TurningPoint: Your Lifestyle, Your Well-Being - Celebrating the Spirit of Excellence

This picture was given to Esther Austin Global, by William Mickey Stevenson exclusively. It's a picture taken at Motown's 60th celebration in February 2019. In the picture we see: Valerie Simpson, Eddie Holland, Smokey Robinson, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland and William 'Mickey' Stevenson.

Six of the Greatest Writers from Motown in the world April 2019

Esther Austin Editor in Chief

Photo Credit: Karlton Chambers

W

elcome, Welcome, Welcome

I felt the need to present a ‘tripple’ Welcome to you because I have been so tremendously inspired working on this issue of the magazine. Each magazine has granted me a greater insight not only into myself, but through the eyes of others and their humanity.

The interviews, conversations and contributions shared in here have certainly opened up so much in me and I hope it will do the same to you, our readers.

I decided to theme this magazine: Celebrating the Spirit of Excellence. This came about because during many of my interviews there was always a thread of being excellent, being prepared and aiming to be the best. This therefore got me wondering what drove this spirit of excellence in people, how did this affect, influence or even inflict and pressurise individuals.

For many artists, their parents instilled the message of excellence into them as a child, mostly because of their circumstances, and where they came from and what they had and were going through. That message to be the best, to expect the best was driven from a desire for their children to have a better life, for them to strive to have a different experience, for them to KNOW that they were SOMEBODY in a society that most times than not was saying YOU ARE NOTHING, YOUR LIFE DOES NOT MATTER. Many of these artists were from impoverished environments, they faced segregation, racism, simply because of the colour of their skin which means they were already at a disadvantage.

However, realising and discovering they had a talent and wanting to share that with the world, to boast about it, to deliver it, to enjoy it was another reason to stand in the face of adversity to say ‘I am Somebody, and I will become the best in order to pursue my dreams.’ This was a group of people who honoured their craft and talent and who grafted hard to be and become the best. So therefore, we now have the privilege of standing on the shoulders of some incredibly instrumental individuals who paved

the way, in more ways than one, for us all and as you read through the following pages, you will see how pivotal and solid Motown was for artists to hone their craft. It was a place that protected those who came through the door and a place that embraced them as a family and that was where their strength lay.

Therefore, to this end, this magazine’s issue will be celebrating 60 years of Motown which actually was celebrated in January 2019. In here you will read of the experiences of many of these stalwart artists. TurningPoint Magazine arranged a Motown Photoshoot in LA on 3rd and 4th April and everyone who attended had an absolutely fabulous time. Randi Childs, Street and Studio Photographer from New York kindly popped to LA to conduct the photoshoot. Randi has become a real treasure at TurningPoint Magazine and you will see her stunning work throughout the following pages. A big thank you also goes out to Maria Silva, MUA who styled hair at the photoshoot along-with Hunter Zieske Randi’s Technical Assistant. A huge thanks to them both for being so incredibly supportive to make the photoshoot the success it was.

So, keeping my piece short, I just want to encourage you to always look to be the best that you can be for yourself. That may simply be that you learn to put you first, that you learn to get to know who you are, that you nurture yourself and have more fun. The Spirit of excellence means different things to different people, however at the end of the day, I personally feel, it’s about honouring who we are as individuals and knowing that we all deserve the best and in that vein, we will experience that spirit of excellence which is about honouring and aiming for the best.

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who took part in the photoshoot, to everyone who contributed and to everyone who allowed themselves to be interviewed. As always I give thanks to The Universe, to my ancestors, to my children and my partner for what they bring to my life.

Have your say? What are your thoughts about the magazine? Is there anything you would like to see here?

Email into: turningPoint@estheraustinglobal.com

contents

EXCLUSIVES Martha Reeves is Still Dancing in the Streets and Loving It Woody Wilson, America’s top Bespoke Fashion Designer Once Dared to Dream William ‘Mickey’ Stevenson, Motown’s First A & R Man Tells it All

TRUE LIFE STORIES Veronique Back to the Essence of Nature: Jewellery that Speaks to the Soul Kwamme McPherson Pays a Caribbean Homage to the Music of Motown Daphne Maxwell Reid - Driving Excellence through Creativity and Passion

Priestess Eurekah Gives Spiritual Insight into The Spirit of At-tom Helen Rogers, Renowned UK Singer/ Songwriter on – The Love Remains

HEALTH AND WELL-BEING Dr Miriam Stoppard – Getting Comfortable in our Skin as we Get Older SistahintheRaw – Plant New Health Seeds In Spring

A MATTER OF TRUTH David Mills ‘Dear Kids: You Didn’t’ Come Here to Pay the Bills’ Amira Whitaker – It’s Not Personal, It’s Business ENTERTAINMENT Janie Bradford, Recently named ‘Queen of Motown’ talks…well… Motown FINE DINING L’Escargot Review by Tony Jazz ART, ACCEPTANCE, DIVERSITY, CREATIVITY Randi Childs, Street Photographer Captures Motown for TurningPoint Magazine PERSPECTIVE Rebecca Weef Smith cracks open the Myth of Aiming for Brilliance HUMOUR Esther Austin

John Wilson - Sly, Slick and Wicked talks Rhythm & Blues and Motown Actor Kirk Taylor’s Words of Wisdom: A Man on a Mission The Former Supremes - Unconditional Love, Motown & Living a Life of Dreams and Fun Lloyd G Williams – Still ‘Shout..ing’ but now to his own Music Cornelius Grant - Known as The 6th Temp: Keeps the Voices of Legends Alive Mary Wilson on Finding Herself, Enjoying Life and Still Superbly Supreme

REVIEWS FRONT COVER PHOTO CREDITS: Woody Wilson and William ‘Mickey’ Stevenson by Randi Childs Photography. Martha Reeves by Jenny Risher.

DISCLAIMER All rights reserved. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions relating to advertising or editorial. The publisher reserves the right to change or amend any competitions or prizes offered. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent from the publishers. No responsibility is taken for unsolicited materials or the return of these materials whilst in transit. TurningPoint Magazine is owned and published by Esther Austin Global Publishing.

The opinion expressed in each article is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of TurningPoint Magazine Inc. Therefore, TurningPoint Magazine. carries no responsibility for the opinion expressed thereon.

MARTHA REEVES IS

STILL DANCING IN THE STREETS AND

Loving Loving It It “It was 1963 when they moved from being Marvin Gaye’s original backup singers (“Stubborn Kind of Fellow,” “Pride & Joy,” “Hitch Hike”) to stars in their own right with the trifecta of “Come and Get These Memories,” “Heat Wave,” and “Quicksand.” Over the next decade, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas would be a consistent presence on the music charts, as well as on television and top venues across the US and abroad.”

EXCERPT TAKEN FROM WWW.MARTHAREEVES.COM

Esther: Martha, when you first started out in the industry, what did Motown represent to you and what does it represent to you now?

Martha: When I first started out in the industry, I was not with Motown, I was with a company called Checkmate Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records and I was involved with a singing group by the name ofThe DelPhi’s.

Prior to that, my singing ability was on a local level at my grandfather’s church, and at elementary school a Mrs Wagstaff chose me out of

10 |Spring 2019

all of the students to sing solos at the end of the class. I then went onto high school where Abraham Silver chose me out of 11 girls in the Soprano section to sing Alleluia Ariaat the Henry Ford auditorium for 4500 people; my first actual debut into show business I would say. It was high school and it wasn’t a paid performance but it was a grand honor to sing at the Henry Ford Auditorium at the age of 17.

At about 21, I was singing in a nightclub as Martha Lavelle and a man called William Stevenson from theA&R Department of Motown records approached me with a card and told me I had talent and

to come to Hitsville USA. I’d heard about this Motown company andHitsville USA as that’s where Mary Wells was discovered. She was one of my idols and she was one of the people who had succeeded in getting her song to the record company owner, Berry Gordy and he made her one of his signature artists’ because of her audition.

On the card that I was given by William Stevenson was also Barret Strong whose record‘Money’ had made it to number one. Eddy Holland had a record out called ‘Jamie’, that had gone to number one and they were making quite a big noise with Marv Johnson whose

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Loving It record ‘You got What it Takes’ made it to number one. It was an up and coming record company and I was very impressed that the A and R Director chose me in my amateur status to come, Motown.

Esther: I’ve been reading Motown’s First A and R Man by William‘Mickey’ Stevenson where he shares about meeting you, and your sheer confidence and persistence, andwhat is it about the drive you had and still have for life, for what you do, to be persistent to simply own your craft?

Martha: William ‘Mickey’ Stevenson discovered me. I wasn’t just hanging around Motown, as TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

is quoted in his book.I was at Motown every day from 9am to 9pmworking as the A and R secretary until they gave me a salary. I did a lot of demos and a lot of singing with the writers and producers who were in the workshop.We were open 24 hours a day and music was being created all the time so I was glad to be a part of that growing industry.

Esther:You’ve had the privilege of working with many artists throughout your career, and this may be a difficult question for you to answer because you’ve worked with so many, but can you name two Motown artists who really blew your mind, and

why?

Martha:I can’t say any of the artists ever blew my mind because I was in the A and R Department and an artist and working with them from those in their amateur status to the top.

It was a joy to meet Stevie Wonder when he was first brought to Motown; he had been discovered by Ronnie White, one of the Miracles, in a Pentecostal Church conducting an adult choir. He played the hennanorgan and conducted a choir and Ronnie came to Berry in a conversation - because the Miracles wasn’t the first Motown group to make it famous–and suggested that Berry hear this Spring 2019 | 11

t I g n i v o L

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Childs. So Stevie was brought to Motown at the age of eight; as I sat in the A and R department, answering phones, making demos and getting ready to go home after an eight hour day.

So that’s how Stevie and I got to know each other.It was prior to his audition and we played around with different instruments like the typewriters, the telephones and he finally found a piano, and he was amazing; he could play the piano, he could play anything, he could play keys, cans, he could play anything.

I followed him into the studio and Berry Gordy declared him to be a wonder so if you consider that as mindblowing then it was, I was amazed at such talent.

There were other acts in my life around the same time that excited me but I think Stevie Wonder was the one who amazed me the most.

Esther: What were the attributes that you feel you needed to become the best? Because there’s an energy of excellence that walks with you Martha: Growing up, my mom, Ruby, taught me to sing. She mainly taught me things to sing in church. She taught me poetry, how to retain lyrics. I think she lived vicariously through me because she wanted to be a singer, but mom and dad married for 47 years, had 12 Childsren.I’m the first born girl, the third Childs. But Ruby did sing a pretty voice and ballads and I tried to sound like her.

From the start of my life, my mother instilled in me to do the best that I could the first time around, so that I wouldn’t have to do it again so that I would never be ashamed or sorry or have to apologize for my performance. So I’ve used that in everything that I’ve ever done in life.

When I was at Motown was asked

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

to answer a phone, I did the best I could with my commercial education from high school and to take dictation, take down lyrics, sing songs for the different producers, to help them rhyme and just be a part of the growth of the Motown history.

Esther: Sixty years of Motown is being celebrated this year Martha; how does it feel to you, a woman who has been instrumental in its make up?

Martha: First, when I went to Hitsville, USA with that business card was given to me by William Stevenson, I knew that I was walking into a wonderland, it was a mansion converted into a studio. They had remodelled it with the help of Berry Gordy’s father, who was head of his own construction company, to convert the garage into Studio A where all of the wonderful music that made Motown famous was produced.

I knew that I was in a magical place and I knew it was going to be a wonderful adventure for me. From the very first day when I was asked

by Williams Stevenson ‘what are you doing here?’ I told him I had come because he had told me to come, because he had given me his card and asked him whether he remembered or not. He said yes, but thatI was supposed to take the card and call for an appointment;as they had auditions every third Thursday. I was still a little taken aback; however, he said ‘answer this phone, I’ll be right back.’

From the moment he left me in that office, with the four lines on the telephone, I took over. I answered requests, I answered phone calls for all 17 of the writers that were housed in that one office. Eventually I started telling people that Mr Stevenson was out of the office, can I take a message? They started asking me who I was, and so I was addressed as the A and R Secretary by the woman in sales department

when I called to get musicians their pay.

So I was very helpful and useful and necessary in that office, and since that day, I’ve always known that I would be an asset to the company and did the best I could to be much of the progress as I could possibly be.

Esther: So where to now Martha Reeves and the Vandellas because I saw you perform in London in November 2018 and you are still rocking it; I was wondering where you get your energy from?

Martha: We have a wonderful heritage of music and I’ve had over 100 back-up singers and I will always have backup singers because the music requires it.

Martha Reeves is my career. I’m being asked to do a lot of things that I’ve prayed and hope to do. I’ve made two faith based movies that are supposed to be released this year 2019, and I’m recording on my own label.

I have two albums to my label and I’m hoping to get a choir who I want to form and do a lot of shows without musicians, with just singers, so that voices will be heard again, because sometimes today’s music does not allow the vocals to be heard.

Motown was good at producing music and letting everybody’s vocals be identified. You can identify them, sometimes with just the drum pick up or the bassline that sparks the music off. However, I have a desire to have this vocal band, just a choir of singers who can let their voices be heard because I really feel that I’m blessed with a good one. Thanks to my mum’s teaching and my dad playing the blues and singing the blues on his guitar, I feel that I’ve been blessed with a unique voice and people have made me believe that I’m a part of their growing up and a part of their falling

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ENTERTAINMENT

in love, their spiritual growth and everything that music does to one. I think that I have influenced with my God given voice, and want to continue doing just that; writing songs from my heart and expressing my spirit and letting them know that I’m a Childs of God and that I’m grateful to be blessed to be a singer.

Esther: The last question Martha; you were recently nominated for an award, is that correct?

Martha:I’ve been winning awards for a long time. We’re inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. We also had a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. I’m also part of a vocal group Hall of Fame and I’ve recently been given an Honorary membership to the Signet Amora Sorority.

They’ve also introduced me to the Urban League in St Louis and I’ve got the gold medal along with some other fantastic women and we’ve 14 |Spring 2019

been called Women of Distinction.

I also celebrate with Florine Marks from Weight Watchers. They have a Distinguished Ladies Affair every year and this will be my 5th year that I’ve been granted to be on that stage.

There’s a lot of things happening and I’m very excited. I’ve recently been asked to sing at a Governor’s business awards ceremony and just a lot of wonderful things coming my way.

my life. I’ll always be a Motown artist and we now celebrate the music with great grandparents, grandparents, parents and their Childsren; so it’s a thrill to have music that has been embraced by the world.

Esther: Fantastic. Is there anything else that you can share about the celebration of this wonderful era, 60 years of Motown?

Martha: Well, I did 58 of the 60 years at Motown and the music becomes more of a reward every year, more than I have ever imagined. We have the dream of Berry Gordy to live down. His music was the sound of ‘Young America’ and is the sound of the world and being a part of the Motown family has got to be the greatest thrill of TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

EXCLUSIVE FEATURES

WOODY WILSON AMERICA’S TOP BESPOKE FASHION DESIGNER ONCE DARED TO DREAM PHOTO CREDITS: RANDI CHILDS PHOTOGRAPHY

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

W

oody Wilson came highly recommended by a mutual friend of ours, so we are both being obedient to the calling, to meet and have that conversation (laughter). So Woody I usually ask my guests in a nutshell, a crab shell, a peanut shell who is Woody Wilson?

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WO O ENTERTAINMENT

Woody: Woody Wilson is a father, a lover of God and a Fashion Designer and I’m based in Los Angeles. I’ve been designing bespoke tailored clothing for 22 years in LA. We have a vast array of clients, celebrities and professional athletes and executives across the globe.

Esther: When you initially started out, what was the vision you had?

Did you envisage that you would be in LA in such a prestigious place?

Woody: No not at all. I started in Corporate America and got fed up with my job. I then found myself in Newport Beach, California frustrated and trying to figure out what my next move was. I remember that so distinctly because I was really frustrated with my boss at the time. He’d made me so angry I actually contemplated jumping across the desk and strangling him (laughter). However, I knew at that point that I could no longer work for him, so I had to figure out what I was going to do with my life.

So I sat in my apartment at the time, dim light, in the quiet, no noise, no music and started making a list of my strengths and weaknesses. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I drew a line down the centre of the paper and started listing everything I could do. I spent two days meditating and praying then fashion jumped off the page. I then asked myself ‘how was I going to go from Corporate America to fashion?’ I had no experience at the time but I did have my degree in business and I knew I could probably figure it out, just like you with your magazine. Plus I had an experience with divine intervention and I got directed to a company in Beverly Hills. It was called Dionne Scott Custom Wardrode Designers and that’s where I got my start.

Esther: I love what you said about divine intervention because that’s how I created my 16 |Spring 2019

magazine and everything that I have created has been divinely inspired. That comes from faith and pure knowing that I am more than I am showing up to be.

Woody: Yes, exactly and you believe that within yourself, you know it’s there. You know that your plan is laid out before you. The naysayers don’t bother you, you don’t listen to them, you let people go to the way-side who are not in your corner. You put your head down and you focus and before you know it, you’re on the road to success and then you look back. You may have moments, like me, when I drop to my knees in tears and say ‘thank you God, you’re such a good God, thank you for getting me here.’ I’ve definitely had those moments and even sometimes, you don’t realise how much you have accomplished, until someone taps you on the shoulder and says ‘hey slow down, don’t you realise what you’ve done, look behind you.’ You then take a look and say to yourself ‘wow, I have done something.’

There was a moment I had the other day thinking about a client of mine.

Death Row Records, Suge Knight, The D.O.C. and Dr. Dre. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast based artists such as Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur.

Suge Knight became a client of mine and I also did some clothes for P Diddy back in the day so I was right in the middle of the East Coast, West Coast drama that was going on, yet totally shielded from it. God had my back. I was dressing both guys at opposite ends of the battlefield without them knowing and it didn’t even phase me that maybe there could have be an issue. That’s why when I look back years later, I’m like WOW, I made it out of that, so that was divine guidance.

Esther: What are some of the

attributes you’ve personally had to develop to keep yourself balanced on your journey?

Woody: My faith keeps me balanced.

I have a wife, children and family. I’m just a normal guy and have never placed myself above anyone or thought of myself as other than what I’ve done or what I do. At the end of the day I still have to go home and take the trash out. It’s interesting how people come to Los Angeles and totally loose themselves. We have people to this day who are told by their supporting team how great they are and the minute they loose focus in the media’s eye, they start to unravel. They turn to drugs or you can’t speak to them on the street because they think they’re all that. So for me the many accomplishments that God has blessed me with are just what they are and I just move on from there.

Esther: Now let’s talk a bit more about what you actually do.

We’ve talked about the process of you getting to where you are now, your vision and your experience of divine inspiration.

What do you call yourself now and tell us about being in a corporate environment to becoming one of the most acknowledged and celebrated tailors in the country.

Woody: So first I had to learn and understand what I was getting myself into. When I started working for Dionne Scott Custom Wardrobe Designers I started one on one. I was like a sponge. I had to absorb everything around me as quickly as I could. I wanted to study fast so I could go out there in the market and do well. So if you think of a library and the pages in the books, our pages in our books are fabric swatches and they number in the tens of thousands. Twice a year we have two different collections. So my job was

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

O Y ENTERTAINMENT

to go out to get clients and sell them on the idea that I could build a custom wardrobe for them from scratch. So that’s what I did. I went out and hit Los Angeles, hit the streets and shook hands. I got Steve Harvey as a client, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel and Magic Johnson just by going to the right parties, shaking hands, communicating with them which I learned from my business background.

The concept of designing clothes for them with nothing in my hand but a business card, to then getting the appointment, to later being invited to sit down in their homes to design their custom wardrobes was my process. I did that for the first two years with Dionne Scott Custom Wardrobe Designers. Mike Tyson was a big client of the firm at the time. I remember going to his home during my first probationary period with the company and threw his swatches down and Don King was there and we were designing all these things and I fell in love with the process and I knew right then that this was what I was supposed to be doing.

So that transition happened like that and then Dionne Scott Custom Wardrobe Designers went out of business, however, this gave me the chance to start my business and in 1997 the Woody Wilson Collection was born.

So, when I first started out I was a clothier. A clothier basically makes recommendations on how you should dress and builds your garments and takes your measurements, goes to your home, matches up colours and patterns, so that’s more of a personal clothier as well as a Fashion Designer. So I create original pieces which means I’m a Bespoke Fashion Designer.

Esther: What did it feel like for you to step into the arena of ‘this is now my own business. My name is on the label; my name is on the door?’

Woody: I never imagined my name in lights. I’d always imagined working hard and delivering and sticking to my promises. But I remember the day I had the sign placed on my building. I took my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, and sat across the street at Starbucks. I’d set a timer and we counted down to when it got to dusk. Then all the lights around the sign lit up and I remember that moment so distinctly, because it was just magical, something you’d never forget.

Esther: So where to now? You’ve mentioned artists you’ve met so can you share some of your more memorable moments when you dressed a client and what it did for them more than just the physical aspect of being dressed?

Woody: Yes. I’ve had a couple of memorable moments.

Fox Sports - Terri Bradshaw, Howie Long, James Brown and Jimmy Johnson. I worked with a

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You may have a mentor that will direct you, a mentor that will give you some guidance but they’re only going to guide you to a certain level. Therefore, you have to be free like a bird and fly off yourself and do the research and don’t be afraid to work hard.

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costumier who was assigned to make sure these guys looked good on television. She hired me to do wardrobe. There was a situation with the Super Bowl where somehow she had got behind schedule and we had to rush and make suits for all the guys. We had their physical pattern on order to tailor the suits. I had to pick out all the fabric and have them sewn and created and then she put them in a wardrobe box and shipped them. I didn’t know what they were going to look like but the only way I was going to see them was when I turned on the television and there they were welcoming everybody to the Super Bowl 2008, and they were doing their announcements in Woody Wilson wardrobe.

Then recently New Edition were honoured at BET and BET asked me to design some outfits for their celebration. There was Bobby Brown and Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill and Rickey Bell and all the other guys. Their schedules were totally different so it was difficult to match their schedules and come up with a concept that would give them the appearance that I thought they would deserve for being honoured. Also to make it comfortable that they could dance in and still be modern as a tailored fit. I never did see Ralph Tresvant until the night of the event, so in other words, I made a suit, got some general measurements of his sizing, had my tailors on standby in the tunnel underneath the Staple Centre just in case. Ralph shows up an hour before the show, we have to do a ton of alterations, we get it done and then walk him up to the stage, he actually puts on the suit backstage before he goes live to the world.

Esther: How do you feel you have grown as a person from your formative years of stepping out on your own, seeing your name up in lights to where you are now?

Woody: What I realise is that from a 19 | June 2018YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING TURNINGPOINT:

business perspective, dressing successful people from all walks of life across the globe, there’s a common denominator with successful people. There’s a drive and a hunger you cannot describe. You either have it or you don’t. That’s why there’s entrepreneurs and then there are people who work and I feel it will always be that way.

Then the other thing I’ve come to realise is that there are so many ways to make money. You don’t have to make the automobile, you could make the widget for the automobile.

