Category: Whats Buzzing in the Streets

Teddy Pendergrass

It’s eleven years ago today that we lost one of the most iconic voices of our times and one helluva musician. Thanks for the ride Teddy, because it was one hellvua ride! Sleep well bruh.Theodore DeReese “Teddy” Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American singer–songwriter and composer. He first rose to fame as lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the 1970s before a successful solo career at the end of the decade. In 1982, Pendergrass was severely injured in an auto accident in Philadelphia, resulting in his being paralyzed from the chest down. He subsequently founded the Teddy Pendergrass Alliance, a foundation that helps those with spinal cord injuries. He commemorated 25 years of living after his spinal cord injury with the star-filled event, “Teddy 25 – A Celebration of Life”, at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center. His last performance was on a PBS special at Atlantic City’s Borgata Casino in November 2008.

Written by Dianne Washington

Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj was born on this date in 1982. She is an Afro Caribbean rapper, singer-songwriter, and actress.Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty was born in the Saint James district of Port of Spain, Trinidad, and Tobago and raised in Queens of New York City, she gained public recognition after releasing the mixtapes Playtime Is Over (2007), Sucka Free (2008), and Beam Me Up Scotty (2009).Early in her career, Minaj became known for her colorful costumes and wigs, her distinct flow, and the use of alter egos and accents, primarily British cockney. In 2010, Minaj released her debut studio album, Pink Friday (2010). It yielded Minaj’s first top-five single “Super Bass”, peaking at number three. Her second album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012), saw Minaj move towards a dance-pop and pop-rap sound. The album debuted and peaked at number one on the Billboard 200, with its lead single, “Starships”, peaking at number five on the Hot 100, and reaching inside the top five of the charts in several countries.Minaj’s third and fourth studio albums, The Pinkprint (2014) and Queen (2018) marked a departure from her previous style and a return to her hip hop roots. The Pinkprint was acclaimed, with the second single “Anaconda” reaching number two on the Hot 100. Queen featured the lead single “Chun-Li”, which reached the top ten on the Hot 100.In 2019, Minaj released a collaboration with Karol G, “Tusa”, which became the longest-running number-one single on the Argentina Hot 100, having spent six months at number one on the chart. The song also has become the most-streamed female collaboration on Spotify. Her feature on the remix of Doja Cat’s “Say So” and her collaboration with 6ix9ine, “Trollz”, both released in 2020, marked her first and second number-one singles on the Hot 100, respectively, with the latter making her the second female rapper to debut atop the chart in two decades after Lauryn Hill in 1998. Minaj became the first female artist to reach 100 entries on the Hot 100 chart, currently, the only female rapper to have 100 entries, and is the only other female artist with 100 plus entries, besides Taylor Swift.Minaj has nineteen top 10 singles on the chart, the most for any female rapper so far, with four of those being solo songs. Minaj has received numerous accolades and was named Billboard’s number one female rapper of the decade as well as being Billboard’s seventh most successful female artist of the decade out of all the genres. Minaj is also the highest-paid female rapper of all time, charging up to $500,000 for a feature. In 2016, Minaj was included on the annual Time list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Dubbed as the “Queen of Rap” by several media outlets, Minaj is one of the most influential and bestselling female artists of all time, with 137 million records sold worldwide. She has garnered praise for her animated rapping and her songwriting which utilizes metaphors, double entendres, and wordplay.Outside of music, Minaj’s film career has included voice roles in the animated films Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019) as well as supporting roles in the comedy films The Other Woman (2014) and Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016). She also appeared as a judge on the twelfth season of American Idol in 2013. She is the most-followed rapper on Instagram. In 2021, a six-part documentary miniseries following the making of Queen will be released.

