Thomas Gerald Terrell (July 16, 1950 – November 29, 2007) was an American music journalist, photographer, deejay, promoter, and NPR music reviewer. Born Thomas Gerald Terrell, and later known as Scooter, King Pleasure, and Tom T., he was a lifelong musicologist who recognized talent and trends long before they became popular, and, until his death from prostate cancer, worked to promote new acts in jazz, funk, rock, hip-hop, and world music.
Born in Summit, New Jersey, Terrell was the only son of Zoma and Thomas C. Terrell. [1] He and his three sisters grew up in the Vauxhall section of Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, and he was educated in the Union Public School District. From an early age he exhibited a facility for music, art, reading and writing, traits that would define his life. A radio station kid, Terrell was mentored in his teens at WNJR by the late Sonny Taylor (an early black radio pioneer), and again later at WMMJ, Washington, D.C.
After graduating from Union High School, Terrell attended college at Howard University in Washington, D.C., in the late 1960s and early 1970s, where he was photographer for the campus newspaper, The Hilltop , and the "Bison" annual, serving as a photo-editor for the 1973 volume. He graduated from Howard in 1972.
He made his mark as a radio personality and concert promoter, impacting the music scene as a programmer for WHFS and WPFW, and was an early force behind d.c. space, its non-profit offshoot, District Curators Inc., and the Nightclub 9:30. Blessed with a honey baritone "radio voice" and encyclopedic music knowledge, his pioneering radio shows included "Stolen Moments" on WPFW, and "Sunday Reggae Splashdown" and "Café C'est What" on WHFS. His music journalism was carried in publications including the Unicorn Times, the Washington City Paper , JazzTimes , Vibe , Essence , Emerge , Savoy , JAZZIZ, Trace , The Village Voice , MTV Magazine, Down Beat magazine, and Global Rhythms. From 2005 until his death, Terrell reviewed music for All Things Considered on National Public Radio. During much of the late 70s, he was frequently employed as a roadie for several touring national music acts (including David Bowie). Terrell also spent many years doing promotion work for several record companies.
Terrell was instrumental in masterminding the U.S. premiere of reggae band Steel Pulse on the night of Bob Marley's funeral, which was broadcast live around the world from the 9:30 Club, 930 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., on May 21, 1981, and he later served as their manager.
Terrell wrote the liner notes for the six-c.d. Miles Davis On The Corner box set released in October 2007, which received rave reviews.
A resident of Washington, D.C., Terrell died at the age of 57 on November 29, 2007, due to prostate cancer at the Community Hospice of Washington. [1]
Jungle is a genre of dance music that developed out of the UK rave scene and sound system culture in the 1990s. Emerging from breakbeat hardcore, the style is characterised by rapid breakbeats, heavily syncopated percussive loops, samples, and synthesised effects, combined with the deep basslines, melodies, and vocal samples found in dub, reggae and dancehall, as well as hip hop and funk. Many producers frequently sampled the "Amen break" or other breakbeats from funk and jazz recordings. Jungle was a direct precursor to the drum and bass genre which emerged in the mid-1990s.
Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds, Basil Gabbidon, and Ronald McQueen (bass); along with Basil's brother Colin briefly on drums and Mykaell Riley. Steel Pulse were the first non-Jamaican act to win the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.
James Augustus Van Der Zee was an American photographer best known for his portraits of black New Yorkers. He was a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Aside from the artistic merits of his work, Van Der Zee produced the most comprehensive documentation of the period. Among his most famous subjects during this time were Marcus Garvey, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Countee Cullen.
Tammi Terrell was an American singer-songwriter, widely known as a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, notably for a series of duets with singer Marvin Gaye.
WHFS was the call sign for three different FM stations in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, markets on various frequencies for nearly 50 years. The first and longest run was a progressive rock station and was usually, and affectionately, referred to as 'HFS. For many local residents, it was the first place to hear such bands as R.E.M., The Specials, Pixies, The Smiths, The Monochrome Set, The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, Stereolab, New Order, 311, Sublime and more.
The HFStival was an annual Washington, D.C. / Baltimore, Maryland rock festival. Held every summer from 1990 through 2006 by radio station WHFS, and held again in 2010 and 2011 in commemoration of the now-defunct station's legacy, the HFStival was at its peak the largest yearly music festival on the East Coast. 55,000 to 90,000 people attended the annual event, which had traditionally been held at RFK Stadium until the station moved to Baltimore in 2005. That May, the new WHFS at 105.7 held its first HFStival at M&T Bank Stadium. Though not originally called HFStival, two earlier concerts held on the Fourth of July were the foundation for the first festival and are considered part of HFStival history.
