September 9, 2021 • 29 mins
Faced with health issues, financial distress, and familial tensions, R&B icon Toni Braxton’s story is a powerful one. Her career began with an impossible choice: stay with the family’s band, The Braxtons, or accept a solo record deal. She went solo and found great success, selling hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of copies of her runaway hit, Unbreak My Heart...that never hit her pockets. Encountering more personal and financial losses, Toni nearly worked herself to death. Despite the roller coaster career journey, managing her diagnosis with lupus and her son’s autism, she pulled through and reclaimed her rightful spot on the charts. Listen in for exclusive interviews to learn how the queen of R&B did it all behind the music.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
She's a preacher's daughter with a voice drenched in soul.
But behind Tony Braxton's sultry voice is a powerful story
of success and loss. Tony's career started with an impossible choice.
She had to decide between upholding her family's band, The Braxton's,
at accepting a solo record deal. She chose the deal
(00:27):
and suffered decades of tension with her sisters. Despite her
torn relationship with her family, Tony's career took off and
her runaway hit un Break My Heart launched her into superstartered.
But even though her records sold hundreds of thousands of copies,
Tony did not profit from her fame and struggled to
pay her bills. Tony was forced to declare bankruptcy and
(00:50):
was publicly scrutinized. After starting a family of her own,
Tony focused on reviving her music career and in the
process encountered more or personal and financial losses while working
herself nearly to death. But through rekindling her relationship with
her sisters, Tony was able to find a strength to
pick herself back up and reclaim her spot on the charts.
(01:15):
Throughout a lifetime of adversity, she has proven herself to
be the unstoppable queen of R and B. This is
Tony Braxton, The story behind the music My Sisters, Everybody's
(01:37):
My Family. It's September two thousand twelve, and Tony Braxton
is in Vancouver, Canada, giving her mother and sisters a
tour on the set of her new television movie. Tony
is now balancing acting with music. She has proven to
(01:57):
be the ultimate survivor, instantly adapting to overcome career obstacles.
It's so much to hold onto that fame and a
glitter when you get into the business. It's really easy
in comparison to how hard it is to hold onto
it and maintain it and keep it going. That's the
toughest part of all of it. Can't be late on
the set. I know that right. If you could hung
(02:18):
up on all the things that's happened to you, that's
where you'll be stuck. And I never want to be
stuck in my life. Okay, I gotta go. I'm so happy, mama.
Tony Michelle Braxton was born in nineteen sixty seven and Severne, Maryland,
a suburban enclave just outside of Baltimore. She was the
(02:41):
first child of devout Christian parents who enforced a rigid
set of rules on Tony and her four sisters and brother.
I had a very strict upbringing. My dad was a minister.
We were very religious. We were really deep in what
we believe in our religion, and so that's basically what
we taught out with kids. It was all about church, church, church, church.
(03:03):
I couldn't listen to secular music because that was worldly.
I couldn't go to the movies. You know, the same
religious people that live across the street, or the girl
in your science class is really religious and creeps you out. Yeah,
I was that kid. As an aspiring opera singer, Tony's
mother filled their home with music. We were the kids
that were singing in the house all the time. Our
(03:24):
friends was outside playing, we were singing. I was a
little thing and I had to go to the bathroom,
and so I was sitting on the come and there
was some one tilet paper and I just thoughted singing.
Somebody gave me some tolly paper. We all said it
in harmony, somebody give it some totly paper. And my
(03:44):
mom said, oh my god, my kids have talent. I
don't know if I was shocked or just happy that
they finally got it and may have been over the
toilet paper, but they got it and right away. She
began to make a sing together and formed a group
called the Braxton Family to foster her children's talent. Tony's
(04:06):
mother started coaching them okay, creating a demanding vocal boot
cap where a flat note meant sharp punishment. If we
didn't sing our notes right, we got a little slap.
My mom was no joke. She's like, if you're gonna
do what, you're gonna do it right. She would really
slap the piss out here. If you try to talk back,
what are you singing? That's wrong? You know what you're doing,
what you're doing. I told her not to sing that note.
(04:29):
I may very sure that they were serious about it.
We would practice school what all day long, from sign
up to dinner time. But it forced us to be perfectionist.
It is what it is. I mean, that's why they're
so good. Now, practice good job. By the time she
was fifteen, Tony was honing her gospel chops, singing with
(04:52):
her sisters in local churches. But as Tony entered her teens,
she discovered pop and R and B music, and she's
secretly developed a taste for the forbidden. I started sneaking
listen to the radio that I remember that. I love Ricky's.
I loved rick James. Oh my god, I remember my
mom heard me singing I got some shovel. Oh my god.
(05:13):
It's like, oh, you're gonna go to hell. Listen to
that worldly music, you know, baby, I love you know.
They could not sing that at that time. I just
wanted to sing, but I didn't want to sing gospel music.
I just wanted to get away from it. Because I'm
You're a teenager. Parents are making you do something, so
of course you fight against it. In the summer of
eighty three, Tony graduated high school and left home from
Bowie State University, just a few miles away, against her
(05:37):
parents wishes. She began to pursue a singing career of
her own, performing at local clubs. I would sing all
over the city, and that's when I started meeting people
in My world started open opening up a little bit.
In nine nine, Tony was discovered by aspiring producers Ernesto
Phillips and Bill pett Away, who had worked with Milly Vanilly,
(05:58):
and she agreed to record some demos. Her voice just
had something very special, she said. People used to tell
me I sound like the man. I said, well, you know,
it's gonna work to your favor. During the sessions, Tony
suggested having her sisters sing back up on one of
the tracks, and he was like wow. And I said,
(06:20):
Jackson five, Braxton five, that's how we're gonna do it.
