John Paris Awake Again as Earth, Wind & Fire Drummer Faces Two Major Surgeries

Earth, Wind & Fire drummer John Paris, left, poses with his wife, Honey Cone member Kathy Merrick, in an undated photo shared with a GoFundMe established to support the family during his hospitalization. Paris remains in intensive care after an Aug. 6 medical emergency and faces two major surgeries, according to the family-backed Standing for John Paris page. (Courtesy of GoFundMe)

The musician remains in intensive care after an Aug. 6 medical emergency forced Earth, Wind & Fire’s San Francisco concert with Lionel Richie to be postponed.

John Paris is awake again.

But the Earth, Wind & Fire drummer remains in intensive care and faces two major surgeries as he recovers from the medical emergency that hospitalized him earlier this month, according to a new update from the family and friends who have been chronicling his condition.

The update was posted Thursday on the family-backed Facebook page Standing for John Paris, which has become the primary public source of information about his recovery.

Paris had briefly awakened earlier in his hospitalization before doctors needed to sedate him again.

His family says he has now awakened a second time, with more encouraging results. His blood pressure remained stable and his breathing stayed strong while doctors monitored and evaluated him.

Additional testing determined that Paris will need two major surgeries as part of his recovery. He will remain in the intensive care unit.

The family has not identified the procedures or publicly disclosed the underlying diagnosis that caused the Aug. 6 medical emergency.

“This journey is definitely a marathon, but JP is fighting every single day and our hope is strong,” his wife, singer Kathy Merrick, said in the family update.

The crisis began shortly before Earth, Wind & Fire was scheduled to perform with Richie at Chase Center in San Francisco.

The Aug. 6 concert was postponed because of what was initially described only as a medical emergency involving a member of Earth, Wind & Fire. Friends and relatives later identified Paris as the hospitalized musician.

A GoFundMe organized on behalf of Paris and Merrick says he experienced a “critical medical emergency” shortly before taking the stage and was rushed to a hospital.

That remains the most specific description of the initial episode provided by the family’s public sources.

Some reports have described the emergency as a heart attack or cardiac event, but Paris’ family has not publicly announced such a diagnosis. The Standing for John Paris updates have likewise not identified the underlying condition.

The family’s accounts instead have documented a difficult recovery with periods of both progress and setback.

Paris briefly regained consciousness earlier in his hospitalization, recognized people around him and asked for Merrick. Doctors later sedated him again after his blood pressure rose and he experienced difficulty breathing.

Earlier this week, his family reported another encouraging sign: Paris squeezed the hands of Merrick and their daughter, Kyla, as they spoke to him.

Now, after awakening again, he has remained stable enough for doctors to conduct further evaluations and determine the next stage of his treatment.

The seriousness of his condition has not changed.

Paris remains in intensive care, with two major surgeries ahead.

He has spent much of the past quarter-century behind the drums for one of the most enduring groups in R&B and funk.

Earth, Wind & Fire’s official website lists Paris as a current member on drums and vocals, alongside longtime members Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson.

Paris became Earth, Wind & Fire’s drummer in 2001 after a career that had already included work with artists such as Patti LaBelle and Sheila E. An official artist biography from instrument maker Artesia also credits him as a drummer, arranger, singer and songwriter.

In January, only months before his hospitalization, NAMM recorded Paris for its Oral History program. NAMM described him as a drummer known for a powerful groove, versatility and an approach that balances precision with feel.

Music also connects many of the people now supporting Paris.

Merrick performs with the current lineup of Honey Cone, the soul vocal group whose catalog includes the 1971 hit “Want Ads.” The present trio features Merrick and Wendy Smith-Brune alongside original Honey Cone member Shelly Clark White.

Clark White is also married to Earth, Wind & Fire bassist Verdine White, making the two groups’ connection a personal one as well as a musical one. Honey Cone’s official biography says Merrick and Paris have frequently collaborated professionally.

The GoFundMe says Merrick and the couple’s daughter, Kyla, have remained near Paris during his hospitalization. Because the family lives in the Los Angeles area, the extended stay in San Francisco has brought additional travel, lodging and other expenses.

Clark White canceled Honey Cone’s remaining performances for at least the next couple of months so Merrick could remain with her husband, according to the fundraiser.

Clark White, Smith-Brune and longtime family friend Tazz Cole helped establish the campaign.

Earth, Wind & Fire, meanwhile, is scheduled to return to the road in September.

The band’s official calendar currently lists its next performance for Sept. 4 in Vancouver, followed by a series of West Coast dates. The postponed San Francisco concert with Richie has been rescheduled for Sept. 26 at Chase Center.

