June 24, 2022 • 37 mins
In honor of Black Music Mont, Ed talks with R&B legends, The Whispers. Twin brothers Wallace and Walter Scott and Leaveil Degree discuss their long careers, the group’s classic songs and how after over 50 years The Whispers continue to be popular and tour, delivering their long list of hits to their adoring fans.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Another big thanks to my guys Walter Scotty and Lavelle.
Congratulations again fellas you can see them receive the Black
Music Honors Legends Award Saturday, June twenty five on Bounce TV.
(00:21):
Welcome to the latest edition of one hundred The Ed
Gordon Podcast. Today a conversation with one of the greatest
R and B groups of all time, The Whispers. They
formed in Watts, California, in nineteen sixty three. Three years later,
a popular DJ in the Bay Area Sly Stone, who
would soon rock the music world himself with his band
(00:44):
The Family. Stone would invite the group to relocate to
the San Francisco area, where they began to hone their craft.
By they had their first hit, Seems Like I Gotta
Do Wrong. That became the first in a line of
hits including and the Beat Goes On, Lady, It's a
(01:05):
Love Thing, and Rock Steady. The group is still touring
giving fans what they want, and recently The Whispers received
the Legends Award at the Black Music Honors event. I
spoke with the group's three surviving members, twin brothers Wallace
and Walter Scott, who share lead vocals, and Lavelle degree
(01:28):
who joined the group in nineteen seventy three. Lavelle, I'll
ask you first, Um, when you think about where you
are today, you could not have dreamed or imagined this
kind of longevity I would think. I mean, I wouldn't
even think that would ever be in your head. No,
I mean, it's just it just shows how blessed we are.
(01:51):
We would never think that, well, I've done with the group,
like forty seven years we've been together, you know, I
mean this this is going on fifty four fear So,
who would ever imagine that in the day that anybody
would have a career that long. That to me, it's
just shows one. Uh. We always always put the man
(02:13):
upstairs first for allowing us to have this kind of longevity.
To our fans. Our fans are just the most incredible people,
because without them, you could not be here. So you know,
we wake up every morning pension ourselves and you know,
what did we do to deserve this kind of longevity?
You know? And we're just so happy, so proud, so thankful. Uh.
(02:38):
I mean, you could not believe how we feel inside too,
to be here this long and be able to do
it on the level that we're doing. It now, Otherwise
we would be thinking about retirement. And we always said
that if if we couldn't do it on us on
a certain level, then we would be done. Let me
Let me turn my attention to them Scott boys and
(03:00):
asked them, you know when you guys started out, I mean,
you're about to receive the Black Music Honors Lifetime Achievement Award.
You know, you guys have been saluted by the R
and B Hall of Fame and the like. Tell me
about the dream you had of what you wanted and
(03:20):
the reality that I'm sure surpassed that dream. You know
what well I want. Uh, normally I would let walk
because you know as long enough and you know who
who likes to talk to most of them just the
word that I have to speak on because of all
my life, I've been a dreamer and that is the
best word to describe what has happened. I actually dreamed this.
(03:45):
I've been dreaming all my life. The only good thing
is that the dream came true. We've been everywhere, we've
done everything, we've been here it was still able to
like level said was singing on a level you know,
uh that I just wouldn't believe. I mean, I'm singing
in the same key I was singing in thirty years ago.
That's all a blessing that I don't take for granted.
(04:06):
But I dreamed as a kid, I dreamed of doing this,
and so a kicking off on that word that you use,
because the dream basically came true for the Whiskers, Well,
what about you, man? I started to think about over
fifty years ago into Jordan down Projects in Watts, California.
That is right. We were out there do do whopping.
(04:27):
If you remember then Old Town was the standard. We
all wanted to be like the Temptations and the Four
Tops and so you know we were no different. But man,
we had no idea that fifty years later we'd be here.
We've been nominated for the Granny, you know, the Black
Music Honors. It's just a dream come true. Man. You know,
we've been in the Europe with the Asia, so we
(04:50):
just never could have dreamed in any way when we
were We started out winning a little small talent chose
with a DJ back here in Los Angeles. I think
it was hurting hand hunting hand on her hand pack
having talent shows, and Scottie and I had won most
of them, but then we hooked up as a vocal group.
But as he said, man, if you if you'd told
me fifty three years later that we would still be
(05:11):
going on stage singing at the level that we do.
You know, if you've seen our show, it ain't it's
not it ain't lack. It's still kicking me, you know.
But I'm just I'm amazed. But more than anything, man,
I just feel blessed, you know, really really blessed. You know,
you guys have over the years worked with some great people,
but I think a lot of people don't know the
(05:33):
connection that you guys had in the beginning with slidh
Stone absolutely, yeah, yeah, that was Slide was a ditch
jockey in San Francisco. Actually his dad was a minister
of the the area. But we had a little small
record in Los Angeles and he heard the record and
decided to bring Hums up for an interview at the
radio station where he was. He wasn't slash Stone, and
(05:54):
he was the biggest disch jockey at the radio station
in the area, and he brought us up and we
talked about our song, and that's how we ended up
in the area. We ended up standing in the area
probably for the next ten years, you know, but it
was slad. It really lunch to what we were trying
to do. The group's classic lineup was made up of Walter,
Scottie and Lavelle, plus Nicholas Caldwell and Marcus Hudson. Hudson
(06:19):
died in two thousand and Caldwell passed away in twenty six,
leaving the three remaining members to carry on delivering the music.
Let me ask you guys about keeping a group together
for as long as you have, because we should note
the classic lineup of the Whispers had two more gentlemen
(06:41):
who were no longer with us, but clearly with us
with the life of the music. And I am sure
in spirit I found it interesting that you all have
chosen not to replace them. You know, you see a
lot of groups wanting to replace members who either quit
or move on from this life. Give me a sense,
and I'll ask all of you this um of what
(07:05):
it's like to a lose members When you look to
your left or right who've been there with you for
so long, you know that's got to be an adjustment.
And also, um, what you guys have been able to
do by means of just keeping the group together. Well,
I don't know, maybe I'll start with that one. Um,
it's something that you learn to move on, you know,
(07:28):
when you have two members that you've lost, you you
move on. Even with band members that we lost, you
you you tend to move on because you have to,
and because that's something that I know that they would
want us to do. But it still hurts, you know
when you look over, I mean, Nicholas and Marcus was
(07:48):
always on my right side. And to lose Marcus and
then right, you know, then you know, several years later,
to lose Neck. You still I'm still looking over at
my right side and you know, my, my, the person
that has been with me longer than some marriages at work,
(08:09):
you know, us saying, I mean, you know, it's almost
like a marriage. And to look over and see that
that empty spot, it's you know, you move on, but
it still hurts. I mean I have a picture of
Nix in my house that I walked past every day,
you know, and uh, it keeps his memory alive and
when I make decisions or things that I want to do,
(08:31):
because Nick was kind of like the the person that
balanced us all. So when ever something comes out of
my mouth. I think of, Okay, how would Nick say
this and how would Nick do it? Because he was
the one that kept us all focused. So I don't
think you ever get over it. You you just you
(08:51):
just move on and you know, so yeah, yeah, for
me and I have an admission. When we lost Nick,
I did want to call it. I said I'm through
because I didn't think I could go on without Nick.
