Author Archives for Herb Weiss

RI Music Hall of Fame is Poised to Honor the Best

Published in Pawtucket Times, April 18, 2014

Arthur “Pooch” Tavares, with nearly 60 years in the music business, continues to reach out to his old fans and to new generations as well. The 70-year-old Tavares is still performing about 75 concerts a year all over the world with three of the brothers (Perry “Tiny,” Antone “Chubby” and Feliciano “Butch”) who made up the original quintet which became know worldwide as simply Tavares. (Fifth brother Ralph retired from the road in the 1980s.)

The brothers grew up in the Fox Point and South Side neighborhoods of Providence and Tavares says, “The good lord has seen fit to keep us all together.” The most notable moment he remembers from his long career is when The Bee Gees gave his group “,” one of the key songs in the score to Saturday Night Fever, for which they won a 1977 Grammy Award. But running a close second is being inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame.

“It’s quite an honor to be recognized for your music in the place where you were born,” states Tavares.

With just two weeks to go until the induction of this year’s class into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame (RIMHOF) on May 4, at The Met at the historic Hope Artiste Village, Vice Chair Rick Bellaire gives this columnist the details about those who are being recognized as Rhode Island’s best.

In announcing the RIMHOF Class of 2014, Bellaire says, “This initiative provides a great opportunity to acknowledge Rhode Island’s musical greats and celebrate their achievements and now we finally have an organization whose primary goal is to promote and preserve our state’s rich musical heritage. With actual exhibit space, coupled with our online archive, we have in place the tools to curate and showcase the best of Rhode Island’s musical artistry.”

Bellaire notes that it’s sometimes easy to forget, and even hard for some to believe, that such world-acclaimed artists actually have roots right here in Ocean State. “For the smallest state, Rhode island has produced an inordinately large number of truly great, successful and important artists and their devoted local fans helped to place them on the world stage. Tavares is a case in point.”

According to Bellaire, from their earliest days in the Fox Point neighborhood of Providence, it was clear the seven Tavares brothers were born to make music. They are recognized as pioneers in the evolution of R&B from the Soul era into the modern Funk and Disco movements of the ’70s and ’80s. They had over a dozen major hits and won a Grammy for “More Than A Woman,” their contribution to Saturday Night Fever. “But,” says Bellaire, “the best part of the Tavares story for me is not about how great they are or how successful they are. Everyone knows that. For me it’s about their journey. They worked really hard to get to the top. Their story will continue to inspire young musicians for decades to come.” Tavares will appear in concert on May 3 at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel.

Bellaire provides some background on the other new RIMHOF inductees:

The Castaleers are recognized as the state’s Rhythm & Blues trailblazers. They came together in the mid-1950s when members of various groups formed a permanent lineup consisting of Richard Jones (later replaced by Joe Hill), George Smith, Dell Padgett, Ron Henries and Benny Barros. In partnership with songwriters/producers Myron and Ray Muffs, they had four national releases and paved the way for the rest of Rhode Island’s R&B greats.

Paul Gonsalves of Pawtucket started out playing tenor sax in big bands including Count Basie’s. As a master of many styles, he became a pivotal figure in the evolution of post-war modern jazz. He joined Duke Ellington in 1950 and provided a crucial ingredient in the modernization of Duke’s sound. His place in the history books was guaranteed by his famous 27 chorus improvisation on “Diminuendo and Crescendo In Blue” at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival.

Randy Hien of Woonsocket entered the music business in 1971 when he took on the job of reopening the old Loew’s State Theatre as The Palace in downtown Providence to present Rock ’n’ Roll concerts. When the Palace closed 1975, Randy purchased the original Living Room on Westminster Street by trading the keys to his Jaguar XKE for the keys to the club and the liquor license. He kickstarted Rhode Island’s original music scene by instituting a policy which welcomed bands who performed their own music. The club became the center of the state’s music scene and Randy its biggest supporter

Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra founder and conductor emeritus Francis Madeira initially came to Providence to teach music at Brown University in 1943. Finding no professional symphonic orchestra, he created one bringing together a 30-member ensemble that would bring the music of the European masters to the Ocean State. Maestro Madeira will be inducted into RIMHOF on May 10 during a performance by the Philharmonic at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence.

