TIR 82: Regina Jones Tells How She Poured Her Soul Into ‘SOUL’

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Brought to you by FUNKNSTUFF.NET and hosted by Scott Goldfine — musicologist and author of “Everything Is on THE ONE: The First Guide of Funk” ― “TRUTH IN RHYTHM” is the interview show that gets DEEP into the pocket with contemporary music’s foremost masters of the groove.

Featured in TIR Episode 82 (2 Parts): One of America’s most important publishing figures, the trailblazing Regina Jones, whose Los Angeles-based SOUL Newspaper she co-founded with her husband and oversaw was the first periodical of its time to spotlight black music acts and entertainers.

Launched in 1966 in the shadow of the Watts Riots, SOUL quickly rose to become the preeminent R&B and funk publication until it ceased operation in the early 1980s. This was during the heyday of some of the greatest music was produced by some of the greatest singers and musicians of all time — from James Brown and Aretha Franklin to Motown and Stax stars to Sly Stone and Stevie Wonder to Earth, Wind and Fire and the Ohio Players to Parliament-Funkadelic and Cameo to Chaka Khan and Donna Summer to Prince and Rick James. All of them were covered in the pages of SOUL, where talented young writers, editors and photographers developed into some of media’s top success stories in their own rights.

Jones lays bare her incredible story of rising up as a teenage wife and mother of five, learning publishing, management and how to navigate the sometimes savage world of music and entertainment to shatter barriers for both blacks and women while producing a newspaper that now stands as one of the most important documents of black music. As if that was not enough, she shares how she overcame a middle-age crisis once SOUL was shuttered to rise up once again in record publicity, award show and television production, and charitable pursuits. Oh yeah, and she also went to Neverland Ranch for an exclusive interview with Michael Jackson, who had specifically requested her, for Vibe Magazine in 1995.

Here is the tale of the incredible soul that stood behind SOUL.

RECORDED FEBRUARY 2019

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Scott Goldfine

As a fervid lifelong music & film enthusiast / student, I grew up in and around the Los Angeles entertainment industry. I have worked and held many positions in various media realms, since 1998 serving as Editor-in-Chief and now Associate Publisher for Security Sales & Integration, a trade publication serving the electronic security industry. I love several genres of music & film. The former includes funk (Parliament-Funkadelic, Prince, Ohio Players, etc.); blues (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Eric Gales, etc.); rock (Jack White, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, etc.); hard rock (AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, etc.); jazz (Herbie Hancock, Bob James, Crusaders, etc.); R&B (Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Gil Scott-Heron, etc.); and more. I was a club disc jockey and ran a mobile DJ company (Musical Moods) for more than 15 years, which is where the name Dr. GX originates (Doctor Good Times). Fave film genres include horror (Dawn of the Dead, Evil Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.); science fiction (Aliens, Terminator, 2001, etc.); action (Warriors, Road Warrior, Die Hard); westerns (Outlaw Josey Wales, Showdown at OK Corral; Wild Bunch, etc.); suspense (Jaws, Inception, Silence of the Lambs, etc.); drama (Apocalypse Now, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, etc.); and comedies (Life of Brian, Superbad, Ruthless People, etc.). I have attended many hundreds of concerts and movies (in theaters or screenings). I may as well also throw in a few favorite TV shows to give an even broader taste of my sensibilities. A handful would be Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Lost, Justified, Fargo, Seinfeld, Sopranos, South Park, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Key & Peele, Monty Python, Inside Amy Schumer, Louie, Modern Family, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Last Man on Earth, Bob Newhart Show, All in the Family and The Office. Fave authors are Stephen King, Clive Barker and Michael Crichton. I am also a big sports fan and lifelong supporter of the Dallas Cowboys (NFL), Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB). Also enjoy my family of course, electronics/computers/AV gear, and animals, nature and outdoor activities. Graduate of Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica College and California State University Northridge (Radio-TV-Film, Psychology minor). Also studied at UCLA for kinesiology/psychology and earned post-grad Certificate in Accounting from Santa Monica College. Present main occupation is as Associate Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Security Sales & Integration (SSI), which I joined in 1998. I am responsible for overseeing all editorial content in print. online, electronic, in-person and any other media or products for the electronic security industry's leading business-to-business trade publication. SSI is part of Framingham, Mass.-based Emerald Expositions.