You just have to make one part that they need. There’s different aspects of business from the supplier, distributor to the retailer. There’s the chain with different aspects that you can get involved with in that chain.

There’s understanding real estate and how crucial it is to wealth and building wealth for your family. So that exposure has really given me an opportunity to do different things from doing films by raising money to products and distribution.

I’ve got a product now called Col Bleu. There’s an African American young man out of Cleveland, Ohio who was actually manufacturing this product. Unlike P Diddy who took a brand, put his name behind it, marketed it and made it successful.

Col Bleu is a brand that Ralph Faulkner developed himself from scratch, packaged it, manufactured it and now sells it across the nation.

It’s vodka and I’ve hooked him up with a distributor. So I’m able to take the contacts that I’ve developed over the years from successful clients and plug in folks who need those connections, like you today.

My whole reason for helping young people is to support them in getting a leg up. If I’ve got an opportunity that is going to help you tremendously, I’m going to see what I can do. Truthfully the first 15 years of my own business it was let me help you make your own money.

The older I got when I started seeing retirement around the corner I got to thinking, well let me make some

money off of this. So it’s about building residual income, that’s a necessity.

Esther: In winding down Woody, what piece of information would you share with someone who is sitting on the side lines thinking ‘WOW that looks hard.’ What piece of information would you say to them so they know that ‘Yes I Can.’ Woody: Well first of all you have to believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, it’s not going to happen. No-one’s going to come along and put you on their shoulders and take you for a ride. You may have a mentor that will direct you, a mentor that will give you some guidance but they’re only going to guide you to a certain level. Therefore, you have to be free like a bird and fly off yourself and do the research and don’t be afraid to work hard. I’m sure you work twice as hard for yourself and you do for anybody else.

Esther: But that’s because I know I have something at the end.

Woody: Yes so there’s a greater motivation there but I know I work day and night. I work in my sleep. I get up in the middle of the night and write things down.

Esther: How do you manage the stress or how do you bring balance into your life?

Woody: I definitely work out. I’m a boxer, I go to the gym which I find is the greatest workout for me as it relieves a lot of stress.

I run, fish, play golf, I go to the beach, ride my bike. Anything I can do outside, I’m very happy.

By keeping that balance I’ve learned to take time for myself.

If I get a cancellation in my schedule or if I’ve got a few extra hours, I’ll go to the beach and watch the waves. Just to enjoy and thank God. Remember: I’m in Southern California one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

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PHOTO CREDITS: RANDI CHILDS PHOTOGRAPHY

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I

t was an absolute privilege to be able to secure an interview with William ‘Mickey’ Stevenson who I met when I was in LA in February 2019. I had just interviewed Lloyd G Williams and Lawrence ‘Pops’ Dopson and they were taking me to lunch. We were standing in line waiting to be served and in walked this rather distinguished, easy going energy. Lloyd and Pops instantly got up with big grins on their faces. There was a lot of hand shaking, and the patting on backs then William asked if he join us for lunch and for the next few hours I sat listening to the history of music and Motown with lots of name dropping of all the major artists produced by Motown. There was a lot of laughter and reminiscing.I felt honoured to be in the midst of something, I personallyconsider historical and legendary. I realised that I was capturing conversation from a very influential time in his..tory.

So without further ado, I asked my obligatory ‘shell’ question - who is William Mickey Stevenson in a nutshell, a coconutshell or maybe a peanutshell and the conversation flowed from there.

[Laughter] William: I was the A and R Director of Motown Records. I ran the whole music division of Motown for about 10 years; the original Motown i.e Stevie Wonder, Four Tops, Vandellas, Supremes, Mavin Gaye, Funk BrothersI could go on.

My point of view of who I am as a person is because of that Man upstairs. God chose me to do a task. He made the choice. I was doing it without the knowledge of what I was doing and I was doing it because of the gift given to me. When I found out later in life that it was from God and what thatgift was all about, I used it alot better, but it was going to be used whether I liked it or not.

So in essence, I am a man of God, for the purpose that I must execute constantly until He tells me to stop.

Esther: What is that purpose? What is that gift?

William: That gift is to find the best part of the gifts given to others and try and pull that out so they can recognize what they’ve got in order to succeed in life.

As they succeed and do what they’re given to do, they can then help others, and it keeps on going.

Esther: That’s beautiful because in the spirit of that delivery and purpose, can you share about some of the artists you’ve worked with.For instance, the Funk Brothers, Smokey Robinson etc what was it in them that you

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

clearly recognized was their gift?

William: Well, not to take the credit for anything, but in the beginning, I didn’t know that I had the gift for this. I thought I was just finding moments or something in someone where I could say something about them or help to develop. I didn’t know that it was purposely put into my being. Then I noticed that in the process of dealing with different artists I got more sensitive and I got better results, and that separated some from others.

In that process, it let me know that I had something special where I could pick these people and help them develop what they were doing. That’s when the spiritual side connected with the human side in me as a human being. I started looking for that feeling, for that inspiration from upstairs. So the choices I made were on purpose because of the people I met like The Four Tops, The Funk Brothers; individually, each person I had a connection with was because they were put in my path to connect with.

So, what I learned was,you didn’t just walk into my office or I didn’t just see you on the street or hear you play. It was a purpose for me to go there to hear you, to connect and work with you.In my opinion, we are all here for a reason, we all have gifts and more than one. Now, it’s the people that God send to you or who you run into that will

help you develop the gifts that you have, that makes it all come together.

Also, we have the negative side, where people will try to pull you down from recognizing you have something to offer. That’s a real battle for human beings and thank God we’ve got to be alert to recognize the ones that mean something and ignore the ones that don’t mean something to us. That could be family, friends, whoever, don’t leave anybody out of it, because the devil is a very smooth guy, he’s been around here a long time.

Esther: I believe that what we see as the negatives are often experiences that keep us on our feet, to keep us looking into our mirror of truth. It also empowers us later down to recognize when that energy is coming again.

William: What you just said is what I call wisdom. You’re acquiring wisdom and knowledge, and you get that from the past.

Most people take it the wrong way. It’s not that something bad happens to you but more to the point, something was put in your path so you could acquire wisdom and knowledge.

If you ignore that, you’re not getting the lesson. Life’s wisdom and knowledge comes from people and things around you as you walk through life; that’s the school. Sometimes it hurts, other times it’s a wonderful experience.

Don’t waste your time on people Spring 2019 | 21

William with Charles Still and John Wilson

William with his wife Michelle Fletcher and Randi Childs

William Mickey Stevenson with John Wilson from Sly, Slick and Wicked 22 |Spring 2019

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

who don’t want to listen. Keep going because God has others for you to deal with; there’s a whole lot of us out there.

Esther: You’ve come through life after having the most eclectic of experiences. You held a very pivotal position at Motown changing lives. You’ve directed, produced, guided, mentored; how did you remain grounded holding such responsibility?

William: I personallyconnected with each person I worked with. I represented someone to them; a father, friend, cousin, brother and they looked at me from that point of view as well as the A&R man running the operation.

Because of these types of relationships, they knew they could communicate with me and that I’d give from the heart.

Strictly as a business, that’s one approach, but when it comes from the heart it’s different.

An artist could say I’ve got a problem, and I’ll say ‘what’s the problem?’ Then we’d talk about it and resolve and solve that problem.

I meant something to each person and I’ve got to tell you, they meant something to me.

I would get calls at all hours of the morning and since they had confidence in me, I had to answer that call. I couldn’t ignore it.

What that built was confidence with the artists and creating a family feeling which they prospered from. My personal life didn’t quite work out the same way because my energy and time went out to others. That’s a debt you paid, a price that goes along with this. I had to make a decision, do I stay with this all the way or just do it every now and then? Well, my decision didn’t matter, God had already chosen what my decision and his decision was ‘Do me first and everything else will follow.’

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Esther: As you’re talking, there’s a strength in you, there are all these wonderful, grounded attributes, but I also believe a lot of those attributes and your mindset were formed in your formative years, because you went through quite a lot. You shared in your book how your mother bought up four boys on her own,then died at 28 from cancer. You share about dealing with this grief, ending up visiting juvenile centers several times as you tried to find out who you were and your path. You clearly wanted more for your life i.e not wanting to be on welfare or hand-outs and preferring to hustle.So these things really built a platform of self-preservation and self-determination.Can you share more about your formative years and the path it eventually put you on?

William: When I was a teenager, there was a certain area of Detroit, where if you stepped out you’d have a problem, you mightend up dead. What bothered me as a young kid was I’dbe standing on the street watching planes go by and think to myself “is this it for me? This little spot, isthis where I’ve got to grow and die right here?”

I’d question, how the plane got into the air and move the way it did and I’d wonder where it was going. I would rather be someplace else than here eating a hamburger for 10 cents when I wanted to have a steak.

So my desire to be better took me to a lot of places, not always good places. I was into hustling like everybody else and surviving but I didn’t want to stand still.I did whatever it took to keep going so I could get on one of those planes to see where they were going.

Then, when I got with Berry Gordy, he asked me whether I could be the A &R Man with his

music business and enquired whether I could handle it. I told him that I could do anything if it’s music and business.

Esther: How would you break down A&R? William: A is for Artist and R as in Repertoire. The job itself is, I’d find the artist, and have a conversation. Then I’d have to make sure they hadgifts and that they wanted to bring those gifts forward. So if you had the gift to sing, I’d have to confirm that you could really sing.Also you could have the greatest voice in the world but if we couldn’t work together, it’s wasn’t going to happen because egos and all kind of things can get in the way.

That was the first part of my job.

First, I see the gift, then to get you to do things for yourself and if you could do this then I’d suggest you make yourself even better.

The other part was that I’d have to find musicians and others to create the music for your gifts to take on a greater sound. So each person was separately picked to make that happen and that gave us, aswe say, a family, an organization. The producers, writers, musicians and myself, we had to have a respect and love for one another. It was okay to argue every now and then but before the argument was over, we’dhave to resolve that and then get down to what we were there for. When you put that in the picture, the arguments didn’t last too long because the goal was the key.

Esther: SSo let’s start with Smokey Robinson and I know you play golf with him regularly, what was it you saw in him initially?

William: Yes, we play all the time.

We played recently and he took my money.[Laughter]Smokey and Berry were together before I got there.

Spring 2019 | 23

off right away because we knew each other from high school and he’s never changed. I used to tell him that God really touched him because he would come up with and do some of the dumbest of things and didn’t have any problems.If anybody else did what he did they’d be in trouble.I told him that God was keeping him out of alot of trouble because he had plans for him.

Smokey to this very day, always give God the glory and we pray every time we play. Blessings are not always money,blessings can be just breathing and living.

Esther: What other artists have you worked who have really stood out for you?

William: Well of course Steven Wonder. Stevie came to meet me through my assistant Clarence Paul. He brought Stevie Wonder to me. I had my doubts because I was wondering what I was going to do with this kid.

That’s when we were just getting started with the Motown operation. In school, Smokey had his group andI had mine, so we knew each other. Oneday, we met at Berry’s apartmentand Smokey asked me what I was doing there and Berry told him that I was going to be the A and R man. Smokey was happy about this and told Berry that when we were growing up we would battle out in groups around the city and said that I would wear them out because my group was always better.

We sang Jazz and he sang R and B, and they kind of looked up to my group for that purpose. So Smokey mentioned that he had a session coming up and that he needed some musicians. I told him not to worry and we hit it

24 |Spring 2019

The bottom line was when I made the decision to listen to Stevie and deal with him at 11 years old I knew God had really given him a gift. He was incredible. I had to think about how to make that gift come forward? But the Lord said, this is going to be your easiest job.

[Laughter].

Anyway, working with Stevie and watching him develop, was incredible. I used to have other people come to audition, and they would request a piano, musicians, I need this and I need that. I’d then call Stevie and tell him to sing. Stevie would start singing. I’d tell them that Stevie didn’t need a band, he didn’t have a piano, no music and even if he did he couldn’t read it. They were coming with their egos and not their gift. Now that put me in a very uncomfortable position.

I’d then tell them to go back

home, put themselves together and come back and do what this blind 11 year old black kid could do, then we’d talk. I watched Stevie grow. He would study every producer who came in and out of our office, and he would absorb things like a sponge - it was just absolute magic.

Same with Marvin Gaye. Berry brought Marvin Gaye to my office and said to me, I want a hit with this guy. I told Berry thatMarvin singsJazzand that we didn’t do Jazz. Berry said ‘I didn’t say Jazz, I said I want a hit; now you said that you could do anything, right?’ I told him yes and then he asked me to give him a hit by Marvin Gaye.’ I asked him what was the deal as we’d always bet on everything.

Berry said $500 and I told him I would go for $1,000. So Berry agreed.

I then had to get Marvin to understand that he was originally a gospel singer, but I wanted him to get back to the soul of the music. We started writing songs together. I could see that he had a lot of other things going on, other-than his voice, he had something to say, then he had to sing it and I was like‘wow.’ I eventually got him to record a song.

I did this by writing songs for other people.In our day, we had tape recorders and writers would sing their line, and you’d sing yours.We’d record everything so you didn’t lose anything. So what I did in essence, I took all my verses out and taped all of Marvin’s together. Then I played the song to him,where all his verses ran concurrently, soulfully, spiritually and suggested that instead of giving the song to The Contours, that he did the song himself. Marvin was still adamant he wanted to do Jazz, but I told him that this song could be a hit and also if

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

he did it, it would get me off the hook with Berry.

So he agreed to do it for me, for the sake that I would later do the Jazz album. So when we cut Stubborn Kind of FellowI walked upto Berry with the demoand told him to give me my money.

He took the CD, listened to it then came back down a short while later, put his hands in his pocket, pulled out my money and gave it to me, and asked me how did I do it, I told him ‘You don’t want to know.’

I saw something in Marvin that was slowly coming out, he did this in his writing, in his attitude and politically. We’d be talking in the office, waiting to go into the studio and he’d get into a political conversation. The guy had something to say and it came out in his music, which was great, even though his personal circumstances were a battle for him, he was wonderful.

Also, The Funk Brothers were incredible. Each one of them.

They all had something to say.

I met them individually and bought them in.

If I was going to be working with you as an artist, I would demand that you stick with your end of the deal. Not ask but demand it. Because if I can commit, you’ve got to commit too That was the deal and sometimes I had to pay things off myself because it didn’t work out. But I still made the commitment. I was known for that.

Esther: So in January this year, 60 years of Motown was celebrated.

What’s on the cards for us as we celebrate with some incredibly incredible people?

William: Well, on 21st April the 60 Years Motown Celebration was aired. The wonderful thing was to look back atMotown.The timing was so phenomenal. I love telling people that Detroit was a place where initially we

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

made cars not music. The music was made in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Nashville and the people picked and chosen by God to start this organization,Motown, were in a whole other world.

But like all things, God chose this spot and these people including me to make this happen. You couldn’t deny it was a powerful force that created Motown.

We had the greatest writers, musicians and entrepreneurs.

For the 60 year’s anniversary it was an amazing energy that was still the same as it used to be.

The conversations were still the same and we are still a family.

That’s incredible. We talked like we never left each other, as if we were at work every day.

Spirit came down on Azusa Street, California, which was an unbelievable story, but it’s a fact. I turned it into a musical and I think it's going to be the biggest thing I've ever done.

I'm also doing a show called Les Gemmes, which is about women and their struggle and one of the main songs in the show is about a woman in the White House today, which I wrote years ago.

So I got a few things happening that’s got to be completed. I’ve got to be around to complete them.[Laughter]So I will be having a great time, a better time than I had sixty years ago and I’m hoping to visit the UK in July to do some talks and promote my book. How’s that?

Esther: On the days, when sometimes life felt difficult and you had a lot to deal with what is it that has inspired you to get up, take responsibility to do whatever needed to be done?

William: Once I start something, I must finish it, no matter what it takes. If I don’t want to finish, I don’t start. I havean inner driving force and I accepted it as part of my nature. I believe you are here for a purpose, to do your thing and even if it doesn’t come out like you want it too, finish it and if something doesn’t come out right, you learn something. You can’t get that knowledge unless you finish whatever it is that you started. It’s okay not to win because out of that experience comes knowledge and wisdom.

But to quit is a bad way to go out and not accomplish something.

Esther: So where to now for Mickey? You said you hoped to be around for another 30 years to celebrate Motown.How are you going to fill those years?

William: Well, I'm doing the Azusa Revival Musical where the Holy

Motown's First A & R Man Presents The A & R Man

by William Mickey Stevenson (Author), Ashley Stevenson (Assistant)

Can be purchased on Amazon

Spring 2019 | 25

TRUE LIFE STORIES BACK TO THE ESSENCE OF NATURE: JEWELLERY THAT SPEAKS TO THE SOUL VERONIQUE

M

y name is Veronique. I create Jewellery with mainly Natural Material. My jewellery not only adorns but brings out the inner core of who wears it, the essence of his/her being.

I started the journey, beading and assembling pieces together 20 years ago and slowly evolved into working with crystals. My strong connection with Nature sent me into the world of stones. At a time, in London, they used mostly polished crystals and I started discovering them and I decided to use them in their raw form. The crystal universe is so vast and fascinating that once I immersed myself in it, I could not go back. I discovered their beauty and healing powers. From that time, I have not stopped discovering, learning and designing.

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Spring 2019 | 27

Veronique with Lloyd G Williams

I am trying to bring us back to Nature and most specifically redefine our lost connection to Nature.

The making of my work has evolved through the years. When I started buying stones, I was following the shapes and textures of the stones as they were and now I have started designing from scratch. The deep relationship between myself and the stone helps me create and brings back the essence of human nature.

The duality of my origins has forced me to learn adaptation and I learned to use this duality as an asset rather than an obstacle.

I only took a part-time course in Silversmith 7 years ago. When I work with crystals, I reach the inner part of myself which is at the core of my work.

It is a privilege to work with those natural stones, feeling their energy and “touching” their beauty. Also working with stones helps cleanse, guide and protect and I want to say that I found peace within myself and pure contentment.

Today Veronique has become a growing brand in London. Life has 28 |Spring 2019

Actor Kirk Taylor wearing items from Veronique range

offered me a new direction now as well so I can expand my brand. I recently moved to LA. Love brought me here at a time when I needed to move to the next level and leave London. My aspirations resonated through the exciting turningpoint in my Life. I am developing my brand in LA and my jewellery is rapidly making itself know throughout the US. Veronique, Jewellery Designer, is born from a Mauritanian father (West Africa) and a French mother at a time where ethnicity was a silent concept. The search for my identity, as a mixed heritage young girl living in a mainly White French environment has sometimes been painful.

The intense need to integrate in a culture which was not fully mine was conflicting with this other side of who I was. Deep down, I was a loved but tormented child.

Then, I entered the Academic world, started studying Psychology, French Literature and then I went to London.

considered as the most significant accessory in terms of the expression of who we are essentially.

It is here that I found the strength to freely create a wild range of Jewellery with carefully chosen material. I started using shells, wood, evolving into the world of stones and precious metals.

The journey continues and I want to say to everyone “always follow your dream.” Love, determination and consistency will guide you to fulfilment and success. “Follow your heart” and everything will come into place.

My work is a fusion between the Soul of Africa and the Parisian elegance that screams in each piece with desperate pride. The richness of my heritage shines through the glow of a precious and timeless piece of art, as in each piece of Jewellery.

Contact Details: Email: veroniquegautherot4@hotmail.com Website: https://veroniquedesigns.com/

My journey to London, opened my world. Jewellery is what I always TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

KWAME MCPHERSON’S HOMAGE TO MOTOWN FROM A CARIBBEAN PERSPECTIVE

I

magine 1980s Jamaica. A house party. Rhythm and Blues belting through speakers while numerous couples tightly embraced each other. The clench, so close that not even a gust of air could pass between their bodies, fused together as if by glue. For sure, love was in the air and anything else that was likely to happen when everybody got home. Naturally, the cause was Marvin seeking that Sexual Healing and young people on the dancefloor were definitely complying. Yet, even though Marvin had left Motown by the time he recorded this song which was an astounding success, his grounding started at Motown and as it was for him, so it was for us too.

Motown. Everybody knew about Motor Town or Detroit, the motoring city, where Berry Gordy began the powerhouse and the phenomenal music that ushered in a time when Black people were embracing who they were and becoming proud of it too.

Growing up in the Caribbean, our introduction to Motown was via local radio on Sunday afternoons.

The stations taking us through a repertoire of Motown artists, with the early voices of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Mary Wells and Eddie Holland. In our parent’s living rooms, we would buck the Gram volume as if in a party and replicate the dances of Soul Train, with its dapper host Don Cornelius. There we would be sashaying, bip bopping and boogie hoogieing as our African American brothers and sisters would do.

The music changed as the eras did, representing the message of the time. It began in a tumultuous time with slavery still fresh in the memory of a generation. When the Jim Crow laws persecuted, oppressed and annihilated Black people in the

Southern States. When the Black people in the Caribbean began to make their presence known, unshackling the generational chains of colonial connection to go out and forge their own identity. When the Vietnam War was at its fiercest when the tools of war were used to kill and maim millions, on both sides.

Then, out of this chaos came The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Stevie, The Marvelettes and The Four Tops.

Not to forget The Temptations, The Spinners, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Gladys Night and the Pips and Jimmy Ruffin and of course, the star – Marvin Gaye.

Too many fabulous artists to mention, Motown’s rostra being too numerous.

Yet, the Motown songs were about love, relationships and politics.

Who could forget The Marvelettes Please Mister Postman (1961) or Marvin’s What’s Going On? (1971) and I haven’t even touched on The Jackson 5’s or Stevie’s catalogues.

Yet, every single artist’s lyrics translated the sign of the time now to a more diverse audience as Motown became more and more

Kwame McPherson Kwame's latest book, My Date With Depression: from Mental Uncertainty to Self-fulfilment (OUT SPRING 2019), documents his journey and struggle with depression. A riveting read, it's aimed at other men (and the women who love them) who may have difficulty in expressing the challenges they face or the pain they feel.

Through his writings, Kwame wishes to share the lessons he's learned throughout his life, empowering and enlightening others as he does so.

Kwame has a penchant for great chocolate, is a qualified football referee, certified trainer, book coach and mentor.

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

acceptable to young white people.

Naturally, Black people already knew about the music! But it was a testament to the alluring creativity and attraction of the music, why others were drawn to it and if one listened to the enticing beats, dulcet tones and captivating rhythms, a definite spiritual and trance-like magnetism existed.

Importantly, though, the music has lasted the test of time, an indication into the quality of how the songs were written and produced, and to the genius of Berry Gordy. Motown was and is Black people’s music.

The messages pertinent and current.

It was and is the heartbeat of a people. A pure mixture of brilliance and ingenuity. Long live Motown!