Winston Cogswell of Warwick,was literally present at the birth of Rock ’n’ Roll after moving to Memphis, Tennessee in 1954. At Sun Records, as a guitarist, pianist, songwriter, arranger, producer and recording artist under the name “Wayne Powers,” he collaborated with some of the most important figures in music history including Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison. He returned to Warwick in 1960 and began working with pianist/composer Ray Peterson. The duo formed Wye Records with a third partner, engineer Ken Dutton, and their debut release as The Mark II, “Night Theme,” became a national hit. Wye remains the only Rhode Island label to score a Hot 100 hit.

By the end of the 1960s, Duke Robillard of Woonsocket had already earned a reputation as one of the finest blues guitarists in the state after stints with the short-lived original lineup of Roomful of Blues and Ken Lyon’s Tombstone Blues Band. In 1970, he reformed Roomful with a three-piece horn section to play jump blues and under his leadership, the band practically single-handedly revived the genre with two albums for Island Records. In the early 1980s, Duke began to pursue a solo career at Rounder Records. His jazzier side emerged with the release of “Swing” in 1987 to critical acclaim. “Duke recently told me he feels that, in music, blues is the universal language,” says Bellaire. “So I say, Duke Robillard is fluent in many languages!”

Freddie Scott of Providence moved to New York in 1956 and began his career as a songwriter for Don Kirshner working alongside to Carole King, Neil Sedaka and Paul Simon. His songs from this period were recorded by Ricky Nelson, Paul Anka, Tommy Hunt and Tommy Hunt. Freddie entered the charts as a singer himself in 1963 with “Hey Girl” written by his friends Carole King and Gerry Goffin. It hit Billboard’s Top 10 and is considered a classic today. In 1966, he scored a #1 R&B song with “Are You Lonely For Me.” His last album was “Brand New Man” in 2001.

In 1976, Cheryl Wheeler moved to Rhode Island to pursue a career in music on the Newport folk scene. She was quickly recognized as one of the finest songwriters and singers to surface in a decade or more. In 1986, her first album brought her national attention. Her song “Addicted” was taken all the way to #1 on Billboard’s Top 40 Country chart by superstar Dan Seals in 1988. Since then, she has released a series of albums of her comic and emotionally intense songs
which are considered singer-songwriter classics around the world. Says Bellaire, “Cheryl is a treasure. Her songs are perfect – every note and every word propels the story forward. She’s also a masterful performer. She can have you in tears one minute and rolling in the aisle the next. Every show is magical.”

RIMHOF Chair Bob Billington says, “This year’s honorees are amazing. Their histories in music are superior. Rhode Islanders should meet and greet them in person at our events. They will not be disappointed.”

Tickets for the Saturday, May 3 Tavares concert at Lupo’s and for the induction ceremonies and concert on Sunday, May 4 at The Met can be purchased at
http://www.rhodeislandmusichalloffame.com.

Herb Weiss, LRI ’12, is a Pawtucket writer who covers aging, health care and medical issues. He can be reached at hweissri@aol.com. He also serves on RIMHOF’s Board of Directors.

Report: Alzheimer’s Poses Greater Risk for Older Women than Men

Published in Pawtucket Times, May 11, 2014

According to the Alzheimer’s Association 2014 Alzheimer’s disease Facts and Figures report released last Month, a woman’s estimated lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer’s at age 65 is 1 in 6, compared with nearly 1 in 11 for a man. As real a concern as breast cancer is to women’s health, women age 60 and over are about twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s over the rest of their lives as they are to develop breast cancer, says the this years’ report.

The Facts and Figures report, an official report of the Alzheimer’s Association, the world’s leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research, is a comprehensive compilation of national statistics and information on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The 75 page report conveys the impact of Alzheimer’s on individuals, families, government and the nation’s health care system. Since its 2007 inaugural release, the detailed report has become the most cited source covering the broad spectrum of Alzheimer’s issues.

“Through our role in the development of The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Takes on Alzheimer’s in 2010, in conjunction with Maria Shriver, we know that women are the epicenter of Alzheimer’s disease, representing majority of both people with the disease and Alzheimer’s caregivers. The recently released Alzheimer’s Association Facts and Figures examines the impact of this unbalanced burden,” said Angela Geiger, chief strategy officer of the Alzheimer’s Association. “Well-deserved investments in breast cancer and other leading causes of death such as heart disease, stroke and HIV/AIDS have resulted in substantial decreases in death. Geiger calls for comparable investments in research to reach the same levels of successfully preventing and treating Alzheimer’s as the other leading causes of death.

