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Craig Seymour | |
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Born | November 25, 1968 Washington, D.C., United States |
Occupation | Writer, photographer, interviewer, professor |
Genre | LGBT |
Notable works | All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C. |
Craig Seymour (born November 25, 1968) is an American writer, photographer, celebrity interviewer, music critic and former stripper. He was born in Washington, D.C. He has written for The Washington Post , Entertainment Weekly , Vibe , and Spin , among other publications, and has served as pop music critic for The Buffalo News and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park in College Park. Seymour was formerly a professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Associate Professor of Journalism at Northern Illinois University. He lives in Chicago.
He has interviewed and profiled some of the biggest names in music, including Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Luther Vandross, who granted him numerous interviews. Seymour has also been a music analyst for CNN's Headline News . He is a native of Washington, D.C.
As a graduate student at the University of Maryland in the 1990s, Seymour started frequenting the strip clubs in Washington D.C. while writing his master's thesis: "Desire and Dollar Bills: An Ethnography of a Gay Male Striptease Club." [1] He used these experiences to write the book All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C. Seymour stated that stripping gave him the confidence he needed to interview big stars like Mariah Carey. [2] In an interview with Dallas Voice , Seymour credited his stripping career with "the ease I had asking celebrities extremely personal questions, especially those having to do with sex and relationships. After all, when someone is playing with your dick in public, it’s not only potentially awkward for you, the one being played with, it can also be weird for the person doing the playing, because he is exposing his desires so nakedly in front of other people." [3]
This book chronicles the life of singer and producer Luther Vandross, including his lifelong love of music and his infatuations with girl groups, particularly Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles and Dionne Warwick. Seymour includes mini-profiles of the many musicians who helped Vandross along his way. [4]
When Seymour pressed Vandross in a 1998 interview to open up about his sexuality, including rumours that he was gay, [5] Vandross told him "You're trying to zero in on something that you are never ever gonna get. Look at you, just circling the airport. You ain't never gonna land." [6]
Mariah Carey is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the "Songbird Supreme" and the "Queen of Christmas", she is known for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, songwriting, and signature use of the whistle register. Carey rose to fame in 1990 with her eponymous debut album. She was the first artist to have her first five singles reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100, from "Vision of Love" to "Emotions".
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is noted for his sweet and soulful vocals. In addition to his popular work as a solo recording artist, Vandross was also an in-demand background vocalist throughout his career for several artists, including Todd Rundgren, Judy Collins, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Ben E. King, Stevie Wonder, and Donna Summer.
David Morales is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer.
"Shake It Off" is a song performed by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey, taken from her tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). It was written and produced by Carey along with Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, and Johntá Austin. The song was initially solicited to radio on July 11, 2005, by Island and Mercury Records as the album's third single in the United States, while "Get Your Number" served as the album's third single elsewhere. Described by Dupri as "ghetto," the track is a R&B song that makes use of pop and hip hop influences and a simple, sparse production. Lyrically, the song follows Carey as she moves on from her relationship with an unfaithful lover, packing her things and breaking up with him over an answering machine.
Diane Martel is an American music video director and choreographer.
"Endless Love" is a song written by Lionel Richie and originally recorded as a duet between Richie and fellow R&B singer Diana Ross. In this ballad, the singers declare their "endless love" for one another. It was covered by Luther Vandross with fellow R&B singer Mariah Carey and also by country music singer Shania Twain. Richie's friend Kenny Rogers has also recorded the song. Billboard has named the original version as the greatest song duet of all-time.
David Eldon Lasley was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Luther Vandross, Chic, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Bette Midler, Dusty Springfield and Boz Scaggs; as a songwriter for artists including Bonnie Raitt, Whitney Houston, Anita Baker, Maxine Nightingale, Rita Coolidge, Crystal Gayle, and Luther Vandross; and for his solo albums, albums with his 1970s vocal group Rosie, and for his early years in Detroit with his vocal group The Utopias.
Adam Mattera was the editor of Attitude magazine, a leading UK monthly publication aimed at the gay market, from 1999 to 2008. During the period, he secured numerous celebrity cover exclusives including David Beckham, Madonna, Tony Blair and Elton John that redefined the position of the magazine in the marketplace and wider popular culture. His cover interviews included George Michael's first ever 'gay press' interview, in which Michael quipped "you know more than my fucking therapist knew in the first ten years of knowing me".
