15/03/02 The Best Of La Bouche featuring Melanie Thornton will be released on April 4th.
Tracks are as follows:
10/12/01 A news article from www.charleston.net:
BY PRENTISS FINDLAY Of The Post and Courier Staff
On a cold, wet night in Switzerland,
Flight 3597 from Berlin approached the Zurich airport. The pilot cut his speed
to 180 knots, descending from an altitude of about 4,000 feet. The aircraft
banked right for its final approach. There was light snow and a slight wind. It
was 32 degrees.
On board, Charleston native
Melanie Thornton was preparing for her second show of the night. She had
performed earlier in Leipzig, telling an interviewer after the show, "You should
live life to the fullest because tomorrow's not
promised."
Her career was soaring in Germany, where
her "Wonderful Dream (Holidays Are Coming)" had been picked for a Coca-Cola TV
ad. She had already sold more than 10 million albums worldwide as the soulful
voice of the RCA Records duo LaBouche. Now, she was launching a solo career with
"Ready To Fly," her debut for X-Cell/Epic.
Thornton,
34, was seated on row 12 next to a window above a wing. Her bag was next to her
in an aisle seat. Capt. Hans-Ulrich Lutz was in charge of the 97-seat RJ-100
jet. He had logged thousands of hours in the cockpit for his company,
Crossair.
There was no warning to passengers for
what happened next. At 10:06 p.m. on Nov. 24, Zurich air traffic control cleared
Flight 3597 to land. A few seconds later, the captain ordered an emergency
pull-up to abort the landing and gain altitude. The cockpit voice recorder
registered an acoustic signal that indicated the automatic pilot was being
turned off, officials said.
"One second later, the
cockpit voice recorder began to record the sound of impact. A short time later
the recording ends," the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau in Bern,
Switzerland, said in a report.
The plane skimmed
through trees before crashing into woodlands 3.7 miles short of the runway. A
beautiful, open grass field was less than 100 feet away from where the plane
came to rest, said Lois Chisolm, Thornton's older
sister.
Chisolm and her husband visited the crash
site. She spoke with survivor Peter Hogenkamp, 33, on Nov. 29. He was seated
near the rear of the plane, which broke off during the crash. Hogenkamp told
Chisolm that five seconds after impact, the plane exploded where Thornton was
seated.
On Saturday, Chisolm and her family grieve
the loss of Thornton, who will be remembered at a funeral service at 1 p.m. at
Greater Goodwill AME Church in Mount Pleasant. Burial will be in Mount Pleasant
Memorial Gardens.
The family takes some solace in
the success of "Ready To Fly," which entered the German record charts at No. 11
Tuesday. Her "Wonderful Dream (Holidays Are Coming)" broke into the charts at
No. 9. X-Cell/Epic plans to release "Ready To Fly" in the U.S., Chisolm
said.
Thornton, a Wando High School graduate, was
among 24 who died in the crash, including the pilot and co-pilot. Chisolm blames
the flight crew for programming the wrong numbers into the plane's autopilot,
causing it to fly too low on approach. She said officials indicated to her that
was the cause of the crash. The family has hired a
lawyer.
A Crossair spokesman said the crash
investigation continues, and the cause of the crash has not been
determined.
Thornton was a U.S. and German citizen.
She had an apartment near Frankfurt and owned a home in Atlanta. She arrived in
Germany on Feb. 14, 1991, with $15 in her pocket.
Chisolm lived there with her U.S. Army husband. His uncle, Bob Chisolm, a singer
and piano player, encouraged Thornton to give the German nightclub circuit a
try. She was singing in a Macon, Ga., band, Danger Zone, pulling down $50 on a
good night. Bob Chisolm told her on a bad night in Germany she would make
$150.
She tried it and soon found work in studios
recording demos. It was her recording of the song "Sweet Dreams" that caught the
attention of producer Frank Farian, the mastermind of the infamous '80s duo
Milli Vanilli. Farian took Thornton under his wing, teaming her with rapper Lane
McCray in the duo LaBouche, which is French for "The Mouth."
01/12/01 There was a service held for Melanie yesterday in Berlin. Pictures are here: Memorial Service
29/11/01
Melanie's last interviews can be viewed with Real Player or Windows Media Player here:
Last Interview on RTL World
I can't believe how much I cried watching these ;_;
Message to fans from Lane McCray:
I can only say that Melanie was a true artist dedicated to
perfection. On leaving la Bouche it was an opportunity for her to spread her
wings and fly. La Bouche was never a main stay for either one of us. We
spoke via aol Instant messenger mostly while our schedules varied and the
time changes from the US to Europe kept us physically seperated. Melanie was
one of those people who from an early age who knew what she wanted out of
life, she went for it and achieved it. I am the same way and I know this is
in large part why "La Bouche" was such a world wide hit. It is with great
sadness and joy that we on earth have lost our song bird but heaven has
gained yet another angel to watch over us. So trust and believe in your
faiths whatever they may be, pray a special prayer for Mels Mom and family
for none of know what they feel unless we ourselves have gone through it. We
have her music to comfort us the rest of our lives... I am listening to
"love how you love me" from Melanie' s current release. I pray you all will
find some comfort and I thank you, I thank you all from the grieving depths
of my heart for your words of encouragement. I love you all for that.
If anyone wishes to send flowers there will be a service on the 7th or 8th of
December in Charleston South Carolina at the Fielding Funeral Home phone number
is 001 843 722 3348.... the flower "Forget Me nots" is what I have sent.......
again thank all of you.
