added, with no edit summary, the only edit of an anon; so non-verifiable. func (talk) 02:40, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

This factoid probably originates from the imdb.com entry for NewsRadio, which states this as fact. However, its verified at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/newyork/peopleevents/p_rockefellers.html, citing they were named after two Rockefellers.

I read somewhere that the name Dave Nelson was created by the director, Dave coming from Dave Foley the directors first choice for the part, and Nelson being his mother's maiden name

Offbeat season 'finales'
A note on the edit changing "finales" to simply "episodes" - while "Injury," which aired at the end of Season 3, was not intended to be that season's finale, it did indeed air after "Space." It has been returned to its proper position at the end of Season 2 on the DVD set, but it is debatable to me whether the original intentions of the producers or the network's final airing schedule should dictate whether "Space" and "Sinking Ship" are both finales, or are just episodes - thus, I suggest leaving them as such.

Beth's Last Name
I've seen the entire run too many times to justify, and I don't recall any mention of Beth's last name, much less a "running gag." There was certainly a running gag with Bill regarding Joe's last name -- "your name is Garelli?" -- but Beth? Could someone provide an example or two? - Laszlo Panaflex 19:14, August 5, 2005 (UTC)
 * No examples, so I'm lifting out the clause. -Laszlo Panaflex 21:53, August 29, 2005 (UTC)
 * The gag is that she doesn't have a last name. Not just that it's never mentioned, but that she literally doesn't have one. 209.174.140.100 05:57, 2 November 2005 (UTC)
 * Again, when was this ever mentioned at all? The reference is back up on the page, but I do not recall her last name ever coming up, much less her saying "it's just Beth."  Any examples?  Laszlo Panaflex 18:12, 20 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Still no examples cited, so I removed the claim again. Laszlo Panaflex 18:19, 22 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Her last name was never mentioned on the show, which is reflected in the EpGuide. – ClockworkSoul 05:54, 27 December 2005 (UTC)
 * In episode 5-20, "Freaky Friday" Beth specifically states that she has no last name. In the episode Beth had been scamming CD-of-the-month clubs out of thousands of CD's and a record company employee eventually tracks her down to the office and offers her a check for $1000 if she promises to desist.  When he makes out the check that's when the name issue comes up. --nicolas.b 06:20, 23 January 2006 (UTC)
 * OK, we have one instance. For it to be a "running gag" we need at least two more.  Laszlo Panaflex 17:51, 23 January 2006 (UTC)
 * If that's your criteria then I think you'll find that it was not a "running gag". BTW, the running gag involving Joe's last name was not exclusive to Bill.  I recall seeing both Lisa and Beth make the question/joke, also... but I have no idea in which episodes. --nicolas.b 22:01, 24 January 2006 (UTC)
 * I believe I added the bit about Beth's name being a running gag. It's referenced at least one more time, in episode "Zoso" when Beth is trying to market "Fat Albert" hats. When introducing herself to the potential buyer, he asks her last name and she says it's "Just Beth". SAMIAM779 June 2006

{UPDATE} In the season three dvd commentary, the writers clarify the issue by saying it was meant to be a sort of running gag. Their own public words, not mine :) (or perhaps season 2, I'll verify for sure later this week)

The Pic
Why won't the pic load? It hasn't been deleted, and the formatting doesn't seem to have changed. ??? - Laszlo Panaflex 06:07, 6 October 2005 (UTC)
 * I resized it a bit and now it is loading. Laszlo Panaflex 18:02, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

The pic has been changed slightly to better abide by the fair use agreement. The picture is the same, but now I know the source (tv.yahoo.com). Copyright is believed to be NBC. The clearly posed promotional photo should fall under fair use. -stewunit
 * The earlier pic, Image:NR-Cast-2.jpg, was a much larger version of the same picture. The copyright isn't different for a thumbnail of a picture than for the original.  The better solution here, I propose, is to source the Image:NR-Cast-2.jpg pic to the tv.yahoo link -- it is the same pic, merely resized.  Then the nice large pic is still available to readers, instead of this thumbnail.  Laszlo Panaflex 20:44, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

further, in the season three dvd commentary, the writers clarify the issue by saying it was meant to be a sort of running gag. Their own public words, not mine :) (or perhaps season 2, I'll verify for sure later this week)

Jimmy was not D.B. Cooper
"may have been famous skyjacker D.B. Cooper" is incorrect. Episode 5-8, "Clash of the Titans", explicitly established that Adam West was Cooper, not Jimmy. Correction has been made. CaptHayfever 06:10, 10 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Saying that Jimmy "may have been famous skyjacker D.B. Cooper" is not in and of itself incorrect, as the question of Cooper's identity is up in the air (so to speak) within the story arc; West's revelation does not change the existence of the identity question in the infinitive sense. XPeeple 02:41, 5 April 2006 (UTC)XPeeple
 * Given how Jimmy ordered Adam West around, it was my impression that Jimmy was indeed D. B. Cooper, but that Adam West owed him big and this is how Jimmy collected on the debt, of course that's just speculation Jztinfinity 00:33, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

Evelyn "Bill" McNeal
Just watched an episode where Bill's birth certificate is found and it turns out his middle name is Bill (William) and his first name is really Evelyn, or as he protests "pronounced EVE a lyn." I have changed the text to reflect this. -I just edited it too...It is in the episode "The Breakup". I am a bit confused if it is "Evalyn" or Evelyn. Evelyn is the more common spelling, but the "a" in his pronunciation makes it sound as if an "A" is required.--PuckSR —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.205.245.64 (talk) 02:25, 11 March 2009 (UTC)

Incredibly unencyclopedic
I love the show too, a lot, but this is pretty much a fan page. I tried to edit some of it but it's pretty much the entire article. Whether it's referring to actors by their first name, giggling along with a joke.. it needs to be a little more serious. Does anyone agree? Oreo man 19:32, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

 * A lot of the fault is mine, as I started the Careers after NewsRadio section back when I first got going on Wikipedia. I made some adjustments to it that should help a little. Tigermave 22:27, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

Ratings and Syndication
I'm not sure about the accuracy of two portions of this article:

1) I think the ratings for Newsradio were actually healthy through season two. The turn for the worse came starting in season three.

2) I also think the 100 episode measure for syndication was the standard as of when the show was sold but is no longer the standard due to sales of shows like Newsradio.

I don't have sources at the moment to back either of these things up, but I'm casually looking for them and will edit if I find something to back either one up. Erechtheus 17:17, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

 * I'm not sure about the first point, but as for the second, the 100-episode mark is a loose guideline, not a hard and fast rule. That number is mainly used for determining when to begin syndicating a still-running show. If a show finishes its run slightly short of that mark, it will still be syndicated if the company holding the syndication rights feels there's an audience for it. Generally 65 episodes is considered the bare minimum (since a show can then be shown five times a week for 13 weeks with no repeats) for viability in syndication, though even that one doesn't always hold true.Raymondluxuryacht 17:35, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Now that I'm looking at it, I think the main change that needs to happen with syndication is a link to the television syndication article. Erechtheus 17:55, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

 * I have verified the ratings information utilizing Google Groups to search the archive of the alt.tv.newsradio Usenet group. Newsradio was a top 40 show even when it was moved to Sundays in season two. It was not until Season 3 debuted and the show moved to Wednesday that the ratings declined. I'm not positive I have worded things perfectly, but that's the best I can do this early in the morning. I'll have another look at it later. If anybody can say it better, please do. Erechtheus 06:40, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

Speaking of Cheers...
The show was full of references to other sitcoms, from the obvious (the homage to Taxi in Matthew calling Joe "Tony Danza, Jr.", or the dig at Suddenly Susan in Joe telling Beth "there's a spunky redhead in every office") to the slightly subtle (Vicki Lewis doing Kathy Griffin's voice for her "I know" response to being told that there's a spunky redhead in every office) to the nobody's-going-to-get-this (the unfortunately unfulfilled plans to completely shuffle the show around after the fifth season, just like Cheers). While this is typical in animated shows, it seems to be pretty rare in traditional (meaning live-action) sitcoms. But I'm not sure if this is worth mentioning on the page, or how to fit it in.

