QLS Classic: Siedah Garrett

Award-winning singer songwriter Siedah Garrett talks about growing up in Compton, her lifelong relationship with Quincy Jones and what it was like on tour with Michael Jackson.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic
episode was produced by the team at Pandora Ladies and Gentlemen.
This is Quest Love Supreme Classic and what can I say?
Sayta Garrett is such a legend legendary writer, legendary performer,

(00:25):
one of the most exciting episodes and stories that we've
had on Quest Love Supreme. I hope you enjoyed as
much as we enjoyed doing it. This is Sayta Garrett's
QLs classic from May twenty seventeen.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
All Right, Supremo Supremo Ro, Suprema su Supremo Roll, Suprema Supremo,
Suprema Supreme Roll.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
What's love got a theory?

Speaker 3 (01:03):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (01:04):
I thought y'all should know. Yeah that Jamli flavored yogurt
might be jumpas Supremo Supreme role. My name is Sugar. Yeah,
I'm never scared. Yeah, even when Yeah, I'm unprepared, Bro.

Speaker 4 (01:26):
Supreme some some Supreme roll call Supreme sup Supremo role.

Speaker 5 (01:34):
I'm on pay Bill, Yeah, flew in to see you Yeah,
and I will not Yeah, say about mirrors Supreme s
My name is Boss Bill, got here in a rush.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
Was back at the hotel. Jammy twosome, plush.

Speaker 4 (01:58):
Supreme, Son Supremo, roll cal Subprema Son some Supremo roll call.

Speaker 6 (02:06):
I'm lie yeah, and I just can't stop smiling. Yeah,
because I SA Yeah, ain't gonna need to be rhyming ROI.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
Supremo?

Speaker 4 (02:17):
Who call you Son, Son Supremo?

Speaker 1 (02:21):
Roll call?

Speaker 7 (02:22):
My name Saita Yeah, and I'm from Compton.

Speaker 6 (02:25):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (02:26):
When I'm not singing, Yeah, y'all know, I'm bumping.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
Supremo, Son Supremo.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
Roll call Suprema something something Supremo, roll call.

Speaker 7 (02:38):
Suprema something something Supremo.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
Roll call Suprema something Supremo roll call, Ladies and gentlemen.
That was the most confident a guest of this yeah,
ever for someone who was very anxious about doing it,
came right in and nailed it. Yeah, Ladies and gentlemen,
panicking all of when we warned her about I will

(03:01):
not be ushered. You You You're the winner of the
most confident delivery. Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to another episode
of Quest Love Supreme, only on Pandora. I'm your host
Quest Love, I'm the Punk Guard and I brought Team

(03:21):
Supreme today. Uh sports references. Yeah, my power forward is
Boss Bill, our fearst leader and sometimes coach. What's up?
How you doing? Yeah, plus record, it's kind of dope, Yeah,
it is, it is. It's awesome. Yeah. My shooting guard
is a sugar Steve our audio genius and god of punchlines.
How you do.

Speaker 8 (03:41):
I can shoot the three too. From downtown you can't. Yeah,
they still call me Downtown Stevie Brown. That's I can
shoot the three. Okay, that is not why they called you.
That small forward is paid Bill small the first time

(04:01):
ever be called small very much. Yeah, I'll take a
small forward.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
Bill. You are information and uh life lesson recorder. That's
what I do. Yeah, that's what you do. And our center,
I'll take that.

Speaker 6 (04:16):
I actually was the center in the boys and Girls
club on my basketball team on the on the bench.

Speaker 1 (04:20):
Our center is aka Sweet Margaret.

Speaker 6 (04:23):
For her sign age. That's right.

Speaker 1 (04:24):
I'll take the organized stress. And you know she she
keeps us in line. Our guest today, Uh, she kind
of takes forward.

Speaker 7 (04:34):
Guest center six.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
Man visiting the assistant coach. Yeah yeah, yeah, our guest today,
she takes what I'll say, Uh, she'll take the title.
She's living that Renaissance life and she takes it to
the next level. Uh, for over three decades, said the
Garrett has done it all name it, singing, h acting, songwriting, arranging, producing, directing,

(05:03):
and conceptualizing. She's kind of like my favorite type of artists,
which she's basically you know, she's dependable. She shows up
on time, actually early. She Yeah, she shows up early,
and basically you know, I think that she also inspires

(05:24):
others to be their best. And she comes through in
the clutch, ah with with with the winning shot. And uh,
not only has she worked the coach, does the coach
take the shot? Well, this time she is in the
fist to Saint Pittsburgh.

Speaker 8 (05:43):
Let's not talk about sports, okay, really a bunch of
music people anyway.

Speaker 1 (05:49):
I will say that not only not only has she,
in my opinion, work with the best, but I actually
believe that those that you her gifts and her talent
do so because she is actually the best at it
at what she does. Mil taxis you know, being at

(06:15):
a duetting the all time what I call barbecue classic
don't look any further, two step classics or one of
Quincy Jones's most reliable go to lyricists, depending U dare
I say it probably Michael Jackson's most important song. I
think Man in the Mirror is his most important song.
I mean, people are their favorites, and people have their

(06:36):
go to classics, but you know, like John Lennon has imagined.

Speaker 6 (06:40):
That's his cry song. That's the one that.

Speaker 1 (06:42):
Makes Michael Michael Jackson has Man in the Mirror. That's it.
I feel like that's one of his most important songs.
To her Oscar nominated work for the animated film Rio
and for dream Girls, which you want to grab me
for correct I did. Absolutely, I'm still on their homework. Absolutely,
welcome to saw you to Garrette Love Supreme. Yeah, thank you.

Speaker 7 (07:06):
You're from Compton, Yeah, what about it?

Speaker 1 (07:11):
Really?

Speaker 7 (07:12):
Yeah? One hundred nineteenth and Wilmington, honey, content straight up Watts.

Speaker 1 (07:17):
You know, I have to say that probably the period
that where I ran into you the most was during
UH your your time with UH with brand new heavies.

Speaker 3 (07:33):
What are you doing?

Speaker 1 (07:33):
The smoking grooves? And you know what, I watched you
cletely forgot about that, but I watched you every night
because the thing you're you're I'm sure you've heard this
a lot. You're you're very magnetic personality, Darling.

Speaker 7 (07:49):
I can't hear it enough? When is your cancer?

Speaker 6 (07:53):
I'm a moon child.

Speaker 7 (07:55):
I'm a moon child.

Speaker 1 (07:57):
Well, yeah, you're very magnetic. And so it was to
the point where, like every night I was watching Guys
when you were on, even though it was I think
he only did like three weeks of that run.

Speaker 7 (08:07):
But they smoked and grooveed me out. I was done data.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
Yeah, but I really, I really didn't want to overwhelm
you with the fandom because even Beckfn like, I'm sure
that you just get overwhelmed with people asking you like, man,
So tell me what it's like when you know.

Speaker 7 (08:28):
I can't hear it's enough.

Speaker 1 (08:30):
I'm telling you this interview. Yeah, I was about to
say this is this is the show which all we do.

Speaker 5 (08:35):
Is we geek out on this show. Remember when Michael
Jackson that was Remember when that's all we're gonna do.
Remember that song you wrote for Preferred Camel.

Speaker 1 (08:47):
Awesome, It's really good.

Speaker 6 (08:49):
You guys is stupid.

Speaker 1 (08:52):
Only on Pandora. So you were born in and raised
in Compton.

Speaker 7 (08:57):
I was born at Saint Francis Hospital and Lynn It's California,
and spent the happiest part of my childhood on one
hundred and nineteenth in Wilmington.

Speaker 1 (09:07):
Okay, mm hmmm.

Speaker 7 (09:08):
So raised by my grandmother who's passed.

Speaker 1 (09:11):
Now, what was it? What was Compton Lincoln? Because of course, okay, they.

Speaker 7 (09:18):
Had gangs, they had the crips and all that. But
the worst that the crips would do to you if
they caught you out was steal your jacket. Really, that
was it, dude, that they would just steal your leather jacket,
that jacket, and that was it. Now they're shooting people
and killing brothers, and I'm you know, I'm glad I'm

(09:38):
from there, but I'm glad I'm not in it right now.

Speaker 1 (09:42):
I did time in Compton for a little bit. Yeah,
what kind of time when my parents were recording the
Congress Alley record. My grandmom lived in Compton, but my
cousins were all crips, and so to my parents just
made you know, me wearing blue. So you, Derby, you were.

Speaker 3 (10:01):
In Compton while your parents were working on a record
that would be sampled for a Compton classic.

Speaker 5 (10:05):
Nice thoughtful, black man, well done.

Speaker 1 (10:13):
How crazy that was? That was a great meta classic reference.
Bill Bill's referring to nothing but a cheap thing that yeah,
we still haven't got paid for someone you might be
able to get something. He got a couple of all
he can afford it. So did you grow up in

(10:35):
a musical family or what's your musical beginnings.

Speaker 7 (10:37):
Well, my mom was in a singing group with her
twin sister and her baby sister, and they were trying
to pop off when the Supremes were happening, so they
called themselves the Other Three. So dude, I would watch

(10:58):
them rehearse and they would have their matching outfits and
they do their makeup and everything and go out and
perform in one of these things they called a nightclub,
And I was like, what is a nightclub? That just
sounds so hot? Like I want to go to a
night club? Can we go?

Speaker 1 (11:17):
Can we out?

Speaker 7 (11:18):
No, you can't go to no nightclub. But it's a
night club that just sounds so fun and you guys
are dressed up and you're singing, and I want to
go to the nightclub?

Speaker 1 (11:29):
Right, did you? Oh?

Speaker 7 (11:33):
I was. I was like eight or nine, and I
was just fascinated with the idea of those two words
going together. Night club?

Speaker 1 (11:42):
What is that?

Speaker 7 (11:43):
I wanted to be a part of that. I think
that's where the seed was planted. But my mother was
a blenda. She's not a soloist, she was a blenda.
So I think I learned about harmonies and stuff like that.
In fact, my first recording game was with H R

(12:03):
and B artist DJ Rogers.

Speaker 6 (12:05):
Oh yes.

Speaker 7 (12:07):
So it was right after the Say You Love Me album.
The next album he was recording, Oh that's one of
my favorite sor that's your Heart. So my mother was
his interior decorator and she was hanging wallpaper in his
house and she's like, you know, DJ, my daughter can sing.
He's like your daughter, my plumber's son, the maid's nephew.

(12:28):
Everybody gets no no, but my mother was very, very persistent.
He said, all right, bring her by, but if she
can't sing, I don't want to hear. I don't wan hear
shit else. I don't hear nothing else. So my mother
brought me to his house and he sat me down
on the piano bench and he said, okay, sing this,
and he plays some riff and I say it, and
he looked at me like, oh, okay.

Speaker 9 (12:48):
Sing this.

Speaker 7 (12:49):
So he played something a little more intricate and I
sang that and he literally pushed me off the bench.
I fell on the floor and the next thing, I know,
A couple of days later, I'm in the studio sing
background with these amazing singers and just blending in the harmonies.
They were just so luscious and I was on a high.
And I came home and three weeks later I got

(13:11):
a check and I was like, this is some shit
I think I could do on a regular basis. And
I think that's what started it. It was like, that
was my first official recording session.

Speaker 1 (13:23):
What album was it on?

Speaker 7 (13:24):
The album after the Say after Say You Love Me?
I forgot the name of.

Speaker 1 (13:29):
It, so that might be love music in life.

Speaker 7 (13:32):
There you go. Yes, that sounds like it. That sounds
like it.

Speaker 1 (13:35):
Shit, I have e recon Yes, okay.

Speaker 7 (13:37):
Playing you'll hear me in the background bag I will
do so with the silstles.

Speaker 1 (13:45):
So that's when you were a teenager?

Speaker 7 (13:48):
Yes, I was but a child at the time.

Speaker 1 (13:49):
Yes, So when did you When did you decide? Were
you the only one in your family that had musical aspirations?
Did you know?

Speaker 7 (13:57):
My mom did, but that didn't Evidently that didn't work
out too well. But siblings or my sister wishes she
could sing, Oh my god, my sister wishes she could sing,
so badly, But you can't send you so.

Speaker 1 (14:26):
I can tell you already I'm still going to love
this interview. Yeah, we're not even a love So when
when did you officially? I mean I guess when did
you officially start? Like? How did the plus? Was plus

(14:46):
your first situation? Yes?

Speaker 7 (14:48):
It was my first signage?

Speaker 1 (14:50):
Really, how did you? How did you? How did you
run into Renee? And?

Speaker 7 (14:55):
I think I met them through my record label? You
were signed to I was signed to Quest, which fell
into Warner Brothers.

Speaker 1 (15:06):
So wait, how you were signed the Quest before you
did the post problem?

Speaker 7 (15:09):
No, that was pre that was prequency. You're right, I
think signed R Yes, yes, RC Records and they were
staff producers there, Angela. It wasn't a very pleasant experience,
so I don't want to elaborate on that anyway. Norene
is an asshole? Can I? My manager is like freaking

(15:34):
out right now, but I really don't care because he
was he really is, Okay, we won't he was so
mean to me, so freaking I ran into him thirty
years later, working with Michael two months ago, I ran
into him at the gas station. I saw him like
I didn't see him really, Yeah, he was plumping gas.
Now two months ago, yes, just a couple of months ago.