Shop window: www.lulu.com/spotlight/baobabtreebooks Website: www.kwamemcpherson.com Email: kwame@kwamemcpherson.com, kwamemamcpherson@gmail.com Twitter: @KwameMA Facebook/LinkedIn: Author Kwame McPherson Instagram: Kwame MA McPherson

Spring 2019 | 29

DAPHNE MAXWELL REID – DRIVING EXCELLENCE THROUGH

Creativity and Passion

I

had the pleasure of interviewing Daphne when I was in LA in February 2019.

As soon as she came on the phone, I felt her nurturing, youthful exuberance for life and for the creativity that she had long discovered in herself. I was obliged on one front to ask the obligatory and mundane question “Who is Daphne Maxwell Reid in a coconut shell, a peanut shell or even a crab shell? To which she gave a hearty laugh whilst proceeding to comment. Already there was an air of excitement and expectation about the pending conversation..however, the question of the shell was still pending….

30 |Spring 2019

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Daphne: I am a crab shell and I come out every once in a while and stick my paw out into the world to give a little of myself and hopefully when I’m all done I will be repositioned.

Esther: And when you say give a little of yourself, Daphne what does that mean? What exactly does Daphne give?

Daphne: I have been gifted with some amazing creative talents that I have set my life trying to honour the use of. I was gifted with being able to create things with my hands; I was gifted with sewing, wood work, knitting and crocheting and I was gifted with a very bright and curious mind.

So I know I can do whatever I want to do. I was gifted with a blessed eye that sees things that I would like to show people so I do it through photography.

Esther: Fantastic. This all ties in nicely with the theme of this issue which is about celebrating the spirit of Excellence. So, when did you first realise or recognise that you had all of these gifts?

Daphne: They come to the surface at different times. When I was very young I was very, very creative because I was around people who were creative, who challenged me to be interested in all sorts of different things. I remember pasting pictures with stones and making Christmas decorations with straws. All sorts of creative endeavours that were clever and some would have a geometric dome and I was only 7 or 8 years old when I was doing these things with my cousin who lived with us. My mother was also a seamstress and I learnt how to sew when I was 9 years old and probably since the age of 11 I’ve made my own clothes exclusively.

I discovered that I had a talent for photography at an early age because my father always took pictures and TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

so did I. I’ve always had a camera but it wasn’t until I was 60 years old that I decided to share that gift in a more creative way and decided to call myself a photographic artist. I have been an actress and still am and I think my parents told me when I was growing up that I was always about being up front. So I was a very expressive child, as they say, so I guess that enhanced my abilities to create characters as an actress.

They just seep out of me and I focus on them and expand them and see where they will go and I’ve had a life of wonderful, wonderful, gifted journeys through all of these channels.

Esther: How did you get into acting and how did you land the role as Aunt Viv in the Fresh Prince of Bel Air? Daphne: I was discovered as a model when I was in college and that was serendipitous and it didn’t happen because I was striving to be a model. I had grown up in New York City so I was exposed to alot of the arts. I saw wonderful examples of all the different professional arts like acting, modelling and singing throughout high school.

In high school you go to a club and start an acting course and I happened to go Saturdays to something called ‘The Group Theatre Workshop’ that was run

by Robert Salt and I had friends from the Group like Douglas Turner Ward, who is a great playwright; and we did acting. I didn’t know you could make a living doing that, I was doing it because it was fun. At that time it was the 60s so there weren’t a lot of examples of successful black women as actresses so I wasn’t looking to do that for a living. I was going with my head, I was smart. I went to a science high school and graduated and got a scholarship to go to college.

I pursued interior design and architecture and once I graduated

and had been discovered as a model in college, I just kept going with the opportunities that presented themselves. They kept presenting themselves in the form of modelling and doing commercials. Then somebody came to Chicago where I was living at the time and was auditioning for a TV series that they were doing, they were holding auditions and my modelling agent sent me and I got a role that they hand wrote into the programme because they liked my performance.

So that was how I got into show business and it was Robert Conrad – I’ve dated a lot of Roberts in my time (Laughter) I’ve just thought of that, my boyfriend was a Robert, and then Robert was my acting teacher, and then I was discovered by Robert Conrad. Anyway Robert Conrad put me in that show and then when I got divorced and moved out to Los Angeles, Robert Conrad was out there doing another show and he put me in that show and I was able to get an agent and a career began.

Esther: You were in show business for quite a while – your role as Aunt Vivian, you took over from Janet Hubert, so can you tell me how you got that particular role.

Daphne: I was asked to audition for the Fresh Prince when it first started.

I had been on about 3 or 4 back to back series with my husband Frank.

I was kind of tired of Los Angeles and we had just bought a place in Virginia and I was told that they had an audition for me with a rapper. I told them that I don’t like rap so thank you very much. I went to my farm in Virginia and when I turned on the television that Fall and saw the show that I didn’t audition for, I thought what a huge show. So Spring 2019 | 31

3 years later I was at the farm and they called and said we’d like you to come in and audition for a role on the Fresh Prince and I said “I’ll be there in 10 minutes.” If I could have beamed me up scotty, I would’ve been there. I stayed in Los Angeles for 2 weeks, went to 4 auditions and every time I went to an audition there was another group of black women that I had never seen before in my life. By the second audition I got to work with James Avery and we hit it off. I guess they saw that chemistry and that’s how I think I got

comic?

Daphne: I really am married to a comic.

Esther: For you, what are the attributes that you feel you gained being in the media?

Daphne I think I’ve gained confidence, I’ve gained presence. I’ve gained the ability to work with a lot of different kinds of people. I’ve gained the insight of team work. I’ve gained the insight of passion, dedication and improving your craft and knowing your place.

Esther: Hmm….Knowing your place. What does that mean,

You’re taking advantage of an opportunity that arises. You do your best and in hindsight there might be some historical significance to it, but you never strive to make history. I strive to achieve what I want to achieve or to take advantage of an opportunity that presents itself.

In doing that I’ve been blessed to have done historical things.

I certainly did no set out to be making history except everybody should know that every day they live their lives they’re making that will honor your family, to do things that have integrity and that you would be proud that

Well to tell you the truth it was uneventful.

When you’re the first to do something it’s not that you’re going out to be the first to do that. You’re taking advantage of an opportunity that arises. You do your best and in hindsight there might be some historical significance to it, but you never strive to make history. I strive to achieve what I want to achieve or to take advantage of an opportunity that presents itself. the role. I was very happy but I had never met Janet and when we were working they never talked about her. They didn’t say what the drama was, they didn’t say anything about her. They knew me from the work I had done and were very honoured to have me there and I was very honoured to be there.

Esther: What was it like for you to act in a comedy role, did you ever act in a role like that before?

Daphne: I had done some comedy acts. I was in two episodes of WKRP in Cincinnati and they were pretty funny. I do straight people humour, not the jokester type and I know how to deliver because I’m married to a comic.

Esther: Ok. Were you being funny, or are you really married to a 32 |Spring 2019

can you expand a little further?

I’m feeling a little philosophical here now Daphne.

Daphne: When you’re working with fellow cast members, you don’t stand in front of them. You know where the camera is so you know not to be in their light. Those kind of things, just knowing how to be in your space.

Esther: You were also the first black woman on the front cover of Glamour magazine in October 1969. What was that experience like?

your family remembered you by.

Esther: Ok, so what would you say to someone who wants to achieve their dreams, going back to the theme of the Spirit of Excellence?

Daphne: Be prepared. If you’re going to step out on your own make sure you have a cushion to bounce on. I don’t say fall on because if you fall you’ve got

Daphne: Well to tell you the truth it was uneventful. When you’re the first to do something it’s not that you’re going out to be the first to do that.

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

to get up so have a cushion to bounce back up on. Know that what you are doing will enhance somebody’s life, whether it’s yours or someone else’s or a community. If it will enhance somebody’s life, it’s worth doing. Have a purpose for your dream. Why do you want to do that? Is it just for the celebrity? Because that’s a very shallow reason to do something. But have a purpose and get up and take the first step, don’t sit there and try to figure out what all the steps are. There is a path to where you’re going. You are the only one who takes that path, nobody can tell you how to do it, nobody can put you on a path, you have to step forward.

Take all your failures as lessons, learn those lessons and keep getting up and keep walking. That’s the only thing that will make any kind of success because as soon as you sit down, you have failed.

Esther: So the times when you’ve been down, the times that you’ve felt you were too tired to get back up, what is it that kept you getting up? What has been the inspiration and drive?

Daphne: Usually it’s hunger. It’s knowing that you have to make something happen because around you opportunities are presenting themselves, so you try something and in trying something it leads you to somewhere else. In presenting yourself and your gifts to somebody who doesn’t accept your gifts it’s not a rejection of you, it is a non-acceptance.

When people say ‘I didn’t get that audition, something’s wrong with me.’ No, nothing’s wrong with you, you just were not chosen for that. If you want to be an actor you have to wait to be chosen unless you’re writing your own shows and doing them yourself. I have never been rejected, I’ve just not been chosen. It’s just they cannot use your service but that doesn’t mean that your services are not valid.

Esther: Love that and in winding down, is there anything else you’d like to share. This interview has been very rich and I know that people read this will be inspired.

Daphne: I would like to just make the point that if you see something that you like, say if you like a person’s photography, they could use your assistance by purchasing something. All the things that we do to present to the world, we do that to share and to make a living and it’s lovely to say “Oh that’s beautiful” but does it affect you enough to make a purchase? And if not then pass it on. Please take a look at my website and see all the things I do. Help support people who put their souls into what they create.

And I’m really proud of you. Keep going. Enjoy the ride. It’s a wonderful journey if you just pay attention to the ride as you’re doing it.

‘Don’t let the successes go to your head and don’t let the failures go to your heart. Get up and keep going.’ Words given to me by my husband.

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

http://www.daphnemaxwellreid.com/

Spring 2019 | 33

Helen Rogers

, RENOWNED UK SINGER/SONGWRITER ON THE LOVE REMAINS

H

elen is a British Singer/Songwriter.

She has performed with the likes of Brit Funk band Direct Dave, funk band 7th Heaven, Co-wrote and sang lead and backing vocals on Paul Hardcastle’s project The Jazzmasters, Recorded an album of reggae covers of 1970s pop hits with Black Steel and more. Here Helen shares a very poignant take on loosing her father and the emotional journey she went on, reminding herself at the end of the tunnel that truly on the love remains.

34 |Spring 2019

Like Jamaican Reggae band The Heptones, I feel immersed in a Sea of Love and music when I think about my childhood. I was fortunate enough to have been a cherished only child and also lucky that listening to music was a big part of our family life! My Mum had a beautiful, rich singing voice and would lullaby me to sleep whilst Dad (aka Pops), although not a singer, really loved music.

My parents met after both running away to join the army. As WW2 children

their education had been cut short and career opportunities were thin on the ground. Although she didn’t take them up on it, Mum had an offer to join a professional Jazz band in the army but despite Pops encouraging her on she didn’t have the confidence.

Pops himself got the chance to write in the army becoming a Sports Correspondent for the forces radio, also a boxer and PT Instructor amongst other things.

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

There were also moments of sheer exhaustion where, feeling overwhelmed with responsibility I fretted that I may have made a wrong decision or times when I felt like a total failure after sleepless nights and Dad’s delirium had left me a crying wreck instead of the ‘’strong’’ person who ‘’should’’ be giving support not needing it.

Oh how sad it is to watch our parents decline into old age, frailty and finally to experience their death.

Don’t get me wrong, in the Roulette game of life, those of us who make it that far are on a winning streak.

We lost Mum in 2001 after a five year fight with cancer. They had been married for nearly 50 years and Dad felt as though he had lost part of himself, suddenly rudderless in the Sea of Life.

Despite some manageable health skirmishes, however, the next 15 years became very precious to my Dad as he was able to see his cherished Grandson Ashley grow into a wonderful young man and to utilise his talents in the field of Film Journalism. I’m sure any reader can imagine how proud he was to see the kid he had taught to play football and cricket suddenly before him on TV as guest host on BBC’S Film Show!

At the beginning of 2017 at the age of 88 Dad was diagnosed with heart failure. I was waiting for the usual hopeful narrative we’d had from

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

medics that they would treat the problem and he would be carrying on with life, but not this time. Pops was increasingly frail and losing the reserves that one needs in order to successfully bounce back from illness. His body was reacting adversely to the medications he needed.

Fear and anger gripped me physically. Fear for Dad, myself and all the family and existential anger directed at God, or whomever had created this joke of a thing called life - a game that we can only lose in the end.

However, there can be no Sea of Love without turbulence and when it comes, our job is to dig deep into our resources of courage, practicality (a hard one for me) , compassion and stamina.

Like becoming a parent, caring for our parents does not come with a ‘’How To’’ manual. Our God given creativity comes into play as we do our best to shape a world that our loved one can best transition from.

As his main carer, there were

moments of such raw tenderness that took my breath away. We made a micro environment for him in his living room where we would listen to his favourite music together. I would stroke his hair and cuddle him and just experience the intensity of the emotions I felt for this man who was my rock, my comforter, my adversary, my friend, my Dad. We were back again in the Sea of Love.

This room was his safe place and I seemed to see it through his eyes the colours seemed brighter and it felt warmer in here.

There were also moments of sheer exhaustion where, feeling overwhelmed with responsibility I fretted that I may have made a wrong decision or times when I felt like a total failure after sleepless nights and Dad’s delirium had left me a crying wreck instead of the ‘’strong’’ person who ‘’should’’ be giving support not needing it.

I’m so blessed to have a rock of a husband and a family who, although they are not living with me gave me the feeling that they were there 24/7 by phone, skype or any Spring 2019 | 35

means necessary. Pops cherished Grandson spent the year jetting back and forth from his home in the US and was on standby any time things seemed to be taking a downward turn.

The NHS carers who helped us out were simply Angels on this earth.

Their skills and compassion brought so much into our lives and I am eternally and humbly grateful to them. One day seemingly out of the blue a visitor called Elaine arrived from an organisation called Blind Aid. Pops had been losing his sight for a number of years and it was a source of frustration for him that he could no longer read or write very well. I was astounded by how Elaine was able to connect with Pops and wished so much that we had known about Blind Aid a few years earlier so that maybe he could have been able to write again!

Pops made it clear that he was happiest at home and deep down we hoped that when the time came it would happen at home. However, when he became ill with pneumonia he wanted to go to hospital and of course we hoped against hope that he would survive this latest battle.

It wasn’t to be and Pops died in hospital with his family around him just before Christmas 2017. Thus began for me, as artist Tracy Emin describes it, a Fortnight of Tears plus a bout of flu which I was grateful for as it confined me to bed, the only place I felt able to be.

Somewhere through the dark haze of grief, Elaine from Blind Aid reached out to me and said that she was so glad she’d had the pleasure of meeting my Dad and what a lovely man he was. A song began to play in my head ’Every Time We Say Goodbye’ a favourite of both Dad and Mum. What is this connection we feel to music, that emotional bond that remains even when our time to leave the physical plane is up? I don’t have any answers but I

36 |Spring 2019

CONTACT DETAILS: http://www.helenrogersmusic.com/biography.html

gradually came to feel that I should record this song for Blind Aid as it would be a lasting memorial to the rich life of Pops as well as spreading the word of a great organisation to others who could benefit so much from it.

Harnessing the talents of Tony Qunta on guitar, Nadia al Faghih Hasan on percussion and my husband Simon as producer we recorded a very simple and pared down version of this beautiful song and released it for

download on iTunes, Amazon and all major download sites. All profits go to Blind Aid. I was so happy to be invited to sing the song at Blind Aid’s annual event in the centre of London last year. It seems like such an appropriate way to honour a man who always wanted to help others and who loved music so much.

For me, it’s a comfort to keep the memory of both my Mum and Dad alive and to know that in so many ways, their love does indeed remain.

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Priestess Eurekah GIVES SPIRITUAL INSIGHT INTO THE SPIRIT OF AT-TOM

T

he Spirit of Excellence can take many forms, and is obviously open to interpretation.

A few questions come to mind, as to how is ‘Spirit’ defined and who determines’ Excellence?’ The definition of ‘Spirit’ is considered to be either, the essence of or characteristics of something and similarly, having standards and principles. Moreover, if we look at the word, ‘Excellence’ it’s often defined as superior, greatness, having the highest quality, or being outstanding.

Within life, we, from time to time, will encounter what we consider as a Spirit of Excellence. It could be a person whose principles or moral conduct has touched our lives in ways we could never have imagined. There’s education too, which is often defined as educational excellence, whereby it allows us to gain greater knowledge, growth and enrichment within ourselves, which in turn, allows us to excel and become a more informed person. I refer to education as an example, merely because we are living in an age where many institutions carry the words, Centre of Excellence, meaning where the highest of standards can be achieved and essentially, maintained. Questionably, should we as individuals continually strive for excellence? And should these principles of Excellence apply to every area of our lives? We have to first define Spirit for ourselves, then in turn, set our own standards of excellence, our parameters, and ensure it doesn’t put us under pressure to be something we cannot live up to.

I consider the Spirit of Excellence as a being wholistic and being the best your-person can possibly be. This could be seen as living life with humility, humbleness, love, integrity, laughter and warmth of spirit within.

As a Writer and Performance Poet, I personally like to give my own interpretation as to my perceptions of the Spirit of Excellence, and for me, it encompasses the spirit of life and of our humble beginnings as human beings, our Human Genome.

Writing this piece, has allowed my person to explore how powerful and absolutely superior the human body actually is, especially with its state of the art mechanisms, high-end audiophile system, a computerised brain and a heart that beats 60-100 beats a minute. In my opinion, the Human Genome, is completeness, even if we are born with disabilities or deformities. It is perfect in its essence and it truly is the original Spirit of Excellence and well worth celebrating.

The piece I have written is entitled, ‘Spirit of At-tom’ or Atom as it commonly known.

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Spring 2019 | 39

Spirit of At-tom It is the epitome of Perfection - Excellence Abound with miracle dust Tt carries infinite secrets of the Cosmos Ancient vitality overflows within, marinating the all-knowing intellectual molecule Spirit It is, and will always be, the ne plus ultra of the Omnipotent Ancestral Nucleus Spirit of At-tom It has beauty; with twisted intricate strong black latticed strands entwined like long rows of double-braided cornrows; ~ perfect Interwoven; shaped into flawless letter-coded formation It spirals with an artistic flair of art nouveau; ~old and older!

With its powerful, embellished sequential rungs, like woven tapestry, it reveals an elegant avant-garde style; new, yet dateless Organically sculptured; durable ~ a masterpiece Ornate lines with contoured curves, transforms subtle information It whispers, as a reminder, ‘Older than man, older than time, stretching beyond and beyond,’ to the inner imaginations of the mind; powerful beyond words; ~cultural With twenty-three pairs of jewels; the blueprint; bonded is together; with total and absolute precision.

Soft spongy sprinklings of Carbon, filter an array of multi-coloured hues, as the unspoken instructional language, permeates the silted sands of Life; to create Life Like a Jambalaya, an aesthetic mixture of unique human individuals, each owning their own distinctive personalities, blossoming from the pure fragrant essences of seeded originality, thus, coming into being, from the gift; Deoxyribonucleic Acid – DNA Our DNA Your DNA It is, by all accounts, a Spirit of Excellence

WRITTEN BY ©EUREKAH ABA NOURBESE 40 |Spring 2019

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

A MATTER OF TRUTH Dear Kids, You didn’t come here to pay the Bills by David Mills (A message for the child in us Adults as well)

Dear Kids, Adults will often tell you that you need to work hard in school to get good grades.

You need the grades to get qualifications, they will tell you.

You need the qualifications to get a job. You need the job to earn money. You need the money to pay the bills. So what they're telling you – indirectly – is that the purpose of life is to pay the bills. That's quite a depressing though, isn't it?

You are being lied to.

The truth is, to thrive in this world you need two things: passion and perseverance. Both are already inside of you. You don't 'need' good grades. You TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

don't 'need' qualifications. You don't 'need' a job. You don't even 'need' to go to school. All these so-called needs come from fear. The reason adults tell you that you need these things is because they grew up in a world that taught them to be afraid. Forgive them, for they don't realise that they're deceiving you. They just don't know any better.

The truth is, Life is your friend.

Life is on your side. Life has your back. Life wants you to succeed. The key to a happy and fulfilling life is to pursue your passion, and to keep pursuing it no matter what.

Most adults are doing jobs they hate. "Well, it pays the bills,"

they will tell you when you ask them about their work. Very few adults are truly happy. And that is because they are trapped inside a box: the 'box of fear'.

They were forced into this box as children. They had no say in the matter and don't even remember it happening. The box of fear filled their minds with false, limiting beliefs about life and about themselves.

One of the biggest lies they were told was that the rational mind always knows best. As a result, they became addicted to thinking.

Most adults spend all day, every day, thinking. All this thinking makes them very miserable and causes sickness and disease.

Spring 2019 | 41

But nobody told them the truth – that a happy life is lived from the heart, not the mind. Nobody told them that to live from the heart, you have to feel your way through life, not think your way through it.

As an adult who has climbed out of the box of fear, I have some questions for you: What do you love to do?

What are you passionate about?

What would you love to create in this world?

Your answers to these questions are your reason for being here.

You did not come to Earth to pay the bills. Neither did you come here to accumulate increasingly bigger and better toys and gadgets. There is something that you can do better than anyone else on the entire planet. Do you know what that is?

BEING YOURSELF. In the history of the Universe there has never been – nor will there ever be – another YOU. You are unique. A gift of Creation to Creation. In your uniqueness lies your true beauty and your greatest contribution to the world. The more comfortable you are in your uniqueness, the more radiant

you become. You don't have to 'do' anything to be your unique self. You are a human being, not a human doing. There is nothing you need do or achieve to prove your worth, or to make your life more meaningful. The truth is, you were born worthy. Your existence itself is enough. However, it's easy to lose sight of these truths in a society that reinforces messages about “work,” “success” and “achievement.” A society that encourages you to measure your worth by comparing yourself to others.

There is so much pressure to follow the crowd that it can be a huge challenge to stay true to yourself and commit to your own path. The good news is, you have an inner guidance system – called your intuition – to keep you on track. Just like a GPS navigation system, your intuition provides you with specific, step by step instructions and real time information in each and every moment. However, rather than speaking in words, it communicates through your imagination and the feelings of passion and excitement.

Sadly, for most adults, this inner 'voice' gets drowned out by the mental noise of their own thinking, which is often based on the opinions and expectations of others.

It is important to take immediate action on an inspired thought or creative vision that you receive through your intuition – before the rational mind has time to question, analyse and dismiss it. One small baby step is often all that is required.

For example, making a note of the idea in an intention journal can be a great start. The key thing here is to listen. The more you practise listening to your intuition, the clearer its insights and instructions become.

For this reason, you need to ensure that your mind is regularly emptied.

Activities such as walking in nature, yoga and meditation can help a lot in this regard.

Perhaps the quickest route to aligning with your passion is through play. Don't be fooled by school's message that play is only allowed once “work” is done. The happiest and most creative people never stop playing. And the truth is, play is a lifelong activity, not something that you grow out of and leave behind in childhood.

Trust your intuition. Follow your passion. Be yourself.