(Now that I think about it, there are a lot of ways in which NewsRadio is more like a typical animated sitcom. It was funny, for one--and full of jokes that most of the audience weren't expected to get. The characters grew naturally, but almost nothing changed through a traditionally story arc. Like most animated characters, Dave always wore exactly the same clothes unless there was a specific joke in having him dress differently. There were episodes out of continuity, like "Space." And having an episode about Bill being censored for overusing the word "penis" too often actually getting postponed for a season because they refused to cut it down for the censors reminds me of, for example, South Park's recent Mohammed controversy.) --Falcotron 20:08, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

 * I don't think NewsRadio made it a point to refer to other sitcoms specifically; rather, they contained many references to pop culture in general, and some sitcom references would be naturally part of this. But you're right in that most live action sitcoms don't contain many cultural references (if any), while animated sitcoms tend to be very heavy with them. (I'm very curious on why that might be.) In either case, I think the comparison is worth noting in the article, though I have no idea how to fit it in.Raymondluxuryacht 21:23, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

 * I've thought about this the last two years off and on. I wonder if in regular shows they might want characters from other series to "guest appear" on occasion. It's hard to do that if they refer to them as fictional characters. (Although David E. Kelley had no compunction on that) In an animated series, like The Simpsons, characters from other series are less likely to cross-over and if they do the cross-over can be easier to accept as just a fantasy. Newsradio, after a point, was also easy to accept as fantasy. Plus characters from other series never crossed-over to it, at least not in my memory.--T. Anthony (talk) 11:30, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Not necessarily relevant (or reverent!) to your point, but structurally NewsRadio is similar to Night Court. A good guy-good girl-bad guy trio, surrounded by various crazies. Good guy and girl are frequently pitted against the schemes of bad guy, who also makes repeated unsuccessful advances on good girl. The theme songs are similar, too. Both were offbeat and contrasted with the more popular shows from the Must See line-ups of their times, though NewsRadio is darker and more satirical (thank you, Drake Sather!). Also, comparisons to animation, and comic books, include the references to the SuperKarateMonkeyDeathCar, Mr. James as D.B. Cooper, and the whole Johnny Johnson good-vs-evil story-line. Laszlo Panaflex 22:33, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Oh, also, one could clearly see Lisa's frequent, plaintive cry of "Da-ave" as a touchstone to Mary Tyler-Moore's "Oh-hh, Rob" and "Oh-hh, Mr. Grant," whether intended or not. If I were to ever meet Maura Tierney, I would beg her to belt out a "Da-ave," you know, just for old time's sake. Laszlo Panaflex 00:03, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

 * I seem to remember Paul Simms talking about how they originally expected to have lots of Mary Tyler Moore ripoffs^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hreferences, and were constantly surprised at how few they ended up writing. Anyway, I suspect the "Da-ave" was intentional, and maybe the MTM-ish faces and arm movements whenever she was flustered (because I've never seen her do that in any other character--which is a pity). But I'm pretty sure that both of them looking so good in capris was a coincidence. --Falcotron 09:13, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

 * Oh, and I've never met Maura Tierney, but the first time Andy Dick, he agreed to do any character from NewsRadio except Matthew, so I asked him to do Lisa, and he said, "Da-ave, I wanna have a baby! Now! Come on, gimme some!" --Falcotron 09:17, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

Anybody else think this show was very similar to Just Shoot Me? Should this be mentioned?67.79.126.6 01:54, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

 * No, especially seeing as "Just Shoot Me!" came out 2 years after this started.--T. Anthony (talk) 11:30, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

TBS Syndication
I noticed, with great excitement, that NewsRadio was on TBS on monday (October 2nd) at 1 p.m. Anybody know if this is going to be a regular addition to the TBS lineup? If so we should probably add a blurb about it after the Nike at Nite mention.Tigermave 20:10, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

Beyond Region 1
Does anyone have any information about any non Region 1 DVD releases for the article? I checked Amazon.co.uk, but they only had the NTSC version —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Bdve (talk • contribs) 21:55, 18 January 2007 (UTC).

refrence question
in the Mikey Way page it states that he was a former cast member of this show and i couldent see it in the article so i am asking-- is it true cauz i dont think it is. Post on my talk page a reply if anyone answers. thamnksRazor romance 14:58, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

 * Actually, that's not what the article says.

 * "He and Gerard are maternal second cousins of Joe Rogan, host of the NBC game/stunt show Fear Factor and former cast member of the sitcom News Radio"

 * It's saying that Joe Rogan was a cast member, not Mikey Way. Which, of course, Rogan was.Raymondluxuryacht 18:34, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Lovitz again
Just wondering if anyone would mind if I added a quick bit that Jon was an earlier character on the show as the jumper?MephYazata (talk) 21:43, 3 April 2009 (UTC)

 * You might also point out that Max was the third character that Lovitz played on the show. Besides the jumper, he played Bill's friend in the mental ward.Sandmaster (talk) 04:49, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

Ah very nice catch! I had forgotten that whole episode. That was terrific. I'll have to go watch it again. Thanks MephYazata (talk) 05:23, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

More detailed characters
Would anyone mind if I added some detail to the character descriptions as I did with Lisa. If so how much compared to the section for Bill? I am not necessarily suggesting giving each character enough for their own page, though that could be a possibility too.MephYazata (talk) 21:53, 3 April 2009 (UTC)

 * Going into detail is a good idea. The important thing is that we keep it to things that are actually important to an understanding of the character's personality and history and not just random trivial facts.Sandmaster (talk) 04:49, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

That does look better as you wrote it though he is still considered Canadian and he did make the implications that he was born and raised in Wisconsin. In fact I seem to recall him saying the phrase "born and raised" in his specific Dave way. I cannot recall the episode, but I'll look for it. BTW do you have any input for my above post? Look forward to hearing from you.MephYazata (talk) 01:55, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

 * I know what you meant, it's just the way it was phrased suggested that the whole Wisconsin thing was a lie. Dave's Wisconsin upbringing was a key component of his character's personality, so it's probably best to mention both origins and draw the distinction between the two. I personally suspect that the character was originally intended to have been born in Wisconsin, and then later the writers decided to have him being born in Canada as a subtle reference to Dave Foley, the actor, being Canadian, but obviously without acknowledgement from the creative staff, that's not something we can include in the article.Sandmaster (talk) 04:49, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

 * It seems like in one of the commentaries they do state they made him Canadian to make the jokes "more about Dave Foley", but I don't remember which commentary or the exact wording.--T. Anthony (talk) 08:15, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

Should I change the underlining on Super Karate Death Monkey as I have with the episodes listed under Dave?MephYazata (talk) 02:48, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

 * I think the standard guideline is that episode titles should be put in quotes. The episode is called "Super Karate Monkey Death Car", I believe.Sandmaster (talk) 04:49, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

AH thanks for that. That's the second time I've done that in like 2 hours. I swear sometimes I have a dyslexis between my brain and my fingers at times. I was even looking at the name too. Thanks.MephYazata (talk) 05:25, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

I agree with you about that. There seemed to be way too much lay work involving Wisconsin and then a relatively small bit about confirming his Canadian birth. I guess I didn't look closely enough at my wording and make sure to double check. I don't know if you watched it but something similar happened in Babylon 5 where the overall story was meant to last 7 years and the first major plot lines were meant to be addressed in 4. So when season 5 comes around it seems to have a very different tone that suggests the writers "improvising" so to speak. I am not sure I could pinpoint one thing, but that proverbial "something" was off.MephYazata (talk) 05:32, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

Before I add more I would like some input on how much detail I should go into. 1, 2, 3 paragraphs? Should I structure with the intent to make seperate linked pages? This is an encyclopedia and I don't want to turn it into what seems like a fan page.MephYazata (talk) 08:14, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

Internal Links
As I am adding the episode titles into the article I am not sure how to internally link them to the brief/somewhat non existent? episodes listed in the guide. I will also be adding to those synopsis so how can I link them? Is this something already addresses that I am missing?MephYazata (talk) 23:46, 7 April 2009 (UTC)

'James James James'
I deleted the bit about Jimmy James' "full name" being James James James. As far as I can recall, his middle name was never established within the show, only once promoting himself with the tagline, "James James, the man so nice, they named him twice." Numanoid (talk) 06:51, 9 October 2009 (UTC)

Section Suggestion
I think it would be cool if somebody created a section as to how accurately NewsRadio captures News Radio stations. I watched this show when I was young and impressionable and I believe it misled me. I'd like to know which parts of it are accurate and which are not.

RobinReborn 13:23, 7/4/10 (EST)

ORIGINAL CAST NOTE:

pilot episode: There was no Khandi Alexander in the pilot. In the opening credits her name replaces Ella Joyce in the second episode. In the pilot Catherine is referred (spoken?) to but has no lines and only appears in the near background. Tlinafelt (talk) 16:30, 14 September 2010 (UTC)

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title: Talk:NewsRadio


text:
The Shirelles

The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFadden), and Beverly Lee.

Founded in 1957 for a talent show at their high school, they were signed by Florence Greenberg of Tiara Records. Their first single, "I Met Him on a Sunday", was released by Tiara and licensed by Decca Records in 1958. After a brief and unsuccessful period with Decca, they went with Greenberg to her newly formed company, Scepter Records. Working with Luther Dixon, the group rose to fame with "Tonight's the Night". After a successful period of collaboration with Dixon and promotion by Scepter, with seven top 20 hits, the Shirelles left Scepter in 1966. Afterwards, they were unable to maintain their previous popularity.