(15:56):
I ran into him and uh, he said something about
I drove around him because he was parked, and I
drove around his car and he shouted something like, hey, lady,
you can't even drive, so.

Speaker 10 (16:07):
You didn't even know he.

Speaker 6 (16:11):
Knew it.

Speaker 7 (16:12):
And then he went in and I was trying to
get out of the lot and he just finished pumping
his gas and he said, hi, Saita, and I said hi, Renee,
and he said, I was trying to say that was
me that was saying something smart you. I said, I know,
that's why ignored your ass, because it was anyway, no

(16:33):
love lost.

Speaker 1 (16:35):
See. I was even going for the Renee angle because
what I wanted to know was it was also highly unusual,
uh for LEA producers to be female, which Angel right,
and because when was the album recorded.

Speaker 7 (16:52):
Late late early eighties or late seventies.

Speaker 1 (16:56):
I think there you go, Okay, So what I'm saying
that that was a highly unusual.

Speaker 7 (17:03):
Their whole situation was unusual, and they were very, very
successful at it at the time.

Speaker 1 (17:09):
So what was it like under her tutelage?

Speaker 7 (17:12):
Like I said, it wasn't all pleasant darling. From the
look on my manager's face, I'm going to stuff right now.

Speaker 11 (17:19):
Okay, damn before it goes all the way to the
heel of my shoe that's been inserted in my mouth.

Speaker 1 (17:27):
This is this is this one, this one observations. Let
me just let you know, let me let you know
that we're not in the burning bridges here Quest Supreme.

Speaker 5 (17:42):
Only like a little not all, a little bit bridge.

Speaker 1 (17:48):
Madison County.

Speaker 7 (17:51):
I will move on.

Speaker 6 (17:52):
No.

Speaker 7 (17:53):
I hadn't started writing yet, so I was just signed
as a you know, a singer.

Speaker 1 (17:57):
In this group and they remembers were there.

Speaker 7 (18:00):
There was myself and two other guys. I'm sorry, dude,
the other three shut up. Yeah, we were plushed and
that record lasted like a summer. But it was fun
to make.

Speaker 1 (18:10):
Okay, Okay. I was going to say that the your
solo turne the I Don't Know where Love comes from?
There's what the second to last song one side.

Speaker 7 (18:23):
To killing you are killing me right now?

Speaker 1 (18:28):
No, no, no, no, But remember.

Speaker 7 (18:30):
The single from that album, let alone, this third song
on plaid two what what?

Speaker 5 (18:36):
But here's the thing that let's that's how this works.
It's like you have to remember your career but if
you don't, they do yeh. Wait, I have a question about.

Speaker 9 (18:45):
Around I know.

Speaker 1 (18:47):
So I want I want to play a little bit
of it because there's a very interesting uh uh observation.

Speaker 9 (18:54):
Give me all right, where is it a mark?

Speaker 1 (19:16):
Okay? Well, I was waiting for the ad lib to come.
But the reason why I wanted to ask about this
song is the fact that I found it very interesting
that even though this album came out before Thrilling, you
channeled one of Mike's iconic ad libs before he even

(19:41):
got to capitalize on it, which told me you must
be a deep Michael Jackson fan because his trademark, he
he really wasn't a thing until it was a thing
Thriller came out. I mean he did it once on
Walk right now, he kind of did it working day
and night. I mean he did a lot on the

(20:01):
live record, but by that point for you to reference that.

Speaker 7 (20:06):
He I want to hear this rip so bad right now?

Speaker 1 (20:10):
That was it right exactly?

Speaker 7 (20:13):
You know what?

Speaker 6 (20:16):
Wow?

Speaker 1 (20:17):
And that's the thing. I was like, wait a minute,
this came out before my god, I.

Speaker 7 (20:23):
Have no idea, but you know what, I sound a
lot like Angela. She was producing that vocal. They wanted
me to be her and it was killing me. Every
song I had to sing it like she sang it,
because she did all the demo.

Speaker 6 (20:38):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (20:38):
So, like she said, that doesn't even sound like me,
that sounds like Angela.

Speaker 1 (20:42):
Well, I mean, I still I was. I have a
soft spot in my heart for like really good obscure
boogie era music, like between seventy nine and eighty three,
like I love it, pre prints post disco like that zone.
So yeah, but sweet spot, man, I love the fact

(21:03):
that you managed to reference an iconic ad lib before
that iconic ad lib even got to the icon raised
the heights. But that's that's sort of the Dewey Bey
stuff we do here.

Speaker 7 (21:15):
I love it.

Speaker 1 (21:17):
Free. So you said that the group and that it
only lasted the summer, so that the group imploded.

Speaker 7 (21:23):
Plush got flushed basically from our.

Speaker 1 (21:28):
Records, not even one show or two shows or.

Speaker 7 (21:34):
Really it was I think it was just right off
kind of thing, you know whatever.

Speaker 1 (21:40):
But did you get the days, my friend, did you
get anything out of it or like, I mean.

Speaker 7 (21:47):
Recording experience. Recording experience was really valuable. Yeah, so learned
just what not to do.

Speaker 1 (21:55):
For the you know, the next so for the next year,
for the next year. I've heard many a story from
Dennis Edwards and of don't look any further, one of
which I heard that his original intended duet partner was
it supposed to be Shaka Khan Wow refute or what happened?

Speaker 4 (22:19):
Was?

Speaker 1 (22:20):
How did this happen?

Speaker 7 (22:22):
When I auditioned for Quincy Jones, there were a butt
load of songwriters and producers in the room during the auditions.
Quincy at the time was recording.

Speaker 1 (22:38):
He's putting together album Okay ever.

Speaker 7 (22:42):
One yes recording that album, and and songwriters were submitting
songs to Quincy for Patty's album, and I was the
demo check at the time. I was since they saw
me at those auditions, I started doing everybody's demos for
Quincy for Patty.

Speaker 1 (22:59):
Well, rewind where are the auditions because now it's just
a little different. I was like, I see your YouTube page,
Oh let me let me check them out. But what
was the circuit?

Speaker 7 (23:09):
It was a cattle call from Music Writer magazine. A
friend of mine and an ex singer friend of mine
whose group I was in since I was a kid,
h was going to the auditions, but she didn't tell
me about it. Her boyfriend had told me, right, So
the barfriend called me and said whence he's doing this?

(23:30):
And then I said, okay, okay, where is it? So
he gave me the address over at SI R Hollywood
and I said, Okay, what time? He said, I don't know,
So Baby, I showed up at seven a m. And
it was me and two other people and we stood
in line until h The thing didn't start till noon,

(23:51):
but by then the line was around the block. I
was number three, right, So once you were inside, there
were two card table and paper clipboards at each for
each day, with fifteen fifteen intervals fifteen minute intervals. Who
reading is fundamental, isn't it. So you were supposed to

(24:14):
go to the table and write down the time and
the day you wanted to audition. And I'm thinking, I'm
here now. I think I'll audition now because I'm not
gonna be anymore ready on Tuesday at ten fifteen than
I am right now. So I was one of the
first few people to audition, and Quincy told me years
later that everyone who performed after me had to be

(24:37):
as good as me or better than me.

Speaker 1 (24:41):
So I went home that day.

Speaker 7 (24:43):
Baby, the bar was set. I went home, and over
the course of nine months, I would get these letters, Congratulations,
you're one of five hunters the quizy. The next letter,
you're still in the running, two hundred and fifty, one hundred,
seventy five, fifty, twenty five, fifteen, ten, five, four me

(25:10):
and three dudes.

Speaker 1 (25:12):
Wait. I wonder what was like for the fifth person
to get like seven letters I'm gonna quit my job,
Holy Hands that night.

Speaker 9 (25:25):
Onions.

Speaker 7 (25:26):
Actually the one this this is a little known fact
since you're into all this kind of minutia.

Speaker 1 (25:31):
Yeah, you know, the little.

Speaker 7 (25:32):
Known fact is that Lisa Melvoy, Wendy's sister, He told
us he wanted the fifth member of the group.

Speaker 1 (25:46):
Yeah, because when we first fund Plush, I was like,
is this the group that Susanna was talking about? So
he wanted to put together a he wanted time.

Speaker 7 (25:55):
No, he wanted uh uh, he wanted a fifth mention
or Manhattan Transfer. He just wanted men and women who
sang together, or a group.

Speaker 1 (26:06):
You know.

Speaker 7 (26:06):
He really wanted to take six, but they hadn't been
discovered yet.

Speaker 6 (26:09):
Who were the other guys?

Speaker 7 (26:10):
And one was Kevin Dorsey, one was Darryl Finnassy and
the other guy was David Swanson. But the guys that
ended up going on the road with me was Darryl Fits,
Kevin Dorsey, and a guy named Dorian Holly. He's on.

(26:31):
He used to sing, We used to sing on everybody everything. Yeah,
and he had a really amazing rich bass.

Speaker 3 (26:36):
Voice, Daryl, I know from the Michael Jackson with Michael
for years.

Speaker 7 (26:42):
Right, Yes, let me apologize in advance for his no. Okay,
so fired swinging.

Speaker 1 (27:02):
So that's what. So this was in eighty one, okay.
I believe this was eighty one or eighty two, because
I think Susannah was going to take the gig and
then Prince talked her out of doing it, yes, and
said come with us.

Speaker 3 (27:21):
And Wendy, But Wendy didn't come around until like eighty three,
eighty two, eighty.

Speaker 1 (27:26):
Two, okay, but I remember her conclusion. The conclusion was
that he told her, like.

Speaker 7 (27:33):
I always wondered what that was about. They never told
us why.

Speaker 1 (27:38):
She was no longer very ambiguous with it. Okay.

Speaker 7 (27:42):
Yeah, So thanks for that was the name of the
group or the project Deco. We had one, Okay. We
were signed and we were offered artist contracts and writers contracts.
I was. I hadn't written no song poems, okay, and
I wasn't about to be on the other end of

(28:03):
the lawsuit with Quincy Jones for not fulfilling my contractual obligations.
So I was like, you know what, guys, I'm just
gonna sign the artist part and you guys you signed
the writers. They were like fine, whatever, So they took
our contracts, went to Quincy's house, I mean the Quincy's office,
and he did the equivalent of just like shuffling their
contracts on the desk and said, well, we're Sayita's contract.

(28:26):
They said, oh, she didn't. She didn't want She just
wants the artist thing. She doesn't want a songwriter's thing.
So Quincy pushed their papers back across the desk to
them and said, you either all sign or nobody signs.
Next thing I know, saita bitch, what open is door

(28:49):
like when three large black men calling yo, you signed
the contract? So I signed, and then I began the
process of learning the craft of writing a song. They
began the process of cashing their checks. So I was
kept on for seven years. They were dismissed after one year.

Speaker 1 (29:13):
So you had no designs whatsoever. To be a songwriter.

Speaker 7 (29:18):
Because here's why. No, no, no, here's why. Because let's just say,
Quincy said, Okay, you guys have to write twelve songs
a year, twelve songs that I own the publishing too.
So they were like, fine, they're musicians. They can whip
up a song, you know, just them twelve songs and
you're fine. I okay. If I if they had to

(29:38):
whip up twelve, that means fifty percent. That means I
gotta whip up twenty four and don't let three people
be in the room. I was like, no, no, I don't.
I don't need this. I just want to be an artist.

Speaker 1 (29:50):
And he wants individual songs, so it's not like you
as a collective, Like, okay, so Bill and I have
the song we want to submit to you.

Speaker 7 (29:56):
Sure if if you're signed to him, then he owns
fifty percent of your s and Bill gets to keep
his part. But that's only half a song for you,
So you still got living to have most songs deliver crazy. Yes, exactly,
exactly exactly.

Speaker 1 (30:11):
That's another thinking meme moment, wh is there's an audio
equivalent that's.

Speaker 7 (30:19):
Crazy things that make you go DN.

Speaker 1 (30:22):
Okay, So that's interesting. So how does so once that's
in place, how does don't look any further come in too?

Speaker 7 (30:33):
Okay?

Speaker 1 (30:33):
And the thing is, if you're signed to him, are
there restrictions for writing for other people or like, does
he get first DIBs on all that? Y?

Speaker 7 (30:40):
Yes, yes, yes, okay the latter. Once I was waiting
those nine months, that's when all those producers, Barry Mann
and Cynthia while Dennis Lamberton, Franny Goldie, they were all
in the rooms, all in the room, and I started
doing I even did Shaka's demo Through the Fire. Let

(31:05):
me tell you said the wait a minute, wait, since
a while.

Speaker 1 (31:08):
I'm sorry, somewhere on this earth is your version through
the Fire?

Speaker 7 (31:14):
I wanted it so bad. She she claimed she couldn't
find the couldn't find the demo wink wink anyway, so
she uh, when I was singing the demo, she did
not know. Shaka Khan is the reason I sing okay.
Shaka Khan was my vocal idol. I loved her riffs,
I loved her tone. I love the fact that Miles

(31:37):
Davis sounds told her her voice sounds like a horn,
because it does. She's just she's just so sharp and crisp,
and I love Shaka. So I was doing this demo
and they said, well, we're writing a song for Shaka Khan.
I said, uh, sure, I'll sing it. So I was
singing this song and I sang through the Fire. She said,

(31:59):
don't do the art like that, don't roll, don't I said,
you have no idea. That is shack. I said, trust me,
I've been singing Shaka Khan songs since I can remember.
That is Shaka through the Fire. And I did that
ship Shaka loved it. She did every lick that I
did on the demo, and I was like, praise the
Lord I have.