David All my love,

David Mills is a visionary, education innovator, self-empowerment coach, singer and actor. Based in the UK, he is author of the forthcoming book, THE EDUSPIRE PARADIGM: life and education outside the box. He can be contacted via his website: www.SilentLifeCoach.com

42 |Spring 2019

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

IT’S NOT PERSONAL, IT’S BUSINESS

I have learned and concluded that the highest order of activism is to revolutionize oneself via self -improvement and personal growth which take root at the thought level much like the habit of excellence.

BY AMIRA WHITAKER

M

uch like entrepreneurship, activism is an act of faith and when put in the hands of faith, all one really has autonomy over is their effort, discipline and decision to pursue the habit of excellence while the rest lays in the hands of whatever powers reside without. Although the field of activism is all about creating change rather than waiting for it to be awarded, there is yet an aspect of “planting the seed” and then surrendering to the elements of sunshine and rain which then means one has to put everything they’ve got into that seed no matter how “tiny” it appears.

From the outside looking in “activists” are transforming their outer environment while in reality they’re merely sparking the initiation of change through inspiration with a transformation that actually takes place within. The only way for

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

this transformation to take place is through championing excellence by way of habit (of course), with many failed attempts, setbacks, circumstances beyond control and trials. However, it is the only route in order to achieve the desired results of progress. This route may be difficult but it’s definitely possible and as the greater population witness these new possibilities they are then inspired to push the envelope as well. After all that is the essence of activism, innovation, pushing the envelope, challenging imposed limitations and daring to go against any and all odds despite whatever they may be and in such an atmosphere there is no space for anything short of the practice of excellence.

Before I go any further let me remind us all (myself first) that excellence is, driving oneself beyond one’s own perceived limitations which

sometimes disguise themselves as “our best” and simply excelling past those previously achieved “best” that one may have already established. The habit of excellence is more about the process than results so whether it be organizing, campaigning, podcasts, film, literature, protesting or boycotting excellence is the foundation. As our dear friend Will Durant eloquently yet directly expressed excellence like any other character trait is a result of our dominating habits and our habits are a result of our prominent thoughts.

I have learned and concluded that the highest order of activism is to revolutionize oneself via self -improvement and personal growth which take root at the thought level much like the habit of excellence.

The habit of excellence along with activism is uprooting any and all counterproductive behavior patterns, Spring 2019 | 45

habits and thoughts and replacing them with new and improved mechanisms that bests suits the transformed you/life desired. It’s an everyday moment by moment type of thing no matter how many times you catch yourself slipping. It’s interrupting your own comfort zone, even if you have already reached a certain level of greatness and are pretty proud of yourself because even though we call it personal development, it’s not only personal it’s also business.

All of our dreams, desired results and ultimately our life’s path is dependent upon it. Furthermore, our fellow human is dependent upon it as we all impact and are impacted by one another. I’ve come to discover the responsibility for how high society can rise rests upon me and how high I consciously chose to elevate. Regardless of who you are and what you do one has to 46 |Spring 2019

put aside feelings, attachments and comfort zones for the sake of the result of the best possible version of oneself along with best possible life.

Now, I am not suggesting that selfcare and mental health should be disregarded, as I am a firm believer in not being too hard on yourself while cutting yourself no slack. You see, that aforementioned “planted seed” surrendered to sunshine and rain is planted within and nourishment is a major aspect of growth (personal).

Activism is highly associated with personal development and each activist must begin to cultivate the personal habit of excellence as a prerequisite through completely disrupting and challenging their own “norms” in the name of progressive thinking for the greater good of all of society.

the “powers that be without” but the privilege of inspiring others to do the exact same. Excellence is truly a habit and the more it is practiced the more natural it becomes, it’s not a one-time demand upon oneself, but instead a constant choice that becomes more apart of you each time practiced. An activist is one who challenges the norm against all odds, so does excellence. Activism is removing all bias and attachment for the greater good so with the practice of excellence, because at the end of the day it’s not only personal, it’s also business. The business of game changing, paradigm shifting and life transforming.

CONTACT DETAILS: Facebook is https://www.facebook.com/actressamira

Once one has mustered the courage to confront oneself, they have not only earned the right to confront TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

HEALTH AND WELL-BEING WHY WE GET MORE COMFORTABLE IN OUR OWN SKIN AS WE GET OLDER

BY DR. MIRIAM STOPPARD OBE

T

he other day I was thinking about that classic Frank Sinatra song ‘It Was a Very Good Year’. The singer is an old man looking back on his youthful years, his best years, the very good years.

Spine-tingling though it is, it's an oldfashioned view of our middle years and the last quarter of our lives. This isn't a time for pining about lost vigour or reverberating old conquests – professional, personal and romantic.

EVERY year can be a very good year and this blog tells you how.

Life keeps getting better All through my life each decade has been better than the last and now with grandchildren, my writing career going strong and a garden to tend in France, this is still the case. My body and mind are in the best condition I can remember. My body responds when I call on it to perform strenuously and my brain works as fast and as clearly as it did when I was 27. At least I think so.

New opportunities Nowadays the over 70s are still full of spirit and promise. There are new vistas open to us, fresh fields to conquer and many more years of life to be lived to the full. We have spending power, wisdom, experience and we know who we are. The scene is set to enjoy life as never before. And we TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Spring 2019 | 47

can – with a little planning, a little effort, a little knowledge and a little common sense.

According to a 2018 Stannah survey the younger generation seem to agree, with one in five finding the older generation inspiring and seeing grandparents as more inspiring than celebs.

We’re more resilient and confident We all have friends with more optimism and zest for life than people half their age. That's how we can all feel - youthful, optimistic and energised – not just in our twenties and thirties, but in our sixties, seventies, eighties and beyond.

These same people score highly when it comes to self-confidence and resilience, both of which help them cope with major stressful events in their lives. These hardy individuals have an optimistic outlook on life, an inner sense of control, emotional stability and adaptability, and little hostility, self-consciousness or social unease. They are rarely anxious or depressed. The younger generation envies us this –Stannah’s 2018 survey revealed one in 10 of them feels we wear our wrinkles with pride.

Strong Social Connections Strong social networks and close family ties are important for both physical and mental wellbeing and feeling good about yourself. Social ties can actually strengthen the resilience of the immune system, increasing a person’s resistance to disease, including cancer. Nonetheless, a fair amount of independence may be one of the reasons why the oldest folk can be active and self-supporting to a very old age.

The Gift of Time The fantastic news is that you can have the time of your life when you reach your sixties and seventies. Work, mortgage and worries about bringing up children will all be in the past and you'll have in abundance the one thing that younger people want but can't buy – time to enjoy yourself. Time is such a gift that it's worth making an effort planning what you want to do with your new found freedom. And newfound confidence. According to the Stannah survey a fifth of the younger generation admire us for being outspoken and saying what we want.

Greater life satisfaction This optimistic view of our later years was revealed by a study in the UK, based on nearly 10,000 people aged between 15 and 90 and carried out over four consecutive years.

Turns out the standard cliché that people in their later years are devoid of any fun is utterly false.

Research shows that the overall satisfaction with life of people between the ages of 15 and 90 resembles a U-shaped curve. As you'd expect, teenage optimism puts them at the top of the chart but that joie de vivre swiftly plummets by 18, flattens out in the twenties, dips in the thirties and forties then begins to rise again during the mid-fifties. By 70 people's contentment reaches its peak. People up to the age of 90 still register a higher score of overall satisfaction with life than people half their age.

People up to the age of 90 still register a higher score of overall satisfaction with life than people half their age.

What we’re all doing during our forties and fifties is juggling with several demanding roles. After that the benefits come. There’s time for travelling, time for sightseeing, for taking cycling holidays, for spending weeks on a tennis or golfing holiday, for the trip to Machu Picchu you've always longed for. People who've lived a bit appreciate what life has to offer and are grateful for what surrounds them. Seventy-year-olds are by and large embarrassingly enthusiastic about life. Contentment with most other aspects of life improves with age - satisfaction with spouse, partner, house and income all register a greater sense of wellbeing among 70-year-olds.

This may be because older people know how to enjoy their leisure time. People of 35 are least likely to be happy with the amount they have, whereas those over 70 are the most satisfied. One of greatest reasons for life satisfaction as we get older is that we’re happier because we've lived and learnt a lot. You can do the things you want now: you can choose to be where you want, with whom you want. And, of course, after retirement, couples have a lot more time to do things together.

48 |Spring 2019

DR MIRIAM STOPPARD IS A HEALTH AND WELLBEING ADVISOR AT STANNAH

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

New Health Seeds PLANT

IN SPRING

BY AUTHOR: © ANITA MCKENZIE

S

pring is an excellent time to extend your health and wellbeing plans in preparation for the coming months of summer.

With each seasonal change, your health vibration needs to adjust to stay in rhythm with the newly emerging energies around you, from more light, the longer days, spring blossoms and spring fruit and vegetables; but we need to do our bit to support our minds and bodies to stay in synch. Think of it as looking after the garden that is your daily life, which needs constant tending with your loving attention to feed, weed and replant as necessary.

For instance, let’s consider supplements; do we need to take them? Why should someone who is eating a healthy balanced vegan diet

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

even need to? Well in the course of my work, I have learnt that when we are consuming the best quality organic diet, we shouldn’t generally need to take supplements except for just two supplements that many of us may need in the form of vitamin B-12 and vitamin D, especially if we live in urban environments. And it’s not only vegans that need to take these supplements either, since these vitamins are not produced by our body.

Vitamin D is also called the sunshine vitamin since it’s a hormone made by the direct action of the sun’s rays on our skin. If we do not get enough exposure to the sun (at least 20 minutes daily) we are likely to become deficient. However, both a deficiency and excess of vitamin

D can cause health problems, so it’s best to get your levels checked so you know the level of supplementation required and do not over supplement. Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption and other vital functions like sleep and mood, skin and immune health. So that’s something you can schedule in along-side your healthy, balanced diet.

Spring is also thought of as time to spring clean and many people use this time for an annual or bi-annual cleansing of your body. There are different levels and types of internal cleansing which you can observe, and this is my gentle invitation to you about a few ways you can prepare and get started.

Spring 2019 | 49

1 3

2

Try a gentle restorative detox or cleanse, check out my two cleansing

programmes at Sistahintheraw.com. Bring a positive mind-set to this choice by seeing it as an opportunity to free your body of any cumbersome toxins, rather than a restrictive pursuit. Be positive about your preparation for cleansing, consider the health benefits (explained in full in each programme) for improving your energy and overall health and importantly, be gentle with yourself by not chastising yourself for not being perfect.

Release and write – I’m a firm believer in the empowering

practice of journaling. Create space in your life to let go by writing out any insights, experiences, fears, pains and emotions you may be carrying around with you unnecessarily. You may find, as I often do, that further helpful insights arise from this process, casting deeper clarity and understanding on what you have shared with your notebook. Make it a regular habit if you can, the more you undertake writing about your emotions and experience’s etc. the easier it will become.

Consider stress relief – although experiencing stress is

normal part of life, too much stress can result in anxiety, overeating and metabolic changes and can also play a big part in digestive problems. Trying a new exercise routine can help to relax your mind and body, allowing for conscious breathing when done properly.

Join a class if it feels like too much to expect of yourself to do it on your own. A thirty minute walk helps strengthen bones, increases circulation and improves heart rhythms, while breathing exercises help to strengthen the respiratory system and increase oxygen to the brain.

Breathing exercises also reduces lethargy, anxiety and brain fog, it’s easy to stop whatever you’re doing and focus on your breath for a few moments, which can be extremely calming.

Take a holiday from continuous stimulation – we all

4

know how addictive technology can be, try minimising the time spent on social media, on your phone, headphones, tablet, TV and computers etc.

Instead of carrying your phone everywhere with you, leave it stationary and check it once every hour or so for messages. Use the extra time differently to engage in joyful pursuits like being outdoors in nature, meditation or singing!

You can boost the benefits from these tips by ‘sowing’ them into your daily self-gardening, self-care or wellbeing routine; they will add to your sense of achievement by elevating the commitment you have made to yourself to live a healthier, happier life. Remember that the secret to life long-term health, is to listen to your body and let it take care of you. As these protocols take root and grow, so too will the strength of your resolve towards your personal health and wellbeing excellence.

50 |Spring 2019

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

One Love SISTAHINTHERaw

Try Sistahintheraw’s Kerala Curry Being able to enjoy these flavours in raw dishes is a great bonus and has made my transition away from my traditional cultural foods, towards new and exciting raw combinations an invaluable process. This is a lovely warmer dish for the cooler days as we anticipate the warmer weather.

SISTAHINTHEraw's Kerala Curry

• • • • •

For the Rice: • • • • • • •

2 cups cauliflower ¼ cup pine nuts ¼ cup dried shredded coconut 2 tbsp. lemon juice ¼ tsp ground green cardamon Pinch Sea salt 1 parsnip

For the Vegetable Rice:

For the Curry: • • • • • • • • • • •

1 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp turmeric powder 1 tsp garam masala 2 garlic cloves, crushed sprig of fresh coriander, sliced chilli, or other veggies, sprouts or herbs to garnish

1 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours 1-2 cups coconut water ½ tbsp coconut oil ½ red onion, chopped 6 cherry tomatoes ½ lime, juiced ¼ cup desiccated coconut 1 avocado 1 inch ginger, peeled and grated 1½ tsp cumin ½ tsp cayenne pepper

Using a food processor with the ‘S’ blade or a chopper, pulse the parsnip until it’s the size of small nuts. Add the cauliflower and pulse. Add the pine nuts for a final pulse and stir in the other ingredients. Set aside.

For the Curry: Using a high-powered blender, blend cashews with one cup of coconut water until a creamy paste is formed. Add the other ingredients and use your judgment as to whether or not you need to add more coconut water, as to the consistency you prefer. Garnish sauce and serve with your previously prepared raw rice.

TIPS: Add less water for a thicker and creamy sauce or more if you prefer a slightly runny consistency. Add 1 cup of other chopped vegetables for a more filling curry sauce - quartered raw mushrooms, broccoli or cauliflower florets, peas, sprouted lentils, sprouted chickpeas etc.

Add your favourite Indian chutney to the meal.

Sistahintheraw aka Anita McKenzie, is a certified Raw Food Teacher, Hippocrates Health Institute Health Educator, Spiritual Counsellor, Meditation Teacher and an Ordained Interfaith Minister. She is the founder and CEO of Raw Soul Food, a holistic health and wellness lifestyle company. ©Anita McKenzie aka Sistahintheraw

PHOTO’S BY ©ANITA MCKENZIE 2019 Find Out More: Contact Sistahintheraw by email: connect@ sistahintheraw.com Download the FREE 1 day Juice Fast Guide when you sign up at: www.sistahintheraw.com If you have any other article questions, email Sistahintheraw at: connect@sistahintheraw.com, or you

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

can book at free 30 minute exploratory call to explore your next wellbeing options with raw food.

To find out more about the raw food lifestyle check out: https://www.sistahintheraw.com Follow me @Sistahintheraw on Twitter, Instagram and FaceBook

Spring 2019 | 51

COMPETITION Lots of great giveaways in this issue. A thank you to the lucky winner for taking being part of the journey of TurningPoint magazine.

Answer the following questions and email in your answers to competition@estheraustinglobal.com by 15th May 2019 • • • •

How many years is Motown being Celebrated this year?

What significant event was celebrated in the US in February this year in collaboration with The Motown Celebrations?

Name all four of the original Supremes.

From details in this issue, name who was part of The Original Temptations

Good Luck WHATS ON OFFER

•

1 X COPY OF MOTOWN’S FIRST A&R

•

1 x 30 MINUTE ACTING COACHING SESSION WITH

•

4 x CONCERT PROMO HANDBILLS – AUTOGRAPHED

•

1 x COUNTDOWN CD FEATURING LLOYD G WILLIAMS

•

1 x CD BY HELEN ROGERS

ACTOR KIRK TAYLOR

BY THE FORMER SUPREMES

BY WILLIAM BEATTY MUSIC

MAN BY WILLIAM ‘MICKEY’ STEVENSON

52 |Spring 2019

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

ENTERTAINMENT

JANIE BRADFORD, RECENTLY NAMED

‘Queen of Motown’ TALKS…WELL MOTOWN PHOTO CREDITS: RANDI CHILDS PHOTOGRAPHY

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Spring 2019 | 55

I

had the pleasure of interviewing celebrated songwriter and recently nominated ‘Queen of Motown’ Janie Bradford on my radio show in February 2019. To say it was a pleasure and privilege is an understatement. Janie is a very unassuming person who carries a subtle but powerful dignity and who strikes me as being a very formidable woman with a passion to reach out and touch lives. As with all my guests I asked the ‘shell’ question.

JANIE: Well, Janie Bradford is a little kid, who was born in Charleston, Missouri. I had dreams and aspirations and was in the right place, at the right time. I didn’t do it by myself. It was all divine intervention.

ESTHER: I had the privilege of attending The Heroes and Legends Awards in September which you are the founder of. You had a stalwart set of celebrities walking the red carpet. First and foremost, can you just share a bit about the HAL Awards and then I’m going to open up the conversation in terms of who you are from your song writing days of Motown.

JANIE: Well, the HAL Awards was born from Motown, in fact, in one of the Motown offices. I would listen to the guy next door as he reviewed hopeful writers’ songs that they brought in. He would turn them down and I was thinking, that song could have been saved if he just said.. you need to make it more melodic or you need to start it with the chorus.. different little changes, to me could have helped the song.

So one day, I said I’m going to help kids financially when I can.

I’m a Gemini so another Gemini said, “Well when are you going to be ready financially. Just help them now.’ So I did. Being in Motown and knowing a lot of the people,we started off with Mary Wilson and HollandDozier-Holland. So we started off with name value and we just 56 |Spring 2019

kept it going for 29 consecutive years without a miss.

So here we are helping the Children of the arts; they don’t have to be songwriters or singers. We support any field of the arts. They can be a dress designer, behind the camera, or in movies whatever. As long as they in the arts, we are trying to give them scholarships to help them.

ESTHER: What is it that gets you up every morning and drives this passion of yours?

JANIE: Well I think just wanting to do more. I don’t like idle time, so I say, “what do I have planned for today? What do I need to do? Who do I need to contact? Who do I need to say good morning to and make their day better? I think that’s it just needing to be doing something positive all the time.

ESTHER: I get a sense, you are a very influential woman, but there’s such a beautiful sense of humility about you. How have you managed to maintain that sense of humility in a place like LA and also within the music industry because sometimes being in those places can change one’s character?

JANIE: I noticed. When we moved out here from LA, the people you were so friendly with and went to lunch with, they changed and became movie stars on you. But as I mentioned about my divine intervention; I was born very humbly and thank God I have tried to remain that way. My father was a minister, so maybe deep inside I’m trying to be a missionary or whatever, I don’t know. But I love reaching out to people and helping people and just being there for any walk of life, as they say you can talk with kings and queens or you can walk with the homeless and be just as comfortable with either.

So I thank God for that. I still have that and I do enjoy that.

ESTHER: I’m going to take you back a little bit, Janie, if I may. When you were growing up who were some of the icons, heroes and sheros who really inspired and encouraged you?

JANIE: Well, back in the day, there were very few women of note.

There was always men like Ray Charles and James Brown, people of that note that stands out in my mind. There was Ruth Brown and a few others, but they didn’t carry the weight that the men were carrying.

So I guess it was those guys that shaped me. I was going to school to become a lawyer. I had no intention of being a songwriter and then I met Mr Gordy and that’s how things evolved into song writing.

He needed some songs for a Jackie Wilson’s album and I was a poetry writer. He showed me how to take the poetry out and put the song form in. So in a couple of months, I had a couple of songs on Jackie Wilson’s ‘Lonely Teardrop’ album so it went on from there. I need to back up my sister, Clara Cleo Bradford who is my hero who I looked up to. She was a singer with Jackie Wilson and that’s how we went down to see Jackie and got to meet Mr Gordy.

ESTHER: You wrote songs for a lot of artists can you expand on that a bit?

JANIE: Well, I wrote stuff for just about everybody on the roster, like Marvin Gaye’s ‘Too busy thinking about my Baby.’

ESTHER: Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson what were they like?

JANIE:: Well, Jackie was a friend of my sister and lived near us, so he was just a guy in the neighbourhood. You know, people you know, they’re not celebrities, but when he mentioned that Berry Gordy, the fellow that wrote his song was going to be there, in my TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

mind, I’m only 14 at the time, I’m thinking that Mr Gordy was the one that was the celebrity.

(Laughter). But then when I met him, he was just a normal man. I told him “Well, if you can write a song, I can write a song better than you can any day.” I’d never written a song in my life. I was just disappointed because he wasn’t sprouting wings or whatever I thought a celebrity should be. But he came by the house and like I said, straightened my poems out and from there, we took off. I wrote for Stevie, The Supremes, The Miracles, The Temptations just to name a few.

ESTHER: Are you still writing now, Janie?

JANIE: I still write, but the door’s not open like it was then. We could write a song and just walk into the studio and record it that same day. We don’t have those opportunities right now, but for special projects. In fact, I’m working on one now for Henry Dixon, and his brother called ‘Brothers.’ So when there’s a need, I write.

ESTHER: What attributes do you feel someone needs to have, firstly as a songwriter, but also as an artist in order to maintain himself and his integrity in the public eye? I realize there’s so much pressure on artists, not only perform but also they’re constantly on show.

JANIE: Well, to me, an artist or any person needs to know who they are at any level and to maintain that dignity about themselves.

Because so many of them, get a hit record and go crazy with the spending of whatever and then they don’t get a follow-up and then they’re in more trouble than they were in the beginning.

I’ve experienced that. But the Motown artists, most of them were pretty cool. They got all kinds of training i.e what to say, TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

even for interviews, with demo questions. How to act, how to stand, how to dress, which they don’t do today. They just take somebody off the street, give them a hit and then they’re on stage saying anything and everything so it’s a different world today.

ESTHER: We’re going to touch a bit more now on your Heroes and Legends Award and the young people that you support. Can you share one of your success stories about a young person who’s received an award and where they’ve gone onto after receiving that award?”

JANIE: Well they’re several. Flying Lotus, is the grand-nephew of the late Jazz pianist Alice Coltrane, whose husband was saxophonist John Coltrane. We gave him two scholarships for continuation because the next year he was still struggling. Well, today he’s a multimillionaire.

He does the scratching and the music for games. With that kind of work he is at various concerts with the bigger name artists. It’s not my type of music, but he’s been very successful.

Then there’s the grandson of Marilyn McLeod who wrote Love Hangover and 365 Days of the year for Anita Baker. He was going to school for something completely different and turned to music.

And there’s another girl called Lady Styx she played with all the big influential people. Now, she’s a drummer. Then there’s this story. I was filling out some paperwork for a record label and I had to go to the Musician’s Union. When the papers came back there was a name on them that I had seen, but once in my life. It was the name of a young man we had given a scholarship to. So when I called back, I made an enquiry whether it was him and he said yes. He

was now Vice President of the Musician’s Union and thanked us for helping him get there. Not a lot of big successes but of life successes.