Written by Dianne Washington

Little Richard

Richard Wayne Penniman (born December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020 it), known as Little Richard, is an American musician, singer, actor, comedian and songwriter and Rock and Roll Icon.An influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades, Little Richard’s most celebrated work dates from the mid-1950s, when his dynamic music and charismatic showmanship laid the foundation for rock and roll. His music also played a key role in the formation of other popular music genres, including soul and funk. Little Richard influenced numerous singers and musicians across musical genres from rock to hip hop; his music helped shape rhythm and blues for generations to come, and his performances and headline-making thrust his career right into the mix of American popular music.Little Richard has been honored by many institutions. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of its first group of inductees in 1986. He was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” (1955) was included in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2010, which stated that his “unique vocalizing over the irresistible beat announced a new era in music.” In 2015, the National Museum of African American Music honored Little Richard with a Rhapsody & Rhythm Award for his pivotal role in the formation of popular music genres and in helping to shatter the color line on the music charts, changing American culture significantly.Born Richard Wayne Penniman, he was one of 12 children born to Charles “Bud” Penniman, a Seventh Day Adventist preacher who sold moonshine on the side. Richard grew up in Macon, Georgia. Music was all over. Street vendors and evangelists would sing, selling everything from vegetables to religion. The neighborhood sang spiritual songs as they worked. Several gospel singers influenced Richard.Initially, Little Richard’s first name was supposed to have been “Ricardo” but an error resulted in “Richard” instead. The Penniman children were raised in a neighborhood of Macon called Pleasant Hill. In childhood, he was nicknamed “Lil’ Richard” by his family, because of his small and skinny frame. A mischievous child who played pranks on neighbors, Little Richard began singing in church at a young age. Possibly as a result of complications at birth, Little Richard had a slight deformity that left one of his legs shorter than the other. This produced an unusual gait; he was mocked for his allegedly effeminate appearance.As a kid, he sang gospel with the Penniman Singers and Tiny Tots Quartet. Richard had a hyperactive personality that made him popular, but also got him into trouble. His homosexuality didn’t help matters and he left home and danced to draw customers in a traveling medicine show. By age 15, he was a regular with Sugarfoot Sam’s Minstrel Show. At 18, he won a talent contest in Atlanta that led to a recording contract with RCA Victor. Four records were recorded that went nowhere. In 1955, Art Rupe of Hollywood-based Specialty Records got a demo tape from Richard. That same year, Richard came to J&M Studios in New Orleans for the first time. It was here that he recorded some of the greatest sides in rock and roll history with producer Bumps Blackwell.Later that year “Tutti-Frutti” crossed over from the R&B to the pop chart, rising to #17. This was followed by “Long Tall Sally” released on Specialty Records, topping the R&B chart for eight weeks and reaching #6 on the pop chart. Richard hit #2 on the R&B chart and #33 on the pop chart with “Slippin’ and Slidin’ (Peepin’ and Hidin’)” and #1 on the R&B chart and #17 on the pop chart with “Rip It Up.” In 1957, He hit #1 on the R&B chart and #21 on the pop chart with “Lucille,” #3 on the R&B chart with “Send Me Some Lovin’,” #2 on the R&B chart and #10 on the pop chart with “Jenny, Jenny” and #2 on the R&B chart and #8 on the pop chart with “Keep A Knockin’.”That same year Richard suddenly left rock and roll for religion. He entered Oakwood Theological College in Huntsville, Alabama. One year later he hit #4 on the R&B chart and #10 on the pop chart with the Specialty release “Good Golly, Miss Molly.” In 1959, the album “Little Richard Sings Gospel,” was issued on the 20th Century label. He recorded gospel in the coming years for the Mercury and Atlantic labels, working with such producers as Jerry Wexler and Quincy Jones.In 1970, he quit music at the height of his career to re-enter Oakwood theological college. He received a BA from the college and later became ordained as a Seventh Day Adventist minister. That same year Richard released “The Rill Thing,” the first of three albums. It was followed by “The King of Rock and Roll” and “The Second Coming.” The last of these reunited him with the core crew from his historic 1950s sessions in New Orleans. In 1977, Richard again walked away from rock and roll to embrace evangelical Christianity. He became a traveling Bible salesman and preacher following a period of drug and alcohol abuse. In 1979, he released the gospel album “God’s Beautiful City.”In 1986, Little Richard was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That same year, he had a memorable role in the 1986 film “Down and Out in Beverly Hills.” In 1993, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award during the 35th annual Grammy Awards. One year later, Richard received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.In 2010, Time Magazine listed ‘Here’s Little Richard’ as the Number 2 of the 100 Greatest and Most Influential Album of All Time – the highest rock and roll album on the entire list. Included in numerous Rolling Stone lists, Little Richard’s Here’s Little Richard was ranked fifty on the magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. He was ranked eighth on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Rolling Stone listed three of Little Richard’s recordings, “The Girl Can’t Help It”, “Long Tall Sally” and “Tutti Frutti”, on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Two of the latter songs and “Good Golly, Miss Molly” were listed on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The Grammy Hall of Fame inducted several of Little Richard’s recordings including “Tutti Frutti”, “Lucille”, “Long Tall Sally” and Here’s Little Richard. In 2007, an eclectic panel of renowned recording artists voted “Tutti Frutti” number one on Mojo’s The Top 100 Records That Changed The World, hailing the recording as “the sound of the birth of rock and roll.” In April 2012, Rolling Stone magazine declared that the song “still has the most inspired rock lyric on record.” The same recording was inducted to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry in 2010, with the library claiming the “unique vocalizing over the irresistible beat announced a new era in music”.On May 9, 2020, Richard died at the age of 87 at his home in Tullahoma, Tennessee, from a cause related to bone cancer, after a two-month illness. His brother, sister, and son were with him at the time of his death. In the following days, Richard received tributes from many popular musicians, including Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, John Fogerty, Elton John, and Lenny Kravitz, as well as many others, such as film director John Waters, who were influenced by Richard’s music and persona. He is interred at Oakwood University Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama.

Written by Dianne Washington

Tyra Banks

Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973) is an American television personality, producer, businesswoman, actress, author, former model and occasional singer. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at age 15, and was the first African American woman to be featured on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, on which she appeared twice. She was a Victoria’s Secret Angel from 1997 to 2005. By the early 2000s, Banks was one of the world’s top-earning models.Banks began acting on television in 1993 on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and made her film debut in Higher Learning in 1995. She had major roles such as Eve in Disney Channel’s Life-Size and Zoe in the box office hit Coyote Ugly. She had small roles in the romantic film Love & Basketball and horror film Halloween: Resurrection, and appeared in television series Gossip Girl and Glee.In 2003, Banks created and began presenting the long-running reality television series America’s Next Top Model, which she executive produced and presented for the first twenty-two seasons until the series’ cancellation in October 2015. She remained executive producer for the revival of the series, and enlisted Rita Ora as host for the twenty-third cycle before reassuming the duties herself for the upcoming twenty-fourth cycle. Banks was the co-creator of True Beauty, and had her own talk show, The Tyra Banks Show, which aired on The CW for five seasons and won two Daytime Emmy awards for Outstanding Talk Show Informative. She co-hosted the talk show FABLife for two months. In 2017, Banks replaced Nick Cannon as host of America’s Got Talent for its 12th season.In 2010, she published a young adult novel titled Modelland, based on her life as a model which topped The New York Times Best Seller list in 2011. Banks is one of four African Americans and seven women to have repeatedly ranked among the world’s most influential people by Time magazine.Tyra Lynne Banks was born in Inglewood, California, on December 4, 1973. She is the daughter of Carolyn London (now London-Johnson), a medical photographer, and Donald Banks, a computer consultant. She has a brother, Devin, who is five years older. In 1979, when Banks was six years old, her parents divorced. Banks attended John Burroughs Middle School and graduated in 1991 from Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles. Banks has said that while growing up she was teased for her appearance and considered an “ugly duckling”; when Banks was 11 years old she grew three inches and lost 30 pounds in three months. According to a genealogical DNA test documented on America’s Next Top Model, Banks is of primarily African but also British and Native American ancestry.When Banks was 15 years old, she started modeling while attending school in Los Angeles. She was rejected by four modeling agencies before she was signed by L.A. Models. She switched to Elite Model Management at age 16. When she got the opportunity to model in Europe, she moved to Milan. In her first runway season, she booked 25 shows in the 1991 Paris Fashion Week. Banks appeared in editorials for American, Italian, French, and Spanish Vogue; American, French, German, and Spanish Elle; American, German, and Malaysian Harper’s Bazaar; V; W and Vanity Fair. She appeared on the covers of magazines such as Elle; Harper’s Bazaar; Spanish Vogue; Cosmopolitan; Seventeen and Teen Vogue. She walked in fashion shows for Chanel, Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent, Anna Sui, Christian Dior, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis, Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Herve Leger, Valentino, Fendi, Isaac Mizrahi, Giorgio Armani, Sonia Rykiel, Michael Kors and others. She appeared in advertising campaigns for Yves Saint Laurent, Dolce & Gabbana, Escada, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Halston, H&M, XOXO, Swatch, Victoria’s Secret, Got Milk?, Pepsi and Nike. In 1993, Banks signed a contract with CoverGirl cosmetics, launching advertising campaigns for the cosmetics company. In the mid-1990s, Banks returned to America to do more commercial modeling.Banks was the first African American woman on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue In 1997, she received the VH1 award for “Supermodel of the Year”. That year, she was the first African American chosen for the cover of the Victoria’s Secret catalog, and became a Victoria’s Secret Angel. In 2010, Banks re-signed with her former modeling agency IMG Models. Banks is now a contributor of the Vogue Italia website. She has since started focusing on her film career and hosting her own TV show.

