The funeral for TLC's Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes has been set for Thursday (May 2) at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta.
Additionally, a private visitation will also take place on Wednesday (May 1) evening at an undisclosed location. Both services are for friends and family members only, according to a spokesperson for the group at Arista Records.
Lopes was killed in a car accident on Thursday (April 25) in La Ceiba, Honduras, when the driver of the vehicle in which she was riding lost control, causing the van to flip several times. Initial postmortem test results show that Lopes suffered a fractured skull and a badly damaged chest in the accident.
Meanwhile, in an odd twist of fate, details have emerged that Lopes was a passenger in a vehicle that struck and killed a 10-year-old Honduran boy three weeks ago, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The van, reportedly driven by Lopes' personal assistant, Stephanie Patterson, struck the boy when he was trying to cross a main road with his family and stepped out in front of the vehicle.
Lopes paid a reported $3,700 in funeral and medical costs and an additional $925 to the family. The accident was not reported to local police and was considered a closed matter.
Lopes' body is currently on its way back to the United States. All but one of the other seven passengers involved in the accident have been released from the hospital.
TLC member Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas has vowed that the R&B trio, which was working on music for the follow-up to 1999's Fan Mail at the time of Lopes' death, will continue on. "It's not over," she told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I know that Lisa would not want us to stop."
Thomas reports, however, that Lopes will not be replaced. "As for Lisa being replaced -- never," she said. "You can't replace a TLC girl. The chemistry we have is something God gave us. You can't put that together."
-- Kevin Raub
Posted by Jen on Tuesday, April 30, 2002 @ 04:15 p.m.
Beyoncé Knowles in "Austin Powers in Goldmember"
Photo: New Line
After playing a "Foxy" detective and leading lady to Mike "Austin Powers" Myers, Beyoncé Knowles will return to familiar territory for her next role in "The Fighting Temptations."
The Destiny's Child star will play a member of a gospel choir that a hip-hop producer — played by Academy Award-winner Cuba Gooding Jr. — must lead to success before he can collect a large inheritance. Along the way, Gooding's character falls for Knowles' character.
Jonathan Lynn ("The Whole Nine Yards," "My Cousin Vinny") will direct the film, which is scheduled to begin shooting in mid-June, according to Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé's manager and father.
Music World Music, Mathew's label, will provide a collection of pop, R&B and gospel tracks for "The Fighting Temptations" soundtrack.
Knowles, who first acted in "Carmen: A Hip Hopera" (from MTV Films, who are also producing "Temptations"), will make her big screen debut in "Austin Powers in Goldmember" in late July (see "Beyonce Records Song Written By Mike Myers For 'Powers' Flick").
—Corey Moss
Posted by Jen on Tuesday, April 30, 2002 @ 04:13 p.m.
Following a recent car accident involving singer Scott Stapp, Creed have cancelled the entire second leg of their North American tour.
The circumstances surrounding the accident are murky: According to the band's spokesman, Stapp's car was struck by another vehicle near Tampa, Florida, but no further details -- including when and how the accident occurred and the extent of Stapp's injuries -- were given.
Creed were scheduled to open the second batch of dates in support of 2001's Weathered last night in Fargo, North Dakota. No make-up dates have been announced, but Creed hope to get back on the road in the summer.
Tickets for the performances are refundable at the point of purchase.
