Tag: Band of Gold

Director Vera Edwards honored with Citation

Vera Edwards (March 4, 1966) is an American director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. Born and raised in the South Bronx, New York City, Edwards began her career as an author and then graduated to write, direct, and produce television shows on a cable channel called Bronxnet. The show was titled “Street Line.” It was an entertainment show that not only showed what was happening in the streets, but showed celebrities as well as up-and-coming artists, dance, hip-hop, businesses, current events, and politics. The show revolutionized the urban community. In 2009, Edwards and her son Ricardo Cordero (director of photography) received several Beta Awards for their contributions to television.

In 2011 Edwards published her first book titled “BAND OF GOLD,” which was written by Vera Edwards herself. This was the start of her writing career which jumped started her in the direction of making movies.

One of the first female independent multimedia film director and producer in the Bronx, Edwards has captured the essence of urban life by utilizing members of the community by taking real-life experience and turning it into art. She has become a true pioneer in hip-hop culture and urban day living.

Edwards wrote, produced, and directed with her son Ricardo Cordero her first underground independent feature film, Chicken (2013); The film was an urban drama. The entire cast was first-time actors. The film received worldwide praise from parents, children, teens, and several educational institutions ranging from different fields of study that implemented different story elements into their own syllabuses. It was a scripted reality show at its finest. Chicken showcased unfortunate realism that many individuals face in urban communities even to this day. The movie Chicken sold-out not only at the theaters but also sold out as DVDs in stores. It became one of the most sought out underground urban movies till this day.

Her second film was a romantic love story titled “Waiting for 4 Mr. Wright” (2015), which won a Bronxnet Beta Award. It too had first-time actors, Anabel Castillo, and Hip-Hop artist, Mighty Mike C (Michael Clee), from the legendary hip-hop group, The Fearless 4. The film received a standing ovation which was played at the iconic Mist Theater in Harlem, New York; It also was a DVD hit.

This was followed in 2015 by Edwards’s first novella “Perate,” a movie drama that starred Artie Cordel and hip-hop legend Wilfredo “Tito” Dones, of the legendary group The Fearless 4. It was a challenge for Edwards to write and produce the life of a Hispanic dysfunctional family. Her daughter Bobbi Cordero(writer) helped create the movie, which won Edwards another Beta Award. The movie Perate also played in the iconic Mist Theater in Harlem, New York City.

In 2015-2018, Edwards directed her first web series that started out as a small pitch that led to a bigger series of its own name and a powerful relationship drama, “Rodent,” starring Seven and Antoinette “Toni Styles” Vereen. This was a drama that identified with personal relationships amongst friends and family. The web series had twists and turns. Rodent was in high demand on the internet but ended abruptly because of ‘unsettling’ events created only amongst actors based off their newfound popularity that was developed from the success of the Rodent series.

In 2016, Edwards produced and directed “PPRESSED,” based on the everyday life of battle rappers. The movie starred Karine “Sho-Time” Thornton and Michael Deering (Mikey D) from the legendary group, “Main Source.” Since its success and debut, it has become the anthem and blueprint of videography used in today’s hip-hop rap culture within television and feature digital movie format.

Edwards wrote, produced, and directed “A Teenage Story” (2020) starring LA Sunshine (Lamar Hill), from the legendary group The Treacherous 3, DJ and creator of scratch, Grandwizard Theodore (Theodore Livingston), Stevie D (Stevie Lundy), from the legendary Force Mds and first-time actor Justin Hines. The movie was shot during the COVID pandemic and was set for the theaters, but due to the worldwide COVID restriction lock-downs, the 1:49-minute movie was released on YouTube and generated over 800,000 views.

When asked in a recent interview on the podcast “SHO-TIME TV PODCAST,” the interviewer asked Edwards “How were you able to create so many hit movies in such a short time,” Edwards replied” I couldn’t have done it without my son Ricardo Cordero. He is an excellent cameraman. He and I work great together, I know him, and he knows me. He knows my vision. I leave all the camera work to him, and he makes it happen. I think he is the best director of photography I know. To be able to create and share time as a mother and son is priceless. I enjoy those moments”.

On March 26, 2023, Edwards was honored with a Citation by Senator Cordell Cleare for her work with the community as a Film director.

