Plus, ICONIC Dance Crew to Perform Michael Jackson Tribute
Dance, dance, dance the night away with Disco Ball featuring the Trammps, Tavares, Sugarhill Gang, France Joli, Martha Wash (of the Weather Girls), Norma Jean Wright & Luci Martin (formerly of Chic), Bonnie Pointer, Lime and Angelo Venuto & Voices at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Thursday, February 25 at 7:30 p.m. The show will also showcase a dance tribute to Michael Jackson by ICONIC. Tickets go on sale Friday, January 15 at 1 p.m.
Disco legends the Trammps began in Philadelphia in 1972 featuring vocalist, Jimmy Ellis, Harold Doc Wade, Stanley Wade and Earl Young and traveled with as many as 11 members, culled from the ranks of the busiest and best musicians, many of whom also played for Gamble and Huff’s Philly International and later for Vince Montana’s Salsoul Orchestra. The Trammps’ first recording was “Zing Went the Strings of My Heart,” a remake of a tune originally recorded by Judy Garland in 1943, that reached #17 on the R&B chart and #64 on the pop charts. In mid-1975, the Trammps became one of the hottest disco recording acts. “Hooked for Life” and “Where the Happy People Go” became their biggest pop hits to date. Other Trammps hits included, “Disco Party,” “Body Contact,” “I Fell Like I’ve Been Livin’ (On The Dark Side Of The Moon),” “The Night The Lights Went Out” and “Soul Bones,” which features a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder. The pinnacle of the Trammps career, however was “Disco Inferno.” In 1977, “Disco Inferno,” was the hottest song on the international dance scene and the group was recognized as the best performing group by one of New York’s most popular clubs, 2001 Space Odyssey, the location for the motion picture, Saturday Night Fever. The soundtrack for the movie, which included “Disco Inferno,” was the industry’s biggest selling album to date and won the Trammps a Grammy Award in 1979.
Tavares from New Bedford, Massachusetts was one of the most memorable soul groups of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Many of their instantly recognizable hits, such as “Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel” and “More Than A Woman” have become classics. The brothers – Ralph, Tiny, Chubby, Butch and Pooch Tavares – originally called themselves Chubby and the Turnpikes. Working the clubs in their native New England beginning in the late ‘60s honing their harmonies for their debut, Check It Out (1974). The title track slow jam single went to #5 on the Billboard R&B charts in summer 1973. The next single, “That’s the Sound That Lonely Makes,” hit #10 R&B in early 1974. Hard Core Poetry hit in summer ’74 listing the number one hit “She’s Gone,” and “Remember What I Told You to Forget.” In the City (1975) yielded the driving #1 hit “It Only Takes a Minute.” In 1976, the band hit #3 with the R&B hit “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel” and by 1977, “Whodunit” and “More Than a Woman” (written for the Tavares by the Bee Gees) took the world by storm and was issued as a single from the 11 million-selling Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. A greatest hits set, The Best of Tavares, was released in fall 1977. On 1979’s Madame Butterfly LP, the group had a hit with the ballad “Never Had a Love Like This Before.”
The pioneering ensemble, the Sugarhill Gang inaugurated the recorded history of hip hop with their single “Rapper’s Delight,” a multi-platinum seller in 1980. Producer and indie label owner Sylvia Robinson had become aware of the hip hop block parties occurring around New York City during the late 1970s, so she gathered three locals from her town: Guy O’Brien, who was the original Master Gee; another local rapper, Michael Wright, who called himself Wonder Mike, and Big Bank Hank. The vocalists were then teamed up with a house band Robinson had been working with for recording sessions called Positive Force with bassist Chip Shearin for this first historic single. The Sugarhill Gang was the first rap group to perform on American Bandstand. “Rapper’s Delight” was a #36 hit on the U.S. pop chart and a #4 hit on the U.S. R&B chart in 1979. The Sugarhill Gang never again topped the charts, though they had a few minor hits, such as “Apache”, “Eighth Wonder” (which was performed on the American music show Soul Train in 1981), “Rapper’s Reprise (Jam Jam),”, and “Showdown” (with the Furious Five). In 1999, they reunited and recorded Jump on It, a hip hop children’s album. Bob Sinclair collaborated with Wonder Mike and Master Gee on his 2009 release “Lala Song.”