But as Lovell said, it was Nick who said, guys,
we gotta keep this going. We got something special. And
(09:12):
then you know, it's long enough to know that Nick
was the conscience, he was the core. He kept us
all kind of in line. So for me, I told
my brother, I said, you know what, I don't know
how I'm going to continue to go out there on stage.
It's hard to smile, which is what we have to
do when you're really not ready to smile. And that's
what I guess for the first year that we were
(09:33):
on stage, that we had to go through that. But
I remember what Nick said, you know, he said, man,
we started something that we had no idea that would
be this great, So keep on, you know. So but
we talked, we said, well, what about replacing somebody? He said, no,
we don't have to do that anymore. We you know,
with technology, Scotty and I still can sing to lead
and we can do part of the background. So keep
(09:54):
it going. And for that reason we stuffled through it.
But Leavella is right, I can't lied to you take
right now. You know you've seen our show. Nick was
a guy that was in the background that could have
been the lead singer, because he's the guy that you
couldn't take your out. So it took me a long
time to get to where we are now. And the
(10:15):
only reason I do this because I remember what he said.
He said, Hey man, let's keep this going as long
as we can do incredibly. Now I don't, you know,
I don't if I don't want to get out there,
if I can't hit the high, then I'm gone. You
never actually get over it. You just learned how to live.
You know. It's like when you you lose your parents,
you know, like to this day, I'm not over the
fact that my mom's gone, but I've learned how to
(10:35):
live without. You just learned how to do that. But
and and Nick kind of put that he was the one,
as you remember, you know, he was the one really
to have all the energy. You know, we had the
type of show. But he was the kind of guy that,
like Walk said, yeah, I kind of stuck to him
because he had so much energy. He was like that
with everything that we did. Though. He was very organized,
(10:58):
very detailed. I mean, Navel can attest to even though
when he came in the group it took him a
year before he ever hit the stage because we would saying,
was that Nick, how long is he gonna sit in
the back? Man? You know, how long behind something you
gotta he gotta come out? And a man, what is
(11:19):
he gonna be red? You know? But you know the
bill so for a good year, a year and a half.
And then what was so funny is the night that
Nick finally did decide to say it's time for you
to come on, and he veiled all those days. These
(11:42):
are the kind of things that he brought the members
that are so good now that yeah, we miss it, man,
We're gonna always missing you know. Uh mentioned that the
idea of being like a family. If I remember correctly
the story of Walt, I think you were the one drafted. Yeah,
um and and had to go to Vietnam and Scotty
(12:03):
Mom said to you know, you know you ain't about
to take everybody out there tell that, because that is
that close to it. Yeah, yeah, what happened when we
were When I came back, they had passed me so far.
I mean, they were real professionals. So I got back
into rehearsals. I didn't know what to do. So Scotty
(12:25):
went to my mother and he said, you know, Mama,
I don't know if Junior is what they call it.
They said, I don't know if Jennie's gonna make it.
You know, we try to do everything we can, but
I don't think he's gonna make it. So my mom said, well,
you better hope that he does make it, because if
he don't make it, you ain't gonna make it. Your
first single hits about sixty four. Here we are in
(12:48):
twenty two, and not only are you all still getting honored,
but if you play a gig, people are still coming.
You know, I'm gonna, I'm gonna. I'm gonna say it
to you like my wife said it to me, because
I sometimes you don't want you to beat right now
because we're still tour on a regular basis. We go
(13:10):
do shows, we come back on and sometimes you know,
because we're older. I'll be the first one to admit,
it's not the gig that's not The problem is not
the gig. It's getting to the gig. But you know,
when you get to p this sage. But my wife
has to tell me all the time, you know what,
just be glad somebody some aware to see you do
(13:31):
whatever it is that you do. There there's still people,
whether it's the club, theater and all. We've been all
over the world and we can't say this enough. We've
all said it because it's just true. If anybody would
have told us that we'd even still be doing this
fifty three years, I dream, but I wouldn't dreaming like that.
(13:53):
You know, I'm happy that it happened. But hey, that's
the way it rolls. And you know, to tell you
a little further, Scottie always says something in the show.
He's you know, he always tells the people, thank you
for coming to our show, and then he'll talk about,
you know, um, how we look. He says, even though
we look a little bit different than we did, that exactly,
(14:16):
it even means more now because you know, we're not
as sexy as we used to be. This trip we
ain't got no six back, we don't have all of
that going on, but we wind up trying to do
what we do best, a show. And that just shows
how much people loved the Whispers and how we have
such great fans that still want to come and hang
(14:39):
out and be with us and and and and enjoy
the show. So when you don't have that six packing,
you know, you you know, you don't have the hair
gone on your head and stuff like that, all all
of that kind of stuff, and that people still come. Man,
we are just re right now, three of us the
most blessed men on planet Earth. Yeah, that's so true.
(15:01):
Let me let me ask you guys in terms of
the longevity though, there are groups who continue to tour, uh,
continue to draw audiences. But as you say, age uh
doesn't miss any of us. M And when you were
a singer, you gotta say a prayer to keep that voice,
because as I remind people, the record was when people
(15:25):
were twenty. Now you're asking them to sound the same
at seventy. Yeah, Uh, that isn't always the case, but
you guys still sound great. How much of it is,
um you're taking care of yourself. How much of it
is God given? What is it that that has allowed that? Well,
you know what I started with it. I always say this,
(15:47):
we were blessed to have three incredible mothers they put.
It started out with them making us understand that you're
only as strong as your weakest link. And they drilled
it into us to never try to be something that
you're not. So we really came along and this Nick
kind of kind of reinforces too. You noticed there was
(16:10):
never the whispers featuring Scottie and the Wall the twin.
You know, it's just been the whispers. And thank God,
we've never drank, never smoked, no no dope or nothing
like that. So God has truly blessed us to be
in our seventies. And like Scott he said, we're singing
the same key now that we did when we made
(16:31):
that to be goes on. So that's just a blessing
man from the man upstairs. Uh. The little part that
we had to do what I think that we had
a great upbringing. We weren't rich, but man, our parents
put in us a mentality that lasts to this day.
You know, we're thankful. And then I say this all
the time when we make a comparison to tell younger
(16:52):
groups this, today's artists, they're just great, no question about it.
But they have an arrogant about them that we just
didn't have when we came up. In other words, when
you came to see our show, we gave you the
impression that we were so glad that you came to
see us that night. Today's artists kind of thing, you
(17:13):
know what, you all to be glad that I'm here.
That's the that's I mean. And maybe they don't mean
no harm. They call it hard or whatever you want
to call it, but that humility man has kept us
here for fifty three years, and I'm convinced of it.
You can't miss when you humble and honest. Yeah, I
want to get into the catalog for a second. But
(17:33):
what's what's unique, and I think doesn't always get it's
just do is you know you had the Philly sound.