Speaker 1 (32:19):
I have know you you were.

Speaker 7 (32:22):
Then I was the demonstration singer, Dolly.

Speaker 1 (32:26):
I demonstrated how.

Speaker 7 (32:27):
The song should be sung.

Speaker 10 (32:28):
God.

Speaker 7 (32:33):
So so then it goes back to Dennis Edwards and
Chaka Khan. Right, yes, so I'm getting getting hot in here.

Speaker 1 (32:40):
Okay, what you're talking about?

Speaker 7 (32:45):
Don't be blocking nobodys.

Speaker 6 (32:47):
I didn't looking over there, girl, So congratulations.

Speaker 7 (32:51):
I did this demo for for Freddy Goldie and Dennis
Lambert and it was the song Don't Look any Further.
So that was supposed to be a day, but they
couldn't get the two in the room at the same time.
I don't know what was happening, and Shaka was on tour,
Dennis was down somewhere. Anyway, I did the demo, and

(33:11):
I did the demo the whole song. Dennis Edwards came
in a few weeks later and put his vocal on.
So in the meantime they were trying to find Shaka couldn't.
Warner Motown said, look, we got to we have a
release date. We have to release this single. Who we
can't find Shaka? No, Well, who's on the record. Some

(33:31):
chick named Saya Garrett Great, leave her on it. So
I go back to the studio thinking, I'm gonna I'm
gonna do my real vocal now, right, gets you a
real fang. Dennis LeVert said, oh, no, no, no, no,
we're keeping the vocal you did. So the vocal you
hear bitches, it's my demo vocal. So the next time

(33:53):
somebody tell you, oh, it's just a demo, smack them
in the box for me, just smack them right in
the damn mouth that I can curse on this.

Speaker 1 (34:05):
Let it be known that Eric's will in his eyes
in the corner Eric's having the best time that anybody's having.

Speaker 7 (34:15):
No, you gotta see.

Speaker 1 (34:20):
So that's how it happened. It's it's amazing because it's
amazing to me because the very first time I saw
you was on Soul Train. I'm sorry, go ahead, yes,
I'll take all. Yeah, it was on Soul Train. And

(34:40):
you know, even in the show introduction when you know,
sim McCoy is like, you know and guest stars, you
see Dinnis Edwards. I was like, wow, who's that woman
that's standing with Dennis Edwards in the digital box intro?
And I watched it and it was like you, that
was your set. Dennis wasn't even I'm I'm I'm a

(35:03):
soul Train of file as well, so I'm not trying
to freak you guys out, but that was such that
was a star making turn like you took over, not
even took over because it feels like a code top,
but it was like presence. I remembered, Yes, I remembered

(35:24):
you more than Dennis Edward having the best hit of
his career since what standing on the top forever. Yeah,
And and that was such a star making like you
really made the most of it. I also have to
say that that video.

Speaker 7 (35:43):
Is Okay, I'm gonna smack you, so listen, listen, I
love it.

Speaker 1 (35:50):
For the right reasons.

Speaker 7 (35:51):
Okay, check this out. I'm in love. That video was
shot in the basement of Motown Records. I think it
costs eleven dollars and fifty seven cents including the.

Speaker 6 (36:10):
Electricity that custom.

Speaker 7 (36:12):
Yeah, and Dennis was not in his best form.

Speaker 1 (36:17):
Though.

Speaker 7 (36:18):
In fact, Dennis was like he was so amped up.
The video director between shoots, she would come over. At
one point she came over with a piece of paper
and she said, let me, can you put your gum in?
And Dennis was like, Ain't got no gum, Ain't got
no gum.

Speaker 1 (36:32):
I go my mama, mama.

Speaker 7 (36:35):
He was just chewing the ship out of his own tongue.

Speaker 1 (36:40):
Now look at it.

Speaker 7 (36:46):
Yes, and then I didn't know it at the time,
but you know when I turned around with my back
to Dennis with the capitol K, now, you never go
be able to look at that video on the same look.

Speaker 6 (37:05):
I'm sorry that dress, that blue, the.

Speaker 7 (37:07):
Blue with loose way child way. But listen, when I
turned around, I didn't know that he was humping me
behind me. I had no idea when that happened that
move and when I saw it, I said, that nasty best.

Speaker 1 (37:26):
You, but you made the most of them, Like, how
how long did you have to promote the song with?

Speaker 7 (37:32):
It was a It was a hot summer on the
East Coast. It was not pleasant. We did clubs and
Dennis had okay, you know, he had groupies, and you
know Usher has groupies, but these were not like mam okay,
So Dennis's groupies correlated with his age.

Speaker 1 (37:55):
I get it. So we had some a little one.

Speaker 7 (38:03):
So I'll tell you one experience. We're at this club
called Silver Something in Jersey, right, silver Shadow. So it
was one big dressing room you there, I told him, So,
I guess he's been in that club. You know, Garrett
Eric used to do an R for Epicy Okay, VPR

(38:25):
you remember Clive Davis.

Speaker 1 (38:26):
Yeah, I didn't even know it.

Speaker 7 (38:29):
Just a little nugget for.

Speaker 1 (38:30):
Your thank you for this is the honor of my life,
right should ringtone?

Speaker 6 (38:41):
Okay?

Speaker 7 (38:41):
So thens it was almost time to do the show,
and he had all these people and they were smoking
and drinking and going in the bathroom to smoke.

Speaker 9 (38:49):
What I'm saying.

Speaker 7 (38:51):
So yeah, So I said, excuse me, I you know,
I'd like to get dressed now. One of his groupie said, oh,
you ain't got nothing. He ain't never saying before.

Speaker 1 (39:05):
Never ever.

Speaker 7 (39:07):
I said, he hasn't seen this one before, so can
I just change my clothes? So he left went to
the bathroom. But it was those kind of things. I'm
trying to do a show and he and his other
buddies and their chicks and his chick all in the
room and it's like one little dressing room. I'm like,
can you please? Anyway? Years later he sent me he

(39:29):
called me and apologized because I guess that's an that's
a thing you have to do when you go.

Speaker 1 (39:34):
Through the steps.

Speaker 7 (39:35):
Yeah, whatever, it is one of the steps.

Speaker 1 (39:38):
Yes, not HR.

Speaker 10 (39:42):
A little further past HR. That's A and N A
not HR wrung acronym.

Speaker 7 (39:47):
Okay, Yeah, he was making amends and I accepted his apology,
but I said, you were so mean to me. He's
not I know.

Speaker 6 (39:55):
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but.

Speaker 1 (39:56):
Yeah, are you only there for one song? And that
there's smart I can take. Really, Yes, I would have
incorporate you in this show.

Speaker 7 (40:07):
And like, but Dennis wasn't trying to be in no
show with anybody else. He was just trying to do Dennis. Yeah,
and we were just promoting the single at the time.

Speaker 6 (40:17):
So can I just ask the dumb question here?

Speaker 7 (40:19):
Yes, I think this is the platform.

Speaker 6 (40:24):
Even the dumb ones got to be smart. Let me
see how I say this. I'm at de jump just please.

Speaker 7 (40:31):
With your job of juice. Wait, it's the name I
asked for any and Dennis. It's they just looked up
names of African cities.

Speaker 9 (40:43):
We thought it was.

Speaker 7 (40:45):
It might be, it might be, it might be. I'm
not sure, but it's just that they like the sound
of certain cities and they just strung them together. But
here's how it goes. Yes, dao y.

Speaker 6 (40:57):
Owned by.

Speaker 7 (41:00):
Now jambay m Bayo ca No no Cairo Jamba the
jumbe by you now jambe.

Speaker 10 (41:15):
M by your Cairo?

Speaker 1 (41:17):
Still no Cairo? Wrong?

Speaker 6 (41:21):
The jambey by shot.

Speaker 7 (41:26):
Jamb you all right?

Speaker 9 (41:31):
What was the other one?

Speaker 7 (41:31):
Dale Namu?

Speaker 1 (41:34):
I I in the wrong room. Some wandered into.

Speaker 10 (41:44):
Both.

Speaker 7 (41:45):
He got that sugar hit in the right room.

Speaker 1 (41:52):
Thank you for finally settling. That is so welcome because
it was a problem.

Speaker 6 (41:58):
It was a problem like I'm a day they put
them in there that.

Speaker 11 (42:03):
I got my juice up in there my city, Hiro,
So can you explain to us and the listeners, but
mostly to me, what is what is it like.

Speaker 1 (42:23):
Pounding the pavement on the background singer uh circuit? Which
I'm sure that was your next step. I mean you've
done countless of Yeah.

Speaker 7 (42:33):
That was an education though, man, that was the real
learning experience for me, because, like I said, I started
doing demos for l A songwriters and and producers, so
I got to I got to experience completely different styles
from every you know pop producer that was on the

(42:55):
charts and was writing songs for whatever Quincy's next artist was.
So it was it was a true training ground for
me as a as a singer, and singing uh lead
is a completely different animal than blending with other people

(43:15):
to make a cohesive background sound to the way you
have to You can't you can't stand, you can't step out,
and you can't be too silent. You have to blend.
You have to create a sound, a harmonious sound with
the other people that you're singing with. And that's what
I loved so much about singing background on other people's
records that in the fact that I got to work

(43:37):
with producers that I never would ever work with, because
I'm not that that big artist that they're writing for,
but I'm the chick that shows the artists how to
sing the song. It's just such an amazing, powerful feeling.
And nobody does demos anymore. Nobody, you know, it's a
sad state of affairs.

Speaker 1 (43:55):
Well, yes, I don't know. Maybe they just become the
final the final product. So I guess you worked with
who did True Blue? Steve, Stephen Briy, and Patrick Lennon.

Speaker 6 (44:09):
Right, Yes, so, oh, I have a great story for you.

Speaker 7 (44:13):
Yes, this is this is about Madonna, and she she
fucking loves the story. So we're making music on the
True Blue album and Steve says to me, we need
some background singers. I'm like, okay, I'll call you know,
I'll call somebody. So I called. I'm trying to think

(44:34):
of what kind of blend for this song. So I
called my friend, uh uh, Eddie Layman, who was like
the jingle singer, the person, perfect pitch. She was on
every every movie score. She was the singer. So I
called Edie because I'd sung with her before, and I said,

(44:54):
they need one more person. And before I thought too
much more about it, Madonna.

Speaker 1 (44:59):
Was right there.

Speaker 7 (45:00):
I said, you want to sing on this record because
I can hire you to sing on this record. Donna yet, yes,
this Madonna. No, it's Madonna Madonna.

Speaker 6 (45:10):
I know she was status.

Speaker 7 (45:11):
She was Madonna.

Speaker 1 (45:13):
This was like second album, yird al.

Speaker 7 (45:15):
So she said, yeah, so we're singing, right, and Madonna
would uh uh. She we would joke and laughing, and
every time she would make a joke, she would just
like tap that ass. She would make a joke and
just tap me on that. So after two or three

(45:38):
times the ass tapping, I said, bits, you touched my
She said, oh, saying I'm just.

Speaker 1 (45:55):
But that was it.

Speaker 6 (45:56):
She didn't she did.

Speaker 7 (45:58):
But you know what, three or four years later, maybe
ten years later, I'm in this restaurant on Lasi mantohisa,
I'm in the private dining area because that's how I
and I'm by myself. I don't give a shit. I
don't care you find myself. I don't care what people
think about me sitting along and in the I don't

(46:18):
give a shit. So it was me and then an
walks Madonna and her.

Speaker 10 (46:22):
Husband, so trying which one.

Speaker 6 (46:26):
Yeah, okay, okay, the husband has been I got the director.

Speaker 7 (46:30):
Yeah, yeah, mister ritchie. So I said to her. She goes, hey, sayta,
how are you. I'm like, I'm great, Hi, missus Richie
and her husband just being because who calls her that,
you know what I'm saying, Hi, missus Richie. So she said, so, Sayda,
what have you been doing? What are you doing lately?
And I said I had heard that one of her

(46:52):
background singers was was not working out too well. So
when she said, so, what are you up to? I said,
I'm waiting for Donna to fuck up so I can
take her place where it was. Yeah, that demon. Anyway,

(47:12):
that's another that I'm not getting. My husband. Okay, I don't.

Speaker 1 (47:18):
Get so many bodies have been discussing right now.

Speaker 7 (47:23):
So anyway, all right, anyway.

Speaker 1 (47:25):
So we have to go dig more holes.

Speaker 7 (47:27):
What I was gonna say, anyway, we got the shovel.

Speaker 6 (47:31):
In the car.

Speaker 1 (47:33):
Okay, Jesus, keep going.

Speaker 7 (47:37):
I don't even know what I was saying in.

Speaker 1 (47:39):
My head way.

Speaker 10 (47:40):
You're wa Donna walked past and you smacked on the ass.
That's really wanted the wrong.

Speaker 6 (47:45):
Ass, you said, I heard Donna fuck Yeah, she laughed.

Speaker 7 (47:49):
So three years later I get a call. Three years
maybe a year and a half. But it was a
lengthy maybe almost almost two years, maybe three. So I
get this call and uh, I ended up going on
the road with her for a summer, the Reinvention Tour.
We rehearsed for a month and we were out for
three months. And it was the longest year and a

(48:10):
half of my life.

Speaker 1 (48:12):
How Yeah, when when you are a when you're a
natural born magnet and your own planet.