ESTHER: There’s so much wisdom that comes out of you even with what you’re not saying. You’re saying stuff, but then within the pauses I can read so much about who you are. So what’s on the cards for 2019?

JANIE: Well, 2019, we’re doing Motown’s 60th. So I’m not having my event this year because it would be the same weekend as Motown. Then next year would be our 30th blowout celebration of The HAL Awards.

ESTHER: Fantastic. Now I’d just like to know a little bit more about Berry Gordy. What was it like to work for him because he was so influential on so many levels and how did he encourage and inspire you?

JANIE: He was just self-driven and a perfectionist. He was always thinking ahead and he would pit some of the writers or artists against each other, for the struggle to see who was going to come out the winner. He was this kind of person. He thought ‘business’ at all times and we learned from that; how to address certain issues and how to deal with certain things. I still call him boss. He was at my event, and at the end we let him take over because we know he’s always going to take over.

ESTHER: Is there anything else you would like to share about your life, about what you do, about your dreams, about what you’ve achieved that can really inspire someone who may be sitting on the fence and thinking, “I can’t do this.” What is it that you can share with someone to inspire and motivate them and encourage them that anything is possible?

Spring 2019 | 57

JANIE: Now that’s the line ‘anything is possible.’ I’m not going to tell somebody because I did it, you can do it. I hear it all the time. Maybe I was in the place and time that it happened for me and maybe they’re not. So I don’t say they can do what I did. But I say they can achieve whatever they want to achieve if they put their mind and heart to it and a little prayer does not hurt. You have to call on the One above sometimes to make it. But you may not achieve what’s in your mind and maybe something completely different will show up. Just like I was going to law school and then went in a whole other direction, but you just have to stick to what you believe and you can achieve something good.

Esther: I also want to know what changed your trajectory from going to law school to getting into the music business? What was that pivotal moment?

JANIE: That was when Mr. Gordy came by looking for some songs and when I heard the songs on the radio, naturally at that time Motown was beginning because I was there from day one, doing secretarial work, typing up contracts or whatever needed to be done.

So I just kind of was there, immersed in the music and it became a part of my life and took over.

CONTACT DETAILS: https://halawards.com/wp/ http://www.halawards.com/halcommittee.html

58 |Spring 2019

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

JOHN WILSON SLY, SLICK AND WICKED TALKS RHYTHM & BLUES & MOTOWN

PHOTO CREDITS: RANDI CHILDS PHOTOGRAPHY

I

had the privilege of meeting John Wilson from Sly, Slick and Wicked in August 2018. John kindly allowed me to into his home where we spent a wonderful afternoon talking about so many things. John was certainly a connoisseur of historical facts especially around the music industry. He is a member of legendary group Sly, Slick and Wicked an American Rhythm and Blues band from Cleveland, Ohio and his link to Motown. I came away knowing so much more than I did when I initially entered his home. By the time I left my head was full and I was still curious about so much more, however, for purposes of this interview I walked away with a potpourri of information that would make sure this interview was rich and meaningful. Here’s his story.

W

e originally were the Mod Squad and a guy named Kenny Brown, who went to school with us, he’d came out of a group called the Bell TelePhunk which became the Dazz Band. We all went to school together and so he told Paramount records about us.

They flew in and recorded a song and said we love the sound, but we

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

don’t like your name. Then we were told ‘you look Sly, you look Slick, and you look wicked’ and that’s how we got our name (John Wilson (Sly), Charles Still (Slick) and Mark Saxton (Wicked) (was replaced by Terry Stubbs in 1972).

From there we signed with Paramount, then we went to James Brown’s label and then to The

O’Jays label for one single, then we went to Motown and then to Epic.

James Brown was a businessman.

He was the hardest-working man in show business and he was very strict about the music. I’m was also very strict, as everything had to be perfect. That was our journey with him.

Spring 2019 | 59

I think of all the people that we journeyed with who really had the biggest impression on us was The O’Jays.

We’re from the same neighbourhood and me being the first tenor, Will Powm from The O’Jays, who was the original member, he’s in heaven now, he taught me everything I know but Walter took us under their wing.

They liked us and it was because we were similar. Our shows were basically similar and they supported us and gave good advice.

When we were on the tour together in St. Louis in 1976 we didn’t know that Will’s life was coming to an end. But I remember he would put his arm around me and talk to me. All of us were from the same neighbourhood; Edwin Starr whose real name is Charles Hatcher, he lived not too far from me.

Getting back to The O’Jays, they never really left home even though they had all the success, they still called Cleveland their own vault. I understand Eddie still goes back and forth and even his sons (both who have gone to heaven) Gerald and Sean, used to go back ofte, who I knew from the ages of three and five when I used to lift them up to the microphone. They produced half of our MoTown albums.

Of the many hundreds of concerts we’ve done, the one that really sticks out in my mind was in 1975, where we did the Cool Jazz Festival in Kansas City in Missouri at the Kansas City Royals Baseball Stadium.

We were at that show along with Count Basie, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, The Isley Brothers, The Ohio Players, Cannonball Adderley, Freddie Hubbard, BB King and Bobbi Humphrey and I remember walking into the dugout and there was the

60 |Spring 2019

great Count Basie standing.

Now I’m already freaked out and if you watch the movie The Sax Man, Maurice talks about how Count Basie complimented Maurice and the rest of the band, and then I’m sitting there with the great BB King.

That gig with Cannonball Hadley I remember well because that was the last gig he did before he went to heaven the following week. There was also Bobbie Humphrey and Freddie Hubbard; these were great Jazz artists. We’re not Jazz, we’re RnB but these Jazz artists were mixing a fusion at this gig and there were 80,000 people over two days, it was amazing. When you see the movie The Sax Man, you actually see footage of us on stage and 80,000 people there. That was the biggest gig that had the most effect on me and meeting Count Basie and BB King.

That was the first time we ever played in a stadium. I’m walking out and it’s surreal. Here I am, and there’s 80,000 people and they’re getting ready to listen to me. I mean we’ve been playing in front of 20,000 in arenas but when you’re in a stadium, that’s a lot to take in. Then you go up on stage and they announce your name, of course you’re used to listening to 20,000 people, but when you hear a stadium, I can’t describe that feeling.

When we did that gig and finished the last note, 80,000 people stood up to give us a standing ovation.

Before that you’re on a golf cart going to the stage because it’s a long ride and you’re looking around you thinking ‘are these people really here to see me?’ And as you’re going back, people are clapping, giving you high fives; it’s been a long time but I’m still having goose bumps thinking about that gig.

What’s very interesting is that we are one of the very few groups who are still intact, all of us are still here on earth. We all went to the same school together. The original Sly, that would be myself, Charles ‘Slick’ Steel and Mark ‘Wicked’ Saxon, we were all in a choir together at John F. Kennedy High School in Cleveland, Ohio.

We were in different groups; Mark was in one group, Charles in another called The Jays, I was in a group called The Tambalas. So when we graduated from high school, I saw Charles walking down the street one day and he said “what’s happening?”

I said “what’s happening?” He said “I ain’t doing nothing,” I also said “I ain’t doing nothing.” He then suggested we form a group and then he asked “where are we going to get the third guy?” and then he said “what about Mark?” I was like wow!

So here we are 48 years later, Charles and I are still together and the new ‘Wicked,’ well let’s say not new, but the one you see in the movie, Leo Green, we’ve all known each other since we were 15 years old. Leo was with The Imperial Wonders so we’ve all known each other over three-quarters of our lives, so we’re like family. Of course we have arguments, but we also have each other’s backs because we’ve known each other so long and there’s an understanding there.

I’ve know The O’Jays since I was 16 years old.

Well, we’re still working. We’re hoping to come to England pretty soon, we’re trying to work that out. Last year we worked with The Delfonics and Black Ivy here in Los Angeles. Prince had a club called Three Three Live and we performed there in August, which was originally called The Glam Slam. Recently in

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

July 2018, the uniforms we wore in the movie The Sax Man are now displayed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and so we’re very proud of that and we got the proclamation from the city about four or five weeks ago.

So that’s what we’re doing and we’re thinking about going back and recording a brand new album.

Ethos and Value System Our ethos is good solid, soul music.

That’s what we’ve always been. We each bring different dynamics. I'm a first tenor, Charles is a hard secondtenor and Leo has that growl. So we all bring different dynamics to who we are.

Our Legacy That we tried to give the world the best which was good solid honest soul music. I told my mother this before she went to heaven; because we were talking about my career and she said I pray for you a lot on the road. One of the things I’m most proud of is that I never made a record that she couldn’t listen to and that’s what I’m proud of.

So the legacy I want to leave is that Sly, Slick and Wicked made records that you could play to your five-yearold or your 85 year old mum; that we made good, clean, solid, soul music that hopefully will stand the test of time.

The Spirit of Forgiveness and Strength Why people don't recognize the original black artists.

This was because back in the day, especially with black artists, they weren’t put on album covers because promoters didn’t think that records would sell. Another reason for viewers outside of America, even though we had let’s just say other people of other races who liked our music, we weren’t allowed to play in their clubs. This wasn’t only in the

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

South, this was up North. I’m from Cleveland, Ohio and I never played on the West Side of Cleveland.

There were no clubs for African Americans on the West Side of Cleveland.

One time we played a club in Tennessee, it was a mixed audience and after we got through playing, Charles and I saw all these police cars outside and he thought maybe somebody broke into our rooms or something; maybe somebody got hurt or shot. So he said let’s go and see what’s happening.

So we went to the front desk and asked the hotel manager what was going on, did anybody get hurt or robbed? He said no. So Charles asked what the police were doing and he was ‘to keep you ‘N…..’

(The N word) away from our white women.’

Then another time we’d been on the road about six months and were playing through Alabama. I was running out of deodorant and toothpaste. So I walked into a store and there was a white guy behind the counter and he said in a very southern accent, ‘can I help you boy?’ and I said “I’m trying to find some toothpaste and some deodorant.” He said “ha ha boy don’t you know the blackest thing I serve in here is coffee?”

So they may have liked your music but as soon as they saw your picture on the album, and saw that you were black they didn't buy it.

The Spirit of Courage and Dignity Prevailed We had to manage this because our life literally depended on it because if you started something, you’d end up missing. Touring the South up until the last 30 years, you might not come off so well. You might find your tires slashed or something.

We had to keep going because first of all, we still worked down there. I don’t know if you ever heard of the

Chitlin Circuit. When black people were in slavery in America, the master would eat the good part of the pig, then the slaves would get the leftovers, the ears, the snout and the tail and also the intestines which is called chitlins. So in fact until this day a lot of African-Americans on New Year’s Eve eat chitlins for good luck. So they called it the Chitlin Circuit throughout the South and these were solely black clubs.

When you talk about the Apollo and you talk about The Uptown or The Howard, those were your top clubs.

I’ve actually played clubs on the Chitlin Circuit where there was no electricity; they had to run electricity from down the street into the place.

I have played places where they actually had to build a stage for you to play; that’s the real Chitlin Circuit. All of us, from The O’Jays, the Temps, we’ve all played the real Chitlin Circuit.

You’d normally hear BB King talk about this and there was Z.Z Hill playing at one club or Clarence Carter playing at another club and that’s the Chitlin Circuit.

So we had to play those clubs, as there was plenty of work down there, so we had to suck it up and make sure that we stayed in line.

The Temps, The O’Jays, Kool and the Gang all of us can tell you the same stories. This is what you had to do, you had to suck it up and make sure that when you left town, that you left.

The late Aretha Franklin could also tell you of the same type of experiences. However, we had to grow up fast, all of us were kids on the road. We were barely 20, some of us were younger, so those experiences made me stronger and also opened my eyes.

I said there were two things I could do; I could take this and really start hating people or I could look at this and realise that we were all on the same planet as a speck of dust and that maybe I could make Spring 2019 | 61

a difference and try to bring people together.

So that’s what I did. I carried those experiences overseas i.e Japan and China and other places because I’ve had people say to me about the artists I produce in other countries, that they never thought I was like that, meaning that they had a different perception of me as an African American.

Society portrays us as being violent, yelling and screaming all the time even though they appreciate our music and everything but they thought that we were always fighting. But I broke it down by being the first to take gospel to Japan. Then they started seeing that I was a human being. I have great friends from around the world in all types of countries and all different colors because I was determined to teach that we’re all a speck of dust in this tiny corner of the Universe that God has made.

Therefore, it didn't make me a bitter man, it made me a better man to go out there and try to cure some of the madness.

Hopefully before I leave here, I'll be successful with it.

My Nugget of Gold which Inspires The way you can be better is this. I always say you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.

Learn your history, because now with the internet, everything’s out there. So learn your history and bring that with you.

Also my father used to say when a man's word is no good, how good is the man? Always keep that with you, always keep your word.

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TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

ACTOR KIRK TAYLOR’S WORDS OF WISDOM -

A MAN ON A MISSION PHOTO CREDITS: RANDI CHILDS PHOTOGRAPHY TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

1. In a nutshell, who is Kirk Taylor?

A spiritual man on an earth journey! I see purpose and design in not only my life, but also the world around me. As an artist, that gives me so much to explore and express! Whether as an actor, singer, composer, or musician, I have the privilege and responsibility to serve the world. Artists light up the world with their work and their insights. Where would we be without that light?

2. When did you realize your calling to becoming an actor, a musician, a mentor and whoever you have shown up to be?

Even as a young boy I felt the pull to find expression and fulfilment on the stage. I did a production of “The King And I” when I was just 9 years old, with my mother as my first acting coach! I think we both realized a dream starting with that experience and continuing throughout my career. I recently found her high school yearbook with a quote below her picture that said she wanted to be a “dramatics teacher.” That continued in High School where I landed the lead in three big musical productions starting in my sophomore year: “Cabaret,” “Pajama Game” and “Lil’ Abner.” That is when two significant things happened: I realized the connection between my musicality and my acting and after the standing ovation I received following my very first performance, I found a home that I would never leave.

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3. There is something very ancestrally deep that emanates from you Kirk, a deep sense of 'knowing' who you really are now, where do you feel that comes from?

I think that comes from both my curiosity about life, and the realization that I am not what I do.

The curiosity has lead to a thousand questions and constant exploration of myself and the world around me. It has been crucial for me to understand that the questions are more important than the answers!

The answers will come in their time, just keep asking. Hunger is a great catalyst for creativity! In terms of my identity, I see myself first and foremost as a child of God. That gives me a liberating perspective from some of the possessive snares the world can be entangled with. I can then give my all to whatever work I find to do in my career and life, because my identity is not tied up in any of it. I’m not stuck being one thing or another. I am free to diversify!

4. You seem to be a serial manifestor. What is it that feeds your passion and gives you that drive?

No matter how difficult things have gotten, and how steep the climb, I never give up. My faith is the fuel for that. A faith that provides refuge, hope and the comfort of knowing that I am not in this alone. I have come to difficult situations many times, and have clearly seen a Divine Hand come to my aid. Marvellous, exciting, and at moments even terrifying, but what a ride!

5. You yourself are a legend in your own right and have worked on so many projects with so many other high profile individuals, how do you keep yourself grounded in an industry that is often perceived as being very 'ego' driven?

It’s an intense balancing act. On the one hand you need confidence, self-belief, and boldness to progress in our field. That means you have to value yourself, take good care 64 |Spring 2019

of yourself. It takes a degree of healthy ego. If you maintain perspective and stay grounded, then you can maintain what I’ll call ego-equilibrium. But when you lose perspective of your place in the scheme of things, when you start believing your own publicity and the nods of the yes people around you, you can end up a deluded, self-deified mess. There is a real pull toward that delusional place, but I have remedied that by remembering what I mentioned before: I am in the service industry.

I have been positioned to serve, refresh, inspire and even challenge those around me. I use my creative skill-set to accomplish these things.

My job may have a higher profile than other professions, but it is not any more important. Whether you are a plumber, lawyer, teacher, or sanitation engineer, your job is unique and significant!

6. Where do you draw your inspiration from, who or what has been your anchor to keep going?

Being part of different communities has been life giving and life sustaining. Firstly, having fellowship in a spiritual community has strengthened my primary anchor, God. Secondly, I surround myself with loving family and friends; those that can speak into my life to provide crucial course correction as well as encouragement. Finally, I have my artistic community: fellow artists, fellow creators who support and inspire me. My dear friend Berry Papick is one of those artists. We met in New York many years ago; we both studied with Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler. When I’m not working I sit in and participate in his Monday night class. Artists need a place to work out, work on their craft, give and receive support from other artists. These three groups make up Team Taylor. We simply cannot successfully do it alone, we need a supportive team!

7. Kirk, you have invested in mentoring the next generation of talent, why is this important to you and can you share briefly a

story of one of your students who went onto becoming 'famous'?

There are quite a few from my season of teaching at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in New York City who have really made me proud: Jesse L. Martin, Karina Lombard, Benno Fürmann, Chandra Wilson, Jose Zuniga, Ken Marino, Gary Dourdan, Beth Littleford etc, but the one who really stands out is Charles Malik Whitfield! I ran into him recently here in LA, met his lovely wife, and was reminded that I had him in class from when he was only 15 years old in The Young Peoples’ Program at the Strasberg Institute! I have watched him grow up and do some beautiful, moving work. Malik is going places. The ultimate tribute to a teacher is in the work of those he has mentored, and I have therefore been greatly honored.

8. When the going gets tough and the tough gets going, where does Kirk go to? What does he do?

I go to my three-pronged war counsel: God, family and friends and trusted fellow artists - in that order!

We link arms and strategize to find the wisest action to take in any situation. During the waiting period I will often turn to other disciplines or hobbies to help me relax and blow off some steam. Writing a new song, working on a screenplay, going to the gym, or simply stepping away to watch a good movie. I refocus to de-stress!

9. At this moment in time I know you are excited about your leading role in the upcoming musical feature film Revival!, written and produced by Harry Lennix. What did it feel like for you to get this role, and how did this role speak to you as a person and not just as an actor?

It felt like a dream come true. A role I was meant to portray, and one that all my training and life experiences had prepared me for.

I got the privilege of playing none other than Simon Peter (Cephas in Aramaic) an ardent follower of Jesus the Messiah and a pillar of the first TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Spring 2019 | 65

century Christian church. This was a great responsibility to bring to life this great yet flawed man. Peter was a daredevil, a rough and ready fisherman-turned-disciple. Like him, I have known the soaring success of great endeavors, but also the crushing waves of personal failure and loss. I have lived a rich life, and was able to use it to personalize the exploits and experiences of Simon Peter. Other than Jesus, Peter was the only one to walk on water, but also the only one to openly deny Him. What a journey, What a life.

10. How did this role change you in any way, and how important was it for you to be part of such a project?

It gave me great satisfaction and confidence in my abilities, both as an actor and singer. I got a chance to flex my creative muscles in both capacities and was brought back full circle to my musical theater roots of my early days in Bridgeport, Connecticut. “Revival!” has reaffirmed my faith in heavenly design and purposed destiny. Our very challenging, very rigorous shooting schedule, proved once again that I truly can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

11. What was it like being among and being part of so many other great names who were bought together to act in Revival!?

We really embraced and loved one another like a family! I remember the moment we realized what a great work we were involved in. Victoria Tilford was doing a raucous musical number for the

temptation of Christ scene. She was outstanding, and I remember us looking at one another in wideeyed wonder, thinking ‘this is going to be amazing’! It was a mutual admiration society on set as we stood around throughout the production to cheer one another on.

So many amazing performances: Mali Music, Chaka Kahn, Dawn Lewis, T’keyah Crystal Keymah, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Obba Babatundé, Jeffrey Anderson Gunter, Kenny Lattimore, Siedah Garrett, Anthony Azzizi, Roland Buck III, Michelle Williams, Paula Newsome, Niki J. Crawford, and of course our fearless leader Harry Lennix. What an outstanding group of artists!

12. Where to next for Kirk?

I recently signed with a great new management team, Gem Entertainment Group here in California and together we are exploring opportunities for stage, screen and TV…some big announcements soon! In the meantime I’m in the studio recording my original songs with the illustrious Kevin Toney (of Donald Byrd and the Blackbirds fame). We are looking to release some individual songs soon and an album by year’s end. Also, I am developing some original film scripts, and partnering with an LAbased production company to get them filmed and distributed.

13. In the Spirit of Excellence and Music what can you share with this audience about the power of fulfilling their dreams?

There is a poem by the Harlem Renaissance writer Langston

Hughes, that explores the consequences of NOT fulfilling our dreams: What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust over like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it sags like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

We sometimes may have to endure long delays, disappointments and difficulties, but we must dream big, God-sized dreams, and fight the appropriate battles to see them realized. If you are still breathing, then you are still in the fight and remember you can always do more than you think you can. Our dreams have the potential to not only transform our lives, but the lives of our families, and the world around us. As the iconic Winston Churchill said:

“Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty— Never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.”

Kirk is giving away a 30 minute coaching session to a lucky winner in this issue. Take a look at our Giveaway page for further details CONTACT DETAILS: https://www.kirktaylorofficial.com

66 |Spring 2019

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

The

former

SupremesUNCONDITIONAL LOVE, MOTOWN AND LIVING A LIFE OF DREAMS AND FUN

T

he Supremes the world’s all-time favourite female group earned the accolades of the world with the reign on the music charts during the 60’s and 70’s. The Supremes had eight individual members during that time and each of the eight ladies contributed to the group’s recording and performing success. Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene, Formerly of the Supremes are genuine former members of The legendary Motown recording trio. The third singer is Joyce Vincent.’ The Former Supremes are still touring and recently bought out a single called ‘Unconditional Love.’ Here the ladies talk about life, Motown and their legacy.

PHOTO CREDITS: RANDI CHILDS PHOTOGRAPHY

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Spring 2019 | 67

J

OYCE: First and foremost, I’d like to clarify I’m not really a Former Supreme. Scherrie and Susaye are the Former Supremes, I’ve never been a Supreme but I’m with these ladies now keeping that legacy and music alive and I absolutely love it.

Esther: you for that Joyce now back to my question Who is Joyce?

(Laughter) JOYCE: I am me. I’ve been singing all most of my life. I always wanted to sing, always felt I needed to sing. I really did because I remember as a kid people would ask ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’

I didn’t know what I wanted to be. They’d convince you it’s one of two things you would be a nurse or a teacher. I’ve been around music all of my life. My dad was a Jazz musician. So I was around music all the time.

Esther: I’m going to ask Scherrie the same question, who are you in a cashew nut shell, a peanut shell or a coconut shell.

SHERRIE: Well that’s hard to answer.

I still don’t know because I’m still looking for me. I guess I loved to sing from the time I was an infant. My mother said before I learned to talk I was singing. I really didn’t have an ambition to be a professional singer. I would sing at parties and in the basement. My idols were Billie Holiday and Gloria Lynne. Even when I graduatedHigh School then went to Michigan State and I graduated in medical technology I knew I didn’t want to do that either. So I fell into singing accidentally. I started writing songs and one-day when my sister was home, she was on the phone with EddieHollandDozier-Holland so I got on the piano and started playing one of my songs really loud and he called me to the phone and asked me what I was playing and I said it was something I had written and that I had a lot

68 |Spring 2019

more. He then asked me if I would audition. So he sent a car around for me at Lamont Dozier’s house, played a few songs and they signed me to the company and that was how it all started in 1968 and that’s when I met Joyce.