No timetable has been announced for Paris’ return to the stage.

Freedom Williams Faces Federal Lawsuit Over C+C Music Factory Name

A collage of C+C Music Factory album covers traces the group’s recording history from “Gonna Make You Sweat” in 1990 through “Anything Goes!” in 1994 and the self-titled “C+C Music Factory” in 1995. Co-founder Robert Clivillés is suing Freedom Williams over rights to the group’s name and federal trademark.

The dispute asks a surprisingly complicated question about one of the biggest dance acts of the early ’90s: Who has the right to call something C+C Music Factory?

The argument over who gets to use the C+C Music Factory name has moved from interviews, trademark proceedings and social media into federal court.

Robert Clivillés, who created the hitmaking dance act with the late producer David Cole, filed a nine-count lawsuit against rapper Freedom Williams and two companies associated with him, accusing them of improperly exploiting the C+C Music Factory name.

Clivillés filed the complaint Aug. 14 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Case No. 1:26-cv-04981). He is representing himself.

The defendants are Williams, Freedom Williams Entertainment LLC and Big Mac Entertainment LLC, along with 20 unidentified defendants.

Clivillés alleges trademark infringement, false designation of origin, fraud on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, unfair competition, unjust enrichment, fraud, defamation and breach of contract. He is also asking the court to cancel the federal trademark registration held by Freedom Williams Entertainment.

The filing seeks at least $10 million in compensatory damages. Clivillés asks the court to treble that amount under the federal Lanham Act, which would bring that portion of his requested award to at least $30 million. He is additionally seeking punitive damages, defendants’ profits, costs and injunctive relief.

No court has awarded him any of that money.

At the center of the case is a name familiar to anyone who was near a radio, dance floor or MTV in 1991.

Clivillés argues that the two C’s refer specifically to himself and Cole.

“The name C+C Music Factory stands for Clivillés and Cole Music Factory,” the complaint says.

He contends that Williams was a featured rapper and vocalist on C+C recordings rather than a founder or owner of the act and therefore never acquired the right to turn the group name into his own performing brand.

Williams’ side disputes that conclusion.

Attorney Charles F. Schmitt, who has represented Freedom Williams Entertainment in trademark matters, told Billboard that the new claims are meritless and that Williams is the lawful owner of the registered mark. Schmitt also argues that an earlier trademark challenge brought by Clivillés was dismissed with prejudice and that Clivillés should not get another attempt to undo the registration.

That earlier case makes the current dispute considerably more complicated than a simple fight between a founder and a former performer.

Freedom Williams Entertainment owns federal Registration No. 4775972 for the mark C & C MUSIC FACTORY, covering entertainment services.

USPTO records show the company applied for the mark in October 2014. The registration was issued July 21, 2015 and has since been maintained.

Clivillés challenged it before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in December 2016. That proceeding never produced a decision deciding who originally owned the name.

Instead, the board issued an order in May 2018 after Clivillés failed to file his trial brief. When no response was filed to that order, the board entered judgment against him and dismissed the cancellation proceeding with prejudice on June 25, 2018.

Clivillés emphasizes in his new complaint that the board did not decide the underlying ownership allegations on their merits.

Williams’ attorney emphasizes the other half of the equation: The proceeding was nevertheless dismissed with prejudice.

Whether that earlier judgment prevents Clivillés from pursuing some or all of his present claims is now one of the legal issues hanging over the federal case.

The fight has roots stretching much further back.

Clivillés and Cole emerged from New York’s dance-club scene and became an in-demand production and remixing team before launching C+C Music Factory around 1990.

Their debut album, “Gonna Make You Sweat,” became one of the defining crossover dance records of the period.

Its title track, “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now),” featured Williams’ rap and Martha Wash’s powerhouse vocal. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in February 1991, while the album later climbed to No. 2.

“Here We Go (Let’s Rock & Roll)” and “Things That Make You Go Hmmm...” extended the run, with Williams prominently featured on both.

The structure of C+C Music Factory was never as straightforward as a traditional band standing together behind microphones.

Clivillés and Cole were its central production team, while different rappers and singers appeared across its records. Contemporary coverage routinely identified Williams as the rapper associated with the group, while Columbia releases billed tracks such as “Gonna Make You Sweat” as C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams.

The act’s history also includes one of the era’s best-known disputes over performer credit.

Wash sang the explosive vocal heard throughout “Gonna Make You Sweat,” but Zelma Davis appeared lip-syncing that part in its original music video. After Wash objected and sued, MTV added an on-screen notice distinguishing Wash’s vocals from Davis’ visual appearance.