Speaker 6 (48:22):
Yeah, that's a good description.

Speaker 1 (48:24):
No, when you are your own how do you know
when to fall back and just blending when you're so
obviously like you shined.

Speaker 7 (48:37):
Well here, I have to give Madonna kudos because she
knows that no matter who else is on stage, it's
all about Madonna. So if you understand that, then you
can roll with her. It's not a problem.

Speaker 1 (48:50):
But you have to resign to that.

Speaker 7 (48:51):
Liken the gig. I knew what I was doing when
I signed up for the gig. I knew who the
star of the planet was. And it wasn't say to
get it right, I wasn't filling up stadiums.

Speaker 1 (49:01):
They came to see her right, right, So there's no
never any temptations.

Speaker 7 (49:07):
Well, she would bring me. She brought me out to
do a solo. I mean the other Donna had been
on the road with her for seventeen years. I've been
never got a solo, So I knew there was something
about me that she understood and she respected. But Donna,
if you if you don't cower, if you don't back down,
then she respects that.

Speaker 12 (49:27):
Hmmm.

Speaker 7 (49:28):
She truly does. And she knows she's not the best dancer. No,
she's not the best singer. Will be the first to
tell you that. But that bitch is the hardest worker
I've ever met in my life. True, she works her
arts off.

Speaker 1 (49:41):
You're right, You're right.

Speaker 7 (49:44):
And if she was saying for twenty fucking ye, that's
what she'd say. I'm the cherry picker to all her
fans that she hovered above them reas for being my
fans for twenty fucking.

Speaker 6 (49:57):
It's awesome.

Speaker 1 (49:59):
Wow. What are the rules to to surviving in that
that kind of world?

Speaker 7 (50:07):
That circuit you know who the star is and it's
usually not the background.

Speaker 1 (50:11):
Well no, no, no, no, I don't even mean for
conscious I'm talking about like, when you're called for work,
is it do producers look for? Like, Okay, who sings
the flatts without the most vibrato, who shows up a
half hour early.

Speaker 7 (50:25):
Who A good producer will consider all of those things
because they already know what kind of sound they're looking for,
and they'll just hire the singers that they think can
create that sound for them.

Speaker 1 (50:34):
Is it easy for you to track everything yourself or
to do it with like who are your who are
the contemporaries, who are the go to people in background work?
In the first half of the eighties, it had to
be like, you.

Speaker 7 (50:51):
Know, Lisa Fisher, all those New York Audrew Wheeler, Sendy
Mizelle La singers were not even.

Speaker 1 (51:01):
Featured in this twenty Steps.

Speaker 7 (51:03):
Yeah, and then there was background singers that didn't really
have a background anyway. That's something else I can't oh Tatha,
all these all these amazing singers, and Tauatha might have
even been on that DJ Rodgers thing of mine, Yeah,
my first gig. But anyway, you get to know who
you know, the ones that are dependable, the ones who

(51:25):
get the job done, the ones that do it quickly,
and the ones that also producers are looking for people
to come up with ideas that they didn't think of,
you know, different harmony parts, different counter melody parts that
you could come up with on the spot.

Speaker 1 (51:37):
So do they send you the track pronto learn.

Speaker 6 (51:42):
And if you make changes you get a check for that.

Speaker 7 (51:44):
No, No, that's part of why they hired you. They
knew you could make the product better without, you.

Speaker 1 (51:49):
Know, being a writer. I work for higher So you
know what I this this morning when I was recapping everything,
I freaking forgot about. Do you want it right now?
Oh wow, it's just one of those things that escaped me.

Speaker 7 (52:07):
Check this out.

Speaker 1 (52:09):
Yes, nerder Rama, Yes, Ringtone song.

Speaker 7 (52:17):
Was produced by Jellybeans. Okay, he was one of the
three producers that I had after one of my ill
fated albums that is on the Shelf and Warner Brothers
that will be never never ever be heard or seen
from in life.

Speaker 1 (52:29):
But he would wait, wait, Marie Wind.

Speaker 6 (52:33):
It was after the fact.

Speaker 7 (52:34):
I my first album on Quest had three producers jelly Bean,
Glenn Ballard and and Cliff Magnus and Robbie Neville and it.

Speaker 1 (52:46):
Never came out eighty five five. Remember so this before
life there was an album.

Speaker 7 (52:53):
Yes, yes, there were two albums. There were a lot
of changes that went from Quest transition to Warner Brothers
and Divorced, and it was a lot of it was
a lot of shit going on.

Speaker 1 (53:03):
So, yeah, do we have anybody, I'm gonna find one.

Speaker 7 (53:11):
You're gonna find one.

Speaker 1 (53:12):
Oh, we do that. We're gonna we're gonn We're gonna
try and find that record. Both of them.

Speaker 7 (53:16):
They were never released. They're on but we're gonna find Oh,
I'm scared of you guys, anyway.

Speaker 1 (53:21):
To do that?

Speaker 7 (53:22):
Yeah, we lost.

Speaker 1 (53:24):
Don't be scared.

Speaker 7 (53:26):
So this, this single do you Want It Right Now?
Was in the Sydney Pontier directorial debut Fast Forward, and
the song is in the movie in the guitar solo.
So you never even heard me say a word on
the film, but that song was released to the dance

(53:47):
clubs and it was number one dance record.

Speaker 1 (53:49):
It was inescapable. Yeah argument, I thought it was Shannon
in the beginning, but it was No. I know no,
I mean I was what thirteen at the time, but
they always played it on Power ninety nine and Philly.

Speaker 6 (54:03):
This is the fast forward the movie, the dance the
song before the movie right fast.

Speaker 1 (54:09):
You've seen that movie.

Speaker 6 (54:10):
What I seen all the dancing movies.

Speaker 7 (54:14):
That movie was like minutes.

Speaker 6 (54:17):
We had the Blonde and then the Rich I remember
and then the black guy and the white guy and
their friends team together.

Speaker 1 (54:25):
This is this is a key moment. I wish was
here that on top of us on what you're experiencing now,
what you feel it's never happened. You know some ship
that's okay. Have you seen body Rock? Yeah? Must be?

(54:46):
Must be. Just Spike Lee Glasses said, all right, we're
falling to a rabbit right here.

Speaker 6 (54:53):
So it's dark in there on it is.

Speaker 1 (54:57):
So even on the strength of having that single, no
one at Warners was like, Okay, let's let's get that out.
Let's get the product out.

Speaker 7 (55:11):
There was a lot of upheaval and the Warner family
and the Quest family, and it was I just sort
of fell through the cracks. I'm an artist, but as
a songwriter, you know, it behooved Quest to you know,
plug me into different projects, which is how I came
to meet Michael.

Speaker 1 (55:28):
What what keeps you? What keeps you sing?

Speaker 7 (55:33):
That keeps me saying it was married?

Speaker 1 (55:36):
What keeps you saying? The little he's the loudest one
in the room, but you didn't hear one.

Speaker 7 (55:49):
Boy, so he's glad he went from twenty Okay, so
shut up.

Speaker 1 (56:00):
But what I want to know Damn. They just gave
each other high five. That's amazing relationship. He's like, I'll
go get the shovel me so but I'm just saying,
man too, you know, to start when you did, and

(56:20):
then to have the Plus project almost be a contender,
and then you might get some heat on the dennist
at Wards problem. It's almost a contender and kind of
some close. No Cigars not my year. It's not my year.
I'm sure every like New Year's Eve, you're like, okay,
nineteen eighty five, it's gonna be the It's gonna be it.
And like, what keeps you grounded? Because usually in the

(56:45):
cases I know, a lot of bitterness starts to enter
artist lives, usually by the sixth year of like the
no cigar situation, Like, okay, if it doesn't happen this year, well,
and what what keeps you what by this point mentally speaking,

(57:08):
like with the way that the label was, what keeps
you hanging? One? Wait? Is this where Benny enters the picture?

Speaker 6 (57:17):
God?

Speaker 1 (57:18):
Sorry, all right, I'm sorry, Eric, he was already no, no, no,
let me just I'm trying to explain that this show
is is not This is probably the deepest we've ever

(57:40):
gotten into. Yeah, because I know, But seriously, I'm more
curious about the creative process and getting from point A
to point Z, not just like give me this insation
his stories, like you know what Sirt was that and
I were in that day. But I am curious about

(58:01):
obstacles that are in your way and how you deal
with it and overcome such a thing to get to.

Speaker 7 (58:09):
Man, you just I don't know.

Speaker 6 (58:10):
You just don't.

Speaker 7 (58:11):
I just haven't stopped, You can't stop. You just got
to keep focused on the prize, Just keep your keep
focused on your goals, no matter and then all that
other stuff is just extraneous stuff that's happening while you're
focused on your goal.

Speaker 1 (58:25):
So what okay for that point? What in your eyes?
And you know everyone has a plan and quote God
laughs at you. Whatever that thing is that that's that's saying.
What were your aspirations during that period?

Speaker 7 (58:45):
I was gonna be Madonna and then I was gonna
be Beyonce. I was gonna be it, but that part
of my career just never kind of took off. But
as a songwriter, because the focus wasn't on me as
an artist, I think I had to concentrate on what

(59:05):
was happening, and as a songwriter, I was doing a
lot more than I was as my own artist. I mean,
if you can't have a hit song after having a
duet with the king of pop, the biggest pop songwriter
in the world, if your record company can't get it
together after that, and then a few months after that,
you wrote the fifth single from the biggest pop song

(59:29):
right pop artist in the world, and you still can't
get to get it going. It just wasn't meant for me.
Like I was on the Bad Tour, the single had
just come out. Warner Brothers like, you gotta you gotta
stay here and we gotta make your record. You gotta,
you know, while this is hot, you gotta do this,
and the Men of the Mirror is coming out. You
got to make your own record. So I rehearsed with
the Bad Tour for like a week, right, And after

(59:52):
a week I told Michael, I said, dude, I gotta
I gotta do my own sit. I mean, Warner Brothers
is saying so sorry. I I left entered Sheryl Crow
and the rest herstory bitches her history.

Speaker 6 (01:00:08):
I see the executives ever come to you like you
know in that artist type of way. Well, if you
change this, and if you change that, because I always
thought it was dope, you were ahead of your time.
You know how I feel about here, blig They I was.

Speaker 7 (01:00:20):
You know, they looked at me and they saw an
R and B singer, and which is which I wasn't.
I'm a pop singer, but I'm not Madonna, so they
were the look didn't match the road I was trying
to go down. So after a while, you gotta go
with the flow, baby, you gotta however it's flowing, you
gotta make that work. Well you can't.

Speaker 1 (01:00:40):
You you have to understand that usually the conclusion that
you just told me, that's always reached in hindsight. Now,
I mean, the key reason why I even have this
show as a platform is for what you just said.

(01:01:02):
Because I got about six or seven people in my lives,
my livest I have six or seven people in my
life who their narrative is constantly going down dead in
the streets and just like, nope, nope.

Speaker 7 (01:01:20):
You read that book about the Cheese and the Rats
and the New Cheese. I forgot the name of it,
but but who moved my cheese? Okae? That book is
about these two little rats who every day they would
get out of their little house and get dressed for work,
and they go then the maize and they find the cheese,
and then they go home and get undressed, go to sleep.

(01:01:42):
Next day to get up, get dressed, go down the
maize and find the cheese. One day there was no cheese,
but one little rat just kept getting up, getting dressed,
going down the road, find them looking for the other
rat started looking for some new cheese.

Speaker 6 (01:01:59):
So as an artist, I was looking for the new cheese.

Speaker 1 (01:02:05):
That's the best cheese story I've ever heard of. This,
it was I just want to know I've been in
that new cheese situation. Yeah, because again I personally and
I hate I know I'm regressing the older mirror where
I start taking all the interviews and making the interview

(01:02:25):
about me and instead of the artist. But I got it.
This This is a rare This is rare tell us
about the cheese, tell us about the cheese. But I'm
just saying that ever Blue was a Swiss. As an
artist in the beginning, when you're first starting, you have
these lofty goals of what you want your life to be. Yes,
I didn't ask to you know, it wasn't a dream.

(01:02:48):
I mean, yeah, you said, oh yeah, I like the
host of radio show or be the new Doc Severson
on a But I didn't grow up like as an
eight year old, like hmm, like half of the stuff
like writing, you know, books about food and all that stuff.
I had a specific goal that I thought was going
to get me to where my dream was. And then
you know, but I also have about four or five

(01:03:11):
ledge talkers that talked me off the ledge from sabotage
and stuff. Because when stuff doesn't go right for me,
my first instinct is fuck it. And now none of
us can play ball, you know, like I'm that person.

Speaker 13 (01:03:27):
But oh you I'm taking my ball and I'm going home.
I'll take the ball and roof it so nobody can
have it. But I'm also smart enough to listen if three,
like fifty million Elevis fans can't be wrong. So if
four people are telling me I think you need to
fuck you're fucking up. I need you to breathe, calm

(01:03:49):
down different way you need to Yeah, who, I'm not
saying that you're I'm just saying that I had that.

Speaker 1 (01:03:59):
But how did you Because the narrative of anyone else
I talked to. This is where the downside of the
period happened. But you just went with a punch and like, okay,
well it wasn't meant for me to what what?

Speaker 7 (01:04:16):
I had no other options like what were There was
no other alternative you either. It was not about I
was not about to just go down like that. I
I was just not going out like that.

Speaker 1 (01:04:27):
I had.