I’m still searching for me and my purpose. I love to write. I do love to sing still. I love to write songs, screen plays and stage plays.

Esther: Now Susaye what about you? You feel like an atomic bomb to me.

SUSAYE:That’s a new one for me.

(Laughter) But in a nutshell. I’ve always known that I wanted to be an entertainer. I didn’t know I was going to write songs, and I’m very grateful I found that out due to the people I was working for and who I was associated with.

If you are passionate about something you can do it with joy and with tremendoushappiness in your heart. I think it’s a sad thing that so many people are put off by either their parents, friends or the people that they know who say ‘Oh you can’t make a living with that.’

We’re taught about focussing on money or that fame is the goal when in essence it’s our own peace of mind, our own personal power that makes us glorious spirts in this world and this is what will make us happy.

So in that nutshell and with that thought, I will always create,it’s what I do that brings me the most joy and that includes so much for all of us as we all do so many things.

SCHERRIE: Joyce is an excellent songwriter as well as Susaye.

SUSAYE: And You Scherrie (Laughter) Esther: That was a nice lead into the next question, because I‘m loving the energy as this feels all very homey. I hope you’re all sitting down with a nice

cup of tea and you’ve got your feet up as we continue this conversation.

JOYCE: Oh My Gosh. I’m right in the middle of having a nice cup of coffee. Isn’t this wonderful.

Esther: Ladies, I’m going to take you back a bit because as you know this year saw 60 years of Motown being celebrated so this is a very pivotal moment.

It wasn’t just the music, or the glamour but also messages in the music that were very powerful whether it was about love or about making a stand for something. So as you put everything together into the bouquet of performing and entertaining,Motown was very symbolic in its time.

So I’d now like to talk about the history of the Supremes and how Scherrie and Susaye became members.

SCHERRIE: Well for me, I joined Invictus Records and during that time I was a member of Glass House and in 1973, Lamont Dozier, who was my boyfriend at the time had come up to California where he met Mary Wilson at a party. She told him that Jean Terrell had just left the group. Jean was the one who had replaced Diana Ross and they were looking for another lead singer,so he suggested me.

So she called, and I sent some pictures of the Glass House album, and a couple other albums. Then she called me back and asked me if I would come back to California. That was a Thursday night and she wanted me to leave on Saturday which I did. Then I thought ‘Oh Lord what did I tell her yes for, I can’t do this, am I crazy?’ and then my mother gave me that motherly talk because she believed in her daughters,that we could do anything, and not to feel defeated or less than.

Our mother was fantastic in that regard. So I got on that plane

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

on Saturday morning and met to Cindy Birdsong at the airport and we went straight to Mary’s house and started rehearsing.

There was a show the following Saturday, I think in New Mexico, the State Fair and that was the beginning and I never left. That was my introduction to the Supremes.

Esther: Thank you and Susaye, for you?

SUSAYE: : I was working with Stevie Wonder in Wonderlove, which was a tremendous experience.

My mum was on the Board of the Beverly Hills branch of the NAACP alongwith Bob Jones, who at that time was the Head of Publicity for Motown. Bob and my mum were good friends and he told her that Cindy was leaving the group and suggested he would put me forward if she agreed. Then I went and met with Mary when she came back into town and we talked about whether I would like to do it. They sent a car for me and we rehearsed for the next couple of days and I got in that long white Mercedes limousine with blacked-out windows and I never turned back.

So it started off with three little girls, with Berry Gordy - Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Mary Wilson. Then later Cindy Birdsong came into the group and they became, Diana Ross and The Supremes. After that Jean Terrell became Lead Singer when Diana left. Then Linda Lawrence came into the group and then Scherrie Payne and then me Susaye Green the last of the Supremes. That’s the history of the ladies and I think we are honoured to have been in that small group.

But the thing that people don’t talk about much, and I think it’s a great time because of the 60th anniversary of Motown,is that we were emboldened and empowered women. That’s who the Supremes were. They were gracious and elegant, young and vivacious. They had personal power and they influenced the world because of that. They may not have been the first girls group but they were the first with that kind of worldwide influence. So it’s an honor to have stepped into those shoes and to be where we are now. It’s a huge event around the world. We know people who have followed us everywhere since they were teenagers and we’ve changed their lives. That’s why Motown was called the ‘Sound of Young America.’

Esther: Joyce when you joined

the Group what did it feel like to be part of something that was so huge on so many levels.

I’m not just talking from an entertainment perspective but for what the group stood for and what is it was doing for women and what it meant in your own personal life?

JOYCE: It was like a dream in the beginning and then reality set in. You’ve got to get down to business,do songs etc. I’ve been around music all my life so it was ingrained in me anyway.

So I got the call to join them, because one of the other ladies, Freddie Pool, had left the group.

I was the one they thought of but it was really strange the way it turned out because.. Susaye can probably explain to you how things have come around.

They had asked me years ago to join the group, Susaye tell her…

(Laughter) SUSAYE: I want to interject to say it was because of Tony Orlando and Dawn,who were the first mixed race group to have a network television show. That in itself was such a turning point of influence for the entire industry and women as well but when we were in the Supremes and Mary was going to leave, we cemented Joyce. Scherrie had known Joyce from young Spring 2019 | 69

and knew that she was capable, beautiful and that she had all of the elements that were known to the Supremes i.egrace and elegance and just so gracious a person. At the time, a word came down from the top, even though we had licensed the name ‘The Supremes’and were going to go ahead with Joyce, they discontinued The Supremes and we went ahead and did the Partners album but 40 years later almost to the day, Scherrie called me and asked me if I would be in with herself and Joyce to be the Former Ladies and how that happened it was just fate and destiny. And we know this is true because we have such a great time together.

SUSAYE: We are excited about our new music and it’s quite something to have gone through all of these decades, first of all to still have our mental capacity and faculties and the love for music. Then our passion for travelling and being able to get out to see the people. It’s so wonderful. But Unconditional Love was a thought that was presented to me by my friend Jeffrey Chin. He’s a tremendous keyboard player and arranger in San Francisco and does a lot of film work and he’s a tremendous musician. So he came to me with a track and all he had was ‘Unconditional Love’ in his mind

and I thought WOW that’s a great one because so many people can relate to that. I wrote the melody. When a song comes to you and blows out just like that, there’s nothing like it, it makes it infectious and we were amazed by the reaction of our audience.

JOYCE: It was amazing. We worked at the Catalina Jazz Club and I was in shock. You would’ve thought we’d been singing that song for 100 years because the audience were so thrilled.

SCHERRIE: I’d like to say a big shout out to Steve Weaver in the UK who does recordings for us and

JOYCE: And we sound good together.

Esther: Yes you do ladies. So now, I’d like to talk about where you are now? You’ve got a new single out called ‘Unconditional Love’ and you’re going to be on tour soon. What I find really fabulous is that many artists are still performing and still passionate about what they do.

So Scherrie, tell me a bit more about your upcoming tour, then Susaye I want to ask you about the Unconditional Love album and then Joyce I want to ask you about your passion.

SCHERRIE: We’re touring Germanyin May, June in Belgium and we have some dates in California and Texas in July, August in California and Detroit and the UK in September and October in Detroit. So it’s coming in by the Grace of God, people still love the music and of course we have to acknowledge and give honor to the great history of Motown. However, we also have new material which was written by Ms Susaye Greeneand we’re compiling other songs for our CD.

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TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Eric Iversen our right-hand man, here in the US. SUSAYE: And to everybody, we love that everyone still keeps coming out to see us. We love you so much.

Esther: What would you say is the groups biggest achievement as a female group?

SCHERRIE: You can fulfil your dreams. You don’t need to show your panties or behind you can do it with class. The Supremes meant and still mean so much to young girls. They can look at The Supremes and say, maybe oneday I can do that, I can get up on that stage and for them to recognise that they can be graceful and beautiful. We hope

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

we’ve been an inspiration for all young women, especially black women.

from outside our world and we are full of pride and gratitude.

SUSAYE: We are passionate about what we do. Especially women because it’s an amazing thing to be alive with the advancement of technology and innovation which have reached such a point. However, The Supremes have always represented a class and empowerment for women and we want that to continue.

I think that’s the greatest achievement,bringing that music to the hearts and minds of people around the Universe.

I say the Universe because we now have the ability to go to other planets and have viewing

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CONTACT DETAILS: https://www.scherrieandsusayeformersupremes.com/

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TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

LLOYD LLOYD G G WILLIAMS WILLIAMS IS IS STILL STILL ‘SHOUT..ING’ ‘SHOUT..ING’ BUT NOW BUTNOW TO TO HIS HIS OWN OWN MUSIC MUSIC

PHOTO CREDITS: RANDI CHILDS PHOTOGRAPHY TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Spring 2019 | 73

We lived right across the street from the church, my pastor knew my family; there were 12 of us. So after learning that I couldn’t sing that way in church the way I naturally wanted to, I thought there was something wrong with me.

I

had the pleasure of meeting Lloyd G Williams at an interview I conducted with Joe Harris from Undisputed Truth in LA in September 2018. Lloyd is renowned for originally singing‘Shout’ from the timeless hit movie “Animal House."

He has travelled all over the world with such groups as the Undisputed Truth, Temptations, Earth Wind & Fire, George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars.

I found Lloyd to be a ‘smooth operator,’ easy to talk too, very likeable indeed and with a silent depth and richness of character. He exuded a calmness born out of his many experiences of navigating life and also because he was now in a very good space’ in his life at this point in time. So on a warm evening in September in LA, we sat on a park bench and started talking and then, before we knew it, a conversation about his life, music and his experiences had blossomed and I was happy to sit and listen to him tell his story.

One of the biggest things that deterred me from the industry when I first stepped in it is that I ran into all of these egos. I was like ‘I don’t want to be like that. I do not want to look like that.’ I’m one of those type of cats that can look at you and if I see something, I’ll say ‘I’ll make sure when I get to that age I won’t be like that i.e taking advantage of people, belittling people, looking down on people, because I had to do a deep search within myself; they did 74 |Spring 2019

distract me when I was quite young.

I was a little kid who started out singing in church. I have an old soul, I’ve always had an old soul. I grew up in a house where my older siblings played Motown and I was in a city where there weren’t any black radio stations, so my biggest mentor at the time before I got to Motown was Elvis Presley, because that’s all I saw; they crammed it down and I wanted to be like him. I wanted to get into the movies, to sing in the movies but I didn’t realize they weren’t accepting people of color in that area, and eventually I saw Nat King Cole start his show. That was my little dream. Then in 6th grade, one of my white teachers saw something in me; he was a trumpet player, he was a big band Jazz player and he said ‘I’m going to help the youth’.

He bought the instruments himself.

I said I wanted to play the trumpet and he went out and invested his own money and I eventually paid him back but I still have the trumpet till today and in the 6th grade, eleven years old, that’s where my musical career started by getting away from the singing in church. There’s a little parallel there because what I was singing was because of the Motown and Elvis influence. So when they would be singing in church ‘Some glad morning, when this life is over, I’ll fly away,’ I’d put that Motown feel on it and the preacher would say “you can’t do that in here.” But that was just me, that raw talent in me

and I was like why not? My mom used to laugh because would say ‘that’s just the way he is.’

We lived right across the street from the church, my pastor knew my family; there were 12 of us. So after learning that I couldn’t sing that way in church the way I naturally wanted to, I thought there was something wrong with me.

During that period, I could go and build up a tune from my chest, and a lot of folks would say ‘you’re doing it wrong, you’re not breathing right, your technique is not right’ but I was comfortable with it.

It worked for me. After going through that period, I picked up my trumpet and continued to play all the way up to my Sophomore and Junior College years. Then one day I was at Los Angeles City College doing a tribute to Paul Robeson and a young lady came up to me and told me that she loved my voice. I was like ‘thank you’ then she made me a proposition and said “if you take me out to dinner, I’ll introduce you to my family, they’re in the record industry with Motown’ and I was like ‘ok.’ But let me take you back a bit before I continue my story about this young lady.

While I was in high school, I was singing, doing all the talent shows, putting bands together, putting acts and groups together. I started at quite a young age and was pretty popular at that time, but I never took it any further other than my TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

musical director, who turned out to be the father of the great Broadway Singer Audra McDonald. His name was Stanley McDonaldwho took me under his wing. He was my track coach and musical director and at the school I was playing trumpet for him. We did a couple of things

by War and other groups and then he asked someone to take the lead and I took it.

So, he asked me to go to MoTown as he had a couple friends there and he wanted me to meet them, and I said ‘OK Stan.’

So when I came to LA City College I’m 19, not out of school and I’m running track. I’m young, I’m in LA meeting all these girls, I’m on my own and I was singing with a few bands, as my brother had a group in LA, so I’m doing nightclubs and I forget about what Stan had asked me to do.

As I was doing this particular tribute to Paul Robertson, this is when that young lady propositioned me and I took her up on it.

Lloyd G Williams with Cornelius Grant

So back to this young lady. She said, ‘if you take me to dinner and sleep with me, I will introduce you to some people.’ Anyway, she was so pleased and as soon as we got up the next morning she rolled over, got on the phone, I talked to her brother-in-law and her sister and they set up an appointment that day to meet me.

It turns out they were members of the Undisputed Truth, who were starting to put another group together and I was like ‘oh wow.’ So, I went to this meeting and they auditioned me and I guess I was as good as they thought I was because immediately they went over to Norman Whitfield’s studio and brought his assistant over, Mark Davis.

So Mark Davis came over and said ‘wow’ and he did what they do in the industry because back then, it was like that crab-in-the-bucket thing. I.e I had this happen to me so I’m going to do this to you, and right now I see an opportunity and I’m going to utilise it to my advantage. I see this young guy who knows nothing about the industry but who has a great voice and a lot of raw talent. So he takes me over to Norman without the group, he doesn’t want me to be on this portion of the Undisputed Truth; keep in mind, they had left the Undisputed Truth and were forming their own new Undisputed Truth Experience.

He took me to Norman and asked me to sing something and I sang the song ‘Travelling Man.’

Lloyd G Williams with Scherrie Payne

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

So he said you’ve got a nice little voice. Then he told me that he was working on a project. Mind you he had just finished Car Wash with Rolls Royce and he was getting all of these movies sent to him and it just so happened he had to do a soundtrack for the movie “Animal House” which was a college rage film. Mark was his assistant on this particular project, so Mark was thinking ‘I’ve got the guy to do the singing on this Spring 2019 | 75

project.’

So Norman gave me a CD of ‘Shout’ by the Isley Brothers and told me to go into a room and learn it in 20 minutes. This was how quick it started When I came back out and looked in the studio booth all these musicians were in there and I was told that I was going to sing this live with the band, and I said ok.

So I got on the microphone and did my version of it and all of a sudden, everybody was shouting and screaming and I was like ‘wow what happened?’

So Norman came to me afterwards and said I want to introduce you to the Funk Brothers, and it was the Funk Brothers who played behind me. I was 22. James Jamerson and all of them were still alive and they were doing the sessions on this album and I was like ‘that was the Funk Brothers?’ Still not knowing what I’ve done because all I’m doing is what I’ve always done, sing.

Then he said that he wanted me in his office on Monday and he told Mark that I was their guy and that he wanted us to get together over the weekend because we were going to need a second song.

I was naive, I was like what was wrong with the first song? I don’t know I had a hit. He knew and everybody else knew.

So Mark Davis and I got together.

Then he said that we had to do something that was related to the era of this movie something from the sixties. So he came up with the song ‘Stand By Me’ and told me to sing along. I asked him where were the lyrics and he said I do the music and you do the lyrics, because I was a lyricist.

We did a first take then Mark stopped me and told me I needed structure and he gave me some pointers.

Once I finished he took We did a first

take then Mark stopped me and told me I needed structure and he gave me some pointers. Once I finished he took me to Norman Whitfield who was blown away and then he told me he wanted to sign me up.

I didn’t know I had already cut two hits. Then Joe Harris, from Undisputed Truth, came into the room and said ‘you need to learn this industry’ and I’m thinking but what about those two songs I did for the movie?He said ‘don’t worry about that, we need to groom you.

We see a lot of raw talent but we need to groom you.’

They put me in this new Undisputed Truth, Joe’s group, but at that time I didn’t want to be in it because again I’m young and naive. This new group had white wigs with lights in them and white faces and tights and all of that, and I said I can’t be in that group. He asked why and I said ‘I’ve got seven brothers and my mama would kick my butt if I was in that group, she wouldn’t recognize me.’

Everybody laughed and Joe said ‘this is theatrics boy, it’s theatre’but I still said no way. Norman laughed telling me that I had to start somewhere and I had to be in the group because it was a great group and they were going placesbut I was still like I just can’t do that.

Mind you, I guess I made such an impression on Norman when I made those two hits that he gave me a week then called me and I guess they were all strategizing. When he called me back in, he showed me some photographs and asked me if I would wear the outfit in the picture and I told him I would. It was the space outfit that you see on the Smoking album. Apparently Joe agreed to it also.

My life took off. It changed from being a student in college living off a grant and loans to Norman Whitfield paying me $1,000 a week. All of a sudden I’m making $4,000 a month

and then I realize it was all done because of those two songs that I did in that movie.

So where am I now? I’m still shouting and still working with the Undisputed Truth projects.

I basically started my own production company as part of the development, looking for young talent. I’m working with a group called ‘1500 or Nothing.’ They are an academy in LA and they are huge.They’ve got hits on Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars’ album so there’s a lot going on.

It’s an Academy teaching individuals and my part is in artist development and the artist relations department.

It’s to help artists get through copyright and signing contracts; having professional people look at these contracts to make sure they don’t fall into the pitfalls that I fell into.

Also myself and Joe and the group, are capturing the essence of Norman Whitfield who was one of the greatest and best producers on the planet.We were the last group of his catalogue. The last project that he made was the Undisputed Truth Smoking album, so we’re now in the process of putting all his material together.

To Book Lloyd to perform at your event contact: info@estheraustinglobal.com Website: www.lloydgwiliams.com 76 |Spring 2019

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

CORNELIUS GRANT - KNOWN AS THE 6TH TEMP:

Keeps the Voices of Legends Alive PHOTO CREDITS: RANDI CHILDS PHOTOGRAPHY

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

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Esther: You were the Musical Director for the Temptations for nearly 20 years how did you initially get that role, Cornelius?

CORNELIUS: Initially, I was playing guitar with Mary Wells. Then I left her and became Marvin Gaye's first guitar player. At the second gig with Marvin Gaye, he called me in the dressing room and he said, "Listen Corn, I need a guitar player and a conductor.

I can't pay both.” I hesitated at first, but then I went back to Detroit and bought a book on conducting. I stayed up all night and the next morning I was a conductor [Laughter] Prior to me going with Marvin Gaye, while I was with Mary Wells, The Temptations who were still doing back-up had a couple of records out. They had an opening spot at Carbone in Brooklyn where we were playing and they didn't have a guitar player. So I played for their show. When I finished, Paul Williams called me in the dressing room and he said, "Man, when we get a hit record, I don't care where you are, what you doing, you are coming with us."

So moving forward, I was with Marvin Gaye for about a year or so. Then, ‘When You Do The Things You Do’ came up and the guys called me, because of the experience I had gotten with conducting from Marvin Gaye, it played right into me starting with the Temptations. So I became

78 |Spring 2019

their guitarist and Musical Director and also people called me the Sixth, Temp.

Esther: When did you realize you had a gift for music and that music was an industry you wanted to get into?

CORNELIUS: My grandmother bought me a guitar at the age of nine and so, I've always been self-taught. I migrated to Detroit at age 13 actually and at 15 I was playing at nightclubs even though I was underage.

While I was in high school, a guy named Freddy Pride, who had originally been with Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, was going as a solo and he had this song he wanted me to play on. He approached me and asked me "Would I play on it?" and I said, "Sure." I didn't know that the session was going to be in New York. So, he spoke with the person that was financing everything and I took my first plane ride, my first trip to New York and my first major recording session in a recording studio and I was still in high school. So at that point I made up my mind, this is what I want to do.

Esther: Excellent. When did you actually became part of Motown and what was that like for you?

CORNELIUS: Well, as I said, I started with, Mary Wells. I was right out of high school. It was fascinating because I started to play professionally and travel.

That was one of the best things. It’s like you want to try to come up with the best song or the best musical lyric. It created an incentive for everybody to try and be the best of what they could do.

Motown, was called Hitsville at the time, were smart enough to create a venue for talent.

So a lot of people that came to Hitsville at the time, the opportunity was there. If you could do something, if you could write songs, if you could play music or whatever, you were afforded the opportunity to do it. So, Hitsville became a melting pot for young talent and musicians.

Esther: What were some of the attributes you felt it took to be a Motown artist? Because with all the artists I’ve interviewed, there are certain attributes that each one of you had in order to be seen as a Motown artist. It was like an energy excellence, of striving to be the best.

CORNELIUS: Well, it was a melting pot, a nerve centre. Everybody that had a talent, wanted to come in and show what they could do, what they were best at and there was also friendly competition.

That was one of the best things.

It's like you want to try to come up with the best song or the best musical lyric. It created an incentive for everybody to try

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

was called the snake pit all day and part of the night sometimes, doing music tracks, playing music. So, when you came into town, you wanted to see who was in the studio, what songs were being worked on and sometimes you'd get an idea and you'd go back and maybe come up with a song and try to come up with something better than what they were doing.

Esther: How did you manage to keep your dignity and integrity intact whilst been in the entertainment industry because sometimes the industry is notorious for lots of wild and debauchery things going on. and be the best of what they could do.

Esther: You've worked with so many artists. You've directed music for Mary Wells and Marvin Gaye. You co-wrote favourites, like, You're My Everything and many more hits, for such artists as Gladys Knight and the Pips, Martha Reeves, Rose Royce, Edwin Starr, The Commodores.

So what do you feel, Cornelius, was the glue that held Motown together? There was friendly competitiveness and Motown was a melting pot but outside of that, what is it that you felt held it all together?

CORNELIUS: It became like a family. There was a family feeling. If people didn't have such a great home life, they could go there and the whole atmosphere would be changed.

Even if we went out of town, when we came back, the first stop would be Motown, before going home.

There was such a camaraderie of people. Like the Funk Brothers, they sat there in what TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

CORNELIUS: [Laughter] A lot of that comes from the upbringing. Otis and I were from Texas and we came from country-type family. So even though we involved ourselves with the drug thing and all that was happening, it was part of the course at that time. But there was always that feeling that maybe this wasn't really what we were about. So we kind of moved with the flow trying not to get caught up in it and letting it became part of our lives.

Esther: Everybody tries different things, no matter where they've come from, but I guess the main stay here is that you didn't let it become obsessive and takeover.

