It is rare for an icon superstar’s career and personal life to go into free fall, and a perfect example is Bill Cosby.
And I still maintain that nothing he did with those women — or at least in some cases allegedly did — takes anything away from his monumental achievements, on television, in movies, on stage, on records, etc.
Had “The Cosby Show” not been removed from the air, I would watch those classic reruns in a heartbeat. I care very little about his private life (or anybody else’s).
Eddie Murphy is to be commended for the decision he made earlier in the year, when he returned to “Saturday Night Live” for the show’s 40th anniversary. (You’re likely to have heard about this by now.) The producers wanted him to tell Cosby jokes and had written a script, but Murphy said no way.
“It was the biggest thing in the news at the time,” he acknowledged. “But there’s nothing funny about it. If you get up there and crack jokes (about something like that) you’re hurting somebody. I was not turning my moments on the show into that other thing.”
MATHEW KNOWLES, father of Beyoncé Knowles Carter and Solange Knowles and manager of Destiny’s Child, is stirring up some controversy because of the one-day workshop he is conducting in Houston on Oct. 24. It’s called “The Entertainment Industry: How Do I Get In?” The cost is a hefty $199. Previously, he taught a course with a similar theme at Texas Southern University.
Some people have accused him of exploiting his megastar daughter Beyoncé, but Knowles, who knows a lot about the entertainment/music industry, says that is absolutely untrue.
Speaking of the music industry, and we’ve talked about this before, one of the strangest occurrences is the fact that only one Supreme actually sings on the “farewell” record of Diana Ross & the Supremes, “Someday We’ll be Together,” one of Motown’s all-time greatest achievements.
Berry Gordy had chosen the song to be Diana Ross’ first solo single and the background vocals had already been recorded using sisters Julia and Maxine Waters. Then Gordy changed his mind, thinking it would be perfect as the last Diana Ross song with the Supremes. So it was released without the inclusion of Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong.
T.I. (real name: Clifford Harris Jr.) sure showed his sexism when he said he would not vote for Hillary Clinton because “women make rash decisions” based on emotion rather than rational thinking.
Of course, he later apologized, but those kinds of apologies are hollow because people usually say what they really mean in the first place. They backtrack because they have gotten in trouble for their verbal indiscretion.
At the time of this writing, Janet Jackson’s entertaining “Unbreakable” album is in its second week as the No. 1 album in the United States, Pop and R&B. And people are hoping that Jackson will make it into the Rock and Roll of Hall of Fame, along with other deserving nominees such as Chaka Khan, Chicago and the Spinners.
Bobby Brown is currently working on his autobiography, titled “My Prerogative,” and Chris Brown’s new album, “Royalty,” is slated for Nov. 27 release.
BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW…that Jackie Jackson made two solo albums, the first in 1973, the second in 1989.
MEMORIES: “I Just Want to Be” (Cameo), “Can We Talk?” (Tevin Campbell), “Wide Receiver” (Michael Henderson), “Deeper (In Love With You)” (the O’Jays), “Gonna Get Over You” (Sweet Obsession), “Just the Way You Are” (Billy Joel), “Backfield in Motion” (Mel and Tim), “A Lover’s Question” (Clyde McPhatter), “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (Thelma Houston), “Star Love” (Cheryl Lynn).
BLESSINGS to Andrew Humphrey, Fannie Tyler, William Andrews Jr., Derek Thornton, Kevin Keegan, Katherine Adams, Bobby Green, Larry Demps, Luther Keith and Brenda Perryman.
WORDS OF THE WEEK, from the Electrifying Mojo: “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”
Let the music play!
Steve Holsey can be reached at Svh517@aol.com and PO Box 02843, Detroit, MI 48202.
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