Adding to women’s Alzheimer’s burden, there are 2.5 times as many women as men providing intensive “on- duty” care 24 hours for someone living with Alzheimer’s disease, says the report, also noting that among caregivers who feel isolated, women are much more likely than men to link isolation with feeling depressed (17 percent of women verse. 2 percent of men).

Also noted in the 2014 Alzheimer’s’ Facts and Figures report released on March 19, 2014, the strain of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s is also felt in the nation’s workplace, too. Among caregivers who have been employed while they were also care giving, 20 percent of women verse. 3 percent of men went from working full-time to working part-time while acting as a caregiver. The report also noted that 18 percent of women versus. 11 percent of men took a leave of absence while 11 percent of women verses 5 percent of men gave up work entirely. Finally, 10 percent of women verse 5 percent of men lost job benefits.

Far Reaching Fiscal Human Impact of Alzheimer’s

Meanwhile the Alzheimer’s Association Facts and Figures report noted that there are more than 5 million Americans living with this devastating disorder, including 3.2 million women and 200,000 people under the age of 65 with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease (see my May 9, 2013 Commentary). However, Alzheimer’s has far-reaching effects by impacting entire families. Also, it was reported that there are currently 15.5 million caregivers providing 17.7 billion hours of unpaid care throughout the nation, often severely impacting their own health. The physical and emotional impact of dementia care giving resulted in an estimated $9.3 billion in increased healthcare costs for Alzheimer’s caregivers in 2013.

The total national cost of caring for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is projected to reach $214 billion this year, says the 2014 Facts and Figures report, not including unpaid care giving by family and friends valued at more than $220 billion. In 2014, the cost to Medicare and Medicaid of caring for those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias will reach a combined $150 billion with Medicare spending nearly $1 in every $5 on people with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.

The Facts and Figures report predicts the cost numbers to soar as the baby boomers continue to enter the age of greatest risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Unless something is done to change the course of the devastating disorder, there could be as many as 16 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s in 2050, at a cost of $1.2 trillion (in current dollars) to the nation. This dramatic rise includes a 500 percent increase in combined Medicare and Medicaid spending and a 400 percent increase in out-of-pocket spending.

The country’s first-ever National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s disease has a goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. Ensuring strong implementation of the National Alzheimer’s Plan, including adequately funding Alzheimer’s research, is the best way to avoid these staggering human and financial tolls.

Lack of Understanding of the Alzheimer’s’ Disease

“Despite being the nation’s biggest health threat, Alzheimer’s disease is still largely misunderstood. Everyone with a brain — male or female, family history or not — is at risk for Alzheimer’s,” said Geiger. “Age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s, and America is aging. As a nation, we must band together to protect our greatest asset, our brains.”

In 2010, the Alzheimer’s Association in partnership with Maria Shriver and The Shriver Report conducted a groundbreaking poll with the goal of exploring the compelling connection between Alzheimer’s disease and women. Data from that poll were published in The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Takes on Alzheimer’s, which also included essays and reflections that gave personal perspectives to the poll’s numbers. For the first time, that report revealed not only the striking impact of the disease on individual lives, but also its especially strong effects on women — women living with the disease, as well as women who are caregivers, relatives, friends and loved ones of those directly affected.

Realizing the impact Alzheimer’s has on women — and the impact women can have when they work together — the Alzheimer’s Association is launching a national initiative this spring highlighting the power of women in the fight against this disease. To join the movement, visit http://www.alz.org/mybrain.

Maureen Maigret, policy consultant for the Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island and Coordinator of the Rhode Island Older Woman’s Policy Group, concurs with the findings of the Alzheimer’s disease Facts and Figures report. She calls for the education of elected officials on the facts about Alzheimer’s disease and its greater prevalence among women. “It is clearly a tragedy for the women effected with the disease, and can be devastating for their caregivers, mostly daughters, trying to keep them at home,” she says.

Maigret says that Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias at the state level have tremendous implications for this state’s budget. “Data show that in Rhode Island, about three-quarters of persons in nursing homes paid for by Medicaid are older women. An overwhelming number of them have some cognitive decline or dementia, she notes.

“We must do more to ensure that quality long-term care is available for persons with dementia and that robust caregiver support services are in place for the many families dealing with parents, spouses and other loved ones suffering from this disease,” says Maigret, stressing that government funding on research must also be greatly increased in the hopes of finding a cure or ways to prevent its onset.

