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TAMEKA SIMMONS AND THE PROFESSORS OF SOUL
(WITH SPECIAL GUEST SIDNEY BARNES)
3:30 p.m. on the Amphitheater Stage

With Motown legend Sidney Barnes and young star Tameka Simmons providing vocals and a powerful rhythm section fueled by “Professor” Monty Craig (professor of jazz guitar at Clemson University) and funky drummer Jaze Gartrell, The Professors of Soul has quickly become a phenomenon in the Southeast.

Presenting high-energy shows ranging from classic soul and R&B to modern neo-soul dance hits, The Professors of Soul are earning a reputation as one of the Southeast’s hottest tour bands.

That’s no surprise to Barnes, who has been a part of the music business since the early 1960's. The list of artists who have either worked with Barnes or sampled his songs includes Chaka Khan, Santana, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, Earth Wind and Fire, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, Led Zepplin, Stevie Wonder, Chicago, The Jackson 5, and  B.B.King. He currently appears either as a singer, songwriter, producer, or musician on more than 100 CD Compilations on the world market.

After singing in several groups in Washington D.C. schools, including a group called The Embracers that included a young Marvin Gaye, Van McCoy (The Hustle) and Herb Feemster (of Peaches & Herb fame), Sidney and his family moved to New Jersey. That’s where he met the future “Overlord of Funk,” George Clinton.

“He had a barbershop in Plainfield and we became friends,” Barnes recalled in the Las Vegas Sun. “When Motown opened its New York office I auditioned for Berry Gordy, who signed me on the spot. He put me and my partner (George Kerr) in charge of running the New York office, and George was one of people we went and got. We were just kids at the time. George and I clicked, more than my partner.”

Barnes and Clinton then teamed up with Motown sax player Mike Terry to form Geo-Si-Mike Productions in Detroit, and began cutting some pure classics for The Detroit-based Golden World record label. These include early Parliament/Funkadelic records.

Now a resident of Las Vegas (although he also maintains a home in Asheville, N.C.), Sidney is currently involved with his old buddy Clinton on two studio projects. Last August, Sidney was named executive director of the Las Vegas satellite office of the Motown Alumni Association.

“My first love is soul music, but a lot of jazz is soul,” he says. “They’re all intertwined. I have no limits. I like everything. I like anything that’s music. I like jazz a lot now that I’m older and appreciate it more. But I’m lucky I can do all different kinds.”

That includes performing with Tameka Simmons and The Professors of Soul, because Sidney Barnes recognizes talent when he sees it.