The Shirelles have been described as having a "naive schoolgirl sound" that contrasted with the sexual themes of many of their songs. Several of their hits used strings and featured the influence of Brazilian baião music. They have been credited with launching the girl group genre, with much of their music reflecting the genre's essence. Their acceptance by both white and black audiences, predating that of the Motown acts, has been noted as reflecting the early success of the Civil Rights Movement. They have received numerous honors, including the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, as well as being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and named one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time by Rolling Stone in 2004. Two of their songs, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Tonight's the Night", were selected by Rolling Stone on its list of the greatest songs of all time. In 2022, their debut album Tonight's the Night was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Initial career and success
The group that later became the Shirelles was formed in 1957 by four teenage girls from Passaic, New Jersey, under the name the Poquellos (or Pequellos). The founding members, Shirley Owens (born June 10, 1941, Henderson, NC), Doris Coley (August 2, 1941, Goldsboro, NC– February 4, 2000, Sacramento, CA), Addie "Micki" Harris (January 22, 1941, High Point, NC – June 10, 1982, Atlanta, Georgia), and Beverly Lee (born August 3, 1941, Passaic, NJ), entered a talent show at Passaic High School at the suggestion of a teacher. After hearing them sing "I Met Him on a Sunday", a song they had written for the show, their classmate Mary Jane Greenberg convinced the reluctant Poquellos to meet with her mother, Florence, the owner of Tiara Records. After several months of avoiding Greenberg and telling her that they were not interested in singing professionally, they were booked to Tiara. By the end of the year they had changed their name to the Shirelles, a combination of the first syllable of Owens's given name and -el, reminiscent of then-popular group the Chantels, after briefly using the name the Honeytunes. That year, they released their first song, "I Met Him on a Sunday"; after local success, it was licensed to Decca Records for national broadcast and charted at #50. The song was influenced by doo-wop, but infused with pop melodies.

Tiara Records, along with the Shirelles' contract, was sold to Decca Records in 1959 for $4,000; Greenberg stayed as the manager, securing performances for the group, including one at the Howard Theatre in Washington D.C. After two singles did poorly, including their first release—with Coley as lead vocalist—of "Dedicated to the One I Love", a cover of the "5" Royales song of the same name, Decca returned them to Greenberg and gave up on them, considering them a one-hit act. On Greenberg's new label, Scepter Records, they rereleased "Dedicated to the One I Love" as a single, which peaked at #89; Wayne Wadhams, David Nathan, and Susan Lindsay in Inside the Hits attribute the low rating to poor distribution. In order to better promote the group, Greenberg asked songwriter Luther Dixon, who had previously worked with Perry Como, Nat King Cole, and Pat Boone and co-written the 1959 hit "16 Candles", to write for and produce songs for them. Dixon accepted.

Their first single produced with Dixon, "Tonight's the Night", was released in 1960 and peaked at #39. The success of "Tonight's the Night" led to the girls being booked to perform with several major artists, such as Etta James and Little Richard, and facilitated Scepter's move to a larger office. It was followed by "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", written by husband-wife songwriting team Gerry Goffin and Carole King; the song went on to become the first Billboard number-one hit by an African-American girl group, possibly the first by any girl group. "Tonight's the Night" was later used as the title song for the 1961 album Tonight's the Night, which also included "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Dedicated to the One I Love".

After the success of their singles, the Shirelles became frequent guests of Murray the K, who hosted them on his "All Star Rock Shows" on the New York radio station WINS. During this same period they reissued "Dedicated to the One I Love", which peaked at #3, followed by "Mama Said", then "Baby It's You", written by Burt Bacharach, Luther Dixon, and Mack David, "Soldier Boy", and "Boys", with saxophonist King Curtis.

In 1963 Dixon left Scepter, which presaged a tailing-off of the number of the Shirelles' singles to chart. However, they carried on performing and recording. Dionne Warwick replaced Owens and Coley, who took leave to marry their fiancés, in concerts and the group continued to record material. That year, their song "Foolish Little Girl" reached the pop/R&B Top 10, and they performed two songs, "31 Flavors" and "You Satisfy My Soul," for the soundtrack of the film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World; "31 Flavors" was also used to promote Baskin-Robbins. However, later in 1963, the Shirelles learned that the trust, holding their royalties, that they were supposed to receive from Scepter on their 21st birthdays, did not exist. In response, they left the label, and later filed a breach of contract suit against the company. Scepter met this with a countersuit for quitting; both suits were withdrawn in 1965, after an agreement was reached. Knowing that Scepter had lied about the trust disappointed the Shirelles, who felt deceived. In a 1981 interview with Bruce Pollock, Owens said that Greenberg had put on a "mother routine", which the girls had "fall[en] for ... completely".

Later career
In later years, the Shirelles declined in popularity due in part to pressure from the British Invasion and the heavy competition from other girl groups, including the Chiffons, the Supremes, the Ronettes, Martha & the Vandellas, and the Crystals. During this period, Warwick often replaced Coley on stage due to the latter's family commitments. The Shirelles were still bound to Scepter and thus unable to record for another company until the end of their contract in 1966. Their last single to chart was 1967's "Last Minute Miracle", which peaked at #99.

After the commercial failure of their most recent releases, Coley left the group in 1968 to focus on her family. The remaining three Shirelles recorded songs for several labels, including Bell Records, RCA Victor, and United Artists until 1971. Afterwards, they toured singing their older songs, and participated in the filming of the 1973 documentary Let the Good Times Roll , recording two songs for it. Coley returned as lead singer in 1975, replacing Owens, who left that year to pursue a solo career. Addie "Micki" Harris collapsed of a heart attack in June 1982 in the lobby of Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia after two performances with the group. She was sent to the Grady Memorial Hospital, where she died at 12:50 a.m. on June 10, 1982. The following year, the remaining three original members performed "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" with Warwick on her album How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye.

Current versions of the group
Today, the original members tour in different, separate groups, although the trademark to the Shirelles name was eventually acquired by Lee. One of the versions of the group had member Geraldine Crowell, who was the daughter of David Jones of The Rays. Shirley Owens performed on the Doo Wop 51 PBS special in 2000. She continued to tour under the name "Shirley Alston Reeves and her Shirelles". Shirley retired in 2020. Lee currently tours with new members, billed as "The Shirelles". Doris Coley died in Sacramento, California on February 4, 2000 of breast cancer.

Deaths
Addie Harris died from a heart attack at the age of 41 on June 10, 1982.

Doris Coley died of breast cancer at the age of 58 on February 4, 2000.

Style
Wadhams, Nathan, and Lindsay describe the style of the Shirelles early work as "tight, almost doo-wop harmony". Owens's vocals, described by rock n' roll writer Alwyn W. Turner as being "wonderfully expressive", were capable of sounding "almost, but not quite" out of tune, which in his opinion lent Owens an innocent sound in her songs; music critic Albin Zak describes her vocals as being able to intone desire and vulnerability. The other members, singing backup, also convey what Michael Campbell, a professor of music at Western Illinois University, calls a "naive schoolgirl sound". The lyrics sung by the Shirelles tended to be fairly simple and "barely" concealed the subtexts of the songs. The songs were implicitly directed at female listeners, with the male subjects of songs being referred to as "he" instead of "you"; this was a change from previous female-written songs, which tended to be more gender neutral, and helped pave the way for the "confessional" songs of 70s singers like Joni Mitchell and Carole King.

Musically, their works with Dixon were influenced by Brazilian baião and featured numerous instances of syncopation.

Influence
Steve Huey of AllMusic notes that the Shirelles defined "the so-called girl group sound with their soft, sweet harmonies and yearning innocence", with their songs predating Motown in their widespread crossing of racial demographics, both in the US and in Britain. He also notes that they spawned "legions of imitators", and laid a blueprint for future female pop stars to follow. Turner writes that the Shirelles "launched [the girl group] genre", noting that their early work already included "the essence" of the genre; Alwyn Zak expands on the statement, noting that the influx of female groups started after the success of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow".

Michael Campbell notes that the Shirelles' success reflected the Civil Rights Movement. He indicates that works such as "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", written by a white couple, produced by an African-American man, with vocals by young African-American women and strings sounding like they were targeted at a white audience, conveyed a "color-blind" message on top of its more obvious sexual one.

The Beatles were large admirers, according to George Harrison, "We always loved those American girl groups, like the Shirelles and the Ronettes, so yeah we developed our harmonies from trying to come up with an English, male version of their vocal feel." Their debut album, Please Please Me included cover versions of two songs by the Shirelles, "Baby It's You", and "Boys", and a third song from the album, "P.S. I Love You" was according to John Lennon, Paul's attempt at "trying to write a "Soldier Boy" like the Shirelles."

Accolades
In 1994, the Shirelles were honored by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation with the Pioneer Award for their contributions to music. The award was accepted by Owens, Lee, and Kenner. As Coley was accepting her award, she said "This is dedicated to the one I love", and sang an impromptu rendition of "Soldier Boy" together with Owens and Lee. Two years later they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, together with Gladys Knight & the Pips. At the ceremony in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, the three surviving members sang a medley of songs after being presented the awards by Merry Clayton, Marianne Faithfull, and Darlene Love. In 2002, they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. Lee and Owens accepted the award.

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them #76 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Paul Shaffer, who did the write-up, wrote that the girl-group sound, originated by them, was "everything to [him]"; he also described their impromptu performance of "Soldier Boy" as inspiring. They also included two of the Shirelles' songs, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Tonight's the Night", on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the 2010 edition, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was ranked 126th, while "Tonight's the Night" was ranked 409th. The Shirelles' 1963 Greatest Hits album was included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).

