Los Angeles, CA :
Call it a confab of Motown all-stars: the cast and
crew of "Lady Sings the Blues" gathered on the
Paramount lot in Los Angeles to celebrate the DVD
release of the 1972 Billie Holiday biopic, "Lady
Sings the Blues On 1St November "Lady Sings the
Blues" earned considerable critical praise and five
Oscar nominations, including one for Ross. The
film's star, Diana Ross, said "You know, it's
reunion time, which is so wonderful,” "You don't get
a chance to get everybody all together. And it's so
wonderful to see Billy Dee [Williams] and to see
B.G. [Motown Records founder and the film's
executive producer Berry Gordy and to see some of
the Motown people.
“Holiday purists
aside (many have dubbed the film useless as a
biography "It was my first film, you know, and my
acting debut," Ross recalled.”It was, like, the one
that gave me a chance to believe that I could do
this. It was very exciting. “Film and TV producer
Suzanne de Passe (an Oscar nominee for the "Lady"
screenplay) explained the film's long-delayed Nov. 8
DVD was "because there were aspects of the deal that
belonged to Paramount and also belonged to Mr.
Gordy. And I think it took all this time for people
to read what they had and come together and make it
happen. “When the two camps finally came to terms,
Paramount recruited virtually all the surviving
principals for the DVD's bonus features, much of
which revolves around Gordy."You know, he's so
special," said Ross. "It's just so amazing to me.
Nobody thanks him enough, because it's not just this
film that he needs to be thanked for.
 All
those people at Motown, and all those artists that
are out there today sampling music because of what
Motown did, that's because of him. “It’s no wonder
Ross has such a soft spot for her old boss, who
refused to let "Lady" be made with anyone but her in
the lead.”Cinema Center Films in New York turned us
down with Diana, because they wanted someone else to
play the part," he recalled. The centre of
attraction of the function was an Indian Gentleman
with the striking looks that everyone was taking
pictures of? Well, it’s the Gordy’s new project,
International Pop Singer Reggie Benjamin, whose
music fuses the sounds of HIP-HOP/POP with the beats
of India and classical Indian vocals and has had
successful tours overseas, recently signed with
Kerry Gordy, of Kerry Gordy Enterprises, Inc.,
(KGEI). He is the first artist of Indian descent to
join KGEI’s roster of entertainment industry stars.
Reggie Benjamin
was seen with the Gordy’s and actually arrived with
them on the Red Carpet along with, Smokey Robinson,
Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, and many more
celebrities. Throughout the whole party, you can
hear all the Mowtown Stars This is the first time
ever an Indian has been signed and is now part of
the Motown Family, this is incredible. Chicago pop
artist Reggie Benjamin brings a world of experience
to the music scene, literally. His first single,
“Hurry Up” bolted to the top five of the overseas
dance charts in over 24 countries, mere weeks after
its 2001 release. Hurry Up’s success was soon
trumped by Reggie’s follow-up release, “Ride,” which
made it to the top three in 30 countries before
coming full circle in the U.S., entering the
Billboard Breakout Dance Charts at number four in
2004. But his world did not begin there … Reggie’s
parents came to North America from Andhra Pradesh,
India. They spent several years in Toronto, Canada,
before moving their family to Chicago in the late
‘70s, where Reggie has since been pursuing the path
of entertainment – a path that began with Elvis
Presley.