Written by Dianne Washington

Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969) known professionally as Jay-Z (stylized as JAY-Z), is an American rapper, entrepreneur, songwriter, and record producer. He is one of the most acclaimed rappers of all time.Born and raised in New York City, Jay-Z began his musical career in the mid 1990s, after which he released his debut studio album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996, to widespread critical and commercial success. He released the album a year after founding the record label Roc-A-Fella Records. His subsequent albums have also seen great praise, with The Blueprint (2001) and The Black Album (2003) later being heralded as modern musical classics. He followed these with the collaborative album Watch the Throne (2011) with Kanye West, his critically lauded thirteenth studio album 4:44 (2017), and a collaborative effort titled Everything Is Love with wife Beyoncé in 2018.Jay-Z’s business activities and life outside of music has also received significant mainstream attention. He is the owner of 40/40 Club sports bar, and co-creator of the Rocawear clothing line. He has also acted as the president of Def Jam Recordings, and is the founder of the Roc Nation entertainment company, as well as creating its spin-off, Roc Nation Sports. As a member of Roc Nation Sports, Jay-Z is a licensed sports agent. His heavily publicized marriage to singer Beyoncé in 2008 has made him a global figure in popular culture. As a couple, they have an estimated combined net worth of $1.16 billion, with his individual net worth of $900 million making him the richest hip hop artist in the world.Jay-Z is one of the world’s best-selling music artists. He has received 21 Grammy Awards, tied with Kanye West for the most by a rapper.He also holds the record for the most number-one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200, and has recorded four number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. The same publication ranked him as the biggest artist of the 2000s, while Rolling Stone named him one of the 100 greatest artists of all time. He is the first rapper to be honored at the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017 and to receive the “Salute to Industry Icons Award” at the 60th Grammy Awards.Carter was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City and was raised in Marcy Houses, a housing project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. After their father, Adnis Reeves, abandoned the family, Shawn and his three siblings were raised by their mother, Gloria Carter. Reeves would later meet and reconcile with Jay-Z before dying in 2003. Jay-Z claims in his lyrics that in 1982 at age 12, he shot his older brother in the shoulder for stealing his jewelry. Along with future rapper AZ, Carter attended Eli Whitney High School in Brooklyn until it was closed down. He then attended the nearby George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School with future rappers The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes, followed by a stint at Trenton Central High School in Trenton, New Jersey, though he did not graduate. According to his interviews and lyrics, during this period he sold crack cocaine and was shot at three times.According to his mother, Carter used to wake up his siblings at night banging out drum patterns on the kitchen table. She bought him a boom box for his birthday, sparking his interest in music. He began freestyling and writing lyrics. Known as “Jazzy” around the neighborhood, Carter later adopted the showbiz/stage name “Jay-Z” in homage to his mentor Jaz-O.Jay-Z can be briefly heard on several of Jaz-O’s early recordings in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including “The Originators” and “Hawaiian Sophie.” Jay-Z became embroiled in several battles with rapper LL Cool J in the early 1990s. He first became known to a wide audience on the posse cut “Show and Prove” on the 1994 Big Daddy Kane album Daddy’s Home. Jay-Z has been referred to as Big Daddy Kane’s hype man during this period, although Kane explains that he didn’t fill the traditional hype man role, and was instead “basically ma[king] cameo appearances on stage. When I would leave the stage to go change outfits, I would bring out Jay-Z and Positive K and let them freestyle until I came back to the stage.” The young Jay-Z appeared on a popular song by Big L, “Da Graveyard”, and on Mic Geronimo’s “Time to Build”, which also featured early appearances by DMX and Ja Rule in 1995. His first official rap single was called “In My Lifetime”, for which he released a music video. An unreleased music video was also produced for the B-side “I Can’t Get with That.”

Written by Dianne Washington

Monáe

Janelle Monáe Robinson born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, rapper, and actress. She is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Monáe won an MTV Video Music Award and the ASCAP Vanguard Award in 2010. Monáe was also honored with the Billboard Women in Music Rising Star Award in 2015 and the Trailblazer of the Year Award in 2018. In 2012, Monáe became a CoverGirl spokesperson. Boston City Council named October 16, 2013 “Janelle Monáe Day” in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, in recognition of her artistry and social leadership.Monáe’s musical career began in 2003 upon releasing a demo album titled The Audition. In 2007, Monáe publicly debuted with a conceptual EP titled Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase). It peaked at number two on the US Top Heatseekers chart, and in 2010, through Bad Boy Records, Monáe released a first full-length studio album, The ArchAndroid, a concept album and sequel to her first EP. In 2011, Monáe was featured as a guest vocalist on fun.’s single “We Are Young”, which achieved major commercial success, topping the charts of more than ten countries and garnering Monáe a wider audience. Monáe’s second studio album, The Electric Lady, was released in 2013 and debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, serving as the fourth and fifth installments of the seven-part Metropolis concept series.In 2016, Monáe made her theatrical film debut in two high-profile productions; Monáe starred in Hidden Figures as NASA mathematician and aerospace engineer Mary Jackson, and also starred in Moonlight. Hidden Figures was a box office success, while Moonlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 89th annual ceremony.Monáe’s third studio album, Dirty Computer, also described as a concept album, was released in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim; it was chosen as the best album of the year by several publications, its short film earned a Hugo Award nomination for Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form, and it earned Monáe two nominations at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and was further promoted by Monáe’s Dirty Computer Tour, which lasted from June to August 2018. In April 2022, Harper Voyager will publish Monáe’s first cyberpunk story collection, The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories From Dirty Computer, based on the album.There was a lot of confusion and nonsense where I grew up, so I reacted by creating my own little world. […] I began to see how music could change lives, and I began to dream about a world where every day was like anime and Broadway, where music fell from the sky and anything could happen.—Monáe, on her childhood musical inspiration.Janelle Monáe Robinson was born on December 1, 1985, in Kansas City, Kansas and was raised in Quindaro, a working-class community of Kansas City. Her mother, Janet, worked as a janitor and a hotel maid. Her father, Michael Robinson Summers, was a truck driver. Monáe’s parents separated when Monáe was a toddler and her mother later married a postal worker. Monáe has a younger sister, Kimmy, from their mother’s remarriage.Monáe was raised Baptist and learned to sing at a local church. Her family members were musicians and performers at the local AME church, the Baptist church, and the Church of God in Christ. Monáe dreamed of being a singer and a performer from a very young age, and has cited the fictional character of Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz as a musical influence. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which Monáe bought two copies of with her first check, was another source of inspiration. She performed songs from the album on Juneteenth talent shows, winning three years in a row.As a teenager, Monáe was enrolled in the Coterie Theater’s Young Playwrights’ Round Table, which began writing musicals. One musical, completed when she was around the age of 12, was inspired by the 1979 Stevie Wonder album Journey Through “The Secret Life of Plants”.Monáe attended F. L. Schlagle High School, and after high school, moved to New York City to study musical theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, where she was the only black woman in her class. Monáe enjoyed the experience, but feared that she might lose her edge and “sound, or look or feel like anybody else”. In a 2010 interview Monáe explained, “I felt like that was a home but I wanted to write my own musicals. I didn’t want to have to live vicariously through a character that had been played thousands of times – in a line with everybody wanting to play the same person.”After a year and a half, Monáe dropped out of the academy and relocated to Atlanta, enrolling in Perimeter College at Georgia State University. She began writing her own music and performing around the campus. In 2003, Monáe self-released a demo album titled The Audition, which she sold out of the trunk of a Mitsubishi Galant. During this period she worked at an Office Depot but was fired for answering a fan’s e-mail using a company computer, an incident that inspired the song “Lettin’ Go”, which in turn attracted the attention of Big Boi.

