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Rickey Smiley

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Members: 9
Latest Activity: Apr 22, 2012

Rickey Smiley has been working the comedy circuit for the past sixteen years and it has paid off. Establishing himself as a clean comic, his down home southern humor has made him a favorite in the nation's top comedy venues.

From intimate comedy clubs to sold out crowds at Madison Square Garden, the Universal Amphitheater and the Lincoln Center, Rickey's unique style of humor resonates with his audiences unlike any other comic on the road today.

He has continued to please. In November of 2002, Rickey joined fellow heavyweight comedians D. L. Hughley, J. Anthony Brown, Bruce Bruce, Earthquake, and Sommore on the Latham Entertainment Presents Tour. This multi-city mega stadium tour, produced by Walter Latham of the Kings
and Queens of Comedy, was a huge success. Walter Latham will be putting
them back on tour in the fall of 2003 because of the demand of more
comedy from the fans. Rickey also made his mark in the feature film
arena, appearing in New Line Cinema's "Friday After Next", which was
released on November 22, 2002.

Best known as host of the 2000 season of BET's "ComicView", Rickey led the show to its highest jump in ratings in the show's ten-year history. BET then quickly signed him to host "The Way We Do It" during the 2001-2002 season, and that show went on to become one of the top five
shows on the network. It's his genuine love of performing that has
brought Rickey many accolades on stage, on camera and off. He was a
guest presenter on the 2001 NAACP Image Awards and hosted the special
awards banquet for the 2002 Stellar Gospel Music Awards. He can
currently be heard every weekday on Dallas' 97.9 The Beat Hip Hop radio
station from 6 am to 10 am. In his personal life, he finds time to
devote to church, to charities, to the Big Brother Program and to
family.

Smiley's characters have become his comedic trademark. From Bernice and her church announcements to Coach McClainy and his lack of motivational skills, Rickey's audiences can't seem to get enough of him.

Rickey is so convincing doing his character impersonations. He has released five comedy CDs. They are The Best of Comedian Rickey Smiley: Volume I, Rickey Smiley Prank Phone Calls Volume II, Rickey Smiley: Volume III, Rickey Smiley: “Off the Hook” Volume IV and Rickey Smiley
Prank Phone Calls Volumes V. These CDs are sold daily to several of his
fans via phone and the Internet at his website www.rickeysmiley.com.

One of the most diverse entertainers today, Rickey's fan base covers a broad range - from the very young to the very old. Grandparents often show up at Rickey's shows, knowing they will not be embarrassed by the material. When Rickey headlines a large venue, it is not unusual to
find parents bringing their children to watch him perform. His style of
comedy is recognizable, approachable, and best of all hilarious. He is
inspired by the support of his fans on the road. He makes it a habit to
personally greet his audiences as they are leaving the shows. The top
comedy club chains in the country consider Rickey a high commodity. The
Improv, The Funny Bone, Zanies, The Comedy House Theatre, Carolines on
Broadway and many other clubs list Rickey as one of their favorite
comics to work with because of his "laid back" personality. Rickey is
currently working on his debut stage play scheduled to begin touring in
late 2006 titled “Didn’t Nobody Call and Tell Me Nothing” starring
Rickey as the beloved Bernice Jenkins.


Discussion Forum

UPLOADING DOCUMENTS

Started by Old School C. Last reply by Old School C Aug 14, 2009. 2 Replies

Nephew Tommy Prank Calls Rickey Smiley LOLOL!!!

Started by Old School C. Last reply by Old School C Aug 13, 2009. 3 Replies

Ricky Smiley Comedy Special-Pt 3

Started by Edie Antoinette. Last reply by Edie Antoinette Aug 5, 2009. 4 Replies

Ricky Smiley Comedy Special-Pt 5

Started by Edie Antoinette Aug 4, 2009. 0 Replies

Ricky Smiley Comedy Special-Pt 4

Started by Edie Antoinette Aug 4, 2009. 0 Replies

Ricky Smiley Comedy Special-Pt 1

Started by Edie Antoinette Aug 4, 2009. 0 Replies

Ricky Smiley Comedy Special-Pt 2

Started by Edie Antoinette Aug 4, 2009. 0 Replies

Comment Wall

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Comment by Boo on August 5, 2009 at 1:45am
OMG!!!!! I love Ricky Smiley....The fighting grandma is one of my favorites .....and the one about him being in the casket I laugh so hardI thought I was gonna hurt myself....LOL LOL
 