Speaker 7 (01:04:29):
I wanted to just find a new way to make
my name, to get my music out there. And if
it wasn't through me, then I'll just write it for
somebody else to do.

Speaker 1 (01:04:41):
All right, Yeah, I'm gonna bookmark this part of the
interview and make sure that ninety five billion people listen
to you saying that because I that's yes. Can we
title this new.

Speaker 10 (01:04:54):
Case so fund check this out For.

Speaker 7 (01:04:57):
Those of you who are who are living southern California.
For the last sixteen years, from two thousand to January
twenty sixteen, I was the voice of Toyota for Southern California.

Speaker 1 (01:05:11):
Jingle new Cheese, Cheese Baby.

Speaker 7 (01:05:13):
Now it's your Toyota dealer. You can get a great
deal on our twenty sixteen Toyota Let's go places.

Speaker 13 (01:05:21):
Let's go places, chess listens where.

Speaker 6 (01:05:27):
My career goes.

Speaker 7 (01:05:28):
Yes, yeah, new cheese. Now who I didn't wake up going,
oh my god, I want to I want to be
that announcer girl.

Speaker 6 (01:05:35):
It happened.

Speaker 7 (01:05:36):
I was singing the jingle we make It Easy, Oh
so easy. I'm in that. You done many, many for many.

Speaker 1 (01:05:43):
Name something that I don't know or I might know,
or uh.

Speaker 7 (01:05:46):
Well, I've done likes of PEPSI likes of Coca Cola commercials,
Jack in the box, McDonald's just ooz and ohs all
over the place, and and the dang you real rich No, no, no, wrong,
I'm on that too, and.

Speaker 1 (01:06:05):
I'm just let me And that's another thing. This is
gonna be that episode.

Speaker 6 (01:06:09):
Okay, that's fine.

Speaker 1 (01:06:09):
Just because you work a lot doesn't mean that you're bringing.

Speaker 7 (01:06:13):
In the do you know, like the trash man at
work a lot, But when you are doing like plumber,
I consider myself mister nineteen jobs.

Speaker 6 (01:06:23):
You don't know what a lot of dough is anymore.
You're in a bubble. But to the rector of the system, Okay, I'm.

Speaker 1 (01:06:28):
Just saying, it means that you're consistently working. You're a
working class.

Speaker 7 (01:06:34):
Nigga. Anyway, did I miss something.

Speaker 1 (01:06:44):
In its still j thoms there good, but.

Speaker 6 (01:06:50):
The jingles amazing.

Speaker 7 (01:06:51):
Yeah. So yeah, that was another way for me to
still sing and be musical, but not be an artist,
and not be signed to a label and not be
you know what else I hated about being signed to
a label. They had their own agenda. And it doesn't
matter what kind of artists you want to be, or
what artists you think you can be, or who you
think you are, if you don't fit into that box

(01:07:13):
that they have, the R and B box, the pop
box with all the looks and everything that goes with it,
then you are just looked over and you fall through
the cracks. I know so many artists like that. Tevin
was like that. Tevin had his sweet spot was before
his balls dropped and his voice changed.

Speaker 6 (01:07:29):
So after that, nobody wanted.

Speaker 7 (01:07:30):
To Nobody wanted to fuck with seven because he didn't
have those high notes anymore. But Tevin took his uh
gift and his talent and he went to Broadway, so
he found some new cheese.

Speaker 1 (01:07:43):
Wow. Not to mention your your your your your your
acting game is is oh god, quite awesome. My first
yeah right now, oh my god. You know, like when
you get your first VCR. You got to record everything

(01:08:05):
when you were a kid.

Speaker 8 (01:08:05):
Yeah, Steve's like again some stuff my dad recorded that
I happened to find out. Yeah, pretty much recording.

Speaker 1 (01:08:17):
Everything my life. We got a v c R. I
recorded everything that was on television. It just happened. Her
episode of the Facts of Life was the one that
that I did well.

Speaker 7 (01:08:30):
I did Amen. I did an episode of Amen. I
remember the episode.

Speaker 1 (01:08:33):
Yeah, you wanted to be uh a singer? I want
to be No, Yeah, she was uh, I guess missus
Garrett's girls. I wanted to enter Sing with the Elder
Barge contest. Oh yeah, and I think George Clooney's character

(01:08:56):
and whoever the kid was.

Speaker 7 (01:08:59):
I worked with.

Speaker 6 (01:09:00):
George before when they had their own bakery and whatnot.

Speaker 1 (01:09:06):
So they organized them to enter this contest and then.

Speaker 7 (01:09:10):
Tots Group one. It's their show.

Speaker 6 (01:09:22):
She lost the whole two of hearts things. Remember that
one lost?

Speaker 1 (01:09:28):
When I wait anyway, Stacy, let.

Speaker 7 (01:09:34):
Me let me tell you. I was on an ill
fated pilot called The Valentine's On that that pilot episode
was Tevin Campbell, Ali, Cindy Harron, Saya Garrett. They were

(01:09:56):
like and and everybody was like nobody then and after
that they went on to do what they went on
to do. But Jeff Franklin was the producer of that
and he produced Family Ties Full House, right, so they did.
They rebooted the show. And one of the actresses on

(01:10:19):
the show, whose name is Jody's that one Sweden. She
is in a rock band, her little band, and I
wrote the song that her band sings. So this is
like thirty years later that producer who hired me as
a as an actress, and I was on the pilot

(01:10:40):
as the sister of Cindy and Tevin, and we were
in this vocal group. Anyway, the pilot went nowhere, but
he and I remained friends, and like thirty years after
the fact, I got married at his house in Beverly
Hills and then he's said, well, we got this show,

(01:11:01):
you want to write this, So I'm right. So those
relationships that are forged early on in your career, if
you know how to nurture them, they're just valuable. People
remember how a professional you were, how important you were
to the project they were working on, how you added
your ideas, and they remember you for other things. But
had I been an asshole on that set. Wait a minute,

(01:11:22):
I'd have probably gotten married at the town Hall and Compton,
Thank you very much.

Speaker 1 (01:11:29):
Wait a minute, you just did you bring Tevin to Quincy?
I did.

Speaker 7 (01:11:34):
I was one of the first few people Quincy heard
about Tevin from me and from Benny Bedina around the
same time, because I was I was in the show
with him, and I knew he could sing. Tevin had
such a thick accent that I remember talking to him

(01:11:54):
about some mark he had on his arm, or some
really scar on his arm. I said, how'd you get that?
He said, oh me, And we was running and I
was running with some silzls. I said, you were running
with what? Some sizzles? I said, child, where.

Speaker 6 (01:12:13):
Are you from?

Speaker 7 (01:12:14):
A waxahatchie texas.

Speaker 6 (01:12:18):
Wed.

Speaker 7 (01:12:18):
They pronounced scissors like silzls. Watch, wax a hatchie, that.

Speaker 1 (01:12:26):
's that's a watch.

Speaker 7 (01:12:27):
Wax a hatchet and the genre baio. There will be
a test later.

Speaker 6 (01:12:32):
He loves to ask him. By the time he did
Frest Prince, that's interesting because I was thinking about the
Tatiana reunion on the Fresh Prince Yeah TV. It was
deep South.

Speaker 1 (01:12:41):
Okay, so you brought him to Quincy? Okay?

Speaker 7 (01:12:47):
Because around the same time that Benny did.

Speaker 1 (01:12:49):
Like, because I often might have Sunday brunch in a
certain New York establishment and I and I'll still see
Bobby Humphrey occasionally, and she'll be like, I'll just covered

(01:13:09):
Darren and Gimble because her name was her like logo
or something was on the first two albums or something
like that.

Speaker 7 (01:13:15):
Right, right, Sorry, Bobby.

Speaker 1 (01:13:19):
The way that I've always heard Quincy Jones describe the
creative process in sourcing material for Michael is that I'm
always hearing numbers like, yeah, we sat and listened to
three hundred songs. We sat listened to five hundred songs.
So I mean, again, today's a whole new different standard.

(01:13:39):
So am I to believe that the standard for then
was that you would go to a certain publishing house
and just have cassettes and all these songs submitted to you,
and you just sit there and listen.

Speaker 7 (01:13:52):
And well, no, Quincy would put the word out to
songwriters that he respected, yeah, and the new could deliver
so and then they would start submitting songs, and I
would I wouldn't doubt that they've heard up to three hundred,
five hundred songs because Quincy informed me after I delivered
the cassette to man in the mirror that he and

(01:14:13):
Michael had been in the studio for like two and
a half years and Michael had yet to record a
song he didn't write. So Quincy was like, I don't know, yeh,
I don't know. But then he said, don't worry Sid
if we don't record it with Michael on his album
The Bad Album, I'll recorded with James Ingram on my album.

(01:14:34):
And I'm thinking Michael Jackson James ing had to let
it go. But as it turned out, Michael loved the song,
and in fact, the first thing he said to me
was I love this song. The second thing he said
to me was I love your voice.

Speaker 1 (01:14:55):
Wow.

Speaker 7 (01:14:56):
It was just I was on Cloud fifty eleven because this.

Speaker 1 (01:15:01):
Is one of two songs that weren't written by him
on the album, right.

Speaker 7 (01:15:05):
The other one was She's Out of My Life Tom Baylor, No, no, no,
Well just good Friends was oh yeah, yeah, I'm the
wrong album song.

Speaker 1 (01:15:12):
Right right? Okay, so you were hinting to place the song,
but Quincy was sort of saying, like you knows well.

Speaker 7 (01:15:20):
Quincy called the meeting with his songwriters, his West Coast writers.
I think there were like six or seven of us,
and I was late for the meeting, so I tried
to sneak in, and everybody's sitting around in his living
room and he's talking in the middle of a sentence,
and I'm trying to just stay in the back of
the room and just sort of slink on the side
and find some place to sit out as if. Yeah,
and he's tracking me with his eyes as I walk
across the back of the room and he says, as

(01:15:42):
I was saying before, I was so rudely.

Speaker 6 (01:15:45):
Interrupted, you know, just following me, and I'm like going,
oh shit.

Speaker 7 (01:15:48):
So, you know, sat in the corner and I took
copious notes. Then I went to my friend Glenn Balad
and I said, Quincy's looking for a song for Michael.
And he said, well, what kind of song does he want?
And I was like, I don't know. So he gets
up to go to the keyboard to turn it on
to get some sounds. Cut to two years prior to
this day, I'm in a writing session with famous jazz

(01:16:10):
pianist John Beasley. Right, So John and I are writing
and John also introduced me to Sergio Mendez, which is
another story. So John and I are writing and the
phone rings, and I thought we were doing some pretty
good work. So I was waiting for the machine to
pick up, and instead of him letting his machine pick
up the phone, he picks up the phone and begins

(01:16:32):
this very banal conversation. Ah, nothing, I'm just saying, I'm
not and I'm flipping through my lyric book saying to myself, no,
he didn't just say he wasn't doing nothing. No, no
he didn't. You know, I'm just like, I'm seething, right,
And then I hear him say the man, what man, Oh,

(01:16:53):
the man in the mirror. So I wrote down man
in the Mirror. Two years later, I'm at Glenn's house.
He gets up to turn on the keyboard and he's
starts playing doom Doom, Doom, Doom, Doom, doom doom, just
to get a sound on the keyboard. And I'm flipping
through my lyric book again, and the phrase man in
the mirror literally leapt off the page and I could

(01:17:16):
not write the lyric. Fast en up, I'll tell Glenn. Wait,
I'm just scribbling frantically, right. So in like ten twelve
minutes we had the first verse and the first chorus
to man in the mirror. That was Wednesday night. He said,
you go home, finish the lyric. I'll finish the track,
and on Friday we'll demo the song. So I demoed

(01:17:37):
this song Friday and we finished Friday night, too late
to turn it into Quest Records. So I called Quincy
and I said, cute, Glenn, and I have written a
great song. He said, great, Sid, just turn it into
the publishing office and I'll hear it on Monday or Tuesday.
And I said, Quincy, no week. I really just want

(01:17:57):
you to he said, sit. I said, just let me.
Let me hang it over. He said, Sid, I'm in
a meeting. I have like twelve people sitting in my
dining room. I know I can't. Quincy has six daughters,
so he knew he was not going to win this argument,
so he just said, okay, shit and bring it. So

(01:18:18):
I brought this cassette to Quincy's house, knocked on the door,
and the housekeeper opens the door and calls for Quincy.
He opens the dining room doors. Sure enough, twelve fucking
suits looking up at me, going looking at their watches
like what the fuck is she? This is the look
on all what the This must be really important because
we're doing some shit and she's in our meeting. So

(01:18:40):
Quincy goes to the door. I give him this cassette
and I said, cue. The only thing I asked is
that you just get back to me. He said, don't worry.
I said, just just he said, don't worry shit, close
the door, right.

Speaker 1 (01:18:52):
So I was for him on the spot.

Speaker 7 (01:18:54):
I wanted to, but he was like, no, look like
look at this. No, I got these people. So you know,
I was glad that he let me bring it. So
he called me two hours later. I was a house
at my house cooking dinner and he picked up the
I picked up the phone and he said, Sid, this
is the best song that I've heard in ten years.