Written by Dianne Washington

Tina Turner

Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and author. Born and raised in the Southeastern United States, Turner relinquished her American citizenship after obtaining Swiss citizenship in 2013.Born Anna Mae Bullock, near Brownsville, TN, she began singing as a teen and joined Ike Turner’s touring show as an 18-year-old backup vocalist. Just two years later, she was the star of the show, the attention-grabbing focal point for an incredibly smooth-running soul revue headed by Ike and his Kings of Rhythm. The couple began hitting the charts in 1960 with “A Fool in Love,” and notched charting singles throughout the 1960s such as “River Deep-Mountain High” and in 1971 with “Proud Mary.”She began her career in 1958 as a featured singer with Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm, first recording under the name “Little Ann.” Her introduction to the public as Tina Turner began in 1960 as a member of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.Success followed with a string of notable hits credited to the duo, including “A Fool in Love”, “River Deep – Mountain High” (1966), “Proud Mary” (1971), and “Nutbush City Limits” (1973), a song which she herself wrote. In her autobiography, I, Tina, she revealed several instances of severe domestic abuse against her by Ike Turner prior to their 1976 split and subsequent 1978 divorce. Raised a Baptist, she encountered faith with Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism in 1971, crediting the spiritual chant of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, which Turner claims helped her to endure during difficult times.After her divorce from Ike Turner, she rebuilt her career through live performances. In the 1980s, Turner launched a major comeback with another string of hits, starting in late 1983 with the single “Let’s Stay Together” followed by the 1984 release of her fifth solo album Private Dancer which became a worldwide success. The album contained the song “What’s Love Got to Do with It”, which became Turner’s biggest hit and won four Grammy Awards including Record of the Year. Her solo success continued throughout the 1980s and 90s with multi-platinum albums including Break Every Rule and Foreign Affair, and with singles such as “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)”, “Typical Male”, “The Best”, “I Don’t Wanna Fight” and “GoldenEye” for the 1995 James Bond film of the same name. In 1993, “What’s Love Got to Do with It” was used as the title of a biographical film adapted from her autobiography, along with the film’s accompanying soundtrack album. In addition to her musical career, Turner has also garnered success acting in films, including the role of the Acid Queen in the 1975 rock musical Tommy, a starring role alongside Mel Gibson in the 1985 action film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and a cameo role in the 1993 film Last Action Hero.One of the world’s best-selling artists of all time, she has also been referred to as The Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Turner has been termed the most successful female Rock ‘n’ Roll artist, receiving eleven Grammy Awards, including eight competitive awards and three Grammy Hall of Fame awards. Turner has also sold more concert tickets than any other solo performer in history. Her combined album and single sales total approximately 180 million copies worldwide, She is noted for her energetic stage presence, powerful vocals, and career longevity. In 2008, Turner returned from semi-retirement to embark on her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour. Turner’s tour became one of the highest selling ticketed shows of 2008–09. Rolling Stone ranked Turner no. 63 on their list of 100 greatest artists of all time, and no. 17 on their list of 100 greatest singers of all time. In 1991, Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, in Nutbush, an unincorporated area in Haywood County, Tennessee. Her parents were Zelma Priscilla (née Currie) and Floyd Richard Bullock. Anna Mae was born at Poindexter Farm on Highway 180, where her father worked as an overseer of the sharecroppers. She is of African-American descent, with approximately 33% European and 1% Native American ancestry. (The latter was revealed when she appeared on the PBS documentary African American Lives 2, and the host Henry Louis Gates shared the results of Turner’s ancestral tests.)Anna Mae had an older sister, Ruby Aillene. As young children, Anna Mae and Aillene were separated when their parents relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee, to work at a defense facility during World War II. Anna went to stay with her strict, religious paternal grandparents, Alex and Roxanna Bullock, who were deacon and deaconess at the Woodlawn Missionary Baptist Church, which was located on Woodlawn Road off Highway 19. After the war, the sisters reunited with their parents and moved with them to Knoxville. Two years later, the family returned to Nutbush to live in the Flagg Grove community, where Anna attended Flagg Grove Elementary School from first through eighth grade. In 1889, her great-great uncle had sold the land on which the school was built to the school trustees.As a youngster, Anna Mae sang in the church choir at Nutbush’s Spring Hill Baptist Church. When she was 11, her mother ran off without warning, seeking freedom from her abusive relationship with Floyd Bullock. Zelma relocated to St. Louis to live with Anna Mae’s great-aunt. As a preteen, Anna Mae worked as a domestic worker for the Henderson family. When Anna Mae was 13, her father married another woman and moved to Detroit. Anna Mae and her sister were sent to live with their grandmother Georgeanna in Brownsville, Tennessee. Anna Mae later stated in her memoir, I, Tina, that she felt her mother had not loved her, and that she “wasn’t wanted”, stating further that her mother had planned to leave her father when pregnant with Anna Mae. “She was a very young woman who didn’t want another kid”, Anna Mae wrote. Her relationship with her mother remained estranged until Bullock’s death in 1999.A self-professed tomboy, Anna Mae joined both the cheerleading squad and the female basketball team at Carver High School in Brownsville, and “socialized every chance she got.” Her first boyfriend, while she was living in Brownsville, was Harry Taylor, who originally attended a rival school to hers. Taylor relocated to Anna’s school to be near her. The relationship ended after Anna Mae learned Harry had married another woman.When Anna Mae was 16, her grandmother died suddenly. After the funeral, Anna Mae went to live with her mother in St. Louis, where she was reunited with her sister. There, Anna Mae graduated from Sumner High School in 1958. After her graduation, she worked as a nurse’s aide at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and dreamed of becoming a nurse.Anna and her sister began to frequent nightclubs in the St. Louis and East St. Louis areas around this time. At Club Manhattan, a nightclub in the East St. Louis area, she first saw Ike Turner and his band, the Kings of Rhythm, perform. Anna was impressed by the band’s music and Ike’s talent, claiming the bandleader’s music put her “into a trance.” Anna felt the urge to sing on stage with Ike’s band despite the fact that few women had ever sung with him. One night in 1956, 16-year-old Anna was given a microphone by Kings of Rhythm drummer Gene Washington during an intermission. Upon hearing her sing, Ike asked her if she knew more songs; she was allowed to sing that night, becoming a guest vocalist from then on. Through this period, Ike taught her the points of voice control and performance. Her first studio recording was in 1958, singing background, under the name “Little Ann”, on the Ike Turner song, “Box Top”, alongside singer Carlson Oliver.In 1960, Ike wrote an R&B song, “A Fool in Love”, originally for Kings of Rhythm vocalist Art Lassiter. Lassiter failed to show up to the recording studio and Anna eventually was allowed to sing the song after much pleading to Ike. Ike agreed to use her voice as a “dummy vocal”, with the intention of erasing her vocals and adding Lassiter’s at a later date. Although some felt that the demo with Anna’s voice was “high pitched” and “screechy”, the song received decent airtime in St. Louis. Local St. Louis deejay