Director Catherine Taylor, of the state’s Division of Elderly Affairs, believes that the Alzheimer’s’ Association’s released 2014 Facts and Figures report, about a woman’s lifetime risk of developing the devastating cognitive disorder verses breast cancer “really help us understand, in stark terms, what a public health crisis Alzheimer’s disease is, especially for women.”

Taylor notes that the Ocean State is in the implementation phase of its State Plan on Alzheimer’s disease and Related Dementias (see my November 13, 2013 commentary), where state officials are working to improve information, care and supports for every family that confronts Alzheimer’s disease. “The work will continue until there’s a cure,” she says.

“It’s important to note that new research findings also indicates that up to half of the cases of Alzheimer’s disease may be linked to risk factors “within our control,” states Taylor, adding that reducing the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease may be a simple as eating a healthy diet, staying active, learning new skills, and maintaining maintain strong connections with family, friends and community.

For those concerned about their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, join Prevent AD, Rhode Island’s Alzheimer’s disease Prevention Registry. Prevent AD volunteers will learn about prevention studies for which they may be qualified to participate in, as well as the latest news on brain health. For more information, call (401) 444-0789.

The full text of the Alzheimer’s Association 2014 Facts and Figures can be viewed at http://www.alz.org/downloads/facts_figures_2014.pdf. The full report also appeared in the March 2014 issue of Alzheimer’s & Dementia: the Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association (Volume 10, Issue 2).

Herb Weiss, LRI ’12, is a Pawtucket-based writer who covers aging, health care and medical issues. He can be reached at hweissri@aol.com.

RIC Fundraiser and E-Book Released to Honor the Late Richard Walton

Published in Pawtucket Times, March 14, 2014

            As my co-editor, Rhode Island College (RIC) President Nancy Carriuolo will tell you that the late Richard Walton clearly understood the power of the emerging Internet and the power social media would wield in our daily lives.  The beloved social activist and educator who put tireless energy and effort into supporting many worthy causes began emailing and connecting to his family and vast network of friends electronically in the early 1990s.

             Over 20 years, he would literally write thousands of correspondences on a vast array of topics including serious social causes, baseball and boxing, politics and even entertaining observations about Rhode Islanders and local events.

 Honoring the Late Richard Walton

             According to Carriuolo, the late activist’s and educator’s love and active involvement in social media prompted the creation of our e-book, The Selected E-Mail Correspondences of Richard Walton, which offers his sampling of correspondence.  As co-editors of this tribute to Walton, we invite you to a RIC Foundation fundraiser, where we will unveil our e-book in his memory, from 2-3 p.m. on Sunday, March 23, at the RIC Student Union Ballroom, 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave., Providence. We will offer readings from this e-book. The suggested donation for the event is $10. Proceeds will be used to equip the English Department Conference Room, which will be named in Walton’s honor.

             Last winter, Facebook notification of a memorial event held at Roots Cafe in Walton’s honor brought Nancy Carriuolo and I together with hundreds of others shortly after Richard’s death to celebrate his extraordinary life.   We began to correspond via Facebook.  She sent me an e-essay that Richard had sent her about “the Encyclopedia Britannica going out of print and wondering what would happen to his Encyclopedia Britannica when he passed.” In return, I sent her an essay titled “The great and good Hammerin’ Hank Tears for my Boyhood Baseball Hero,” telling his love and admiration for the legendary baseball player, Hank Greenberg, and the tears he shed for a long dead baseball player.

             In our social media chats, Carriuolo admitted that she had saved some of Walton’s emails.  “Who could delete a correspondence with the subject line:  ‘Do I Really Have to Wear Long Pants?’ which was written in response to her invitation to recognize Walton as a founding adjunct union president at my opening annual meeting of faculty, administrators, and staff,” she remembers, telling me that  “I just could not bear to delete any of his emails.”  I shot back an email saying that I bet others had saved Richard’s emails, too, then asking her that maybe we should do an e-book?  That was the beginning of our editorial project.

             Walton’s 91-page e-book is comprised of electronic correspondence shared by many of his friends and colleagues.  Being a brilliant writer and an observer of life, Walton covered topics as diverse as progressive issues on the topic of homelessness (spending Christmas at Amos House), the Rhode Island Governor’s race, national politics, education and women’s rights.  He jumped into giving his two cents about the Lion’s Head, his favorite New York hangout, as well as boxing and baseball, and even his views on religion.