And he said, I can get you a deal much
fast with all your sisters. Within a few months, the
Braxton sisters were offered a deal with Arista Records. The
Braxton Clan we was jumping up and down. We were excited,
you know. We were like, oh my goodness, We're gonna
be singing superstars. We're gonna be a singing sensation. In
(06:41):
Good Life was released as the Braxton's first major label single,
but it wasn't the hit they were hoping for. It
did absolutely nothing. It's all three copies mom my dad,
and my grandma. The label was considering dropping them, so
they passed the Braxton's onto the up and I mean
production team of l. A. Reid and Baby Face, who
(07:03):
had just founded a boutique off shoot of Arista called
La Face Records. The group was talented. I just had
a particular fascination for Tony. She felt more like a
solo artists supposed to being a girl that Japan a
girl group. A few days later, Tony received a phone
call that would force her to make a painful choice
between family and career. Manager called me one day and
(07:25):
he said, good news, l A and baby Face loved
you guys. You think you guys are super talented. Um.
The bad news is he didn't want to sign your sisters.
Steve wants to sign your shoe and I remember going,
what do you mean he just wants to sign me?
I remember thinking, what are my sisters going to think?
How are they going to feel? How are my parents
going to feel? I remember feeling devastated. There was some
(07:50):
sulking going on, there was some tears. I remember my
mom saying, the devil is raging, the devil is trying
to break up our family. She had tough decisions to
make because of sisters, and she wasn't so keen on
moving away from them. I remember that I caught my
manager and told him no, tell baby Face and then
I said no. But Tony's sister Tracy tearfully pushed her
(08:11):
to reconsider. She was crying, bawling. I'm bawling, and she said,
you know what, maybe you can go put out a
record and then you can come back and get us.
I was like, Tony, go ahead, do it. I want
you to. I said, but I know you, I know you, Tony.
You're not going to leave us behind. And I said, okay, Tracy,
maybe I can do that. And I made that my
vow that I would do that. Twenty three year old
(08:34):
Tony reluctantly signed the contract with LaFace and relocated from
Baltimore to Atlanta to work with l A. Reid and
baby Face. We kind of always thought she He's the
younger Anita Baker. We knew it. You know, there was
something that was there. Tony's first single, love should Have
Brought You Home, was included in the Boomerang soundtrack, and
it rose to number two on the R and B charts.
(08:57):
From there, my career went from zero to sixty and
six months it completely changed. In July of Tony released
her self titled debut album. She did every single thing
we asked her to do, every promotion, every little club,
every little bar, and the result was that she became
hugely successful. The album rose all the way to the
(09:19):
top of the charts and went on to sell an
incredible ten million copies worldwide. It was an incredible roller
coaster throughout. I remember the feeling is sometimes I look
back on it and I can't believe that that actually
happened to me. That was that fortunate and blessed. We
called her the first Lady of La Face. She was
our diva, that was our girl. Clive had Whitney, Tommy
(09:42):
and I had Mariah, and we had Tony and we
were proud. In March of Tony won her first three Grammys,
including one for Best New Artist. But as Tony's career
took off, she was filled with guilt for leaving her
sisters behind. I could never enjoy my career. Was always guilt.
(10:04):
When I wanted my first Grammy American Music Awards, all
those moments, I always felt guilty. My mom would say, yeah,
that's great, but don't forget about your sisters. So it
made me feel that I could never be happy, and
that guilt I took with me for the rest of
my career. Coming up, Tony nearly passes on her signature song,
and then Tony faces off against Oprah. When behind the
(10:27):
music continues, I could never accept it and feel comfortable
and happy with myself because I hear I am all
the success. How can I not help my sisters? So
Tony hired her sisters as background singers, put them on payroll,
(10:49):
and brought them along on tour. She's gonna make sure
we're in the same hotel she's in, and the best
of hotels and the best of cars and the best
of everything. Tony was definitely spoiling us. We was living
a life. Tony even pushed La Face Records to sign
her sisters to a deal. We signed to the Face
Records because Tony was signed to the Face Records, and
I was so happy I got signs gonna happen for them,
(11:12):
But it never did happen. The Braxton's one and only
album peaked at one and thirteen on the charts. Next
thing I knew was to want to move back to Maryland.
Trina's pregnant with her son. I'm like, what happened to
us being superstars? It was a mass? Just a mass.
Doesn't good. They made me feel more ill. Maybe I
(11:34):
should have helped them more. I always felt like whatever
I gave wasn't enough, and I often wonder if I
had stayed, could I have changed it. Meanwhile, Tony's career
was in the stratosphere. In June, she released her second album, Secrets.
It quickly went platinum, fueled by the hit single You're
Making Me High, which featured a much sexier image for Tony.
(11:58):
It just gave her a different kind of swagger that
was a part of who she is when people just
hadn't seen it. I'm five to nothing about me I
think is sexy meeting. I don't have long legs, I
don't have week boobies. But I always wanted to be sexy,
always felt sexy, keep down inside. So I said, I'm
just gonna do what it was gonna be who I am.
How high is that split? I'll take it. You're Making
(12:21):
Me High became Tony's first number one single, but her
next hit would take her to heights she could never imagine.
Unbreak my Heart was a mournful ballad about love lost
written by legendary hit maker Diane Warren. I remember sitting
at the piano and went to the key change from
the verse of the chorus. It was like, well, this
is pretty cool. When I heard it, I went crazy
(12:43):
and so, oh my god, this is a monster that's
a monster record. But when Tony first listened to the song,
she wasn't feeling it. Hated it, did not like it.
I just didn't get it. So it's okay, it's a
little Disney. I'm good. L A calls me, you have
to do this song. Do this song. I promise you
would be the biggest song of your career. It was right.
(13:07):
Unbreak my Heart topped the pop charts in December of
nine six and became the second highest selling single by
a female artist in history. No one had a song
better than Unbreak my Heart at that moment, I mean
no one. Eleven weeks at number one. It was like
just lightning on the bottle. I was so glad. I
was wrong. I'm so glad. By the end of Tony
(13:30):
had become one of the most successful female artists of
the decade, selling more than twenty million records, but she
was still waiting on her financial rewards. She just felt
as though she just just working and just working and
working and no money. I knew I was due to
get this great, wonderful royalty statement because I knew what
(13:51):
I had sold, but it was less than two thousand dollars.
Excuse me, I didn't understand what the hell that meant.
I immediately called my business as just said, what does
this mean? Was this about hard deal? Was the beginner's deal?
