Nazareth College’s French House Lecture Series and the Alliance Française de Rochester present Shine: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of African-American Artist Carole Fredericks, whose astounding vocals catapulted her to success in France and the United States. In this year’s lecture, Fredericks’ sister, Connie Fredericks-Malone will give a lecture on her sister’s role in promoting Franco-American friendship through music. The lecture, which will be in English, will take place at La Maison Française of Nazareth College, 4245 East Avenue; on October 25, 2012 at 8 p.m.  A reception and book exhibit will be the hour before the lecture from 7-8 p.m.  Both events are free and open to the public. For more information, call Mireille LeBreton at (585) 389-2685.

African American singer and actress, Carole Denise Fredericks, was born on June 5, 1952 in Springfield, Mass. Her oldest brother, Henry S. Fredericks, a.k.a. Taj Mahal, is a Grammy winning blues legend. In 2001, at age 49, Carole died of a massive heart attack following a benefit concert at Club Med World in Dakar, Senegal.

Fredericks reached the top of her career in Europe, France and the Francophone world where she emerged and became a powerful singer embracing her roots and the beautiful music represented in blues, gospel, rock, and soul. Initially, she was hired for concert performances and session works by renowned artists like Duran Duran, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and Johnny Hallyday among others. In 1990 she joined Jean-Jacques Goldman and Michael Jones and they formed the powerful trio, Fredericks Goldman Jones.  Fredericks performed on D’eux, Celine Dion's best-selling French-Language album of all time (9 million copies worldwide) and also sang on two more Celine Dion albums – Falling into You and S’il suffisait d’aimer. Also, Dion and Fredericks performed Knock on Wood for Taratata, a national music TV show and appeared on behalf of Restos de Coeur. Fredericks recorded two popular solo albums Springfield (1996), an English language blues and gospel album for which she wrote 12 of 14 songs: and Couleurs et Parfums (1999), a tour de force of cultural mixes – French, English and Wolof the national language of Senegal.

Today, her musical accomplishments are still running strong with the release of The Best of Carole Fredericks (2011), a compilation album by Legacy Recordings France. Fredericks was not only a singer with immense talent, but an excellent ambassador of American culture abroad and a symbol of the bond of friendship that connects the musical souls of France and the United States.

Founded in 1924, Nazareth College is located on a close-knit, suburban campus in the dynamic, metropolitan region of Rochester, N.Y. The College offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences and professional programs in health and human services, education, and management. Nazareth's strong cultures of service and community prepare students to be successful professionals and engaged citizens. The College enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduate students and 1,000 graduate students.

View more: Global Experience