Dave Dixon convinced Ike to send the tape to Juggy Murray, president of R&B label, Sue Records. Upon hearing the song, Murray was impressed with Anna’s vocals, later stating that her vocals “sounded like screaming dirt… it was a funky sound.” Murray bought the track and paid Ike a $25,000 (around $208,620 as of 2017) advance for recording and publishing rights. Murray also convinced Turner to make Anna “the star of the show.” It was at this point that Ike Turner renamed Anna Mae Bullock “Tina” because the name rhymed with the television character Sheena. Ike patented the name Tina Turner as a form of protection so that if Anna left him like his previous lead singers, he could replace her with another singer and have her perform as Tina.”A Fool in Love” was released in July 1960 and became an immediate hit, peaking at number 2 on the Hot R&B Sides chart and number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 that October. Kurt Loder described the track as “the blackest record to ever creep into the white pop charts since Ray Charles’ gospel-styled ‘What’d I Say’ that previous summer.” A second pop hit, “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” (1961), reached the top 20 and earned the group a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock and Roll Performance. Notable singles released during the duo’s Sue Records period included the R&B hits, “I Idolize You”, “Poor Fool”, and “Tra-La-La-La.” In 1964, Ike & Tina left Sue and signed with Kent Records, releasing the modest single, “I Can’t Believe What You Say.” The following year, they signed with Loma Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records and run by Bob Krasnow, who had become their manager shortly after they left Sue Records. Between 1964 and 1969, Ike & Tina signed with more than ten labels.While touring to support the record, Ike created his own musical revue, the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, which included the Kings of Rhythm and a girl group that Ike named The Ikettes backing Tina, while he remained in the background, often playing his guitar to the back of Tina. Wanting to maintain their base and increase finances, Ike Turner put Tina and the entire Revue through a rigorous touring schedule across the United States, gigging 90 days straight in dates around the country. During the days of the chitlin’ circuit, the Ike and Tina Turner Revue built a reputation that a writer for the History of Rock site cited as “one of the most hottest, most durable, and potentially most explosive of all R&B ensembles” with its show rivaling that of the James Brown Show in terms of musical spectacle. The shows, organized by Ike Turner, provided them financial success. Due to their successful performances, the couple was able to perform in front of diverse crowds in the American South due to the money they made from performing in Southern clubs. Between 1963 and 1966, the band toured constantly without the presence of a hit single. Tina’s own profile was raised after several solo appearances on shows, such as American Bandstand and Shindig!, while the entire Revue appeared on shows, such as Hollywood A Go-Go, The Andy Williams Show, and, in late 1965, in the concert film The Big T.N.T. Show.By the mid-1970s, Ike Turner’s excessive cocaine habit had gotten out of hand. During this period, Tina adopted the Nichiren Buddhism faith and chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to help her deal with a stressful marriage and career. Due to Ike Turner’s drug abuse, some shows were either canceled or postponed. In July 1976, Ike Turner had plans to leave United Artists Records for a five-year, $150,000 deal with Cream Records. The deal was to be signed on July 6. On July 1, 1976, Ike and Tina were en route from Los Angeles to Dallas where the Revue had a gig at the Dallas Statler Hilton. Ike and Tina got into a fight during their ride to the hotel. Shortly after arriving to the hotel, Tina fled from the hotel and later hid at a friend’s house. On July 27, Tina sued for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. Ike claims in his book that Tina initiated the fight by purposely irritating him so that she’d have a reason to break up with him before they were scheduled to sign a new 5-year contract upon their return from Dallas.Tina later credited the Nichiren Buddhist faith and chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo with giving her the courage to strike out on her own. However, by walking out on Ike in the middle of a tour, she learned she was legally responsible to tour promoters for the canceled shows. After a year in court, their divorce was made final on March 29, 1978. In the divorce, she completely parted ways with him, retaining only her stage name and assuming responsibility for the debts incurred by the canceled tour as well as a significant Internal Revenue Service lien.Frustrated by Ike’s increasingly irrational behavior, though, Tina walked out just three years later. Turner converted to Buddhism in 1974 to help her conquer her troubling marriage to Ike Turner. Turner has credited Buddhism with giving her the courage to leave Ike and to find peace. Since then she has been acknowledged as one of the world’s most popular entertainers, biggest-selling music artists of all time, and the most successful female rock artist ever. She had record sales of nearly 200 million copies worldwide and sold more concert tickets than any other solo performer in music’s history.After leaving Ike Turner in 1976, and divorcing him in 1978, Turner didn’t get into a serious relationship again until she met a German record executive named Erwin Bach while at Heathrow Airport in London in 1985. After a year, they started dating and have been living together ever since. Bach is 17 years younger than Turner.Turner’s world tour Break Every Rule Tour had record- breaking ticket sales and was attended by over 4 million fans. Turner also beat out The Rolling Stones by touring Europe during her sold out Foreign Affair Tour in 1990 and playing to 4 million people in just six months. Her 1996 Wildest Dreams Tour was performed to 3.5 million fans.In 2000, she launched her Twenty Four Seven Tour that packed stadiums all over the world. It was the highest grossing tour of the year, and is the 5th biggest grossing tour in America ever. Her success and contributions to the rock music genre have garnered her title, “The Queen of Rock & Roll.”She is known for her overpowering and energetic stage presence, powerful vocals, ground-breaking concerts. She was listed on Rolling Stone’s list, “The Immortals: The Greatest Artists of All Time.” Turner is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and she is also represented in the Grammy Hall of Fame by two of her recordings: “River Deep – Mountain High” (1999) and “Proud Mary” (2003).Turner has won eight Grammy Awards. In February 2008, at age 68, Turner performed together with Beyoncé at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. In addition, she picked up a Grammy as a featured artist on River: The Joni Letters. On April 29, 2008, Turner announced that she would embark on her Tina: Live in Concert Tour on October 1 in Kansas City, MO, at the Sprint Center. Turner is the mother of two sons and adopted Ike Turner’s two children from other relationships.Turner has lived in Europe since the mid-1980s, having moved to London in 1986 before settling in Switzerland later that decade. In 1996, she began building a villa outside Nice, France, which was completed by 2000. Turner has been living in a lake house, Château Algonquin in Küsnacht, next to Zürich since moving there in 1994. She owned property in Cologne, London, and Los Angeles, and a villa on the French Riviera named Anna Fleur.On January 25, 2013, it was announced that Turner had applied for Swiss citizenship, and that she would relinquish her U.S. citizenship. In April, she undertook a mandatory citizenship test which included advanced knowledge of the German language and of Swiss history. On April 22, 2013, she became a citizen of Switzerland and was issued a Swiss passport. Turner signed the paperwork to give up her American citizenship at the U.S. embassy in Bern on October 24, 2013.Turner announced in December 2016 that she has been working on Tina, a new musical based on her life story, in collaboration with Phyllida Lloyd and Stage Entertainment.

