The Fadd- The Star (Remix) 1989…Old School R&B Music Video Is A Look Back In Time.

“The Star” (Everybody Wants To Be A Star) by the little known group The Fadd, was one of the first music videos that Brice Productions was commissioned to produce and direct, while I was working as an assistant animator for the Feature Animation Department at Walt Disney Studios.

We were working on ‘Oliver & Co’ ‘Little Mermaid’ ‘Roger Rabbit” at the time I made this, and I had some of the guys from work help me out with the production.

Artist/illustrator Serge Michaels had just relocated to LA from New York to work at Disney the weekend I made this, so, as a welcome to LA gift, I put him in charge of casting the ladies who were to be featured in the video.

Serge Michaels is the brother in the center!...may he R.I.P...

I had animation director Vincenzo Trippetti put together the shots via a storyboard he illustrated for the production, and Bruce Smith helped me conceptualize the overall story for the video,in as much as it has one.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=bruce+smith&iid=7370157″ src=”http://view1.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/7370157/2009-dubai-international/2009-dubai-international.jpg?size=500&imageId=7370157″ width=”234″ height=”345″ /]
In fact, that’s veteran Disney animator Phil Young at the beginning, playing the part of the announcer!!!

Veteran Disney Animator Phil Young lecturing to students more than 20 years after appearing in this video...

…this is the type of change of pace creatively we all needed at the end of a hard day at work drawing at Disney Features.

The video was shot on campus at U.S.C., thanks to the assistance of my relative and friends who attended school there at that time.

 

KMA/Jam Power records label imprint circa 1989.

Jam Power and KMA records was a small independent R&B and Hip-Hop label , that was owned and ran by visionary Tom Berry and his brother.
Tom had a full-time staff of artist,recording engineers,producer/writers,and choreographers on staff that worked on their music, at the Jam Power studios the San Fernando Valley 24/7, and they all were required to punch a time card!
…he even had many of them housed in his series of condos he owned, and some even had cars that Tom provided.
It was a cool set-up, and he was able to develop a lot of talent, many who went on to have thriving careers in the music business.
It is also the studio where Vanessa L. Williams recorded her first solo LP, ‘The Right Stuff”, which was a big hit at the time for her.
One of those artist was Chuckii Booker, who went on to be a recording star, and sought after producer/writer and bandleader, known for his hit single “Turned Away”.

 

Chuckii Booker was the producer for the Fadd at KMA/Jampower records.

Chuckii Booker produced and wrote for “The Fadd’, and was the producer of this single for the group back in 1989.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuckii_…

I was a good friend of one of his artist, who introduced me to Tom, and Tom offered to support me in my goal to become a music video producer/director,which I appreciated.

This is definitely an old school underground track, and had the distinction of being banned from B.E.T. because I cut together too many shots of girls bodies grinding, moving to the music?…I thought it needed an attraction for the men out there in the audience to watch it.
Now it would be considered “G” rated!

Although this is one of the rare videos I directed that does not have any animation in it, I still had a storyboard created to direct the shots,but we were only able to pull off a little bit of what I had visualized, but it still conveys the sense of fun and excitement that I was looking to achieve to support the single.

This clip has been rarely seen since the 80’s, but it is a good look back at how the music scene,videos, and fashion were back in the days of the 1980’s.
I hope you get a kick out of it….

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The celebrity cameos are Vanessa Bell Calloway, and Ric Cummings,Jr., both top-notch actors and industry vets that I admire to this day!

 

Richard Cummings,Jr. today, 20 years later...

Brice Productions 1989 and beyond!…..and that’s No Joke!!!