(01:19:15):
I'm like, yes, and I'm living and best song in
ten years? And I know, he said, but I didn't
want to hear whatever shit came after you. I just
want to live in best song in ten years. And
then he said, but you know, Michael, we've been in
the studio two and a half years. Michael wasn't Michael,
He hasn't recorded anything. Don't worry. Goods to Donalds, Michael Jackson,

(01:19:37):
James Inger, don't worry, so I had to let that go.
I got a call three days later and Quincy says,
and I quote Sid we in the studio recording your
old piece of song. And I'm like yeah. Then he said,
but and you know how Charlie Brown's teacher talking. You know,

(01:20:01):
you don't want you don't want to hear ship So
everything after but I was, we're recording your song. Let
me just be in that for a moment. They said, Uh,
Michael wants you. The only thing is the chorus that
Michael wants four more lines in the chorus and he
really want you. And he says hold on, and I hear.

(01:20:24):
And Quincy gets back on the phone and says, and
he really wants you to bring home the message that
and the he says things hold on and then I hear. Right,
So Quincy Jones, he puts Michael Jackson on the motherfucking
phone right now. I don't know about y'all, but when

(01:20:47):
I was coming up right now, Michael was my husband,
was my husband.

Speaker 6 (01:20:52):
Myther cousins had teeto.

Speaker 7 (01:20:53):
With Michael was my husband. So in my mind, I'm
a on the phone with my husband right So I
did not want to be Oh, my God, Michael.

Speaker 6 (01:21:09):
Let me such he said a pass.

Speaker 7 (01:21:11):
I'm so glad. I wanted to be the antithesis of
that fan anti fan, so I went. I went straight
telephone operator and I said, how can I help you?

(01:21:31):
I swear to God and like I said, the first
thing he said to me was I love this song.
Second thing and I love your voice. I'm like so
two or three days later, quenty calls and says, we
need you to come down the studio because the demo
the key is too high for Michael singh, so we
need to re sing the demo.

Speaker 9 (01:21:50):
Great.

Speaker 7 (01:21:51):
I didn't know in the studio with Quincy Jones, Bruce
Swedeen and Michael Jackson. So I walk in and he's like, Hi, Yeah,
you know, we're talking and whatever, but I I didn't
know why he was filming. So Quincy said, going and

(01:22:15):
go in the booth and sing the song. So I
get up to go in the booth and Michael gets
up with this. It was eighties so it was a
huge video camera, right, and he's following me. And in
Spike Lee's Bad twenty five Reunion, you can see Michael
in a reflection in the mirror in the studio videotaping

(01:22:35):
me getting ready to sing the demo in the new key.
So I'm looking at the man in the mirror and
recording the man in the mirror as he's you know.
It was just insane, insane. So I'm singing this, getting
ready to sing the song. I said, why are you?
What are you over my shoulder? I'm like, what are you?
What are you doing? He says, I want to film

(01:22:57):
you singing this song. I said why, Yeah, he said,
because I want to sing it like you. Wait a minute,
Wait a minute, I said, wait. I said, great, Mike, Oh,
my friends are gonna believe me when I tell him

(01:23:18):
he wants to sing it like me. So it was
just just such a weird, weird day. But it was
one of the the I can't stop smiling talking about it.

Speaker 1 (01:23:28):
To concentrate with that much pressure because Quincy's there, Michael,
I got a gazillion Bruce Been questions, Like.

Speaker 7 (01:23:39):
I just saw Bruce last week. We went to Florida
to visit. He's in Orlando, Florida, and they, Oh, snap,
I could have got you an interview, dude. I will
let me know if you go back. He would love it.
He would absolutely love it. They got a horse, rabbits,

(01:24:01):
they got cats, they got chickens. Oh be Sweeteen has
the best chickens I've ever met, because they delivered no no, no,
I tasted. They have amazing eggs, and the yolks are
so rich. They're orange. They're the color of your shirt.

(01:24:23):
Instead of yellow, pale ass yellow eggs, these yolks are
orange and they are delicious. It's because their chickens just
eat grass on the on the farm chicken and free
range eggs. They're fabulous.

Speaker 1 (01:24:38):
We went from Michael Jackson to free range so fast?
Have you done this so much that you can effortlessly
just sing in front of someone when Michael Jackson's freaking
watching you.

Speaker 7 (01:24:50):
Okay, here's the thing. And somebody asked me this the
other day. What's it like to, you know, to record
with Quincy Jones. Let me just tell you. When you're
in the room room with someone like that, someone of
that magnitude, someone who's at the top of their game
in their game, you want to do the best that

(01:25:11):
you can do to impress them. So you're you're in
it to do your best. You're gonna you're gonna bring
your best game to this table because this is the
table that your game needs to be played at. So
you're gonna be the best that you. You're gonna be
bring your best self, and they're gonna draw even more
of that out of you because that's their gift.

Speaker 1 (01:25:32):
Wow, did you take any drugs or anything that day?
Or anything?

Speaker 6 (01:25:37):
I think, fuck me up. You think I was bouncing
off the walls, but nothing.

Speaker 7 (01:25:41):
I can't. I couldn't know.

Speaker 6 (01:25:43):
It was.

Speaker 7 (01:25:44):
Oh, I have a great story for I've told this
story a couple of times, but it just shows how
truly human he was. The first time I met him,
he you know, I sang the demo and then we
had some downtime and we were chatting and and I
looked down. He had on his black Fedora, white T

(01:26:06):
shirt Forrest, green corduroy shirt, black pants, one gray sock,
and one green sock or some shit, right, I said, dude,
what's up with your socks? He said, oh it was

(01:26:28):
it was early in the morning and the room was dark,
and I just pulled out what was whatever was in
the door? I said, obviously, so we laughed. Whatever. So
the next time I saw him, a few days later
to record, we did the duet in Spanish, and French
and in English. So I was with him for a
week recording, right. So the next time I saw him,

(01:26:48):
he said sid and he called me over, like come here,
and he pulled pulled his pants up a little higher.
He said, look at my socks. Now he was still
wearing this time. It was a red shirt and the
white T shirt and the black people. I said, your
socks are sky blue. Okay, they match each other, but
they don't match nothing else you got on. So he

(01:27:10):
just he just he just called me crazy and he
and he said, your name sounds like you you you
just you just the country. So I'm gonna just call
you miss Gaary. So he called me Miss Gary. There's
no joke, that's that's just the story.

Speaker 1 (01:27:37):
You did the bad tour only for a few weeks,
or we.

Speaker 7 (01:27:42):
Rehearsed for They rehearsed for like a month and the
week of that, yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:27:46):
Okay, I was like, wait a minute, I saw you
sing that just in touring with him. How how tedious
are rehearsals? How tedious are no?

Speaker 7 (01:27:58):
Once we rehearsed, it wasn't like Madonna where you would
you would rehearse and sound check wink wink every show
because we would always have to rehearse whatever didn't go
well on the show. Oh honey, she would have notede
for almost everyone, my cords, my guitar, strap, my boot,

(01:28:22):
you know, everything, everything everything. So but with Michael, we
rehearsed for three months and that was it. I didn't
see him except for two hours on the show every night.
He didn't rehearse every new city. We know, no, because
he knew, you know, so time.

Speaker 1 (01:28:39):
For band prayer, He's there and then hit the stage.

Speaker 6 (01:28:41):
That's it.

Speaker 1 (01:28:43):
Wow.

Speaker 12 (01:28:43):
So was it?

Speaker 1 (01:28:44):
I mean, was it a fun experience.

Speaker 7 (01:28:45):
Or was it just like, oh my god, it was
the most fun I've ever had in my life because
we didn't it wasn't like a bus tour. And the
part that was the bus tour. I wasn't having no bus.
No I flew, I couldn't they. I did one twelve
hour bus us ride and afterwards I.

Speaker 6 (01:29:01):
Was like, oh, well, no, that's not fun.

Speaker 7 (01:29:05):
Hell to the now. In fact, we would do a
show and me and Greg, Me and Greg were flying
the other you know, we would do a show. They
would shower whatever they're gonna do, get in their pajamas,
get on the bus, drive to the next city. Me
and Greg would go back to our hotels, hit it
with our beds, get up the next day, pack our shit,

(01:29:26):
fly in meet them before their bus arrived from the
day before and they're getting off the bus Dragon and
Greg and I are like, we're going to lunch, so
you guys the sound check.

Speaker 6 (01:29:36):
You know.

Speaker 7 (01:29:37):
So touring like that was amazing. And when there weren't buses,
we would just fly everywhere because we had our own
plane and Michael was on his own plane, you know.
And there was nothing like making fun of the stewardesses
when they have to do the white lines and we
would all unbuckle and buckle our seat belts when they

(01:29:58):
would do that. And when she would do this like
the airplanes are coming in the hangar, we'd all do
our hands like the airplanes would going. It was just
so much fun. But listen, traveling with Michael Jackson. Being
on tour with Michael was like being one of Jesus's disciples. Baby.

(01:30:18):
We used to hate it when we were in the
same hotel as Michael because usually the hotel would coordinate
with your position on the tour. A hotels were for Michael,
his guests, his friends. B hotels was for the band
and the singers. C hotels was for the crew, right,
So there were times when there was no A and B,
it was only A and C. So those are the
times when we had to be in Michael's hotel. Fucking

(01:30:41):
hated it because all night.

Speaker 1 (01:30:43):
Well, you know, it was.

Speaker 7 (01:30:48):
Just insane, could not and then Michael would like peek
out the window and then they'd go in freakingsane, you know.
So it was never he liked that kind of energy.
We just wanted some wrist. We wanted to get some
So we were happy when we were in a different
hotel than Michael was in because his fans are like fanatics.
They are truly fanatic. In fact, we were in Spain

(01:31:11):
and I will never forget this. We had a day
off in Spain and Spain leather shoes, handbags, hello, So
we were going shopping. So we changed the money at
the desk, so we got our little Spanish money and
we're going out of the hotel. Now. They cordoned off
the fans because it was like a sea of fans
in front of this hotel. So but for the guests,

(01:31:31):
they needed to rope off a path so the guests
can come. So we're counting the money and putting money in.
My person was trying to figure out where we're gonna
go have lunch. And we walked down through this sea
of people, this opening like Moses, and from behind me,
I hear, hey, that's sight to Garrett Baby. I look

(01:31:52):
behind me and people were like, come. Me and my
friend took off running down the street in Spain and
we're running, running and looking at him and they're coming. Afterwards,
I said, oh my god, what are they gonna do
when they fucking kiss us? It was just insane and
we were running and running, and then somebody must have said, hey,
we're three blocks from the hotel. We better what if

(01:32:13):
Michael comes out? So they then turned around. But that
was the most harrowing time, and that's when I realized,
this is Michael every day. It's insane. Well, they're gonna
pull my hair.

Speaker 1 (01:32:26):
And just have a remnant.

Speaker 12 (01:32:27):
Look what I got.

Speaker 7 (01:32:27):
Yeah, I don't know. It was insane, and it really
scared me to think about that's what his whole life was.

Speaker 6 (01:32:34):
Did y'all sing I just can't stop Loving You together?
Did y'all record that together? Or was it so you
you were in his face?

Speaker 9 (01:32:41):
Yes?

Speaker 7 (01:32:41):
I told you two Mike stands one here, one here,
and and the lyrics said, I just can't stop loving you.
Michael sayidam that it was in that moment that I realized,
oh my god, I'm.

Speaker 6 (01:32:52):
Singing a duet with the fucking king of pop.

Speaker 7 (01:32:55):
Unbelievable. And I, in answer to your question, all I
wanted to do was just delivered my best to impress
him and Quincy look what I can do.

Speaker 1 (01:33:06):
That's man, that's so much pressure though, because it's like
I felt, it.

Speaker 7 (01:33:10):
Was like, this is where I get to show them
what I have. No, there was no crackage.

Speaker 1 (01:33:15):
You were just completely confident.

Speaker 7 (01:33:17):
Yeah, because I've been dying.

Speaker 6 (01:33:19):
So they hear it in a song you do, I
just can't stop loving and you're like, oh oh that moment.
I just wondered when Michael Jackson was thinking.

Speaker 7 (01:33:24):
He loved it. He loved it, he loved it. We
had so much fun, man. And there was one time
in Japan, I think it was New Year's Eve or something.
I came out on stage and this was before people
were doing colors in their hair. I came out on
stage with a little hot magenta pink bob and then
when Michael turned and said, each time he started laughing

(01:33:47):
so hard he couldn't even sing. He was laughing so hard.
It was so funny.

Speaker 6 (01:33:53):
It was so funny.

Speaker 7 (01:33:55):
My hair was usually like this, and I want to
switch it up just to see what fucking happened. And
he could not stop laughing. He said, that was really funny.
That was really funny.

Speaker 1 (01:34:04):
Wow, that's thank you for sharing that. Thank you all
right back on the block. Actually have a Michael. Were
there any other songs that you guys recorded together that
didn't come out or no? The only other thing we
did was keep the faith right off?

Speaker 7 (01:34:22):
Keep the Faith?

Speaker 1 (01:34:23):
Yeah, wait a minute, okay, now we can get to
the bottom of Got the Hots versus? Oh yeah, okay,
So on your solo record.

Speaker 7 (01:34:35):
My ill fated solo we have it, all right.

Speaker 6 (01:34:38):
So we have it.

Speaker 7 (01:34:40):
We had to.

Speaker 1 (01:34:45):
You did baby got a bed with Rod Temperton?

Speaker 13 (01:34:48):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (01:34:50):
Can you? Yeah? He's what is Rod Temperton? Like I know,
one of my one of my regrets was just not
I mean, besides the Twitter relationship, I really didn't get
a you know, a chance to stick the brain And
yeah he was.