We were talking about the o JS and at LeVert
before we got going in, Walter Williams and and Gambling
Huff and all that, those great musicians that came out
of Philly. You of course had the Motown sound, but
there is a sound of Los Angeles, you know, the
(17:54):
solar sound is what many people called it, and you
guys became a big part of creating that sound in
a sense of that era of music for you guys,
and and the unique place that you all playing it. Well.
This was a small record company ended up by Dick
(18:14):
Griffey who really was trying to emulate Barry Gordian Motown.
He wanted Soldot of Records to be another Motown, but
he basically garnered the talent from the Los Angeles area
and individually while all over the country getting talent. But man,
what a success. It was something that just emerged without
anybody knowing it. And all these young people who were
(18:37):
in their front Leon Silver's baby face, you know, they
were in the in the area where they were up
and coming. They hadn't made it yet, and oh man,
it just made for the most incredible atmosphere. I mean,
Dick was the kind of guy that let artists take
their wings and fly. You know. He wasn't there standing
over you telling you what you gotta do. He really
(18:57):
wanted you to be who you were. And that's kind
really how motown. I mean, Solar got his start by
dig giving the freedom to these young acts to beat
themselves and as you know, he had Solar wanted to
be something that we were all proud of, man, no
question about it. And you need to name people like Shalimar, Lakeside, uh,
(19:18):
baby Face and l A. I mean, they want they
were Kenny edon beyond, you know. But I mean, like
Walt said, the good thing that I loved about the
first of all, he was music. People didn't realize he
was a producer in his own right. I mean, but
he didn't, like Walt said, he didn't force himself upon.
He understood the importance of letting the act be whatever
(19:40):
the act well and even if it wasn't built it.
You know, when he first brought Leon Silvils to the Whispers,
him being the older brother of the Silvers, we questioned,
wouldn't we we didn't want to do? We said, what
can he do? Dick knew something musically that even we
didn't know, not enough be sil basically was a bass player.
(20:02):
Hella a bass player, but we had no idea that
he was the writer and the producer that. I mean,
the biggest song we've had in our lives came from
Leon Sylvils. And then he went on, of course to
do other people. But like well said, all this was
in that one little building little there, oh and in Hollywood,
that dicks. He knew exactly what he had, you know.
(20:23):
The only thing and it's not a bad thing. It's
far as I'm concerned. When him and Donna and needs
picked up if if I hate to say this, but
if EGO hadn't stepped in, they would have been the
two biggest black men in America. That's true. But that's
a whole nother show. Yeah, I know the stories called us.
(20:45):
I know the stories. Than let me ask you guys this.
You know, I think of the early hits that you
guys had, and I mean, you know, I was coming
up junior high school, high school and and and you know,
I only mentor what my feet and Olivia and you know, uh,
you know they start to kind of give the name
(21:07):
of the Whispers a mother for my children. You know,
I think of all of those can go you know, yeah,
well y'all know, y'all know how you look. Look, I
didn't have to research that part. But then uh, and
(21:30):
the beat goes on hits and a record like that
can change a group from one that you fondly remember
to one that you don't forget give me a sense
of what that song, and you know two or three
of the others, it just became massive rock steady. And
(21:53):
we can go on and on. But what is that
like to have, you know, records like that that really transcend, Uh,
you know all the charts, color, race, et cetera. What's
that like? Well, I'm glad you brought this up, because
it's like like develos and we we we tell these
things in our show. We try to give it a
history to people who maybe and most black people, if
(22:14):
they're older. It's not the devel though. We've been here
alone enough, but there's some every now and then. I
don't really know what we've done and who and what
who we've done it with. But and the beat goes
on and I say this in the show, and I'm
not to be funny, it's honest, god truth. And the
beat goes on. Before we had it, I might be
able to get my clothes out the cleaners. After we
(22:37):
got it. I've almost read the body cleaners. I mean,
I'm trying to. I mean, I know it sounds funny,
but it was that we went from because we as
you remember, we came close a lot of times, you know,
and then there were times when we had records, didn't
nobody buying, but you know my mother and aveils mother
(22:57):
and you know next mother it too, and we said, wow,
when is it gonna happen? I mean, Olively Lawson turned
out we came very close, you know, to gold record.
But I remember when and the beat goes on when
the night we finished it in the studio, we all
knew that night that it was gonna be hit. Now
(23:18):
we didn't. We didn't know it's gonna be as big
as a guy. But you know you have to play
back yet when everybody you didn't finish and you do
the playbag and it's blasting all through the studio. So
of course, you know, we said, wow, if this don't
make it, we're gonna do what my mom said. My
mom said, maybe I need to over dob now it's benefits,
ain't nothing happening. But when we finished that one thing
(23:42):
out of nowhere, it went from gold to platinum so
fast that we said, wait a minute, you sure this
is the Whispers, you know, because it was another group
and in Europe that was called Whispers, and we were thinking,
you know, something going on here. Is this us? I mean,
you know, is it them? When they brought them five
(24:03):
gold albums out and we were in Louis doing a
show Live and Stop the show brought out five gold
albums and that was then the beat goes on. From
that point on, it when gold, platinum, double platinum, and
our lives and answer to your question, and the beat
(24:24):
goes on changed our lives, no doubt about it. That's
when people ask me what's my favorite song? That's why
I always said, and I got a lot of songs
that I love to meet them. But and the beat
goes on, without a doubt, changed our lives completely. And
Lavella if it if it weren't enough to have that,
then you guys go on to have rock study and
(24:45):
you now and that is thanks to La and baby Face. UM,
give me a sense of what that is to have.
For sure, I can argue a couple of others, but
for sure two songs stay. You can't do a concert
unless unless you do those two. It's gonna be trouble
(25:06):
in the you know, and when and when you hit
those songs. Give me a sense of what you what
you feel when you see the reaction, well, the reaction well,
number one, like Scottie said, when you have and the
beat goes on, that comes out that you know almost
didn't get done based on you know the fact that
that Leon was such a a sticker on how he
(25:30):
wanted things, and and and and we had to big
Scottie to come back in the studio and do it.
But once we struck gold and then we struck platinum,
it's like then then baby Face comes, you know. With
you know, with rock Steady, it was like I always
(25:53):
didn't you know where they say lightning doesn't strike the
same place twice, Well, that was like what happened with us.
So when we had that lightning strike twice, we were like,
you know, oh my god, uh, you know, is this
really happening to the whispers because we have been struggling
so long and a matter of fact, you know, when
(26:16):
when the rock Steady came, I mean when the and
the Beat came, uh, we had them one show the
year before it came out. One show we were actually staying,
we were at home. We were like, we're on COVID
then because we didn't we didn't do any stuggles at
that point, and we were really struggling. But even continuing
(26:38):
at that point. And when that song came out, it's,
like Scotty said, it changed everything. But to have lightning
strike twice and then have you know ladies say yes,
you know in the mood all of those things. You
know that actually kind of like was the icing around
those two mega hits, was just unbelieved it before us.
