Spike Lee & Company: Do It a Cappella | |
---|---|
Written by | Gerard Brown |
Directed by | Spike Lee Ernest R. Dickerson |
Starring | Spike Lee Debbie Allen |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producers | Gerard Brown Cherie Fortis Spence Halperin |
Cinematography | Robert Leacock Anastas F. Michos Alain Onesto Mark Whitman Crystal Griffith Rebecca Kurtz |
Running time | 85 minutes |
Production company | Spence Halperin/Gerard Brown Productions |
Original release | |
Network | PBS |
Release | May 10, 1990 |
Spike Lee & Company: Do It a Cappella is a 1990 PBS documentary, directed by Spike Lee, around the topic of A cappella music. Artists that performed as part of the documentary include The Mint Juleps, Take 6, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Rockapella and The Persuasions. It also stars Spike Lee, Debbie Allen and a cameo appearance by Samuel L. Jackson. [1]
There is an Audio CD album and MP3 of the songs available as well. [2]
Lee decides to do a special about acapella music, which means no musical instruments. Then, Lee and Allen find themselves in a Brooklyn alley where they listen to Rockapella, True Image, The Mint Juleps, and The Persuasions. After that, the two attend a concert with all the featured acapella groups at the BAM Majestic Theater. In between songs, there are interviews with the acapella groups as well as songs via rehearsal backstage. Finally, Allen, inspired by all the acapella music that she listened to, suggests to Lee that she does her next album acapella, much to Lee's chagrin.
Music performed a cappella, less commonly a capella, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term a cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato musical styles. In the 19th century, a renewed interest in Renaissance polyphony, coupled with an ignorance of the fact that vocal parts were often doubled by instrumentalists, led to the term coming to mean unaccompanied vocal music. The term is also used, rarely, as a synonym for alla breve.
Rockapella is an American a cappella musical group formed in 1986 in New York City. The group's name is a portmanteau of "rock" and "a cappella". Rockapella sings original vocal music and a cappella versions of other songs. Over time, their sound has evolved from high-energy pop and world music style toward a sound more influenced by R&B. Rockapella found their early and enduring success in Japan. They are most successful for their role as a house band and comedy troupe on the PBS children's geography game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of isicathamiya and mbube. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album Graceland, and have won multiple awards, including five Grammy Awards, dedicating their fifth Grammy to the late former President Nelson Mandela.
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda under the title "Mbube" for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. Linda's original was written in Zulu, while the English version's lyrics were written by George David Weiss.
Isicathamiya is a singing style that originated from the South African Zulus. In European understanding, a cappella is also used to describe this form of singing.
The Persuasions were an American a cappella group that formed in Brooklyn, New York in 1962, singing under corner streetlights and in subway corridors. Their style combined gospel, soul, early rock, and jazz into melodic five-part harmonies. Since being discovered by Frank Zappa, the Persuasions have released 23 studio albums to date.
Dr. Bhekizizwe Joseph Shabalala was a South African singer and musician who was the founder and musical director of the choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Sean Altman is an American musician and songwriter. He is a founder and former lead singer (tenor) of the a capella musical group Rockapella and a pioneer of the modern a cappella movement. He was a member of Rockapella from its inception in 1986 until he left the group in 1997 to launch a solo career.
"One Mint Julep" is a R&B song, written and composed by Rudy Toombs, that became a 1952 hit for the Clovers. The song has received over 100 cover versions, both with lyrics and as an instrumental.
Ilembe is a 2007 album by the South African isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It was released on 26 February 2007 and did not feature collaborations, and was simply "Ladysmith Black Mambazo at its best", as the Gallo press release for the anticipated release put it. It was re-released in 2008 with the title Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu.
"Jumbie Jamberee" is a calypso song credited to Conrad Eugene Mauge, Jr. In 1953 Lord Intruder released the song as the B-side to "Disaster With Police". The song is also known as "Zombie Jamboree" and "Back to Back". The introduction to the Kingston Trio's version humorously credits "Lord Invader and his Twelve Penetrators" with authorship of the song instead of Lord Intruder.
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? or Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? The Album is a soundtrack album to the game show of the same name that ran from 1991 to 1995. Rockapella, the house band on the show throughout its entire run, performed six of the ten songs on the album.
"Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?" is a song by American a cappela group Rockapella that was written as the theme song to the PBS game show of the same name. The song is part of the larger Carmen Sandiego franchise.
Bang is the sixteenth overall and eleventh North American album by the a cappella group Rockapella. It is the first studio album the group has released since 2002 and marks the first recording appearance of members John K. Brown and Steven Dorian, who had joined the group in 2004 and 2010, respectively. The album consists entirely of original music, making it the second all-original album released by the group, preceded only by their 1994 Japanese release Vocobeat, and is also the first Rockapella album to have at least one song written by each of the five members. The album contains a special bonus fourteenth track: a cover of Vampire Weekend's "A-Punk."
"Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the fourth single from his seventh studio album, Graceland (1986), released on Warner Bros. Records. The song features guest vocals from the South African male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Always With Us is a 2014 album by the South African isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The album, released on 15 January 2014, is a tribute to the life of the group's matriarch Nellie Shabalala (1953-2002), the late wife of Mambazo leader Joseph Shabalala. It is also only the second album in the group's 50-year career to feature female Zulu vocalists singing alongside the male members.
Thee Legacy is a distinct South African contemporary isicathamiya ensemble spinoff made up of the sons and grandsons of the multi Grammy-award winning acapella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. They rose to stardom as a result of winning the inaugural Sing Off South Africa 2015 a cappella music competition, which aired on SABC 1 and earned them a recording deal with Sony Music Entertainment Africa.
Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration is a television special which was first broadcast on PBS on March 6, 1994 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the educational television series Sesame Street. Its home-video version, Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years was released on October 29, 1993. Caroll Spinney plays Big Bird, reading the title card in a voiceover. Celebrity guests and the Muppets sing songs together.
Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years is the home video version of Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration, a special aired on PBS during their pledge drive on March 6, 1994, that commemorates Sesame Street’s 25th anniversary in 1994. This program was originally released on October 29, 1993, under the title Sesame Street's 25th Birthday: A Musical Celebration!. 25 Wonderful Years focused on celebrity segments, many coming from segments filmed for the show's upcoming 25th season, of artists such as En Vogue and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
The Mint Juleps, who first gained notice in 1986, is a six-piece all-female a cappella group from the east end of London. The group consists of four sisters: Sandra, Debbie, Lizzie and Marcia Charles, who were joined by two school friends, Julie Isaac and Debbie Longworth. Before they were signed by Stiff Records, they had gained experience touring with Sister Sledge and Billy Bragg, Kool & The Gang, Lenny Henry, Shalamar, Fine Young Cannibals and they had sung back-up for Bob Geldof, the Belle Stars, Alison Moyet, Al Green, Peter Gabriel and Dr. Feelgood. Their debut album, One Time, were issued on Stiff Records in 1985. In December 1988, the group appeared as a cappella singing Angels in the BBC Christmas special, Billy's Christmas Angels. In 1990 they appeared in Spike Lee's television documentary, Do It Acapella. In 1994, Round Our Way saw a release in both the UK and US.