Lane McCray
La Bouche
<27/11/01> I am still in shock today. This tragic event has struck the hearts of countless people. Even as far away as where I live, Australia, there was a news report about her death. I cried, knowing it was the last time I would ever see her on television. For so long I thought "It's only a matter of time, soon she'll be popular all over the world... people will finally recognise her talent and she'll have a big debut in her home country...", but now it's too late. It's so hard to comprehend this horrible event...
Click to read translated news reports.
Links (in German):
Melanie's official webpage in German
Links (English):
Melanie's official english website
A message from Crossair Chief Executive Officer André Dosé
On behalf of all of us at Crossair, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the individuals, employees and families who had friends or loved ones onboard Crossair flight LX 3597 from Berlin-Tegel to Zurich on Saturday evening, Nov. 24. The plane crashed shortly before landing in Zurich at approx. 10:06 p.m. There were 28 passengers and 5 crew members on board. We are dispatching a team of Crossair and Swissair employees to assist the families involved and have established a toll-free number that families and friends can call for assistance and information. Crossair is working with all the relevant authorities to obtain further information on this flight. We have pledged our full cooperation with the authorities. We will be posting all news, statements and other information related to the flight on this web site as soon as it becomes available. In closing, let me say again that our hearts go out to everyone who was onboard this flight, and to their loved ones, as well as anyone on the ground who may have been involved in the tragic event. We will hold them all close in our thoughts and our prayers.
The toll-free phone number for families in Switzerland to call is 0041 (0) 800 707 507. Crossair, Swissair and Unique Airport Zurich have established further phone numbers for friends or family members who want more information. Those numbers are: within Switzerland 0800 707 507 from outside Switzerland +41 1 543 67 67
You have the possibility to extend your sympathy under condolence@crossair.com
Taken from http://www.crossair.com (The airline's hompage).
Click here for the Giga interview with the new La Bouche.
<05/05/01> Good news for Melanie fans! Her new album will be released soon! I also have the lyrics to her new album- click on the picture to view!
<18 April 2001> Okay, I have news! La Bouche will be recording a new album, as will Lane McCray. Melanie's new single "Heartbeat" is out, but her album has been delayed. For some excellent videos of a televison interview she did recently, go to NBC GIGA X-STREAM . It's in english despite the fact it was done on German TV (which is good cause my German ain't what it used to be...)The quality is good if you have a fast modem, but it can become scrambled. My comment- check out her hair x_X
23/01/01 The first update this year- and there's good news all round! First, Melanie Thornton's new single "Love How You Love Me" has shot up the German charts to #18!! And her first solo album should be released in two months! For more info, pictures, videos and dates, go to: MelanieThornton.de For La Bouche news, I just got this message from Lane: "Just wanted to give you an update on what is going on with us.... We will have a new single coming in Late spring and I do hope it works better than the last :-)"
08/09/00 Wow! Another update! And only two months later!! Gah, not much on the news front, if you're on the Mailing List you would have heard it all anyway... Hmm, I think I'm going to try to promote this site more before I design the new layout- I mean, as a graphic designer I should have more pride in my own page!!
Anyway, I finally heard "All I Want", and I think it's really good! If only it was released in Australia, I could buy a copy and put some more info up, but at the moment that doesn't look like it's gonna happen:-( 12/06/00 Due to a good response to the idea of a mailing list, one now exists! Click on The La Bouche ML to join now! Or sign up at the bottom of the links on this page!
6/06/00 Well, well, well, I finally made a new logo! And as soon as I can find the page again, I'll be posting a translation of the new BMG La Bouche page. Oh, and who wants me to start a La Bouche mailing list? It'd be good for anyone who doesn't want to wait for me to update this page to get all the new info^_^
04/05/00 - Here it is! The cover of the new La Bouche single: "All I Want"!
This image is from BMG Germany, which also had a short article underneath
it I translated:
Again there La Bouche are! The duo, which celebrated international successes with
titles like "Be My Lover " and " Sweet Dreams ", announces their new cast! At the side
of the rapper, Lane McCray, is now the fascinating Natascha Wright.
Natascha Wright has already gained extensive experiences, among other things, as a
Background-singer with MC Hammer, DJ BoBo and La Bouche. Their new title " All I
Want" is a mixture of Eurodance and classical string-instruments, as well as Lane's
characteristic rap. "All I Want " is also the title-song for the new Mitsubishi
"Werbespot". Naturally, the title was again produced by hit producer Frank Farian.
And, no, I have know idea what a Mitsubushi "Werbespot" looks like O_o;; On the BMG it has some short sound files of the new song, check it out!
17/04/00 - Tag! The release date of the new single, "All I Want" is the 1st of May in Germany, and soon after for the rest of the world! Oh, and you heard it here first (or did you?)- La Bouche will be appearing on VH1's "Where Are They Now?" in the near future! Expect more on that front soon!
??/??/00 Oh My God! I have neeeews! *watches ppl visiting site die of shock* Melanie Thornton has left the group!! And she has been replaced by Natascha Wright!! "Who?" I hear you ask? Well, I didn't know until about 5mins ago either, according to this German site, she used to be a background singer for DJ Bobo and a singer for Culture Beat, Jam & Spoon, Captain Hollywood and Haddaway. (Which is a pretty impressive resume!!) Go here for a really bad picture^_^;;; Um, yeah. So, anyway, the group now has a new single out called "All I Want" with a video (Yay!) shot in Miami and Key West, Florida. And no, I don't know where that is:-P And expect a new album this Summer! Winter, to Southern hemisphere people^_^;; Well, isn't this exciting? Hopefully the single, out this April will get some attention (heh, 'some" being more that "none", like the previous singles), and hopefully it will be released outside the USA so Australian and european fans can buy it too!