 Reggie’s
father, a Christian pastor, was particularly fond of
the King’s gospel work. “My parents always listened
to Elvis’s gospel music and watched his movies,”
says Reggie, who took not only to singing, but to
dancing and the overall power of multifaceted
performance. He began doing Elvis impersonations
when he was 8 years old. “I was performing live for
friends and relatives for money,” he says, recalling
a show he did while visiting family in Washington
D.C. “I got all my cousins together and charged them
a $1.00 admission fee. That day, I made $51.” From
then on, he performed whenever and wherever he
could. The ‘80s were an ideal time for pop fans to
come of age in the Midwest. Artists like Prince were
bursting onto the scene in Minneapolis with new
sounds and sleek moves that would soon create their
own, unstoppable genre. The world was starting to
revisit Detroit’s Motown sound and the strong
foundation of Chicago’s rhythm and blues was also
finding new forms of _expression, not to mention
translators. “I remember watching Michael Jackson on
the Motown 25th Anniversary Special when he
introduced the Moonwalk,” Reggie recalls. “I would
not sleep until I perfected that.” Song and dance
were becoming synonymous in popular music and
culture. Reggie was a sponge, soaking it all in.
 At
Lyons Township High School, he started the R&B/pop
Reggie Benjamin Band with friends Michael Hurd and
Al Chancey. The effort was shelved when he began
attending Chicago’s Columbia College and College du
Page where he studied jazz and received degrees in
Music Voice and Business Communications. While in
school, Reggie stayed true to his artistic goals and
landed an internship at the suburban Chicago
Tanglewood Studio where he befriended budding
producers and remix masters Maurice Joshua, Eric “E
Smoove” Miller and Steve Hurley – all of whom would
go on to receive multiple Grammy nominations for
their work with such artists as Michael Jackson,
Prince, Stevie Wonder and Britney Spears. (Maurice
Joshua won a 2004 Grammy for his work on Beyonce’s
“Crazy in Love” remix with Jay Z.) Taking what he
learned, Reggie reconnected with former band mate
Michael Hurd and old friend Mark Shayatovich to
establish Club 2X Records and put his own music
dream into action.
The group then
called upon Joshua and E Smoove who co-produced
“Hurry Up” and “Ride.” The collective talent and
hip, crisp sound of “Hurry Up” spoke for itself over
the airwaves and in the overseas dance clubs but
Reggie’s business instincts decided to kick it up a
notch before releasing the song in his native India.
“India is a very conservative country,” says Reggie.
“I was wondering how I could be different.” His
answer came in the shape of the Playboy mansion,
where he and his partners decided they should shoot
a video to accompany “Hurry Up” on its debut
journey. “For four months, I called Playboy to ask
if we could film at the mansion.” Every ‘no’ he got,
he responded by changing the question and went from
shooting at the mansion, to the driveway, to outside
the gates. Reggie’s persistence paid off when Hugh
Hefner not only let him shoot the video, but let him
shoot it with his pick of Playmates. The video did
exactly what they hoped it would do in India: It
stirred up controversy and turned Reggie into the
country’s newest pop sensation, paving the way for
the success of his second single, “Ride.” With the
crossover boom of Bollywood and the much-anticipated
Indian American invasion of Hollywood, Reggie
Benjamin is perfectly poised to hit the big time
right here at home.
He is being
heralded as the first Indian pop artist to hit the
Billboard charts and has become a featured point of
interest with publications ranging from Billboard
magazine to the internationally distributed Indian
Reporter, to his hometown Chicago-Sun Times. His new
album, also co-produced with Maurice Joshua and E
Smoove on Club 2X Records, is slated for release
this spring. Within a short span Reggie achieved so
many feathers to cap. ! Entertainment Channel airs a
special titled First Indian Pop Artist in America
(Celebrity Uncensored). Single Ride ranked number 4
on Billboard Breakouts for Hot Dance Club Play.
Album was co-produced by 2004 Grammy-winner and
Nominees Video for Hurry Up was filmed at the
Playboy Mansion. Hurry Up hit the top of the charts
in 24 countries, including Spain, Portugal and
Russia. Sold 38,000 copies with no promotion in 3
days. Ride hit the top of the club charts in 30
countries, including America, France and Brazil.
Performed at the All State Arena, Dallas Convention
center and many more selling out to crowds over
Arena 17,000 people. He has been awarded for being
the First Indian Pop Artist in America by an Indian
Parliament Member. |