             In one of my favorite emails in our e-book, Walton shared his great admiration for the great first baseman, Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers.  His love for this Jewish baseball player began as a small child when he grew up in Providence listening to the game on the radio with his grandfather during an era of rampant anti-Semitism and racism.  Even at the ripe old age of 72, the seasoned journalist wrote a powerful Op Ed in The Providence Journal about Greenberg after reading a four-star review of the movie, “The Live and Times of Hank Greenberg.”  He even admitted that he shed tears over “a long-dead baseball player,” this giving me a glimpse into how Walton as a young man would not accept the bigotry of his time and who would later turn his attention and tireless energy to fighting against society’s ignorance and indifference to the less fortunate.

 As to other e correspondences…

 ·       On his career choices: Walton admitted, “I did turn down a job as an NBC News

correspondent because I refused to shave my beard.”

 ·       On the fact that at age 79 he traveled to Shanghai to teach children, he quipped,

“It might turn up in a game of Trivial Pursuit some day.”

 ·       On his losing battle with leukemia, Walton noted, “I’m going on a great adventure.”

 The Life and Times of Richard Walton

             With his prominent long white beard and his red bandana, decked out in blue jean overalls and wearing a baseball cap, Walton, who passed in 2012 at the age of 84, was a well-known figure on the Rhode Island scene. In the early ’80s, he ran as the Citizen’s Party vice presidential candidate. Later, he became an early member of the Green Party. At Rhode Island College, where he taught English for more than 25 years, he ran a successful campaign to unionize adjunct faculty, serving as the union’s first president.  With his death, RIC President Carriuolo called for lowering the flags on campus to half-staff in his memory. 

                        Born in Saratoga Springs, New York, Walton grew up in South Providence in the 1930s, graduating from Classical High School in 1945.  After taking a two-year break from his studies at Brown University to serve as a journalist mate in the U.S. Navy, he returned to receive a bachelor’s degree in 1951.  He whet his appetite for music by working as disc jockey at Providence radio station WICE before enrolling in Columbia University School of Journalism where he later earned a master’s in journalism degree in 1955.

             Walton’s training at Brown and Columbia propelled him into a writing career.  During his early years he worked as a reporter at The Providence Journal, and the New York World Telegram and Sun. At Voice of America in Washington, D.C., Walton initially put in time reporting on African issues, ultimately being assigned to cover the United Nations.

             The prolific writer would eventually publish 12 books, nine being written as critical assessments of U.S. foreign policy.  As a freelance writer in the late 1960s, he made his living by writing for The Nation, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Village Voice, Newsday, The [old] New Republic, Cosmopolitan, even Playboy.

                    A self-described “peacenik,” the journalist was known not only for his political views, but also for his charity and volunteer work with such fixtures as the Amos House homeless shelter, The George Wiley Center, grassroots agency that works to alleviate problems associated with poverty and the musical venue Stone Soup Coffeehouse. In fact, for many years he used his birthday party to host a highly regarded and well-attended annual fundraiser to support Rhode Island’s homeless community.

             I know that throughout his life, Richard Walton served as a role model for generations of activists, watching out and protecting Rhode Island’s voiceless citizens, showing all that positive societal changes could be made through sound arguments.

 E-Book Allows Us to Re-Experience Walton 

             While we can no longer see our friend, Richard Walton, in our daily travels, his essence, keen observations and thoughts about our wonderful world can be found in his e-writings.  As stated in my afterword in Walton’s e-book, “his emails will magically propel you into the distant past, when he stood among us, allowing us to easily remember our own philosophical banters and discussions with him, even giving us the opportunity to re-experiencing his sharp wit, humor and his humbleness.”

             “While so painful to admit that he is no longer here, his beautiful and thoughtful and provocative writings to his family and friends make him come alive once again to us.  Just close your eyes after you read the emails in our e-book.  I am sure you will once again feel his energy and essence.”

             For more details about RIC’s reception to honor Walton or contribute to dedicate a room in his honor, contact Paul Brooks at (401) 456-8810. Donations should be made to the RIC Foundation with the notation:  Richard Walton.

            Herb Weiss, LRI ’12, is a Pawtucket writer covering aging, health care and medical issues and is co-editor of The Selected E-Mail Correspondences of Richard Walton.  He can be contacted at hweissri@aol.com.