NEWS RELEASE FIRST LADIES OF DISCO WILL TAKE THE STAGE AT 2014 ‘EVENING UNDER THE STARS’ GALA Pioneers of 70’s Dance Music to Headline 21st Annual Fundraiser PALM SPRINGS – November 25, 2013: Evening Under the Stars, the 21st annual gala to benefit AIDS Assistance Program (AAP), will feature a performance by an ensemble of the First Ladies of Disco. This memorable night of music will take place Saturday, May 3, 2014, at 5:30 PM at the O’Donnell Golf Club in Palm Springs. Linda Clifford, France Joli, Evelyn “Champagne” King, Maxine Nightingale, Pamala Stanley, Anita Ward, Martha Wash, and the ladies formerly of Chic: Alfa Anderson, Luci Martin, and Norma Jean, will all take the stage at this star-studded affair, considered by many to be the unofficial finale of the desert event season. “Never before in the history of Evening Under the Stars have we had the variety of talent and hit music makers than will take the stage this year,” says AAP Executive Director Mark Anton. “These ladies are synonymous with one of the most unforgettable periods in music, and we know our guests will be wowed by an unforgettable performance.” Gala festivities will include cocktails served by an abundance of bartenders, fabulous live and silent auctions, inspiring honorees, delectable cuisine, divine entertainment, and dancing. Tickets for the benefit are $395 and $500 per person, and individual VIP seats are also available. Tickets may be purchased by contacting AIDS Assistance Program at 760/325-8481 or by visiting aidsassistance.org. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. The theme of the 21st annual gala performance is inspired by celebrated author and speaker James Arena’s book First Ladies of Disco: 32 Stars Discuss the Era and Their Singing Careers. In this collection of original interviews, 32 of these women tell their stories, explaining how they view their music, careers, connection to gay audiences, and their places in dance music history. Linda Clifford scored hits from the 1970s to the 80s, most notably If My Friends Could See Me Now, and Runaway Love. In 1980, the five-time Grammy nominee released a duet album with Curtis Mayfield, The Right Combination, and recorded the song Red Light for the Fame soundtrack. It became a hit, reaching #1 on the American dance chart. France Joli is a Canadian singer, best known for the disco classic Come to Me. Joli made her network television debut on a 1979 broadcast of The Midnight Special. Her other TV credits included episodes of The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffin Show, and Dinah and Friends, as well as a Bob Hope TV special. Evelyn “Champagne” King was discovered as a young woman while working with her mother at Philadelphia International Records as an office cleaner. King released her debut album, Smooth Talk, in 1977. It included the song Shame, which was a top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #9. The song also reached #7 on the R&B chart and #8 on the dance chart. The record was ultimately certified gold. British sensation Maxine Nightingale is best known for her hits in the 1970s, with the 1976 million seller Right Back Where We Started From and Love Hit Me (1977). Nightingales third album Love Lines was a 1978 release in the UK and in Europe, with UK single releases Lead Me On and (Bringing Out) The Girl in Me. Pamala Stanley scored many dance chart and dance radio hits from the late 1970s to the late 1980s, including Coming Out of Hiding and If Looks Could Kill. She remains a highly respected and appreciated figure in the club/dance markets. Anita Ward is best known for her 1979 million selling chart-topper, Ring My Bell,” which outgunned future disco classics such as Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” and “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge. The song maintained a solid chart position for several months and remains a favorite dance track to this day. Ward released a follow up album that same year entitled Sweet Surrender, featuring the hit Dont Drop My Love, which peaked at #87 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Known for her distinctive and powerful dramatic soprano voice, two-time Grammy nominee Martha Wash has been dubbed The Queen of Clubland due to her ongoing success in the genre, a success that would make her mentor, the late disco pioneer Sylvester, proud. As a member of The Weather Girls (previously known as Two Tons of Fun), Wash achieved success with a handful of disco-oriented tracks, culminating in the 1982 release Its Raining Men, which became a worldwide hit. Wash also performed lead vocals on C+C Music Factorys “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now), which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991. The ladies formerly of Chic are Alfa Anderson, Luci Martin, and Norma Jean. The group is best known for its commercially successful disco songs, including “Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)” (1977), Everybody Dance (1977), Le Freak (1978), I Want Your Love” (1978), Good Times (1979), and My Forbidden Lover (1979). The group regarded themselves as a rock band for the disco movement, and in October, Chic was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the eighth time. Over the years Evening Under the Stars has featured the talents of a wide variety of entertainers including Nell Carter, Tyne Daly, Melissa Manchester, Jane Oliver, Lorna Luft, Suzanne Somers, Bea Arthur, Barry Manilow, Nancy Wilson, Lily Tomlin and the entire remaining cast of Laugh In, Mary Wilson of The Supremes, Pink Martini, the music of ABBA by Arrival, The B-52s, The Go-Go’s, and Cyndi Lauper. Since its founding in 1991, AIDS Assistance Program of Palm Springs remains dedicated to providing nutritional support to improve the quality of the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS. Initiated by a small group of concerned citizens led by the late Gloria Greene and Jeannette Rockefeller, AAP provides food to members of the community with low incomes. For more information, please call 760/325-8481 or visit aidsassistance.org.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 16:58:11 +0000
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