Don't Be Free
I have heard Ms. Toni Green sing and I think she is very talented. I'm not so enthused with some of her lyrics, but overall she is very entertaining. I also think she has that look that has commercial appeal. Especially for what I presumed was her target audience. She puts you in the mind of a Donna Summer. Who is also staging a comeback these days. Toni isn't after the Ciara fans; or is she? That could very well be her drawback here. Her fan base may be to spread out, to cause a big splash. You got a little here and a little there. Not enough to cause a ripple anywhere. I always thought she catered to an older audience, though many of her songs are obviously directed at younger people, especially women. People don't pay to hear "been there and done that." As a general rule old folks and young folks don't party together.Considering how long she has been around and the connections she has in the music industry. Not to mention her popularity over seas. It makes one wonder why she hasn't achieved more stateside notoriety. I have some suspicions as to why that might be, but that's just my personal opinion. But since their claim to fame is Memphis music. It is imperative that she be popular here. That doesn't mean sing at every birthday party where there's twenty-five people or more. It means make your apearances memorable, and few and far between. Something another successful local musician said that I agree with. " You can't let the people see you all the time for free. Then they won't pay to see you." I think Ms. Green could use that advice. I hear or see her at least every other week. Self promotion is a good thing, but she should be beyond that. I shouldn't hear her personally plugging a show, more than I hear the commercials. Every time you appear in public, that's like an appearance. By the time of the show. I don't want to see you. When is the last time you saw Mary J. Blige in public?
posted by Common at
10:25 PM
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Concert preview: Toni Green headlines Juneteenth Festival
Singer grew up on Southern soul sound
By Andria Lisle
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Friday, June 13, 2008
Call it the Soulsville generation: The kids who grew up in South Memphis in the 1960s, where they were surrounded by music.
Influences ranged from the iconic recording studios Stax and Royal to born-in-the-'hood superstars like Aretha Franklin and Johnny Ace.
"I grew up in an era of great music, and I was just in awe," says Toni Green.
Music swirled from the choir loft at Rev. Herbert Brewster's East Trigg Avenue Baptist Church, and echoed toward LeMoyne Gardens, where young, unproven talents including Maurice White and David Porter honed their songwriting and performing skills into what would ultimately be multi-million-dollar careers.
Toni Green, who performs at 7 p.m. Saturday during Memphis' 15th Annual Juneteenth Freedom & Heritage Festival in Douglass Park this weekend, was part of the Soulsville generation.
"I didn't want to play with dolls," Green says of her childhood. "I wanted to listen to the music."
The Southside High graduate had plenty of music to choose from, including neighborhood groups like the Temprees and the Bar-Kays -- both of whom would rise to stardom at Stax Records. Green's cousins, John Garry and Dickie Williams, anchored the Mad Lads, another successful Stax act. An early band mate, Marvell Thomas, was the son of yet another Stax alumni, Rufus Thomas, and brother of the label's first star, Carla Thomas.
"I grew up in an era of great music, and I was just in awe," she says.
When Royal producer "Poppa" Willie Mitchell gave Green the opportunity to work in his studio, she jumped at the chance.
Her first single, a scorcher called "Imported Moods" backed by "What Have You Done To My Heart," was issued on Hi Records in 1970.
Since then, Green has released nine albums of material -- most of them via European labels like Good Time and Avanti.
On these shores, she doesn't perform so much. But across the Atlantic, Green is celebrated as one of the living links to a legacy that Memphis oftentimes takes for granted.
"I've been at Porretta for the last five years," she says, referring to the Sweet Soul Music Festival held in Porretta Terme, Italy, where, among fellow Memphis performers like saxophonist Lannie McMillan and singer James Govan, she's reigned supreme in the village's Rufus Thomas Park.
Her European fans gravitate to the Southern soul genre, explains Green, because they sense heartfelt emotions behind the feel-good music.
"Walking down the streets of Porretta is a great feeling," says Green, who's also admired in the Italian cities of Parma and Perugia, and in Sweden, where this month, she's the cover subject for the venerable Jefferson Blues Magazine.
Failing to strike a chord with domestic audiences at a time when white artists such as Amy Winehouse, John Mayer and Joss Stone are lauded for re-discovering R&B music is disheartening, she says.
"It's very frustrating. I think that our music -- Southern soul, or rhythm-and-blues -- is something we've worked hard on all our lives. It's hurtful when musicians of another culture and another color may get noticed for it. It's as if, because we don't have the right agents and publicists, they don't count us in," Green says.
"Outside artists are using the Southern soul sound, and they're making all the money and getting all the accolades as we die off. My goal right now is to open some doors while I can, so we can be acknowledged for a change."
Performing at events like the Juneteenth Festival, the Africa in April celebration, and playing for local elementary school classes is part of her mission.
"I want to give younger artists something to hold on to," Green says.
Juneteenth Festival schedule
The 15th Annual Juneteenth Freedom & Heritage Festival in Douglass Park is free, at Chelsea Avenue at N. Holmes Street. For more information, go to JuneteenthMemphis.org
Music/Spoken Word Schedule
Today
NeoSoulsville Day
2 p.m. DJ Manus 3:15 Lyric 3:35 Shunta Lee 3:55 Devin Crutcher 4:15 Deneka LaShae 4:30 El Hakim 4:35 Authentic Lyfe 4:50 Phat Mak 4:55 Carmen 5:10 Hardface 5:15 Tim Terry 5:30 Ari 5:35 Tonya Dyson 6 p.m. Lenny Cain 6:05 Will Graves
Saturday
11 a.m. Ashley Boyer 11:10 Kenneth G 11:20 Silver Star Majorettes 11:40 Memphis Heat Jazz Dancers Noon: Memphis Heat Hip-Hop Dancers 12:20 Memphis Heat Majorettes 12:40 Lil Chris 1 p.m. Meal Ticket and Vishnue 1:15 MisLeAD 1:30 Da Show Boyy 1:45 Out of Control 2 p.m. Straight Gupta Man and Isaac 2:15 Dupree 2:30 Beam Team 2:45 Varcity 3 p.m. The Gorillas 3:15 Ja'son 3:30 Elethal 3:45 Lil' Sha 4 p.m. Cement Entertainment 4:15 Green Team Hustlers 4:25 Cheryl King 4:30 4U 4:40 Envee 4:45 Jay Richee 5 p.m. Bryan "Big Daddy" Swearingen 5:20 Ice 5:30 Kim 5:45 Whisper 6 p.m. Mahogany 6:15 Dre 7 p.m. Toni Green
Sunday
1 p.m. Frederick Bell 1:20 Faithful Children 1:40 Keza 2 p.m. Linda Jolly 2:20 Laveil Racker & Leju 2:40 Kings of Harmony 3 p.m. Courtney Little and Company 3:20 The Robinsons 3:40 Melrose Youth Choir 4 p.m. Kevin Davidson and the Voices 4:50 Shay Norman 5:25 Chardae, Brandon & Chelsea 5:45 Michaelyn Oby 6:05 Angelic Voices of Faith
I heard Bobby Ojay using your logic this morning. Could Bobbyology come from common sense?
She is damaged goods.
Memphians aren't going to go see a local artist every week. All Americans are popular overseas.
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