Doris Schwartz Time & Again Season 2 Episode 6

Season 2 of the story "Doris Schwartz Time and Again" continues with episode 6, titled "Lost On A Winding Road". The title comes from the song "Life Is A Celebration".

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Remember My Name BBC Reunion Part 8

Remember My Name BBC Reunion from 2003, featuring Debbie Allen, Lee Curreri, Erica Gimpel, Carlo Imperato, Valerie Landsburg and Gene Anthony Ray. It comes in 8 parts and this is Part 8.

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The Original Artists The Ones That Got Away!

Well, I spent the Month Searching high and low for the original artists performances of the Fame songs. In addition to the ones already mentioned there are a few others that sadly I couldn't find.

 

 

"Manhattan" from the season 2 episode "Winners" where it was performed by Erica and Valerie was written and performed by Henry Gaffney.

I've been unable to find an MP3 for this song but have managed to find a link where the song can be played.

Find more artists like Henry Gaffney at Myspace Music

"Step Up To The Mike" was released as a single by it's writer Alan Gordon under the name The One and Only Extragordonary Band. This one I've not even managed to find anywhere to listen to it.


If anyone has these or any information about these original versions, then please let me know. Also if you have the original version of any Fame song that I haven't posted then please contact me.

Remember My Name BBC Reunion Part 7

Remember My Name BBC Reunion from 2003, featuring Debbie Allen, Lee Curreri, Erica Gimpel, Carlo Imperato, Valerie Landsburg and Gene Anthony Ray. It comes in 8 parts and this is Part 7.

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The Loser Gets To Win Kiki Dee

"The Loser Get To Win" comes from the season 4 episode "The Ol' Ball Game" where it is performed by Carlo Imperato and Cynthia Gibb.

Written by Harry Bogdanovs, Kiki Dee and Gary Osborne, the original is performed by Kiki Dee from her 1983 album "Stay With Me".

To download the MP3 click the link below:
http://www.mediafire.com/?jocfifwj1d1

Money For Nothing Dire Straits

"Money For Nothing" comes from the season 5 episode "WSOA" where it was performed by Billy Hufsey.

Written by Mark Knopfler and Sting, it is originally performed by Dire Straits from the 1985 "Brothers In Arms" album.

To download the MP3 click the link below:
http://www.mediafire.com/?piqnre3e8aj7je7

Remember My Name BBC Reunion Part 6

Remember My Name BBC Reunion from 2003, featuring Debbie Allen, Lee Curreri, Erica Gimpel, Carlo Imperato, Valerie Landsburg and Gene Anthony Ray. It comes in 8 parts and this is Part 6.

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Shaun Earl Snack n Chat 1

Fame Dancer and star of "Rent", Shaun Earl, "Snack N' Chat" with him while he gives indispensable advice on love, life, and relationships. Sit down, relax, and get ready to roar!! - In this episode, Shaun deals with relatives who over-extend their welcome.

Remember My Name BBC Reunion Part 5

Remember My Name BBC Reunion from 2003, featuring Debbie Allen, Lee Curreri, Erica Gimpel, Carlo Imperato, Valerie Landsburg and Gene Anthony Ray. It comes in 8 parts and this is Part 5.

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Slave To Love Bryan Ferry

"Slave To Love" comes from the season 5 episode "The Incident" where it was performed by Nia Peeples and Jesse Borrego.

Written and performed by Bryan Ferry from his 1985 "Boys and Girls" album.

To download the original MP3 click the link below:
http://www.mediafire.com/?a2ac533p6aavn49

Remember My Name BBC Reunion Part 4

Remember My Name BBC Reunion from 2003, featuring Debbie Allen, Lee Curreri, Erica Gimpel, Carlo Imperato, Valerie Landsburg and Gene Anthony Ray. It comes in 8 parts and this is Part 4.

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Remember My Name BBC Reunion Part 3

Remember My Name BBC Reunion from 2003, featuring Debbie Allen, Lee Curreri, Erica Gimpel, Carlo Imperato, Valerie Landsburg and Gene Anthony Ray. It comes in 8 parts and this is Part 3.

Download Video 

Remember My Name BBC Reunion Part 2

Remember My Name BBC Reunion from 2003, featuring Debbie Allen, Lee Curreri, Erica Gimpel, Carlo Imperato, Valerie Landsburg and Gene Anthony Ray. It comes in 8 parts and this is Part 2.

Download Video

Remember My Name BBC Reunion Part 1

Remember My Name BBC Reunion from 2003, featuring Debbie Allen, Lee Curreri, Erica Gimpel, Carlo Imperato, Valerie Landsburg and Gene Anthony Ray. It comes in 8 parts and this is Part 1.

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Janet Jackson The Tube Interview 1987

Janet Jackson interview from 1987 from U.K. music show The Tube.

Debbie Allen - Lena Horne Achievement Award 1995

Debbie Allen accepts the Lena Horne Achievement Award in 1995.

Come What May - Patti Labelle

"Come What May" comes from the season 4 episode "Who am I Really?" where it was performed by Nia Peeples.

Written by Allee Willis and David Lasley it was originally recorded by Patti Labelle on her 1979 album "It's Alright With Me".

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Nia Peeples American Martial Arts Movement Interview

Nia Peeples interview from 2011 with the American Martial Arts Movement.

Click the link below to read the interview:

https://sites.google.com/site/niapeeplesfamestar/home/written-interviews/american-martial-arts-movement-interview-2011

Baby I'm a Star Prince

"Baby I'm a Star" comes from the season 5 episode "Broadway Danny Amatullo" where it was performed by Carlo Imperato, Jesse Borrego, Billy Hufsey, Nia Peeples, Cynthia Gibb & Loretta Chandler.