Members (9)

 
 
 

Introspection

Entr'acte

  1. play Norman Brown — Night Drive
  2. play Norman Brown — Feeling
  3. play Norman Brown — Still
  4. play Miles Davis — miles 1
  5. play miles 2
  6. play miles 3
  7. play miles 4
  8. play miles 5
  9. play Marvin Gaye — I Met A Little Girl
  10. play Santana — 01 Singing Winds, Crying Beasts
  11. play Santana — 02 Black Magic Woman-Gypsy Queen
  12. play Mongo — 02. Afro Blue



The history of the Butlers/Raw Soul is dense, but for all of us music nerds, that's normal. It is not totally clear what year the Butlers actually formed but they released their first single in 1963 on Liberty Records. That single was "She Tried To Kiss Me" and another single followed on Guyden entitled "Lovable Girl." After the Guyden single the Butlers took a break not recording another record until the single "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" was released on the Phila label in 1966. The group also backed Charles Earland and Jean Wells on one Phila single ("I Know She Loves Me"). 


As you might be noticing, the Butlers were doing a fair amount of recording but not achieving much success. The group's recordings sold regionally but never had the promotion to make an impact on the national scene. After the single with Phila, the Butlers moved to the Fairmount label (part of the Cameo-Parkway family) and released a handful of singles, some being reissued singles of the past. The Butlers were with Fairmount for 1966-67 and then moved to Sassy Records. Sassy released the group's greatest single (in my opinion) "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" b/w "If That's What You Wanted." A copy of that 45 sold for just under $500 last summer on eBay. Even though that isn't that much in the world of record collecting--it's still a hefty sum. The Butlers released another single on Sassy ("She's Gone" b/w "Love Is Good") that appears to be even 
harder to come by then the "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" single.

 

The true history become a bit blurred here as the AMG biography states that the Butlers last record was released on C.R.S. in 1974 (". However, between 1971 and that single, Frankie Beverly formed a group called Raw Soul and released a number of singles. Some of the songs recorded by Beverly during this period are "While I'm Alone," "Open Up Your Heart," (both on the Gregor label) and "Color Blind." "Color Blind" was released by the Eldorado label and rerecorded by Maze. Beverly's big break came when Marvin Gaye asked Raw Soul to back him on a tour. Gaye helped Beverly/Raw Soul get a contract at Capitol. Beverly decided to take the group in a different direction, a name change occurred, and Maze was created. 

The above isn't the most complete history of Beverly but hopefully someone will know a way to get in touch with the man or his management because a comprehensive pre-Maze history needs to be done on Frankie Beverly (his real name is Howard, by the way). Below you'll find every Frankie Beverly (pre-Maze) song available to me right now ("Color Blind" will be up soon). 

If you have a song that is not included below, shoot it over to funkinsoulman (at) yahoo.com and it will go up in the next Frankie Beverly post (later this week--highlighting Maze). Also, if you have any more information please share your knowledge. The Butlers material has been comp-ed sporadically (usually imports) but the entire Maze catalog has been reissued and is available. 

Enjoy.  "She Kissed Me" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967) 
 
 "I Want To Feel I'm Wanted" (not sure which label or year) "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" (Phila, 1966) "Because Of My Heart" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967)
   
 "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" (Sassy, 1967)
   
 "If That's What You Wanted" (Sassy, 1967)
 



Frankie Beverly is one of those cats that has lasting power. He started in the music business doing a tour with doo wop group the Silhouettes and then formed his own group called the Blenders. The Blenders never recorded a single, Beverly wouldn't appear on wax until forming the Butlers a few years later. Along with Beverly, the Butlers included Jack "Sonny" Nicholson, Joe Collins, John Fitch, and Talmadge Conway.

Beverly would later enjoy great success fronting Maze and Conway would become a
well-known penning Double Exposure's
"Ten Percent" and the Intruders' "Memories Are Here To Stay." 
 While Maze is a phenomenal group, Beverly's work before that group will always stand out as his best (imo).

The Butlers produced tunes that most Northern Soul fans would kill for and Raw Soul gave the funksters something to pursue. If, by chance, you know of a way to get in touch with Frankie Beverly or his management, please drop me an e-mail. It would be absolutely great to do an interview with him about his pre-Maze work. He's still playing out, most recently doing a New Year's Eve show in Atlanta.
:: Funkinsoulman ::

Power...Through Simplicity ♪♫♪

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