HI call it? I hate to say this a slave contract,
not intentionally, but that's what they do. As she delved
(14:13):
into her finances, Tony says she learned that heavy promotion
and overhead costs included in her contract. We're making it
impossible for her to turn a profit. When they put
you in those limitals and give you those wonderful dresses
and the great budgets, so beautiful, it's all recouped, meaning
they get their money back for all those things they
purchased for you to look like a star, and you
(14:34):
get what's left over after you've paid them back. Just normal.
This is how the record business is. This is the norm.
That's what I was too. In December of Tony sued
Arista and La Face Records, demanding a larger portion of
her album profits. But when the label refused to budge,
Tony found herself broke and in career limbo. I have
(14:55):
no money. This isn't good. How am I to pay
my own personal bills? My business manager said, we're gonna
have to file bankruptcy. And I don't think I've ever
seen her cry so hard. It was the pain that
people she trusted would do this to her. Tony was
now at odds with the mentors who had signed her
l A. Reid and Baby Face. There were other people
(15:18):
who were saying that, you know, you can't trust us
and you can't talk to them, And I remember just
sort of being a very strange relationship and and sad
about it, very sad about it. There was bad management.
Someone wasn't watching closely, and we were being blamed for it,
Like you said, just your fault and you did a
bad deal. And I can only say that as a
(15:38):
joint venture, our hands were tied. If we could, we
would give me the check immediately, but we weren't in
a position to. When news of her bankruptcy reached the press,
Tony was vilified and portrayed as a star who had
overspent on her lavish lifestyle. It wasn't like she was
spending and spending, and yes she was taking care of
(15:58):
her sisters, but we wasn't getting cars and homes and
things like that, Tony says. The backlash came to a
head during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in
March of She was so freaking mean to me. I
was in shock. I couldn't believe because I loved her
(16:19):
so much. I admired her and looked up to her,
and she pretty much reprimanded me. She says to me,
I hear you have Gucci flatwear. I'm a Winfrey and
I don't have Gucci flatwear. You ain't got Gucci flatwear
because you didn't want to buy it. It's not because
you couldn't afford it. What do you mean? And immediately
she made me feel this big, this big. That moment
(16:44):
completely changed my career. It made people look down on me,
and things only got worse. Within weeks of declaring bankruptcy,
Tony's home and most prized possessions were she used by creditors.
They come and assess your property and everything has a value,
(17:04):
and I learned that Grammys have a value, America Music
Awards all those things, and they came and put a
price tag on them to be auctioned. I remember feeling humiliated,
like I've never been humiliated in my life, like I
was standing there completely naked and everyone was looking at me.
After being one of the most successful artists of the decade,
(17:25):
Tony was left with nothing. I called my mom, and
my mom wanted me to come home. You can always
come home to worry about. It's gonna be okay in
God's hands. And I just remember crying and crying. M hm.
Coming up. Tony finds love in the midst of turmoil.
When Behind the Music continues in Tony Braxton was in
(18:05):
the midst of a bitter contract dispute with her record label.
Despite being one of the top selling female artists of
the nineties, she was forced to file for bankruptcy. I
didn't know where my career stood at that moment. I
had no idea what I was going to do next.
She was so down and depressed and embarrassed. Tony found
support from her family and an old friend. She had
(18:27):
met Carry Lewis years earlier when his group Mint Condition
was the opening act on her tour, and the two
had remained close. Kerry was definitely my rock. Coming from
the music business. He understood, so he would give me
encouragement to get through it. He kept me positive. We
would really close friends for a while, and then eventually
(18:47):
one day we both kind of realized that we want
a little bit more in each other than just being friends.
He didn't care about what I had and what I
didn't have. He just wanted to get near me and
spend time with me, and that was great. After a
two year courtship, Tony and Carry were married in April
of two thousand one, and on their wedding day, Tony
(19:08):
shared a huge surprise. We had just walked down the aisle.
She gave me her wedding gift, and it was a rattle,
a baby's rattle. What was this? Myself pregnantly gonna be
a dad. He was so excited and I was like,
oh my god, I was the happiest person i earth.
Seven months later, Tony and Carry had their first son, Denim.
(19:30):
The best feeling was was my son got here. But
still I'm pretty much the principal breadwinner, so I have
to figure out a plan for my family. Tony's contract
dispute with LaFace and Arista had finally been settled and
she signed a new twenty million dollar contract. The judge
pretty much made them pay me and I was able
to resume my loan from my condo and I backed
(19:52):
my Grammys and my other awards and my clothes, so
that was good. Tony tried to put the bitterness behind
as she reunited with l A. Reid and Babyface to
record her third album, The Heat, but their relationship would
never be the same. It was a little challenging doing
that album because the relationship has been pooed upon a bit.
(20:13):
So are we completely comfortable? There's a little bit of
animosity on both sides. But the album put Tony back
on top. The first single, he Wasn't Man Enough, hit
number two on the pop charts. It made me know
that people were in my corner and they loved me
and they love my music. In early two thousand two,
thirty four year old Tony began work on her fourth album,
(20:35):
More Than a Woman, hoping to build on her career comeback.
But a few months before the album scheduled release, Tony
learned that she was expecting her second child. Now, the
label was definitely a little bit upset. Now here we are.
We worked through the bankruptcy, We've paid this chick all
this money and now she's pregnant. Okay, Tony fought with
the label over how to deal with her pregnancy, and
(20:57):
as a result, the album got little promotion. It ended
up selling less than five hundred thousand copies. More than
a Woman was a flop flop. It was a flop
like I've never seen a flop. In April two thousand three,
Tony decided she wanted out of her contract with Arista
and LaFace. I allowed people to put things in my
ear to say, oh, they're not feeling you anymore, they
(21:19):
want to drop you. I wasn't having a lot of
communication with Tony and it was a very, very tough time.
I should have taken the time to call l A
and Kenny and talk about it, and I didn't do that.
That was not good. I ruined my relationship with them.
