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Smooth Jazz, Hot, Praise lose air staff
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Radio One, which owns Hot 107.9, Smooth Jazz 107.5 and Praise 97.5, cut air staff this week locally and nationally. Among the victims: Morning man Griff and mid-day jock Maria More at Hot, veteran DJ Rene Miller at Smooth and mid-day host Sonja Hamm at Praise.
This appears to be a cost-cutting measure, though bosses at Radio One have not returned calls for comment. For now at Hot, Rashan Ali and Emperor Searcy will continue to hold the fort on the morning show, the A Team, minus standup comic Griff.
In a written statement to the press, Griff thanked God for his time at Hot: “When I got home today, I read a book that said: ‘On this day the will of God is done in my life.’ That was all the closure I needed.”
Kevin Watson, manager for comic Rickey Smiley, told Buzz Friday that Smiley is in negotiations to add his syndicated show to Hot, but nothing has been finalized yet.
Smiley is in 20 markets nationwide including Dallas and Miami. Radio One handles syndication for Smiley.
CON, FOOTBALL FANS INVADE DOWNTOWN
It’s Tigers vs. Trekkies today in downtown Atlanta as a fun little clash of cultures plays out. Tens of thousands of fans of Alabama and Clemson football are here for the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff, and tens of thousands of revelers are here for DragonCon, the massive pop culture and fantasy convention.
Actually, maybe the two groups will get along very well wherever they encounter one another. Both have lots of hard-core obsessives who like to dress up in eye-catching outfits and paint their faces. Both are partial to insider jargon and intense group bonding. And both have been known to get a little drink on.
The Con folks have their big parade at 10 a.m. today, starting at Woodruff Park and working north on Peachtree Street. That’s where you will find your grown-ups dressed as Imperial Stormtroopers from “Star Wars.”
The College Kickoff FanFest and FanZone for both teams’ fans starts at noon at Centennial Olympic Park. That’s where you’ll find your grown-ups with tiger paws painted on their faces. Is this a great city or what?
‘LIKE’-ING IT AT NO. 1
According to the Billboard Hot 100 chart at least, pleading guilty to federal weapons possession charges has only enhanced rapper T.I.’s sales figures.
This week, the Atlantan scored a new record for the biggest jump to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, as his latest single, “Whatever You Like” rocketed up the charts from No. 71 to No. 1 in its third week on the chart.
According to Billboard, “A No. 1 opening on Hot Digital Songs with debut-week sales of 205,000 downloads is the impetus for the record-setting Hot 100 move, which surpasses the 64-1 hike taken by Maroon 5’s ‘Makes Me Wonder’ in the May 12, 2007, issue.”
Billboard also observes that “Like” is T.I.’s first chart-topper as a lead artist (he contributed to Justin Timberlake’s 2006 chart-topper, “My Love”) and his opening-week digital sales is the best by a rap track since Nielsen SoundScan began compiling download data in 2003.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Saturday: Country singer Kitty Wells is 89. Actor Bill Daily (“I Dream of Jeannie,” “The Bob Newhart Show”) is 81. Actor-turned-politician Ben Jones (“The Dukes of Hazzard”) is 67. Actress Peggy Lipton (“The Mod Squad”) is 61. Comedian Lewis Black (“The Daily Show”) is 60. Actor Michael Chiklis (“The Fantastic Four,” “The Shield”) is 45. Actress Cameron Diaz is 36. Guitarist Ryan Ross of Panic At The Disco is 22.
Sunday: Singer Van Morrison is 63. Actor Richard Gere is 59. Drummer Gina Schock of The Go-Go’s is 51. Singer Deborah Gibson is 38. Actor Chris Tucker (“Rush Hour”) is 36. Actress Sara Ramirez (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 33.
HIGH FIVE
Music
The top-selling albums this week at Decatur CD:
1. Randy Newman, “Harps and Angels”
2. Stereolab, “Chemical Chords”
3. Gentleman Jesse, “Gentleman Jesse”
4. Janelle Monae, “Metropolis”
5. Matthew Sweet, “Sunshine Lies”
Courtesy: Decatur CD
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I cried my eyelashes off.”
Talk show queen, faux eyelash and Barack Obama supporter Oprah Winfrey to the Associated Press following his acceptance speech Thursday night.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Phil Kloer and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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