Cast
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George Clinton
George Clinton was born in Kannapolis, N.C., grew up in Plainfield, N.J., and currently resides in Tallahassee, Fla. While living in Plainfield, he ran a barbershop and formed a doo-wop group called the Parliaments. Despite initial failures, the Parliaments eventually found success under the names Parliament and Funkadelic in the 1970s. These two bands combined the elements of artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, Cream and James Brown while exploring different sounds, technology and lyricism.Alongside James Brown, Clinton is considered to be one of the most sampled musicians of all time. Rapper Dr. Dre sampled most of his beats to create his G-Funk music era. Clinton is widely recognized as a funk legend and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Clinton recently released George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love (Shanachie Records) featuring special guests the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Carlos Santana, Sly Stone, The RZA (Wu Tang), Shavo Odadjian (System of a Down), Kim Burrell, El DeBarge and P-Funk, among others. This year, Clinton also proudly celebrates the 40th anniversary of his early pioneering group -- the Funkadelics.
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Tara Conner
Tara Conner was born in Dallas and served as Miss USA 2006. She has held the titles Miss Kentucky Teen USA 2002, Miss Kentucky County Fair 2004, Miss Kentucky USA 2006 and Miss USA 2006. In 2006, she competed in the Miss Universe pageant.In late 2006, Conner became the center of a public scandal when news reports claimed she had been drinking underage and tested positive for the use of cocaine among other things. She was allowed to retain her title and entered a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program in Pennsylvania.
Conner returned to the Miss Universe Organization to work as a mentor to the present title holders later in 2007 and she was featured on the MTV reality series, Pageant Place. Apart from her role as Miss USA, Conner has been employed as a model.
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Taylor Dayne
Taylor Dayne was born in Baldwin, N.Y., and began singing professionally after graduating from high school, singing in rock bands such as Felony and Next. Signed to Arista Records, her first song to hit the Top 10 was the dance-pop hit "Tell It to My Heart" in 1988. The song was an instant smash worldwide, peaking in the Top 5 of most major markets worldwide and achieving a peak of No. 1 in many countries.Dayne came to fame in the late 1980s and continued to appear at the top of the charts through the 1990s. Her first seven singles hit the U.S. Top 10 and she has topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart three times. Overall, she has 17 individual Top 10s on Billboard sharts, including the recent Billboard Dance No. 1, "Beautiful," in May 2008. In the United States, Dayne achieved three gold singles with "Tell It to My Heart", "I'll Always Love You" and "Love Will Lead You Back."
As an actress, Dayne performed on Broadway in Elton John's Aida in 2001. She has had roles in independent films such as Fool's Paradise (1997), Stag (also in 1997) and Jesus the Driver (2004), as well as the Warren Beatty-produced 1994 remake of Love Affair.
Dayne released her fifth album -- her first recording studio album in more than eight years -- in February 2008 to positive reviews. She is currently in the studio putting together a remastered greatest hits album which will include two new tracks. Dayne currently resides in Los Angeles with her twins, Levi and Astaria.
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Micky Dolenz
In autumn 1965, Micky Dolenz was one of 400 applicants who responded to a trade ad announcing auditions for a new TV show about a rock band. Dolenz auditioned for The Monkees TV show playing Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" and was chosen along with three other actors -- Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork.The Monkees' debut single, "Last Train to Clarksville," featuring Dolenz on lead vocals, hit the charts Sept. 10, 1966, and rocketed to No. 1. Two days later, the television show debuted on NBC to great success. The TV ratings remained high for two seasons, and Dolenz and the band starred in their own feature film, Head, a 1968 psychedelic romp co-written by a young Jack Nicholson. The movie is now considered a cult classic.
Ultimately, the Monkees achieved their greatest success as recording artists. Their first four albums -- The Monkees (1966); More of the Monkees (1967); Headquarters (1967); and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. (1967) -- reached No. 1 on the charts and launched three No. 1 singles: "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm a Believer" (with lead vocals by Dolenz) and "Daydream Believer." The group's first five albums also went gold.
Since that time, Dolenz has divided his time between acting (The Drew Carey Show, Days of our Lives and General Hospital); directing (Boy Meets World for ABC/Disney and Pacific Blue for USA Networks); and touring with his sister, singer Coco Dolenz. Currently, he lives with his wife, Donna, in California.
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Sheila E.