Written by Dianne Washington

Michael Kenneth Williams Dead

Michael Kenneth Williams (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He played Omar Little on the HBO drama series The Wire from 2002 to 2008 and Albert “Chalky” White on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire from 2010 to 2014.He earned Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his performances in the HBO television biopic Bessie (2015), the Netflix drama series When They See Us (2019), and the HBO series The Night Of (2016) and Lovecraft Country (2020). He had a recurring role in the sitcom Community from 2011 to 2012. He also had supporting roles in a number of films including Gone Baby Gone (2006), The Road (2009), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Inherent Vice (2014), and Motherless Brooklyn (2019).Williams was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of a Bahamian mother from Nassau and Booker T. Williams, an American, from Greeleyville, South Carolina, where his African-American family has deep roots. Williams was raised in the Vanderveer Projects in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, and attended George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School. According to a DNA analysis, he was descended partly from the Mende people of Sierra Leone.After getting into trouble as a youth, he enrolled at the National Black Theatre in New York City.Williams worked for Pfizer pharmaceuticals as a temp. However, inspired by Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814, he left school and quit his job, against the wishes of his family, to pursue a career as a dancer. During a year in which he was intermittently homeless, Williams visited record labels and dance studios looking for work. He got a job as a background dancer with singer Kym Sims, which led to more work appearing as a dancer in music videos and on tours with artists such as George Michael and Madonna, as well as some modeling work. He also choreographed Crystal Waters’ 1994 single “100% Pure Love”.Williams had a large facial scar he received in a bar fight on Jamaica Avenue, New York City, on his 25th birthday, when he was slashed with a razor blade. The scar became his signature feature, and resulted in offers to perform as a thug in music videos, and modeling opportunities with noted photographers like David LaChapelle. One of his first acting roles was alongside Tupac Shakur as High Top, the brother and henchman to Shakur’s drug kingpin Tank, in the 1996 film Bullet. Shakur reportedly decided on Williams for the role after spotting a polaroid photograph of him in a production studio.Williams also served as the American Civil Liberties Union celebrity ambassador to the Campaign for Smart Justice. Williams’ portrayals of openly gay characters was deemed to be revolutionary.Williams gained recognition as an actor for his portrayal of Omar Little in The Wire, which began filming in 2002. The character was based on Donnie Andrews along with other crime figures in Baltimore. Williams received the part after a single audition, at the encouragement of writer Ed Burns. He was told that the character was slated to appear in just seven episodes and expected him to be killed by the end of the first season. However, creator David Simon stated that they always planned to keep the character as part of the continuing ensemble should the show be renewed beyond one season.For his portrayal of Omar, Williams was named by USA Today as one of ten reasons they still love television. Omar was praised for his uniqueness in the stale landscape of TV crime dramas and for the wit and humor that Williams brings to the portrayal. Omar has been named as one of the first season’s richest characters, a Robin Hood of Baltimore’s west side projects. The Baltimore City Paper named the character one of their top ten reasons not to cancel the show and called him “arguably the show’s single greatest achievement”. In 2007, he was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Omar.Williams pursued the role because he was intrigued by Omar’s contradictory nature. He felt Omar’s popularity stemmed from his honesty, lack of materialism, individuality and his adherence to his strict code. He felt that the role has been a breakthrough in terms of bringing attention to him and getting further roles. Williams received both positive and negative reactions to Omar’s homosexuality and felt that he was successful in challenging attitudes and provoking discussion with the role.In 2008, then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama cited The Wire as his favorite television show, and called Omar his favorite character. About Omar, Obama said, “That’s not an endorsement. He’s not my favorite person, but he’s a fascinating character … he’s the toughest, baddest guy on the show.”During his portrayal of Omar Little, Williams went by his character’s name and developed a habit of smoking cannabis and an addiction to cocaine in 2004. Williams lived part-time in Newark, New Jersey using drugs, but sought help from a ministry in neighboring Irvington, which he credited for helping him during the production.Williams was found dead in his Williamsburg, Brooklyn apartment by his nephew on September 6, 2021. On September 24, 2021, the NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that Williams died of a fatal combination of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine, and ruled the death as an accidental overdose. His private funeral was held at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Cathedral in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where his mother lives.