What to you is one of the most important experiences you've had, being in the entertainment industry? An experience that you've thought, this is really worth doing what I'm doing?

CORNELIUS: [Laughs] Well, there were three sets of major events.

One was playing at the White House, the other was playing the Copacabana which was a

nightclub experience and the other was playing at the Talk of the Town in London.

Esther: In winding down, you're the co-host and producer of Roof's Bar TV. That's a show about keeping the stories and messages of all those old pioneers alive and honoured.

Why is it important for you, Cornelius, to keep their voices alive?

CORNELIUS: A lot of the experiences we went through during the 60s, when we were playing down south were not such good times for blacks, whether you were in the entertainment business or not.

So we experienced having to stand because there were no chairs, not being able to go into certain restaurants. We were even shot at because they thought we were Freedom Fighters.

A lot of the stuff we experienced and went through, is part of our history, part of what got us to where we were, or where we are. So, a lot of youngsters don't realize what the 50s and 60s were like. So they're coming into the political arena as it is now and not really understanding the history of what went on.

So the same with the music business. A lot of the rappers, they come into this business and they don't really understand the ramifications of what we went through to get the level of entertainment music to where it is now. So we want to reiterate and interview and have a lot of the old school artists, singers and writers to come and share their experiences, because otherwise, it will be lost.

Esther: As you went through all those experiences and you've come through what was the main ingredient, Cornelius, that stopped you from allowing bitterness and hatred to cloud and shroud you, whilst still Spring 2019 | 79

continuing to push forward. To be shot at, to have people look at you and treat you as you were inferior. What was it that kept you strong in “This is who I am, this is what I want to do and this is what I'm going to become?�

CORNELIUS:. A lot of it was because of the spirituality from my upbringing at home. I was raised by my grandmother who was a very spiritual lady and even though she had to work for white people in order to survive she never taught us hatred or bigotry. So I carried that all through adulthood. It's like "Hey! Treat people as a person, for who they are and not for what colour they are."

Esther: Are you still proactive in the entertainment industry?

CORNELIUS: Yes. We're embarking on a TV project. That's basically what the focus is now. But, other than that, The Temptations' legacy is even stronger than ever now because there's a play, Ain't Too Proud and it's breaking records all over the world. It's on Broadway and it's already booked to be on Broadway until the end of November. It stars a lot of laughter and The Temptations' history. I'm just glad that two of my songs are being performed in the play.

Website: https://www.corneliusgrant.com/ 80 |Spring 2019

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

MARY WILSON ON FINDING HERSELF, ENJOYING LIFE

AND STILL SUPERBLY SUPREME TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

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Esther: So my first question to you, Mary, is who is Mary in a nutshell, in a crab shell or maybe a coconut shell?

MARY WILSON: Mary Wilson is [Laughter]. That’s pretty much who I AM, what identifies me is my Laugh. I’m a grand-mom of 75 years old. I am a mom of three biological Children and one adopted Child. So I’m really into being a parent and a mom. Mary Wilson, in a nutshell, probably would be one of those people who really loves life.

I’ve accomplished pretty much everything. People think it’s easy because I laugh all the time through everything, but it’s not easy. I have a way of looking at life in a very happy way. That’s kind of who Mary is. Regardless of what goes on, I can be unhappy about the situation, but it doesn’t change me from being a happy person at the core.

Esther: Fantastic. Fantastic. Love that. Now we all pretty much know the story of the original Supremes and their journey and in this interview I’d like to touch on your tenure at Motown. What did Motown do for you as a person, Mary? How did Motown influence you or change you?

MARY WILSON: Motown, perhaps for The Supremes and, of course, for Mary Wilson, I think it helped us make our dreams come true. We went to Motown with dreams. Motown didn’t give us the dream. We went to Motown with the dream. We actually made them accept us because we were three little black girls from Detroit, Michigan who just dared to dream and we looked around to find the right place to go. Motown gave us a place to make our dreams come true.

82 |Spring 2019

Esther: And what were the attributes you felt you brought to Motown that got you through the door and made you so successful.

You said you made Motown take you, but what were the attributes that you went with other than your dreams?

MARY WILSON: When we went to Motown, there were four of us. We were The Primettes.

When we walked in there, I can’t answer for them, but I can probably surmise that when they saw us and when they saw our dreams, they saw the possibility of what they too were dreaming of. That’s why I say we were not made by Motown, however they were smart enough to see that we were three or four girls who really knew what they wanted.

As you know, my third book is coming out, it’s called Supreme Glamour. This is also what I think they saw. They saw a certain sort of, I won’t say glamour, because at 16 we weren’t glamorous, but we were definitely cute. But I think they saw that we were not your normal rock n rollers. There was something a little different about The Supremes and throughout the years, almost 60 years, I think this has really shown that the music was very important for The Supremes, but it was also our style and class and I think Motown got that when we walked through the door. They saw that in us.

Esther: This goes onto this whole thing of excellence, because I’ve interviewed quite a few artists who were part of the Motown movement and there was this bar of excellence which Motown bred because it seems that each artist came with the view and the dream of excellence.

MARY WILSON: I feel to the core that is what it was. There were other artists who may not have been as classy and as stylish as us, but they also still had something else that was very unique in their own style.

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, which is the way I look at it. So, even though some of the groups were more rock and rollish, maybe more than The Supremes, they still had something very unique in their style.

Esther: Mary, to have been in the music industry for so long, how did you and do you keep the passion and fire of Motown in you, especially when you performed? Where did that come from? You still have it, because I’ve watched you so many times, I’m like, “This woman is absolutely gorgeous.”

You have this smile and it comes from the soul and they say the eyes are the windows to the soul. No matter what you’re doing, you’ve just got this. Bam! This fire in you. So where do you feel that passion and fire comes from?

MARY WILSON: IIt’s not so much Motown. I know this is about Motown, but as I said, each artist came there with their own innate desire of sharing their gift with the world in terms of music.

I recognized when the three of us started singing together, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard at around the ages of 13 and 14, when I first met them, I just felt so connected to whatever gift God had given me. At the time we’d just started singing because we just enjoyed singing. We didn’t come together wanting to become stars. We didn’t come together because we wanted to make more money.

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

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We came together because whatever gift God gave us, it felt that the three of us girls worked like the other parts of me. I thought we were one woman, one human being. Each of us brought something to the group, that part that maybe others didn’t have, but we all made one perfect little being, which was The Supremes and to me, that’s what kept me all these years doing what I do.

Whenever I do master classes and teach at schools, I tell the children that whatever gifts they have to use them. I tell them to try to at least find something they enjoy because they’re going to have to work hard, unless they are rich, and most of us are not rich. So if you’re going to work hard, you might as well work hard at something that you enjoy. That’s how I’ve maintained and I think that’s how, maybe, I don’t want to speak for Diane, but I probably can surmise that maybe that’s what her thing is too, is that she enjoys what she does.

Some people have asked me when am I going to retire and I’m like “Why? I’m doing what I love. It’s not about Motown, it’s about what you have inside. I’ll give you something else. Mrs. Powell, one of my mentors at Motown from the Artist’s Development Department said, “You girls are diamonds in the rough and we’re just here to shine you.”

Esther: So Mary, what was the difference performing as part of a group and then as a solo artist?

MARY WILSON: For me, being a part of the group was fabulous.

I absolutely adored being with Florence, Diana and Barbara who was the fourth member.

For me, maybe I lost a little of my own individually, but I think that happens in a group, even though I was very happy in the 84 |Spring 2019

group.

I’m not saying I wasn’t, I’m just saying that I didn’t realize until later when it was time for me to step out and be a soloist, that, I didn’t really have the confidence or, not just the confidence, but I didn’t know how to be a solo performer.

I had started out being a soloist but then there were roles that we had to play and Florence and I did all the ‘oohs’ and’ ahhs’ and ‘baby, baby, baby.’ Most times people laugh about that, but I said, ‘Yes, but I was laughing all the way to the bank for 57 years.” Because I really enjoyed it. Then in the late 70s when I started going out on my own, Florence and Diane were no longer there and I kept going, for seven years after that. The girls were wonderful, they had great talent, but I realized it was Mary, Florence and Diana who had been the dream and we have made the dream come true.

I had to make up my mind if I was going to go out and be a soloist after that. I had to ask myself ‘Can I do it? I didn’t even know. I hadn’t done it in all these years. I’m this huge success and this huge whoever and I lovedit. I didn’t’ want to stop. So I had to learn how to sing. I started taking acting classes, singing classes. I had the greatest singing coach in the world from Italy and I had to virtually learn how to sing over. I really did.

So, to become a soloist was quite hard, but I was determined to do it because I didn’t want to stop doing what I loved, which was being on stage. It wasn’t about singing rather it was about being a performer. I think a lot of us know that Sammy Davis was more of a performer than he was a singer. I spoke to Lena Horne before she passed and she said the same thing “I

love being on stage, darling, I know people up there who sing much better than I, but I just love being on stage.” I’m one of those people. I love performing and so now I’m still learning my singing capacity. I’m still learning how to do that well.

In fact, five years ago I recorded an album about Jazz and the American Songbook songs because basically in The Supremes I sang a lot of the ballads. That was the role I played and I always did that well. I now sing all ballads; I find that’s where my talent really is.

So I’m not just a performer, I’m a great ballad singer so now I’m comfortable being a soloist.

Esther: There’s this element to you that is still open to learning, exploring and finding those other parts of ‘Mary’ which she can fully express so that when she stands on stage she gives it her all. You give it your all anyway, but it’s almost like what else is there within this potpourri of Mary Wilson that she can deliver and explore and that’s what’s coming out really strongly and this is all being inspired by your passion which is clear.

MARY WILSON: Oh good. I’m glad you said that. It’s really nice because that’s what I’m thinking.

There’s so much more I want to do. In fact, I’ve always said that at 75, I don’t know if I can do all the things I want to do.

I’m in acting classes now, I would love to really start acting. Well I’ve started, but I’d love to become known as an actress.

Nowadays, with the recording industry the way it is and radio, (there’s no radio anymore) I would like to record some things to show what Mary Wilson can do recording wise. So I do have lots more things I would like to do. I guess all you can do in life is do as much as you want to.

Esther: Excellent, so Mary, what TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

was it about Berry Gordy that fed the fire of and the magic of Motown?

of times the uniqueness, the greatness of each individual artist is not seen. So for example if you’re talking about Elton John, you’re talking about Elton John!

I believe it’s all there and it’s about discovering who you are. I think when you’re born, everything is there and by living through experiences, that’s when you really discover what you are. I don’t think you become something new; I think whoever you are, you’ve always been that way.

So sometimes, this takes away from us as artists. I don’t like that. I like when they said “Marvin Gaye is great.”

By the way he just got a United States postal stamp, which I hosted the unveiling of in LA, Hollywood.

Marvin Gaye is Marvin Gaye, and he should be as big as the name Marvin Gaye as big a brand just like Elton John or a Paul McCartney or anyone else. But what happens is we all go underneath this big umbrella of Motown and I think it takes away a little bit of power and that’s not to say anything against Motown.

ESTHER: Excellent, so Mary, what was it about Berry Gordy that fed the fire of and the magic of Motown?

MARY WILSON: Well I’ve thought about this a lot lately. We, The Supremes always loved being at Motown and loved Berry Gordy because he was the one who actually let us in. Because I think if it had not been for Mr Gordy, then no one else would have been really interested in us. There was a lot of perception that we were just three or four girls who wanted to record, we were cute and all that kind of stuff. I don’t think that they really thought much about the talent we had because we, The Supremes were not really R&B like most of the other artists were.

What they mostly thought was that because you were black, you were soulful. Well, we weren’t really soulful. We didn’t fit into the category that most black artists did. So, therefore I think that if Mr Berry Gordy had not chosen us, we may not have been as big as we were.

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

So having said all that about Berry, I say Berry, but really we always called him Mr. Gordy.

He had the dream of this place, and so he’s definitely one of my heroes because that place helped me to become who I am. Had he not had his dream, then my dream would not have come through. Who knows? I don’t think it would have been the same. So, for me, I think the word ‘Motown’ is more about Berry being Motown.

Now alot of people don’t really see Motown because the reality is that when you’re talking about Motown your talking about Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Martha and the Vandellas you’re talking about a lot of artists. But when you just put us all under this one umbrella, a lot

So to answer your question, more directly, Mr. Berry Gordy for me is my greatest hero in terms of my career. That’s just how I feel.

I think he was marvellous.

Had it not been his dream, then I wouldn’t be who I am regarding my career, but not me as a human being nor as an individual. That’s a tougher thing and that’s another story.

Esther: Mary, you’ve got a book coming out shortly, Supreme Glamour. It seems no matter what you wear, you have this essence of glamour and passion.

You’ve got this radiance about you so what was the idea around putting this book together? But I feel this is also a huge part of who you are as well. Does that make sense?

Mary Wilson: Well it’s not just me, Spring 2019 | 85

it’s all of us. It’s Diane, Florence and myself. I’m just a part of it, I’m part of that pie. I’m one third of it. So we all had that glamour streak and Diana has been known even more than myself.

Everyone knows her for that as well. She’s a bigger part of the pie. But yes, the glamour is something that I always thought that we all were quite beautiful myself. I think we blossomed even more later in life.

So the reason why I did this book is because my first bookDream Girls was the first book that anyone wrote at Motown. I was the first person.

People have forgotten that, but it was a best seller. I kept diaries throughout my life, and I eventually wrote the book and it became a bestseller.

Then I have my second book, which was Supreme Faith.

That was more about after the Cinderella moment died, and what happens to the people individually afterwards. It was more about me and my solo career as Wilson. It wasn’t a best seller but it still was a great book.

Then when all the ladies left, including Flo, Diane and then the ladies in the 70s, Jean Tyrell, Scherrie and Susaye everyone had to leave their gown with me, because when they left, I’d have to purchase more gowns, buy the insurance, put the gowns in storage, take care of all the business, so I ended up with everything. It was at that time that the Rock nRoll Hall of Fame were looking for something on The Supremes and I just happened to have heard about it and I said, “Well, I have all The Supremes’ gowns.” They said, “You do?”

So I ended up with all of these gowns. The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame came out and helped me curate them. Then they went to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, they’ve toured here 86 |Spring 2019

in the United States and I ended up thinking people are always talking about the music and the glamour, maybe I should do something like write a book on it, so that happened.

I’ve rewritten some of the things in the book and maybe things that weren’t in the first couple of books. But there’s a great amount of text in it and overall I would say, of our career.

Esther: Brilliant. I’d just like to say that when I made the statement about the glamour initially, I obviously was referring to Diana Ross, Florence and yourself as The Supremes. However, when I look at you as an individual, I see that glamour in you as an individual. There’s something that exudes from you. I’m not sure if you’re fully aware of that, but you do have that deep glamorous essence as well.

MARY WILSON: [Laughter]. Well, you know I never did think I was fully aware of what I presented.

One of my very dear friends was a writer who wrote a lot of Aretha Franklin songs, it was Aretha’s younger sister, Carolyn.

I remember the first group I was in before The Primettes, I was about 13, maybe 12 then, and I was going into this thing with Carolyn Franklin and this girl jumped on me and tried to beat me up.

So years later I asked Carolyn, ‘why did that girl do that?’ She said, “Well, did it ever occur to you that you were cute?” So I said, “What does that have to do with me being in the group?” So throughout my life, people have always said that. Oprah said to me one day, “How do you feel being the prettiest girl in the group?” I’m like, “I never think about that. That’s never been on my mind.” As I thought we all were cute.

Esther: It’s an energy thing. I think it’s just about learning to accept.

It’s more than just the aesthetics

and it’s something that is beyond the external MARY WILSON: I’ve always said that my beauty is inside. I just think I am a beautiful human being inside, but now I’m saying, “God, please, I’m 75, so please don’t fail me now. Please don’t leave me now.” [Laughter] Esther: In winding down, Mary, when the tough got going and the going got tough, what were the tools and resources you used to help you get through it all?

MARY WILSON: Okay so overall being black and growing up at a time when black, was not always beautiful your parents would say, ‘Make sure when you walk out of here, you have to be on your best behaviour because people expect the worst. So you’ve got to always be on your p’s and q’s no matter what you do.” That was something I think in the black community most of us heard growing up. We had to be better than anyone else because people didn’t expect us to be successful.

I always think about when I lost my son in a car accident, that was really one of the worst things as a parent to lose one of your Children. I think how I got through that period in my life and how I got through Florence’s pain when she had her first serious illness in life and had to leave the group.

It was always about self-survival, I think. I would not fail because of some adversity. I always prayed asking God to not let anything happen to me. When it does, you’ve got to pull on your inner strength and what your parents bought you up on. I was brought up with beautiful, black parents, black relatives, and they were always trying to do the best. So I guess I just drew on whatever was inside. I love life.

I’m going to do the best that I can. I get up every morning and I put one foot in front of the TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Supreme Glamour - A coffee table book featuring gowns worn by the Supremes throughout the year. Mary Wilson’s re-telling of the legendary story of The Supremes, this eye-popping hardcover volume presents the magnificent Mary Wilson Gown Collection, including iconic outfits created for and worn

by The Supremes, and photographer especially for this book on the stage of The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. 400 colour illustrations.

Foreword by Whoopi Goldberg

I would just say to those people who have something is to try to pull on that inner strength because it is in all of us. It could be covered up with life. other.

My daughter called me recentlyand said “How are you doing this morning?” I said, “I woke up, I’m happy, I’m thrilled.” I would wake up singing when I was a kid thinking everybody did that. Like I said in the beginning, I love life. I’m in awe of it and I want to do whatever was meant for me to do.

heard he’s on the street, and I pray for him every day.

Esther: Is there anything that you can share with someone who wants to step out, to take that leap of faith but they’re sitting on the edge? What is that word of wisdom that you can deliver to them?

I think certain things just happen and somehow we have to move past them or see them to get through, I don’t know. I would just say to those people who are going through something, try to pull on that inner strength because it is in all of us. It could be covered up with life. It could be covered up with poverty it could be covered up with a lot of different things. But I think that we need to try to find that spark, that core.

MARY WILSON: I’ve tried to come up with a really short topic on that because it’s very important. I see that so many people suffering. Not just what we hear on the news and in politics and all this stuff, but I’m just surrounded with people who are in pain.

You can call it whatever you want to call it, the highest spirit, whatever is your source. We need to try to find it. Michael Jackson sang about the man in the mirror. People have to start looking at this. We have to start looking at our stuff.

I was surrounded with a lot of that when I was growing up, but for some reason I always had this little spark in myself, to buffer it off. I remember when I was about seven, I said, “I didn’t ever want to live like that.” So I think sometimes it’s not our fault what happens in life or what kind of family we grew up in. I have someone in my family right now, I just TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Spring 2019 | 87

FINE DINING L’ESCARGOT REVIEW BY TURNINGPOINT’S VERY OWN MR TOPHAT, TONY JAZZ

S

et in the heart of Soho, L’Escargot was established in 1927 and is London’s oldest and most renowned French restaurant. It has become known for its range of stars of stage and screen including Coco Chanel, Maurice Chevalier, John Geilgud, Ralph Richardson, and was reputedly one of Princess Diana’s favourites. L'Escargot is now under the ownership of Brian Clivaz and Laurence Isaacson, who between them have been involved in some of London’s most iconic restaurants and member's clubs. James Tyrrell is now the Head Chef and his dishes celebrate classic French cooking with a touch of vibrancy.

Situated on 48 Greek Street it’s in a prime location of the famous London West End for Theatre goers and tourists looking for something more theatrical and spontaneous with their cuisine. L’Escargot delivers on many levels and is a popular retreat for Pre-Theatre deals and packages which is easily accessible on its user friendly website. What makes this restaurant so fascinating is its traditional French cooking and history, so when you visit please take advantage of dishes such as the snails, (Escargot) Lobster Bisque, Salad Nicoise, and Coq au Vin

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Spring 2019 | 89

(French dish of chicken braised with wine, lardons, mushrooms, and optionally garlic. A red Burgundy wine is typically used.) L’ Escargot was one of the first restaurants in the UK to serve snails and famously farm them in their basement. “OO LA LA “ I hear you say.

Once described as a Soho Institution it has stood the test of time and been at the cutting edge of trends hence its longevity but in keeping with its traditions. Its main dining area has high hanging chandeliers with both modern and art décor period paintings and prints which cast a unique Parisian spell on its diners making one forget that they are actually still in London. Their well suited waiters are equally to be admired with their braces and cufflinks reflecting the candle light tables with pink table cloths. My friend and I were spoilt for choice as we dined at the extensive A la Carte Menu (in a restaurant) referring to food that can be ordered as separate items, rather than part of a set meal) Spell bound by so many gastronomic delights we took a fair bit of time choosing our starters and main courses as one would appreciate. In the end we both opted for the snails, well as they say when in Rome do as the Romans.

They came within just a few minutes of our ordering and served in their legendary garlic and parsley sauce and flambé with Richard a snitch at

£30 for twelve you get 6 each for two. It is also a well worth reminder that these are traditionally served in their shells which requires a fair bit of flare when consuming with their own unique cutlery known as snail tongs and fork. Snail tongs are essential for removing snails from their shell. The sturdy tongs allow you to hold the shell gently but firmly while the meat is easily removed with the matching snail fork. Thanks to their sleek shape, the snail cutlery, comprising the snail tongs and snail fork, won’t look out of place on any table even at home so it’s worth investing in a set for home dinner parties The restaurant comprises of a cocktail bar and outdoor seating area for those lazy sultry summer evenings after maybe a day time matinee or shopping trip in and around vibrant Soho Square. The wine menu presented had all the classic French wines one would expect from such an establishment as the Chablis, Domaine Jean Goulley & Fils, Pouilly-Fuissé, Les Vieux Murs and of course a nice bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine de Nalys to accompany our Beef Bourguignon, parsnip puree which was our choice for the evening. This was well recommended and paired by our very attentive sommelier.

However, no sign of any recognizable celebrities in sight near

our table, we decided to slow down the pace by a visit to one of the many private function rooms on hire here, some of which still have fully functional fire places dating back to its opening. This was all courtesy of the management team here and although it was a busy night they were delighted to honor our request.

We visited ‘The Library’ with its vestry of binding gold printed hardback vintage books which was very impressively decorated L’Escargot houses a number of function rooms, all well impressively decorated and furnished to the highest standard and have been known to paid host to a few private Royal occasions in the past.

We finished off our evening with desserts; I had the exquisite Crème Brulee whilst my partner went for the selection of French cheeses both served with a smile and charm.

Please note to take advantage of the many pre-theatre discounts and offers that this restaurant has. These can be found on their website and other reputable online booking apps such as Open Table. This is a fascinating and enchanting place to dine for lunch or dinner and Mr Top Hat strongly recommends that next time you’re in London you make it a must place to visit on your list. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. So until the next issue

Au revoir!