In September 2008, the Shirelles' hometown of Passaic honored the group by renaming a section of Paulison Avenue between Passaic and Pennington Avenues (the section where Passaic High School is located) "Shirelles Boulevard". The dedication ceremony was attended by both surviving Shirelles. Owens said that it was different from they were inducted into the Hall of Fame, as it was their home town. She noted that "the people who loves [sic] us and we loved are right here."

In 2022, their debut album Tonight's the Night was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Stage musical
The Shirelles' story was shown in Baby It's You! (a musical revue written by Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott), which follows the story of Greenberg and Scepter Records. The revue played on Broadway for 148 performances, opening at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 27, 2011, and closing on September 4 of the same year. The use of their likenesses without permission led to Lee, as well as the estates of Coley and Harris, to sue Warner Bros.

Singles

* no R&B Charts printed by Billboard during these chart runs

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: The Shirelles


text:
Bedroom farce

A bedroom farce or sex farce is a type of light comedy focusing on the sexual pairings and recombinations of characters as they move through improbable plots and slamming doors.

Overview
Georges Feydeau plays, presented in Paris in the 1890s, are now considered forerunners to the Theatre of the Absurd. The Viennese playwright Arthur Schnitzler took bedroom farce to its highest dramatic level in his La Ronde, which in ten bedroom scenes connect the highest and lowest of Vienna.

Some of the English Aldwych farces by Ben Travers which were popular in the 1920s and 1930s have aspects of "bedroom farce", e.g. A Cuckoo in the Nest or Rookery Nook. However, in each case the sharing of a bedroom or house turns out to have an innocent explanation.

In modern times, Woody Allen's A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) presents aspects of the bedroom farce. Michael Frayn's 1977 play Donkeys' Years is a classic bedroom farce; Frayn parodied the genre in his 1982 play Noises Off via its play-within-the-play, "Nothing On." Alan Ayckbourn's play, entitled Bedroom Farce, looks at the lives of three couples seen in their own bedrooms, the stage being split into three sets for this purpose. There is much humour in the play, although few if any of the usual conventions of farce are observed.

Boeing Boeing is a classic French farce for the stage by Marc Camoletti. Utilizing most of the conventions of bedroom farce's canon, it concerns a Parisian bachelor playboy with three international air stewardess fiancées he secretly keeps in careful rotation, until their flight schedules change and he, along with his provincial friend and sassy maid, must keep them from finding out about each other. Luckily they have enough doors in the apartment to keep the girls unwittingly flitting about for two hours.

American three-camera situation comedy, an extension of proscenium stage tradition, often includes elements of farce, specifically in several episodes of Three's Company, the "Woody's Wedding" episode of Cheers, "The Ski Lodge" episode of Frasier, and the "Love Car Displacement" episode of The Big Bang Theory.

Brian Rix performed many bedroom farces at the Garrick theatre in London, many of which were broadcast by the BBC.

British dramatist Ray Cooney, whose Run For Your Wife was the longest running-comedy in West End theater history, is a modern master of this genre.

title: Bedroom farce


text:
Talk:Karl Dönitz

Translation
The attack on the East Coast is identified as Drumbeat (the common translation); it is correctly Paukenschlag, which has overtones of "tatto" or "thunderbolt" not commonly mentioned.

title: Talk:Karl Dönitz


text:
Frankie Lymon

Franklin Joseph Lymon (September 30, 1942 – February 27, 1968 ) was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll doo-wop group The Teenagers. The group was composed of five boys, all in their early to mid-teens. The original lineup of The Teenagers, an integrated group, included three African-American members, Lymon, Jimmy Merchant, and Sherman Garnes; and two Puerto Rican members, Joe Negroni and Herman Santiago. The Teenagers' first single, 1956's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", was also their biggest hit. After Lymon went solo in mid-1957, both his career and that of The Teenagers fell into decline. In 1968, Lymon was found dead at the age of 25 on the floor of his grandmother's bathroom from a heroin overdose. Lymon was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of the Teenagers. His life was dramatized in the 1998 film Why Do Fools Fall in Love.

1942–56: Early life/joining the Teenagers
Lymon was born in Washington Heights, New York City on September 30, 1942, to Jeanette and Howard Lymon. Howard was a truck driver and Jeanette was a maid. Both also sang in the gospel group the Harlemaires; Frankie and his brothers Lewis and Howie sang with the Harlemaire Juniors (a fourth brother, Timmy, was a singer, though not with the Harlemaire Juniors). The Lymons struggled to make ends meet, so Lymon began working as a grocery boy at age 10. At the age of 12 in 1954, he heard a local doo-wop group known as the Coupe De Villes at a school talent show. Lymon became friends with the lead singer Herman Santiago, and eventually became a member of the group, now calling itself both the Ermines and the Premiers.

One day in 1955, a neighbor gave the Premiers several love letters that had been written to him by his girlfriend, hoping to give the boys inspiration to write their own songs. Jimmy Merchant and Santiago adapted one of the letters into a song called "Why Do Fools Fall in Love". The Premiers, now calling themselves the Teenagers, got their first shot at fame after impressing Richard Barrett, a singer with the Valentines. Barrett, in turn, got the group an audition with record producer George Goldner. On the day of the group's audition, original lead singer Santiago was late. Lymon stepped up and told Goldner that he knew the part because he helped write the song. The disc jockeys always called them "Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers".

1956: "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" success
Goldner signed the group to Gee Records, and "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" became its first single in January 1956. The single peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard pop singles chart, and topped the Billboard R&B singles chart for five weeks. Four other top 10 R&B singles followed over the next year or so: "I Want You to Be My Girl", "I Promise to Remember", "Who Can Explain?" (the B side of "I Promise to Remember" but which charted on its own), "The ABC's of Love", and "I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent". "I Want You To Be My Girl" gave the band its second pop hit, reaching No. 13 on the national Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Goody Goody" (written by Matty Malneck and Johnny Mercer and originally performed by Benny Goodman) was a No. 20 pop hit but did not appear on the R&B chart. The Teenagers placed two other singles in the lower half of the pop chart. With the release of "I Want You To Be My Girl", the group's second single, the Teenagers became Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers. However, the album that mostly compiled the singles released in 1956 came out under the older name: The Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon.

1957–65: Solo career
In early 1957, Lymon and the Teenagers broke up while on a tour in Europe. During an engagement at the London Palladium, Goldner began pushing Lymon as a solo act, giving him solo spots in the show. Lymon began performing with backing from pre-recorded tapes. The group's last single, "Goody Goody" backed with "Creation of Love," initially retained the "Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers" credit, but they were actually solo recordings (with backing by session singers). Lymon had officially departed from the group by September 1957; an in-progress studio album called Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers at the London Palladium was instead issued as a Lymon solo release.

As a solo artist, Lymon was not nearly as successful as he had been with the Teenagers. Beginning with his second solo release, "My Girl", Lymon had moved to Roulette Records. On a July 19, 1957, episode of Alan Freed's live ABC TV show The Big Beat, Lymon began dancing with a white teenage girl while he was performing. Lymon's actions caused a scandal, particularly among Southern TV station owners, and The Big Beat was subsequently canceled.

Lymon's slowly declining sales fell sharply in the early 1960s. His highest-charting solo hit was a cover of Bobby Day's "Little Bitty Pretty One", which peaked at No. 58 on the Hot 100 pop chart in 1960 and which had been recorded in 1957. Addicted to heroin since the age of 15, Lymon fell further into his habit, and his performing career went into decline. According to Lymon in an interview with Ebony magazine in 1967, he was first introduced to heroin when he was 15 by a woman twice his age. In 1961, Roulette, now run by Morris Levy, ended their contract with Lymon and he entered a drug rehabilitation program. After losing Lymon, the Teenagers went through a string of replacement singers, the first of whom was Billy Lobrano. In 1960, Howard Kenny Bobo sang lead on "Tonight's the Night" with the Teenagers; later that year, Johnny Houston sang lead on two songs. The Teenagers, who had been moved by Morris Levy to End Records, were released from their contract in 1961. The Teenagers briefly reunited with Lymon in 1965, without success.

1966–68: Later years
Over the next four years, Lymon struggled through short-lived deals with 20th Century Fox Records and Columbia Records. He began a relationship with Elizabeth Mickey Waters, who became his first wife in January 1964 and gave birth to his only child, a baby girl named Francine who died two days after birth at Lenox Hill Hospital. Lymon's marriage to Waters was not legal because she was still married to her first husband at the time. After the marriage failed, Lymon moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1960s, where he began a romantic relationship with Zola Taylor, a member of the Platters. Taylor claimed to have married Lymon in Mexico in 1965 although their relationship ended several months later, purportedly because of Lymon's drug habits. However, Lymon had been known to say that their marriage was a publicity stunt, and Taylor could produce no legal documentation of their marriage. In Major Robinson's gossip column of June 6, 1966, Zola said the whole thing was a joke that she went along with at the time (October 1965).