Long before the current trademark case, Williams had his own legal dispute with Clivillés and Cole.

In 1992, Williams filed a $10 million lawsuit alleging the producers had cheated him out of royalties and breached obligations connected with his recording and management agreements.

Williams subsequently pursued a solo career.

Cole died in New York in January 1995 at 32. Clivillés continued working as a producer, songwriter and remixer.

The current complaint alleges that Williams later began performing concerts under the C+C Music Factory name and eventually obtained trademark registrations without Clivillés’ authorization.

Williams has publicly offered a different account.

In a 2019 interview, he said he had continued performing and representing the music when Clivillés was no longer touring with him and defended his decision to secure the trademark.

The dispute flared publicly again this year.

After Williams became associated with a planned Freedom 250 concert series in Washington, D.C., Clivillés used social media to distance himself from Williams’ participation and comments and argued publicly that Williams did not speak for the C+C Music Factory legacy.

Clivillés threatened legal action in June.

Ten days after that warning, according to the new complaint, Big Mac Entertainment released “Into the Future,” a new recording marketed on digital services under the C+C Music Factory name alongside Williams and Mark Walker. 

The June 12 release is independently listed by digital music services under C+C Music Factory, Freedom Williams and Walker, with Big Mac Entertainment as the label.

Clivillés cites that release as evidence that what had been a long-running dispute over live appearances had expanded into new recordings.

He is asking the federal court to stop Williams and the other defendants from using the C+C Music Factory name for performances, recordings and other commercial activity.

He also wants Registration No. 4775972 canceled, “Into the Future” and other disputed recordings removed from digital services, and administrative control of the long-running C+C Music Factory Instagram account transferred to him.

Clivillés filed a separate motion seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on the same day as the complaint.

None of those requests should be confused with a court ruling.

At this stage, they are Clivillés’ allegations and requested remedies, and Williams disputes his underlying claim to the name.

Thirty-five years after C+C Music Factory made “Gonna Make You Sweat” unavoidable, the new lawsuit is not really asking a court to decide who audiences remember from the record.

Williams’ voice is part of that history. So are Wash’s vocals, Davis’ image and the work of numerous singers and musicians who passed through what was deliberately constructed as a “music factory.”

The legal question is narrower — and potentially much harder.

Who owns the name on the factory door?

Rock the Bells Sets Thanksgiving Weekend Show With LL Cool J, SWV and Lil’ Kim

LL Cool J, SWV, Lil’ Kim and Method Man & Redman lead the lineup for the 2026 Rock the Bells Festival, scheduled for Nov. 29 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Rock the Bells)

Rock the Bells has found a way to put LL Cool J, SWV, Lil’ Kim, Method Man & Redman, The LOX, LeToya Luckett and David Banner on the same Thanksgiving weekend bill.

The festival returns to Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Nov. 29, with a lineup spanning several distinct periods of hip-hop and R&B, organizers announced Monday.

LL Cool J leads the bill alongside SWV, Lil’ Kim and Method Man & Redman.

D-Nice will curate another portion of the show featuring Luckett, Banner and The LOX — Jadakiss, Styles P and Sheek Louch.

Additional artists are expected to be announced later.

Rock the Bells and the Black Promoters Collective are producing the event. The concert is scheduled for the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend and will close out Hip-Hop History Month. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the show scheduled for 7.

“There’s something special about seeing artists and fans from different generations come together under one roof,” LL Cool J said in the announcement.

That description is unusually literal in this case.

SWV’s presence keeps the bill from becoming an all-rap nostalgia package, while the D-Nice segment effectively builds a second miniature lineup inside the larger show.

The LOX bring the Bad Boy and Ruff Ryders eras. Luckett adds a direct link to Destiny’s Child and her later solo R&B career. Banner represents the Southern rap explosion that changed the genre’s center of gravity during the 2000s.

Ticketmaster independently lists LL Cool J, Lil’ Kim, Method Man & Redman, SWV, D-Nice, Luckett, The LOX and Banner on the Nov. 29 event page.

The first ticket window begins Tuesday.

An exclusive presale starts Aug. 18 at 10 a.m. Eastern and ends Thursday, Aug. 20, at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Local, venue and promoter presales begin Thursday at 10 a.m. and run through 11:59 p.m. Eastern.

General sales begin Friday, Aug. 21, at 10 a.m. Eastern through Ticketmaster.

Organizers say more performers and community-focused programming will be announced before the festival.

For now, the lineup already amounts to a compact timeline of the music Rock the Bells was created to celebrate.