Songs is the ninth studio album by American R&B/soul singer-songwriter Luther Vandross. It was released by Epic Records on September 20, 1994. The album, a collection of cover versions, produced the singles "Endless Love", "Always and Forever", and "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". According to an interview both Vandross and Mariah Carey gave in Japan following the release of their duet "Endless Love", there was mention that Carey had given advice as to what songs Vandross would cover on this album.
"Never Too Much" is the debut song written, composed, produced, and performed by Luther Vandross. The R&B song was released in 1981, as the lead single from Vandross' debut studio album of the same name. The title track hit number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, reached number four on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, and peaked at number 33 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
One Night with You: The Best of Love, Volume 2 is the third compilation album released by American singer Luther Vandross, released on September 15, 1997 by Epic Records. It is his second compilation album to be released stateside, and is a continuation of his triple-platinum selling first compilation The Best of Luther Vandross... The Best of Love (1989). One Night with You contains four newly recorded songs including the R. Kelly-penned and Grammy-nominated "When You Call on Me/Baby That's When I Come Runnin'" and selections compiled from his later studio albums such as Songs (1994), This Is Christmas (1995), Never Let Me Go (1993), Power of Love (1991) and Your Secret Love (1996).
The Essential Luther Vandross is a greatest hits album by American singer Luther Vandross, released on March 5, 2002 in the UK and June 10, 2003 in the US, by Sony Music and Legacy Recordings as part of The Essential Series. The two-disc compilation features thirty-five tracks from Vandross's recording catalog. The collection contains R&B and pop hit songs spanning from Vandross earlier albums to the later—Dance with My Father, a Grammy win for Best R&B Album.
The Ultimate Luther Vandross is a greatest hits album by American R&B/soul singer Luther Vandross, released in 2001. The compilation was re-released in 2006 with a different track listing, along with two previously unreleased songs. The unreleased cut "Got You Home" which appears on the 2006 edition of the compilation, earned Vandross a posthumous nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards in 2007.
Love Songs is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Luther Vandross. It was released by Sony Music Entertainment unit J Records on January 29, 2009.
"Always and Forever" is an R&B song written by Rod Temperton and produced by Barry Blue. It was first recorded by the British-based multinational funk-disco band Heatwave in 1976. Released as a single on December 3, 1977, the song is included on Heatwave's debut album Too Hot to Handle (1976) and has been covered by numerous artists, becoming something of a standard.
"Up Out My Face" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey from her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009). Written and produced by Carey, Tricky Stewart and The-Dream, it is a song which includes a marching band in its instrumentation. The lyrics for the song have been speculated to be directed at American rapper Eminem, whom Carey has a longstanding feud with since the early 2000's after his claims that they were in a relationship.
The 1992 Soul Train Music Awards was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The show aired live in select cities on March 10, 1992, honoring the best in R&B, soul, rap, jazz, and gospel music from the previous year. The show was hosted by Patti LaBelle, Will Smith, Luther Vandross and Vanessa Williams.
The 1991 Soul Train Music Awards aired live on March 12, 1991, honoring the best in R&B, soul, rap, jazz, and gospel music from the previous year. The show was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California and was hosted by Patti Labelle, Luther Vandross and Dionne Warwick.
Love, Luther is a four disc box set chronicling the musical career highlights of Luther Vandross. Promoted by the single "There’s Only You," the set includes unreleased demos, full-length album versions of Vandross' hit songs, and several of his productions for other artists.
#1 to Infinity is the sixth greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter and producer Mariah Carey. It was released by Sony Music Entertainment on May 15, 2015. It features Carey's then eighteen US number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. A new recording called "Infinity" was released as the only single on April 27, 2015. In January 2015, the singer announced that she had signed a residency deal to perform at The Colosseum at the Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas in May and July 2015, and would perform all of her number ones. As a result, she decided to re-release her first compilation, 1998's #1's, with an updated list of subsequent chart toppers. Carey promoted the album with her #1 to Infinity residency and with live performances at the Billboard Music Awards, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Live! with Kelly and Michael.