RUSSELL THOMPKINS JR AND THE NEW STYLISTICS

Overview

Jazz N Soul Music presents Russell Thompkins Jr. & The New Stylistics with special guests The Legendary Blue Notes featuring Sugar Bear, Sunday January 19th MLK Weekend at the exquisite Knight Theater in Uptown Charlotte! 

Get ready for an evening of timeless Classics from The Stylistics and The Blue Notes!  

Russell Thompkins, Jr. & The New Stylistics 

For over 30 years, Russell Thompkins, Jr. was the original lead singer of the Stylistics. His impeccable falsetto voice led the group to international fame and recognition, recording such hits as “You’re A Big Girl Now”, “Stop, Look, Listen”, “You Are Everything”, “Rockin’ Roll Baby”, “Betcha By Golly Wow”, “Break Up To Make Up”, “Stone In Love With You”, “People Make The World Go Round”, “Children Of The Night”, “You Make Me Feel Brand New”, “You’ll Never Get To Heaven”, “Let’s Put It All Together”, “I Can’t Give You Anything”, “ First Impressions”, “Love At First Sight”, “Hurry Up This Way Again”, “Love Talk”, and many, many more. Russell had the opportunity to work with such greats as Thom Bell, Linda Creed, Burt Bachrach, Carol Bayer Sager, Van McCoy, Teddy Randazzo, Kenny Gamble, and Leon Huff. 

Russell’s distinctive falsetto was the driving force and backbone of the original Stylistics and it earned them (7) gold albums, (5) gold singles, (2) double gold singles, (8) platinum albums, (1) double platinum album, and (4) platinum singles, along with a Grammy nomination in 1974 for “You Make Me Feel Brand New”, and a plaque on the Walk of Fame in 1994, in Center City Philadelphia, including various awards and trophies from around the world. In May 2004 they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.  

Raymond Johnson, who made his debut with the Stylistics as a guitar player, went on to become a singer and performed with them for 15 years. Raymond is a talented vocalist, musician, composer, arranger, and audio/video producer.  

Jonathan Buckson, also a native Philadelphian, comes from a family of singers who instilled in him the desire and enthusiasm to hone his craft as a singer and stressed the importance of singing quality leads as well as backgrounds.  

James Ranton, who was born and raised in Philadelphia, was first introduced to music, as a small boy, by Clara Ward and her gospel singers, who lived in the same neighborhood as his family. James’ adept talent for singing and dancing has earned him a position as one of The New Stylistics.  

Russell Thompkins, Jr. & the New Stylistics exemplify ‘stylistic’ in the true sense of the word. They are true masters of style. They exude and radiate professionalism and dedication. They have talent extraordinaire. Their goal is to continue the tradition that Russell Thompkins, Jr. spent 30+ years of his life creating, to be true to the music, and to consistently provide audiences, around the world, with outstanding performances. 

The Blue Notes 

The Blue Notes are one of the dynamic groups that came out of the Gamble and Huff Sound of Philadelphia Family. They were previously known as Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, featuring Teddy Pendergrass. The group consisted of Harold Melvin, Teddy Pendergrass, Bernie Wilson, Larry Brown, and Lloyd Parks, sharing creative sounds as The Blue Notes. The Blue Notes were formed over forty years ago in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They went on to become superstars by attaining national as well as international recognition.  

Among their credits, they have recordings of singles and albums that have reached Gold and Platinum status; “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” was nominated for a Grammy Award. “The Love I Lost”, “Bad Luck”, “Wake Up Everybody”. The list of hits becomes endless. They have performed at Carnegie Hall, The Forum, Hollywood Bowl, Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, and Palladium in London. Their vocal talents and choreographic genius have always marked them “specialists” in the trade. 

Through the inspiration of The Late Larry Brown, the group has added four extremely talented gentlemen by the names of Arthur Aiken, Frank Lee, Sonny King and Roger Banks. The Blue Notes’ years of experience allow you to bear witness to a spellbinding soul-stirring performance. Because of their professionalism they have maintained all the necessary ingredients that make them special. That’s what makes them….