At the age of 16, France Joli performed her hit single “Come to Me” to a screaming crowd of 5,000 in New York. She left the stage a star. “Come to Me” reached #1 on Billboard’s dance chart and #13 on its pop chart, and is now regarded as a solid gold disco classic. In 1980, Joli released two Top 5 disco/dance hits, “The Heart to Break the Heart” and “Feel Like Dancing,” from her sophomore album, Tonight. In 1981, she scored her second biggest hit with “Gonna Get Over You.” It was the lead single from her third album, titled, Now. France’s awards include the Juno (Canada’s Grammy) for Best New Artist in 1980 and Billboard’s Disco Award as Best New Artist.
Martha Walsh began her music career as a backing singer for Sylvester. With fellow backing singer Izora Rhodes, she was half of Two Tons O’ Fun, who would later be renamed The Weather Girls. When the singers left to pursue a career on their own, they achieved success with a handful of successful disco-oriented tracks, culminating with the 1982 release of “It’s Raining Men,” a worldwide hit that peaked at #2 on the UK singles chart, #1 in Australia, #1 on the Euro Hot 100, #46 on the Billboard Hot 100, #34 on the U.S. R&B chart, and #1 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. It also reached the top ten in numerous other countries. The song stands as one of the classic songs of the late-disco era. The Weather Girls scored a few moderate, lesser-known hits with “Dear Santa (Bring Me a Man for Christmas)” and “No One Can Love You More Than Me” in 1985. When the Weather Girls disbanded, Wash continued to lend her vocals to various dance and house music tracks including all three of Black Box’s U.S. top-40 hits, including the top-ten smashes “Everybody Everybody” and “Strike It Up,” as well as “I Don’t Know Anybody Else.” In addition, Wash sang lead vocals on the lesser-known Black Box tracks, “Fantasy” (#5, UK), “Open Your Eyes,” and “Hold On.” She performed the lead vocals on Seduction’s “You’re My One and Only (True Love),” and The C+C Music Factory’s “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now),” which hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991. Her debut, self-titled solo album in 1993 scored three top ten club/dance hits including “Carry On,” “Give It to You,” and “Runaround.” The first two hit #1. Wash continues to record new music.
Norma Jean Wright and Luci Martin first came to international attention as the lead vocalists of the powerhouse multi-platinum-recording group Chic. Collectively, they have earned gold and platinum albums for smash hits “Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah),” “Everybody Dance,” “Good Times,” “Le Freak” and others. Highly acclaimed for their vocal style, they quickly became sought after session singers and loaned their voices to productions for luminaries such as Madonna, Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones and others. When Ohio-native Wright moved to New York City in pursuit of a music career, within months she was introduced to Chic founding fathers, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. Impressed with her vocal prowess, Wright became the lead vocalist of the band, which consisted of Rodgers, Edwards and Tony Thompson. To complete the lineup, Luci Martin, a young vocalist of Latin descent, was enlisted and became the fifth member of the group. Today, Wright and Martin perform throughout the world. They have recorded and released songs in Japan, Europe, and the US. The music and their voices have been sampled by a Who’s Who List of Artists.
Bonnie Pointer, along with her sisters, began her singing career in her father’s church, in West Oakland, California. That dream took a step toward becoming a reality when she enlisted her baby sister June and formed Pointers-A Pair. The duo began singing at local clubs in the Bay Area, and added Anita Pointer to the mix as The Pointer Sisters were born. The group began singing back up on sessions by Elvin Bishop, Taj Mahal, Grace Slick and others. Ruth later joined to form a quartet. Pointer recorded five albums with her sisters, two of which were certified gold. She helped create classics such as “Fairytale” and “How Long.” In 1976, Bonnie decided to leave the Pointer Sisters and embark on a solo career. That year, she lent her vocals to Bill Wyman’s Stone Alone album; two years later, in 1978, she released her solo debut. Pointer’s biggest hit was 1978’s “Heaven Must Have Sent You.” The song was included on the 1998 soundtrack to the hit film 54, starring Ryan Phillipe and Neve Campbell. The movie Heavenly Bodies (1984) included two songs by Bonnie; “Heaven” and “The Beast In Me”. Other singles that have become fan favorites are “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” “More and More” and “Free Me From My Freedom/Tie Me to a Tree(Handcuff Me).” In 1994, Bonnie joined her sisters to unveil the group’s star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. In 1996, she reunited with The Pointer Sisters for an encore of “Jump (For My Love)” at the group’s New Years Eve concert in Las Vegas. Pointer recently recorded “I Believe” with Barry Goldberg for the 2008 CD “United States of Consciousness”. The song is available on Amazon.com and iTunes.com. Today, Bonnie Pointer continues to perform across the country.