Written by Dianne Washington

Larry Davis

On November 19, 33 years ago Larry Davis defended himself from a NYPD Hit Squad of over 25 officers.Larry Davis (May 28, 1966 – February 20, 2008), who changed his name to Adam Abdul-Hakeem in 1989, was a New Yorker who shot six New York City Police Department officers on November 19, 1986, when they raided his sister’s apartment in the Bronx. The police said that the raid was executed in order to question Davis about the killing of four suspected drug dealers.At trial, Davis’s defense attorneys, including William Kunstler, claimed that the raid was staged to murder him because of his knowledge of the involvement of corrupt police in the drug business. With the help of family contacts and friends, he eluded capture for the next 17 days despite a massive manhunt. Once the search was narrowed to a single building, he took several hostages but surrendered to police when the presence of reporters convinced him he would not be harmed.Davis was acquitted of attempted murder charges in the police shootout case and also acquitted of murder charges in the case involving the slain drug dealers. He was found guilty of weapons possession in the shootout case, acquitted in another murder case, and was found guilty in a later murder case, for which he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. In 2008, Davis was stabbed to death in a fight with another inmate.The Davis case generated controversy. Many were outraged by his actions and acquittal, but others regarded him as a folk hero for his ability to elude capture in the massive manhunt, or as the embodiment of a community’s frustration with the police, or as “a symbol of resistance” because “he fought back for African-Americans who are being killed by white police officers.”