(27:00):
I mean we, like I said, we just didn't believe
it was us. And like Stay said, we were able
to put our kids through college and and and I
lived do everything that you know that that we struggled
not to have. We lived. We were able to do
things for our families and stuff like that. So we
felt so humble and so blessed. When I bought my
(27:22):
first house, you know, you know, it was like almost
going from a hundred I laugh at it now, going
from a hundred nine a note to now buying a
house and I'm paying six hundred dollars and I'm having
a cardiac arrest of them like in my crazy you know.
(27:43):
And then then when you know, then when we had
their second hit, I wind up buying even a bigger
house and having a bigger note. So it was just
it just allowed us to achieve some things that we
only dreamed of, and it was allowing us to you
know uh. And that's why I love our fans, because
it wasn't just me that put my kids through college
(28:06):
that we're able to give them, you know, a nice life.
It was people that loved us, loved the Whispers, that
allowed me to take care of my family in the
way that I did. So we're very That's why I
love the Whispers. Whispers have so much humilities, so they're
so humble, and we think our fans because nothing that
(28:27):
we have done in life through our for our kids
are now our grandkids and great grand babies cannot be
achieved without without our fans. Let me take you guys
to one more song, which I think goes to my
next point about the Whispers. There are some groups who
are great at love songs. There are some groups that
(28:50):
are great at upbeat songs, and then there are a
couple of musicians that can do both equally. And I
think of, um, you know, maybe Nick's calling Car would
say yes, um, and what that did because now when
you listen to the radio, and I mean East generation
is different. I'm not trying to act like the old guy.
(29:12):
Get off my lawn, you know each general. I remember
my mother thinking, you know people who are classic. Now,
she still couldn't figure out Princes. But you know he
wasn't a king Cole. That's what she used to tell me.
Give me a sense of hey, how you guys have
(29:33):
been able to kind of craft both and and not
be looked at its frauds on either side of the fence.
And um. The idea of what say yes was because
even though it seems very tame now, you know when
that hit h you know, when you're going around to
her navel, boy, everybody you know what it invol and
(30:00):
it's funny. Before we had mb goes on it rock steady,
we were known as a balladeer group. You know. We
we wanted we wanted our biggest hit to be ballots
that we could really attribute talk to the ladies. You know,
this was nixed unique talent. You know when we first
started out, we all got together and we had this
(30:21):
idea of saying that man, if we could compliment our females,
our mother's sisters, our wives and girlfriends, there is no
way that we could not be a success. So what
happened to Level put it best when he said Lightning
struck twice because our uniqueness was singing lady and say yes,
but then lower the hole. These two young producers come
(30:44):
along facing l A and le our silvers, what have
be goes On and we were able to execute their
production with this up tempo that brought us and and
the Beat goes on the case, that's really simply the
biggest song that it was. It was too US platinum
most people think rock Steady is, but then the Beat
goes On is the biggest song that we ever had.
(31:07):
But mixed with that, you come to our show and
you hear the Lady and say yes, and man, they're
they're they're all equal, So maybe we were just and
that's man, that's just the biggest blessing in the world
for us to have four songs. I mean, we're talking
about two boots and two ups, and we were they
went that we were able to execute and I really
think that's why we're here fifty three years later. And
(31:29):
I want to let me add to one. There's a
little short story that I think it's very important that
with with rock Steady in particular, because the way with
the way it came to us and what happened it's sild.
It's gonna sound crazy, but it's Dada's God Truth and
the Bell. You remember when the baby Face and l A.
Reid heard and the beat and they knew it was
the biggest song that we had. They told the whatnot
(31:51):
in the studio, you know what, when we come back
to my night, we're gonna have another one. So the
veils are, ye are great. We know younger guys, they
cover the years like you don't get to aricas, you
don't get too that keen cold, you don't get you know,
they just it just don't happen like that. But so
(32:12):
when he told a Hill that the veil, of course
he said, well that's great. What the short green? And
we definitely need it, not expected, honest God. When they
came back the next night and played rock Steady, now
we know they didn't have it before they told us
that because we would have heard it long before that.
(32:32):
They actually did go Kenny in particular, he actually did
go back based on what he heard with Ami beat,
and his version of the Vanderbeat was rocked steady and
the veil could You couldn't have put it in in a
better when he said likeness struck twice because even when
we heard you said, no, can you believe this? I
(32:52):
mean we couldn't believe it. We said, where did he
get this? But this is what he heard. I mean,
this is a tribute to when you talked about the
l A. Reid and baby Face in their early days.
I mean we think they didn't even realize how strong
it was, you know, because and when we first when
they basically what happened with both of them. The songs
(33:14):
that we did with baby Face was songs that The
Deal didn't like. Yeah, they didn't want to do. If
you remember the end, you know they had the group
called the Deal. What really was it was four guys
that looked like Prince because that's who they act like,
that's who they really want to be. Everybody but Kenny.
Kenny had these ballots and when he played them for us,
(33:36):
he said, Man, you know my group and they don't.
They don't they into this. So we said, yeah, but
we are, and we took the stuff to Dick and
Dick said, Michael, you mean they don't want to do this.
This was written for us. So that whole thing came
about and as you will know, from that point on,
(33:57):
Kenny in La they went and everything the rest of
them was history. Let me ask you something, Scotty, um,
do you still to this day get people yelling out, Hey, Scotty,
what's that? Yeah? Uh? You know? My wife said, you
know what you why did you have to have? Because
(34:21):
I don't know. I wish I could take Oh, I
know that. I'm happy you saying it. Keep on saying
it still. Hey, listen, man, you know you you all
know I could talk to y'all forever because I have
been a huge fan for so long. I tell this
story to this day. You know, I've been blessed with
a great career. But when I knew I was making
(34:43):
it and this is the guy's hound of truth. I
think this was absolutely the first time I met you all.
I don't know where we were. Was event you all
were getting ready performed. I was backstage and Walt you
and Scotty came over to me has said, because I've
been on b et hey, Ed Gordon, keep on doing
what you're doing. We love you. I swear to you.
I ran and called people and said, knows me, Hey,
(35:12):
I'm gonna p you back. I know exactly whatever it was,
you know thing he really said that. I know you
don't want to say. We were at the Soul Trained
Christmas party, you and your wife and and I remember
when I said, but I said you because we were
we have been watching Soul Train and Donnie Simpson that
(35:32):
I said to you, I say, when any you get changed,
go talk to Donnie Simmons, Donnie Simpson, Donnie Simpson and
maybe he could start distening way you. You don't remember that.
Obviously I was too young and probably party, but there
(35:53):
your wife was there. That's what happened. Well, listen, I
am so glad that we have kept this going all
this time, and congrat delacious to you guys. No better
group could have it the Black Music Honors Lifetime Achievement Awards,
and I'm happy that y'all are still out there and
doing your thank fellas. Thank you, thank thank you so much,
thank you, thank you very much. One hundred is produced
(36:38):
by ed Gordon Media and distributed by I Heart Media.
Carol Johnson Green and Sharie Weldon are our bookers. Our
editor is Lance Patton. Gerald Albright composed and performed our theme.