My professional family disintegrated. I felt that I had a
(21:40):
point to prove because I wanted to show my record
label that I can do things other than you. Approaching
forty with two children to support, Tony decided she needed
to shake up her career. Her husband, carry Lewis, became
more involved in her management, and she made a bold
move to Las Vegas to do a nightly show at
the Lamingo Hotel with her sisters, singing back up Vegas
(22:03):
was a wonderful experience, and it was supposed to be
a six week run, end up being a little short
of two years. Well, sew it out just about every
single night, and it was stability for Tony. It enabled
me to spend time with my kids, and that was
a great part. It allowed me to be a parent
and a performer. While she was in Vegas, Tony began
to worry about her youngest son, Diesel, who was having
(22:24):
developmental difficulties. I knew something was wrong as a mom.
You can tell. She noticed that Diesel didn't have a
lot of eye contact and she was like, something's not right.
He was eventually diagnosed with autism. The first thought was, okay, please,
I know what it is. Then afterwards this, oh my god,
(22:45):
my kid has autism. Because I knew nothing about it.
There were times when we were on stage and she
would be singing a song and she would start talking
about her son and she would just break down and cry.
She's just cried in front of her audience. You know,
we just felt so helpless to make matters worse. Tony
was soon facing health issues of her own. On stage
(23:08):
in April of two thousand eight, she started experiencing heart palpitations.
One day, I'm on stage and I thought my heart
was going to pounce out of my body. It's like
stopped beating for a second. She says she felt an
incredible pressure on her chest, like an elephant was on
her chest, and I tell my husband, carry, I have
to go to the emergency room right now. It took
me in immediately, did all these tests and said she's
(23:30):
having a heart attack. It was the scariest what what
do you mean, I'm having a heart set? What do
you mean I'm having a heart attack. They were like, oh, yeah, dude,
this is this is very serious. It took a lot
of time and a lot of tests and a lot
of doctors to figure out what was going on. Once
she was stabilized, Tony received a shocking diagnosis to blood
work and all this stuff and came back and said
she has lupus. Lupus is an autoimmune disorder that slowly
(23:53):
attacks the body's internal organs, including the heart, and it
can be fatal. It was extremely scary. We had no
idea what was going to happen. Tony was confined to
bed rest for several months, forcing the cancelation of her
Vega show. When the insurance company refused to cover the losses,
Tony was left on the hook for all of the
(24:14):
show's expenses. Tony got sued from the lighting company to
floring company and everyone else. Ailing and bedridden, Tony found
herself facing yet another financial disaster. I had to file bankruptcy.
I couldn't pay all those creditors for the show. I
got tied up here in the bankruptcy. That bankrupty shut up.
(24:37):
What would you do if you were in her play?
What would you do? I felt like everyone was saying,
I told you so, I told you so. Say she
spent the money the first time, she spend in it
the second time. Oh god. I was disappointed that I
had to file it, and actually I was angry at myself.
I can't believe him back in the situation, facing the
burden of health issues and financial insecurity, Tony's marriage to
(24:59):
carry Lewis began and to suffer. I think when you
work together in the same business, it's very hard on
a on a relationship. It's so very difficult to turn
on the husband at and turn off the manager and
differentiate between the two. There was not a lot of
(25:19):
differentiate and it needed to be grown in different paths.
And that started happening before I got ill, and once
I got ill, it just presented itself as Okay, look,
it's we need to work on ending this. We still
love each other, but we had to except that that's
not working for the sake of their children. Tony and
Kerry decided not to file for divorce, but their marriage
(25:41):
was over, and Tony was heartbroken about it. I had
to figure out a plan for my life. It had
nothing to do with him. I was just angry at everybody.
I couldn't believe that this was happening to me, and
I felt that I was a person who was dealing
with a lot of struggles and here comes another one.
Lucas for me is a little bit of a challenge.
Some days, there are good days and bad days. I
(26:03):
get chronic fatigue episode Sometimes I find it most difficult
trying to perform. I can do show spot dates here
and there, but I haven't tested it consecutively. During the tour.
In two thousand, Level and Tony made another bold career move,
agreeing to appear in a reality TV series. Braxton Family
(26:23):
Values quickly became a huge success. There would be no
Braxton Family values without Tony Braxton. I take my hat
off to her for giving us this gift because it's
a precious gift that she gave us. It was Tony's
way of making good on the promise she made years
earlier to help her sisters build their own careers. She
put us on this platform to make sure that we
(26:46):
can follow out dreams, that we can have our own identity.
Now you get to be ourselves and enjoy each other
and get pay for isn't it the best job ever?
Definitely makes me feel like, Okay, I'm uping my family.
But then I discovered that they really didn't need any
help because they were still super talented. Tony's biggest priority
(27:07):
is being the mother of her two boys. Her son, Diesel,
has made great strides dealing with autism, and Tony has
become an advocate for early diagnosis and treatment. I became
heavily involved in autism, and I learned that early diagnosis
changes everything. Diesel is nine years old. Now he's in
regular school. The typical peers. If you walk to this room,
you never know. In early two thousand and twelve, Tony
(27:29):
returned to the studio to record new music for the
first time in three years. Her single I Heart You
reached number one on the Dance charts, proving that Tony's
fans are still with her. Tony is a star. Both
ATLA and I am very proud of Tony and what
she has accomplished in her career. I'm not sure where
I'm headed, but i know I'm going forward. She's a
(27:52):
strong extremely a strong woman. Tony is just an eagle.
She's she's going to sore and just spread her wings
and just fly. She's still one of today's Army superstars
fine blank at a period, and there's nobody or nothing
that could take that away from her. She's still Tony
(28:13):
Braxton bitch. In the past, I used to dream about
my future of my career, but now I've decided I'm
going to live in the moment and enjoy it. I
forgot to enjoy the moments. I feel that God bless
me with this talent and I want to sing and
enjoy my life. And I understand I may not be
able to do it the way I did it to
twenty years ago, but I can still do it. Tony
(28:33):
Braxton's career comeback is one of the most moving stories
in music history, Tony was able to repair the falling
out that defined her early career by releasing an album
with her former producer baby Face. The collaborative project, titled Love,
Marriage and Divorce, won the Grammy Award for Best R
and B Album. Tony has continued to support and guide
(28:57):
her sister's ventures, including producer her sister's reality TV show,
Tamar and Vince. Even while encouraging her family's successes, Tony
is still growing her personal legacy as an acclaimed R
and B legend. Despite decades of challenges, Tony has proven
to be a fighter and her powerful voice will inspire
(29:18):
artists for years to come. Listen to Behind the Music
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She's a preacher's daughter with a voice drenched in soul.