TONY JACKSON Lifestyle Manager/ Professional Butler to The Rich & Wealthy 90 |Spring 2019

www.butlersofmayfairevents.co.uk TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

ART, ACCEPTANCE, CREATIVITY, DIVERSITY Randi Childs, Street Photographer Captures

Motown for TurningPoint Magazine

“There are many types of art form which aim to capture an element of life, whether simplistically, abstractly or intricately. Either way they are all forms of expression, capturing, creating, re-defining, exploring, intertwining. Art is a way for individuals to come alive, to seek different forms of expression and at times to experience a re-birth of an aspect of who they are or to discover an aspect of who they are.

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and when Randi shines her lens on you, that is what she captures, a myriad of wonderful expressions of self or things.”

W

hen Esther asked me if I would fly to LA to photograph some of Motown’s greatest legends for the spring issue of Turning Point Magazine, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I immediately purchased airline tickets, reserved a hotel and rented studio space for two days of back to back photo shoots.

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

I had photographed celebrities and high profile individuals prior to this, but I found myself feeling a mixture of excitement and anxiety at the prospect of working with these legends to whose music I grew up listening, singing and dancing. It’s the kind of music that you start off listening to when you are young and which you find yourself craving,

long after middle age has set in. It’s also the kind of music that settles into the deepest parts of your soul with its rhythm, its lyrics and those magnificent voices.

The Former Ladies of the Supremes were scheduled to be the first of ten shoots. It became immediately apparent when Susaye Greene,

Spring 2019 | 91

Sherrie Payne, and Joyce Vincent walked into the studio with their lovely manager, Eric Iverson, that this was going to be a fun experience. They are such warm and down to earth people, that you couldn’t help but feel comfortable and connected to them. There is a strong sisterly bond between the three women and it was heart -warming to witness their affection for one another. If I could’ve, I would’ve put my camera away and opted to hang out with them for the rest of the day.

Up next was Lloyd Williams who sang Shout for the movie Animal House and wrote and sang Shama Lama Ding Dong.

The first thing you notice about Lloyd, besides his good looks and good humor is his deep and soothing voice. One of the highlights of my day was when Lloyd allowed me to video him while he sang his song “Shout” for my daughters.

While Lloyd was on set, Cornelius Grant, one of the original members of The Temptations arrived. Lloyd and Cornelius knew each other well and shared the remaining time in the studio together, catching up and reminiscing. I was able to sit with them for a while after the shoot and hear some of their interesting stories.

The next day, I got to meet William ‘Mickey’ Stevenson and Janie Bradford, two of the most talented and prolific Motown songwriters in history. William was extremely funny and made me laugh the entire time he was on set. Looking at his photos from our shoot, you can see the level of humor and mischievousness he brought into the studio.

Janie Bradford had a bit of mischief in her as well and also made me laugh. When she first walked into the studio, I was photographing Woody Wilson, a handsome fashion designer who makes bespoke suits. She stopped and looked at him and exclaimed “who’s that?” with exaggerated enthusiasm.

When Woody went to change suits in the dressing area, I went to talk to Janie at the makeup station. Looking behind me, I apologized to Woody because I realized that he didn’t have any privacy because the curtain didn’t block him from where Janie was sitting. Woody good humouredly said “it’s ok, I don’t mind” and Janie immediately and once again, enthusiastically said “I don’t mind either!”.

John Wilson (Sly) and Charles Still (slick) from Sly Slick and Wicked arrived while William ‘Mickey’ Stevenson was still in the studio. It gave me the opportunity to photograph the three of them together and to enjoy their easy camaraderie.

John and Charles are extremely down to earth and fun to be around.

I came to realize that many of the Motown/R&B artists (from the 60’s and 70’s) share a strong bond, despite the fact that they may not see each other often. They lived through some difficult times in history individually and collectively yet through their hard work, determination and incredible talent, they paved the way for so many future artists.

It fascinated me that they are just regular people, yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was in the presence of greatness.

RANDI CHILDS Randi Childs Photography https://randichilds.com/ | https://www.instagram.com/randichilds_photography/ 92 |Spring 2019

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

PERSPECTIVE

BREAKING DOWN EXCELLENCE

REBECCA WEEF-SMITH CRACKS OPEN THE MYTH OF AIMING FOR BRILLIANCE.

H

ave you ever found your great plans squashed when you realise that your pursuit of excellence is falling short? Over the years I have started many projects. I have been a serial entrepreneur since I was in my late twenties, more than a few were failures. When I look back I can see that some of those doomed ideas were due to my own desire for perfection.

As a young child I was hampered by the need to be the best at anything I tackled. School work - I had to have a gold star; ballet exams - I had to get the top mark; being a good girl – I had to tick every box. As I reached my teens this pursuit of excellence at everything I did was a contributing factor towards my mental health fallings. My obsession with getting life right tipped me into depression.

I could never match up to the high bar I set and so, on some level, I made a decision to stop playing at

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

life at all. I recovered from that first breakdown at 14 but was left with lingering doubts, my confidence never fully reinstated and my desire to shine on any stage was put in a box with the lid padlocked.

As I entered my twenties being good enough still wasn’t good enough for me. I had to be best; I had to excel at everything I turned my mind to. The pressure I put myself under was immense. I wanted to be the best girlfriend, the most successful fashion retail professional (my claim to fame at 23 was being the youngest GAP store manager across the whole group). I needed to be loved and acknowledged and the only way I felt deserving of this was to go full steam ahead in my pursuit of excellence.

My endless need to do everything with sheer brilliance led me to feel as if I were always failing. When I sensed that failure was inevitable – I wasn’t going to attain that distinction

– I would shut down, retreat into my own world and stop trying.

Often I would stop eating, talking to anyone, and getting dressed or wanting to take part in life. I left a job I loved because I had made a stupid mistake with not being on top of paperwork and felt that I was a total let down. Even when the CEO tried to convince me that it was not the end of the world, and certainly not a resigning matter, I couldn’t overcome my disappointment and shame at not being prefect, so I walked away and had another breakdown.

When I became a mother I was determined to be top of the class. Nothing but BEST MUM badge would do; I baked the most elaborate cakes, I hand juiced carrots, I sat up all night to create school costumes, I volunteered my skills…can you…? My hand was up before the question was finished. This was a job I could Spring 2019 | 93

excel at. I could pursue excellence in mothering and win all the prizes.

Yeah right! You can imagine how that one worked out can’t you?

On more than one occasion in the last 30 years I have pre-empted failure by retreating. But what if I had understood that whilst aiming to be my best I could learn to accept my good enough was just that?

What if excellent didn’t matter but what did was taking part?

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t pursue excellence just that we need to be aware of what that means for us as individuals. There is a strong correlation between excellence and neuroticism which may account for my striving for achievement. I used to score high on the neurotic scale, and that could explain one reason why I have softened my pursuit of excellence as I have aged.

In my fifties I am certainly not as neurotic (in the true personality scale meaning not in the colloquial sense of the word) as in once was.

I can now be more laid back about achieving anything. My current role as editor of GOLDIE magazine means I have to balance my desire for the magazine to be THE BEST with the realisation that we can only be OUR BEST and at the end of the day it really doesn’t matter either way. I will accomplish what I can with the resources I have. I am not about to have a nervous breakdown if I fail to live up to my own exacting standards. I no longer expect perfection from myself or anyone else. I shall aim for being excellent enough. Which may just mean that this project has a longer shelf life as I don’t fold it before it’s been given a fair chance!

94 |Spring 2019

Rebecca is Editor of a fabulous magazine called GOLDIE magazine “a magazine about the kind of people we encountered who are living their life to the fullest and not letting age get in the way of having a good time. Those contrarians who don’t play by the normal rules, the deviants who thrive in messy, changeable times and welcome ambiguity without fear, and the curious anarchists who think and act differently. People like us.” Goldie Media Pack 2018 CONTACT DETAILS: Editor: GOLDIE magazine® rebecca@goldiemediagroup.co.uk 07946 774048 www.GOLDIEmag.co.uk www.goldiemediagroup.co.uk

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

AUNT GERTRUDE -

AN OLE LADY’S SALUTE TO MOTOWN is pretty much ripped to threads from wear and tear – but it has sentimental value – so there) whilst sipping a nice hot cup of chocolate through a straw as I turn the pages of this magazine, gives me such a sense of ohooo.. la.. la. Especially in this issue. I was astounded at the calibre of individuals that came forward to be interviewed, alongwith the contributions from many others. Way ta Go – I thought.

What amazed me is, so many of these artists, who are no doubt well-seasoned or who have matured like fine wine, still have such incredible memories. They can recall and remember things in such detail one could almost insinuate that they’ve had implants.

These people can remember things word for word, specific times, dates. They can even remember the pauses at the end of sentences, the full stops, the commas – well not quite, but it felt like that.

HELLO AUNT GETRUDE HERE,

I

t certainly has been a privilege to be part of this award winning magazine. Well, that’s where it’s going, so all you haters, you’d better deal with the bile and the froth dripping from your mouths because it’s going to happen someday and soon.

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Watching Turningpoint magazine birth and grow into something that is really quite exceptional, if I say so myself, has been so exciting.

Being able to sit back in my rocking chair, with my 1920’s Herbie Fluffy Slippers on (remember those backless slippers with the fur at the front), with my late great grandmothers dressing gown on (which

Sometimes they would repeat conversations verbatim from 40, 50 even 60 years ago and I was like like WTF (ok for those of you who are trying to play detective on me, and be all self-righteous, hoping that fire and brimstone would descend upon me for using a ‘naughty’ word let me put your mind at rest. WTF actually means – Wow to These Folk) so go get yourself a strong glass of something alcoholic and leave me alone.

Sometimes, I can barely remember my name and on a bad day well..it’s back to bed.

At 60 even 55, most people are ready to play the silent victim. You know the ones who smugly spurt nonsense like ‘Oh I’m too long in the tooth, much too old to do that Spring 2019 | 95

However, most of all, Motown, gifted us one of the greatest things ever – Good, Soulfilled and Soul-full music and behind that the legends who dared to dream so that they could create that magic for us to listen to, to dance to and now 60 years later this is the legacy we celebrate. at my age.’ There’d be a pause on their end as they looked at those who were stupid enough to listen, with anticipation for someone to say something along the lines of ‘WOW, so how old are you then?

Gosh don’t you look good for your age. However, I know what you mean, you poor love, it must be really hard, yes time to take it easy.’

Now this would be the chance for my ignorant and belligerent self, breathing heavily through one nostril, to heave myself up on all three walking sticks (one for each leg and the other to beat the daylight out of anyone who talks such rubbish) and ..well…beat the fool who made the above statement with a ‘Don’t feed into her story, tell her she looks her age and that she’s got another 40 years still left in her.’

No disrespect to anyone who is truly in pain. However, when you go behind the scenes and talk to many of these artists who we look up to and sometimes immortalise, you’d be surprised to find out what they’d been through and at times were still going through, however in the industry there was a saying “the show must go on.”

I watched Martha Reeves perform last year in Manchester, as she banged out on her tambourine as if the Holy Ghost had descended upon her. She strutted and jived, throwing her head back like a ‘Sheila E’ and put on a performance that could almost rival Beyonce. I felt sorry for that tambourine and was surprised it still had any of its jingly bits left by the time she finished. Speaking to Mary Wilson, who too is still on the go and vivaciously so. She is

96 |Spring 2019

only just getting started with this phase in her life, because everyday she makes a conscious effort to try something new and different. She’s ready to explore acting and singing in more depth and ready to take on new adventures. The same with Daphne Maxwell Reid who still has an exuberant energy of l’m living life to the max’ and whose creative abilities are so expansive. These women are surely in their 70’s and yet the passion to keep going, to keep dreaming, to keep believing that anything is possible is incredible and they can still move.

There are days when my body aches so much that the only thing I can say ..or rather mouth is …’I’m going back to bed’ and myself and my 1920’s Herbie Fluffy Slippers would stumble back to bed. However, there have almost been nostalgic times when I’ve been motivated to push through it all and put on some music. Something like ‘Dancing in the Streets’ yes a bit of Motown to work its old magic on me. However, the only thing that would pursue any sort of movement would be the sweat dripping off my brow, doing a soul train jive down towards my chin, all from the effort of plugging in the stereo.

Not to mention that many of the ladies and some of the men still have their figures or rather still have.. a figure. Is it about being on stage and performing that means they have to still take good care of themselves? I’ve heard many talk about going to the gym, and there’s a part of me that wanted to say ‘at ease now ladies and gents, things aren’t what they used to be like –

one stumble or exhale could bring the whole body to a halt and you’ve not even picked up a set of weights yet.’ But these guys are hardy and hearty individuals. Formed, moulded and groomed by their years of experience, individuals who have evolved into the epitome of excellence, care-free, adventurous and still have a love for life and all that it holds, despite of their struggles and challenges as they’d tread down this ole yellow brick road to be where they are today. ’ So in the essence of celebrating an era that bought the world to its feet in more ways than one that galvanised and inspired on so many levels….civil rights, women’s rights; which was a part of movements that changed the tone of consciousness and the world. However, most of all, Motown, gifted us one of the greatest things ever – Good, Soulfilled and Soul-full music and behind that the legends who dared to dream so that they could create that magic for us to listen to, to dance to and now 60 years later this is the legacy we celebrate.

On that note, what legacy would you like to leave for your family, community, the world? What dream sits inside of you so bad that you just gotta give birth to it because you never know – you too one-day may influence the course of the world just like Berry Gordy did when he created Motown.

On that note…I’m off…..yes you got it – to bed with my 1920’s Herbie Fluffy Slippers.

Love to one and all, Until next time

Aunt Getrude TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

MOTOWN EXPERIENCE IN MY

CAMDEN TOWN

BY ESTHER AUSTIN

‘THE MOTOWN SUPPER

Celebrating all things Motown - take a trip down memory lane with our swinging sixties immersive dining experience.

An evening of food, drinks and music all inspired by a Detroit culture that became the heartbeat of American music.’

O

n Thursday 18th April myself and partner ambled along to Camden Stables to experience the Motown Supper Fest experience. This was quite an exciting and pivotal moment for me, because the Spring issue of TurningPoint magazine was profiling 60 Years of Motown and making this find was rather apt.

So after talking with Jess, the organiser of the Fest, the week prior while also realising it was my partner’s birthday, I was very much up for a well deserved sit down meal whilst listening to a tribute band called The Soul Brothers, who clearly sang a range of my favourites and sang them well. This was much needed down-time for me as I was incredibly tired and feeling a little stressed, but I determined that this would be a good night.

I was curious about the experience I’d have from a UK perspective in terms how they interpreted and showcased the soul and magic of Motown. The queue was quite long when we showed up at The

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

Stables, Camden and my impatient self decided to ‘go and find Jess’ who then ushered us past the throng of impatient party goers to our seats. Before heading to our seats, we were offered a welcome drink called ‘A Classic Tom Collins.’

I had to enquire whether it had alcohol in it as I am no use to man nor beast with alcohol inside me, and I gracefully turned it down and handed it to my partner.

The space was tight, limb-to-limb it felt, however the atmosphere was cosy and expectant. DJ Dean EG was very good humoured and wellknown and was already roaming around the tables welcoming the audience with humour and enquiry – ‘What’s your name and why are you here?’ I had wanted to do the thing children do when they need to exit the room before a long lost aunt and her entourage comes to visit, however, that didn’t happen. I was caught red handed and with a mic thrust into my face, I nervously introduced myself, hoping that my response would be as dry and boring

enough to make ‘him go away.’ He then targeted my partner, and a bit of male bonding took place, with handshakes, nods, more shoving of the mic in my partner’s face, a pat on the back and the DJ was off to find another victim.

There was a heightened air of expectation in the room, lights were dim and in the background a female DJ was putting down some serious, serious ‘toones’ as we’d say back in the day. Some of the audience were rocking, others nodding their heads probably reminiscing about the good old days, or where they were and more importantly what they were doing when they first heard a track.

Luther Van Dross hit the decks and I was away, I was ready to get up and do my thang.

A tribute girls group Disco Soul Divas representing The Supremes circulated the room, their silver simmering, dresses fitting their cute frames and with exaggerated Diana Ross hairstyles and big smiles they playfully engaged with the audience, prepping us and getting us ready for Spring 2019 | 97

the stage acts and in essence getting us ready to have a really good time.

I was curious about the meal as I hadn’t eaten much that day and the music was currently dimming out my stomach rumbles. I had ordered vegetarian for myself and a chicken dish for my partner, but when the chicken came, I defected over to da other side toute de suite, as the chicken ‘s tender, juicy leg beckoned me so much I just couldn’t resist.

There were two choices for the main - Marvins' Main which was either Roast Chicken with Garlic Potatoes Collard Greens and Tarragon Sauce or Root Vegetable Tart with Collard Greens, Tomato Coulis and Rocket Salad (V).I wasn’t particularly interested in the starter which was called Stevies' Starter, a Heart Veggie Soup with Rosemary Croutons (V).

Not much taste other than onions.

However, Dianas' Desert of Passion Fruit Cheesecake was finger licking good and I had to try to behave myself, in public, and not to fight my partner for his slice. All the while the DJ was kicking out the music and I was tapping and nodding like a crazed Apache on a wild night out after taking a fix of ‘mushrooms.’

Then it was time for the tribute band to hit the stage and what energy, energy, energy they had. As they threw themselves into the magic of Motown, each song was belted out, with athletic moves, jumps and spins. The energy was now so high, I thought I was going to lift off – Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Supremes, Stevie and more. It was Christmas come early for me. At one point I was rocking so hard in my chair it felt as if the rapture had come.

The Tribute band were young, they looked around late twenties/ maybe early thirties and it was good to see them embracing, and able to capture, enjoy and take us to that soulful place which was held the magic of Motown.

Some of the audience got up and did their two step – while others sat and nodded and tapped and danced in their chairs. It took me a while to get up, but I was finally hoisted up by another lady who’d been making eye contact with me for a while as if to say ‘girlfriend, I can see you got the moves, now stop playing shy before I’m forced to walk over there and get

you.’ Initially I was pretending to be all shy and coy, but that nonsense had to stop when the band went into the James Brown’s hit –James Brown - Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine. I don’t know about you but there are times when the music is so kicking that you don’t know whether to jump, cartwheel or hop scotch, but I can tell you I was sweating, jumping and screaming…… and I knew I’d burned off that lovely raspberry 800 calorized cheesecake by the time I’d finished.

I continued to jump, as much as my tired body allowed me to. I jumped and sang – well – it was more like hollering – but who cared – it was noisy inside and the music was loud, so it all simultaneously blended in.

After the Tribute band left the stage, the ladies of the night, so to speak came on in their glittery silver, body hugging dresses and did their rendition of The Supremes. Flicking the over-sized hair - and I was remembering the fro right there - and wooing us with their dulcet tones.

The night ended with the tables being cleared away so the party could continue and all those who had a birthday to celebrate were loudly lured to the stage, by DJ. Motown Supper was certainly a great night out for me. I love that the legacy of Motown is still being kept alive all over the world and why not in London.

Certainly worth a visit.

TIME: 6.30 pm- 9.45pm WHERE: Fest Camden - Stables Market, London NW1 8AH For Further Details of Dates and Times Visit: www.motownsupper.com A Huge Thanks to Jessica Bruno for the tickets 98 |Spring 2019

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

SMALL ISLAND

ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE

BY ESTHER AUSTIN

‘Andrea Levy’s epic Orange Prize-winning novel bursts to new life on the Olivier stage. A company of 40 tells a story which journeys from Jamaica to Britain, through the Second World War to 1948 – the year the HMT Empire WIndrush docked at Tilbury.

Adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson, Small Island follows three intricately connected stories. Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots.

Hope and humanity meet stubborn reality as the play traces the tangled history of Jamaica and the UK.’ Taken from https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/small-island

O

n Thursday May, I went along to see the latest adaptation of Small Island having no expectations for the evening, but just wanting to relax and enjoy whatever was being presented. I’d had a very intense and long week and was in need for some rest and restoration, in whatever form that took.

When Small Island was published in 2004, I remember a lot of the hype around the book. To many people this was a ground breaking piece of literature which touched on many things which back then and even now were considered either taboo or of a ‘tender’ nature.

The book opened up discussion around the black experience, the Jamaican experience, the Motherland experience. It cast its eye on sensitivities and allowed us to examine the effects of imperialism on ordinary people from both the Empire’s colonial outposts and its centre.

TURNINGPOINT: YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR WELL-BEING

As we can see from introductory excerpt above, the book and play followed the journeys of three distinct individuals whose background, ideals, dreams and life experiences were so intrinsically different and yet somehow they were interwoven by those same events, which inevitably gives their story an interesting interconnectivity of humanity in that we are all one, however yet not forgetting that we are uniquely different.

The play was absolutely superb. It was rounded and expressed poignantly an intrigue in me. For me to sit and watch anything for more than an hour is usually a feat, but this play was pregnant with so many wonderful strands – like a spider’s web. This web consisted of the range of emotions that we as human beings experience, it explored relationships, inter-relationships, cultural identity, cultural non-identify and much more.

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The cast each in their own unique way, created another layer to their performances embodying their characters with ease and internal diction. The backdrop and scenes from the blustery storm in Jamaica to the cold, grey days in the UK allowed me to step willingly into their world, feeling and emoting with them, feeling their frustrations, their joy, bewilderment, anger and more. This play seemed to have wings that had flown me unknowingly into another period of time. I became absorbed but I also learned much about that period in time.

I loved the way the play captured the joy and frivolity of Jamaica, even though hardship always showed its inevitable face. Life was portrayed of being free and easy only because of the magic of song, music and nature which were imbedded within the soul of the native, within the soul of the slave. Music and song had to become a part of their soul and world as an antidote to their hardships and the legacy of the barbaric history of enslavement and colonialism.

Then we were taken to those epic landmark scenes of the Windrush setting sail and docking, a scene always monumental and instrumental because it was a part of a legacy which told the beginning of a new dawn for those who courageously came to ‘The Motherland’ looking for a better way of life, and the harsh realities of that experience as many of their dreams were shattered but more so the disappointment at being brutally rejected and dismissed, for a race who had put their life on the line, who fought for ‘The Motherland’ and the denial of their rights to be acknowledged.

Yet the play also denoted that spirit of tenacity, or survival for the Windrush generation. Amidst the ‘No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish.’ Amidst the hostility and the denigration of their own spirit, their soul, as human beings, their cultural identity, having to put up with inferior living accommodation, in fact having everything about their own human identify come under interrogation and scrutiny and yet as the late Dr Maya Angelou once said ‘I Rise.’ They had to go down in the earth and then rise like the phoenix to build, to hustle and to rise.

The play also explored inter-racial relationships and same race relationships which gave an interesting insight into us as human beings on a general level.

Scenes of love, lust, loss, frustration, regret, sorrow, joy – all in all this play is a MUST SEE. Intriguing, entertaining, thought-provoking and informative – I certainly would go to see this play again.

Running Time: Approximately 3 hours and 10 minutes including a 20 minute interval Showing at The National Theatre, London until August 2019 https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/small-island/dates-listing 100 |Spring 2019

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