from the Independent Weekly (Durham)
Mark Anthony Neal, a professor at Duke University, has written extensively on African-American music and culture, including What the Music Said: Black Popular Music and Black Public Culture and New Black Man: Rethinking Black Masculinity. Here, he will examine the character of James "Thunder" Early from the musical and film Dreamgirls. Thunder was the successful singer who took on the Dreamgirls as his backup vocalists, but he was soon overtaken by their celebrity. He appeared to be based on big figures in soul music of the time, like James Brown, but there are nuances that point to him as both a tragic figure and hero of immense proportions in any realm. Neal will explore Early's life and legacy in this talk, "The Life and Times of James 'Thunder' Early: A Meditation of Soul and the Chitlin Circuit." The free event, which is part of Duke Performances' Soul Power series, starts at 7 p.m. —Chris Toenes
Tuesday, 2/5/08, 7 pm
Auditorium at the Center for Documentary Studies
Duke University
1317 W Pettigrew St
East Campus, Durham, 660-3663
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