But behind Tony Braxton's sultry voice is a powerful story
of success and loss. Tony's career started with an impossible choice.
She had to decide between upholding her family's band, The Braxton's,
at accepting a solo record deal. She chose the deal
(00:27):
and suffered decades of tension with her sisters. Despite her
torn relationship with her family, Tony's career took off and
her runaway hit un Break My Heart launched her into superstartered.
But even though her records sold hundreds of thousands of copies,
Tony did not profit from her fame and struggled to
pay her bills. Tony was forced to declare bankruptcy and
(00:50):
was publicly scrutinized. After starting a family of her own,
Tony focused on reviving her music career and in the
process encountered more or personal and financial losses while working
herself nearly to death. But through rekindling her relationship with
her sisters, Tony was able to find a strength to
pick herself back up and reclaim her spot on the charts.
(01:15):
Throughout a lifetime of adversity, she has proven herself to
be the unstoppable queen of R and B. This is
Tony Braxton, The story behind the music My Sisters, Everybody's
(01:37):
My Family. It's September two thousand twelve, and Tony Braxton
is in Vancouver, Canada, giving her mother and sisters a
tour on the set of her new television movie. Tony
is now balancing acting with music. She has proven to
(01:57):
be the ultimate survivor, instantly adapting to overcome career obstacles.
It's so much to hold onto that fame and a
glitter when you get into the business. It's really easy
in comparison to how hard it is to hold onto
it and maintain it and keep it going. That's the
toughest part of all of it. Can't be late on
the set. I know that right. If you could hung
(02:18):
up on all the things that's happened to you, that's
where you'll be stuck. And I never want to be
stuck in my life. Okay, I gotta go. I'm so happy, mama.
Tony Michelle Braxton was born in nineteen sixty seven and Severne, Maryland,
a suburban enclave just outside of Baltimore. She was the
(02:41):
first child of devout Christian parents who enforced a rigid
set of rules on Tony and her four sisters and brother.
I had a very strict upbringing. My dad was a minister.
We were very religious. We were really deep in what
we believe in our religion, and so that's basically what
we taught out with kids. It was all about church, church, church, church.
(03:03):
I couldn't listen to secular music because that was worldly.
I couldn't go to the movies. You know, the same
religious people that live across the street, or the girl
in your science class is really religious and creeps you out. Yeah,
I was that kid. As an aspiring opera singer, Tony's
mother filled their home with music. We were the kids
that were singing in the house all the time. Our
(03:24):
friends was outside playing, we were singing. I was a
little thing and I had to go to the bathroom,
and so I was sitting on the come and there
was some one tilet paper and I just thoughted singing.
Somebody gave me some tolly paper. We all said it
in harmony, somebody give it some totly paper. And my
(03:44):
mom said, oh my god, my kids have talent. I
don't know if I was shocked or just happy that
they finally got it and may have been over the
toilet paper, but they got it and right away. She
began to make a sing together and formed a group
called the Braxton Family to foster her children's talent. Tony's
(04:06):
mother started coaching them okay, creating a demanding vocal boot
cap where a flat note meant sharp punishment. If we
didn't sing our notes right, we got a little slap.
My mom was no joke. She's like, if you're gonna
do what, you're gonna do it right. She would really
slap the piss out here. If you try to talk back,
what are you singing? That's wrong? You know what you're doing,
what you're doing. I told her not to sing that note.
(04:29):
I may very sure that they were serious about it.
We would practice school what all day long, from sign
up to dinner time. But it forced us to be perfectionist.
It is what it is. I mean, that's why they're
so good. Now, practice good job. By the time she
was fifteen, Tony was honing her gospel chops, singing with
(04:52):
her sisters in local churches. But as Tony entered her teens,
she discovered pop and R and B music, and she's
secretly developed a taste for the forbidden. I started sneaking
listen to the radio that I remember that. I love Ricky's.
I loved rick James. Oh my god, I remember my
mom heard me singing I got some shovel. Oh my god.
(05:13):
It's like, oh, you're gonna go to hell. Listen to
that worldly music, you know, baby, I love you know.
They could not sing that at that time. I just
wanted to sing, but I didn't want to sing gospel music.
I just wanted to get away from it. Because I'm
You're a teenager. Parents are making you do something, so
of course you fight against it. In the summer of
eighty three, Tony graduated high school and left home from
Bowie State University, just a few miles away, against her
(05:37):
parents wishes. She began to pursue a singing career of
her own, performing at local clubs. I would sing all
over the city, and that's when I started meeting people
in My world started open opening up a little bit.
In nine nine, Tony was discovered by aspiring producers Ernesto
Phillips and Bill pett Away, who had worked with Milly Vanilly,
(05:58):
and she agreed to record some demos. Her voice just
had something very special, she said. People used to tell
me I sound like the man. I said, well, you know,
it's gonna work to your favor. During the sessions, Tony
suggested having her sisters sing back up on one of
the tracks, and he was like wow. And I said,
(06:20):
Jackson five, Braxton five, that's how we're gonna do it.
And he said, I can get you a deal much
fast with all your sisters. Within a few months, the
Braxton sisters were offered a deal with Arista Records. The
Braxton Clan we was jumping up and down. We were excited,
you know. We were like, oh my goodness, We're gonna
be singing superstars. We're gonna be a singing sensation. In
(06:41):
Good Life was released as the Braxton's first major label single,
but it wasn't the hit they were hoping for. It
did absolutely nothing. It's all three copies mom my dad,
and my grandma. The label was considering dropping them, so
they passed the Braxton's onto the up and I mean
production team of l. A. Reid and Baby Face, who
(07:03):
had just founded a boutique off shoot of Arista called
La Face Records. The group was talented. I just had
a particular fascination for Tony. She felt more like a
solo artists supposed to being a girl that Japan a
girl group. A few days later, Tony received a phone
call that would force her to make a painful choice
between family and career. Manager called me one day and
(07:25):
he said, good news, l A and baby Face loved
you guys. You think you guys are super talented. Um.