Please join me on Twitter and Instagram at ed L
Gordon and on Facebook at ed Gordon media w
Another big thanks to my guys Walter Scotty and Lavelle.
Congratulations again fellas you can see them receive the Black
Music Honors Legends Award Saturday, June twenty five on Bounce TV.
(00:21):
Welcome to the latest edition of one hundred The Ed
Gordon Podcast. Today a conversation with one of the greatest
R and B groups of all time, The Whispers. They
formed in Watts, California, in nineteen sixty three. Three years later,
a popular DJ in the Bay Area Sly Stone, who
would soon rock the music world himself with his band
(00:44):
The Family. Stone would invite the group to relocate to
the San Francisco area, where they began to hone their craft.
By they had their first hit, Seems Like I Gotta
Do Wrong. That became the first in a line of
hits including and the Beat Goes On, Lady, It's a
(01:05):
Love Thing, and Rock Steady. The group is still touring
giving fans what they want, and recently The Whispers received
the Legends Award at the Black Music Honors event. I
spoke with the group's three surviving members, twin brothers Wallace
and Walter Scott, who share lead vocals, and Lavelle degree
(01:28):
who joined the group in nineteen seventy three. Lavelle, I'll
ask you first, Um, when you think about where you
are today, you could not have dreamed or imagined this
kind of longevity I would think. I mean, I wouldn't
even think that would ever be in your head. No,
I mean, it's just it just shows how blessed we are.
(01:51):
We would never think that, well, I've done with the group,
like forty seven years we've been together, you know, I
mean this this is going on fifty four fear So,
who would ever imagine that in the day that anybody
would have a career that long. That to me, it's
just shows one. Uh. We always always put the man
(02:13):
upstairs first for allowing us to have this kind of longevity.
To our fans. Our fans are just the most incredible people,
because without them, you could not be here. So you know,
we wake up every morning pension ourselves and you know,
what did we do to deserve this kind of longevity?
You know? And we're just so happy, so proud, so thankful. Uh.
(02:38):
I mean, you could not believe how we feel inside too,
to be here this long and be able to do
it on the level that we're doing. It now, Otherwise
we would be thinking about retirement. And we always said
that if if we couldn't do it on us on
a certain level, then we would be done. Let me
Let me turn my attention to them Scott boys and
(03:00):
asked them, you know when you guys started out, I mean,
you're about to receive the Black Music Honors Lifetime Achievement Award.
You know, you guys have been saluted by the R
and B Hall of Fame and the like. Tell me
about the dream you had of what you wanted and
(03:20):
the reality that I'm sure surpassed that dream. You know
what well I want. Uh, normally I would let walk
because you know as long enough and you know who
who likes to talk to most of them just the
word that I have to speak on because of all
my life, I've been a dreamer and that is the
best word to describe what has happened. I actually dreamed this.
(03:45):
I've been dreaming all my life. The only good thing
is that the dream came true. We've been everywhere, we've
done everything, we've been here it was still able to
like level said was singing on a level you know,
uh that I just wouldn't believe. I mean, I'm singing
in the same key I was singing in thirty years ago.
That's all a blessing that I don't take for granted.
(04:06):
But I dreamed as a kid, I dreamed of doing this,
and so a kicking off on that word that you use,
because the dream basically came true for the Whiskers, Well,
what about you, man? I started to think about over
fifty years ago into Jordan down Projects in Watts, California.
That is right. We were out there do do whopping.
(04:27):
If you remember then Old Town was the standard. We
all wanted to be like the Temptations and the Four
Tops and so you know we were no different. But man,
we had no idea that fifty years later we'd be here.
We've been nominated for the Granny, you know, the Black
Music Honors. It's just a dream come true. Man. You know,
we've been in the Europe with the Asia, so we
(04:50):
just never could have dreamed in any way when we
were We started out winning a little small talent chose
with a DJ back here in Los Angeles. I think
it was hurting hand hunting hand on her hand pack
having talent shows, and Scottie and I had won most
of them, but then we hooked up as a vocal group.
But as he said, man, if you if you'd told
me fifty three years later that we would still be
(05:11):
going on stage singing at the level that we do.
You know, if you've seen our show, it ain't it's
not it ain't lack. It's still kicking me, you know.
But I'm just I'm amazed. But more than anything, man,
I just feel blessed, you know, really really blessed. You know,
you guys have over the years worked with some great people,
but I think a lot of people don't know the
(05:33):
connection that you guys had in the beginning with slidh
Stone absolutely, yeah, yeah, that was Slide was a ditch
jockey in San Francisco. Actually his dad was a minister
of the the area. But we had a little small
record in Los Angeles and he heard the record and
decided to bring Hums up for an interview at the
radio station where he was. He wasn't slash Stone, and
(05:54):
he was the biggest disch jockey at the radio station
in the area, and he brought us up and we
talked about our song, and that's how we ended up
in the area. We ended up standing in the area
probably for the next ten years, you know, but it
was slad. It really lunch to what we were trying
to do. The group's classic lineup was made up of Walter,
Scottie and Lavelle, plus Nicholas Caldwell and Marcus Hudson. Hudson
(06:19):
died in two thousand and Caldwell passed away in twenty six,
leaving the three remaining members to carry on delivering the music.
Let me ask you guys about keeping a group together
for as long as you have, because we should note
the classic lineup of the Whispers had two more gentlemen
(06:41):
who were no longer with us, but clearly with us
with the life of the music. And I am sure
in spirit I found it interesting that you all have
chosen not to replace them. You know, you see a
lot of groups wanting to replace members who either quit
or move on from this life. Give me a sense,
and I'll ask all of you this um of what
(07:05):
it's like to a lose members When you look to
your left or right who've been there with you for
so long, you know that's got to be an adjustment.
And also, um, what you guys have been able to
do by means of just keeping the group together. Well,
I don't know, maybe I'll start with that one. Um,
it's something that you learn to move on, you know,
(07:28):
when you have two members that you've lost, you you
move on. Even with band members that we lost, you
you you tend to move on because you have to,
and because that's something that I know that they would
want us to do. But it still hurts, you know
when you look over, I mean, Nicholas and Marcus was
(07:48):
always on my right side. And to lose Marcus and
then right, you know, then you know, several years later,
to lose Neck. You still I'm still looking over at
my right side and you know, my, my, the person
that has been with me longer than some marriages at work,
(08:09):
you know, us saying, I mean, you know, it's almost
like a marriage. And to look over and see that
that empty spot, it's you know, you move on, but
it still hurts. I mean I have a picture of
Nix in my house that I walked past every day,
you know, and uh, it keeps his memory alive and
when I make decisions or things that I want to do,
(08:31):
because Nick was kind of like the the person that
balanced us all. So when ever something comes out of
my mouth. I think of, Okay, how would Nick say
this and how would Nick do it? Because he was
the one that kept us all focused. So I don't
think you ever get over it. You you just you
(08:51):
just move on and you know, so yeah, yeah, for
me and I have an admission. When we lost Nick,
I did want to call it. I said I'm through
because I didn't think I could go on without Nick.