Speaker 7 (01:35:09):
Rod Temperton was the most amazing songwriter that I've ever
met Rod Temperton has a work ethic that was like
none other. Rod Temperton hated the press, he hated the interviews.
He would never agree to do any he didn't want.

(01:35:30):
He just wanted to be the guy who wrote the
great songs and was behind the behind the scenes kind
of guy. When we were recording my Kiss of Life album,
we were in the student at this studio on Westlake
Studios and Rod had a couple of studios going at

(01:35:52):
the same time because we were under pressure to get
this record done. So one night we were recording and
Rod add a toothache and he was he was like
a serious smoker. I can't even remember seeing his face
without him having a cigarette hanging from his fingers. So
he was smoking a cigarette and he's going like this

(01:36:13):
with his hand on his face, on his jaw. I'm like,
what's wrong? He said, bit of a toothache? Was that
s all right? Can we can we do it one
more time? I'm like, Rod, you should call a dentist.
He said, it's all right. He said it's all right,
So he said, go ahead and sing song one more time.
While I was singing the song, Rod had sent one
of the engineers into the toolbox. No, wait for it, no,

(01:36:43):
Rod took a pair of flyers. He gripped that tooth,
yanked it out of his mouth, took a swig of
his cigarette, a drink of his coffee, and said one

(01:37:05):
more take please. Gangster Wow, wow, gangster wow. He was
like that, that's the kind of.

Speaker 1 (01:37:22):
Hell man.

Speaker 7 (01:37:25):
You said there and watched that I was and then
he's like and then he's like, you gotta be bleeding
profusely washing it all down with the coffee and cigarette.

Speaker 1 (01:37:38):
Yeah, yeah, I think that's cool.

Speaker 7 (01:37:46):
Sounds like the white guy thing. I gotta be a white.

Speaker 1 (01:37:50):
That's something again. Yeah, but you could never pull that.
I wouldn't have the you could never pull coffee.

Speaker 5 (01:37:57):
Coff you were for thirty years. You don't know that
his dad's a dentist. I'm like, I've known you for
all my life and I didn't know your dad was
a GENI that explains your teeth.

Speaker 1 (01:38:11):
Well, gifts, what are the checks? I love it? Okay, wait,
yeah for it? Yeah I got so. We didn't get
the answer. It's a baby got a bed. Yeah, I

(01:38:31):
was going to say, so. The thing is is that
we have a version who got the hots. That's on
kind of a Michael box set that has him credit
as the sole writer of it. Michael, Right, Okay, so
when we heard baby Got in Bed, I realized that
that's basically Got the Hots, which explains to me that

(01:38:55):
so that Rod Timperton did the music correct. Probably, I'm
trying to figure out how. So how did you get
the track before?

Speaker 7 (01:39:06):
I don't know what track you're talking about, Got the Hots?

Speaker 1 (01:39:09):
I'm not okay, it was a thriller out take? Play it?
Do you never heard the original reference that Got the Hots?

Speaker 6 (01:39:16):
No?

Speaker 1 (01:39:17):
This is incredible. Okay, so this is uh Got the
Hots an outtake? So you got to the bottom of nothing, right,
But now we're all going to walk away in lighting
and I get to hear it Got the Hots for
a minute.

Speaker 7 (01:39:30):
Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, I have heard this before. Okay,
that's Rod Tipperton to his core.

Speaker 1 (01:39:47):
Does he demo everything himself?

Speaker 7 (01:39:50):
Yeah? I sang a lot of his demos?

Speaker 1 (01:39:55):
Can you play the other one? Okay?

Speaker 7 (01:39:57):
Has he played Have you heard Groove of Midnight? Michael's
version of Groove of Midnight? Yeah, that was one of
the songs that didn't make the album. Wait, I love
it when you freak out the Nerds night, We're in
the wam the sweetest.

Speaker 1 (01:40:17):
Do you do you own this.

Speaker 7 (01:40:22):
Somewhere?

Speaker 1 (01:40:23):
Are we going to be best friend?

Speaker 7 (01:40:24):
You gotta be my friend now? Of course, shake my
hand again.

Speaker 6 (01:40:28):
Absolutely, Larry again.

Speaker 3 (01:40:30):
You know I'm gonna start calling you lady. That's fine,
I'll be Larry. Let's compare it to babies, yes, nerd,
all right, so this baby's got it also with take
Rudolf from production right.

Speaker 7 (01:40:47):
Yes, I used to love to sing Chariot. I think.

Speaker 12 (01:41:16):
It's get to say that the bull and crazy my
body is a talk of the law, went in.

Speaker 7 (01:41:29):
The most take them and be able to cut up
the robot?

Speaker 5 (01:42:04):
Are those all your backgrounds? And when you're doing that
are you making? Are you Is that just like off
the top of your head?

Speaker 6 (01:42:11):
Oh no, no, no, no, no no.

Speaker 7 (01:42:12):
Rod had all the chords, all the notes written out,
and he played me what notes to say, yes.

Speaker 1 (01:42:19):
Yes, I always. I concluded that maybe perhaps Mike didn't
see it to completion because it didn't allow him to
as an entertainer exactly because he was confined. It was
a brilliant song, though, And that's the thing, like, especially
with the work that Right has done, especially when like

(01:42:42):
Johnny Wilder is in the lead doing the heat heat
wave stuff and oh yeah, all those harm you know.
There's there's one song in on Central Heating where at
the very end it's called put the word out out.
Yes Yes, yes, yes, so's There's there's one song which

(01:43:04):
Johnny Wilder actually gives himself some debt because he mastered
like for like nine minutes he had to sing this
really intricate harmony part and at the end, at the
end of the song, Johnny Wilders like, I'm the best.
I did that for ten morefucking minutes. It's it's it's

(01:43:26):
really great movie. I love the callback. So when when
when you when you're called for a project like back
on the Block and subsequently listen up and there's so
many players in it, like how God, what are your

(01:43:47):
memories of tackling that project?

Speaker 7 (01:43:51):
That was I was just in awe to be in
the room because you never knew who was gonna show up.
I mean that album was Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah von Barry
White of Miles Davis, Algirou, who's the cheeks, che Dizzey,

(01:44:13):
the last Pitch, all these people that was their last project, right,
So I have a story. Barry White was doing the
Secret Garden, right, So Quincy and Barry are talking in
a little area between the recording booth and the vocal booth.
There was like a little hallway at Westlake Gifts. So
they're and they're talking, and I'm going from either from

(01:44:36):
the booth into the studio or from the studio into
the booth, but I had to pass them. And they're talking,
and Barry's dog talking, and I'm standing there waiting to
say something to Quincy. And while Barry is speaking, my
ribs are vibrating, and I said, excuse me, mister White,

(01:44:56):
I'm gonna have to lead, because right now you are
inside me. Yeah, it was just so intense. He his
voice was so rich and so deep. My rib cage
was vibrating from the tone in his voice. Baby, they
nothing like having Berry White inside. I'm telling you.

Speaker 1 (01:45:16):
I'm telling you now, but it is something like that
overwhelming or by this point, you're just like eight. I
was loving it every day.

Speaker 7 (01:45:24):
Hey, No, No, you knew it was special. You knew
that that was some shit that didn't happen every day.
You knew that these people only came because it was Quincy.
I mean, Ray Charles, you know, Dizzy Gillespie come on.
So it was just it was a rich history lesson

(01:45:47):
every day the musical history that Quincy surrounds himself with
and has inside of him. I mean since he was
fourteen years old. That's and almost every decade he's been
relevant ever since. Six decades of relevance in the music business.
Who does that? You know, It's just I just wanted

(01:46:08):
to be a sponge. I just wanted to soak up
all the goodness, all the richness, all the musicality, all
the experience, all the talent that I could possibly soak
up while I was in their presence. What did they
say you you are? Your collective intelligence is is a

(01:46:28):
some of the seven people you surround yourself with or
something like that.

Speaker 6 (01:46:31):
That's said, well in a room like that, but that
was that was to me as the only new person
at the time of She was on cut Joints Joint Joint.

Speaker 7 (01:46:54):
Right back of the block, and Rod wrote the song
for her and I sang the demo.

Speaker 6 (01:46:59):
Voices. He was my baby angela Field in my head.

Speaker 5 (01:47:04):
Want to do it.

Speaker 6 (01:47:06):
First?

Speaker 7 (01:47:07):
Yeah. Misha had a great relationship with Rod. He loved
going back to London, and recording stuff with her. She's awesome.
I sang her demos too. For when Rod would write
in La, I'd sing the demos and then he'd go
to Europe and playing for Misha. Rod never let out
his music. If he was going to have a meeting
with an an R person for to play music for

(01:47:27):
their artists, he would go there, play the music and
take his ship right back with him, because if you
didn't like it, then you're not gonna like it in
twenty minutes, so.

Speaker 6 (01:47:36):
You're not gonna like it.

Speaker 7 (01:47:37):
He never left any of his music with anybody. No,
and he didn't do the demos until he got the job.
Then he would demo, do you like this song?

Speaker 1 (01:47:46):
This song?

Speaker 6 (01:47:47):
Or we were like that?

Speaker 7 (01:47:49):
Really, because right had that thriller money, he didn't give
a ship, He really didn't. He did it because he
loved the music. He didn't need the money. In fact
that you know, he didn't care about that. Rod Timber
didn't didn't even drive a car. He didn't own a vehicle.
In fact, his wife had to come on, Roddie, I
need a car, you know to you know. But Rod

(01:48:11):
had a relationship with the Yellow Cab service Way before Uber.
Rod was like having the cabs coming, taking to get groceries,
taking him buy cigarettes.

Speaker 6 (01:48:18):
You know.

Speaker 1 (01:48:19):
Wow, he was a trip.

Speaker 6 (01:48:20):
And Quincy doesn't drive either.

Speaker 1 (01:48:23):
Wow, follow Quincy Jones.

Speaker 7 (01:48:24):
I wouldn't drive, Quincy never learned to drive.

Speaker 1 (01:48:26):
You're not Quincy Johnes know how to drive.

Speaker 6 (01:48:28):
Quincy Jones? Do you so often?

Speaker 1 (01:48:30):
Do you really to him?

Speaker 7 (01:48:32):
I spend every Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner with Quincy Jones.
And I talked to him throughout the year, depending on
who dies, what's happening, because he said, all my friends
are dead. It's very worry about him.

Speaker 1 (01:48:44):
So yeah, yeah.

Speaker 7 (01:48:46):
And he said to me like when Ray Charles passed
and then Rod Temperton passed and I was talking to
him about funerals, he said, oh shit, I can't. I
can't go to another funeral. Said if I went to
every funeral with the people that I know, I'd be
at a funeral every week. Wow, he said, I'm done
with funerals.

Speaker 1 (01:49:03):
Wow. I gotta respect that.

Speaker 7 (01:49:07):
Respect until you die, until I won't know that.

Speaker 1 (01:49:12):
So you, uh, you wrote the lyrics for Tomorrow correct? Yes?

Speaker 7 (01:49:17):
For better you better me? Babe?

Speaker 1 (01:49:24):
Oh you said it was your favorite.

Speaker 6 (01:49:25):
What do you know they will show our hopes and yes,
you never cry any of these songs. Man in the mirror.
Tomorrow you never.

Speaker 5 (01:49:31):
Tomorrow actually makes me kind of yeah, like that's tomorrow
will be okay.

Speaker 1 (01:49:36):
I'll tell you what.

Speaker 3 (01:49:37):
It reminds me when I was a kid and tomorrow
is so far away and now tomorrow's here and I'm.

Speaker 1 (01:49:41):
Like, damn, this is tomorrow.

Speaker 7 (01:49:44):
But it's never far away. It's not one thing I
can always be sure. Yeah, get it all to be strong,
get it.

Speaker 6 (01:49:52):
On, get on to be strong.

Speaker 3 (01:49:55):
Yeah, mean I'm pep. Actually, I I'm gonna make a confession.
Actually didn't know that that song was originally an instrumental. Yeah,
because the lyrics just fit it so perfectly.

Speaker 7 (01:50:06):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:50:09):
No, see, I didn't know that there were lyrics. Well
that's the thing.

Speaker 7 (01:50:15):
There weren't, right, I get it.

Speaker 1 (01:50:17):
Now, just like, uh, what's his name? The jazz guy
that Eddie Eddie Harris who always adds lyrics to you know. So,
as a soul training a file, I have to say
that usually where I come from in soul training ology,

(01:50:37):
depending on what time it comes on, either wrestling's coming
on right before that or America's Top ten. Yes, So
I was really happy during your duration.

Speaker 6 (01:50:49):
Of that was so much fun, man.

Speaker 7 (01:50:51):
I mean, Casey Kasem called me one day and tell
me I was doing a really great job because I
would suffer him when he was go on vacation or
if he something. I don't remember how that happened, I
really don't, but I remember doing the show and they
really wanted me to continue, but I it was painful
for me because every week I would announce all my

(01:51:14):
friends going up the charts, Tevin Madonna, they were all,
you know, and I would this week on the you know,
and I felt kind of left out. It was like
on the outside and it was kind of painful. So
I didn't want to do it anymore. And they were like,
but you're so good at this. I said, but I don't.
I don't want to do it. It was fun. I
remember when Casey Casem was having his first child and

(01:51:36):
he was trying to figure out what to name the kid,
and I said, you know what, Casey, I don't care
what you call them. Just don't call them justin Casey.
But I actually did say that. But I'm working on.