Lymon appeared at the Apollo as part of a revue, adding an extended tap dance number. He recorded several live performances (such as "Melinda" in 1959), but none rose on the charts. Lymon's final television performance was on Hollywood a Go-Go in 1965, where he lip-synched to the recording of his 13-year-old self singing "Why Do Fools Fall in Love". On June 21, 1966, Lymon was arrested on a heroin charge and was drafted into the United States Army in lieu of a jail sentence. He reported to Fort Gordon, Georgia, near Augusta, Georgia, for training. While in the Augusta area, Lymon met and fell in love with Emira Eagle, a schoolteacher at Hornsby Elementary in Augusta. The two were wed in June 1967, and Lymon repeatedly went AWOL to secure gigs at small Southern clubs. Dishonorably discharged from the Army, Lymon moved into his wife's home and continued to perform sporadically. Traveling to New York in 1968, Lymon was signed by manager Sam Bray to his Big Apple label, and the singer returned to recording. Roulette Records expressed interest in releasing Lymon's records in conjunction with Big Apple and scheduled a recording session for February 28. A major promotion had been arranged with CHO Associates, owned by radio personalities Frankie Crocker, Herb Hamlett, and Eddie O'Jay. Lymon, staying at his grandmother's house in Harlem where he had grown up, celebrated his good fortune by taking heroin; Lymon had remained clean ever since entering the Army two years earlier.

Death
On February 27, 1968, Lymon's uncle found him dead by a heroin overdose, with a syringe next to him on his grandmother's bathroom floor. He was 25 at the time of his drug-related demise. The overdose was a result from "acute intravenous narcotism," according to Lymon's death certificate. Lymon was buried at Saint Raymond's Cemetery in the Throggs Neck section of The Bronx, New York City, New York.

Aftermath of Lymon's overdose and posthumous troubles
"I'm Sorry" and "Seabreeze" are the two songs that Lymon had recorded for Big Apple before his death, and were posthumously released later in 1969. There is a typo that spelt "Lyman" on each side of a vinyl.

Apart from the posthumous releases of these songs, Lymon's troubles extended to others after his death. After Diana Ross returned "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" to the Top Ten in 1981, a major controversy concerning Lymon's estate ensued. Having neglected to divorce any of them and each claiming to be Frankie Lymon's rightful widow, Zola Taylor, Elizabeth Waters, and Emira Eagle approached Morris Levy, the music impresario who retained possession of Lymon's copyrights and his royalties. The complex issue resulted in lawsuits and counter-lawsuits, and in 1986 the first of several court cases concerning the ownership of Lymon's estate began.

Trying to determine who was indeed the lawful Mrs. Frankie Lymon was complicated by more issues. Waters was already married when she married Lymon; she had separated from her first husband, but their divorce was finalized in 1965, after she had married Lymon. Taylor claimed to have married Lymon in Mexico in 1965, but could produce no acceptable evidence of their union. Lymon's marriage to Eagle, on the other hand, was properly documented as having taken place at Beulah Grove Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia, in 1967; however, the singer was still apparently twice-married and never divorced when he married Eagle. The first decision was made in Waters' favor; Eagle appealed, and in 1989, the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court reversed the original decision and awarded Lymon's estate to Eagle.

However, the details of the case brought about another issue: whether mobster Morris Levy was deserving of the songwriting co-credit on "Why Do Fools Fall in Love". Although early single releases of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" credit Frankie Lymon, Herman Santiago, and Jimmy Merchant as co-writers, later releases and cover versions were attributed to Lymon and George Goldner. When Goldner sold his music companies to Morris Levy in 1959, Levy's name began appearing as co-writer of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" in place of Goldner's. Lymon was never paid his songwriting royalties during his lifetime; one result of Emira Eagle's legal victory was that Lymon's estate would finally begin receiving monetary compensation from his hit song's success. In 1987, Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant, both by then poor, sued Morris Levy's estate for their songwriting credits. In December 1992, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Santiago and Merchant were co-authors of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love". However, in 1996 the ruling was reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on the basis of the statute of limitations: copyright cases must be brought before a court within three years of the alleged civil violation while Merchant and Santiago's lawsuit was not filed until 30 years later. Authorship of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" currently remains in the names of Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy.

Legacy
Although their period of success was brief, Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' string of hits were highly influential on the rock and R&B performers who followed them. Lymon's high-voiced sound is said to be a direct predecessor of the girl group sound, and the list of performers who name him as an influence include Michael Jackson, Ronnie Spector, Diana Ross, the Chantels, the Temptations, George Clinton, Smokey Robinson, Len Barry, the Beach Boys and Billy Joel, among others. The performers most inspired by and derivative of Lymon and the Teenagers' style are the Jackson 5 and their lead singer and future superstar Michael Jackson. Motown founder Berry Gordy based much of the Jackson 5's sound on Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' recordings, and the Teenagers are believed to be the original model for many of the other Motown groups he cultivated.

In 1973, Lymon became known to a slightly younger generation than before with the release of American Graffiti, which included "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" on its soundtrack. In September 1979 at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Joni Mitchell performed a version of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" which subsequently appeared on the release of her album of the concert entitled "Shadows and Light" the following September. During the opening mix of the album, Mitchell also spliced sections of "I'm Not A Juvenile Delinquent" into the title track refrains.

The Fall referenced Lymon in "No X-mas for John Quays" on their March 1979 album "Live at the Witch Trials". The English band Everything but the Girl on their 1991 album Worldwide include the song "Boxing and Pop Music" which references Lymon throughout the song. Lymon was mentioned in the 1992 Stephen King short story "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band". Lymon is named as the one who cut off the waitress Sissy's finger for trying to help the protagonists, Mary and Clark Willingham, escape from the town of Rock & Roll Heaven, Oregon, which is inhabited by Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Roy Orbison, and other musicians who died young.

In 1993, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000.

Lymon's music and story were eventually re-introduced to modern audiences with Why Do Fools Fall in Love, a 1998 biographical film directed by Gregory Nava, also the director of the Selena biopic. Why Do Fools Fall in Love tells a comedic, fictionalized version of Lymon's story from the points of view of his three wives as they battle in court for the rights to his estate. The film stars Larenz Tate as Frankie Lymon, Halle Berry as Zola Taylor, Vivica A. Fox as Elizabeth Waters and Lela Rochon as Emira Eagle. Why Do Fools Fall in Love was not a commercial success and met with mixed reviews; the film grossed a total of $12,461,773 during its original theatrical run.

The song "Harlem Roulette" by the Mountain Goats, off its 2012 album Transcendental Youth, contains references to Frankie Lymon, to the song "Seabreeze", and to Roulette Records. Frontman John Darnielle has stated that the song is about the last night of Lymon's life.

Much of Lymon's kinescoped footage from shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, Saturday Night Beechnut Show and the Mike Douglas Show remains unavailable due to copyright claims.

Singles

 * Gee releases:
 * 1956-01: [Gee 1002] "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" / "Please Be Mine" 1 (#1 on the R&B chart for 5 weeks, US Pop #6, UK #1)
 * 1956-04: [Gee 1012] "I Want You to Be My Girl" / "I'm Not a Know-It-All" 2 (#3 on R&B chart, US Pop #13)
 * 1956-07: [Gee 1018] "I Promise to Remember" / "Who Can Explain?" (double-sided hit on R&B chart (#10 and #7) (US Pop #57 (A-side)))
 * 1956-09: [Gee 1022] "The ABC's of Love" / "Share" (#8 on R&B chart, US Pop #77)
 * 1956-11: [Gee 1026] "I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent" / "Baby, Baby" (double-sided hit on UK chart #12 and #4)
 * 1957-04: [Gee 1032] "Teenage Love" / "Paper Castles"
 * 1957-05: [Gee 1035] "Love Is a Clown / Am I Fooling Myself Again"
 * 1957-06: [Gee 1036] "Out in the Cold Again" / "Miracle in the Rain" 5  (#10 on R&B chart)
 * 1957-07: [Gee 1039] "Goody Goody" / "Creation of Love" 3 (US Pop #20, UK #24)
 * 1957-12: [Gee 1046] "Everything to Me" / "Flip Flop" 4

Album

 * 1956: [Gee 701] The Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon

Compilations

 * 1986: Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers: For Collectors Only (Murray Hill 148)

Singles

 * Roulette releases:
 * 1957: [Roulette 4026] "My Girl" / "So Goes My Love" (R&B #51)
 * 1957: [Roulette 4035] "Little Girl" / "It's Christmas Once Again" (R&B #30)
 * 1958: [Roulette 4044] "Thumb Thumb" / "Footsteps" (R&B #76)
 * 1958: [Roulette 4068] "Portable on My Shoulder" / "Mama Don't Allow It" (R&B #88) (US Pop #80/R&B #64)
 * 1958: [Roulette 4093] "Only Way to Love" / "Melinda" (R&B #47)
 * 1959: [Roulette 4128] "Up Jumped a Rabbit" / "No Matter What You've Done" (R&B #72)
 * 1969: [Roulette 21095] "/ "1-20-12 Forever' (R&B #55)
 * Gee release:
 * 1959: [Gee 1052] "Goody Good Girl" / "I'm Not Too Young to Dream" (R&B #66)