WWDC is a commercial FM radio station in Maryland, near Washington, D.C. The station is owned by iHeartMedia through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC, and broadcasts an alternative radio format. Studios and offices are in Rockville, Maryland. WWDC serves as the flagship station for the syndicated radio show Elliot in the Morning and as the local affiliate for Skratch 'N Sniff.
Theodore Marcus "Teddy" Edwards was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Free FM was a short-lived, mostly-talk-radio format and brand name for eleven FM CBS Radio stations in the United States, and was created because of Howard Stern's departure to Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2006. Free FM was given its name to highlight that its stations broadcast free-to-air, instead of requiring a subscription fee like satellite radio services. Launched on October 25, 2005, Free FM was phased out over the course of 2007, with the final station using it, KLSX, dropping the brand in November 2008.
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that emerged in the late 1960s, in which disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always played. It enjoyed the height of its popularity in the late 1960s and 1970s. The name for the format began being used circa 1968, when serious disc jockeys were playing "progressive 'music for the head'" and discussing social issues in between records. During the late 1960s, as long-playing records began to supplant the single in popularity with rock audiences, progressive rock stations placed more emphasis on album tracks than did their AM counterparts. Throughout the 1970s, as FM stations moved to more structured formats, progressive rock evolved into album-oriented rock (AOR).
WPFW is a talk and jazz music community radio station serving the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It is owned by the Pacifica Foundation, and its studios are located on K Street Northwest. The station’s slogan is "Jazz and Justice."
WHFS is an AM radio station in the Tampa, Florida, area, owned by Beasley Broadcast Group featuring The Dave Ramsey show, the Miller & Moulton Show, The Schnitt Show, and a daily show hosted by program director Kurt Schreiner, among other local and national programming. The station broadcasts at 50,000 watts during the day and 5,000 watts at night, directional towards the east and west to protect Jacksonville's WJXL by day, and New York City's WINS, Toronto's CFRB, and Calgary, Alberta's CBR at night. The station was assigned the WHFS call sign by the Federal Communications Commission on August 9, 2012. Its studios are in St. Petersburg while its transmitter is located east of Mango. WHFS broadcasts a business-oriented talk radio format.
Tom "Big Daddy" Donahue, was an American rock and roll radio disc jockey, record producer and concert promoter.
Gary Himelfarb, aka Doctor Dread, is an American reggae producer who founded RAS Records. He is notable for his respectful dedication to roots reggae artists; and in turn for helping spread their works and words throughout the world.
WDCH-FM – branded Bloomberg 99.1 – is a commercial business news radio station licensed to Bowie, Maryland, and serving the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station is operated by Bloomberg L.P. as the market network affiliate for Bloomberg Radio. WDCH-FM often airs D.C. United soccer and Washington Wizards NBA basketball games whenever sports radio sister station WJFK-FM is carrying a different game.
Bob (Robert) Baldwin is an American, New York born, contemporary jazz pianist, music composer, music producer, author, inventor, radio host and creator of the NewUrbanJazz Lounge. His views on owning his own recorded masters has earned him the title ‘the Ray Charles of Independent Contemporary Jazz and Soul music’ among his peers. As of January 1, 2022, he owns all but 7 of his 33+ studio projects.
WJZ-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Catonsville, Maryland, and serving the Baltimore metropolitan area. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. through licensee Audacy License, LLC, and it broadcasts a sports radio format. Local shows are heard on weekdays, with programming from the CBS Sports Radio Network airing nights and weekends. Studios and offices are located in Towson.
Dianne Quander is an American songwriter, best known for writing the song "Caught Up In The Rapture," with her writing partner Garry Glenn which was recorded by Anita Baker. She also collaborated on songs of various artists including "Take You To Heaven" by Earth, Wind and Fire, "Why Not Me" by Phyllis Hyman, "Flame of Love" by Jean Carne and "Sweet Control" by Jon Lucien.
Addison N. Scurlock was an American photographer, founder of The Scurlock Studio, and businessman who became prominent in the early and mid-20th century for photographing Black Washington.