Lime, from Montréal, Canada, was composed of husband and wife Denis and Denyse LePage, although two younger and more attractive singers, Joy Dorris and Chris Marsh, were chosen to tour and appear as the act. They are most noted for their songs “Angel Eyes” (1983) and “Your Love” (1981 #1 US Dance). Very early in their career, they released an instrumental 12″ single vinyl record called “The Break” under the name Katmandu. Singer Denyse also wrote and sang on the record “Dancin’ the Night Away” by Vogue.
Angelo Venuto was born in Sicily, Italy. By age 9, Angelo taught himself the guitar and then the bass, keyboard, and drums. By the age of 12, he had formed a band with his brothers. As a young adult, Venuto had the honor of sharing the stage at Carnegie Hall, in New York City, with legendary performers such as Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin and Tony Bennett. He has also had the privilege of performing with disco diva Gloria Gaynor, and has performed for many other well-known celebrities. Venuto, together with his band, recorded the album Soccer, which hit the top ten on Billboard charts. He and his brothers have also performed for many notable politicians, such as for former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former Senator Alphonse D’Amato, and former Senator Robert DeCarlo. In July of 1983, they were invited to perform for President Reagan following one of his speeches, in Miami, Florida for the International Longshoremen Association. They have performed at many charity events. Venuto’s hit songs include “L’Italiano,” “Ti Amo,” “Vivo Per Lei” and “Sweet Caroline.” His current band is Voices.
Rounding out this boogie night will be a Michael Jackson Dance Tribute by the ICONIC Dance Group, as featured on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew.
Tickets cost $$95, $75, $55 & $45*; all seats are reserved and available at the Hard Rock Live Box Office, open Monday – Saturday from noon to 7pm and on Sunday – only open on event days at noon. Tickets also are available at all Ticketmaster outlets online at or charge by phone: 1-800-745-3000. Doors open one-hour prior to show start time. *Additional fees may apply.
About Hard Rock Live
Hard Rock Live, a spectacular state-of-the-art facility has quickly emerged as the entertainment capital of South Florida. Attracting music, comedy and sports fans, this 5,500-seat indoor arena further expands the ultimate entertainment experience at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. For more information please visit www.hardrocklivehollywoodfl.com.
About Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino provides quality guest experiences where South Floridians can play, stay, dine, and shop. Eighty-nine tables offer Blackjack, Baccarat, Mini-Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Three Card Poker, Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker and Let it Ride on a nearly three-acre casino floor. Play one of the more than 2,500 Vegas-style slots including the Native-American casino linked Multi-Area Progressive Jackpots and Mega Jackpots. Separate high-limit rooms for table games and slots, in addition to a non-smoking room are available for guests to enjoy. Loyal Player’s Club members experience an exclusive VIP Plum Lounge and celebrity show kitchen. Convene in The Poker Room at Seminole Paradise for Texas Hold ‘em, limit Texas Hold ’em, Seven Card Stud and two dollar and four dollar limit Omaha Hi Lo games. Located inside the casino is Hard Rock Café-Hollywood, part of Hard Rock’s 127 globally recognized rock ‘n roll themed restaurants. The Green Lodging Certified by the State of Florida, AAA, Four Diamond rated resort showcases 500 luxurious guest rooms, 18 restaurants and lounges, 40,000-square-feet of meeting room space, a European-style spa, auto salon, 25 retail shops, 12 nightclubs, Paradise Live, and Hard Rock Live. Located on State Road 7 (U.S. 441) in Hollywood, Florida. Take I-95, exit Stirling Rd. and travel west to 1 Seminole Way. For more information, call (954) 327-ROCK, 1 800-937-0010 or visit us online at www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com.