But as Lovell said, it was Nick who said, guys,
we gotta keep this going. We got something special. And
(09:12):
then you know, it's long enough to know that Nick
was the conscience, he was the core. He kept us
all kind of in line. So for me, I told
my brother, I said, you know what, I don't know
how I'm going to continue to go out there on stage.
It's hard to smile, which is what we have to
do when you're really not ready to smile. And that's
what I guess for the first year that we were
(09:33):
on stage, that we had to go through that. But
I remember what Nick said, you know, he said, man,
we started something that we had no idea that would
be this great, So keep on, you know. So but
we talked, we said, well, what about replacing somebody? He said, no,
we don't have to do that anymore. We you know,
with technology, Scotty and I still can sing to lead
and we can do part of the background. So keep
(09:54):
it going. And for that reason we stuffled through it.
But Leavella is right, I can't lied to you take
right now. You know you've seen our show. Nick was
a guy that was in the background that could have
been the lead singer, because he's the guy that you
couldn't take your out. So it took me a long
time to get to where we are now. And the
(10:15):
only reason I do this because I remember what he said.
He said, Hey man, let's keep this going as long
as we can do incredibly. Now I don't, you know,
I don't if I don't want to get out there,
if I can't hit the high, then I'm gone. You
never actually get over it. You just learned how to live.
You know. It's like when you you lose your parents,
you know, like to this day, I'm not over the
fact that my mom's gone, but I've learned how to
(10:35):
live without. You just learned how to do that. But
and and Nick kind of put that he was the one,
as you remember, you know, he was the one really
to have all the energy. You know, we had the
type of show. But he was the kind of guy that,
like Walk said, yeah, I kind of stuck to him
because he had so much energy. He was like that
with everything that we did. Though. He was very organized,
(10:58):
very detailed. I mean, Navel can attest to even though
when he came in the group it took him a
year before he ever hit the stage because we would saying,
was that Nick, how long is he gonna sit in
the back? Man? You know, how long behind something you
gotta he gotta come out? And a man, what is
(11:19):
he gonna be red? You know? But you know the
bill so for a good year, a year and a half.
And then what was so funny is the night that
Nick finally did decide to say it's time for you
to come on, and he veiled all those days. These
(11:42):
are the kind of things that he brought the members
that are so good now that yeah, we miss it, man,
We're gonna always missing you know. Uh mentioned that the
idea of being like a family. If I remember correctly
the story of Walt, I think you were the one drafted. Yeah,
um and and had to go to Vietnam and Scotty
(12:03):
Mom said to you know, you know you ain't about
to take everybody out there tell that, because that is
that close to it. Yeah, yeah, what happened when we
were When I came back, they had passed me so far.
I mean, they were real professionals. So I got back
into rehearsals. I didn't know what to do. So Scotty
(12:25):
went to my mother and he said, you know, Mama,
I don't know if Junior is what they call it.
They said, I don't know if Jennie's gonna make it.
You know, we try to do everything we can, but
I don't think he's gonna make it. So my mom said, well,
you better hope that he does make it, because if
he don't make it, you ain't gonna make it. Your
first single hits about sixty four. Here we are in
(12:48):
twenty two, and not only are you all still getting honored,
but if you play a gig, people are still coming.
You know, I'm gonna, I'm gonna. I'm gonna say it
to you like my wife said it to me, because
I sometimes you don't want you to beat right now
because we're still tour on a regular basis. We go
(13:10):
do shows, we come back on and sometimes you know,
because we're older. I'll be the first one to admit,
it's not the gig that's not The problem is not
the gig. It's getting to the gig. But you know,
when you get to p this sage. But my wife
has to tell me all the time, you know what,
just be glad somebody some aware to see you do
(13:31):
whatever it is that you do. There there's still people,
whether it's the club, theater and all. We've been all
over the world and we can't say this enough. We've
all said it because it's just true. If anybody would
have told us that we'd even still be doing this
fifty three years, I dream, but I wouldn't dreaming like that.
(13:53):
You know, I'm happy that it happened. But hey, that's
the way it rolls. And you know, to tell you
a little further, Scottie always says something in the show.
He's you know, he always tells the people, thank you
for coming to our show, and then he'll talk about,
you know, um, how we look. He says, even though
we look a little bit different than we did, that exactly,
(14:16):
it even means more now because you know, we're not
as sexy as we used to be. This trip we
ain't got no six back, we don't have all of
that going on, but we wind up trying to do
what we do best, a show. And that just shows
how much people loved the Whispers and how we have
such great fans that still want to come and hang
(14:39):
out and be with us and and and and enjoy
the show. So when you don't have that six packing,
you know, you you know, you don't have the hair
gone on your head and stuff like that, all all
of that kind of stuff, and that people still come. Man,
we are just re right now, three of us the
most blessed men on planet Earth. Yeah, that's so true.
(15:01):
Let me let me ask you guys in terms of
the longevity though, there are groups who continue to tour, uh,
continue to draw audiences. But as you say, age uh
doesn't miss any of us. M And when you were
a singer, you gotta say a prayer to keep that voice,
because as I remind people, the record was when people
(15:25):
were twenty. Now you're asking them to sound the same
at seventy. Yeah, Uh, that isn't always the case, but
you guys still sound great. How much of it is,
um you're taking care of yourself. How much of it
is God given? What is it that that has allowed that? Well,
you know what I started with it. I always say this,
(15:47):
we were blessed to have three incredible mothers they put.
It started out with them making us understand that you're
only as strong as your weakest link. And they drilled
it into us to never try to be something that
you're not. So we really came along and this Nick
kind of kind of reinforces too. You noticed there was
(16:10):
never the whispers featuring Scottie and the Wall the twin.
You know, it's just been the whispers. And thank God,
we've never drank, never smoked, no no dope or nothing
like that. So God has truly blessed us to be
in our seventies. And like Scott he said, we're singing
the same key now that we did when we made
(16:31):
that to be goes on. So that's just a blessing
man from the man upstairs. Uh. The little part that
we had to do what I think that we had
a great upbringing. We weren't rich, but man, our parents
put in us a mentality that lasts to this day.
You know, we're thankful. And then I say this all
the time when we make a comparison to tell younger
(16:52):
groups this, today's artists, they're just great, no question about it.
But they have an arrogant about them that we just
didn't have when we came up. In other words, when
you came to see our show, we gave you the
impression that we were so glad that you came to
see us that night. Today's artists kind of thing, you
(17:13):
know what, you all to be glad that I'm here.
That's the that's I mean. And maybe they don't mean
no harm. They call it hard or whatever you want
to call it, but that humility man has kept us
here for fifty three years, and I'm convinced of it.
You can't miss when you humble and honest. Yeah, I
want to get into the catalog for a second. But
(17:33):
what's what's unique, and I think doesn't always get it's
just do is you know you had the Philly sound.
