By Wilson Morales on Mar 29th 2011 4:44PM
Filed under: Interviews, News

Twenty years ago this week (March 29), 'The Five Heartbeats' was released in theaters.
Directed by Robert Townsend with a script written by Townsend and Keenen Ivory Wayans, the film starred Townsend, Michael Wright, Harry J. Lennix, Leon, Tico Wells, Diahann Carroll, John Canada Terrell, Harold Nicholas, Hawthorne James, Chuck Patterson, Troy Beyer, Roy Fegan, Carla Brothers, Paul Benjamin, Theresa Randle and Tressa Thomas.
Set in the '60s, when so many musical groups were thriving, the story centers around a quintet of hopeful young African-American men who form an amateur vocal group called The Five Heartbeats. After an initially rocky start, the group improves, turns pro and rises to become a top-flight music sensation. Along the way, however, the guys learn many hard lessons about the reality of the music industry, with its casual racism and greed, while the personal weaknesses of the members threaten to destroy the integrity of the band.