Freda Payne

Freda Payne was born on this date, September 19, 1942. She is an African American singer and actress.From Detroit, Michigan, she is the older sister of Scherrie Payne, the final lead singer in the Motown act The Supremes. Freda Charcilia Payne grew up listening to different jazz singers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, which helped her develop a taste for music. As a teenager, she attended the Institute of Musical Arts; she soon began singing radio commercial jingles and won many local TV and radio talent shows. Her voice caught the attention of Berry Gordy and Duke Ellington. However, her mother wanted her to finish school first. In 1963, she moved to New York City and worked with Quincy Jones, Pearl Bailey, Bill Cosby and others. During that same year, her debut album, After the Lights Go Down Low and Much More!!!, was released. Three years later, she released How Do You Say I Don’t Love You Anymore.She also made occasional guest appearances on the “Merv Griffin” and “Johnny Carson” shows. She added theatrical credits to her repertoire; as an understudy with Leslie Uggams for the Broadway show Hallelujah Baby in 1967 and she appeared with the Equity Theatre in a production of Lost in the Stars. In 1969, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland, Jr., persuaded her to sign with them. During that same year, she released, “Unhooked Generation”. Shortly thereafter, songwriters Edythe Wayne and Ron Dunbar offered her a song entitled “Band of Gold”. Almost immediately, in early 1970, the song became an instant pop smash; it also gave Payne her first gold record. Other singles included “Deeper and Deeper”, “You Brought the Joy”, and the Vietnam protest song “Bring the Boys Home” (#12, 1971; her second gold record). Her other Invictus albums were Contact (1971), The Best of Freda Payne (1972, a compilation which included four new, unissued songs), and her last Invictus album Reaching Out (1973).In 1973, being dissatisfied with her royalties (which were very low to begin with), she left Invictus and recorded albums for ABC/Dunhill and Capitol, but she never found the commercial success she had with Invictus. Payne was formerly married to singer Gregory Abbott in 1976, and had a son, Gregory Abbott, Jr. (born 1978). In 1981, she briefly hosted her own talk show “Today’s Black Woman” and also found work acting in different movies, Broadway, and other theatre productions throughout the eighties. She also had a relationship with Edmund Sylvers who had written and produced her 1982 single ‘In Motion.Although she was concentrating more on acting by that time, she never gave up music; in 1982, she recorded a single entitled “In Motion” for the Sutra label in New York, and in 1986, she recorded a remake of her hit “Band of Gold” with Belinda Carlisle. In 1990, she recorded three songs for Ian Levine’s UK Motorcity label: another remake of “Band of Gold”, “Memories and Souvenirs”, and “Only Minutes Away”. In the mid-nineties, she released three albums for Dove Music: I Hate Barney (1995, a comedy album), An Evening With Freda Payne: Live, and her first (and only) Christmas album Christmas With Freda and Friends (both 1996). She also continued her acting career appearing in movies like Private Obsession (1995), Ragdoll (1999), The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), and Fire & Ice (made-for-TV, 2001). In early 2001, she released a new album (of jazz, pop, and R&B molded into one) called Come See About Me for the Volt label (the title track is a remake of the Supremes’ hit). In early 2003, she performed a show called “Love & Payne” with Darlene Love at Feinstein’s at the Regency in New York City and at the Cinegrill in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles getting excellent reviews. During the early part of the 21st century, the following compilations of her music were released: Lost in Love (which includes nine of her post-Invictus recordings), Band of Gold: The Best of Freda Payne (both 2000), Unhooked Generation: The Complete Invictus Recordings (2001, the best compilation of her Invictus songs ever made), and The Best of Freda Payne: Ten Best Series (2002, another collection of her Invictus songs).In 2009, she appeared on American Idol and sang “Band of Gold”. In 2010, Payne joined Kanye West, Jordin Sparks, Jennifer Hudson, Barbra Streisand and many more on We Are The World for Haiti Relief. In 2011 Payne recorded a duet, “Saving A Life”, with British pop star Sir Cliff Richard for inclusion on his “Soulicious” album. She also joined Richard on his “Soulicious” tour of the UK in October of the same year.

Written by Dianne Washington