We were talking about the o JS and at LeVert
before we got going in, Walter Williams and and Gambling
Huff and all that, those great musicians that came out
of Philly. You of course had the Motown sound, but
there is a sound of Los Angeles, you know, the
(17:54):
solar sound is what many people called it, and you
guys became a big part of creating that sound in
a sense of that era of music for you guys,
and and the unique place that you all playing it. Well.
This was a small record company ended up by Dick
(18:14):
Griffey who really was trying to emulate Barry Gordian Motown.
He wanted Soldot of Records to be another Motown, but
he basically garnered the talent from the Los Angeles area
and individually while all over the country getting talent. But man,
what a success. It was something that just emerged without
anybody knowing it. And all these young people who were
(18:37):
in their front Leon Silver's baby face, you know, they
were in the in the area where they were up
and coming. They hadn't made it yet, and oh man,
it just made for the most incredible atmosphere. I mean,
Dick was the kind of guy that let artists take
their wings and fly. You know. He wasn't there standing
over you telling you what you gotta do. He really
(18:57):
wanted you to be who you were. And that's kind
really how motown. I mean, Solar got his start by
dig giving the freedom to these young acts to beat
themselves and as you know, he had Solar wanted to
be something that we were all proud of, man, no
question about it. And you need to name people like Shalimar, Lakeside, uh,
(19:18):
baby Face and l A. I mean, they want they
were Kenny edon beyond, you know. But I mean, like
Walt said, the good thing that I loved about the
first of all, he was music. People didn't realize he
was a producer in his own right. I mean, but
he didn't, like Walt said, he didn't force himself upon.
He understood the importance of letting the act be whatever
(19:40):
the act well and even if it wasn't built it.
You know, when he first brought Leon Silvils to the Whispers,
him being the older brother of the Silvers, we questioned,
wouldn't we we didn't want to do? We said, what
can he do? Dick knew something musically that even we
didn't know, not enough be sil basically was a bass player.
(20:02):
Hella a bass player, but we had no idea that
he was the writer and the producer that. I mean,
the biggest song we've had in our lives came from
Leon Sylvils. And then he went on, of course to
do other people. But like well said, all this was
in that one little building little there, oh and in Hollywood,
that dicks. He knew exactly what he had, you know.
(20:23):
The only thing and it's not a bad thing. It's
far as I'm concerned. When him and Donna and needs
picked up if if I hate to say this, but
if EGO hadn't stepped in, they would have been the
two biggest black men in America. That's true. But that's
a whole nother show. Yeah, I know the stories called us.
(20:45):
I know the stories. Than let me ask you guys this.
You know, I think of the early hits that you
guys had, and I mean, you know, I was coming
up junior high school, high school and and and you know,
I only mentor what my feet and Olivia and you know, uh,
you know they start to kind of give the name
(21:07):
of the Whispers a mother for my children. You know,
I think of all of those can go you know, yeah,
well y'all know, y'all know how you look. Look, I
didn't have to research that part. But then uh, and
(21:30):
the beat goes on hits and a record like that
can change a group from one that you fondly remember
to one that you don't forget give me a sense
of what that song, and you know two or three
of the others, it just became massive rock steady. And
(21:53):
we can go on and on. But what is that
like to have, you know, records like that that really transcend, Uh,
you know all the charts, color, race, et cetera. What's
that like? Well, I'm glad you brought this up, because
it's like like develos and we we we tell these
things in our show. We try to give it a
history to people who maybe and most black people, if
(22:14):
they're older. It's not the devel though. We've been here
alone enough, but there's some every now and then. I
don't really know what we've done and who and what
who we've done it with. But and the beat goes
on and I say this in the show, and I'm
not to be funny, it's honest, god truth. And the
beat goes on. Before we had it, I might be
able to get my clothes out the cleaners. After we
(22:37):
got it. I've almost read the body cleaners. I mean,
I'm trying to. I mean, I know it sounds funny,
but it was that we went from because we as
you remember, we came close a lot of times, you know,
and then there were times when we had records, didn't
nobody buying, but you know my mother and aveils mother
(22:57):
and you know next mother it too, and we said, wow,
when is it gonna happen? I mean, Olively Lawson turned
out we came very close, you know, to gold record.
But I remember when and the beat goes on when
the night we finished it in the studio, we all
knew that night that it was gonna be hit. Now
(23:18):
we didn't. We didn't know it's gonna be as big
as a guy. But you know you have to play
back yet when everybody you didn't finish and you do
the playbag and it's blasting all through the studio. So
of course, you know, we said, wow, if this don't
make it, we're gonna do what my mom said. My
mom said, maybe I need to over dob now it's benefits,
ain't nothing happening. But when we finished that one thing
(23:42):
out of nowhere, it went from gold to platinum so
fast that we said, wait a minute, you sure this
is the Whispers, you know, because it was another group
and in Europe that was called Whispers, and we were thinking,
you know, something going on here. Is this us? I mean,
you know, is it them? When they brought them five
(24:03):
gold albums out and we were in Louis doing a
show Live and Stop the show brought out five gold
albums and that was then the beat goes on. From
that point on, it when gold, platinum, double platinum, and
our lives and answer to your question, and the beat
(24:24):
goes on changed our lives, no doubt about it. That's
when people ask me what's my favorite song? That's why
I always said, and I got a lot of songs
that I love to meet them. But and the beat
goes on, without a doubt, changed our lives completely. And
Lavella if it if it weren't enough to have that,
then you guys go on to have rock study and
(24:45):
you now and that is thanks to La and baby Face. UM,
give me a sense of what that is to have.
For sure, I can argue a couple of others, but
for sure two songs stay. You can't do a concert
unless unless you do those two. It's gonna be trouble
(25:06):
in the you know, and when and when you hit
those songs. Give me a sense of what you what
you feel when you see the reaction, well, the reaction well,
number one, like Scottie said, when you have and the
beat goes on, that comes out that you know almost
didn't get done based on you know the fact that
that Leon was such a a sticker on how he
(25:30):
wanted things, and and and and we had to big
Scottie to come back in the studio and do it.
But once we struck gold and then we struck platinum,
it's like then then baby Face comes, you know. With
you know, with rock Steady, it was like I always
(25:53):
didn't you know where they say lightning doesn't strike the
same place twice, Well, that was like what happened with us.
So when we had that lightning strike twice, we were like,
you know, oh my god, uh, you know, is this
really happening to the whispers because we have been struggling
so long and a matter of fact, you know, when
(26:16):
when the rock Steady came, I mean when the and
the Beat came, uh, we had them one show the
year before it came out. One show we were actually staying,
we were at home. We were like, we're on COVID
then because we didn't we didn't do any stuggles at
that point, and we were really struggling. But even continuing
(26:38):
at that point. And when that song came out, it's,
like Scotty said, it changed everything. But to have lightning
strike twice and then have you know ladies say yes,
you know in the mood all of those things. You
know that actually kind of like was the icing around
those two mega hits, was just unbelieved it before us.