The original is written and performed by Prince on his 1984 "Purple Rain" album.

To download the original MP3 click the link below:
http://www.mediafire.com/?2ejnult2wg5

Valerie Landsburg On The Bob Braun Show

Valerie Landsburg on directing on the Bob Braun Show.

Happy Birthday Valerie Landsburg!

Happy 53rd Birthday to Valerie Landsburg!

Three Cool Cats The Coaster/The Beatles

"Three Cool Cats" comes from the season 5 episode "Contacts" where it was performed by Gene Anthony Ray, Jesse Borrego and Nia Peeples.

The original was recorded by The Coasters and The Later was a very early recording by The Bealtes. Written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

To download the Coasters MP3 click below:
http://www.mediafire.com/?at7j7dfh4bmbbr1

To download the Beatles MP3 click below:
http://www.mediafire.com/?74w74wbuc1g1mz8

Debbie Allen in Battle Of The Network Stars Relay Race 1982.

Debbie Allen running in the relay race from 1982's Battle of the Network stars.

Is There Anybody Out There Roger Daltrey

"Is There Anybody Out There" comes from the Season 5 episode "Holme Sweet Holmes" where it was performed by Nia Peeples.

Written by Nicky Chinn & Steve Glen, the original is by Roger Daltrey from his 1984 album "Parting should Be Painless".

To download the MP3 click the link below:
http://www.mediafire.com/?qynhkqu3tcnm5yx

Doris Schwartz Time & Again Season 2 Episode 5

Season 2 of Doris Schwartz Time and Again continues with Episode 5, titled, "No Easy Rides". The title comes from the song "Love's a Journey Not a Place".

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Erica Gimpel on Creating Peace

Interview With Erica Gimpel discussing how to create Peace.

Fame - Girls Aloud

Girls Aloud performed "Fame" live in concert during their "Chemistry" tour 2006.

Lori Singer Interview on Law and Order

Lori Singer Interview discussing her role in Law and Order SVU.

Happy Birthday Carlo Imperato!

Happy 48th Birthday to Carlo Imperato!

Loretta Chandler Fame and Beyond Interview

Loretta Chandler Fame and Beyond Interview.

Loretta talks about her audition for Fame.

To read the interview click the link below:
https://sites.google.com/site/fameepisodeguide3/loretta-chandler-fame-and-beyond-interview

Fame News!

Things are a little different this month on Kids From Fame Media as its original artist month. I’d always known that, certainly in the latter years, many of the songs that were performed on Fame were cover versions. A few obvious ones were Cynthia performing Madonna’s “Lucky Star” and Jesse performing Lionel Richie’s “Hello” in season 4 and I’d been planning to have a month posting some of these original songs.

Prompted by an email from Fame fan, Vincent I decided to take a closer look at the Fame Music, its writers and if any of it had been recorded by other artists. Searching the Internet for anything related to the songwriters I soon discovered some very interesting (well to me, anyway) information.

For the first 3 seasons MGM had a contract with “The Entertainment Company” to provide music for the show. The Entertainment Company was set up in 1975 by Charles Koppleman, Sam LeFrak and Martin Bandier and it quickly became one of the leading producers and publishers in the music industry working with top artists like Barbara Streisand, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross and Cher to name just a few.

The Entertainment Company had stable of songwriters and producers under an exclusive contract, whose songs would be matched to the individual artist’s requirement. So on “Fame” the Company’s writers like Barry Fasman, Sue Sheridan, Steve Sperry, were frequently involved in writing the songs.

I’d originally thought that many of those earlier songs were written specifically for the show, so it came as quite a shock when I discovered that wasn’t the case. It seemed that many of the songwriters that were employed by The Entertainment Company had a back catalogue of songs, many of which the writers had previously recorded themselves but had never achieved any real success, so when “Fame” required a song they would search the back catalogues to find something that could fit the theme of the episode.

In 1984 The Entertainment Company disbanded and MGM had to look elsewhere to source the music for the show. No longer having a stable of songwriters, instead they primarily used music that had already been recorded by other well known artists. The music coordinators seemed to be savvy with their choices and using album tracks and B-Sides so that for most of us, unless you had the original artist’s records, the music still appeared to be original. By using a wide range of diverse artists there was little chance of the average viewer knowing all of the songs. Certainly for myself as a viewer I didn’t realise that so many of the songs had previously been recorded by other people.

I have found it fascinating tracking down these original recordings and hearing different versions of the Fame songs I know and love so much. Frequently the lyrics of the songs of the songs were changed to fit the fame format. Most memorable one for me is the original “Mannequin” lyrics being “I’ve been in bed with colder women but they don’t turn me on.” Which was changed to “I’ve been in love with colder women...” Presumably the original was a little too racy for the show!

I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and excitement of discovering so much that is related to “Fame” that is new to me. So I really hope everyone else enjoys this month’s posts as much as I do.

We still have our usual mix of interviews, videos, fan fiction and articles but as I discovered more and more original versions of the Fame songs it soon became apparent that they were going to take over a little. The songs I’m posting are far from a complete guide as I’ve found it impossible to track down a number of songs and information about their writers so if anyone out there has any information about the songs not included or actually has a copy of the original recording then please contact me so I can post it in the future.

The episode of the month is "spontaneous Combustion" from season 4 and posts for that start on August 8th.

Then later in the month, in response to a number of requests is the BBC reunion "Remember My Name".

Have a great Month,
Mark!

Happy Birthday Jesse Borrego!

Happy 49th Birthday to Jesse Borrego!