Adopt a Tape Press Release
GRAMMY®-WINNING MULTI-MEDIA ARTIST ALLEE WILLIS TO HOST PACIFICA RADIO’S “ADOPT-A-TAPE” BLACK HISTORY ARCHIVES PRESERVATION FUNDRAISER AT HER ARCHITECTURALLY HISTORIC LOS ANGELES HOME “WILLIS WONDERLAND”
ON SUNDAY, FEB. 18, 2-6PM
THE BLACK HISTORY MONTH BENEFIT WILL SPOTLIGHT PACIFICA’S EXTRAORDINARY TAPES RELATED TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Currently GRAMMY-nominated for the soundtrack for the Broadway smash The Color Purple, Willis will debut music from her latest project, The Soul Of Bubbles & Cheesecake
Los Angeles, CA, January XX, 2007: On Sun., February 18 from 2-6PM, multi-media artist and GRAMMY-winning and Tony and Emmy nominated composer Allee Willis will host the “Sound Of Soul” Adopt-A-Tape party, a special benefit for the Pacifica Radio Archive’s Black History Recordings Preservation and Access Project. Timed to coincide with national Black History Month, the fundraiser is the first ever to spotlight programming from Pacifica’s vaults specifically chronicling African-American history and the civil rights movement. The event takes place at “Willis Wonderland,” Allee Willis’ architecturally historic, William Kesling-designed 1937 Streamline Moderne Los Angeles home, which houses her world-famous collections as well as the recording facility that none other than the late, great James Brown once called his favorite studio in L.A. Tickets are $50/person and $75/couple.
Since 1949, Pacifica Radio stations have recorded speeches, interviews and events documenting the struggle for democracy, peace and social justice in America that offer listeners first-hand accounts of the words and ideas of leaders, activists and thinkers who’ve profoundly shaped our political and cultural landscape. Today, Pacifica’s one-of-a-kind audio library encompasses nearly 50,000 tapes, many of which are deteriorating rapidly – some so brittle they disintegrate when touched – and urgently in need of rescue. “Sound Of Soul” Adopt-A-Tape donors will have the opportunity to save some of the most powerful moments in our nation’s oral history by sponsoring state-of-the-art, digitized “flat transfer” preservation of recordings featuring Dr. Martin Luther King, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, W.E.B. DuBois, Huey Newton, James Baldwin, Malcolm X., Langston Hughes, Lorraine Hansberry, Paul Robeson and many other legendary figures. Copies of preserved recordings will be stored in Pacifica’s archives, and for a higher sponsorship level, supporters may also request copies donated to additional institutions (i.e., their alma mater, etc.).
Event attendees will experience a fascinating visual counterpoint to Pacifica Radio Archive’s Black History Preservation and Access project through Allee Willis’ extraordinary assemblage of 20th century African American artifacts and pop culture memorabilia. The renowned collection served as constant inspiration to Willis and Steven Bray and Brenda Russell when they co-authored the Tony-nominated – and now GRAMMY-nominated – music and lyrics for the Broadway smash The Color Purple in Willis Wonderland’s studio (the documentary The Color Purple: The Color Of Success premieres on the TV One network the same day as Adopt-A-Tape). Currently, the multi-media facility is giving life to Willis’ latest project, The Soul Of Bubbles & Cheesecake, a collaboration with singing and composing partner Holly Palmer, formerly of the Gnarls Barkley live band. At the Pacifica event, Willis and Palmer – and their respective alter egos Bubbles and Cheesecake – will debut tracks from their forthcoming album including “It’s A Woman Thang.” The duo is also confirmed to present at the Feb. 8 Pollstar Awards in Los Angeles.
Over the course of her career, Allee Willis has sold upwards of 50 million records with her hit songs. Currently, two of Willis’ biggest and most soulful smashes can be heard in three of the most phenomenally successful films of 2006: Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” is featured in the critically acclaimed 2007 Academy Award Best Motion Picture nominee Babel and in the comedy sensation Night At The Museum, the #5 top-grossing film of ’06. Another Allee-penned EWF all-time classic, “Boogie Wonderland,” is featured in a major set-piece in the exuberant Happy Feet, a 2007 Oscar nominee for Best Animated Feature Film and the #8 box office hit for ’06. Willis’ unforgettable hit songs also include the Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance,” Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield’s “What Have I Done To Deserve This,” and The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There For You (Theme From Friends).
Allee Willis is also celebrated as the impresario of unforgettable themed events at Willis Wonderland, which was originally built as the official “party house” for a major film studio. The February 18 Pacifica Radio “Sound Of Soul” Adopt-A-Tape party carries on this great tradition.
For more information on Pacifica Radio Archives, log on to www.pacificaradioarchives.org
For more information on Pacifica Radio Network, log on to www.pacifica.org
For more information on Allee Willis,
visit www.alleewillis.com and www.bubblesandcheesecake.com