(27:00):
I mean we, like I said, we just didn't believe
it was us. And like Stay said, we were able
to put our kids through college and and and I
lived do everything that you know that that we struggled
not to have. We lived. We were able to do
things for our families and stuff like that. So we
felt so humble and so blessed. When I bought my
(27:22):
first house, you know, you know, it was like almost
going from a hundred I laugh at it now, going
from a hundred nine a note to now buying a
house and I'm paying six hundred dollars and I'm having
a cardiac arrest of them like in my crazy you know.
(27:43):
And then then when you know, then when we had
their second hit, I wind up buying even a bigger
house and having a bigger note. So it was just
it just allowed us to achieve some things that we
only dreamed of, and it was allowing us to you
know uh. And that's why I love our fans, because
it wasn't just me that put my kids through college
(28:06):
that we're able to give them, you know, a nice life.
It was people that loved us, loved the Whispers, that
allowed me to take care of my family in the
way that I did. So we're very That's why I
love the Whispers. Whispers have so much humilities, so they're
so humble, and we think our fans because nothing that
(28:27):
we have done in life through our for our kids
are now our grandkids and great grand babies cannot be
achieved without without our fans. Let me take you guys
to one more song, which I think goes to my
next point about the Whispers. There are some groups who
are great at love songs. There are some groups that
(28:50):
are great at upbeat songs, and then there are a
couple of musicians that can do both equally. And I
think of, um, you know, maybe Nick's calling Car would
say yes, um, and what that did because now when
you listen to the radio, and I mean East generation
is different. I'm not trying to act like the old guy.
(29:12):
Get off my lawn, you know each general. I remember
my mother thinking, you know people who are classic. Now,
she still couldn't figure out Princes. But you know he
wasn't a king Cole. That's what she used to tell me.
Give me a sense of hey, how you guys have
(29:33):
been able to kind of craft both and and not
be looked at its frauds on either side of the fence.
And um. The idea of what say yes was because
even though it seems very tame now, you know when
that hit h you know, when you're going around to
her navel, boy, everybody you know what it invol and
(30:00):
it's funny. Before we had mb goes on it rock steady,
we were known as a balladeer group. You know. We
we wanted we wanted our biggest hit to be ballots
that we could really attribute talk to the ladies. You know,
this was nixed unique talent. You know when we first
started out, we all got together and we had this
(30:21):
idea of saying that man, if we could compliment our females,
our mother's sisters, our wives and girlfriends, there is no
way that we could not be a success. So what
happened to Level put it best when he said Lightning
struck twice because our uniqueness was singing lady and say yes,
but then lower the hole. These two young producers come
(30:44):
along facing l A and le our silvers, what have
be goes On and we were able to execute their
production with this up tempo that brought us and and
the Beat goes on the case, that's really simply the
biggest song that it was. It was too US platinum
most people think rock Steady is, but then the Beat
goes On is the biggest song that we ever had.
(31:07):
But mixed with that, you come to our show and
you hear the Lady and say yes, and man, they're
they're they're all equal, So maybe we were just and
that's man, that's just the biggest blessing in the world
for us to have four songs. I mean, we're talking
about two boots and two ups, and we were they
went that we were able to execute and I really
think that's why we're here fifty three years later. And
(31:29):
I want to let me add to one. There's a
little short story that I think it's very important that
with with rock Steady in particular, because the way with
the way it came to us and what happened it's sild.
It's gonna sound crazy, but it's Dada's God Truth and
the Bell. You remember when the baby Face and l A.
Reid heard and the beat and they knew it was
the biggest song that we had. They told the whatnot
(31:51):
in the studio, you know what, when we come back
to my night, we're gonna have another one. So the
veils are, ye are great. We know younger guys, they
cover the years like you don't get to aricas, you
don't get too that keen cold, you don't get you know,
they just it just don't happen like that. But so
(32:12):
when he told a Hill that the veil, of course
he said, well that's great. What the short green? And
we definitely need it, not expected, honest God. When they
came back the next night and played rock Steady, now
we know they didn't have it before they told us
that because we would have heard it long before that.
(32:32):
They actually did go Kenny in particular, he actually did
go back based on what he heard with Ami beat,
and his version of the Vanderbeat was rocked steady and
the veil could You couldn't have put it in in a
better when he said likeness struck twice because even when
we heard you said, no, can you believe this? I
(32:52):
mean we couldn't believe it. We said, where did he
get this? But this is what he heard. I mean,
this is a tribute to when you talked about the
l A. Reid and baby Face in their early days.
I mean we think they didn't even realize how strong
it was, you know, because and when we first when
they basically what happened with both of them. The songs
(33:14):
that we did with baby Face was songs that The
Deal didn't like. Yeah, they didn't want to do. If
you remember the end, you know they had the group
called the Deal. What really was it was four guys
that looked like Prince because that's who they act like,
that's who they really want to be. Everybody but Kenny.
Kenny had these ballots and when he played them for us,
(33:36):
he said, Man, you know my group and they don't.
They don't they into this. So we said, yeah, but
we are, and we took the stuff to Dick and
Dick said, Michael, you mean they don't want to do this.
This was written for us. So that whole thing came
about and as you will know, from that point on,
(33:57):
Kenny in La they went and everything the rest of
them was history. Let me ask you something, Scotty, um,
do you still to this day get people yelling out, Hey, Scotty,
what's that? Yeah? Uh? You know? My wife said, you
know what you why did you have to have? Because
(34:21):
I don't know. I wish I could take Oh, I
know that. I'm happy you saying it. Keep on saying
it still. Hey, listen, man, you know you you all
know I could talk to y'all forever because I have
been a huge fan for so long. I tell this
story to this day. You know, I've been blessed with
a great career. But when I knew I was making
(34:43):
it and this is the guy's hound of truth. I
think this was absolutely the first time I met you all.
I don't know where we were. Was event you all
were getting ready performed. I was backstage and Walt you
and Scotty came over to me has said, because I've
been on b et hey, Ed Gordon, keep on doing
what you're doing. We love you. I swear to you.
I ran and called people and said, knows me, Hey,
(35:12):
I'm gonna p you back. I know exactly whatever it was,
you know thing he really said that. I know you
don't want to say. We were at the Soul Trained
Christmas party, you and your wife and and I remember
when I said, but I said you because we were
we have been watching Soul Train and Donnie Simpson that
(35:32):
I said to you, I say, when any you get changed,
go talk to Donnie Simmons, Donnie Simpson, Donnie Simpson and
maybe he could start distening way you. You don't remember that.
Obviously I was too young and probably party, but there
(35:53):
your wife was there. That's what happened. Well, listen, I
am so glad that we have kept this going all
this time, and congrat delacious to you guys. No better
group could have it the Black Music Honors Lifetime Achievement Awards,
and I'm happy that y'all are still out there and
doing your thank fellas. Thank you, thank thank you so much,
thank you, thank you very much. One hundred is produced
(36:38):
by ed Gordon Media and distributed by I Heart Media.
Carol Johnson Green and Sharie Weldon are our bookers. Our
editor is Lance Patton. Gerald Albright composed and performed our theme.
Please join me on Twitter and Instagram at ed L
Gordon and on Facebook at ed Gordon media w
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