The bad news is he didn't want to sign your sisters.
Steve wants to sign your shoe and I remember going,
what do you mean he just wants to sign me?
I remember thinking, what are my sisters going to think?
How are they going to feel? How are my parents
going to feel? I remember feeling devastated. There was some
(07:50):
sulking going on, there was some tears. I remember my
mom saying, the devil is raging, the devil is trying
to break up our family. She had tough decisions to
make because of sisters, and she wasn't so keen on
moving away from them. I remember that I caught my
manager and told him no, tell baby Face and then
I said no. But Tony's sister Tracy tearfully pushed her
(08:11):
to reconsider. She was crying, bawling. I'm bawling, and she said,
you know what, maybe you can go put out a
record and then you can come back and get us.
I was like, Tony, go ahead, do it. I want
you to. I said, but I know you, I know you, Tony.
You're not going to leave us behind. And I said, okay, Tracy,
maybe I can do that. And I made that my
vow that I would do that. Twenty three year old
(08:34):
Tony reluctantly signed the contract with LaFace and relocated from
Baltimore to Atlanta to work with l A. Reid and
baby Face. We kind of always thought she He's the
younger Anita Baker. We knew it. You know, there was
something that was there. Tony's first single, love should Have
Brought You Home, was included in the Boomerang soundtrack, and
it rose to number two on the R and B charts.
(08:57):
From there, my career went from zero to sixty and
six months it completely changed. In July of Tony released
her self titled debut album. She did every single thing
we asked her to do, every promotion, every little club,
every little bar, and the result was that she became
hugely successful. The album rose all the way to the
(09:19):
top of the charts and went on to sell an
incredible ten million copies worldwide. It was an incredible roller
coaster throughout. I remember the feeling is sometimes I look
back on it and I can't believe that that actually
happened to me. That was that fortunate and blessed. We
called her the first Lady of La Face. She was
our diva, that was our girl. Clive had Whitney, Tommy
(09:42):
and I had Mariah, and we had Tony and we
were proud. In March of Tony won her first three Grammys,
including one for Best New Artist. But as Tony's career
took off, she was filled with guilt for leaving her
sisters behind. I could never enjoy my career. Was always guilt.
(10:04):
When I wanted my first Grammy American Music Awards, all
those moments, I always felt guilty. My mom would say, yeah,
that's great, but don't forget about your sisters. So it
made me feel that I could never be happy, and
that guilt I took with me for the rest of
my career. Coming up, Tony nearly passes on her signature song,
and then Tony faces off against Oprah. When behind the
(10:27):
music continues, I could never accept it and feel comfortable
and happy with myself because I hear I am all
the success. How can I not help my sisters? So
Tony hired her sisters as background singers, put them on payroll,
(10:49):
and brought them along on tour. She's gonna make sure
we're in the same hotel she's in, and the best
of hotels and the best of cars and the best
of everything. Tony was definitely spoiling us. We was living
a life. Tony even pushed La Face Records to sign
her sisters to a deal. We signed to the Face
Records because Tony was signed to the Face Records, and
I was so happy I got signs gonna happen for them,
(11:12):
But it never did happen. The Braxton's one and only
album peaked at one and thirteen on the charts. Next
thing I knew was to want to move back to Maryland.
Trina's pregnant with her son. I'm like, what happened to
us being superstars? It was a mass? Just a mass.
Doesn't good. They made me feel more ill. Maybe I
(11:34):
should have helped them more. I always felt like whatever
I gave wasn't enough, and I often wonder if I
had stayed, could I have changed it. Meanwhile, Tony's career
was in the stratosphere. In June, she released her second album, Secrets.
It quickly went platinum, fueled by the hit single You're
Making Me High, which featured a much sexier image for Tony.
(11:58):
It just gave her a different kind of swagger that
was a part of who she is when people just
hadn't seen it. I'm five to nothing about me I
think is sexy meeting. I don't have long legs, I
don't have week boobies. But I always wanted to be sexy,
always felt sexy, keep down inside. So I said, I'm
just gonna do what it was gonna be who I am.
How high is that split? I'll take it. You're Making
(12:21):
Me High became Tony's first number one single, but her
next hit would take her to heights she could never imagine.
Unbreak my Heart was a mournful ballad about love lost
written by legendary hit maker Diane Warren. I remember sitting
at the piano and went to the key change from
the verse of the chorus. It was like, well, this
is pretty cool. When I heard it, I went crazy
(12:43):
and so, oh my god, this is a monster that's
a monster record. But when Tony first listened to the song,
she wasn't feeling it. Hated it, did not like it.
I just didn't get it. So it's okay, it's a
little Disney. I'm good. L A calls me, you have
to do this song. Do this song. I promise you
would be the biggest song of your career. It was right.
(13:07):
Unbreak my Heart topped the pop charts in December of
nine six and became the second highest selling single by
a female artist in history. No one had a song
better than Unbreak my Heart at that moment, I mean
no one. Eleven weeks at number one. It was like
just lightning on the bottle. I was so glad. I
was wrong. I'm so glad. By the end of Tony
(13:30):
had become one of the most successful female artists of
the decade, selling more than twenty million records, but she
was still waiting on her financial rewards. She just felt
as though she just just working and just working and
working and no money. I knew I was due to
get this great, wonderful royalty statement because I knew what
(13:51):
I had sold, but it was less than two thousand dollars.
Excuse me, I didn't understand what the hell that meant.
I immediately called my business as just said, what does
this mean? Was this about hard deal? Was the beginner's deal?
HI call it? I hate to say this a slave contract,
not intentionally, but that's what they do. As she delved
(14:13):
into her finances, Tony says she learned that heavy promotion
and overhead costs included in her contract. We're making it
impossible for her to turn a profit. When they put
you in those limitals and give you those wonderful dresses
and the great budgets, so beautiful, it's all recouped, meaning
they get their money back for all those things they
purchased for you to look like a star, and you
(14:34):
get what's left over after you've paid them back. Just normal.