 * Roulette releases:
 * 1960: [Roulette 4257] "Little Bitty Pretty One" / "Creation of Love" (US Pop #58/ R&B #18)
 * 1960: [Roulette 4283] "Buzz Buzz Buzz" / "Waitin' in School" (R&B #61)
 * 1961: [Roulette 4310] "Jailhouse Rock" / "Silhouettes" (R&B #81)
 * 1961: [Roulette 4348] "Change Partners" / "So Young (And So in Love)" (R&B #61)
 * 1961: [Roulette 4391] "Young" / "I Put the Bomp" (featuring backing vocals by two members of the Delicates (Denise Ferri and Peggy Santiglia)) (R&B #90)

 * Later releases:
 * 1964: [TCF 11] "To Each His Own" / "Teacher, Teacher" (R&B #75) (R&B #58)
 * 1964: [Columbia 4-43094] "Somewhere" / "Sweet and Lovely" (R&B #66)
 * 1969: [Big Apple 100] "I'm Sorry" / "Seabreeze" (R&B #43) (R&B #60)

Albums

 * 1956: Frankie Lymon And the Teenagers - 1981 Re-issue Roulette Y2-116-RO (Japan) [Gee 701]
 * 1957: Frankie Lymon at the London Palladium (Roulette)
 * 1958: Rock & Roll with Frankie Lymon (Roulette)
 * 1994: Complete Recordings (Bear Family)

title: Frankie Lymon


text:
Talk:Irish 'Pro-Life Amendment'

I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to call this page. 'Pro-Life Amendment' sounds as though I am endorsing a 'pro-life' analysis. I am absolutely refusing to take sides on the abortion debate here. But 'Abortion Amendment' is a name that has never been used by any side in the argument. so-called 'Pro-Life Amendment'' sounds as though I am questioning the title, which again is POV. The official name was the '8th Amendment to the Constitution Act' but that's a mouthful that few use, even fewer would recognise and I'm sure other states have '8th Amendments' too.

The term 'Pro-Life Amendment' is the most widely used name, even if used sarcastically by 'pro-choice' campaigners, as when judicially reviewed, the Amendment was judged to allow abortion in judicially defined areas, an irony they milked with pleasure. As 'Pro-Life Amendment' is the one term that all sides would intinctively recognise (even if everyone mightn't agree with the title), and as a result they know exactly what this page is referring to, it is the only option I can come up with.

'''So sorry, if anyone has hit the roof over the title and think it is POV, there ain't another short title that would immediately be recognised as referring to the 1983 amendment that I can find. I've even asked friends on both sides of the argument can they come up with something else, and they can't.''' JTD 03:09 Jan 6, 2003 (UTC)

I'm working on merging this with the article Eighth_Amendment_of_the_Constitution_of_Ireland Nik42 03:38, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:Irish 'Pro-Life Amendment'


text:
Sly and the Family Stone

Sly and the Family Stone was an American band originating from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, they were pivotal in the development of funk, soul, R&B, rock, and psychedelic music. Their core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, and included Stone's brother and singer/guitarist Freddie Stone, sister and singer/keyboardist Rose Stone, trumpeter Cynthia Robinson, drummer Greg Errico, saxophonist Jerry Martini, and bassist Larry Graham. The band was the first major American rock group to have a racially integrated, mixed-gender lineup.

Formed in 1966, the group's music synthesized a variety of disparate musical genres to help pioneer the emerging "psychedelic soul" sound. They released a series of Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits such as "Dance to the Music" (1968), "Everyday People" (1968), and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (1969), as well as critically acclaimed albums such as Stand! (1969), which combined pop sensibility with social commentary. In the 1970s, it transitioned into a darker and less commercial funk sound on releases such as There's a Riot Goin' On (1971) and Fresh (1973), proving as influential as their early work. By 1975, drug problems and interpersonal clashes led to dissolution, though Sly continued to record and tour with a new rotating lineup under the name "Sly and the Family Stone" until drug problems forced his effective retirement in 1987.

The work of Sly and the Family Stone greatly influenced the sound of subsequent American funk, pop, soul, R&B, and hip hop music. Music critic Joel Selvin wrote, "there are two types of black music: black music before Sly Stone, and black music after Sly Stone". In 2010, they were ranked 43rd in Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and three of their albums are included on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Career
Sylvester Stewart was born into the Dallas, Texas, family of K.C. and Alpha Stewart, followers of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), who encouraged musical expression in the household. After the Stewarts moved to Vallejo, California, the youngest four children (Sylvester, Freddie, Rose, and Vaetta) formed "The Stewart Four", who released a local 78 RPM single, "On the Battlefield of the Lord" b/w "Walking in Jesus' Name".

While attending high school, Sylvester and Freddie joined student bands. One of Sylvester's high school musical groups was a doo-wop act called The Viscaynes. The Viscaynes released a few local singles, and Sylvester recorded several solo singles under the name "Danny Stewart".

By 1964, Sylvester had become Sly Stone and a disc jockey for San Mateo, California located R&B radio station KSOL, where he included white performers such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in his playlists. During the same period, he worked as a record producer for Autumn Records, producing for San Francisco-area bands such as the Beau Brummels and the Mojo Men. One of the Sylvester Stewart-produced Autumn singles, Bobby Freeman's "C'mon and Swim", was a national hit. Stewart recorded unsuccessful solo singles while at Autumn.

Early years
In 1966, Sly Stone formed a band called Sly & the Stoners, which included acquaintance Cynthia Robinson on trumpet. Around the same time, Freddie founded a band called Freddie & the Stone Souls, which included Gregg Errico on drums, and Ronnie Crawford on saxophone. At the suggestion of Stone's friend, saxophonist Jerry Martini, Sly and Freddie combined their bands, creating Sly and the Family Stone in November 1966. At first the group was called Sly Brothers and Sisters but after their first gig at the Winchester Cathedral, a night club in Redwood City, California, they changed the name to Sly & the Family Stone. Since both Sly and Freddie were guitarists, Sly appointed Freddie the official guitarist for the Family Stone, and taught himself to play the electronic organ. Sly also recruited Larry Graham, Robinson's cousin, to play bass guitar.

Vaetta Stewart wanted to join the band as well. She and her friends, Mary McCreary and Elva Mouton, had a gospel group called the Heavenly Tones. Sly recruited the teenagers directly out of high school to become Little Sister, Sly and the Family Stone's background vocalists.

After a gig at the Winchester Cathedral, CBS Records executive David Kapralik signed the group to CBS's Epic Records label. The Family Stone's first album, A Whole New Thing, was released in 1967 to critical acclaim, particularly from musicians such as Mose Allison and Tony Bennett. However, the album's low sales restricted their playing venues to small clubs, and caused Clive Davis and the record label to intervene. Some musicologists believe the Abaco Dream single "Life And Death in G & A", recorded for A&M Records in 1967 and peaking at No. 74 in September 1969, was performed by Sly and the Family Stone.

Davis talked Sly into writing and recording a record, and he and the band reluctantly provided the single "Dance to the Music". Upon its February 1968 release, "Dance to the Music" became a widespread ground-breaking hit, and was the band's first charting single, reaching No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Just before the release of "Dance to the Music", Rose Stone joined the group as a vocalist and a keyboardist. Rose's brothers had invited her to join the band from the beginning, but she initially had been reluctant to leave her steady job at a local record store.

The Dance to the Music album went on to decent sales, but the follow-up, Life, was not as successful commercially. In September 1968, the band embarked on its first overseas tour, to England. It was cut short after Graham was arrested for possession of marijuana and because of disagreements with concert promoters.

Stand! (1969)
In late 1968, Sly and the Family Stone released the single "Everyday People", which became their first No. 1 hit. "Everyday People" was a protest against prejudice of all kinds and popularized the catchphrase "different strokes for different folks". With its B-side "Sing a Simple Song", it served as the lead single for the band's fourth album, Stand!, which was released on May 3, 1969. The Stand! album eventually sold more than three million copies; its title track peaked at No. 22 in the U.S. Stand! is considered one of the artistic high points of the band's career. It contained the above three tracks as well as the songs "I Want to Take You Higher" (which was the B-side of the "Stand!" single), "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey", "Sex Machine", and "You Can Make It If You Try".

The band headlined the Harlem Cultural Festival before tens of thousands of spectators in Mount Morris Park in 1969, several weeks before the more widely known Woodstock festival. The concert series is the subject of a 2021 documentary film directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson called Summer of Soul. The success of Stand! secured Sly and the Family Stone a performance slot at the landmark Woodstock Music and Art Festival. They performed their set during the early-morning hours of August 17, 1969; their performance was said to be one of the best shows of the festival. A new non-album single, "Hot Fun in the Summertime", was released the same month and went to No. 2 on the U.S. pop chart (peaking in October, after the summer of 1969 had already ended). In 1970, following the release of the Woodstock documentary, the single of "Stand!" and "I Want to Take You Higher" was reissued with the latter song now the A-side; it reached the Top 40.

Internal problems and a change of direction
With the band's new-found fame and success came numerous problems. Relationships within the band were deteriorating; there was friction in particular between the Stone brothers and Larry Graham. Epic requested more marketable output. The Black Panther Party demanded that Sly replace Gregg Errico and Jerry Martini with black instrumentalists and fire manager David Kapralik.

