My heart is so damned full, Fam -- my Mama-Sister-Friend made me feel like "A Natural Woman"...

Aretha Franklin on The Wendy Williams Show: Part 1


Aretha Franklin on The Wendy Williams Show: Part 2


Aretha Franklin: Web Extras on The Wendy Williams Show


Related:
- Aretha Franklin: A Legacy in Music
- Aretha Franklin Is As Immortal As Can Be
- Aretha Franklin’s Astonishing “Dr. Feelgood”
- Soul Survivor

Happy 2018 Family!!! Now that you've seen it -- make it count...

For my Beloved on Valentine's Day -- Our Song...

I miss you s-o-o-o-o much, Brother...

Soul Train Music Awards...

Tear it up Chillun!  I was blessed to have existed on the bridge of Erykah Badu and Gladys Knight -- and for that, I'm so very grateful:



Erykah and India -- what more can Black folk want??!!  Okay, Teddy Riley was, and is -- the SHIT!

Talked to the husband, who's out of the country for work, and he said "How old are we Deb, that the guy who gets a "Legend Award" -- is somebody whose music we loved and danced to??!!   Then he started singing "Let's Chill, let's settle down..."!!  All I could say was, "No shit!" as the tears streamed down my face.  I've never loved him more...

Good to be, and have a "River" -- all at the same time...

I had this kind of 59th birthday weekend, Family (best viewed, full-screen)!:

Happy Mother's Day to all my Sisters who've "mothered"....

Talked to my Babies today and thought, yet again, how THIS young man encapsulates perfectly, our "Mother-to-Son" experiences. I'm blessed to have been the vessel that brought forth two, absolutely wonderful, young men!!!

For Mama Cissy...

The "girls" are alright now, Dear Heart.  Accept all the love you can get right now and please, take care of yourself as best you can during this incredibly heartbreaking time.

Happy Mother's Day, my Sisters...

I was in a club in San Antonio, Texas when the music stopped -- the DJ announced that Tupac Amaru Shakur was dead. When I got home, my sons were asleep. The next morning though, because they loved him and his music so damned much, they sadly told me what I already knew.  It was a bonding moment that I can't even begin to explain (so much love and respect for Afeni Shakur!):



The first time I heard this song from young Mr. Blacc, it was a snot-running-down-my-face affair.  My boys said, "Yeah, we knew you'd love this shit, Mom" --  and they were so right!!:



Happy Mother's Day, my Sisters (particularly those of you with sons cuz  -- "for a woman, it ain't easy tryin' to raise a man").  As commercialized as the day always was, and still is -- know that, without a doubt, there's some real love for you there, from those to whom you gave life!

Tonight...

Thank you, A-Beat -- cuz this is what I'm feelin' tonight (full screen is best!):



*bows, low* -- SO  MUCH Dignity and Respect for these young warriors (from an Old Head for whom the obvious is often painful)...

Because...

Thank you...

"I am a part of all I have met"

Man, in so many ways - do I get this!   Don't even get it twisted, I am in no way Malcolm, nor am I Muslim - but I certainly appreciate Malcolm's love for Black folk.  Sadly, many of my brothers and sisters today - seem not to.

Do listen, learn - and enjoy (while noting how much has, and hasn't changed, here in post-racial America):

Remembering Michael: "Man in the Mirror" is - and always will be - my SH*T!!!!

And thank you Siedah Garrett - for your knowing kind of love....

My first-born son turned 30 today...

... and because I will always feel this way about him in my head and in my heart - to him, from my beautiful sister, Ms. Lauryn Hill...



It's stange, how sometimes you can remember exactly what you were doing when a given thing occurred.  I was here in 1996 at a club, when the DJ stopped the music - and announced the death of Tupac Shakur.  He would've been 40 yesterday.  Sending a "Mama-love" hug out to my sister, Afeni.)

Teddy Pendergrass: 1950 - 2010

He was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome for me back in the day - and Lawd have mercy, that voice!  I'm so, so proud to be a part of this generation of Black music.

Teddy Pendergrass, Philadelphia Soul Singer, Dead At 59








Yes, Teddy - it was definitely a joy to have you...Repos dans la paix.

"Shoop, Shoop, Shoop..."

Whew-w-w! Man, oh Man! I've been waiting to exhale since I left D.C. on Wednesday, the 22nd!!

Finally, finally I get a brief moment to do just that - before it all begins again (waiting on furniture, staying in a hotel).

I have to say though - I'm feelin' a whole lot like Voltron right now! He's the big guy in the photo.
For you younguns out there, let me just be clear. Before the slick "Transformers" of today (as well as their predecessors from the mid-to-late 80s), there was "Voltron Force," a team of five pilots who commanded five robot lions which combined to form the evil-fighting, big guy - "Voltron: Defender of the Universe" (What can I say? I have two boys - born in 1981 and 1984. And yes, Voltron absolutely lived in our home! Those babies loved that thing!!! As a matter of fact, I think we still have it in those plastic tubs of toys I've been saving for their kids (or a serious toy collector - if the kid thing doesn't work out).

First, I drove to South Carolina for my annual trip to clean my mother's grave and put in some new flowers on July 24th - the 13th anniversary of her death (oddly, I miss my Mama more now, than I ever have). I only stayed long enough to visit a dear friend, some family and get that accomplished. As I left the church yard, I couldn't shake the sense of urgency I felt. I needed to get where I was going! As I told my friend "ea" in a comment on another post, "My family - the one that my husband and I had created - needed a hug!"

Apart, we were like the five robot lions of the Voltron Force - strong, and on some level, basically effective, but not - a "Unit." I'm tellin' you, as I drove through the evening and into the night to meet my husband at the previously agreed upon rest stop in Tallahassee (the movers came for our house in Florida on Thursday, he left on Friday), all I could think about was that damn toy!!!