This is how the record business is. This is the norm.
That's what I was too. In December of Tony sued
Arista and La Face Records, demanding a larger portion of
her album profits. But when the label refused to budge,
Tony found herself broke and in career limbo. I have
(14:55):
no money. This isn't good. How am I to pay
my own personal bills? My business manager said, we're gonna
have to file bankruptcy. And I don't think I've ever
seen her cry so hard. It was the pain that
people she trusted would do this to her. Tony was
now at odds with the mentors who had signed her
l A. Reid and Baby Face. There were other people
(15:18):
who were saying that, you know, you can't trust us
and you can't talk to them, And I remember just
sort of being a very strange relationship and and sad
about it, very sad about it. There was bad management.
Someone wasn't watching closely, and we were being blamed for it,
Like you said, just your fault and you did a
bad deal. And I can only say that as a
(15:38):
joint venture, our hands were tied. If we could, we
would give me the check immediately, but we weren't in
a position to. When news of her bankruptcy reached the press,
Tony was vilified and portrayed as a star who had
overspent on her lavish lifestyle. It wasn't like she was
spending and spending, and yes she was taking care of
(15:58):
her sisters, but we wasn't getting cars and homes and
things like that, Tony says. The backlash came to a
head during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in
March of She was so freaking mean to me. I
was in shock. I couldn't believe because I loved her
(16:19):
so much. I admired her and looked up to her,
and she pretty much reprimanded me. She says to me,
I hear you have Gucci flatwear. I'm a Winfrey and
I don't have Gucci flatwear. You ain't got Gucci flatwear
because you didn't want to buy it. It's not because
you couldn't afford it. What do you mean? And immediately
she made me feel this big, this big. That moment
(16:44):
completely changed my career. It made people look down on me,
and things only got worse. Within weeks of declaring bankruptcy,
Tony's home and most prized possessions were she used by creditors.
They come and assess your property and everything has a value,
(17:04):
and I learned that Grammys have a value, America Music
Awards all those things, and they came and put a
price tag on them to be auctioned. I remember feeling humiliated,
like I've never been humiliated in my life, like I
was standing there completely naked and everyone was looking at me.
After being one of the most successful artists of the decade,
(17:25):
Tony was left with nothing. I called my mom, and
my mom wanted me to come home. You can always
come home to worry about. It's gonna be okay in
God's hands. And I just remember crying and crying. M hm.
Coming up. Tony finds love in the midst of turmoil.
When Behind the Music continues in Tony Braxton was in
(18:05):
the midst of a bitter contract dispute with her record label.
Despite being one of the top selling female artists of
the nineties, she was forced to file for bankruptcy. I
didn't know where my career stood at that moment. I
had no idea what I was going to do next.
She was so down and depressed and embarrassed. Tony found
support from her family and an old friend. She had
(18:27):
met Carry Lewis years earlier when his group Mint Condition
was the opening act on her tour, and the two
had remained close. Kerry was definitely my rock. Coming from
the music business. He understood, so he would give me
encouragement to get through it. He kept me positive. We
would really close friends for a while, and then eventually
(18:47):
one day we both kind of realized that we want
a little bit more in each other than just being friends.
He didn't care about what I had and what I
didn't have. He just wanted to get near me and
spend time with me, and that was great. After a
two year courtship, Tony and Carry were married in April
of two thousand one, and on their wedding day, Tony
(19:08):
shared a huge surprise. We had just walked down the aisle.
She gave me her wedding gift, and it was a rattle,
a baby's rattle. What was this? Myself pregnantly gonna be
a dad. He was so excited and I was like,
oh my god, I was the happiest person i earth.
Seven months later, Tony and Carry had their first son, Denim.
(19:30):
The best feeling was was my son got here. But
still I'm pretty much the principal breadwinner, so I have
to figure out a plan for my family. Tony's contract
dispute with LaFace and Arista had finally been settled and
she signed a new twenty million dollar contract. The judge
pretty much made them pay me and I was able
to resume my loan from my condo and I backed
(19:52):
my Grammys and my other awards and my clothes, so
that was good. Tony tried to put the bitterness behind
as she reunited with l A. Reid and Babyface to
record her third album, The Heat, but their relationship would
never be the same. It was a little challenging doing
that album because the relationship has been pooed upon a bit.
(20:13):
So are we completely comfortable? There's a little bit of
animosity on both sides. But the album put Tony back
on top. The first single, he Wasn't Man Enough, hit
number two on the pop charts. It made me know
that people were in my corner and they loved me
and they love my music. In early two thousand two,
thirty four year old Tony began work on her fourth album,
(20:35):
More Than a Woman, hoping to build on her career comeback.
But a few months before the album scheduled release, Tony
learned that she was expecting her second child. Now, the
label was definitely a little bit upset. Now here we are.
We worked through the bankruptcy, We've paid this chick all
this money and now she's pregnant. Okay, Tony fought with
the label over how to deal with her pregnancy, and
(20:57):
as a result, the album got little promotion. It ended
up selling less than five hundred thousand copies. More than
a Woman was a flop flop. It was a flop
like I've never seen a flop. In April two thousand three,
Tony decided she wanted out of her contract with Arista
and LaFace. I allowed people to put things in my
ear to say, oh, they're not feeling you anymore, they
(21:19):
want to drop you. I wasn't having a lot of
communication with Tony and it was a very, very tough time.
I should have taken the time to call l A
and Kenny and talk about it, and I didn't do that.
That was not good. I ruined my relationship with them.
My professional family disintegrated. I felt that I had a
(21:40):
point to prove because I wanted to show my record
label that I can do things other than you. Approaching
forty with two children to support, Tony decided she needed
to shake up her career. Her husband, carry Lewis, became
more involved in her management, and she made a bold
move to Las Vegas to do a nightly show at
the Lamingo Hotel with her sisters, singing back up Vegas
(22:03):
was a wonderful experience, and it was supposed to be
a six week run, end up being a little short
of two years. Well, sew it out just about every
single night, and it was stability for Tony. It enabled
me to spend time with my kids, and that was
a great part. It allowed me to be a parent
and a performer. While she was in Vegas, Tony began
to worry about her youngest son, Diesel, who was having
(22:24):
developmental difficulties. I knew something was wrong as a mom.