Sheila E. (Escovedo) is the daughter of percussionist Pete Escovedo, with whom she frequently performs. She made her recording debut, Yesterday's Dream (1976), with jazz bassist Alphonso Johnson. Sheila is a drummer and percussionist and also plays violin and guitar. She had played with George Duke, Lionel Richie, Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock and Diana Ross by the time she was in her early 20s.Prince met Sheila performing at a concert with her father in the early 1980s and was thoroughly impressed by her talent. The two would eventually join forces during the Purple Rain recording sessions. In 1984-1985, she opened for Prince on his wildly successful Purple Rain tour. She is well-known for her vocals with Prince on his most famous B-side single, "Erotic City," from 1984. Sheila served as Prince's drummer and musical director in his highly regarded backup band, dubbed the New Power Generation. She also served as a writer and musician on many of Prince's records, as well as on the albums of his protégés such as Madhouse. The Black Album, on which she played drums and sang, was originally created as a birthday musical session for her. Sheila left the Prince organization in 1989 when she had a collapsed lung.
Though taken under Prince's wing, Sheila proved to be a successful artist in her own right. In 1984, she scored hits with "The Glamorous Life" and "The Belle of St. Mark." She garnered nominations from both the American Music Awards and the Grammys for "The Glamorous Life." Sheila recorded three albums during the 1980s including The Glamorous Life, Romance 1600 and Sheila E.
In 2002, Sheila appeared on the Beyoncé song, "Work It Out." She has collaborated many times with other artists, a notable one being Gloria Estefan for whom she played the timbales. Sheila first collaborated with Estefan on Estefan's first Spanish studio album, Mi Tierra in 1993, and in 2007 with Estefan's smash hit, "No Llores," in which Estefan also collaborates with Carlos Santana and Jose Feliciano. She also is one fourth of the band C.O.E.D (Chronicles of Every Diva), who as of 2008 are touring overseas.
In 2007, Sheila was a judge alongside Ian "Dicko" Dickson and John Rzeznik on the Fox network's The Next Great American Band.
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Richard Grieco
Born in Watertown, N.Y., Richard Grieco first entered the entertainment world through modeling. In the 1980s, he was signed by Elite Modeling Agency, and he relocated to Manhattan and began to model for designers such as Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein and Chanel. After six successful months, he stopped modeling and spent two years studying acting under such notables as Wally Strauss, Alice Spieack and the Warren Robertson Theatre Workshop.His first audition was an instant success, leading to a year-long stint on One Life to Live as Rick Gardener, a character he jokingly refers to as "a rebel ski bum." Dedicated to improve his craft, he continued to study acting in the evenings. In 1987, Grieco moved to Los Angeles and in rapid succession, he appeared in a singing role on Rags to Riches. After Rags to Riches, Grieco got a comedic role as Tony Danza's long lost Italian cousin on Who's the Boss?, a role on Facts of Life and a dramatic role on The Bronx Zoo. In 1988, when 21 Jumpstreet tempted him to join the cast on a semi-regular basis, Grieco jumped at the chance. His role on the show was a great success, and Grieco was offered to play in more episodes of the series than was originally planned.
Since that time, Grieco has appeared in over 40 movies including A Night at the Roxbury and Forget About It with Burt Reynolds. In 1994, a long held dream of Grieco became reality when he signed a record deal with Edel Record Company and released his first single CD in Germany called Voice With No Name, which was soon followed by the album, Waiting for the Sky to Fall.
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Justin Guarini
Justin Guarini, a premier vocalist and entertainer, is widely recognized for his work on the debut season of American Idol, finishing first runner-up to Kelly Clarkson. Continuing his successful relationship with Idol, Guarini appears as a special correspondent on TV Guide network's nationally televised program Idol Tonight and serves as co-host of Idol Wrap.Guarini's formal music education began at the age of 4 with the Atlanta Boys Choir and continued with the Philadelphia Arch-Diocese Choir. After concentrating on his classical and spiritual music background, he went on to study vocal performance, dance, theatrical arts and film and television acting at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
Since American Idol, Guarini has added to his credits: the national Idol tour performing to sold-out audiences of over 20,000 each night; two albums -- Justin Guarini produced by RCA Records and Clive Davis and Stranger Things Have Happened; a major motion picture, From Justin to Kelly; and numerous appearances on popular television programs. Guarini is currently in the studio recording his third album.
