The man behind Motown's Image
Back in Hitsville’s heyday, Curtis McNair created the visual style of soul’s signature sound
Mark Price
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Curtis McNair marched for civil rights in the ’40s, helped integrate the Army in the ’50s, and was among the first blacks hired at Chrysler Motors’ corporate office in the early ’60s.
But people don’t ask about such things when the Wadesboro resident agrees to a rare public appearance. They’d rather hear about Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder.
Oh, and Diana Ross. Eeeeeverybody asks about Diana Ross.
Such were the icons McNair worked for during another phase of his life, as art director for Motown Records.
From 1968 to 1972, he was responsible for designing nearly 100 covers for the label, some considered among the greatest pop albums of all time.
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Sykes slays Boston crowd at Orpheum gig
Robin Hamilton
The laughter in the Orpheum Theatre was so loud she could barely finish her jokes. But Wanda Sykes didn’t mind. It simply proved that she delivered.
For only one night, Sykes performed to a packed house last Friday night, the audience as diverse as it was hungry for her sharp, deadpan humor, which shone through as the talented comic talked about everything from vacations to politics.
“I wanted to vote for Hillary [Clinton] in the beginning, but after a while, I wasn’t sure which Hillary I was going to get — tearful Hillary, angry Hillary, forgetful Hillary,” Sykes said, backed by audience laughter.
“But how can you mistake whether or not you were under sniper fire? How can you ‘not recall?’ I may or may not recall if something happened in 1985, or was it ’86? You recall if your life is being threatened!”
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