After moving to the Los Angeles area in fall 1969, Sly Stone and his fellow band members became heavy users of illegal drugs, primarily cocaine and PCP. As the members became increasingly focused on drug use and partying (Sly Stone carried a violin case filled with illegal drugs wherever he went), recording slowed significantly. Between summer 1969 and fall 1971, the band released only one single, "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"/"Everybody Is a Star", released in December 1969. "Thank You" reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970.

During 1970, Sly Stone spent most of his waking hours on drugs. He became erratic and moody, and missed nearly a third of the band's concerts that year. The band did close out the Strawberry Fields Festival near Toronto, Ontario in August, but live appearances on television talk shows such as The Mike Douglas Show and The Dick Cavett Show went unpredictably. Meanwhile, Sly hired his streetwise cohorts, Hamp "Bubba" Banks and J.B. Brown, as his personal managers; they in turn brought in gangsters such as Edward "Eddie Chin" Elliott and Mafioso J.R. Valtrano to be Sly's bodyguards. Sly enlisted these individuals to handle his business dealings, to retrieve drugs, and to protect him from those he considered his enemies, some of whom were his own bandmates and staff. A rift developed between Sly and the rest of the band; in early 1971, drummer Errico became the first to leave the band for other ventures. He was replaced with a succession of drummers until Sly settled on Gerry Gibson, who only remained with the band for a year before being replaced by Andy Newmark in 1973.

To appease fan demand for new songs, Epic began re-releasing material. A Whole New Thing was reissued with a new cover, and several of the Family Stone's most popular recordings were packaged into the band's first Greatest Hits album. Greatest Hits reached number two on the Billboard 200 in 1970.

During this period, Sly Stone negotiated a production deal with Atlantic Records, resulting in his own imprint, Stone Flower Productions. Stone Flower released four singles, including one by R&B artist Joe Hicks, one by a group called 6IX, and two pop Top 40/R&B Top 10 singles by Little Sister: "You're the One" and "Somebody's Watching You", a cover of a song from Stand!. For unclear reasons, Sly gradually withdrew his attention from Stone Flower, and the label was closed in 1971. Little Sister's "Somebody's Watching You" is the first popular recording to feature the use of a drum machine for its rhythm track.

There's a Riot Goin' On (1971)
In 1971, Sly and the Family Stone returned with a new single, "Family Affair", which became a number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. "Family Affair" was the lead single from the band's long-awaited There's a Riot Goin' On.

Instead of the optimistic, rock-laced soul that had characterized the Family Stone's 1960s output, There's a Riot Goin' On was urban blues, filled with dark instrumentation, filtered drum machine tracks, and plaintive vocals representing the hopelessness Sly and many other people were feeling in the early 1970s. The album is characterized by a significant amount of tape hiss – the result of Sly's extensive re-recording and overdubbing during production. Allegedly, most of the album's instrumentation is performed by Sly alone, who enlisted the Family Stone for some of the additional instrumental parts and friends such as Billy Preston, Ike Turner, and Bobby Womack for others. "(You Caught Me) Smilin'" and "Runnin' Away" were also released as singles, and performed well on the charts.

After the release of Riot, additional lineup changes took place. In early 1972, reacting to Jerry Martini's probing about his share of the band's earnings, Sly hired saxophonist Pat Rizzo as a potential replacement though both ended up remaining in the band. Later that year, the tension between Sly Stone and Larry Graham reached its peak. A post-concert brawl broke out between the Graham and Sly entourages; Bubba Banks and Eddie Chin, having heard that Larry had hired a hit man to kill Sly, assaulted Graham's associates. Graham and his wife climbed out of a hotel window to escape, and Pat Rizzo gave them a ride to safety. Unable to continue working with Sly, Graham immediately quit the Family Stone and went on to start Graham Central Station, a successful band in the same vein as Sly and the Family Stone. Graham was replaced in the interim by Bobby Womack, and then by nineteen-year-old Rustee Allen.

Fresh (1973) and Small Talk (1974)
Despite the loss of the original rhythm section and Sly's escalating cocaine use, the band's next album, Fresh, was released in 1973. By this time, Sly's sound had become more stripped down, yet more syncopated and rhythmically complex. Sly obsessively overdubbed the masters, as he had done with Riot. Although the record received mixed reviews at its release and did not attract the attention enjoyed by the band's earlier work, Fresh has become recognized as one of the most important funk albums ever made. Rose Stone sang lead on a gospel-styled cover of Doris Day's "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)", and the single "If You Want Me to Stay" became a Top 20 hit in the U.S. Its follow-up, Small Talk, was released in 1974 to mixed reviews and low sales. The first Small Talk single, "Time For Livin'", became the band's final Top 40 hit single. "Loose Booty", the second single, peaked at No. 84.

Dissolution
During the 1970s, Sly or another of the band members would often miss a gig, refuse to play, or pass out from drug use, impacting their live bookings. At many gigs, concert-goers rioted if the band failed to appear or if Sly walked out before finishing his set. Ken Roberts became the group's promoter, and later their general manager, when other representatives would not work with the band because of their erratic attendance. In January 1975, the band booked itself at Radio City Music Hall. The famed music hall was only one-eighth filled, and Sly and company had to scrape together money to return home. Following the Radio City engagement, the band was dissolved.

Rose Stone was pulled out of the band by Bubba Banks, who was then her husband. She began a solo career, recording a Motown-style album under the name Rose Banks in 1976. Freddie Stone joined Larry Graham's group, Graham Central Station, for a time; after collaborating with his brother one last time in 1979 for Back on the Right Track, he retired from the music industry and eventually became the pastor of the Evangelist Temple Fellowship Center in Vallejo. Little Sister was also dissolved; Mary McCreary married Leon Russell and worked with him on music projects. Andy Newmark became a successful session drummer, playing with Roxy Music, Pink Floyd, B. B. King, Steve Winwood and others.

Sly Stone's later career
Sly recorded two more albums for Epic: High on You (1975) and Heard You Missed Me, Well I'm Back (1976). High on You was billed as a Sly Stone solo album; Heard You Missed Me was a Sly and the Family Stone album in name only. Although Sly continued to collaborate with some of the original Family Stone members on occasion, the actual band no longer existed. Sly played most of the instruments on the record himself; he maintained a band to support him for live shows. Among his main collaborators were Cynthia Robinson and Pat Rizzo from the Family Stone, and background vocalists Lynn Mabry and Dawn Silva, who parted with Sly in 1977 and formed The Brides of Funkenstein in 1978. Epic released Stone from his contract in 1977, and in 1979 released 10 Years Too Soon, a remix album featuring disco versions of the 1960s Family Stone hits.

Sly signed with Warner Bros. and recorded Back on the Right Track (1979). Although the album featured contributions from Freddie and Rose Stone, Sly remained unable to return to the success of his late '60s and early '70s fame. He toured with George Clinton and Funkadelic during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and also appeared on the 1981 Funkadelic album The Electric Spanking of War Babies. That year, Clinton and Sly began work on a new Sly Stone album; however, recording halted when Clinton and Funkadelic disputed with and left Warner Bros. Records in late 1981. When Sly disappeared into seclusion, producer Stewart Levine completed the album, which was released as Ain't But the One Way in 1982. The album sold poorly and received mixed critical reception, but Sly made an appearance on Late Night With David Letterman that year. Overcome by drug addictions, Sly Stone toured the United States with various backup acts. In June 1983 in Ft. Myers, Florida, he was arrested on drug possession and entered court-ordered drug rehabilitation in 1983. Once released, Sly continued sporadically releasing new singles and collaborations until a 1987 arrest and conviction for cocaine possession and use. Afterwards, he stopped releasing music.

In 1992, Sly and the Family Stone appeared on the Red Hot Organization's dance compilation album, Red Hot + Dance, contributing an original track, "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (Todds CD Mix)". The album attempted to raise awareness and money in support of the AIDS epidemic, and all proceeds were donated to AIDS charities.

In 2009 the documentary Coming Back for More was released. Sly tells director Willem Alkema about his conflicts with his manager Jerry Goldstein and that because of this he is forced to live in hotels.

On August 16, 2011, the album I'm Back! Family & Friends was released. The album features re-recorded versions of Sly and the Family Stone's greatest hits with guest appearances from Jeff Beck, Ray Manzarek, Bootsy Collins, Ann Wilson, Carmine Appice, and Johnny Winter, as well as three previously unreleased songs.

One month later, on September 25, 2011, the New York Post reported that Sly Stone was now homeless and living out of a white camper-van in Los Angeles: "The van is parked on a residential street in Crenshaw, the rough Los Angeles neighborhood where Boyz n the Hood was set. A retired couple makes sure he eats once a day, and Stone showers at their house."

