D Angelo

William P. D'Angelo, producer of such television series hits as "Love, American Style," "Room 222" and "Alice," who also created innovative children's shows, including "Run, Joe, Run," has died. He was 70. D'Angelo died June 8 in Los Angeles of pancreatic cancer. Raised in New York City, D'Angelo graduated from Fordham University with little idea about what to do with his life. The Army drafted him and assigned him to a film unit as a cameraman.

One of the rewarding things about pausing to salute some of the most distinguished records from the first half of the year is that it helps us remember that there still are distinguished albums. That's a point that can easily get lost during a time when the national sales charts and radio airwaves are dominated by sludge. In 1999, the year of the Backstreet Boys, there were outstanding albums at the midyear point from Tom Waits, Moby and Randy Newman, among others.

The rally had all the energy of a rock concert, with thousands of teenagers screaming and chanting Wednesday at Hamilton High in West Los Angeles. But behind the noise was a message: ending gun violence. About 2,000 students crowded into the gym to hear double platinum R&B artist Michael "D'Angelo" Archer, who was kicking off a national initiative.

Hey, did anyone else feel the gravitational pull toward the Sunset Strip on Saturday? Not only were D'Angelo's second-coming shows at the House of Blues a near-religious experience (are you with me, ladies?), but Cherry promoter Bryan Rabin also celebrated his birthday at Moon of Tunis before leading a soul train of art-world heavies over to Make-Up (which was still blazing like a four-alarm fire at 1:30 a.m., with Queen, ABBA, and KC & the Sunshine Band demanding you stay on that dance floor).

They say that good things come to those who wait, but you can't blame soul music fans for being a little impatient over the last few years. It has been more than two decades since Al Green, arguably the greatest soul singer ever, returned to gospel music, and no one has stepped forward during that period to lay a convincing claim on his secular crown. But the wait is officially over.

D'Angelo's "Voodoo" and Shelby Lynne's "I Am Shelby Lynne" are both albums that require some listener patience, but they ultimately reward you for the time spent. They are the standouts in the latest guide to keeping up with what's exciting in pop music on an album budget of $50 a month. January D'Angelo's "Voodoo" (Virgin).

D'Angelo knew that he wasn't in the right frame of mind when he started working on his second album three years ago. The singer was burned out from touring. He felt immense pressure from his record company to make a commercially potent follow-up to his hit debut album, 1995's "Brown Sugar."

As celebrity host Mary J. Blige pointed out when introducing headliner D'Angelo on Saturday at the Wiltern Theatre, the seventh annual KKBT-FM-sponsored Holiday Cooldown event was chiefly a present for the ladies, what with several bedroom-oriented male R&B acts crossing the stage. The yuletide decor reflected the season, but in contrast to last year's Cooldown, none of the featured performers essayed holiday tunes during the three-hour show.

There were only good vibes Friday night during the 10th annual Soul Train Music Awards ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium, where the big winners were TLC and soulful newcomer D'Angelo, who each took home awards in three categories. D'Angelo (whose full name is Michael D'Angelo Archer) won best new artist along with awards for his acclaimed debut album, "Brown Sugar," and the single of the same name.

Are D'Angelo and fire departments around the country in cahoots? * Everywhere the dynamic young R&B singing virtuoso turns up for a concert, women in the audience scream and wave their hands as if it were Beatlemania again, and fire department reps with walkie-talkies invariably turn people away from the packed venue, including, in this case, Hollywood bigwigs accustomed to carte blanche.