Creed's cancelled tour dates:
4/29: Fargo, ND, Fargodome
5/1: Champaign, IL, Assembly Hall
5/3: Indianapolis, Verizon Wireless Music Center
5/4: Moline, IL, Mark of the Quad Cities
5/6: Wichita, KS, Kansas Coliseum
5/8: Salt Lake City, Delta Center
5/10: Portland, OR, Rose Garden
5/11: Spokane, WA, Spokane Arena
5/12: Tacoma, WA, Tacoma Dome
5/15: Sacramento, ARCO Arena
5/16: San Jose, CA, San Jose Arena
5/18: Oakland, Oakland Arena
5/19: Los Angeles, Staples Center
5/22: Las Vegas, Thomas & Mack Center
5/23: Phoenix, Cricket Pavilion
5/25: Las Cruces, NM, Pan American Center
5/27: Oklahoma City, Myriad Convention Center
5/29: Austin, Frank Erwin Center
5/30: Mercedes, TX, Mercedes Showgrounds
5/31: Selma, TX, Verizon Wireless Music Center
AUGUSTIN SEDGEWICK
(April 30, 2002)
Posted by Jen on Tuesday, April 30, 2002 @ 04:08 p.m.
The harsh realization that Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes is no longer with us is settling in with some of her peers in the music industry. Some are still expressing their words of mourning, and some are reflecting on fond memories.
"We are saddened today, and we have suffered a true loss to our industry," 'NSYNC said in a statement on Friday. "Lisa was a wonderful person who always brought high energy and a great vibe when she walked into a room. It was a pleasure and a lot of fun to work with her. She will be truly missed." (Click for photos of Left Eye and her friends.)
"It leaves a big void in particular, with [TLC]," producer Jimmy Jam said of her death (see "Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes Killed In Car Accident"). "Every piece of that group was an important part of it. The thing I'm going to miss overall about her is her spirit. She embodied everything that was great about the music business, which is self-expression and rebellion. Not doing what people wanted you to do because it was the right thing to do politically. Her whole attitude is going to be missed."
Jam said that due to a misunderstanding, Left Eye rebelled against him when he initially tried to get her to rap on "I'm Good at Being Bad," a cut from TLC's Fan Mail. Apparently she thought he wanted her to recite rhymes written by a ghostwriter. When she found out that wasn't the case, Lopes showed him her work ethic.
"She hopped on a plane from Atlanta and came to L.A. [where we were in the studio]," he remembered. "She came to the studio, wrote her rhyme and dropped her verse in an hour and hopped back on a plane to Atlanta. Needless to say, I was impressed with her professionalism and talent. She wanted whatever her representation on the album was to be her idea."
"TLC has always been one of my favorite groups," Lil' Kim told MTV News on Friday. "When they first came on, I always used to say, 'Damn, they remind me of myself.' They were real street, but always had this girlie-girl edge, just fun and not caring.
"I first got to know [Left Eye] when we reached out to her to do the 'Ladies' Night' remix," she continued, "and before the record took place, she called me on the phone and I was really excited, like, 'I'm really getting ready to do a record with her.' I actually wanted all the members on the song, but that's the way it turned out."
While groupmate T-Boz didn't make it onto the song, she did show up on the video set, as did the cut's other co-stars: Angie Martinez, Da Brat and Missy Elliott. Kim said she bonded most strongly with Lopes, at least for one of the scenes.
"One thing I remember is how we were all on that yacht during the 'Ladies Night' shoot," Kim began, laughing. "Me and Left Eye were sitting in the corner laughing at Angie and Da Brat throwing up. They couldn't really take the boat, and Missy couldn't take the boat. Everybody was getting sick except me and Left Eye.
"After the video, we got really close, and she would always try to get me to go to Honduras with her," Kim continued. "She was like, 'Kim, I'm telling you, it's beautiful out there.' There's a purifying lake she used to go to. There's a man out there who was a witch doctor or something who she would go to. He would cleanse your soul. She's been trying to get me to go out there for years. This year, I was really thinking about going out there. So it's weird that this happened."
Treach of Naughty By Nature had a chance to travel a lot with TLC doing shows. He remembered the girl he referred to as a female Tupac, a free spirit who once bought him an engraved axe.
"Lisa Lopes, she was a fun-loving kid, loving to be different," said Treach, who made sure an Ooooooohhh ... On the TLC Tip button was placed on a teddy bear in Naughty's "Hip-Hop Hooray" video. "You saw that from the way [TLC] dressed, from their attitudes. She was the thug out of the group. 'Let's go hang out. Let's go all night long.' Her attitude was that wild side, whether she was making records or working in Burger King.