Speaker 1 (01:52:06):
Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna cut to the chase just
because we'll be here for nine hours. How did you
come across Brand New Heavies?

Speaker 7 (01:52:14):
Oh my gosh. I was assigned to write with each
one of the members of the Brand New Heavies for
the next album, just as a songwriter. So I would
get these tracks and I would demo them and send
them to London, or I would go to London and
demo the songs after I'd written. It was just me

(01:52:35):
writing with an equal number of songs for an equal
for each member of the group.

Speaker 1 (01:52:40):
Right, did they know they were all writing with you?

Speaker 7 (01:52:43):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (01:52:43):
Okay, I thought it was like no, no, no, no,
no no.

Speaker 6 (01:52:45):
No no no, no, no no no.

Speaker 7 (01:52:46):
It was my job to write with each one of
them for their record because the last album, the drummer
wrote all the songs. And they were great on the road,
you know, buying clothes and living it up on the road,
and then they went home to their little apartments while
the drummer bought a car and got.

Speaker 6 (01:53:00):
A new flat and you know.

Speaker 7 (01:53:01):
So they were like, hey, we're equal members of the group, right,
so we should all get a part of the written, right,
We're all going to be right and right, we're all writing.
So I had to write with any equal number of
songs for each member of the group.

Speaker 4 (01:53:17):
Song.

Speaker 7 (01:53:18):
I think it was the drummer. Yeah, y.

Speaker 1 (01:53:24):
That you might not be aware, but that Dili remix
changed lives. Oh my god, I can remember. Don't even
know it what REMIXX?

Speaker 7 (01:53:37):
Yes, yes, yes, I love you And I see him.
I hadn't seen him since for like ten years after
the record, and I didn't know if he'd remember whatever.
And he said, the am a mix, of course I
remember you. The I'm a mixed brand new. It was
really good. That was that was an awesome That was
that mix was better than the record. Yeah, the whole record.

Speaker 1 (01:54:00):
I don't even know if you're ware it. Like the
guy who did the track music what j Dilla is like,
he's are Jay Dilla? Yes, he's He's all right. So
J Dilla is a producer from Detroit that Q Tip discovered,
who's like, are guru? No you well he passed away,

(01:54:26):
but I mean of office work, Yeah, but I.

Speaker 5 (01:54:32):
Mean you you.

Speaker 1 (01:54:34):
You hold the honor of like you're on one of
his signature tracks, like every the tracks that he's done
that really inspired the Neil Soul movement. The way that
Danzelo's record sound, the way it does the way that
Eric Abadu's records, the way the Roots album sound, the
way that Jill Scott's like that whole neo soul movement
between ninety six and like two thousand and five. He's

(01:54:56):
really the epicenter of it all. So it's like you,
I mean, you're you're basically on the Duke Ellington of
that movement.

Speaker 7 (01:55:07):
Wow, that's so cool.

Speaker 1 (01:55:09):
Use it? Yeah, yeah, and so I did not know that.
Yeah when it came out, that just that changed lives.
So talk about your your new all right, this acronym
is a nightmare?

Speaker 7 (01:55:23):
Why ghetto?

Speaker 1 (01:55:26):
Give me the acronym?

Speaker 7 (01:55:27):
Greatness, Yes, happens even though there's oppression.

Speaker 6 (01:55:34):
Mmmm, what you're saying you couldn't say ghetto.

Speaker 1 (01:55:38):
I didn't say. I couldn't say ghetto. Like I said,
I couldn't remember the acronym. Yes, what is it? Greatness
happens even to those.

Speaker 7 (01:55:49):
Greatness happens even though there's oppression.

Speaker 1 (01:55:52):
My dear, how apropos for the times we's living? Trying
to how did it come to be?

Speaker 7 (01:55:58):
Well comment? I've always been a fan of his energy
and the message in his music, in his rap, and
I really started to know him as a person when
we found out we were on the the same oscar board.

(01:56:19):
Thank you darling. We were on the the Academy. He's
an Academy member, and I decided when I decided to
add a verse to this song, I had a little
wish list and Common was at the top of the list.

Speaker 6 (01:56:30):
I wasn't.

Speaker 7 (01:56:31):
I didn't. I didn't really expect to get him on it,
but alas say is no, and you know, nothing, nothing
beats so failure but a try. So I just posed
it to him and sent him the song. He loved
the song, and I kind of got his information while

(01:56:51):
we were on the on this music branch, and he
just seems so just kind of cool and just open
to it. And when he said yes because he loved
the message of the song, I was like great. And
then it was about waiting for him to have time
to put on his twelve bars. But baby, when they
finally came in, it was so dope. I just loved it,

(01:57:14):
and it just elevated the song to another level.

Speaker 1 (01:57:17):
He's a He's the man special individual. That comment. I'll say, wait,
why am I talking?

Speaker 7 (01:57:24):
You can wear some crochet, chance use a special I'm
trying to tell you.

Speaker 1 (01:57:30):
Sit and Gary you are everything I ever wanted uh
in the interview, and.

Speaker 7 (01:57:39):
You brought a bag of chips.

Speaker 6 (01:57:43):
I hate him on the way before we say go back,
can you explain because aren't you involved this T shirt.

Speaker 7 (01:57:48):
That you're wearing, Yeah, the girl's code.

Speaker 6 (01:57:50):
Can you just talk about that?

Speaker 7 (01:57:51):
Ro dude. I was at a graduation for some some
some people that are learning code and learning how to
impact uh technology through art and music and business, and
we wanted to this. This movement is to teach black

(01:58:12):
girls that they can code their own computer games and
they can program their own uh. They can they can
compute themselves, and they don't have to be young white
boys to learn how to uh to to code and
and create your own video games and and computer programs.

Speaker 5 (01:58:31):
You could.

Speaker 7 (01:58:31):
Black girls can do it. And I think the movie
Hidden No Hidden Fences. I'm just kidding Hidden Figures did
a lot to sort of show people that math is
good for girls, and you know, black girls can compute
some ship. So I'm just here to support that that

(01:58:54):
every black child looks at a video game or looks
at something on their program on their computer or an
app or something and think. I wanted to be able
to think, hey, I can improve that, or I can
make a nap for this, or I can do that.

Speaker 6 (01:59:08):
You.

Speaker 7 (01:59:09):
I don't think they don't even teach that in school.
So no, nobody really hasn't an idea that they can
aspire to do something like that. So I'm here to
be the liaison and just to be a vessel to
promote that message. Black girls can do it, we can code,
we can do some ship up in here.

Speaker 1 (01:59:27):
So yes, my got a friend who has two daughters
that are like their dream is to be video games and.

Speaker 7 (01:59:35):
Black girls code. Okay, that's crazy.

Speaker 1 (01:59:38):
Yeah, I think I've learned everything. Yeah, boss, Bill, what
did you learn to day man? What didn't I learn?

Speaker 5 (01:59:46):
Hold on, let me go through my notes you would
keep come back to me, come back to me really
all right, I'm paid, Bill Man, same as the ship.

Speaker 7 (01:59:58):
This is.

Speaker 1 (01:59:59):
This is amazing.

Speaker 3 (01:59:59):
This is to talk about being an artist and all
this other stuff is super amazing and awesome. One of
the things I learned that I'm going to treasure most
is what the hell you guys were saying and don't
look any further. That was going to come in to
handy just I've always been a fan of yours, like
I think. Sorry, No, it's okay, it's okay. Don't apologize,
don't apologize. I think I'm not Michael Jackson. But I

(02:00:23):
love your voice. I love your voice, and you write
amazing songs. I'm very honored to be in this room
with you right now. So thank you for being here,
Thanks for having me.

Speaker 7 (02:00:32):
This has been relatively painless. Relatively I didn't.

Speaker 1 (02:00:37):
Know into.

Speaker 6 (02:00:42):
What you say, Shoe, I want to go this shoe.

Speaker 8 (02:00:46):
There's no version of James Ingram singing man.

Speaker 1 (02:00:48):
In the mirror.

Speaker 7 (02:00:49):
Hell, we can all rest a little easier.

Speaker 8 (02:00:52):
And no, no, I'm a fan of his.

Speaker 7 (02:00:55):
Wicked man.

Speaker 6 (02:00:56):
I have a question.

Speaker 7 (02:00:58):
You don't have to raise your hand.

Speaker 1 (02:01:02):
This Actually, yeah, I did.

Speaker 7 (02:01:09):
Philip Ingram. Yeah, he was one of the guys that
was at the auditions for Quincy and he started hiring
me to do background session.

Speaker 1 (02:01:15):
I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. The carjack your memories. This happens.

Speaker 7 (02:01:24):
But he didn't mean to Selena and Barnes.

Speaker 1 (02:01:31):
You mentioned James Ingram and it just hit me that
she did a song with Philip Ingram. And I was
a massive switchman, and you know what.

Speaker 7 (02:01:38):
Switch came to my high school and I told Philip word, Yeah,
I like went up to meet him, and he was
so snotty, and I said, you were a bitch to me.
You were just so mean, he said, when so when
I was in high school, your group came and you
didn't You didn't even I was I just read them
the riot Act, he said. I'm sorry, I didn't know.
You know, he's so sweet. I just adore him him, Philipping,

(02:02:00):
great singer.

Speaker 6 (02:02:02):
What you got to say?

Speaker 7 (02:02:03):
Shooting got that sugar?

Speaker 8 (02:02:07):
I mean, it's it's clearly. I mean, I guess I'm
staying the obvious. But you know, Michael Jackson was your husband,
and then you end up doing the duet across the microphone. Yeah,
I mean, it's pretty, it's pretty incredible.

Speaker 7 (02:02:21):
It was a dream. It was a dream I didn't
even know I had. I mean, if somebody had told
me that that would have happened, I would have just
laughed them out of the room, because, you know, who,
how could that happen? How can that possibly happen?

Speaker 1 (02:02:34):
It happens, you know, once in a while.

Speaker 7 (02:02:36):
I guess the moon must have been blue that day.

Speaker 1 (02:02:39):
Sweet, Sweet Margaret, any last words?

Speaker 10 (02:02:42):
Cheese throw off?

Speaker 1 (02:02:45):
Margaret, Sweet Margaret?

Speaker 6 (02:02:48):
Does she know that? No?

Speaker 7 (02:02:50):
No, yes, Okay, you're gonna leave a sweet Margaret today.

Speaker 1 (02:02:56):
Why is it sweet? There's a basketball reference? Oh oh, okay.

Speaker 6 (02:03:03):
I learned number one that one of my heroes loves
to cuss as much as I do. I love that profanity.

Speaker 1 (02:03:07):
Also, this.

Speaker 7 (02:03:15):
Power of new Cheese.

Speaker 6 (02:03:17):
I am taking this now. I don't really think I
need to read the book at this point, because y'all
gave me the whole thing.

Speaker 7 (02:03:21):
You got the gist.

Speaker 6 (02:03:22):
But what you did with your new Cheese is so
fucking amazing. And I hope that you realize one day
that even though you did not go necessarily the path
that you wanted to, what you have done is so
much bigger to so many people and individually, like the
words that you bring bring people to so many emotions
joy and you know, and sadness and everything else, everything
they need to feel. So anyway, this is what I learned,

(02:03:43):
and I learned Cya to Garrett is the ship? Yeah,
well today officially personality wise, this is the first time meeting.
So yes, the work was a ship and I know
she was shipped.

Speaker 1 (02:03:55):
Uh my lesson what's so forgettable? Just guess in case
you had scratching when we after we conclude a sermon
or an interview. We all have our reflections on what
we learned. But yeah, I'll say again that and I'll

(02:04:21):
double down on what Laiah said. For all of you listening,
And if I made you or texted you to listen
to this episode, yes I'm talking to you. And if
I tweeted it more than once, yes I was really
talking to you. Yeah if if if it's time for
new cheese. And you know, I'm bringing it back to

(02:04:43):
my basketball metaphor, like everyone's trying to be Jordan's, everyone's
trying to be Lebron. But you know what I'm saying,
at the end of the day, the the the trainer
might move up to assistant coach, might move to defensive coach,
might make it to owner of the team. You know,
like not everyone. There's you know, there's there's there's a

(02:05:04):
little glory and being Alan Iverson or being Lebron, But
at the end of the day that the cats, the
Simon checks the guys behind the scenes, there's new cheese,
not just the Spotlight cheese, but there's other cheese there.
And that's that's the lesson I want people. That's where
I really wanted you on the show so that you
could share that story. And I thank you.

Speaker 5 (02:05:34):
So much.

Speaker 1 (02:05:36):
For this episode.

Speaker 6 (02:05:38):
And we will I am Studio Bam.

Speaker 1 (02:05:40):
I just want to say to that, yes, thank you,
will I am for Where is White?

Speaker 6 (02:05:47):
And they have all the Japanese and actually assault about it.

Speaker 10 (02:05:54):
What are you talking about the turlet said hello when
you walk in.

Speaker 1 (02:05:58):
Anyway or app of Missing Fonte. I'm Ve Bill, Quoss, Bill,
Sugar Steve, Sweet Margaret and the Lovely Sight Garrett and
loud ass Eric. Yeah, Camera, this is Quest Love Supreme.

(02:06:20):
We will see you on the next go round. Thank you.
Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic
episode was produced by the team at Pandora. For more
podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

(02:06:41):
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.