Early years
Sly Stone produced for and performed with black and white musicians during his early career, and he integrated music by white artists into black radio station KSOL's playlist as a DJ. Similarly, the Sly and the Family Stone sound was a melting pot of many influences and cultures, including James Brown funk, Motown pop, Stax soul, Broadway showtunes, and psychedelic rock music. Wah-wah guitars, distorted fuzz basslines, church-styled organ lines, and horn riffs provided the musical backdrop for the vocals of the band's four lead singers. Sly Stone, Freddie Stone, Larry Graham, and Rose Stone traded off on various bars of each verse, a style of vocal arrangement unusual and revolutionary at that time in popular music. Cynthia Robinson shouted ad-libbed vocal directions to the audience and the band; for example, urging everyone to "get on up and 'Dance to the Music'" and demanding that "all the squares go home!"

The lyrics for the band's songs were often pleas for peace, love, and understanding among people. These calls against prejudice and self-hate were underscored by the band's on-stage appearance. White musicians Gregg Errico and Jerry Martini were members of the band at a time when integrated performance bands were virtually unknown; integration had only recently become enforced by law. Female members Cynthia Robinson and Rosie Stone played instruments onstage, rather than just providing vocals or serving as visual accompaniment for the male members. The band's gospel-styled singing endeared them to black audiences; their rock music elements and wild costuming—including Sly's large Afro and tight leather outfits, Rose's blond wig, and the other members' loud psychedelic clothing—caught the attention of mainstream audiences, and helped the group enjoy success as a pop act.

Although "Dance to the Music" was the band's only hit single until late 1968, the impact of that single and the Dance to the Music and Life albums reverberated across the music industry. The smooth, piano-based "Motown sound" was out; "psychedelic soul" was in, and the band would become a leading exponent of the sound. Rock-styled guitar lines similar to the ones Freddie Stone played began appearing in the music of artists such as The Isley Brothers ("It's Your Thing") and Diana Ross & the Supremes ("Love Child"). Larry Graham invented the "slapping technique" of bass guitar playing, which became synonymous with funk music. Some musicians changed their sound completely to co-opt that of Sly and the Family Stone, most notably Motown in-house producer Norman Whitfield, who took his main act The Temptations into "psychedelic soul" territory starting with the Grammy-winning "Cloud Nine" in 1968. The early work of Sly and the Family Stone was also a significant influence on the music of Michael Jackson & The Jackson 5 and soul/hip-hop groups such as George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic, Arrested Development, and The Black Eyed Peas.

Later work
The later work of Sly and the Family Stone was as influential as the band's early work. There's a Riot Goin' On, Fresh, and Small Talk are considered among the first and best examples of the matured version of funk music, after prototypical instances of the sound in the band's 1960s work. A 2003 article for Rolling Stone commented; "Sly and the Family Stone created a musical utopia: an interracial group of men and women who blended funk, rock and positive vibes... Sly Stone ultimately discovered that his utopia had a ghetto, and he brilliantly tore the whole thing down on There's a Riot Goin' On, which does not refute the joy of his earlier music." In a retrospective review, Zeth Lundy of PopMatters called There's a Riot Goin' On "a challenging listen, at times rambling, incoherent, dissonant, and just plain uncomfortable" with "some episodic moments of pop greatness to be found" and viewed it as a radical departure from the band's previous work:

"[It] sank their previously burgeoning idealism at a time when social disillusionment was all the rage. Sly had found something else to take him higher and, as a result, Riot is a record very much informed by drugs, paranoia, and a sort of halfhearted malcontent [...] listening to it isn't exactly a pleasurable experience. It's significant in the annals of pop and soul because it is blunt and unflinching, because it reflects personal and cultural crises in a manner unbecoming for pop records at the time. Riot can be classified as avant-soul only after being recognized as a soul nightmare—the 'nightmare', so to speak, being a reflection of an unfortunate and uncompromised reality, not a glossed-over pop-music approximation of reality."

Writer Colin Larkin described the album as "unlike anything heard before in black music". Herbie Hancock was inspired by Sly's new funk sound to move towards a more electric sound with his material, resulting in Head Hunters (1973). Miles Davis was similarly inspired by the band and worked with Sly Stone on his recordings, resulting in On the Corner; the sartorial and band lineup changes hallmarked jazz fusion. Davis was particularly impressed with material from Stone's 1973 album Fresh. British musician and ambient music pioneer Brian Eno cited Fresh as having heralded a shift in the history of recording, "where the rhythm instruments, particularly the bass drum and bass, suddenly [became] the important instruments in the mix." Artists such as Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Outkast, Chuck D, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and John Mayer have also shown significant inspiration from the post-1970 work of Sly and the Family Stone.

Awards and tributes
Sly and the Family Stone were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. The original members of the Family Stone were in attendance, except Sly. Just as the band took the podium to receive their awards, Sly suddenly appeared. He accepted his award, made some very brief remarks ("See you soon"), and disappeared from public view. In December 2001, Sly and the Family Stone were awarded the R&B Foundation Pioneer Award. Two Family Stone songs, "Dance to the Music" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)", are among The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked them 43rd on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

A Sly and the Family Stone tribute album, Different Strokes by Different Folks, was released on July 12, 2005, by Starbucks' Hear Music label. The project features cover versions of the band's songs, songs which sample the original recordings, and songs that do both. The artists included The Roots ("Star", which samples "Everybody Is a Star"), Maroon 5 ("Everyday People"), John Legend, Joss Stone & Van Hunt ("Family Affair"); the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am ("Dance to the Music"), and Steven Tyler and Robert Randolph ("I Want to Take You Higher"). Epic Records' version of the tribute album (with two additional covers: "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey" and "Thank You (Faletinme Be Mice Elf Again)") was released on February 7, 2006. The version of "Family Affair" won the 2007 R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal Grammy.

The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2007.

2006 Grammy Awards tribute
A Sly and the Family Stone tribute took place at the 2006 Grammy Awards on February 8, 2006. The original plan, to have been a surprise for audiences, was to feature a reunion performance by the original Sly and the Family Stone lineup as the highlight of the tribute. However, the Grammy Award show's producers were worried that Sly Stone, who missed some of the rehearsals and belatedly arrived for others, would miss the show.

The tribute began halfway through the Grammy Awards ceremony, and was introduced by comedian Dave Chappelle. It featured Nile Rodgers, Joss Stone, Van Hunt, and John Legend performing "Family Affair"; Fantasia and Devin Lima performing "If You Want Me to Stay"; Adam Levine and Ciara performing "Everyday People"; will.i.am performing "Dance to the Music"; and Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith with Robert Randolph performing "I Want to Take You Higher".

After the first half of "I Want to Take You Higher", the Family Stone took the stage alongside the other musicians, and Tyler called backstage "Hey, Sly; let's do it the way we used to do it!" Sporting a blonde mohawk hairdo, sunglasses, and a silver lamé suit, Sly Stone emerged and contributed vocals and keyboards to a continuation of "I Want To Take You Higher." Three minutes into the performance, Sly tossed a wave to the audience and exited the stage, leaving the Family Stone and the guest performers to complete the number alone.

Sly's unusual appearance and brief performance garnered highly mixed reviews and was covered throughout the press. One Associated Press report referred to Sly as the "J. D. Salinger of funk" and simply referred to the performance as being "bizarre". Another AP report stated that "nineteen years after his last live performance, Sly Stone proved he's still able to steal the show." MTV News was much less complimentary: "The Grammy performance—Sly's first with the original Family Stone since 1971—was a halting, confused affair and a complete disservice to his music."

Members
This listing features the lineup from 1967 to 1975. After 1975, the lineup changed with each of the last four LPs.

 * Sly Stone (Sylvester Stewart) (1966–1975): vocals, organ, guitar, bass guitar, piano, harmonica, and more
 * Freddie Stone (Frederick Stewart) (1966–1975): vocals, guitar
 * Cynthia Robinson (1966–1975; died 2015): trumpet, vocal ad libs
 * Jerry Martini (1966–1975): saxophone
 * Little Sister: Vet Stone (Vaetta Stewart), Mary McCreary, and Elva Mouton (1966–1975): background vocals
 * Larry Graham (1966–1972): vocals, bass guitar
 * Gregg Errico (1966–1971): drums
 * Rose Stone (Rose Marie Stewart) (1968–1975): vocals, piano, electric piano
 * Gerry Gibson (1971–1972): drums; replaced Gregg Errico
 * Pat Rizzo (1972–1975; died 2021): saxophone
 * Rustee Allen (1972–1975): bass; replaced Larry Graham
 * Andy Newmark (1973–1974): drums; replaced Gerry Gibson
 * Bill Lordan (1974): drums; replaced Andy Newmark
 * Sid Page (1973–1974): violin
 * Vicki Blackwell (1974–1975): violin
 * Jim Strassburg (1974): drums; replaced Bill Lordan
 * Adam Veaner (1975): drums; replaced Jim Strassburg
 * Dennis Marcellino (1975): saxophone; replaced Pat Rizzo

Members Timeline

Discography

 * A Whole New Thing (1967)
 * Dance to the Music (1968)
 * Life (1968)
 * Stand! (1969)
 * There's a Riot Goin' On (1971)
 * Fresh (1973)
 * Small Talk (1974)
 * Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back (1976)
 * Back on the Right Track (1979)
 * Ain't but the One Way (1982)

title: Sly and the Family Stone