I loved this group back in the day! They had several songs that will always be my favorites. But I think they are one of those groups from the 80s that folks tend to forget about. Here are some of my favorite songs from Rene & Angela:

Your Smile

You Don’t Have to Cry

My First Love

I Love You More

Do you remember Rene & Angela? Do you have any favorite songs by them? Are there any other groups from the 80s that you love that folks don’t really mention a lot anymore?

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Spike Lee’s School Daze . It is also the year of my 20th high school reunion. Time certainly does fly! I remember going to see this movie during my senior year of high school. This movie and the television show A Different World had me in such a rush to get to college. I couldn’t wait to pledge a sorority, live the college life, meet me a strong activist brother like Dap Dunlap… all of it. I wanted to experience it all! I also remember in our last auditorium during senior year we all did “Da Butt” down the aisle and on to the stage. I wonder what ever happened to the go-go group EU? Hmmm…. Anyway, do you all remember these scenes from the film?

Just for a little extra… this is how we do the old to the new… Alicia Keys made her video for “Teenage Love Affair” a tribute to the 20th anniversary of the Spike Lee joint. If you watch the video you’ll see homage to the protests with Derek Luke standing in for Laurence Fishburne. And instead of protesting investment in South Africa they are protesting the lack of concern for the growing HIV/AIDS rates on the Continent. Alicia Keys and her girls take off where the Gamma Rays left off in their own talent show. We see the Gamma Pledges marching through. And if you look hard you’ll even see that Dean Big Brother Almighty makes a cameo in Key’s video. He has aged a bit so you might not recognize him. He is standing in a sort of administrative position watching the students protest. They even have a few of those now classic Spike Lee camera shots where it looks like the folks are not moving even as they move forward. (I don’t know the technical name for it. I just know to look for it in every Spike Lee movie. LOL) Anyway… You can see Alicia Key’s video here because they won’t let me take the code to post it on the blog:

Alicia Keys “Teenage Love Affair

So do you have any fond memories that coincide with School Daze . Is there another Spike Lee joint that resonates with you more profoundly? What’s your throwback classic flick of choice today?

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

Those Tempting Temptations…

AIN’T TOO PROUD TO BEG

JUST MY IMAGINATION

TREAT HER LIKE A LADY

Nothing in today’s music comes close to the magic that was Motown. And there really hasn’t been a group as dynamic–even with all the drama and change of members–as those tempting Temptations. The hubby and I listen to their greatest hits all the time. On long road trips through states with no decent radio stations, we put in their greatest hits and sing along. I can’t tell you how many times he has watched the movie about them because then I’d have to fess up to how many times I’ve watched it with him. To say that I continue to be intrigued by this group would be an understatement. It still baffles me that Otis, the one without stellar pipes or star quality, is the only original member still alive and the only one still making music as more members come and go. But the one thing that isn’t baffling is the amazing music. They have given us some gems over the years. Here are three of my favorite songs by the group. My all-time favorite is “Treat Her Like A Lady.” What are some of your favorite songs by the Temptations.

I’ll be over on the Kimani boards on eHarlequin for the entire week answering any questions folks might have about the new Hightower Honors series and the first release from that series, Protect and Serve . Please stop by and ask a question or leave a comment so that I don’t get lonely… Here’s the discussion link:

Kimani Forum Gwyneth Bolton and those Sexy Hightowers

See you all there!

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

I had the chance to do a really cool interview with bestselling author Shelia Goss on her E-Spot blog. It’s 7 random thoughts and you’d be surprise what comes off the top of my head… LOL. You can check it out here:

7 Random Thoughts with Gwyneth Bolton

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

Protect and Serve is the featured book today on Readin N Writin with Patricia ! You can check out what Patricia has to say about the novel here:
Readin N Writin Feature

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

Today is a wonderful day! I’m featured on two really cool blogs and interviewed by two really great sister-writers. I’ll tell you it was really hard being on the other side of the interview. But I hung in there and I think I did okay… But I’ll let you be the judge of that. Go on over and check out both interviews and leave me a question or a comment over there. I plan to move back and forth between both blogs today.

My fellow Kimani author and soror, Ann Christopher, interviewed me on her blog. You can check it out here:
http://www.annchristopher.com/blog/2008/07/10/special-guest-gwyneth-bolton

My blog buddy, aspiring author and soror, Patricia Woodside, interviewed me on her blog also. You can check it out here:
http://readinnwritin.blogspot.com/2008/07/featured-author-gwyneth-bolton.html

I hope to see you over there. I’m turning off comments here so that we can chat at Ann’s and Patricia’s. I’m heading over now… See ya!

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

That Ole School Luther…

NEVER TOO MUCH

SUPERSTAR

A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME

Nothing much to say or add when it comes to Luther… We lost his amazing voice and talent way too soon. I love me some Luther. So, I figured I’d treat y’all to a little Luther concert today for Throwback Thursday. Here are three of my all-time favorite Luther songs. What are yours?

So, I’ve been thinking a lot about the format for my new blog. I still want this to be a blog that provides a space to talk about African American Romance. I loved doing author interviews. Reviews get a little tricky when you’re an author yourself. But I still loved telling everyone who would listen about books I love. Honestly, I’ve been feeling very blog-blah lately. Does that ever happen to you guys? I have a list of people I want to interview. I’ve been reading like a maniac and I have lots of books I can talk about. But I’m just feeling a lack of enthusiasm about blogging. With the new blog design, I’d like to revamp the content aspect of the blog. I liked doing Throwback Thursdays… I liked commenting on Pop-Culture. Maybe I just need to let this blah period ride itself out… And then there is the fact that I have to learn how to put the videos and the images in my Word Press posts… It took me awhile to get the hang of Blogger. Now I have to learn Word Press… Blah… Oh well, I say all this to say that things will get more interesting here on Gwyneth’s Blog soon. I promise… Maybe… Blah… What do you think I should keep from the old blogger blog? Interviews? Throwback Thursday? News about great books I’ve read? Random snarky comments about Puffy, I mean Diddy, I mean whatever he’s calling himself these day? Any suggestions for how to break the blah, blah, blogging blues?

much love and peace,

Gwyneth