"She was the outlaw of the clique," he added. "The one that would be the center of attention in the news. She was looking at it like, 'Why don't people understand why I'm doing this?' "
Rockwilder understood the method to her madness, both outside and inside the studio. He worked on her solo LP, Supernova. "She was an angel," Rock said. "She was always teaching us."
The producer said that Left Eye used to bring books about God into the studio and that she would put him and his crew up on her spirituality studies. It was in the studio where the producer learned of Left Eye's death.
"Yeah, I was in the studio," Rockwilder recalled. "Redman's 2way went off and it said, 'Left Eye just got killed.' We didn't want to believe it. ... As soon as we found that out, the whole thing stopped. We threw it up for her. Got some drinks. All night I was thinking, like, 'Wow, she's gone.'
"I guess she would want to be remembered as just being her," he added. Nothing star-studded about her. Her. A lot of her friends and family ... a lot of people are feeling [the loss]."
Posted by Jen on Tuesday, April 30, 2002 @ 04:04 p.m.
LOUISVILLE -- The running of the 128th Kentucky Derby is Saturday, and the jockeys may have to the share the spotlight with celebrities ready to horse around.
The town is still buzzing from last year's pre-race festivities. Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson made 2001 a year to remember with their antics at the city's Derby Eve bash, the annual Barnstable-Brown Party, thrown by twin sisters Priscilla Barnstable and Patricia Barnstable-Brown.
''They really knew how to party. They were great,'' says Priscilla Barnstable.
So are they coming back?
The party host saw Kid Rock at his recent Louisville show, where he told her he was going to fly his jet in and be there right after a concert. She says he told her: ''It is the only fun I get to have all year.''
But he's not confirmed.
Among those who are: Sean ''P. Diddy'' Combs, Prince Albert and 'N Sync (news - web sites)'s Joey Fatone, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick and Justin Timberlake.
Other guests include Toby Keith, Lee Ann Womack, George Strait, Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath, Bo Derek, Brian McKnight, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees.
''I've never been to a race, and this one is the biggest there is,'' says McKnight.
Across town, another party, the Mint Jubilee, will battle for celebs. Its guest list includes Backstreet Boys (news - web sites) Kevin Richardson and Howie Dorough, Jessica Alba and Melissa Joan Hart.
Posted by Jen on Tuesday, April 30, 2002 @ 03:59 p.m.
Tue Apr 30, 2:17 PM ET
By LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) - When Dick Clark first pitched "American Bandstand" to ABC as a national series in the 1950s, network executives yawned.
"I still have the letter, still have it framed in my office, which in effect said 'Don't call us, we'll call you. Thank you, and it's nice to see your dance party,'" Clark recalls.
When he proposed a 50th anniversary special, Clark found out how little television had changed. Despite the show's iconic place in pop culture, he had to argue the case of "American Bandstand" all over.
An idea that was once ahead of its time was now hopelessly behind it, at least to ABC's thinking.
"They bought the show ... then somebody high up said 'Nah, nah, nah, ancient history. Who cares,'" Clark said. "And I went out of my mind. ... I was like an outraged father who somebody said their kid was ugly."
The network wisely reconsidered and "American Bandstand's 50th ... A Celebration!" airs 8-10 p.m. Friday. In light of the TV nostalgia flash fire started last November by high-rated CBS tributes to Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball, "they look like geniuses," Clark said of ABC.
Seems like a concept even a ratings-challenged network could grasp: Give any viewer with a passing interest in pop music the chance to hum the catchy "American Bandstand" theme song again, gorge on a rich variety of musical acts and revisit their youth.
"When I was 5 years old, my dream was to be a teen-ager in terms of what I saw on 'American Bandstand' and what I heard in the lyrics of the songs being played," says Kiss guitarist Paul Stanley.