You can tell. She noticed that Diesel didn't have a
lot of eye contact and she was like, something's not right.
He was eventually diagnosed with autism. The first thought was, okay, please,
I know what it is. Then afterwards this, oh my god,
(22:45):
my kid has autism. Because I knew nothing about it.
There were times when we were on stage and she
would be singing a song and she would start talking
about her son and she would just break down and cry.
She's just cried in front of her audience. You know,
we just felt so helpless to make matters worse. Tony
was soon facing health issues of her own. On stage
(23:08):
in April of two thousand eight, she started experiencing heart palpitations.
One day, I'm on stage and I thought my heart
was going to pounce out of my body. It's like
stopped beating for a second. She says she felt an
incredible pressure on her chest, like an elephant was on
her chest, and I tell my husband, carry, I have
to go to the emergency room right now. It took
me in immediately, did all these tests and said she's
(23:30):
having a heart attack. It was the scariest what what
do you mean, I'm having a heart set? What do
you mean I'm having a heart attack. They were like, oh, yeah, dude,
this is this is very serious. It took a lot
of time and a lot of tests and a lot
of doctors to figure out what was going on. Once
she was stabilized, Tony received a shocking diagnosis to blood
work and all this stuff and came back and said
she has lupus. Lupus is an autoimmune disorder that slowly
(23:53):
attacks the body's internal organs, including the heart, and it
can be fatal. It was extremely scary. We had no
idea what was going to happen. Tony was confined to
bed rest for several months, forcing the cancelation of her
Vega show. When the insurance company refused to cover the losses,
Tony was left on the hook for all of the
(24:14):
show's expenses. Tony got sued from the lighting company to
floring company and everyone else. Ailing and bedridden, Tony found
herself facing yet another financial disaster. I had to file bankruptcy.
I couldn't pay all those creditors for the show. I
got tied up here in the bankruptcy. That bankrupty shut up.
(24:37):
What would you do if you were in her play?
What would you do? I felt like everyone was saying,
I told you so, I told you so. Say she
spent the money the first time, she spend in it
the second time. Oh god. I was disappointed that I
had to file it, and actually I was angry at myself.
I can't believe him back in the situation, facing the
burden of health issues and financial insecurity, Tony's marriage to
(24:59):
carry Lewis began and to suffer. I think when you
work together in the same business, it's very hard on
a on a relationship. It's so very difficult to turn
on the husband at and turn off the manager and
differentiate between the two. There was not a lot of
(25:19):
differentiate and it needed to be grown in different paths.
And that started happening before I got ill, and once
I got ill, it just presented itself as Okay, look,
it's we need to work on ending this. We still
love each other, but we had to except that that's
not working for the sake of their children. Tony and
Kerry decided not to file for divorce, but their marriage
(25:41):
was over, and Tony was heartbroken about it. I had
to figure out a plan for my life. It had
nothing to do with him. I was just angry at everybody.
I couldn't believe that this was happening to me, and
I felt that I was a person who was dealing
with a lot of struggles and here comes another one.
Lucas for me is a little bit of a challenge.
Some days, there are good days and bad days. I
(26:03):
get chronic fatigue episode Sometimes I find it most difficult
trying to perform. I can do show spot dates here
and there, but I haven't tested it consecutively. During the tour.
In two thousand, Level and Tony made another bold career move,
agreeing to appear in a reality TV series. Braxton Family
(26:23):
Values quickly became a huge success. There would be no
Braxton Family values without Tony Braxton. I take my hat
off to her for giving us this gift because it's
a precious gift that she gave us. It was Tony's
way of making good on the promise she made years
earlier to help her sisters build their own careers. She
put us on this platform to make sure that we
(26:46):
can follow out dreams, that we can have our own identity.
Now you get to be ourselves and enjoy each other
and get pay for isn't it the best job ever?
Definitely makes me feel like, Okay, I'm uping my family.
But then I discovered that they really didn't need any
help because they were still super talented. Tony's biggest priority
(27:07):
is being the mother of her two boys. Her son, Diesel,
has made great strides dealing with autism, and Tony has
become an advocate for early diagnosis and treatment. I became
heavily involved in autism, and I learned that early diagnosis
changes everything. Diesel is nine years old. Now he's in
regular school. The typical peers. If you walk to this room,
you never know. In early two thousand and twelve, Tony
(27:29):
returned to the studio to record new music for the
first time in three years. Her single I Heart You
reached number one on the Dance charts, proving that Tony's
fans are still with her. Tony is a star. Both
ATLA and I am very proud of Tony and what
she has accomplished in her career. I'm not sure where
I'm headed, but i know I'm going forward. She's a
(27:52):
strong extremely a strong woman. Tony is just an eagle.
She's she's going to sore and just spread her wings
and just fly. She's still one of today's Army superstars
fine blank at a period, and there's nobody or nothing
that could take that away from her. She's still Tony
(28:13):
Braxton bitch. In the past, I used to dream about
my future of my career, but now I've decided I'm
going to live in the moment and enjoy it. I
forgot to enjoy the moments. I feel that God bless
me with this talent and I want to sing and
enjoy my life. And I understand I may not be
able to do it the way I did it to
twenty years ago, but I can still do it. Tony
(28:33):
Braxton's career comeback is one of the most moving stories
in music history, Tony was able to repair the falling
out that defined her early career by releasing an album
with her former producer baby Face. The collaborative project, titled Love,
Marriage and Divorce, won the Grammy Award for Best R
and B Album. Tony has continued to support and guide
(28:57):
her sister's ventures, including producer her sister's reality TV show,
Tamar and Vince. Even while encouraging her family's successes, Tony
is still growing her personal legacy as an acclaimed R
and B legend. Despite decades of challenges, Tony has proven
to be a fighter and her powerful voice will inspire
(29:18):
artists for years to come. Listen to Behind the Music
on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your favorite podcasts. Want more episodes, you can
watch remastered best of the Vault and new episodes of
Behind the Music only on Paramount Plus.
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!