Written by Dianne Washington

Della Reese

Della Reese (born Delloreese Patricia Early; July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017) was an American nightclub, jazz, gospel, and pop singer; film and television actress; one-time talk-show hostess; and ordained minister, whose career spanned six decades. She also appeared as a guest on several talk shows and as a panelist on numerous game shows.Reese’s long career began as a singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single “Don’t You Know?”. In the late 1960s, she hosted her own talk show, Della, which ran for 197 episodes. She also starred in films beginning in 1975, including playing opposite Redd Foxx in Harlem Nights (1989), Martin Lawrence in A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996) and Elliott Gould in Expecting Mary (2010). She achieved continuing success in the television religious fantasy drama Touched by an Angel (1994–2003), in which Reese played the leading role of Tess.Della Reese was born Delloreese Patricia Early on July 6, 1931 died November 19, 2017, in the historic Black Bottom neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, to Richard Thaddeus Early, an African American steelworker, and Nellie (Mitchelle), a Native American cook of the Cherokee tribe. Her mother had had several children before Reese’s birth, none of whom lived with her; hence, Reese grew up as an only child. At six years old, Reese began singing in church. From this experience, she became an avid gospel singer. On weekends in the 1940s, she and her mother would go to the movies independently to watch the likes of Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, and Lena Horne portray glamorous lives on screen. Afterwards, Reese would act out the scenes from the films. In 1944, she began her career directing the young people’s choir, after she had nurtured acting plus her obvious musical talent. She was often chosen, on radio, as a regular singer. At the age of 13, she was hired to sing with Mahalia Jackson’s gospel group. Delloreese entered Detroit’s popular Cass Technical High School (where she attended the same year as Edna Rae Gillooly, later known as Ellen Burstyn). She also continued with her touring with Jackson. With higher grades, she was the first in her family to graduate from high school in 1947, at only 15.Afterwards, she formed her own gospel group, the Meditation Singers. However, due in part to the death of her mother and her father’s serious illness, Reese had to interrupt her schooling at Wayne State University to help support her family. Faithful to the memory of her mother, Deloreese moved out of her father’s house when she disapproved of him taking up with a new girlfriend. She then took on odd jobs, such as truck driver, dental receptionist, and even elevator operator, after 1949. Performing in clubs, Early soon decided to shorten her name from “Delloreese Early” to “Della Reese”.Reese was discovered by the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, and her big break came when she won a contest, which gave her a week to sing at Detroit’s well-known Flame Show Bar. Reese remained there for eight weeks. Although her roots were in gospel music, she now was being exposed to and influenced by such famous jazz artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday. In 1953, she signed a recording contract with Jubilee Records, for which she recorded six albums. Later that year, she also joined the Hawkins Orchestra. Her first recordings for Jubilee were songs such as “In the Still of the Night” (originally published in 1937), “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” and “Time After Time” (1947). The songs were later included on the album And That Reminds Me (1959).In 1957, Reese released a single called “And That Reminds Me”. After years of performing, she gained chart success with this song. It became a Top Twenty pop hit and a million-seller record. That year, Reese was voted by Billboard, Cashbox and various other magazines, as “The Most Promising Singer”. In 1959, Reese moved to RCA Records and released her first RCA single, called “Don’t You Know?,” which was adapted from Puccini’s music for La bohème, specifically, the aria “Quando m’en vo'” (Musetta’s Waltz). It became her biggest hit to date, reaching the #2 spot on the pop charts and topping the R&B charts (then called the “Hot R&B Sides”) that year. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. Eventually, the song came to be widely considered the signature song of her early career. Reese received a Grammy nomination for her 1960 album Della and then released a successful follow-up single called “Not One Minute More” (#16). She remained on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the songs “And Now” (#69), “Someday (You’ll Want Me to Want You)” (#56) and “The Most Beautiful Words” (#67).In November 1960, Reese appeared in advertisements in Ebony magazine for the newly launched AMI Continental jukebox. Reese recorded regularly throughout the 1960s, releasing singles and several albums. Two of the most significant were The Classic Della (1962) and Waltz with Me, Della (1963), which broadened her fan base internationally. She recorded several jazz-focused albums, including Della Reese Live (1966), On Strings of Blue (1967) and One of a Kind (1978). She also performed in Las Vegas for nine years and toured across the country. Reese continued to record albums in the following decades, receiving two more Grammy nominations in the gospel category for the album Della Reese and Brilliance (1991) and for the live recorded album, My Soul Feels Better Right Now (1999). Motown singer Martha Reeves cites Reese as a major influence and says she named her group The Vandellas after Van Dyke Street in Detroit and Della Reese.In 1969, she began a transition into acting work which would eventually lead to her greatest fame. Her first attempt at television stardom was a talk show series, Della, which was cancelled after 197 episodes (June 9, 1969 – March 13, 1970).In 1970, Reese became the first black woman to guest host The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. She appeared in several TV movies and miniseries, was a regular on Chico and the Man and played the mother of B. A. Baracus in The A-Team episode “Lease with an Option to Die”. In 1991, she starred opposite her old friend Redd Foxx in his final sitcom, The Royal Family, but his death halted production of the series for several months. Reese also did voice-over for the late 1980s Hanna-Barbera animated series A Pup Named Scooby-Doo on ABC. In 1989, she starred alongside Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx in the film Harlem Nights, in which she performed a fight scene with Eddie Murphy. Reese appeared as a panelist on several episodes of the popular television game show Match Game.Reese has had a wide variety of guest-starring roles, beginning with an episode of The Mod Squad. This led to other roles in such series as: The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, Getting Together, Police Woman, Petrocelli, Joe Forrester, Police Story, The Rookies, McCloud, Sanford and Son with old friend Redd Foxx, Vega$, Insight and two episodes of The Love Boat. She also had a recurring role on It Takes Two opposite Richard Crenna and Patty Duke, three episodes of Crazy Like a Fox, four episodes of Charlie & Co. opposite Flip Wilson, 227 with best friend Marla Gibbs, MacGyver, Night Court, Dream On, Designing Women, Picket Fences, Disney Channel’s That’s So Raven and The Young and the Restless.She has also been featured (by proxy) on the McElroy family Dungeons and Dragons podcast, The Adventure Zone, after a magical, kickass deity was named after her.After coping with the death of one of her best friends, Redd Foxx, in 1991, she was reluctant to play an older female lead in the inspirational television drama Touched by an Angel, but went ahead and auditioned for the role of Tess. She wanted to have a one-shot agreement between CBS and producer Martha Williamson, but ordered more episodes. Reese was widely seen as a key component of the show’s success. Already starring on Touched by an Angel was the lesser-known Irish actress Roma Downey, who played the role of case worker Tess’s angel/employee, Monica. In numerous interviews, there was an on- and off-screen chemistry between both Reese and Downey.The character of Tess was the angelic supervisor who sent the other angels out on missions to help people redeem their lives and show them God’s love, while at the same time, she was sassy and had a no-nonsense attitude. The show often featured a climactic monologue delivered by the angel Monica in which she reveals herself as an angel to a human with the words: “I am an angel sent by God to tell you that He loves you.” The character of Tess was portrayed by Reese as down-to-earth, experienced and direct. Reese also sang the show’s theme song, “Walk with You,” and was featured prominently on the soundtrack album produced in conjunction with the show.During its first season in 1994, many critics were skeptical about the show, it being the second overtly religious prime-time fantasy series, after Highway to Heaven. The show had a rocky start, low ratings and was cancelled 11 episodes into the first season. However, with the help of a massive letter-writing campaign, the show was resuscitated the following season and became a huge ratings winner for the next seven seasons. At the beginning of the fourth season in 1997, Reese threatened to leave the show because she was making less than her co-stars; CBS ended up raising her salary. Touched by an Angel was cancelled in 2003, but it continued re-running heavily in syndication and on ION Television (formerly PAX-TV), The Hallmark Channel, Up, and later Me-TV.Roma Downey said of her on- and off-screen relationship with Reese:”She’s very wise. She’s very loving. She can be a little gruff at times, but she’s always adoring and adorable. I lost my mother when I was very young, and during my whole adolescence and into my twenties, I’d been looking for a mother figure, and I really think I can say with absolute truth and sincerity that I feel that I finally found her in Della Reese.”Downey later also said:”I think I’ll just always remember the feel of her neck against my cheek when she hugs me and the love I know that she has for me and the love that I feel for her and the love that she has for God. To know Della is to know that she loves God.Reese’s mother, Nellie Mitchelle Early, died in 1949 of a cerebral hemorrhage. Reese’s father, Richard Early, died ten years later. Reese had an adoptive daughter whom she acquired from a family member unable to care for her, named Deloreese Daniels Owens, in 1961. Owens died on March 14, 2002. It was never released whether she died from suicide or from implications stemming from pituitary disease. Reese said about the painful experience, sharing her frustration with the lack of awareness and knowledge of pituitary disorders,”When it happened, I thought, ‘It’s such an odd thing to die from,’ because pituitary problems aren’t something you hear about. It makes it harder because you don’t understand what happened. It seemed so strange and hard to explain. It still is, to be honest.”In 1952, Reese married factory worker Vermont Adolphus Bon Taliaferro, nineteen years her senior, and adopted the stage name Pat Ferro for a week, before introducing her current name – though sources differ as to whether this was after the failure of the marriage, or simply a show-business decision.A second marriage ceremony, on 28 December 1959, to accountant Leroy Basil Gray, who had two children by a previous marriage, was kept secret for some time. This marriage either ended in divorce or was annulled on the basis that Gray’s previous divorce was invalid.Reese appears to have been briefly married to Mercer Ellington (who was then her manager) in 1961, before this was annulled due to Ellington’s Mexican divorce being ruled invalid.In 1979, after taping a guest spot for The Tonight Show, she suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm, but made a full recovery after two surgeries by neurosurgeon Charles Drake at University Hospital in London, Ontario. In 1983, she married Franklin Thomas Lett, Jr., a concert producer and writer. In 2002, Reese announced on Larry King Live that she had been diagnosed with type-2 diabetes, but didn’t come as a surprise considering what she ate and what her diet consisted of, as well as her weight. She loved cake, especially chocolate. She became a spokeswoman for the American Diabetes Association, traveling around the United States to raise awareness about this disorder. In 2005, Reese was honored by Oprah Winfrey at her Legends Ball ceremony, along with 25 other black women.In the 1980s, Reese was ordained as a minister through the Christian New Thought branch known as Unity, after serving as the senior minister and founder of her own church, Understanding Principles for Better Living. The “Up Church” is under Universal Foundation for Better Living, a denomination of Christian New Thought founded by Rev. Johnnie Colemon, a close friend of Rev. Reese-Lett. In 2014, the IRS Criminal Division began investigating the disappearance of nearly $2 million from church banking investments, as well as very questionable/misappropriation of church funds and not paying church employees their earned wages. They currently meet at First Lutheran Church (www.firsting.org) in Inglewood, California. In her ministerial work, she is known as the Rev. Dr. Della Reese Lett.On July 6, 2011, Reese celebrated her 80th birthday at the Catalina Jazz Club in Los Angeles. In 2015, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to her.On August 29, 2016, nearly two months after she celebrated her 85th birthday, Reese was said to be in failing health, as she uses a wheelchair, following two serious brain surgeries. She also admitted her suffering from diabetes, “My life is at stake,” she said. “I don’t have type 2 diabetes — type 2 diabetes has me.”Reese was not wheelchair bound, and tried to avoid using one often because it would make her condition worse. Prior to attending the 2014 ceremony to honor her former co-star and long-time friend, Roma Downey, who received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, years after her mentor, Della Reese admitted (after collapsing on the set of Touched by an Angel) that diet had contributed to her diabetes, after years of eating her old, nightly snacks of fried chicken, potato chips, ice cream, candy bars and cola, and was very frustrated because she didn’t do anything to prevent her health problems. “With diet, exercise and medication, I took control of my diabetes,” she stated. “I lost 20 pounds and lowered my blood sugar from between 275 and 300 to between 67 and 110.” After her last appearance on Signed, Sealed, Delivered, she had retired from acting.

Written by Dianne Washington