Kiss is one of the bands performing on the special, which mixes numbers from an anniversary concert filmed in April with old clips. Others seen in concert include Michael Jackson, Cher, Alanis Morissette, Brandy, Stevie Wonder, Babyface and KC & The Sunshine Band.
In another reminder of the musical diversity "Bandstand" offered, the finale has Little Richard leading an unlikely crew — including Sheila E and Mick Fleetwood — on the rock 'n' roll classic "Good Golly, Miss Molly."
"We all know music is the soundtrack of our lives, and this is going to bring back such a flood of memories no matter what generation you're from," Clark, 72, said in an interview. "It's a feast of good stuff."
The tough part was choosing footage from the decades of "American Bandstand." Despite packing in more than 100 artists, Clark says he's braced for "how could you leave out so-and-so" criticism.
Among those whose archived performances made the cut: Blondie, Chubby Checker, Jan & Dean, The Doors, Aretha Franklin, Madonna (news - web sites), The Mamas & The Papas, Diana Ross, Rod Stewart and Britney Spears.
It's daunting to consider how much Clark, who is host and executive producer, and his staff had to wade through. "American Bandstand" racked up more than 10,000 musical appearances in 6,000-plus hours of airtime.
The show began in 1952 on a Philadelphia television station. Clark came aboard in 1956 when original host Bob Horn was fired. On Aug. 5, 1957, "American Bandstand" made its network debut, airing first on weekday afternoons and later on Saturday. The show was canceled by ABC in 1987, but lived on in syndication and cable until 1989.
"American Bandstand" combined records with in-studio, lip-synch performances by new and established acts and boasted a dance floor populated by enthusiastic teen-agers who also judged the music. "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it" was the typical, incisive assessment offered during the "Rate-A-Record" segment.
The show was an immediate hit, delivering the young demographic advertisers now stalk like big game as well older viewers.
ABC "gave us a seven-week test, and in four weeks it went to No. 1 in daytime with a limping lineup of ABC stations against NBC and CBS," Clark said. He still marvels at the hard-sell approach he had to take.
"Wouldn't you have thought there was some forward-looking, younger network person who would have said 'Look what's happening in radio — they're beginning to play black music and white kids like it. They've got this dance show in Philadelphia that's beginning to get 50 percent of the audience but it's a kids show.'"
"Nobody thought it out," Clark concluded.
The show, which paid scale to all performers, missed out on just a handful of big names including the Beatles and Elvis Presley. "I'm not going to let you work for $155," Presley manager Col. Tom Parker told his client, according to Clark.
"American Bandstand's" place in history as well as memory is secure. In the 1980s, Clark donated the original podium and backdrop to the Smithsonian Institution (news - web sites).
The show also has served as inspiration for successive generations of TV music offerings, from the 1980s-born cable show "Dance Party USA" to MTV's "Total Request Live."
Kiss' Stanley, whose band got a boost with an appearance on a later Clark-produced show, "In Concert," eagerly lauds the TV music impresario and what he accomplished with "Bandstand."
"Here was a man who championed music without color barriers or color lines," said Stanley, adding that Clark treated even unknown bands with respect. Other artists admit to a debt of gratitude.
"It shot me to the top of the charts," said Barry Manilow, who performed "Mandy" and "It's a Miracle" on the March 22, 1975, program. "You should see it, long blond hair and bell bottoms."
Clark has remained a TV perennial with a grab bag of projects that includes his New Year's Eve specials. He's also cooked up a new version of "American Bandstand" that he insists would be a hit even in a musical age dominated by niche radio stations and splintered audiences.
"I've got it," he says, confidently. "If only you were a television executive. ... One of the reasons I'm a survivor is I don't give up. I'm going to find some bright-eyed person who says 'Damn, that's a good idea.'"
Posted by Jen on Tuesday, April 30, 2002 @ 03:54 p.m.
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